After finishing the meal and drinks, Yu Ziqing saw Lin Fu off, then stayed at the guesthouse himself. Ending his daily cultivation, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Yet in several places, people hadn't rested.
The Gu Family, the Gu Family Master instructed Lin Fu to deliver the sweet rain to the Eastern Palace overnight, leaving only three drops of the original liquid, and thirty drops of diluted sweet rain.
At the Duke Lin Mansion, Duke Lin walked briskly, leaving with his men overnight, planning to make a full show of going around Almsgiving Town before returning.
Gong Tianlin followed him throughout, discussing the next matters with Duke Lin in the Jade Chariot.
Meanwhile, at the Shadow Department, the Shadow Supreme sat alone in a large chair, still poring over numerous documents.
After a long time, he stood up, stretched his body, and sighed softly.
"I really am getting old..."
Elsewhere, in the dungeon of the Shadow Department.
A spy from the Shadow Department silently entered one of the prison cells, standing at a distance and bowing toward the corner.
"Lord Ye, that Qing Ziyu went to the Duke Lin Mansion first, but Duke Lin left the city overnight. Then he went to the Gu Family, and Lin Fu of the Gu Family also entered the palace overnight. As for that Qing Ziyu, he's staying at the guesthouse outside, not lodging at anyone's home."
In the dark corner, light slowly shone through.
There lay a stone bed with sparse straw, a man lying on his side there.
Hearing the spy's report, he slowly turned and sat up from the stone bed.
"Yes, I know, don't bother with him, just watch who seeks him out."
Ye Jiuyuan sat up and stretched before flicking his fingers, the back of the stone bed got shaved down, then he flicked again, narrowing the bed further.
"Just modify it , a bed is certainly needed, but this stone bed is hard enough, cold enough, and uneven, it'll do. It's just too long and wide, letting a person stretch their legs and even turn over. Those who enter our Shadow Department's dungeon shouldn't be too comfortable, it's not a guesthouse. Those in Qi Refinement or Refining God, let them stay here, prefer warmth? Make it cold for them, prefer the cold? Add some spice."
"I understand," the spy said cautiously, immediately taking out a notebook to jot down Ye Jiuyuan's instructions.
"By the way, what about Su Li?"
"Reporting, he went on a mission and hasn't returned yet."
"Alright, that's all. You may leave, I'll sleep a bit more."
Ye Jiuyuan lay back on the narrow, short stone bed, the discomfort of being unable to stretch his legs or turn over was noticeable, though not painful.
As time passed, that discomfort would relentlessly accumulate and persist.
It wasn't an excruciating torment, nor did it require interrogation, yet it could slowly erode one's resolve.
With this, he nodded in satisfaction, lying on that cold stone bed, quickly falling asleep.
Across the cell, another prisoner covered his ears, squatting in the far corner, his face pale, fear continually festering within.
There weren't many who feared for their lives after entering the Shadow Department's dungeon.
But Ye Jiuyuan was truly a madman, his torture methods were endless, sometimes even more malicious than the Evil Dao.
Today, he merely saw a prisoner sleeping soundly on the stone bed, so he personally entered a cell to experience the stone bed himself.
He never avoided speaking while other prisoners were around.
Last month, there was a stubborn one, Ye Jiuyuan stayed opposite him, conducting his work there.
After listening for a few days, not sure what secret was revealed, the stubborn one pierced his own ears on the spot, attempting to hang himself.
However, the several physicians stationed within the dungeon forcibly saved him, even treating his deafened ears.
To prevent further suicide attempts, or self-inflicted deafness, Ye Jiuyuan chopped off the man's limbs, crippled his Qi Sea, and submerged him in a large vat, forcing him to see and hear.
Within three days, the man confessed everything, only begging for a swift death to spare his family from involvement.
Today, Ye Jiuyuan occupied another cell, and the prisoner opposite was soon at his wit's end.
He wasn't afraid of dying; he was terrified of learning something forbidden. In that case, Ye Jiuyuan, this insidious fellow, might graciously allow his family to visit.
At that point, Ye Jiuyuan wouldn't need to lift a finger, many others would find ways to ensure his entire family was silenced.
Outwardly, though, Ye Jiuyuan was one of the few in the Shadow Department known for rarely killing.
To the uninformed, Ye Jiuyuan seemed insufficiently imposing, potentially facing trouble in advancing to the Shadow Supreme position.
In reality, within the Shadow Department, everyone knew he was a complete psychopath, rarely killing because he took pleasure in driving people to lives worse than death.
Especially among those Shadow Department members in the dungeon, none failed to break into a cold sweat upon meeting Ye Jiuyuan.
The prisoner opposite shivered all night, filling his mind with countless imaginings. By morning, as Ye Jiuyuan sat up from the stone bed, pounding his shoulders and back to stretch, the red-eyed, unrested prisoner instantly rushed to the cell door.
"Lord Ye, ask whatever you wish, I confess everything!"
Ye Jiuyuan glanced at him, then waved over a distant prison guard.
"Who is this guy? He says he'll confess, have someone handle him."
"Reporting, sir, he is a clerk from Hongwen Garden, because..."