九

An absurd knocking breaks the peaceful night, with Liu Qi growing ever more annoyed by the sound. He guesses who might be it at the front door this late at night. "Could It be master is drunk and mistress is having trouble perhaps?" he thought to himself as he makes his way towards the front gates. Pushing the doors open, a group of people tackling him onto the ground. His heart grew anxious while adrenaline rushes towards his head.

"Oh, it's him alright. Make sure to tie him up." A hooded figure commands. LiuQi is then dragged towards a chair with his hands tied against his will. As he's struggling to break free, a hard punch is delivered onto his face, nearly knocks him out cold with the taste of blood inside his mouth. After that, another punch is delivered across his face, sending him failing to the right. The hooded figure tightly grasps onto his throat.

"I insist you answer all of our questions truthfully and we'll make the entire process painless." The hooded figure says. Letting go of his grasps onto LiuQi's neck. "Now, where is the letter?" The hooded figure asks.

"What letter?"

"The one which dropped after bumping into you," he calmly replies.

LiuQi's heart nearly skipped a bit, knowing full well what he is searching for. Biting down his tongue, he looks straight at the figure. "I don't know what you're talking about..." LiuQi's says with a smile.

"So be it," as another figure behind him grabs out a pair of sharp pliers. The pliers plunge deep into his flesh, digging out his nails in the process. A trail of blood traces along with his nail. LiuQi's screams out in agony, with his eyes, begin to water and his breathing fastens.

"Who else had known about the letter hm?" The hooded figure asks again.

"Only me," LiuQi firmly answers, breathing in slowly to endure the pain.

"What about your master?" he asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Instantly, another of his nails is pulled out of his finger. He shouts at the top of his lungs from the excruciating pain from his hand. Tears roll down his cheeks while the warmth of his own blood-soaked his hand. The sound of his heartbeat echoes in his head, whilst his breathing begins to slow down drastically. As his eyes slowly close, a sudden splash of water sprang him back to reality.

"Tired already? But we're just getting started!" the figure laughs at his pathetic phase.