Jia Ren couldn't help himself; he let out a hoarse wail.
Mo Hua's sympathetic little face said, "If you don't speak, the pain will only get worse..."
Then, quietly, he increased the spiritual power supply to the "Iron Board" Formation...
Jia Ren's facial features were all contorting.
After an unknown time, under the dual torment of the pain brought by the Iron Board and the frustration brought by Mo Hua, Jia Ren's Daoist heart finally collapsed.
His voice trembling, Jia Ren resignedly said,
"I... I'll speak! I'll speak…"
He could die to end it all, but he couldn't bear this anger and pain.
Mo Hua's expression brightened.
Jia Ren's willingness to speak proved that his optimizations and modifications to the "Iron Board" over this period were highly effective.
And, it had gained the approval of the first experiencer!
Gu Changhuai picked Jia Ren up, and Mo Hua repeated some previous questions.
"Where is the Fire Buddha?"
"Why extinguish the Xie family completely?"
Jia Ren, breaking out in cold sweat, gritted his teeth, "These... I can't say…"
Mo Hua's face hardened, "You dare to play games with me?"
Jia Ren felt a cold sweat on his back and pain in his knees, hastily saying, "No, I dare not…"
He swallowed hard, "These... I can't say…"
Mo Hua frowned, "What do you mean?"
Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened, "A Silence Curse…"
Mo Hua puzzled, "Silence Curse?"
Gu Changhuai explained, "It's a sinister spell cast in the form of a spiritual curse skill that prevents a cultivator from speaking certain words. Violating this will cause the spell to backlash, injuring the throat and even the Sea of Consciousness…"
"Such a spell exists…"
Mo Hua was shocked, then quickly thought,
"What if he writes it down?"
Silence curse silences speech; it doesn't forbid writing.
Gu Changhuai shook his head, "Writing won't work either…"
"If it was so simple that it had loopholes for you to exploit, wouldn't that make the spell stupid?"
"The purpose of a Silence Curse is to ensure cultivators keep secrets, not revealing them by speech or writing."
Mo Hua nodded, "Makes sense…"
They could only try indirect questioning about things unrelated to "Fire Buddha," "Xie family," and "extermination."
After some thought, Mo Hua asked Jia Ren:
"Where is your real Storage Bag hidden?"
Jia Ren started, his eyes trembling.
Gu Changhuai was also surprised.
Seeing Jia Ren reluctant to speak, Mo Hua's gaze became increasingly dangerous.
Jia Ren, his expression somber, finally sighed, "Bishan City, the rouge shop, behind the secret room, the third hidden compartment…"
"Rouge shop, secret room, hidden compartment…"
Mo Hua quietly took note, and as he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a cold gleam in Jia Ren's eyes.
That gleam vanished in a flash.
He again appeared utterly fearful.
Mo Hua inwardly scoffed.
"Playing such tricks in front of me…"
Soon, several Dao Court Canon officials arrived.
They were not from Bishan City, but from the Qianxue State Boundary.
And they weren't just any officials; they all had the surname Gu.
Although the Gu family was only a fourth-grade family, their status in the Qianxue State Boundary was not low because many of their family members had served in the Dao Court Canon over generations.
Connections spread throughout Qian State.
And although Gu Changhuai had a bad temper, having grown up in a Dao Court family, he had a strong ability in criminal investigations, backed by his family, thus holding high prestige in the Dao Court Canon.
The matter of the Fire Buddha was extremely confidential.