Chapter 72: Even Dying Is Hard

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering echoed through the air.

Li Zhi shivered involuntarily.

He glanced at Luo Tong and Sun Jiali; both looked completely unfazed, as if long accustomed to such punishments.

Sun Jiali said, “Your Highness, there is no need to be afraid. In the Ministry of Justice’s prison, this is the most basic level of torture. It ensures prisoners can neither live nor die in peace—it's the best way to force confessions!”

“You haven’t even asked them anything yet… How are they supposed to confess?” Li Zhi was utterly speechless.

How could such shameless people exist in this world?

“Ahem… Well, we break a few fingers first, then ask questions. This way, they know that even my humble county office is no mere ornament!”

“Now you may question them!” Sun Jiali ordered the torturers to stop.

He then stood up and declared, “Listen well, all of you. This is Chang’an County. I am Sun Jiali, the county magistrate, presiding over your case. Breaking your fingers is a minor punishment—now, I will ask you some questions. Answer honestly, and I’ll guarantee you a comfortable death. But if you dare utter a single lie, I’ll make sure you cannot live nor die in peace!”

The assassins bound to the pillars struggled desperately, terrified of what awaited them.

“You’re probably thinking I’m abusing my authority, right? Well, yes, I am. And who’s to know? In this county office, what I say goes…” Sun Jiali wore a smug expression.

Having received authority from Emperor Taizong himself in the Golden Hall, he wielded the powers of an imperial envoy, free to apply torture as he saw fit.

Yet…

He suddenly remembered that Li Zhi and Cheng Yaojin were watching behind him. These two were the real powers here.

Sun Jiali turned and bowed. “Of course, there is also His Highness the Prince of Jin and General Cheng!”

“In short…”

“If you don’t confess honestly today, your fate will be most miserable!”

Li Zhi said, “Magistrate Sun, their mouths are gagged. How can they confess? Untie them first—I have some questions to ask.”

“Your Highness, if we remove the gags, what if they bite their tongues and kill themselves? I’ve prepared writing slips—they can write whatever they wish to say.” Sun Jiali was indeed a shrewd old fox with years of experience.

He had never handled a major case, but he was well-versed in extreme interrogation techniques.

When dealing with prisoners bent on suicide, extraordinary measures were necessary.

“Give them the slips!”

“Yes!” Sun Jiali ordered the guards to release the prisoners’ right hands and provide them with slips and brushes.

Li Zhi spoke slowly, “Let me ask you—this matter of my departure from the palace was never disclosed to outsiders. How did you learn of it? And in just a few hours, how did you organize such a large-scale assassination?”

“Do you see the slips and brushes before you? Write your answers. Whoever writes first will be spared further suffering. Otherwise, I’ll hand you back to Magistrate Sun, and you’ve all witnessed his methods—they truly make life worse than death!”

Li Zhi’s threats failed to faze the assassins.

They had resigned themselves to death.

Were it not for the rags stuffed in their mouths, they would have bitten through their tongues already. Now, all they lacked was an opportunity to die—how could they possibly compromise?

“Are none of you afraid of death?” Li Zhi snapped coldly.

The dozen or so assassins all feigned death, none making the slightest move to pick up a brush.

Cheng Yaojin snorted, “Since they refuse to speak, let’s use torture!”

“Magistrate Sun, over to you!”

“Gladly!” Sun Jiali chuckled darkly, picking up a whip himself. “It’s been a while since I stretched my limbs. Today, I’ll treat this as exercise!”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The thorn-studded whip lashed across the prisoners, each stroke like being sliced by a blade—pure agony. Salt had been rubbed into the whip, aggravating the pain of their wounds.

“Ahhh…” They trembled violently, gritting their teeth.

“Will you confess or not?”

“Will you speak?”

Sun Jiali lashed them several hundred times in quick succession, leaving himself breathless with exertion.

“That’s all you’ve got? Breaking fingers was more effective,” Li Zhi said in disappointment, sitting back down. “Magistrate, are these the only methods you know?”

“Your Highness, there are many kinds of torture. Which would you like them to try?”

Sun Jiali ordered someone to bring out the ‘bone-piercing needle.’ “Your Highness, observe—this is the bone-piercing needle. It easily penetrates flesh and bone, even piercing right through bone itself!”

“This pain is beyond what most men can bear.”

“Once, a prisoner died under torture because he couldn’t endure the pain… These assassins are extremely stubborn. Only the bone-piercing needle can break them!”

Cheng Yaojin approached, cautiously picking up the needle. “So this is the legendary bone-piercing needle? They say it’s made from special metal, able to pierce iron as easily as mud. Is that true?”

“We’ll know soon enough,” Sun Jiali replied with a grin, then drove the needle into one assassin’s finger. Yet, with the fingers already crushed, the entire arm was numb.

The pain from the needle was barely felt.

“How disappointing!” Li Zhi sighed. “Perhaps try branding irons, or the tiger bench…” Cheng Yaojin rattled off a list of punishments.

But Sun Jiali was convinced the bone-piercing needle was ranked first among the Ministry’s tortures, and its reputation was well earned—it could inflict much more suffering.

“I won’t believe it… Pierce them for me!”

He handed the needle to a guard, who proceeded to jab the assassins at random.

Within minutes, they were riddled like beehives.

Suddenly—

The assassins’ faces pulsed with bulging veins, their complexions flushed, as if pain had reached the extreme. They couldn’t even scream, only endure wave after wave of agony in silence.

“What’s happening?” Cheng Yaojin wondered aloud.

Just moments before, they’d seemed fine. What changed?

“I understand now…” Li Zhi chuckled. “The bone-piercing needle truly brings excruciating pain, but when it’s too intense, the body simply shuts down.”

“Yes, that must be it!” Sun Jiali waved for the guards to stop.

He prepared to question the prisoners again.

“Sir, they’ve all fainted from the pain. What should we do?” a guard reported.

A dozen assassins, all unconscious.

Not a single one remained awake.

Everyone drew a sharp breath.

Cheng Yaojin exclaimed, “This bone-piercing needle truly lives up to its name! With this, we need not fear they won’t confess.”

“Bring cold water and wake them up!”

The guards fetched cold water and splashed it over the prisoners.

But to their disappointment, nothing happened.

Had they all died?

Considering the blood loss, if the assassins died here, the mastermind behind them would remain forever unknown. Sun Jiali hurriedly ordered, “Quick, fetch a physician to bandage their wounds!”

“No need,” Li Zhi said, stopping him with a gentle laugh. “In my presence, even death is a luxury they won’t have!”