Turning My Junior Sister into a Mary Sue In Xianxia Yuri World

“Ahhhh—!!!”

Xue Xinghai never imagined that his earlier joke would become a reality.

He found himself suffering under the very torture instruments he had crafted with his own hands.

The small dagger in Zhuang Yan’s hand might seem ordinary, but it was capable of penetrating a cultivator’s protective aura and cutting directly into the soul.

Zhuang Yan merely made a small cut on Xue Xinghai’s shoulder, and Xue Xinghai was already drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at Yun Yiyi and the others who were watching.

However, in order to make the interrogation seem credible, he had no choice but to endure it, hoping to hold out for as long as possible.

But after only a quarter of an hour, Xue Xinghai couldn’t take it anymore and shouted:

“Stop—Stop—I’ll confess!! I’ll confess everything!!”

Zhuang Yan’s heart skipped a beat at these words.

He knew the power of the torture instrument in his hand and had seen many stubborn criminals confess everything under its influence.

Now, he was genuinely worried that Xue Xinghai might spill everything, including his involvement.

Zhuang Yan glanced at the three spectators and then put down the torture instrument, asking:

“Why did you kill the twenty-seven inner disciples?”

“I…”

Xue Xinghai saw the fierce look in Zhuang Yan’s eyes and realized that if he said anything he shouldn’t, Zhuang Yan would kill him on the spot.

“Someone ordered me to do it. His name is… Yan Hai! He’s a wanted criminal on the borderlands. He paid me spirit stones to kill twenty-eight inner disciples who had offended him.”

Hearing this, Zhuang Yan quickly understood.

If he could cover this up by paying some spirit stones as a bribe, the matter could be settled.

As for Yan Hai, he could just kill him, leaving no evidence behind.

“How many spirit stones did he give you?”

“Five hundred thousand.”

Couldn’t you have said a smaller amount?! Zhuang Yan bit his lip and asked:

“Where are the spirit stones?”

“They’re… in the basement of my Wutian Sword Pavilion.”

“Very well…”

Zhuang Yan nodded, then turned to the three who were observing and said, “Young Miss, Elder Hu, it seems this matter can be resolved quickly. I’ll send someone to retrieve the bribe from the Wutian Sword Pavilion, and this case can be closed. As for the criminal named Yan Hai, I will dispatch someone to capture him.”

However, listening to this poor act, Ye Anping shook his head in disapproval.

But before Ye Anping could say anything, Hu Tianyue spoke up on his behalf:

“Elder Zhuang, I’ve heard a bit about this case. Twenty-eight inner disciples and two core disciples—this is a serious crime. Even if Pavilion Master Xue has rendered meritorious service to the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, given the severity of this crime, even a reduced sentence would still result in death. There’s no need to show mercy; just use a soul-searching technique.”

“This…”

Zhuang Yan was momentarily at a loss for words.

The soul-searching technique was rarely used due to its severe side effects, typically reserved for those beyond redemption.

A cultivator subjected to soul-searching would be as good as dead.

Although they would retain their life and cultivation, their soul would be severely damaged.

Once the soul was damaged, the person would become a drooling idiot, with intelligence lower than that of an infant.

After all, an infant cries when it’s in pain and smiles when it’s full.

Upon hearing this, Xue Xinghai panicked and quickly pleaded:

“Elder Hu! I’ve already confessed! After all my years of forging swords for the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, how can you be so heartless—?”

Ye Anping interrupted:

“Pavilion Master Xue, you’ve taken the lives of thirty Shadowmoon Sword Sect disciples, including twenty-eight from the Yun family, many of whom were highly talented. You’re facing certain death. Soul-searching might at least give you a less painful death.”

“Less painful?! How can you call shattering a soul ‘less painful’?!”

“Your final punishment will be the Three-Flame Execution. If you become an idiot first, at least you won’t feel the pain, right?”

Zhuang Yan furrowed his brows and interrupted, invoking the rules:

“Young Master Ye, you haven’t even married into the Yun family yet, and you’re already daring to interfere in the Shadowmoon Sword Sect’s internal interrogations?”

However, Yun Yiyi’s face showed displeasure upon hearing this, and she backed up Ye Anping:

“Elder Zhuang, Young Master Ye is only speaking on my behalf. As the eldest daughter of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, am I not allowed to interfere in the interrogations?”

“…”

Zhuang Yan’s lips parted slightly as he desperately tried to figure out how to protect Xue Xinghai.

After all, Xue Xinghai was one of his key subordinates, skilled in refining and forging swords, and with remarkable talent.

Losing someone like him so senselessly would be a great pity. But what could he do now?

Should he take a desperate gamble, and together with Xue Xinghai, attempt to kill Hu Tianyue and the other two right here in this room?

But even thinking with his toes, he knew that was just wishful thinking.

Among cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, it might be possible to kill an opponent in an instant, but between those at the Nascent Soul stage or above, nearly all battles were drawn out, often taking days or even weeks without a clear outcome.

Was he really going to have to abandon Xue Xinghai?

Zhuang Yan furrowed his brows deeper, finally making up his mind.

He turned back to look at Xue Xinghai, a hint of apology in his eyes, as if to say: For the greater good, I have no choice but to sacrifice you.

Seeing this, Xue Xinghai’s eyes widened in shock.

This wasn’t what they had agreed upon!

Zhuang Yan had promised him that once he used the organs of the inner disciples to refine a body infused with the Yun family’s bloodline and had the soul of “Yun Kunwu” attach to it, he would make him the chief swordsmith of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect.

Xue Xinghai had agreed to help Zhuang Yan mainly for that reason, with a secondary motivation being the debt of gratitude he owed to “Yun Kunwu.”

But now, it seemed he was going to die at Zhuang Yan’s hands.

“Zhuang Yan!!! You son of a—”

“…”

Zhuang Yan gathered spiritual energy at his fingertips and slashed across Xue Xinghai’s throat.

In an instant, golden flames of soul-burning appeared in Xue Xinghai’s eyes, and his face contorted in pain as his arms, bound to the torture rack, struggled desperately.

Within ten breaths, a golden light shot out from Xue Xinghai’s throat like a ghostly flame, floating in mid-air before Zhuang Yan crushed it with his hand.

Xue Xinghai’s memories flashed through Zhuang Yan’s consciousness like a lantern in the wind.

Clang—Clang—

The sound of hammering metal echoed continuously.

For hundreds of years, Xue Xinghai’s focus had been solely on sword forging and refining, even committing murder to obtain better materials for his craft.

But now, Zhuang Yan also saw the jade pendant that Xue Xinghai had noticed earlier on Ye Anping’s waist.

Zhuang Yan had thought Xue Xinghai was making a fuss over nothing, but after seeing the Illusion Pendant himself, he was truly astonished.

Such a pendant, with such rich spiritual infusion, was rare even among the major sects in the Southern Region.

Fortunately, Zhuang Yan also saw that the corpse refined by Xue Xinghai was almost complete, lacking only a final blood spirit pearl.

“Retrieve!”

Zhuang Yan waved his hand, withdrawing his consciousness.

Then, he turned to the three others and said:

“This matter indeed stems from that criminal named Yan Hai. As for the exact reasons, Xue Xinghai didn’t know. He was just doing the job for money.”

Hu Tianyue nodded, took a sip from her jade gourd, and seemed bored.

She stood up, waved her hand, and said, “Then I’ll trouble Elder Zhuang to handle it.”

With that, she turned and walked toward the door of the interrogation room.

Ye Anping and Yun Yiyi also stood up, clasped their hands in salute, and followed her out.

Zhuang Yan stood there, frowning deeply as he watched Ye Anping until the three of them had left the room.

Only then did he turn his gaze back to now stupid Xue Xinghai, who was still bound to the torture rack, and murmured:

“Daoist Xue, I will surely use the heads of those three to honor you.”

Xue Xinghai: “Aba Aba Aba—”