Chapter 258 What Are You Trying to Do?

Chapter 258 What Are You Trying to Do?

"Who are you people?"

The short man was bold; even in someone else's hands, he showed no fear.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he had some life-saving trump card up his sleeve.

Mo Jiuye snorted coldly and kicked the short man hard, intending to remind him of his situation.

The kick was not light, causing the short man to scream in pain. At the same time, an inexplicable fear rose in his heart.

Just as he was about to ask why they had captured him, he suddenly felt something heavy collide with his body.

He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye saw clearly.

It was Dango!

Seeing its male master angrily kicking the person, it also wanted to help.

The originally serious scene almost turned comical due to the little one's involvement.

Now was not the time for Dango to play around. He Zhiran couldn't help but send the little one to play in the bamboo grove.

The short man regained his senses, thinking that as a famous poison master from the Southern Region, he had been toyed with by a black-and-white ball.

An urge to curse welled up within him, but when he saw Mo Jiuye's icy, piercing gaze, he instantly lost his nerve.

"What... what do you want to do?"

Mo Jiuye glanced at him sideways and asked coldly, "Tell me everything about Mr. Si Meng."

"I can't do that. Just kill me!" The short man replied firmly.

Upon hearing this, Mo Jiuye casually pulled out a dagger and tapped it against the short man's face a few times.

"Dying is easy. Since you don't want to talk, I won't let you die easily."

With these words, the dagger swiftly moved and severed one of the short man's fingers.

The short man screamed in agony, "Ah... Who are you? We have no grudges or enmity. Why are you doing this to me?"

"You don't have the right to know who I am. Tell me what I want to hear, and I'll give you a quick death."

To prove he wasn't joking, Mo Jiuye placed the dagger on another finger of the short man.

This gesture was a clear warning: if you dare say no, you'll lose another finger.

He Zhiran had prepared a pocket watch for hypnosis. If Mo Jiuye couldn't get any information this way, she would try using hypnosis.

She could see that the short man was afraid of Mo Jiuye's threats but was stubbornly refusing to speak.

In most cases, this meant someone had leverage over him.

Given the reason he couldn't speak, even after Mo Jiuye cut off three more of his fingers, the result remained the same.

He Zhiran tugged at Mo Jiuye's sleeve.

"Let me try."

With these words, she squatted in front of the short man.

"Since you don't want to talk, we won't force you. I have something here. I wonder if you recognize it."

As she spoke, He Zhiran began swinging the pocket watch in front of the short man.

Initially, the short man tried to identify the object moving before his eyes, but soon, he felt drowsy.

Soon, his eyes became unfocused.

To verify if the hypnosis was successful, He Zhiran first asked some simple questions.

"What's your name?"

Short man: "My name is Huang Xu."

He Zhiran: "Where are you from?"

Huang Xu: "I'm from the Southern Region Imperial City."

He Zhiran: "Where do you live?"

Huang Xu: "I live in Simeng Villa."

After asking these questions and seeing Huang Xu's blank expression, He Zhiran concluded that he was under hypnosis.

She turned to Mo Jiuye, signaling him to ask questions.

Mo Jiuye squatted beside his wife and asked solemnly, "Who is Mr. Si Meng?"

Huang Xu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mr. Si Meng is my master."

Mo Jiuye: "Where is he?"

Huang Xu: "I don't know. I haven't seen my master in three years."

Hearing this, Mo Jiuye frowned.

He Zhiran continued swinging the pocket watch and asked, "How can we find your master?"

Huang Xu: "My master is elusive. If he needs me, he will naturally appear."

He Zhiran: "What if you have an urgent matter to report to your master?"

Huang Xu: "In case of urgency, the message must be sent to Great Shun in the Western Region before July every year. He visits the Western Region once every July."

He Zhiran: "When you go to the Western Region in July, where can you find him?"

Huang Xu: "I don't know. I've never gone to the Western Region to look for my master."

He Zhiran continued pressing: "Has anyone else ever gone to the Western Region to find your master?"

Huang Xu: "No one has."

He Zhiran knew that Huang Xu could not lie under hypnosis, which meant he truly did not know where Mr. Si Meng was.

Since he didn't know, there was no point in continuing with such questions.

"What is your master's name?"

Huang Xu: "My master's name has never been publicly disclosed. I only heard from my senior brother that his surname is Shao."

Indeed, the surname Shao. When the old lady mentioned this story, she had said that the noble young man who admired Yuan Meng had the surname Shao. And this Mr. Si Meng also has the surname Shao, confirming they are the same person.

He Zhiran continued: "What does your master look like?"

Huang Xu: "My master has white hair. Every time he meets us, he changes his appearance, so I don't know what he really looks like."

Speaking of white hair, He Zhiran immediately thought of Yun Li's description of a crane-haired and youthful-looking man.

She continued: "Does your master appear as a crane-haired and youthful-looking man?"

Huang Xu: "He appeared that way only once. The other two times, he looked like a woman and an elder."

He Zhiran: "If you don't even know his true appearance, how do you verify his identity?"

Huang Xu: "My master carries a token. We identify him by the token."

After asking so many questions, it seemed there were no useful clues, except confirming that Mr. Si Meng was indeed the person mentioned by Old Lady Mo.

He Zhiran observed Huang Xu's hypnotized state; he showed no signs of waking up. Since this was the case, she decided to ask more questions.

"Was it you who released the snakes at the entrance to Simeng Villa?"

"It was us," Huang Xu answered straightforwardly.

"Why?" He Zhiran asked.

Huang Xu: "Before the New Year, one of my junior brothers went out to purchase supplies and hasn't returned. We were worried about the safety of the villa, so we released the snakes there."

He Zhiran: "Who controls the snakes?"

Huang Xu: "It's my senior brother."

He Zhiran: "Who is your senior brother?"

Huang Xu: "The person who is with me."

He Zhiran: "What about the colorful frogs at the bottom of the well?"

Huang Xu: "Those are the treasures raised by my senior brother."

He Zhiran: "Is the well opening the entrance to your secret chamber?"

Huang Xu: "Yes."

He Zhiran: "How many people are currently in the secret chamber?"

Huang Xu: "Apart from one person we are guarding, there are three of my junior brothers."