Grant Me a Swift Death

Chi Taichong's Qi Mansion had been sealed, rendering him unable to channel his Qi. However, Mu Xiangli could. Just like learning martial skills in the past, by using his own Qi to drive the other's Qi, the effect remained the same.
"What are you doing?" Chi Taichong struggled desperately, but unfortunately, it was all in vain.
"You are so troublesome." Mu Xiangli tore two pages from his notebook, crumpled them into balls, and stuffed them into Chi Taichong's mouth, instantly bringing peace.
"Hmm, let's see what happens when Qi flows from the Changqiang acupoint to the Yangguan acupoint, and then through the Shimen acupoint." As Mu Xiangli spoke, he guided Chi Taichong's Qi to run along the path he had envisioned.
After passing through the acupoints, the Qi began to undergo changes. Since bad guys were limited in number, Mu Xiangli cherished them during his experiments. He did not rush into complex research from the very beginning; if the subject died too quickly, wouldn't he suffer a great loss?
"Ah, so this way can compress the volume of Qi and increase its density." Mu Xiangli picked up his small notebook and began recording.
By now, Chi Taichong had guessed what he was doing and was completely terrified. Though nothing seemed wrong at the moment, he would surely suffer later.
"Mmph, mmph..." Chi Taichong was anxious, but with his mouth stuffed, he could do nothing.
Mu Xiangli then began the next step of the experiment. After passing through several acupoints, the Qi suddenly became wild, like an uncontrollable tempest, and began tearing Chi Taichong's Qi meridians apart.
His face instantly turned deathly pale, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood... Ah, he couldn't spit it out; it was all choked back into his mouth.
Mu Xiangli was startled: "Fortunately, I gagged you, otherwise wouldn't you have sprayed it all over my face?"
His words almost made Chi Taichong, who had just suffered internal injuries, faint from anger. On the contrary, he really wanted to faint, as passing out would bring relief, but unfortunately, he was just a bit short of it.
"The injury isn't severe; you must hold on a bit longer." Mu Xiangli checked his Qi meridians. The damage wasn't too serious, and they could still continue. Thus, he wrote in his small notebook: "When Qi passes through the Lingtai, Qihai, and Yinjiao acupoints, and then redirects to the Fengfu acupoint, it produces an uncontrollable chaotic effect." As he recorded, he also pondered: if he could find another suitable acupoint before passing through the Fengfu acupoint, could this uncontrollable chaos be turned into controllable?
"Academic research brings me joy." Mu Xiangli was very excited. Rather than academic research, it was more like studying game cheats, using scientific calculations to find the best solution. This was something only a top expert could do.
Mu Xiangli was afraid Chi Taichong would choke to death on his own blood, so he pulled the paper gag out of his mouth.
As soon as the paper was removed, Chi Taichong cursed frantically: "You actually dare to use another warrior's Qi meridians for research! You will die a horrible death!"
Mu Xiangli's tone was casual: "Whether I die peacefully is a matter for the future and hard to predict. But you will certainly not die easily."
Chi Taichong was utterly terrified: "Just let me die quickly, I beg you, grant me a swift death."
"You still speak very fluently. It seems you didn't choke." Mu Xiangli crumpled two fresh sheets of paper and stuffed them back into his mouth.
"Mmph, mmph..."
Mu Xiangli ignored him and continued his research. Only when writing his notes did he sigh slightly: "This will be dark history in the future."
The more he experimented, the more enthusiastic he became. In his excitement, he couldn't help but attempt more complex procedures. Chi Taichong's Qi meridians, already tortured to the point of extreme fragility, completely gave out this time. His meridians shattered, his internal organs were severely damaged, and he died on the spot.
"Ah..." Mu Xiangli was filled with regret. He had died too quickly, in less than a day.
"I must cherish the next one more. Tsk, saying it like that makes me sound a bit like a psychopath." Mu Xiangli's consciousness remained very clear.
"Someone, drag this one out and bring in the next." Mu Xiangli ordered the people outside.
The members of the Night Patrol Division were not arranged by the Crown Prince, but were chosen by Zhou Yi. Those responsible for handling these operations had seen all kinds of scenes. The highest form of Lingchi required three thousand six hundred cuts; compared to that, Chi Taichong had not suffered too much.
Before long, another person was brought in. As before, Mu Xiangli held the file and began to read: "Xie Xuewu, you are quite capable. As an escort, you grew greedy for your client's wealth, embezzled the goods, murdered the client's entire family, and didn't even spare the brothers who escorted with you. How ruthless! You almost escaped Xiyu with the wealth, missing it by just a hair."
Xie Xuewu glared at him sideways, saying absolutely nothing, his face filled with indifference, as if to say he could be killed or sliced as they pleased.
"Very well, if you have the guts, don't make a sound later. If you utter a groan, I'm your grandfather." Mu Xiangli regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth: "Having a grandson like you, how could I have the face to live? I take back what I just said."
Xie Xuewu glared at him fiercely.
Mu Xiangli ignored him and began his research. Xie Xuewu was very tough at first, but before long, he couldn't bear it. A man who forgot righteousness for profit, who could kill his client and brothers, could hardly possess a strong will.
"If you want to kill me, just do it! Don't torture me!"
Mu Xiangli checked the time and realized it was getting late. He stood up and said, "I'll have someone bring you some food shortly. Rest for a bit, and we will continue tomorrow."
"Kill me! Just kill me!"
Amidst Xie Xuewu's screams, Mu Xiangli stepped out of the room.
Once outside, he found Zhou Yi drinking tea: "Why are you here?"
"How was the harvest?" Zhou Yi asked.
Mu Xiangli shook the notebook in his hand: "Want to see?"
Zhou Yi was very honest: "Yes."
Mu Xiangli tucked the notebook into his chest: "No!"
Zhou Yi took a deep breath. He was quite a failure as the Commander-in-Chief; could he not inspire some awe in his subordinates?
By right, an organization like the Night Patrol Division and its Commander-in-Chief should make people tremble at the mere mention of their names, and stop children from crying at night. It seemed he had failed a bit.
Zhou Yi composed himself, then said, "I heard one of them died?"
Mu Xiangli nodded: "Lord Zhou really knows how to choose people. Each one is heinous. Killing them gives me absolutely no sense of guilt."
"Otherwise, why would I choose them?" Zhou Yi said crossly.
"How is the city today?" Mu Xiangli asked.
Zhou Yi said helplessly, "How else could it be? It's being talked about in every street and alley. Today I went out for a bowl of noodles, and the shop owner told me that yesterday over thirty people died at Guangju Pavilion, and more than a dozen spies were captured."
Mu Xiangli: "Excellent!"
He suddenly had a new idea. In Zhaoyang for so long, he had yet to discover anything called a newspaper.
He remembered that newspapers existed in ancient times, seemingly originating in the Tang Dynasty, which meant newspapers could adapt to a feudal society.
His idea was definitely to start a newspaper himself to make money, but without even thinking, he knew it was unrealistic. This business would eventually be monopolized by the imperial court and managed by the government.
Since he wouldn't gain any personal profit, he was in no hurry to voice this idea, waiting for a more suitable opportunity.
"Ah, there is one more thing to remind you," Zhou Yi said. "The examinations for Wenhua Academy and Longwu Academy are about to end. Wrap up your business here quickly. After you enroll, you will need to pay more attention."