Chapter 64: Forcing a Confession

When Baili Qingshan returned to the Zhen family estate with that unfortunate spy, it was just before dawn.
Zhen Meng sat alone in the courtyard, gazing at the slightly pale eastern sky that revealed a hint of fish belly white. He sipped on a glass of low-quality yellow wine. The wine tasted sour and lacked the rich aftertaste, but he didn't mind. He had been drinking this less than two-ounce glass of yellow wine since late at night until the break of dawn, until his hair was dampened by the morning dew, and still, there remained a small amount in the cup.
Since obtaining the cheat account, so many things have happened - both good and bad - and even calamities that led to the destruction of families. However, in the eyes of everyone, Zhen Meng has always maintained an air of confidence and stability, as if he possess the ultimate wisdom. This has brought a sense of peace to everyone's hearts. It can be said that Zhen Meng has subtly become the fulcrum of this whole family. Even Zhen Debang, the head of the family, is in name only, as he always seeks Zhen Meng's opinion on every matter, big or small.
Zhen Debang not only wasn't disappointed by this, but rather enjoyed it. Finally, he could stop using his brain and just be a crude man. Isn't that delightful?
But for Zhen Meng, his father becoming the laid-back shopkeeper meant that the heavy burden naturally fell on his shoulders. Since the day he transmigrated to this world, he had always lived with an attitude of "it's none of my business." The occasional inventions and creations were only meant to make his own life more comfortable. Please note that "@" is not a commonly used symbol for emphasis or highlighting in English. I have included it here as per your request, but it may appear strange to native English speakers.
Despite his later promotion, Dad became the top official's second-generation in the dynasty deservedly. However, he was not complacent about it, but instead was filled with a inexplicable unease deep down. According to the many time-travel novels I've read in my past life, the script I've got is clearly for a villainous role!
No matter how much others criticize or doubt, deep down in his heart, he still believes that the most impressive scene he has ever witnessed in his previous life is a brawl among over twenty graduates from two culinary schools who also happened to be technical school students.
The burden is now on his shoulders, and he has no choice but to take it on. In order to not disappoint his entire family, he can only put on a brave face and tackle the challenges head-on.
However, nobody knows that beneath his calm exterior, his heart is racing with fear. He is afraid of going against the world, afraid that the people around him will suffer because of his wrong decision, and even more afraid that someone might die because of him.
Zhen Meng looked at the faintly glowing East, taking a deep breath mixed with a slightly sour wine aroma, his gaze gradually regaining focus. Since he had already shouldered this burden, he couldn't abandon it halfway before the family could truly have a stable life.
He finished the remaining muddy wine in his cup, his eyes sparkling even brighter. He stood up gracefully, preparing to sing a couple of lines from "Ding Jun Mountain" with great vigor. Before he could even open his mouth, two figures suddenly jumped down from the top of the wall, startling him.
Zhen Meng took a closer look and realized it was Baili Qingshan accompanied by a stranger dressed in black. It seemed that they were planning to attack the intelligence spies of Zhaihua Tower tonight.
At this moment, this unfortunate child's cultivation was sealed by Baili Qingshan, and his blood and qi were also sealed to prevent him from being poisoned and dying on the way back.
Zhen Meng curiously circled around the secret spy of the Flower Picking Tower, who was dressed in all black. He exclaimed in amazement, "I have seen foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes before, but it's the first time I have seen someone with purple lips. If it wasn't for their lips being different from ordinary people, I would have mistaken them for our fellow citizens of the Great Wu Dynasty!"
The spy couldn't speak, so he could only look at Zhen Meng with a resentful and sorrowful expression.

On the side, Baili Qingshan explained the details of the incident to Zhen Meng with a serious expression. As Zhen Meng listened, his face became increasingly strange.
A strong sense of the warrior Yiyuan and the castle of the Demon King filled the air. The translation of the Chinese text is as follows:
Are you sure you don't have a wizard companion who can turn people's noses into pig noses?
Are you sure your revered Buddha, whom you have worshipped since childhood, isn't someone who enjoys forgetting words and making self-deprecating jokes?
As the sky gradually brightened, the family members started waking up one by one. They all became curious and gathered around the person dressed as a villain, who was wearing all black clothes, in the courtyard. A few eccentric maids even started discussing the code name of the spy's lipstick shade. Translation: "
The spy was full of despair and regretted his decision to seek a chance for survival. He was now being coerced by someone named Baili Qingshan.
Finally, Zhen Meng rescued him from the crowd, as if he were holding a little chick in his hand.
Drag him to the firewood room, Zhen Meng closes the door, and then Bai Li Qingshan feeds him the antidote. Zhen Meng sits opposite to him, staring at him for a long time.
It wasn't until the spy started feeling uneasy under the intense gaze that Zhen Meng spoke, saying, "Let me introduce myself, I am Zhen Meng."
The spy remained silent.
Zhen Meng continued, "I know that you are a spy from the Desolate Flower Pavilion. Although I'm not sure of your specific code name, I can roughly guess your level."
The spy glanced at Zhen Meng and remained silent.
Zhen Meng didn't mind and continued, "As for your name, who is your superior, the headquarters' location, and your internal means of communication, I'm not interested in any of that. I won't delude myself into thinking I can extract any secrets from your mouth. After all, the Zhaihua Tower has been passed down for two hundred years. If it were so easy for me to find leads, it would only show how incompetent the Surveillance Department is, wouldn't it? By the way, you should be familiar with the Surveillance Department, right?"
The spy finally reacted, curling his lips into a scornful smile.
Zhen Meng chuckled, "It seems that you also look down on the Supervisory Bureau. To be honest, I don't have much respect for them either. They couldn't find a shred of evidence or any leads when my father was clearly framed. Even a fool could see the tricks involved. And on the day of my wedding, His Majesty was poisoned in my house, everyone could tell it was another scheme against my family, but the Supervisory Bureau couldn't find a damn thing. Tell me, you also work in intelligence, can you justify their trust from the Emperor? Can they handle the heavy responsibility of supervising the world?"
The spy sneered and finally spoke, "In the eyes of the Blossom Pavilion, your so-called supervisory department of the imperial court is like children playing house. How dare they call their level of work intelligence? It's truly embarrassing for the term 'intelligence'!"
Zhenmeng clapped his hands in agreement and said, "Exactly! A bunch of fools running around like headless flies, they could search for ten years and still not find a single useful clue. Hey, speaking of which, how is it that you guys at Zhai Hua Lou manage to have such meticulous and infiltrative intelligence work?" Reply: We have a team of highly skilled agents who are trained to gather information with utmost precision. With their expertise and dedication, we are able to gather detailed and comprehensive intelligence from various sources.
There was a trace of arrogance in the spy's eyes: "Hmph, the legacy of Zhaihua Tower has been passed down for over two hundred years. Our foundation is much deeper than you can imagine. Zhaihua Tower is divided into eight major sectors based on different roles..."
The spy abruptly stopped speaking as he suddenly realized that this cunning little face was truly treacherous and cunning. He deliberately revealed his dissatisfaction with the Surveillance Bureau to evoke empathy and nearly disclosed the confidential intelligence of the Flower Pavilion. It was really risky!
As for Zhenmeng, he didn't feel too regretful. He smiled and continued, "It's okay, let's just consider it as a casual conversation. If it involves the secrets of your Zhaihua Tower, you can pretend I didn't ask. Let's talk about something else. Is your target this time me?"
The spy once again fell silent, a look of vigilance filling their eyes.
Zhen Meng grudgingly raised their hands and said, "You see, this isn't even a secret. If you've made up your mind to not say a word, then we won't be able to talk any further. In that case, what use do you think you are to me?"
The spy sneered, "You don't need to play tricks with me, and you don't need to threaten me. The people from Flower Picking Tower are not cowards who fear death."
"What a man!" Zhen Meng clapped his thigh and praised, "Alright, I respect you as a man. I won't ask anymore, asking further would be an insult to you."
He turned to Bai Li Qingshan and said, "Go prepare a basin of mercury water, then go dig a hole in the woods, approximately..."
Zhen Meng looked up and down at the spy, and the spy's heart once again became frightened, as a sense of impending doom arose.
"Approximately eight feet deep, bury this hero standing in the pit with only his head exposed."
Baili Qingshan responded, about to open the door when he suddenly asked, "Young master, forgive my curiosity, but why bury him and still leave his head exposed?"
Zhen Meng simply smiled and said, "There is a lost art of skinning that has been forgotten for many years. It involves burying the person in the ground and cutting a cross-shaped incision on their scalp. Then, mercury is injected inside the incision and honey is poured on top. A nest of ants is placed at the opening on the person's head, allowing the ants to lick the honey. At this point, the person will experience intense itching and their body will continuously writhe. Due to the gravity of the mercury injected between the skin and muscles, the person will shed their entire body like a molted cicada, leaving behind a complete and intact skin, without even a single hair being damaged."
The spy's eavesdropping made the soul tremble, and inadvertently, a vivid image of oneself covered in blood after shedding the skin appeared in the mind. Instantly, a cold air rushed straight to the buttocks.
Bai Li Qingshan couldn't help but shudder, his gaze towards Zhen Meng became incredibly complex, he didn't dare to stay for long and quickly pushed the door open.
Until standing under the sunlight in the courtyard, the chilling feeling in my heart didn't dissipate much.
He turned his head again and looked at the backlit barn door. Despite the bright and sunny weather, he felt an incredibly eerie and terrifying atmosphere there, as if it were the legendary underworld.
Inside the house, the spy's face turned pallid, while Zhen Meng chuckled menacingly, "Don't be nervous, it won't be too painful, and I assure you that your life won't be at risk. When dealing with a tough hero like yourself, wouldn't it be disrespectful to use only branding irons, leather whips, or tiger benches?"
The spy screamed wildly in his mind: "Look at me, come and hit me! Use any little whip you want! Don't be polite with me!"
Zheng Meng extended his finger and gently gestured on the spy's head, seemingly searching for the most suitable opening.
The spy chrysanthemum felt a chill and finally spoke with tears in their eyes: "Yes! You are my target this time!"
Zhen Meng seemed oblivious and continued to gesture above his head.
The spy panicked and said urgently, "We received a mission at the Flower Picking Tower to bring you back to the capital and kill you in public!"
Zhen Meng simply replied, "Oh."
The spy became more and more anxious, and he quickly asked, "Do you want to know the identity of the client?"
Zhen Meng said indifferently, "I don't really care, but I can guess it. It's Lin Yi, right?"
The spy was momentarily stunned, wondering how they could continue the conversation. Their mind raced as they desperately tried to come up with a card they could play.
At that moment, Bai Li Qingshan pushed open the door, his feet still covered in mud, clearly just having jumped out of a pit.
He whispered, "The pit is ready, mercury, honey, and ants are all prepared."
Zhen Meng's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh, saying, "Great! Today, I'll show you something incredible!"
Finished speaking, he reached out to grab the spy.
Suddenly, the spy shouted, "I know who poisoned the emperor!"
Zhen Meng's outstretched hand paused in midair, his eyes narrowed.