"So," I rose from Xiong Xiaomeng's embrace and turned to Yaoyao, pointing at Han Yin Temple, "is that Shakespearean expert still breathing?"
"Not dead, just tied up," Yaoyao said indifferently, giving the Boss a look.
The Boss, along with the Fifth and the Fox Demon, climbed back up the mountain and carried a "master" down from the temple.
The mountain path was steep, making it difficult for them to carry someone, so the master rode on the Boss's snake head down. He even got to experience it. The Fox Demon hugged the Boss's clothes from behind. After the hostage was put down, the Boss, with clothes in his mouth, went behind a wall to transform and change. The hostage's eyes were covered, and the Boss mainly wanted to avoid my suspicion. It seemed they weren't familiar enough yet. When they were very familiar, she wouldn't need to go to such lengths to hide and change every time.
I had the Fox Demon remove the master's blindfold. He was an elder, looking over sixty, with a weathered face and a scar on his left cheek.
I respectfully called him "Grandpa" and explained my purpose. Grandpa was quite stubborn, turning his head away and remaining silent no matter what I asked.
"Grandpa, if you act like this, I'll have to be impolite," I said, playing with the dagger in my hand to threaten him.
"A defeated soldier, I dare not speak of bravery. Kill me or flay me, as you wish!"
"Are you composing poetry here?" I chuckled. "Since you don't want to live, I'll oblige you. Killing you is very simple; any one of us here could take you down easily. However, I prefer to complicate simple matters. Grandpa, how much do you weigh?"
This was not a question he couldn't answer. Grandpa was taken aback. "Uh? 200 jin. What's wrong?"
Grandpa was quite stout, similar in build to Hong Jinbao. I figured he was understating it.
I squatted on the ground and wrote an arithmetic problem in the dirt with the dagger: "200 jin, minus 40 jin for bones, then minus 30 jin for organs, leaves 130 jin of meat. That means, 1,300 liang..."
"Wh-what do you want to do?" Grandpa asked, confused and a little nervous.
I stood up and handed the dagger to Xiong Xiaomeng. "Fourth, I heard your knife skills are excellent."
"Huh?" Xiong Xiaomeng blinked. "Who told you that? I don't know how to use a knife!"
"...Never mind," I rolled my eyes at her. Such a dummy, how could she lack any sense of cooperation? "I want you *not* to know knife skills!"
"...And then?" Xiong Xiaomeng took the dagger, even more bewildered.
I pointed at Grandpa. "Go, strip him. With every cut, take off one liang of meat, no more, no less. I require you to make 1,300 cuts. Afterward, I want a complete skeleton, with no knife marks on the bones and not a shred of meat left. It's 11 o'clock now. One cut every three seconds. I'll give you one hour and five minutes. If you don't finish, I'll fine you by not letting you eat for three days."
Xiong Xiaomeng stared at the dagger in her hand, frowned, and shook her head like a rattle drum. "I can't do it! I really don't know how to use a knife. This thing isn't as useful as my claws!"
Huh? Claws would work too, perhaps even more intimidating.
"Then use your claws. The requirement is the same: with one swipe, just shave off one liang of meat." I changed the rules of the game again.
"Heh heh, that's more like it!" Xiong Xiaomeng wasn't as reserved as the Boss. She transformed instantly, her clothes bursting as she turned into a giant black bear over three meters tall, which startled me!
Roar!
Big Black Meng let out a sky-piercing roar, extended its sharp claws, and with a few swift movements, tore off Grandpa's shirt. Without a word, it swiped at his chest, leaving three deep gashes and three strips of meat hanging from its claws. Perhaps instinctively, the bear was about to put the meat in its mouth, but Yaoyao quickly stopped it and told it to discard it.
The bear reluctantly dropped the human flesh and raised its claws again.
I looked at the subject of his punishment. This Grandpa was indeed tough, his eyes tightly shut, making no sound.
"Continue," I said calmly.
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
It was a bit like the meat slicers in the back kitchen of a hot pot restaurant.
Soon, Grandpa's chest muscles were torn apart. He still remained silent. The big black bear looked at me, asking for further instructions. I pointed to Grandpa's shoulders and told it to continue tearing.
I mustn't tear his abdomen, or he might die.
The big black bear tore several more strips of meat from Grandpa's shoulders. Finally, Grandpa couldn't bear it any longer. Enduring the intense pain, he opened his eyes and glared at me, "You win! I admit defeat! Ask your questions!"
Thinking I had succeeded, I was about to ask when Yaoyao said, "Fourth, continue. Tear him down to the bone!"
"Why?" I asked, confused.