The dim oil lamp hung crookedly on the wet stone wall, the orange in the glass cover forming a yellow circle of light around it, and the slender myriaped worms passed under the candles, casting huge jumping shadows in the aperture, and then sinking into the uneven gap between the stones. It's a world of insects and mice.

The dark dungeon of the Torture Pavilion was perhaps the worst and most terrifying place in the entire royal capital, he was not like the commander of the Imperial Capital Guard, who knew every brick wall and the shadow under every brick wall in Dragon City, but he was familiar enough with this place, familiar with the rules here, familiar with those strange torture instruments that were hundreds of years old, familiar with the damp, heavy, pungent, sweet and rotten smell of death that permeated the torture chamber.

Kingdom Tales: Lord Masa has a way of making the stone open. Actually, this is not true, the stone has no mouth and cannot speak. But he knew how to make the stone man have a mouth and speak.

The review is busy, and the canons are sealed. The book review and execution need answers, and the canons wake up to get the results. The title "Iron Judge" doesn't properly describe his abilities and what he does, but it's so good that others don't know how terrible what he does. Even his father didn't know.

Of course, Xia Lao has heard of the thousands of methods of torturing and interrogating people in the dungeon. There is a proverb in the king's capital that says: Stand in the right place to stand firm. The members of the powerful are convinced of this,* and that wielding power is like walking on the edge of a razor, with a razor-sharp edge, full of dangers, difficult steps, and the possibility of falling into the abyss of destruction if you are not careful. Most people think that Xia Lao is one of the people who are most proficient in this way, and his career as minister of state for more than 30 years is a strong evidence of their views.

"Your Majesty governs the country, and we serve Your Majesty. These things are not beautiful and not worthy of praise, but they cannot but be done. To uphold justice and justice, and to follow the guidance of the Code, we are often compelled to do some harsh things, and the stubborn fortresses of the fallen unbelievers need to be overcome with these harsh measures. This was the advice his father had left in his ear after he entered the torture chamber for his first execution. He kept it in his heart.

He then became a ruthless executioner and inquisitor that he could not even imagine. I'm doing something that even scares me. If my father knew that I had become like this, would he have told me that this was the necessary move?

He didn't want to know the answer to that question. But he wanted to know about the other one. The brute was sent into the dungeon yesterday, and the jailer failed to pry his mouth open. The Cabinet members needed immediate and valuable confessions, so he had to be the judge himself, and time was too short, and he had to take some "necessary measures" that would make the prisoner remember for the rest of his life in order to conquer the infidel's stubborn fortress.

The hunters of the Torture Pavilion have made a great deal of success in Karaz. No one would have imagined that they would actually catch a barbarian there. The barbarian hid in a gloomy tavern, where he was captured along with the infidels who had come to join him. The dark-skinned heretic came from the Land of the Sun and was said to be a member of the Three-Armed Demon Cult. The Three-Armed Demon was an evil god that had suddenly appeared in Nishizawa a few months ago, but the unbelieving swamp people and boxers thought it was a terrible demon, whatever it was, and he hated this kind of heretic anyway. Why did the barbarians collude with the three-armed demons, and where the Nine Turns Town Soul Tower was hidden by them, it was the answer he urgently needed.

"Infidel, keep your eyes open and look at me. In front of you is the 'Iron Judge' Xia Quan, the judge of the Criminal Pavilion, and the enforcer of the dungeon. No secret can be kept before my eyes. I hope you will keep this firmly in mind. He had a kind smile on his face, and the yellowish light shone on the small holes in his face and the flat bridge of his nose, and he knew that it was like an unfinished road. It would be a rough ride for all prisoners.

The jailer translated his words to the barbarians. It's just a hello. The rest of the process will be a great deal of enjoyment for the infidels, who will know what the Black Jar Trilogy is.

Nail pulling out is a common punishment, and the executioners of the Iron Judge have many ways to make it complicated and interesting. They cut open the barbarian's fingernails with their sharp blades, split them into four pieces, plucked them out one by one with four different torture instruments, and then poured boiling oil into the red flesh that had lost their nails, waited a few moments, and then placed them in black jars. The black jar was a sealed clay pot containing an oilworm smaller than a fly. This insect has sharp teeth, is good at gnawing, and likes the smell of oily the most, after the prisoner's nails are poured with oil, the oilworm will gnaw and gnaw, and even the nails and fingers will be devoured together. When the prisoner screams over it, it is discovered that this punishment is only an appetizer, and then the executioner will strip off the prisoner's pants, apply boiling oil to their*, and then force the prisoner to squat in a black jar and *plug the seal. There is no prisoner who does not confess when he reaches this point, and if there is, the final procedure of the Iron Judge's Black Jar trilogy is to insert the oiled tongue into the seal of the black jar. Anyway, this tongue does not accept submission, and it is useless to keep it.

After all, this brute was not made of iron, and when the executioner took off his pants and smeared him* with boiling oil, he already knew what punishment he was going to face. When he was threatened with being eaten, he frantically tore open his throat and screamed loudly, and the barbarian jailer translated his words.

"My lord, he said he was willing to speak. ”

"I ask questions, you give answers. Xia Quan squinted slightly, his fingers tapped lightly on the table, waiting for the jailer to translate.

"He said he said it all!"

"What did you do when you came to Karaz?"

The barbarian was hung in the air and bound to a wooden frame, and his head hung down, as if he was embarrassed by the confession, and his voice was bitter and hoarse.

"He said he had been ordered to investigate the Three-Armed Demon Cult. ”

"On whose orders?"

"He is a member of the Blood Drinking Camp, and at the behest of its leader, Aghaza, he disguised himself as a Protestant of the Three-Armed Demon Cult and came into contact with them. The jailer's voice was soft, his words were articulated, and he spoke without hurry.

The name Agasha surprised Xia Quan slightly. "Why did Gaza do this?"

The barbarian looked in great pain, and he was spitting, and the black jar was still in him*, reminding him at all times. "He said he was a junior and didn't know what Aghaza's purpose was. He said...... Agaza is very concerned about the Three-Armed Demon, and many people from the Blood Drinking Camp have gone south and have entered our territory. He said...... Maybe Agaza wants to deal with the Three-Armed Demon, or unite with it, he can't be sure. ”

"What valuable news did he get from contacting those infidels?"

He said that the treasure was now in the hands of the Three-Armed Demon Cult, who wanted to change the faith of the swamp people and fight against the snake god and the dragon god. ”

"Phew. Xia Quan spat angrily, "Sooner or later, I'm going to let that three-armed liar sit on the black jar." ”

He said...... The three-armed demon has a very strong power, and it should not be underestimated. He wanted to feed back the news to Aghaza, but he didn't have time to leave. ”

"He doesn't speak our lingua franca, but he knows the language of the swamps?"

"Yes, my lord, he knows Zedi, there are four people in the Blood Drinking Camp, and he is the one who speaks best. ”

"Tell him that this kind of news alone will not save his life. ”

The jailer relayed these words to the barbarian, who cried out in horror, and the sharp pain in his lower body was stopped, but the fear was undoubtedly etched in his mind. The barbarian muttered a great deal of words, gasping from time to time, his chest heaving violently, his voice faint and desperate.

"My lord, he said that at the end of September, they caught a boxer warrior...... is our chief ...... Instead of taking his life, Agaza let him go. ”

"Where did you catch it?" the news surprised him and overjoyed him.

"At the top of Storm Mountain. He said he wasn't there and he didn't know what was going on, but their assistant camp leader, Archie, confirmed it himself. ”

"This is valuable news. Xia Quan's fingers tapped on the table at a faster frequency, making a rapid and impatient sound. "Tell him that his life is saved for the time being. I'm happy with his cooperation and the next inquiry will come soon to keep him ready. ”

He stood up, "You didn't hear any of today's confessions. Don't let me hear even half a word of it anywhere. Place the black jar where he can see it. With that, he turned and walked towards the stone staircase.

There is a spiraling stone staircase descending from the top of this underground black prison, the dark stone wall is damp and exuding mildew, moss is all over it, the stone staircase is narrow and steep, Zheng Kuan is rarely willing to come down, and now he is walking up and down step by step. Bring the terror down and bring the news up.

There was an unexpected bonus today. He understood how important the part of the barbarian confession would be, just as he understood where the delicate situation was heading. His father had been wallowing in the mud of politics all his life, and his purple clothes had long been stained with mud and filth, and they could not be washed away. It's a big sauce jar, and no one in it is clean. When he threw himself into it with ideals, it didn't take much time to understand this. He always thought of Gao Wenmo, his childhood playmate, who was as hopeful and expectant about the future as he was, but stumbled on this rugged road just as much. The difference is that he fell to his senses, and Gao Wenmo was like a river of spears that never looked back, and he only rushed towards the immaculate sea. If you want to be immaculate, how can it be?

Politics is not a small game to be played at will. An invisible hand can easily subvert a princely general, a wall will turn to powder, and steel will become mud. Today, there were at least 140,000 troops stationed outside the royal capital, from all kinds of princes, but at least 100,000 of them were under the orders of one man. That's power, absolute power. Sometimes power comes from the law, sometimes from blood, sometimes from the wrist, but rarely from righteousness.

His immediate boss, Zheng Kuan, made it clear to him: "When we all take the same position, we are all safe." Even when the big waves hit, we were safe and sound. Those who do not stand in this safe place with us will be quickly washed into the abyss by the rushing tide, and they will never struggle again. We often have to make choices, but only smart people can make the only right choice and therefore survive. There is always no shortage of stubborn and foolish people, but they are all dead. ”

Zheng Kuan even asked him how many people the Xia family had in the royal capital and how many people were in his hometown. He told the truth that there were thirty-nine people in the royal capital, two hundred and seventy-eight in his hometown, and dozens of people who were in various provinces, some were officials in other places, some were doing business, and some were living in isolation.

He knew very well that his immediate boss wanted him to be a smart person and make that only and right choice. After all, the Xia family is a big family with a strong reputation.

The prestige of the Xia family is rumbling, but when this overwhelming and shocking tide hits, it still needs to be extremely cautious and understand the true meaning of power. After all, it rarely comes from righteousness.

The Xia family's mansion is on the north side of the Lance River, in the forest protection street on the edge of the Yulongpu garden. His father, the Prime Minister, did not like the bustling and lively Baihua Street, and maintained a good relationship with all the dignitaries and dignitaries, as well as a certain distance. Just the right distance.

Forester Street has the benefits of Forester Street, which is closer to the quiet Nursery of the Dragon, the sacred Iron Fist Temple and the majestic Sacred Mountain. Compared to Temple Street, it is more like a place of meditation and purification. After leaving the dark dungeon, Xia Quan stayed in the bright home. Reminiscing and thinking.

In the royal capital, his family is one of the very few big families with strong influence. Xia Lao was a patriarch of the Three Dynasties, and no one dared to take his opinion lightly, although he never emphasized it. The torrent surging in front of him is enough to change the dynasty, and his father will not be unaware of it, and his experience and wisdom will ensure that he makes a correct choice to maintain the roots of the Xia family.

There are two sides to everyone. Xia Quan is two people outside the dungeon and inside the dungeon. He didn't want to bring that mask from the ground to the surface. In the court, he is a loyal minister, in the temple, he is a devout person, and at home, he is a filial son. Only in the dungeon is he the Iron Judge. If he can't understand the difference and control the proportion, then he will go to Gao Wenmo's mistake.

Over the years, he has regretted that Gao Wenmo chose the wrong path, and after being dismissed, no one knows where he went. Even him, Gao Wenmo's once closest partner, was at a loss. He put in a lot of fruitless effort to do so.

Until this afternoon.

The housekeeper Xia Chuan is a fifty-five-year-old honest man, short and stocky, smart and clever, his father is the housekeeper of the Xia family, and so is his grandfather, they are distant relatives of Xia Lao, and they have served in the Xia family for many years. Whenever he wrinkled his eyebrows, Xia Quan knew that he had important news to report. That afternoon, when Xia Chuan walked through the hall and the garden in the middle, and entered Xia Quan's study, he twisted his eyebrows and whispered: "Young master, an old man has come to visit." ”

"Old man?" Xia Quan was dressed in a bright black velvet robe, leaning back in his chair, holding a book in his hand, he wasn't really reading, but holding the book in his hand made him feel good.

"Young Master, this old man begged me not to tell him his name, he wanted you to identify it, young master. Xia Chuan showed a mysterious expression.

The room was as warm as spring, the flames in the fireplace were blazing, and the housekeeper's words and expressions made Xia Quan's heart swell with a strange feeling, hot. "Then you bring him in. Where's the master?"

"The master is resting in bed, and he shouldn't have woken up yet. ”

"Hmm. Xia Quan pulled his gaze back to the scroll, and the whisper of Xia Chuan's soft leather boots squeezing the ground gradually faded away.

He didn't want to bother guessing who it was, but he would find out later. He had occasional contacts with old friends from the past, but most of them were not in touch with each other, and there were only a few people who came to him every year to do errands.

The person Xia Chuan brought in was a stranger. He couldn't remember a person who had been so horrible in life, the entire left side of his face was burned under the brown cloth hat, the smooth flesh had turned into a dark red scar, the skin was dark elsewhere, and he was dressed plainly, his gray coarse kudzu robes were patched, and the cotton clothes he wore were also shabby. The unique pair of eyes that shone directly made him feel a little familiar.