“Men, go into the prison and bring those two little beasts of the Ren family here!”
Qin Hai gave a loud shout, and several yamen officers immediately stepped forward, heading deep into the prison.
Ren Zhonghan felt unbearable agony in his heart. Thinking that his sons were about to suffer torture, he was filled with rage, yet there was nothing he could do to escape this situation.
He thought of how he had diligently guarded the border, countless times defeating the invading Northern Di people, protecting the Canglan Dynasty for decades—yet in the end, he could not even protect his own family. What greater sorrow could there be?
For the grown men, it would “only” be a beating; death would just be death—at worst, an early release.
But he still had two beautiful daughters. At this moment, he did not even know what kind of tragic fate they were facing.
“Pfft!”
His blood surged violently. Despite trying again and again to suppress it, he still could not control it and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Qin Hai merely glanced at him coldly, then leisurely picked up his wine cup and took a satisfied sip.
“Clatter… clatter…”
With the sound of iron chains dragging across the ground, several figures soon appeared at the doorway.
“Father!”
“Father! Are you alright?”
Ren Yizhen and Ren Yinuo saw their father beaten into a bloodied, mangled state and could not help but cry out. Both rushed toward Ren Zhonghan.
“Ah!”
A scream rang out—Ren Yizhen was struck on the back with a baton and stumbled to the ground.
The brothers were chained together; when one fell, Ren Yinuo could no longer stand either and collapsed with him.
The surrounding yamen officers laughed cruelly as they continuously struck them with batons.
“You beasts, stop it!”
Seeing his sons being beaten like this, Ren Zhonghan felt as though his heart were being torn apart and roared desperately.
“Beat them! Beat them to death! Kill these two little brats today!”
Qin Hai jumped up, wearing a smug, vile expression as he laughed triumphantly.
“Hahaha! Ren Zhonghan, if you had been sensible like your brother and confessed earlier, you wouldn’t have had to suffer such torture!”
“I, Ren Zhonghan, am innocent! Our Ren family is innocent!”
Ren Zhonghan’s eyes bulged with fury as he glared at Qin Hai. If not for the heavy iron chains binding him, he would have already rushed forward and torn out that man’s throat.
“Heh. Innocent? Did you not know? Your dear brother has already confessed—he admitted that you, as his elder brother, are indeed in contact with the Northern Di.”
Qin Hai looked at the bloodied man with disdain.
“Nonsense! He would never do such a thing! This is clearly a false accusation!”
Ren Zhonghan was utterly enraged and refused to believe that his own brother would betray him.
“There’s nothing more to say to a prisoner like you. If you want to complain, go to the underworld and report to your ancestors.”
For some reason, Qin Hai suddenly felt a chill on his scalp, as if some beast were watching him, sending a creeping unease through him.
“No need to hold back anymore. The higher-ups have ordered it—tonight, beat these two brats half to death. Tomorrow, when they are taken on the road, others will be waiting for them.”
Feeling uneasy, Qin Hai no longer wished to stay in this prison, where many had died before—resentful spirits like the Ren family’s were said to be countless.
He instructed the yamen officer beside him to carry out the order, then prepared to return home to rest.
Heh—he had recently taken in a new concubine, both charming and seductive, and he longed to stay in her room every night.
Thinking of this, he stepped out of the torture chamber.
“Ah!”
A short, piercing scream suddenly echoed through the air.
“What happened?”
The yamen officers tightened their whips and looked fearfully toward the outside of the chamber.
“That voice… it sounds like Lord Qin…”
One officer swallowed nervously, trembling slightly.
“Go… go take a look…”
Another pushed the man beside him.
“I don’t dare. Let’s all go together.”
The man shrank back, shaking his head like a drum.
Just as they hesitated, a figure suddenly flashed at the doorway, cutting off their words.
“Heh. Why make it so troublesome? I can come in myself.”
The newcomer was Ren Jingshu. She had infiltrated the prison, knocked out the guards, and heard the sound of whipping—saving her the trouble of searching.
As she reached outside, she ran into Qin Hai leaving the room. Her eyes instantly reddened. Without hesitation, she stabbed straight into his chest.
In her original memories, it was this sly, rat-faced man who had caused her elder brother to be beaten to death.
Now, seeing her enemy before her, her hatred surged uncontrollably.
“You… who are you? How dare you break into the prison?”
A yamen officer rubbed his eyes and saw a beautiful woman standing at the doorway. He relaxed slightly, assuming she had been let in through some bribe.
He waved his hand carelessly and shouted:
“Do you even know where this is? You think you can just come in and out? Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to leave?”
“I’m not afraid.”
Ren Jingshu smiled sweetly, but her eyes grew even colder.
“Are you afraid? What if you can’t leave either?”
Ren Zhonghan strained to see through his bloodied eyes, but the wound on his forehead caused blood to blur his vision.
In his heart, he prayed desperately to the ancestors of the Ren family.
Please, do not let it be his daughter. If she came too, everything would truly be doomed.
“Sis—”
Ren Yinuo’s face lit up in surprise as he started to call out, but Ren Yizhen immediately lunged over and covered his mouth tightly.
“Shh! Don’t shout…”
Enduring the pain, Ren Yizhen whispered into his brother’s ear. Seeing that Ren Yinuo was nearly suffocating, he finally let go and lay back down.
But his eyes secretly looked toward Ren Jingshu.
His sister still looked clean and unharmed—she hadn’t suffered any torture.