The boards in A’Biao and A’Yang’s hands came down in rapid succession, crack after crack.

At first, Feng Jiu’er could still grit her teeth and endure it in silence. But after only a few strikes, she could hold on no longer, and let out a wretched, pitiful cry.

Twenty strokes of the board left her clothes soaked through with bloodstains. By all appearances, her skin truly had split open and her flesh had torn raw.

Before long, the twenty strokes were done. Feng Jiu’er’s face was deathly pale, barely clinging to consciousness.

“Speak. Why did you collude with the people of the Celestial Sovereign Sect? Where are the members of the Celestial Sovereign Sect hiding now?”

Zhang Jianhong pointed at Feng Jiu’er, his air imperious and overbearing. “Say nothing more, and don’t blame this Commander for showing no mercy!”

You are already showing no mercy! Torture before questioning — this was apparently the unspoken rule of the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance after all!

Feng Jiu’er silently cursed him beneath her breath. Having screamed so pitifully just now, she had genuinely broken out in a sweat.

She drew a deep breath and looked at Zhang Jianhong with the last of her strength: “I don’t know. Why are you saying I colluded with anyone? Where is the evidence?”

“Evidence?” Zhang Jianhong sneered. “Someone witnessed you being taken away by the people of the Celestial Sovereign Sect, yet the next day you returned without a scratch on you. Is that not evidence enough?”

“What occasion are you speaking of? I have no knowledge of this.” Feng Jiu’er’s face wore an expression of confusion mingled with pain.

“On the eighteenth night of this month, you were abducted from Feng Manor, and afterward, you were taken away by Di Wu Ya, the Sect Master of the Celestial Sovereign Sect. Did this occur?”

The eighteenth night of this month — it was indeed the night Di Wu Ya had taken her away. However, aside from the person who had been struck by Di Wu Ya’s inner force and injured, no one else should have known about it.

Yet that person himself was a kidnapper. How could he possibly come forward to testify against her?

“That night…” Feng Jiu’er seemed to be trying to recall, then finally shook her head. “That night, the people who abducted me — they seemed to be different people.”

“And after that?” Had she finally consented to acknowledge what happened that night?

“After that, I fell unconscious. When I woke the next day, I was already in the rear hills of Feng Manor.”

This wasn’t exactly a lie — she had indeed fallen asleep afterward, and when she woke, she was in the rear hills of Feng Manor. That much was accurate.

“Who abducted you?”

“Men in black.”

“What sort of people?”

“Men in black.”

“Feng Jiu’er, are you so eager to taste the pain of flesh and blood again?” Zhang Jianhong narrowed his eyes in fury. “If you don’t tell the truth immediately, this Commander will proceed with the torture!”

“What I have said is the truth. The ones who abducted me were men dressed in black. Their faces were covered, and I could not see clearly what any of them looked like.”

“Then why did they abduct you? Was it because your collusion with the Celestial Sovereign Sect brought enemies down upon you?”

“I truly do not know.”

“Men!” Zhang Jianhong had barely exchanged a few words before his patience ran out entirely. “Bring out the heavy instruments.”

A’Biao and A’Yang looked at Feng Jiu’er, their eyes filled with urgent anxiety.

The heavy instruments — there was nothing they could do for her there.

“Strip Feng Jiu’er of her garments — begin the torture!” Zhang Jianhong had not a shred of pity for a girl with no one to rely on.

A’Biao and A’Yang looked at Feng Jiu’er but hesitated, unable to bring themselves to move.

If those clothes were removed, everything would be exposed — and even they themselves would…

“Wait!” Feng Jiu’er’s eyes sharpened, and her cold, piercing gaze fell on Zhang Jianhong.

“I have already confessed everything. Why is the heavy torture still necessary? This is clearly extorting a confession through torture!”

“What have you confessed? Have you confessed to colluding with the Celestial Sovereign Sect? Have you told us where the members of the Celestial Sovereign Sect are hiding?”

She had said nothing — which meant everything she had said amounted to nothing at all. Feng Jiu’er watched as these people were truly about to proceed with the instruments. She narrowed her eyes, then abruptly said:

“The one who rescued me that night was not Di Wu Ya of the Celestial Sovereign Sect — it was… someone from the Ninth Prince’s residence.”