Chapter 132: Torture to Extract Confessions

Yang Zaixing finally understood why Zhang Xuan had told him to stand further away; this was truly a scene not meant for his eyes. He glanced at Nie Zheng, who was standing beside him. "Little Nie Zheng, let’s go. Let Little Xuan handle this himself." Nie Zheng shook his head. "Brother Zaixing, you go ahead. I want to keep watching and see what kind of punishment this pervert will eventually suffer." Yang Zaixing had no choice but to remain where he was. It was then that Zhang Xuan showed them both what a true demon looked like.

"You still haven't answered me. How many children have you harmed in total? Fifty, a hundred, two hundred, or perhaps even thousands?"

The supervisor shook his head incessantly. "No, how could there be so many? But I truly cannot remember. No matter how you torture me, I cannot figure out that number."

"It seems you haven't been 'trained' enough. I will make you remember clearly. Stay put and don't run, or I don't know what I might do to you next!" After saying this, Zhang Xuan turned to Yang Zaixing. "Big Brother, I remember you still have two bamboo slips in your pocket that we made at the Yan estate. Give me one."

The moment Zhang Xuan turned his head, the supervisor suddenly stood up, intending to run. However, after taking only a single step, he was kicked back to the ground. Zhang Xuan had been keeping a close watch on him; or rather, the turn had been a deliberate lure. Zhang Xuan took the bamboo slip from Yang Zaixing, snapped it forcefully, and pulled off three long, thin bamboo splinters before returning to the supervisor. He looked down at him and stepped firmly onto his calf. "Did I not tell you just now to stay put and not run? Why don't you listen? Is there something wrong with your ears, or do you not understand human speech?" He lifted his foot and stomped down hard. Yang Zaixing instinctively covered his ears. Before the supervisor could finish screaming, Zhang Xuan drove the three bamboo splinters one by one into the supervisor's fingers, eliciting more ear-piercing shrieks. After finishing, Zhang Xuan propped his chin on his hand and stared at the man.

After a long while, the supervisor trembled in agony. "I really can't remember! You demon, I will answer anything you ask, just don't torture me anymore! Please, don't torture me anymore!"

Zhang Xuan pulled a token from his robe, which he had swiped from the man who had gone to relieve himself earlier. "What is this token used for?" The token featured a plum blossom pattern surrounded by a circle, with several characters below it that looked like illegible squiggles.

The supervisor stared closely at the token in Zhang Xuan's hand. "This plum blossom is the symbol of our organization. The symbols below are numbers; the first is three, and the next is six. As for the meaning of these numbers, I am not sure." Seeing Zhang Xuan prepare to move again, he added, "I really don't know! Every trafficker is issued one of these tokens by the higher-ups. Everyone's token has a plum blossom and a few numbers, but I truly don't know what they mean. In any case, as long as we see this token or the plum blossom tattoo on the arm, we know we are among our own."

Zhang Xuan toyed with the bamboo slip, contemplating the truthfulness of the supervisor's words. "How did you become the supervisor of this camp?"

"My uncle is a high-ranking official, or someone with a bit of power. Back then, I didn't want to work or do anything, so my father told me to seek out my uncle. I found him, and it was through his connections that I became the supervisor here. Being a supervisor is easy; when someone is brought in, I take a look, and when someone is sent out, I press a thumbprint. There’s nothing else to it. Camps like this exist in many places, all deep in the mountains and forests where the authorities can't find them. By the time they do, we've long since run away and moved. I’ve already moved several times myself!"

Zhang Xuan asked another question. "Do you know who is behind all of this?"

"I don't know. I only know he is referred to as 'Uncle Mei.' Except for those he trusts deeply, no one has ever seen him—or rather, they might have met him without knowing it was Uncle Mei. Although my uncle has some power, I don't know if even he knows Uncle Mei’s true face. Perhaps because so much time has passed, I can't even clearly recall what my uncle looks like anymore!"

Hearing the name "Uncle Mei," Zhang Xuan muttered to himself, "As long as you aren't Mei Changsu, one day I will drag you out and have you torn to pieces. Out of all the professions in the world, you had to choose human trafficking." After muttering this, he continued, "What is your uncle's name? He gave you such a good position, yet you don't even recognize him?"

"That's normal. I don't see him for years at a time. When I do see him, he never shows his true face; he always wears a mask. I can't remember his appearance, but I heard from my father that his name is 'Chen Mai'."

"Tell me, are you lying? You’re being so honest that I don't feel any sense of accomplishment!" Zhang Xuan truly couldn't tell how much of the supervisor's words were true and how much were false, especially after witnessing the man's talent for lying earlier that afternoon.

The supervisor shook his head immediately. "Everything I said is the truth. Not a single word is a lie, I swear."

"That’s exactly what you promised me this afternoon! I had so many ways planned to 'train' you, and now that you're being so cooperative, I have no way to use them! Isn't that a pity? Why don't you tell a few lies so I can expose them and have a reason to 'train' you properly? How about it? You might learn something, though you'll probably only get to put it into practice once you're in hell!"