Chapter 609 - 263: Clouded Leopard Book?
Chapter 609: Chapter 263: Clouded Leopard Book?
It seemed the Jianghu’s assessment of the Human World Demon God was rather one-sided.
Gongyang Shang struggled for what felt like an eternity before realizing it was all pointless. Only then did terror dawn on him.
"You... What did you do to me?"
"A dead man walking has no need to know that much."
Fang Shuwen said, his brow furrowed:
"First, let’s talk about you. Who were you fighting before this?"
Gongyang Shang’s face darkened at his words. He was about to say something defiant, along the lines of ’Kill me or cut me to pieces, do as you will,’ to make his position clear.
But Fang Shuwen had already drawn forth A Line and tapped it against his body.
’It’s been so long since I’ve had to interrogate someone, I’ve almost forgotten the routine.’
While he was at it, he sealed Gongyang Shang’s Mute Acupoint, then said to Zuo Xuan and the others:
"Keep the ship moving. We can ignore him for now."
Zuo Xuan, Zuo Hong, and the others had witnessed Fang Shuwen’s methods before. They knew it was only a matter of time before Gongyang Shang talked, so they went back to their duties.
Although Xia Weiyuan didn’t understand what was happening, she was a keen observer.
She noticed that while Gongyang Shang couldn’t speak, the subtle signs on his body were clear.
His skin was trembling, veins bulged on his forehead, and his once clear eyes were now bloodshot.
It was as if he were immersed in immense pain.
Time passed, but his agony did not diminish in the slightest.
It went on like this for the better part of an hour. The pain showed no signs of lessening; on the contrary, his eyes had turned completely crimson.
It looked as if tears of blood might flow out at any moment.
Fang Shuwen had gone into the cabin, had a cup of tea, and chatted with Luo Shuqing for a while. When he came back out, he saw Xia Weiyuan still crouching on the deck, observing.
He said with a smile:
"Have you figured anything out?"
Xia Weiyuan nodded subconsciously. When she realized who was asking, her heart jumped. ’If I keep observing like this, will he suspect me of trying to uncover his methods?’
She immediately shook her head.
Fang Shuwen found this rather amusing:
"Miss Xia, you’re nodding and then shaking your head. Have you figured something out or not?"
"I... I haven’t figured out much."
Xia Weiyuan said cautiously:
"I just feel that your touch just now... it must be... a very profound martial art, one that can inflict immense pain."
"Go on."
Fang Shuwen nodded.
Seeing no sign of displeasure on his face, Xia Weiyuan continued:
"The profound part is that despite the obvious intensity of the pain, the physical damage to his body is extremely minimal... or even... even non-existent..."
"And you say you haven’t figured anything out?"
Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow slightly, then narrowed his eyes.
SWOOSH! Xia Weiyuan shot back more than ten feet, watching Fang Shuwen warily.
Then Fang Shuwen burst out laughing:
"Are you really that afraid of me?"
"..."
Xia Weiyuan was a little embarrassed. She wanted to force herself to say she wasn’t afraid.
But it felt too dishonest. Her actions just now had already spoken volumes.
So she could only nod:
"Afraid...
"Who in all the world isn’t afraid of you, Fang Shuwen?"
Fang Shuwen sighed.
"I may have said it a thousand times, but I must still clear my name. I am truly not a cruel or bloodthirsty man, so there’s no need to be so afraid.
"You’re right. The technique I used is one I’ve tentatively named A Line.
"I’ve been giving it some more thought recently on my travels.
"So I integrated a martial art meant for healing and saving people into this method of torture.
"After my True Qi passes through him, his entire body is stimulated to produce excruciating pain, as if he’s been thrown into Eternal Hell to suffer ten thousand tortures.
"But the source of that True Qi is meant for healing.
"Therefore, although the pain he feels is immense, the actual physical damage is nearly non-existent."
Xia Weiyuan was secretly dumbfounded.
’This martial art Fang Shuwen created is purely for torture.’
Logically, Xia Weiyuan should have found him cruel.
But for some reason, listening to his calm explanation, she actually felt that Fang Shuwen might really be as he said—not a cruel and bloodthirsty man.
It was as if he had been forced by circumstances to create such a cruel martial art.
The moment that thought surfaced, however, Xia Weiyuan felt like her brain must be broken.
’Otherwise, how could I possibly have such a bizarre idea?’
She was about to say something more when she saw Fang Shuwen’s gaze shift away from her and toward Gongyang Shang.
’Was everything he just said simply an explanation for my benefit?’
’How... thoughtful of him...’
As Xia Weiyuan felt her mind going haywire, these strange thoughts kept bubbling up.
Fang Shuwen, meanwhile, flicked his finger to release A Line and also unsealed Gongyang Shang’s Mute Acupoint.
The crimson in his eyes hadn’t faded, but Gongyang Shang’s chest heaved violently as he gasped for air.
But he was lying face down on the deck, which made breathing difficult and only added to his torment.
Fang Shuwen said softly:
"To be honest, I don’t enjoy using such methods on people. Unfortunately, you lot talk far too much nonsense.
"I don’t need to know much. Just tell me what I want to know, and I’ll give you a quick death.
"First question: who were you fighting earlier?
"Second: why did you want to kill the people from Wuyan Island?
"Third: what kind of inescapable trap has been prepared on Wuxia Island?
"Fourth: what exactly are the Four Saints of the East Sea plotting?
"Answer these four questions first. If your answers satisfy me, I’ll give you a quick death."