Torture

The air in the interrogation room was thick with tension

"Yes," Han Chen began, his voice calm but edged with a faint weariness. "He told me to f.. off because he wanted to investigate something. He released his aura and intimidated me. I had no choice to go away. Later, I saw a fire. I ran far."

Glossing over he found the report generated over at the mat:

[Lie Detection – Li Mei's Truth-Seeking Device: registers 81% factual accuracy. "Said words" = true. "Reason" = true. "No Choice" = speculative. " Fire " = true. "ran " = true]

"When did you arrive there? Did you notice anything special? How long were you there? What was his appearance?" Li Mei grilled him for about an hour, demanding he describe the scenario in its entirety.

It was easy for Han Chen to come up with a perfect scenario. 'Who are you kidding? I will have to deal with her anyway, I just need the last guy hiding among crowds as undercover to move over to backstage ."

Li Mei had a stern expression. The CSMA's analysis had noted minor inconsistencies, but Han Chen's story was airtight for now. 

Li Mei leaned back in her chair, her spine rigid, her sharp gaze never leaving his face. The CSMA's analysis had noted minor inconsistencies, but his story was airtight—for now. "You're confirmed as a firsthand witness," she said finally, her voice clipped. "But not the prime suspect. However, with your qi signature now in our system, you'll be monitored 24/7. And we'll need to borrow you shortly for further questioning."

Li Mei rose. "This isn't over," she said. "If you're innocent, cooperate. But if you're guilty of even knowing some secrets? The families involved won't wait for due process. They'll come for you. We're your only shield. if you let us be."

Han Chen sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "And if I'm not innocent?"

Her eyes narrowed to slits. "Pray you are."

She ordered, gesturing toward the door. "People will escort you shortly. Do not resist, or I'll use force " She already reached the door with her hand on the handle. But it suddenly opened with her undercover teams re entering with blank looks. " Hey, who ordered you to come in.."

Han Chen gave her a flat, expressionless look, his spirit sense already extending far beyond the room. He had been monitoring the entire campus since he arrived, and now, as he walked, he noticed the peculiar intents of the people around him. Murderous intent from those who had killed before, alertness, subordination.

Four strong individuals—two in dark Jin, two in transform Jin—were hidden among the crowd, their energy carefully masked. They were communicating secretly, blending in, their identities crafted just for this onsite interrogation situation. Ha, why are you like this? 

" Ha, why are you like this? " He sighed and expressed his internal monologue out loud.

"How? You chose to resist? Trrrry..." Li Mei's voice abruptly stopped as she realized she couldn't move. Not just her --the entire team of four personnel now infront were frozen in place, their bodies locked in place by an invisible force.

Han Chen's spirit will, a power that had now overpower top martial master's fist strength, now immobilized them effortlessly. As a land immortal, controlling a few transform Jin practitioners was child's play. A 100kg viscous weight could immobilize an average person, but a martial artist could withstand five times that. Han Chen's telekinesis exerted around four metric tonnes.

A few minutes earlier while Han Chen was crafting the story to tell Li Mei, he already controlled everyone. Outside, people passed by the frozen agents without a second glance, oblivious to their plight. The agents moved against their will came to their room one by one avoiding all surveillance.

Inside, Li Mei's throat was the only part of her body Han Chen allowed to move. She stuttered, her voice trembling with horror. "Yo...you—no, sir, you can't get away like this... Our interaction and your speech were all recorded. Surrender. No matter how powerful you are, you can't deal with the organization behind us..."

"Yeah, about that," Han Chen said, pulling a finger-sized device from his pocket. Its surface hummed faintly, plain looking item, assembled homemade signal jam-er. "You know I stand by my previous stance. I love being low-profile. Why are you interrupting this momentary peace of my mind? I killed that bastard because I couldn't control him well like this at that time. Besides, he insisted on killing me. People need time to grow, right?" He casually interfered with the devices trying to communicate to be on standby.

With a dramatic sigh, he continued, "I've been cautious. But I just finished my breakthrough back then and had a suppressed state of mind. You know, that guy came barging in when my mind was itching for a fight, telling me to be low key in next life. So I sent him early..."

Amidst the horror gazes of everyone present in room, he continued. " But I knew things like this unwanted attention could happen, so I made this myself. Interesting, isn't it? This tiny thing can disrupt military communications and data encoding easily. It has the ability to change whatever I said here by itself. See you never had a connection established back. I can't have a fabricator at home otherwise it would have been ten times smaller. It took some effort to create, but see? It comes in handy. Oh I got lost where was I?"

"Hmm" Faking a cough, "Enough about that," he said, his tone shifting. "I need to work on my impressions. Let's go on a small journey, okay? Close your eyes." Without waiting for a response, he willed their eyelids shut. In an instant, they were transported into his inner world.

The cavernous void materialized around them, its obsidian walls pulsing with ancient runes that cast jagged shadows over a rusted prison cell. Li Mei staggered, her agents collapsing to their knees, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.

"Where—?!" she began, but Han Chen silenced her with a flick of his wrist. Runes flared, pinning them like insects in amber.

"What a nuisance," he muttered, retrieving a crystalline jar from his containment array. Inside, five skeletal worms stirred, their bodies glowing faintly violet. "Demonic Gu," he said, almost fondly. "Frozen for half a million years. Hungry, aren't you?"

The creatures hissed, captives jaws forced open as Han Chen dropped them into the throats. The worms slithered, burrowing toward their hearts. One man convulsed, foam flecking his lips as the Gu fused with his soul. Everyone was terrified and disgusted but was of no use after being imprisoned.

"They'll nest in your meridians," Han Chen explained, his tone dispassionate. "See him? That could happen if you harbor ill intent. You'll know the pain of betraying me in a while. Think of betraying me or killing yourself, and they'll reduce you to sentient ash. But I told them to control their anger. A privilege, really. These Gu once controlled gods."

Li Mei retched, tears streaking her makeup. "Demon!" she spat.

He crouched, tilting her chin up. "Me, a demon? False accusation. I am an angel to those who trust me."

Looking at the insects slithering in my hands, one of them said.

"Release us, we didn't know you were part of their group. Our departments are related."

one of the agents choked out. "We're trained men. We won't reveal anything, even if tortured... Who are you?"

"Oh some people are trying beast controlling here. Interesting. Oh, finally, someone asked," Han Chen said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I'm an alien. You see, you guys haven't experienced real torture. I'll give you a hint. It's from the soul. "

He transported them to the time chamber of his cultivation tower. "Two days here is a minute outside. Let's see who can hold out the longest. Play along, and this ends. Understood?"

...

Three days later, their cries echoed in unison, their bodies and souls broken by the relentless torment. Han Chen stood over them, his expression unreadable. "Oh, aren't you a tough bunch? Looks like we have an agreement. Three days, good. Now, let's get started, shall we?"

...

Sometime later, they snapped back to reality, their memories of the torture fresh and raw. The agents blinked, drenched in cold sweat, as Han Chen adjusted his collar. Li Mei's tablet buzzed—a report auto-generated: No anomalies detected. Subject cleared.

Han Chen smiled. "See? Cooperation saves time."

As he left, Li Mei's voice trembled behind him. "W-we'll… reconvene in two months as you suggested."

"Looking forward to it," he said, pausing at the door. "Oh, and don't die during this time. That thing in your bodies is more valuable than yourselves. And don't worry --it won't be visible in your tests."

"Two minutes of radio silence didn't hinder our plans, right?" They all said together in shock" No"

Outside, the world was blissfully unaware. Students laughed, the crisp autumn air carrying the sound of their carefree joy. Han Chen breathed deeply, savoring the mundanity. Low profile, he reminded himself. Stay low profile.

But as he walked, a pang of loneliness struck him. Honestly, I miss the immortal world—endless battles, old grudges. Now I'm 17 years old, no 19, right? Can I suffer the loneliness of cultivation again? How much time do I have to wait to meet my wifey? Should I grant her that journey with me? Now mere years feels as centuries.

His mood soured, and he headed home in the middle of the day. The next morning, an unexpected visitor appeared at his doorstep. Xue Qing stood there, her arms crossed, her expression a mix of concern and irritation.

She wanted to know if I am okay since I have been on absent after teacher told him to go over. Her house is only two blocks away. 

Seeing me she huffed, grabbing my wrist with a grip like when we were kids.

As she dragged me toward campus to the private vehicle she called to wait for, her perfume—something floral and faintly nostalgic -- wafted over. I smirked. "Won't Zhao Lin throw a fit? if you are going to hold on to me like this? "

"What about him?" she snapped, though she released his wrist. "I thought you had an accident or a fever. Turns out you were just skipping classes? You wasted my concern for you."

Why are you so friendly now? Where's the stranger attitude? he thought, but he kept the question to himself.

" Han Chen, is Cuī your girlfriend? "

" Who is that?"

"Hye-Won Choi. The Korean student? Class leader? Half the girls saw her blush when someone mentioned your name teasing her. You didn't know her name even? we call her Cuī here. Guess the rumors are untrue it's just an unrequited love."

" What rumors?"

"Oh, the girls were teasing her, and she blushed for the first time..."

The conversation continued until they reached the classroom. Han Chen noticed that Xue Qing and Zhao Lin were sitting separately, their usual closeness absent. Looks like there was some minor fight between them, he thought. I don't care anyway.

But then the classroom door creaked open again. Teacher Li Mei walked in. Ha looks like she is still in the business of cornering suspects. A girl strode in from her behind—black ponytail, steady gait.