WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 38 Disclosure

They returned to Baoshen Sanren, as it was still the middle of the night. She did not come to see them then, instead, she returned in the morning.

After breakfast, Wei Ying told her about the events of the previous evening.

"So we think it's imperative that we go and warn Jin Ling first." Wei Ying added.

"So do I. Plus, you are aware that these shady people have orphanages in all the cities? Why don't you visit the one in JinLinTai and see if there's anything different?" Baoshen Sanren suggested.

"That's a good idea. Hopefully we might have beaten them to it. And they might not recognize us, especially if we go in the night." Wei Ying went to check on the little boy.

"He's actually much better." His grandmother said, watching him.

"Have you been able to figure out exactly what they're doing to these children?" Wei Ying asked her.

"From what I can tell, their cores can survive whatever they're doing, albeit rendering them unusable for a short time. If you can, try to find out why they're doing it. It might help us protect these young ones better."

Wei Ying hugged her. "Thank you, Grandmother. We will try our best."

They left soon after.

*****

Jin Ling was waiting for them; Lan Zhan had sent a butterfly beforehand. They were allowed to enter the private buildings behind the main hall.

Jin Ling bowed to greet them both before hugging his Uncle Wei.

"What was so urgent, Uncle?" He asked, feeling slightly better, now that they were here.

There was that oddly comforting feeling he associated with his mother, manifested in person by this uncle.

"We have a feeling something strange is going on with all the orphanages." Wei Ying explained fully. "If we can go tonight and investigate properly, we might get the answers to a lot of questions."

"I have the blueprints of the one in JinLinTai." Jin Ling replied, smiling.

"No way!" Wei Ying exclaimed, excitedly. "Lan Zhan! We might be able to find the way to the basement."

The bell in the watchtower began ringing loudly. They looked at each other, confused. Jin Ling grabbed his sword first and ran out, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan following seconds behind him.

"That's a breach in security." Jin Ling shouted, running towards the treasury.

Fierce fighting greeted them. Bichen was unsheathed and Lan Zhan joined the fray. At least twelve opponents dressed from head to toe in black, faces obscured by masks, were fighting against the guards, easily overpowering them. They had not counted on Lan Zhan's specialist skills, or the concentrated attack of the young leader.

Wei Ying stood to the side, watching, and letting the other two do all the fighting, when a lone attacker decided to try his luck.

Wei Ying had only Chenqing, so he was able to defend himself quite well, until Lan Zhan noticed and disposed of the man, a little too efficiently, Wei Ying thought, with a smile.

Soon, the pile of bodies grew, until one was left alive. Jin Ling held him by the throat.

"What do you want?" His voice seemed quiet, but Wei Ying could tell he was only minutes away from losing it.

"I'll never tell you!" He shouted.

Wei Ying hurled himself on top of the man, preventing him from putting the ring on his finger in his mouth. More guards turned up, surrounding them. Wei Ying took the ring off his finger before standing up.

"Wei Ying. Good." Lan Zhan told him, smiling broadly, which for him was a slight turning up of the corner of his mouth.

Wei Ying beamed at him, disposing of the ring in his pouch. Healer Fei would be so happy.

"Take him to the dungeon and search him." Jin Ling told the guards.

They dragged him away.

"We will need to talk to him as soon as possible, too." Wei Ying told his nephew.

"Me first." Jin Ling said, steel in his voice. "This is the third time they've tried to break in. You'd think they would have learned their lesson by now."

"Not unless what they want is so important to them that they would risk anything." Wei Ying replied.

"One way or another, I'm going to find out." Jin Ling went in the same direction as the guards.

"Can we come now?" Wei Ying called out.

"Yes, that's fine." Jin Ling put an arm on his shoulder. "I haven't actually interrogated anyone before."

"Oh, that's the easy part!" Wei Ying told him. "The tricky part is being able to tell the lies from the truth." He smiled at him. "I'm very good at spotting a liar."

The dungeon in Koi Tower was easily accessible, only one flight of stairs led to the dark cells with no windows. The man was tied to a chair as ordered.

Jin Ling pulled off his hat so his face was clearly visible. Wei Ying noted the pale colouring, sweat beading on his forehead and the shaking legs. Maybe they weren't trained for withstanding torture or techniques for extracting information. If they relied on the ricin pills too much, then this might be easy.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" Jin Ling fired at him.

Of course, the man remained tight lipped.

Half an hour if questioning yielded no answers. Even Jin Ling was showing signs of strain.

Wei Ying whispered something in his ear; after he understood, he went to speak with guard outside. Minutes later, a table was wheeled into the room, setting it before the tied up man. His eyes widened when he saw the vast array of implements resting on it. Some had never been cleaned, so dried brown marks laced the edges.

"I've tried to be nice to you." Jin Ling began. "But I don't have that sort of time now. Pick one."

The man stared at him, becoming even paler.

Wei Ying went up to the table, masking a grin. "I like this one." He handed a pair of scissors to Jin Ling.

Jin Ling grasped the blades, watching the man, who seemed to shake even more. Jin Ling took his little finger between his thumb and forefinger.

"I don't think you need this one." He placed it between the blades, and was just about to strike, when the man screamed.