SBTW 8

 Chapter 8: Giving the Ancients a Lesson in Modern Criminal Psychology and Nervous Exhaustion

The underground interrogation cells of the Court of Judicial Review never saw the light of day. The walls were damp and cold, various instruments of torture hung from iron racks, and an unwashable stench of blood lingered in the air, causing anyone who stepped inside to instinctively knit their brows.

Huangfu Ye sat in a pristine armchair.

Beside him sat the LED solar desk lamp Tian Qiqi had brought, casting a soft white glow over the case files. It clashed sharply with the cold, damp, dreary prison, yet inexplicably stripped the place of its suffocating oppressiveness.

Tian Qiqi stood before the torture rack, wearing her black-and-white athletic outfit with the red-and-black high-decibel megaphone propped on her shoulder. Her expression was as serious as if she were about to host a professional lecture.

Bound to the torture rack was the second-in-command of the Du family treason case.

This man had undergone elite secret-agent training and possessed a mouth as stubborn as iron. After being interrogated through several rounds by the Court of Judicial Review last night, he still refused to cough up the network roster of his superiors.

"Lord Huangfu," Tian Qiqi turned back to look at Huangfu Ye. "I heard this guy is really tough?"

Huangfu Ye gave a faint, quiet hum. "Ordinary punishments are useless on him."

Thoughtfully, Tian Qiqi gazed at the prisoner tied to the chair. A moment later, she lowered her head and patted the megaphone in her hands, her smile remaining bright and dazzling—though what she said next made the bailiffs present instinctively feel a chill crawl up their spines.

"Then let's skip the ordinary methods." She gave the megaphone a little shake. "Physical torture is way too dated. We're pivoting to a psychological pressure route."

Though the people of the Court of Judicial Review had no idea what "psychological pressure" meant, they had witnessed the terrifying power of this megaphone at noon. Without waiting for Tian Qiqi to elaborate, every single bailiff very expertly jammed cotton balls into their ears.

Even Huangfu Ye fell silent for a moment before raising a hand to plug a small wad of cotton into his ear.

Tian Qiqi nodded in satisfaction.

Aiming the horn of the megaphone at the wall right next to the prisoner—resisting the urge to blast it directly against his eardrum—she simply dialed the volume and clicked on the looping alarm mode.

[BEEP—!]

[COURT OF JUDICIAL REVIEW HANDLING A CASE. CONFESSION BRINGS LENIENCY.]

[RESISTANCE BRINGS SEVERITY. FOUT UP EVERY DETAIL.]

The shrill alarm siren, mixed with the repetitive shouting, echoed back and forth inside the enclosed interrogation room over and over again.

You couldn't say the sound was physically injurious, but it was intensely maddening. At first, the prisoner had sneered and closed his eyes, striking a martyr-like pose. But as time slowly ticked by, his brow began to twitch uncontrollably, veins bulged along his temples, and his tightly shut eyes screwed together even more fiercely.

After another stretch of time, he finally broke, unable to bear it a moment longer. He opened his eyes and roared through gritted teeth, "Turn it off!"

Tian Qiqi sat nearby as if she hadn't heard a thing, leisurely taking a sip of her iced latte and casually picking up a piece of osmanthus cake to hand to Huangfu Ye.

"Don't rush." Watching the prisoner's increasingly hideous complexion, she smiled with absolute composure. "His psychological defense line is currently loosening."

Huangfu Ye accepted the osmanthus cake, his gaze landing on her calm, collected profile as a deeply subtle sensation blossomed in his chest.

This girl might look lively and chaotic, but when it came down to doing business, she understood boundaries better than anyone else.

She didn't use blood or physical torture, yet she could slowly grind away a person's hardest defenses piece by piece.

Roughly a quarter of an hour later, the prisoner finally collapsed entirely. He snapped his head up and yelled at the top of his lungs, "I'll confess! Turn that thing off! I'll confess everything!"

At those words, Tian Qiqi immediately shut off the megaphone. The moment that obnoxious alarm finally vanished, the entire interrogation room plunged into a profound silence, leaving everyone present with the strange illusion that they had just returned to the mortal realm. She turned to Huangfu Ye and made a polite, smiling gesture of invitation. "Lord Huangfu, I'll leave the rest to you."

Huangfu Ye set down his teacup, the very last trace of indulgence vanishing from the depths of his eyes. The Chief Minister who had just been keeping her company moments ago recovered his habitual chill and majesty the instant he stood up.

"Take down the deposition," he said, his voice dropping low as his gaze fixed upon the prisoner. "Not a single word missed."

An hour later, the Du family treason case was finally thoroughly resolved.

Tian Qiqi stretched lazily, preparing to head back to the courtyard to rest. Huangfu Ye originally intended to escort her personally, but she just smiled and waved him off.

"You handle your official business first; I'm going to go check on Little Bean."

Watching her skillfully hoist her backpack, Huangfu Ye looked as though he wanted to say something more, but it ultimately melted into a single, low injunction. "Don't wander too far."

Turning back, Tian Qiqi flashed him a wave, her smile as bright as the afternoon sun. "Got it, My Lord."

The courtyard of the Court of Judicial Review.

The small, formerly abandoned side room had already been reinforced with cement by Tian Qiqi. Although it looked jarringly out of place against the surrounding traditional ancient architecture, it was unexpectedly sturdy.

Little Bean had changed into a clean, neatly washed little bailiff uniform.

The clothes were still a bit oversized for him, with the cuffs dragging a fraction too long, but he wore them with immense care. He was currently squatting by the doorway, dutifully guarding the manual water pump and trenching shovel Tian Qiqi had left behind.

The instant he spotted her, Little Bean's eyes lit up. "Big Sister!" He charged over like a little cannonball, locking his arms around Tian Qiqi's leg.

Tian Qiqi was nearly knocked back half a step, but she smiled nonetheless, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Little Bean, you look sharp in this outfit."

Lifting his face, Little Bean radiated uncontrollable joy. "Big Sister, when you suddenly disappeared yesterday, I was really scared. This morning, those bad guys stuck in the wall were hauled away by the Court of Judicial Review people. I heard they had to chisel for ages just to get them out."

He chattered away excitedly, using both hands and feet to reenact the scene. Before he could finish, however, his stomach let out an untimely growl.

As Tian Qiqi looked down at him, Little Bean's ears instantly flared bright red, and he looked as though he wanted nothing more than to bury his head inside his collar. Unable to hold back a chuckle, she directly tugged him into the room. "If you're hungry, just say it. Big Sis brought rations today."

With that, she unzipped her bulging pink hiking pack, first hauling out an entire box of I-Mei puffs, followed by a tub of high-calcium milk tablets.

Little Bean had never witnessed so many novel items in his life. His eyes widened into saucers, darting back and forth between the snacks and Tian Qiqi, his mouth hanging half-open in a forgotten gap.

Tearing open a package of puffs, Tian Qiqi popped one straight into his hand. "Taste it. Immortal realm snacks—they're delicious."

Carefully taking a bite, Little Bean froze as the crisp outer shell cracked and the sweet, milky filling melted across his tongue.

His dark, glossy eyes slowly widened as if he had just tasted an unimaginable treasure.

"Big Sister..." he mumbled around the puff, his voice trembling slightly. "What kind of immortal pastry is this?"

Watching his expression, Tian Qiqi felt her heart soften. She pushed the entire pack of puffs right in front of him. "Eat as much as you like if you enjoy it. And these milk tablets—eat two a day and slowly build your strength back up."

Clutching the pack of puffs tightly to his chest, Little Bean felt his eye sockets sting. He looked as though he wanted to drop to his knees in gratitude, but before his legs could even bend, Tian Qiqi's hand flashed out to catch him firmly by the collar. "No kneeling."

Sniffling hard, Little Bean could only nod vigorously. After a long moment, he spoke in a muffled voice, "Big Sister, if anyone ever tries to bully you in the future, I'll definitely back you up."

Amused by his declaration, Tian Qiqi gave him a light tap on the forehead. "You worry about fattening yourself up first."

While the two of them chatted inside the room, several secret guards perched upon the rooftop absorbed every bit of the scene. One of them stared fixedly at the golden, crispy little pastry in Little Bean's hand, feeling the scent drift right under his nose while his throat unconsciously swallowed.

That thing looked... genuinely delicious.

Right at that moment, the door was softly pushed open from the outside.

Huangfu Ye stepped inside wearing his ink-black official robes. The chill clinging to him hadn't completely dissipated, yet when his eyes caught the sight of the two of them sitting together sharing snacks, his gaze unconsciously softened.

"Qiqi," he walked up beside her, naturally taking the empty coffee cup from her hand.

Turning back to look at him, Tian Qiqi flashed a completely unguarded smile. "Done with your work?"

Huangfu Ye emitted a low hum in response.

Clutching his puffs, Little Bean sat nearby, glancing from Tian Qiqi to Huangfu Ye, suddenly feeling that this originally icy, forbidding Court of Judicial Review wasn't quite so terrifying after all.

Outside the window, sunlight filtered through, illuminating the reinforced wall.

The Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the modern e-commerce boss lady, and a little beggar munching on a puff.

Within the courtyard of this ancient and chilling yamen, a tiny touch of warmth belonging to a home was quietly taking root.

--