The other guards couldn’t help but sneer at the question, and the long-faced young man actually laughed sarcastically.
The captain shook his head. Sighing, he explained, “Some people can be soulsearched. But once your cultivation base reaches a certain level, and your soul fuses with your fleshly body, you can use all sorts of methods to defend against soulsearches. At that point, forcing a soulsearch won’t lead to good results.”
Raising his voice to reach all the guards, he said, “We don’t even have two days left now. If we don't get the answer soon, then Squad 10 is going to come along and take over.”
Then he looked back at Bai Xiaochun and continued his explanation. “The prisoners here are all powerful and important people. Most of them have secrets, and many of them were rich. According to the rules of Devil Penitentiary, whichever squad can pry the information out of them can benefit from what they learn. A split has to be given to the higher-ups, but the rest can be divided among the squad.”
Now Bai Xiaochun understood the situation much better. The guards took a short break, and then resumed interrogating Old Devil Zhou. However, as the third day neared, they still weren’t able to get a single word out of him, and finally reached the point of giving up.
Smiling bitterly, the captain said, “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Old Devil Zhou’s treasure trove must be destined to go to one of the other squads.”
With that, he prepared to lead Bai Xiaochun and the other dejected guards away. However, as he gave one final look to Old Devil Zhou, the man suddenly spat a blood-infused gob of spittle out of his mouth and then began laughing maniacally. From the way he was looking at the guards of Squad 9, he really seemed like he wanted to eat them.
“People always talk about how Devil Penitentiary is a brutal place!” he laughed. “They say nobody can keep their mouths shut in here. But things have been easy so far!”
His words got the guards even angrier than before, but there was nothing they could do.
“Let’s go,” the captain said through gritted teeth, turning to leave.
However, it was at that point that Bai Xiaochun hesitantly said, “Captain, can I have a try? I think I might be able to get him to talk....”
Actually, he had been itching to have a shot for the entire past day.
“You?” Zhao Feng said with a cold laugh. He was of the opinion that if he, the squad’s inquisitor, couldn’t pry Old Devil Zhou’s mouth open, and the inquisitors of the other eight squads couldn’t either, then there was no way this newcomer could. Obviously, he was feeling a bit too cocky for his own good. He didn’t do anything to cover up his disdain and scorn, as if he were trying to vent his frustration at Old Devil Zhou’s stubbornness onto Bai Xiaochun.
The other guards frowned. They all knew that Bai Hao was a vicious killer, but killing and torture were two different things. Interrogating people required a level of control that ordinary cultivators often lacked.
Therefore, no matter how confident Bai Hao claimed to be, they wouldn’t be so easily persuaded.
“Not even Inquisitor Zhao Feng could get any information out of Old Devil Zhou. This Bai Hao... really overestimates himself. Interrogation is an art, not something that any random person can do.”
“He might have a reputation for being vicious, but in Devil Penitentiary, everybody has that kind of reputation!”
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t too happy at the things the guards were muttering. After all, he hadn’t boasted or anything! Although he wasn’t supremely confident, he was at least confident enough to give a try.
The captain frowned in thought. Considering that Bai Xiaochun was now a member of Squad 9, letting him experience first-hand how difficult interrogation was would probably be a good thing.
“Alright, Bai Hao. If you want to give it a shot, be my guest!”
Bai Xiaochun immediately stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled up to Old Devil Zhou’s cell. Behind him, the other guards looked on with knowing smiles as they waited for him to fail in his attempt.
“Bai Hao has a reputation for being vicious, but he doesn’t look that scary to me. He probably just has a big mouth.”
“Supposedly he has a lot of patience, but it doesn’t look like it to me.”
Zhao Feng looked especially scornful as he crossed his arms and looked on with cold eyes. “Hmph. If I, Zhao Feng, can’t get this guy to talk, then what makes him think he can?!”
As everyone stood by waiting for him to fail, Bai Xiaochun looked into the cell at Old Devil Zhou, who looked back at him with yellowish teeth and gluttonous eyes.
“Fair skin,” Old Devil Zhou said, “very tender-looking... My three favorite things to eat are children, elegant women, and beautiful men.... This kid is a perfect example of the third type.” With that, he began to cackle madly.
“Makes me think of a soul cultivator I ate ten years ago. Looked similar to this, very pure and fair. I ate him and brutalized him at the same time! Wonderful flavor. Simply delicious!” Old Devil Zhou licked his lips and looked at Bai Xiaochun with an intensely malevolent gaze.
His words coupled with his expression made him look profoundly sinister, and caused the expression on the faces of the guards to turn even grimmer.
As Old Devil Zhou’s laughter rang out, Bai Xiaochun gasped. He couldn’t help but visualize some of the things the man had just said, and realized that he was definitely vicious beyond compare. He even stopped walking for a moment.
Seeing that Bai Xiaochun was hesitating, Old Devil Zhou chuckled, and then went on with more detailed descriptions. “I ate that fancy little soul cultivator one bite at a time, starting with his nose. After that I went on to his eyes....”
By this point, Bai Xiaochun’s heart was pounding in his chest. Obviously, this Old Devil Zhou was a complete monster. That, coupled with the fact that interrogation really didn’t suit him, made him begin to think about giving up. Old Devil Zhou could tell what he was thinking, and flung himself against the eye-holes of the skull that made the window, where he let out a powerful bellow.
Although it wasn’t as loud as thunder, when coupled with the things he had just been saying, it was startling enough that Bai Xiaochun jumped backward in fear.
“Scared, kid? Come, come, let me have a taste of you!” Old Devil Zhou then went on to laugh maniacally. Cleary, he was having a lot of fun playing around with this fair, pure young man.
At this point, Bai Xiaochun got angry. After all, he was in the great circle of the Gold Core stage; to be startled by this old guy was a real humiliation. Glaring, he said, “Alright, old man, you brought this upon yourself!” Looking very serious, he turned to the captain and said, “Captain, please open the door of the cell!”
The captain hesitated for a moment, but then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, an opening appeared in the huge skull, and before Old Devil Zhou could jump out, Bai Xiaochun was inside.
He immediately waved his hand, causing a black smoke to spring out, powered by his mask, which instantly filled the skull and made it impossible for anyone to see what was happening.
The guards of Squad 9 were a bit surprised, and hurried forward cautiously.
“What is he doing?”
“He’s making it so we can’t see?”
Zhao Feng laughed coldly and said, “Trying to pull a fast one, huh?!”
Inside the cell, Old Devil Zhou was shocked to find Bai Xiaochun right there in front of him. However, he quickly licked his lips and smiled, revealing yellow teeth. Saliva even began to flow down his chin.