Mu Yanming looked at the dazed Bai Ke and said impatiently, "What are you standing there for? Go interrogate that black-clothed man!"
Bai Ke scratched his head awkwardly. "My lord, I've already taken the man to the dungeon and locked him up."
Mu Yanming nodded and walked towards the dungeon.
The dungeon was located in the northwest corner of the prince's mansion. All its structures were designed under Mu Yanming's personal supervision.
Actually, it was more like a water dungeon than an ordinary one, because the floor of each cell was filled with water. Now that winter had come, one could well imagine how it felt to be soaked in the icy water.
So, as soon as Mu Yanming walked in, the black-clothed man locked up by Bai Ke immediately rushed over and clung to the door.
"Regent, spare my life!"
Mu Yanming leaned back in his chair and stared coldly at the pleading black-clothed man.
"Humph, spare your life!"
He glanced at Bai Ke, who immediately received the signal from Mu Yanming and activated the mechanism.
Mu Yanming closed his eyes and listened quietly to the gurgling sound of water. The cell where the black-clothed man was locked began to descend. Slowly, slowly, the water rose above the man's knees, then his thighs, and then reached his abdomen. The man was still descending, and the speed was getting faster.
Mo Qinghuan saw this scene at the door. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
From the moment she stepped in, she had an inexplicable feeling of eeriness rushing straight to her head.
Looking at Mu Yanming's cold expression and the iciness in his eyes, she finally understood that the world's evaluation of Mu Yanming was not unfounded.
As she was thinking like this, the water level had already risen above the black-clothed man's chest and was still gradually rising. It was about to reach his neck.
She quickened her steps, pushed Bai Ke aside, and turned off the mechanism.
"Still not going to say who sent you?"
The black-clothed man's teeth were chattering from the cold. His look at Mo Qinghuan was like a knife, as if he wanted to pierce a hole in her body.
His look made Mu Yanming extremely uncomfortable. He stood up, walked to the torture instrument table, picked up a small knife, and threw it to Bai Ke. "Bai Ke, gouge out his eyes."
Mo Qinghuan looked at Mu Yanming in horror. It was dim in the dungeon, and she couldn't see Mu Yanming's expression clearly. But she could feel the coldness coming from Mu Yanming, which was like being in an ice cave and made her shiver all the way to her feet.
Bai Ke caught the knife and obediently walked towards the black-clothed man.
Mo Qinghuan knew that Mu Yanming was angry because the black-clothed man had hurt her. She wasn't so naive as to ask Mu Yanming to let the man go. But she would rather Mu Yanming give the black-clothed man a quick death.
Rather than turning himself into a cold-blooded demon just to punish the black-clothed man.
When Bai Ke passed by her, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. Bai Ke knew that as a doctor, she couldn't bear to see such a scene.
So he comforted her, "Your Highness the Princess, please go out first."
Mo Qinghuan shook her head and reached out to take the knife from Bai Ke's hand. Bai Ke was afraid that if he didn't give it to her, they might accidentally hurt her during the struggle, so he had to let go.
She took the dagger and walked towards the black-clothed man.
Since she couldn't persuade Mu Yanming, she would do it herself. The black-clothed man's hands, feet, and neck were all chained, so he posed no threat to Mo Qinghuan at the moment.
Bai Ke stepped forward and opened the cell door. Mo Qinghuan smiled and tested the dagger with her hand, whispering, "Well, it's very sharp."
The black-clothed man took two steps back. "What are you going to do!"
The smile on Mo Qinghuan's face was faint. "I wonder if you've ever heard of a torture called Lingchi..."
Hearing this, the black-clothed man's pupils shrank suddenly.
He had naturally heard of Lingchi, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. Just hearing about it was already terrifying, not to mention experiencing it.
Mo Qinghuan squatted down and patted the black-clothed man's face with the knife in her hand. "Don't worry, I won't let you die so soon. I'm a doctor." She paused for a moment.
"I should be able to make three thousand cuts easily, so you have plenty of time to think." Bai Ke added.
The black-clothed man looked at the shining knife in her hand. Recalling how he had been knocked out by this woman before he could react in the carriage just now, he believed Mo Qinghuan's words.
But the water was really too cold, so his teeth were already chattering. "I... I'll talk, but get me out first!"
Mo Qinghuan looked at Bai Ke, who stepped forward to activate the mechanism, and the black-clothed man began to rise slowly.
Mo Qinghuan threw away the knife in her hand. "Speak."
The black-clothed man shivered and looked at Mo Qinghuan. "It was a case of hiring a killer. We don't know the identity of the other party."
Mo Qinghuan laughed when she heard this. "Don't know the identity of the other party? Not only did you suffer so much just now, but do you think I'm a three-year-old child!"
Bai Ke stepped forward and kicked him in the chest. The black-clothed man staggered back a few steps. Fortunately, the chains were holding him, otherwise this kick would have sent him flying.
The black-clothed man spat out a mouthful of blood. "I suddenly realized that since I'm going to die anyway, why don't you just give me a quick death!"
Mo Qinghuan bent down to pick up the knife. "As you said, since you're going to die anyway, and we're idle, why don't we just play with you."
After saying that, she turned to look at Mu Yanming. Mu Yanming probably didn't expect Mo Qinghuan to turn around suddenly and unexpectedly met her eyes.
For a moment, Mo Qinghuan seemed to see a hint of panic in his eyes.
…………
"My lord, Your Highness the Princess, please let this subordinate stay and interrogate him. I will surely pry his mouth open."
Bai Ke leaned against the prison door, his eyes scanning back and forth between the two of them.
He finally understood that with the princess here, the prince would never give any cruel orders.
Rather than wasting time here, it would be better for the two of them to go and rest.
Sure enough, Mu Yanming nodded in satisfaction. He stood up, walked up to Mo Qinghuan, put his long arm around her, and led her out of the dungeon.
After they left the dungeon, there was little sunlight outside. The sky was overcast. Mo Qinghuan broke free from Mu Yanming's arms.
She knew that she was good at bluffing, but she wouldn't really do anything to the man. But when Mu Yanming said something, he meant it.
She really wondered if Bai Ke would gouge out the man's eyes when he stayed.
"Sometimes being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to yourself. Just think, if you hadn't calmly knocked the man out today, would you have become a victim under his knife!"
Mu Yanming followed behind her. When he said this, Mo Qinghuan turned around and smiled faintly. "My lord, I never asked you to be merciful to the enemy. I just hope that you don't turn into a cruel Shura."
Because while you are staring into the abyss, the abyss is also staring at you.