The Interrogation of Guo Hao

The autumn sun blazed fiercely, casting a slender, almost ethereal white light through the dormitory window, as delicate and pale as a girl’s skin.

And there, nestled inexplicably in Guo Hao’s bed, beneath the covers, lay a petite, adorable girl. She possessed a pair of furry, pointed ears and a fluffy, pure white fox tail, and was still deep in slumber.

It was precisely three quarters past noon, a time traditionally deemed suitable for executions. In a sense, the events unfolding in Room 322 of the male dormitory building bore a certain resemblance to such proceedings. Though not a matter of life and death, it was, after all, a joint interrogation by the highest council of Room 322—or, to put it more plainly, a “Three-Court Joint Trial”!

Guo Hao sat solemnly in the exact center of the room, facing Linghu Ruoxu’s portable table. The three of us remaining brothers encircled him. Specifically, Yang Laoer and Guo Hao sat opposite each other, serving as the chief interrogators.

Linghu Ruoxu and I flanked them, acting as the co-interrogators.

“Guo Hao, I advise you to confess honestly,” Yang Laoer began, adopting the menacing posture of a prison warden from the imperial secret police. “As they say, ‘leniency for confession, severity for resistance.’ Where did you get this beast-eared loli? Be quick and tell your brothers clearly. Otherwise, heheh, we’ll have to hand you over to the security office on charges of molesting a minor!”

His demeanor suggested that if Guo Hao hesitated even slightly, the tiger bench and chili water would be brought out for immediate torture.

Guo Hao’s expression was somewhat bewildered, yet he seemed to evade the question as he stammered, “I-I truly have no idea. How did such a beautiful girl suddenly appear in… in my bed after I just stepped in and out of the dorm? It was completely empty when I took my basin out to wash up earlier!”

Yang Laoer was naturally displeased by this hesitant attempt to deflect blame. With a roll of his eyes, he slammed his hand down, nearly shattering Linghu Ruoxu’s portable table into pieces.

“Yang Laoer, go easy!” Linghu Ruoxu immediately protested.

However, Yang Laoer, brimming with righteous indignation, ignored the co-interrogator’s complaint. He spat out, “Impudent! Still daring to deny and quibble? Guards, seize him and prepare the torture!”

He shouted loudly, gesturing to Linghu Ruoxu and me, signaling us to restrain Guo Hao. Linghu Ruoxu, who had almost fallen out with Yang Laoer over his portable table, initially intended to refuse this command.

Yet, driven by intense curiosity about the fox-eared loli’s origins, Linghu Ruoxu deliberated for a moment. He then decided to temporarily set aside past grievances with Yang Laoer, burying the hatchet to first deal with the uncooperative Guo Hao.

Seeing that even Linghu Ruoxu had so disloyally taken action, I reasoned that the minority must obey the majority. Though I felt a pang of guilt towards Guo Hao, I had no choice but to stand up, extending my slender arm to grasp Guo Hao’s other side.

Honestly, the sight was rather incongruous. Guo Hao was naturally robust and tall, towering almost half a head above even my pre-transformation height. Now, after my body had shrunk considerably due to the Sunflower Divine Art’s bone-refining and muscle-tempering effects, my head’s Baihui acupoint would probably barely reach his shoulder.

This immense height difference made it seem as though I were dangling from his arm, rather than holding him by the armpit.

Yang Laoer watched our unbalanced formation with a melancholic gaze for several moments. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he stomped his foot. He likely considered my current lack of strength and lost martial arts, realizing I might not be able to restrain Guo Hao in a critical moment.

Thus, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

“Fourth Brother, move aside, move aside, let me take over! Fourth Brother, you be the chief interrogator. I refuse to believe we can’t get the truth out of him!” With these words, he replaced me, almost dangling in the air, seizing Guo Hao in one swift motion. He then turned back to instruct me, “If he’s still uncooperative, bring out the heavy torture. The usual rules: use his own socks!”

He concluded with a resentful smack of his lips.

And so, Yang Laoer took over, while I was suddenly appointed chief interrogator. During this change, Guo Hao only struggled symbolically. Although he possessed innate divine strength and cultivated the supremely masculine Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, this was, after all, inside the dormitory.

Firstly, he could avoid the first day, but not the fifteenth. Secondly, two fists are no match for four hands. No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t overcome the combined efforts of Yang Laoer and Linghu Ruoxu, those two rascals. Thus, he was utterly subdued.

Deterred by the imposing presence of my two brothers, I had no choice but to walk over. I skillfully retrieved the foul-smelling socks stuffed into his own athletic shoes and, with a hint of helplessness, returned to face Guo Hao, whose eyes were now wide as brass bells.

“Big Brother, don’t blame your Fourth Brother. I advise you to honestly tell us everything you know. Then we can all figure out what exactly is going on!”

“Let go of me, Fourth Brother! Big Brother, Big Brother, I’ve been wronged! I truly know nothing!” Guo Hao struggled, watching the socks draw ever closer to his face.

“Tsk, tsk, Big Brother, you still dare to be uncooperative? Fourth Brother, get to it! If we don’t give him a taste of hardship today, he won’t know the difference between salty and sour!” Yang Laoer sneered, clicking his tongue.

“Stop, no, no…” Guo Hao continued to struggle, unwilling to give up.

“Tsk, tsk, Big Brother, scream all you want! Even if you scream until your throat breaks, or even if you scream ‘Yamete,’ it won’t help!” Yang Laoer gloated, clearly taking advantage of the situation to settle old scores.

Seeing this, I could only sigh softly, whispering to Guo Hao, “Big Brother, just confess honestly. I actually sensed it… Last night, when you came back, you seemed a little off. When you first walked in, the first thing you said, you stammered and didn’t finish… You must know something, right?”

Upon hearing my words, Big Brother Guo Hao, who had been making a fuss, suddenly quieted down.

“Uh, Fourth Brother, you… do you know something?” His voice held a hint of evasiveness.

“I don’t know anything. I just felt that those two points of your behavior I mentioned earlier might be problematic, which is why I said it…” I replied truthfully, yet I gazed at him with eyes that seemed to have pierced through his facade.