Chapter 324- Torturing out a Confession

"You disgusting fatty. I knew I should have chained you back then. How dare you use my Society as a stepping stone for your personal ambitions!"

Lord Arash wobbled around on his knees to face the bound coughing elder.

"Why don't you just die you old fart! If it wasn't for you and your bag of bones cronies, our plan could have been completed years ago. You and your stupid rules!"

"The rules are there to prevent idiots like you from getting swellheaded! Do you know what will happen if the eyes in the Tower fall on us? Would the Military allow Sersens to gather under one banner? Especially among the gangs?"

"Pah! You lack vision, you old retard! Even the Wu patriarch acknowledged this! Dare to kill us and even if you run beyond the north keep, you will be hunted. You have no idea how powerful our backer is."

Coughing and spluttering, both men groaned while heaving their painful chests. The old man especially looked like he was in the throes of fainting.

A false cough came from the boy standing below the stage.

"Ahem, Doug. This may be a little late but who is this?"

***

Chu sat on the floor of the dais with his feet on the stairs below. An elbow on one leg, he propped his chin in his hand while surveying the hall.

Dyna occupied the oversized wooden chair beside him, with Amarok yawning from the other side. Down below, Ming stood while engaging the redhead in some useless chatter.

"I tell you, your wolf stole my skills. Not satisfied with taking my Ming Tetraplegia, they stole my secret Ming Boom. As if paralyzing wasn't enough, they used my boom blast."

The redhead answered by flipping over a hand to expose her palm. A reddish glow arcing dangerously with electricity sizzled. If he could rise again, the grey-haired Sersen would testify for its destructive 'boom' force.

Unfazed by the display, the teen spouted shamelessly.

"Chu..."

'How in the world did this idiot know to pronounce such a word... and where did he learn it?'

Chu thought while raising an eyebrow.

Arash and his three friends knelt on the stone floor a few paces in front of him. Bound and gagged with strips of cloth or leather belts, their faces displayed the pain from their injuries.

To the left of them, an old man sat on a chair. No stranger to injuries, Elder Kruss winced whenever the little brunette tightened the splint on his arm.

Ever so often, he shot a gaze laced with daggers towards the kneeling men, and also to the black-haired chattering idiot.

Chong stood next to them, helping the wizened man adjust the robe over the recently bandaged ribs. Empty wooden tubes of health potions lay scattered on the ground.

Doug and Singh sat not too far off, tending wounds of their own. Around them, a few men moved in and out, clearing the hall of the remaining bodies.

Chu was sighing in thought when Miki plopped down to join him.

"Lucy placed the cat out of its misery. After all, it only followed the will of its owner."

She said while humming a tune.

The melody had boss Dermal trembling while shifting his hands protectively between his thighs.  

"What about these three? Shouldn't we dispose of them and get this over with? The moon is nearly up in the sky."

She had pillaged some writing materials from a room only for Chu to squash on the original plan. The boy had sent the signal for Chong and Sakura to join them. These two had remained in the outskirts with a support party if needed.

 Chu sighed while standing up. Patting his butt, he turned to the raven-haired girl.

"Clear out three dark rooms, preferably cellars. Toss each of them in one, along with a wolf."

His eyes swept slowly over the three pairs of horrified eyes glued to his.

"Let's see which one likes to be chewed alive and eaten. Same treatment when we first met Jill and the others."

***

Pitch black.

From the other end of the cramped room, a pair of yellow eyes seemed to follow his every move. Bound to a chair in the center, Jink stifled his breath. He didn't need to see the body attached to those prowling eyes.

Imagination helped fuel the fear of his terrifying companion. Never did he meet a wolf that could casually send him flying with a swipe. The pain of his bruised chest unconsciously magnified his terror.

Beyond the wall of his confinement, Jink heard the muffled wails of his companions. The screams drowned to begging, and then a denial of an accusation would be followed by sickening crunches.

He was all too familiar with the sounds of chewing and breaking bones. Groans, followed by wails again. The persistent audio continued and continued. The gagged cloth wrapped around his mouth and partially covering his ears, along with the stone wall, failed to hush the torture.

After what seemed like days, his ears listened to a clear conversation from the room on the left,

"He's done for. Feed him a potion. Give him an hour and wake him. The wolf has to eat. He still has a few pieces of meat left for a meal. I need to go, I can't stomach this."

"What about the others? The wolves are probably starving."

"Let them have a bite. Those guys don't fear death anyway. This one got his four limbs eaten before he sang. Dont know why he played hero in the first place."

A low rumble from the front attracted Jink. The hungry pair of eyes rose slowly, as another grumble echoed. Inching closer, Jink felt the breath of the predator brush across his face. Creeping down his body, a gentle wind swept over his bootless foot.

Tightly shutting his eyes, his toes curled in retreat by instinct. The warm breeze yet continued. This time accompanied by a drizzle, of salivating saliva. His heart went leaping to his throat, as his eyes rolled.

Without any light,

 The feeling of the vicious teeth nipping at his ankles followed. Jink screamed into the gag while pulling and tugging. The fatty nearly swooned as the mouth clamped over his feet. Like a saw, the jaws moved slowly, rubbing the skin, as if waiting to savor his ripping flesh.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

At some point, a door opened, casting the light from the candle into the depths of hell.

Releasing another bout of adrenaline, Jink screamed and struggled away on the chair.

His actions allowed his savior to rush forward and remove the gag. The welcomed intruder also pushed the demonic beast away.

"Hey, you ok? Man, you're lucky, you should see the crap that went down next door."

The boy said to the heaving roundy.

"I would have taken you out, but the bald guy cracked first after he saw what happened to that Dermal fellow. I have to gag you again, otherwise it's trouble for me."

Jink adjusted his eyes when hearing the words. One look at the exposed tongue licking the fangs was all it took. The yellow eyes foretold of his fate once that door closed.

"No! Take me out. I know everything, I even know where the deeds are hidden."

***

Green bit his lip while standing in the middle of the large study. Closed shutters occupied one wall, a bookcase covered another, and a large knitted mural hung from the third. Behind him, the bare wall fitted a door leading out of the room to a hallway.

A polished wooden desk lay between him and Ming.

"Green. Hans spilled the beans the other night in the tavern. I know you fancy that ash-blonde lady of the Cleft Clan. With a little incentive, I think I can worm my way into the graces of young master Cleft. With my help, your wooing can outpace Singh by a mile."

Green glanced at the teen not three years younger than him. The teen sat on the chair rummaging through the drawers. Since their first eventful meeting years ago on the grassland, this guy had yet to change.

"You do know time is of the essence right? We are already behind Doug and Dyna."

"You think Chu can blame us? One has a brain and the other is brawn. With a combination like that, it's no wonder they can shake down half the deeds to the pleasure district by now."

Ming complained while continuing,

"This stupid baldy! Why can't he be like normal folks and store these documents in a drawer? You're living in the noble district, idiot."

From experience, Green knew when to tone off this companion. His eyes roamed over the knitted landscape of the hanging picture. A grassland foreground retreated to huge mountains.

At the center, a tall fort-like structure stood dwarfed by the mountain peaks. A cave nearby depicted workers toiling while overseen by whip-wielding foremen.

Green walked towards the wall.

"Forget it, Green. I tapped that wall behind the tapestry like crazy since we came. Only solid rock replied. I think this guy hid his papers behind the bookshelf. Didn't you browse the books? This guy is cunning like a Jaga."

 "Ming, what did the Boss say again? Who was behind these guys?"

Green asked.

"That Wu Clan again. Remember them from back then? The smooth-faced hypocrite?"

Green recalled the memory of when Mrs. Thomas trained them to act as guards.

He turned to Ming,

"When we set off for the Capital, we mingled with not a few travelers and city folk. Did you know the Wu clan never moved their headquarters to the Capital? Instead, they run their business from their ancestral home."

Green returned his gaze to the picture roaming around it until settling on the little fort between the mountains.

"The Wu Clan has this so-called impregnable fort situated in the north mountains. Rumor has it, that their iron caves are not too far from it. The Wu Clan prides itself on being second to none."

The straw-colored young man shifted a footstool over. Stepping up, he ran his fingers across the edges of the painting.

A look of astonishment flashed across his face.

"Help me cut it down."

Green held a dagger and dug a small incision on the corner of the knitted border. Ming held the end steady on the desk.

Widening the hole, Green continued until separating an open space between the double-knitted canvas.

Poking his hand inside, he felt around.

Widening the hole, Green signaled Ming to light a candle.

Carefully, he peered inside using the light. The rough outline of the paper coupled with the bold writing at the top and wax seal. The entire picture was filled with them.

Each is threaded at a corner to remain in place in place.

Green grinned at Ming,

"Found them."