As his voice faded, Xu Yuan maintained an expression of supreme confidence, though deep down he found his own words rather amusing.
For Orenli, feigning weakness, exploiting the information gap in this hopeless situation, and taking him hostage by surprise was indeed a flawless plan.
Yet the problem was that she was shooting the arrow first and painting the target around it.
For her scheme to succeed, everyone across the vast Prime Minister's Manor had to dance strictly to her tune.
The manor could not place too high an importance on him.
The corpses she manipulated using the Oblivion Magic Ring could not be discovered.
The person interrogating her had to be Xu Yuan alone, without any of the manor's true powerhouses accompanying him.
If even a single link in that chain went awry, it would spell utter doom.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Xu Yuan glanced at the blonde woman beside him, taking in her side profile speckled with dried blood.
In the dim, flickering torchlight, Orenli kept her eyes lowered, the azure-gold lashes beside her delicate, upturned nose trembling ever so slightly.
Xu Yuan had always believed in a fundamental truth.
Regardless of whether the ultimate objective was achieved, every truly successful plan in this world was a sprawling web, not a solitary line.
When a plan leading to an objective was merely a straight path, severing any single segment meant total ruin. But if one wove the plan into a vast, intricate web of pathways, even if the enemy severed one thread, one could still advance along the remaining strands with composed ease.
The scheme Xu Yuan had just laid out was, at best, nothing more than an inconspicuous thread within Orenli's web of contingencies.
Orenli was bound to have other backup plans, yet Xu Yuan could not deduce them.
His information was simply too limited.
Regarding that empire across the sea, far too much remained unknown.
Yet this had zero bearing on the execution of his own strategy.
In the face of absolute strength, even the most ingenious stratagems were like bubbles, bursting at the slightest touch.
As long as Orenli harbored any intention of escape, she fell within controllable bounds and could be exploited.
To his surprise, however...
Orenli cast a sidelong glance from her azure eyes. Turning her body, she shook Xu Yuan's hand from her shoulder. Her voice remained crisp and detached:
"What is it you wish to know?
"The infighting among the empire's internal factions, the threats posed by external powers, the state of affairs across the overseas battlefields, or the convoluted cultivation systems within the empire's borders?"
His hand left hanging in midair, Xu Yuan looked at the woman with mild surprise. Lowering his hand, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"You're yielding that readily?"
Orenli took two steps to widen the distance between them, then turned those clear, lake-blue eyes back to him.
"The empire's territory is vast, but its internal factions are quite complex. At court, power is divided between the imperial faction and the church faction. Our royal family and the Holy Church have clashed for decades, while the provinces are parceled out into numerous noble fiefdoms, ranging from earldoms down to viscounties."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan's brow arched.
Although a few blond, blue-eyed supporting figures had appeared in certain cinematic cutscenes of *Cangyuan*, the Empire of Sien had never been mentioned. He had not anticipated it would follow a medieval European setting.
Paying Xu Yuan no heed, Orenli continued of her own accord:
"As for external threats, that is even simpler. The western reaches of the empire are traversed by the Phantom Demon Mountain Range, beyond which lie the domains of the aberrant demons. The northwest is occupied by the Osvikings, while upon the perpetually frozen Northern Border plateau dwell a clan of..."
*Thud.*
Her words were cut short by the dull thud of flesh slamming against stone.
Xu Yuan instantly closed the distance, his hand clamped around her throat as he shoved her slender, supple frame heavily against the inner wall of the cell.
"..."
Their gazes locked for an instant.
Staring into her eyes, he spoke with a chilled expression.
"Orenli, what is the meaning of this?"
Suspended in the air, the suffocating lack of oxygen made Orenli's delicate brows knit slightly. Yet a faint smirk curled at the corner of her lips. Her voice, strangled by the pressure on her throat, came out hoarse and strained.
"What... have I... done?"
"Heh."
Xu Yuan let out a soft chuckle without answering, only tightening his grip.
What this woman was describing was not the Empire of Sien at all; it was simply the Great Yan Dynasty under a foreign coat of paint.
Silence stretched as their eyes remained locked.
As his grip tightened, a faint cracking sound echoed through the quiet cell. Her golden locks tilted slightly with the sound, her neck on the verge of snapping at any moment. Yet Orenli's eyes held only a faint, teasing amusement as she gazed impassively into the eyes of the man before her.
*You. Will. Not. Kill. Me.*
Silence spoke louder than words.
The stillness lingered for several breaths before Xu Yuan abruptly released his hold.
*Cough, cough, cough, cough...*
Wracked by agonizing coughs, Orenli slid down the stone wall to the floor. A sickly flush bloomed across her pale face. Lifting her delicate lids, she looked at the robed back already turning away from her.
"See? Even when I tell you, you refuse to believe me."
Xu Yuan drew a deep breath, looking up at the cramped, pitch-black stone ceiling above.
"Orenli, it seems you truly traded for quite a bit of intelligence regarding our Great Yan from someone..."
"So, do you wish to know who that person is?"
"You wouldn't tell the truth anyway. Besides, Great Yan doesn't care about a single treacherous rat. But I wonder if the intelligence he gave you..."
Returning to the chair, Xu Yuan crossed his legs, folded his arms across his chest, and tilted his head. Staring at the imperial princess in the corner, he chuckled faintly. "...included any information on Great Yan's methods of torture?"
Orenli lifted a slender, delicate hand to tuck a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear, uttering two words unhurriedly:
"Suit yourself."
Xu Yuan lightly tapped his arm with the fingers of his crossed hands.
"It seems you have no desire for dignity."
Bracing a hand against the floor, Orenli slowly rose to her feet, her tone indifferent.
"Torture, no matter how varied the methods, ultimately boils down to two things: physical agony and psychological humiliation.
"The former I can endure. As for the latter, I do not believe you can find anything capable of humiliating me."
Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then called out softly:
"Minister of Justice."
The moment the words left his lips, the torchlight in the corridor flickered for an instant, and a gaunt figure cloaked in black robes appeared at the doorway.
The figure stood against the light, the darkness beneath the robe impenetrable as eternal night.
Xu Yuan stood up and walked toward the exit, speaking as he went:
"You must have heard what this woman said. I leave her to you for now. As long as she doesn't die, do as you please."
Reaching the doorway, Xu Yuan paused, glanced back at the blonde princess in the cell, and offered a gentle smile.
"You speak very boldly, but I hope your body proves just as tough as your mouth, Orenli."
With those parting words, Xu Yuan's figure vanished.
Inside the cell remained only the ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful woman, along with the dark silhouette that gradually engulfed the entire chamber in the flickering torchlight.
*Drip...*
*Drip...*
*Drip...*
When Xu Yuan arrived once more outside the cell where Orenli was held, he found that the cramped, gloomy space within had turned pitch-black.
The torchlight from the corridor could not penetrate it; only the faint dripping of liquid trickled out.
*A Dao domain?*
*No, this must be Qing's technique.*
Pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan withdrew his spiritual vision and stepped inside.
*Squelch.*
A soft squelching sound came from beneath his feet. Looking down, Xu Yuan furrowed his brow slightly.
The floor, once relatively dry, was now submerged beneath a sticky layer of crimson blood.
It was not deep, roughly an inch.
*Is this Orenli's blood? But even if a person were drained completely dry, they couldn't possibly accumulate this much...*
Catching the sickeningly thick stench of blood in the air, Xu Yuan shook his head faintly.
He had fallen into habitual thinking.
Given the vitality of cultivators, the legendary top ten tortures of his past life were mere appetizers, not to mention that Orenli seemed to possess a specialized healing magic ring.
The cell had not expanded despite the darkness. After taking four or five steps forward, a cluster of holy white radiance emerged in his field of view.
The holy light took human shape, suspended in midair by seven or eight chains. Crimson blood seeped from within, trickling down the iron links and dripping onto the stone below.
"..."
Just as Xu Yuan was wondering whether this cluster of holy light was Orenli, a soft, coquettish voice sounded from beside him:
"It has only been a single day. Why have you come already?"
It was Qing.
Xu Yuan glanced in her direction and answered:
"Just dropped by to take a look."
"Heh."
With a soft laugh, the darkness within the cell rapidly receded. Once the darkness dissipated, the cluster of holy light suspended by iron chains illuminated the room as bright as day.
Qing's figure remained shrouded beneath her black robe. Gazing at the cluster of light before her, she unhurriedly wiped blood from her emaciated, skeletal hands with a square cloth.
Evidently, she had only just concluded a round of torture.
Qing turned her body slowly, her sultry voice laced with a blend of regret and excitement.
"I've only applied nine methods. Lou Ji's concocted potions haven't even been used yet. You really should have come later."
Xu Yuan ignored her complaint, stepping forward at an easy pace to examine the human-shaped 'object' encased in holy light.
"How was it?"
Qing seemed to lick her lips beneath the robe.
"She has fallen unconscious. But this woman is exceptional, truly a pleasure to work on. That white light rapidly regenerates every wound on her body."
Xu Yuan shook his head.
"I meant her reaction."
Qing let out a faint sigh.
"Dull. She gritted her teeth the entire time she was being tortured, without letting out so much as a whimper."
"Is that so?"
Xu Yuan murmured under his breath, then said softly, "I understand. You may step down."
Qing remained standing where she was.
"What is it?"
"I still have over a hundred methods I haven't tried."
"This is my father's order."
"..."
In silence, Qing turned around without another word.
With her departure, some form of drainage mechanism seemed to activate within the cell.
Within a few breaths, the sticky pool of blood on the floor was drained and evaporated.
A dozen breaths later, the holy light before him gradually waned, finally revealing the voluptuous body within.
Her gown was gone.
Her features, clear as pure spring water, resembled a sleeping beauty from a fairy tale.
A slender waist, full hips, and long, straight legs—everything appeared as a masterwork of divine craftsmanship.
Silently circulating his cultivation technique, Xu Yuan waited quietly for her to wake.
After several more breaths, the woman's long, dense azure-gold eyelashes fluttered, and her beautiful eyes slowly opened. Her calm gaze settled upon the man before her.
A few moments of silence passed.
*Clang!*
The eight binding chains shattered into pieces out of nowhere. Her bare feet touched the floor. Orenli looked around with her azure eyes, completely unconcerned by her nakedness, and parted her red lips:
"Is it over?"
"For now," Xu Yuan replied.
Orenli looked back at him, her eyes sweeping over Xu Yuan with a sharp edge.
"The physical pain is over for now, which means you intend to make me feel humiliated?"
"I had that thought."
"Then bring it on."
Orenli spread her arms, her pale, bountiful breasts swaying slightly. A teasing smile colored her crisp voice:
"Do you want me to cooperate, or would you prefer I resist violently?"
Xu Yuan remained where he was, golden light flickering in his blood-colored pupils.
"If I were to do that, I suspect you'd find it quite enjoyable instead."
Orenli blinked, a sincere, clear smile spreading across her elf-like, pure face.
"Indeed. I have never opposed coupling with the strong. While the ideal candidate in my heart would be your elder brother, since you managed to outmaneuver me, you barely make the cut.
"Still, since you've put it that way, you probably won't grant my wish.
"So, whom do you plan to arrange? Jailers, rogue soldiers, foul-smelling beggars, or perhaps..."
At this point, Orenli tilted her head, her calm gaze meeting Xu Yuan's eyes with a smile.
"...demonic beasts?"
"..." Xu Yuan.
"..." Lou Ji.
"..." Qing.
Silence fell, so absolute that one could hear a pin drop.
Xu Yuan stared at the woman before him, who appeared as pure as a saintess. Taking a deep breath, he chuckled softly.
"Heh... it seems my imagination was too narrow. But do you Sien nobles possess no sense of propriety or shame at all?"
"Sien has no fewer tedious rules and etiquette than your dynasty."
Orenli leaned casually against the stone wall behind her, smiling faintly. "I simply do not care."
As she spoke, she ran a slender index finger across her flat abdomen, her tone tinged with a hint of regret:
"It would merely be a shame. If that happened and I managed to escape, I could no longer use my maidenhead to strike bargains with the great nobility or win people's loyalty."
Xu Yuan stroked his chin, pondering silently for an instant. Suddenly, his eyes curved into a smile as he looked at Orenli.
"I think I know how to make you submit."
"Oh?"
Orenli blinked, crossing her arms beneath her chest so that her ample flesh pressed together. "I look forward to it."
Xu Yuan offered no response, turning on his heel to walk out of the cell.
Watching his movements, Orenli chuckled lightly.
"What are you doing?"
Hearing her voice from behind, Xu Yuan paused in his step.
"Since interrogation is useless against you, I'll simply give up."
Saying so, Xu Yuan turned his head halfway. Beneath the faint illumination of the torchlight outside, his eyes remained veiled in shadow.
"Orenli, you've made me realize even more clearly just how dangerous of a person you are.
"So I've changed my mind.
"Compared to the intelligence regarding the Empire of Sien, right now, I'd rather lock you in here for the rest of your life."
"..."
Orenli's brows twitched upward slightly.
Xu Yuan smiled faintly and pointed to the four black rods lying on the ground.
"Oh, right. The Gewu Academy has already begun working through the night, using the information I provided and Huron's corpse to develop anti-magic methods capable of restricting you. Before long, you won't have any hope of shattering your shackles as easily as you just did.
"And out of respect for you, I will have you transferred from this Earth-rank cell to a Heaven-rank one."
With that, Xu Yuan bowed slowly, mimicking Huron's earlier mannerisms as he gracefully performed a standard knight's salute toward the woman in the cell.
"May we never meet again in this lifetime, Your Highness."
Chapter 501