It was difficult to truly use the word ‘hate’ properly. It could be said that the many housewives ‘hate’ their noisy neighbours or that children ‘hate’ vegetables. Yet none truly fit the orthodox definition of the word ‘hated’ better than Mo Xi. Countless commoners and nobles alike have seared his ghastly face into their minds. The few wrinkles that appeared at the corners of his eyes, the abnormally long face, his hands which were softer than a newborns’ and his greying hair. Each feature Mo Xi possessed would not be forgotten, even after they reached purgatory.

Mo Xi was born the only child born of the main wife of the Mo family, a family that had come to prominence two hundred years ago through the possessions of vast silver mines in Hedong (河東) province. The vast quantity of silver that flowed into the hands of the Mo family was enough for them to acquire a near unchallengeable dominance in Hedong province, permitting them to act not different from tyrants and warlords while paying lip service to the ruling dynasty. Mo Xi, in particular, was no different than a prince in those times, with even his parents unable to resist him.

When the Great Zhu overthrew the Sui, Hedong under the Mo family had publicly expressed their support for the former Emperor Gaozu, adapting themselves as loyal vassals to the new dynasty. Yet it was known that even the former Emperor dared not interfere in the internal politics in Hedong, and was only able to take the then ten-year-old Mo Xi as a hostage to guarantee the loyalty of the Mo family.

Mo Xi, after being taken to the capital, acted no differently from when he was in Hedong. He would frequently visit gambling dens and brothels, killing as he pleased with few exceptions, and as the years passed, he would show himself to be extremely talented in one field.

Torture.

The man holds no remorse towards his victims, each of his strikes was made to maximize the greatest amount of pain dealt, with many under his cane unable to bear more than five lashes before losing consciousness.

Mo Xi’s ghastly expression shore with interest as he circled the bound Jing Wen with his hands hidden in his sleeves. The footsteps vanished once he reached the back of Jing Wen. “I have once heard that those lacking a sense would have the rest of their senses enhanced. I wonder if Sir Jing will care to prove my hypothesis.”

Jing Wen was familiar with Mo Xi’s cruel nature, that he was entertained by the pleas of victims, just before the strike had been initiated. As such, Jing Wen answered without a single fluctuation in his voice, “Officer Mo, I have only been blind of a month. I’m afraid I have yet to adapt to it. My sense has yet to be enhanced by need.”

Mo Xi laughed coldly. Taking his hands out of his sleeves, he said, “What Sir Jing says does indeed make sense. But since your body is resilient as a result of your martial arts, I believe it is only fair that the strikes should be more impactful, no?”

Jing Wen’s body was bound, but he could sense Mo Xi slowly advancing towards him, as a tiger would approach a docile deer. He said, “Officer Mo has been in this field for over twenty years. I believe there are many precedents that Officer Mocan base my punishment off.”

As Jing Wen said those words, Mo Xi’s expression turns twisted. As Jing Wen said, he has tormented countless people ever since he had arrived at Lin’an, yet none had responded the same way Jing Wen had. He chose to forgo with the pretences and asked, “Are you doubting my ability? I have tortured men with martial arts even greater than yours until they were begging for mercy.”

Jing Wen likewise, no longer cared for etiquette. “Mo Xi, I have seen your heartlessness many times as an Imperial Guard, that you are a pervert that lives off suffering. How could I give you any satisfaction from my misery?

Mo Xi’s expression now truly turned dark, like heavy clouds gathering upon the sky. He leaned behind Jing Wen and whispered, “Very good. Let us hope that the Heavens would have mercy upon you.”

The next moment, the cane in Mo Xi’s hands glided through the air, leaving behind a thundering crack, it struck Jing Wen with 300 jin (180kg). The bamboo instantly tore through Jing Wen’s white robes, leaving a bloody wound.

The viciousness contained within the strike was something that truly can make anyone ‘hate’ a person.

---

“Sir Jing had only returned to the capital a day ago, yet he is already subjected to cruel whims of Mo Xi. How could His Majesty choose Mo Xi instead of other officers - I think Officer Bu Jin (卜晉) is far more fitting.”

An ancient saying once went; where there are women, there is gossip. However, Jing Wen had found it to be untrue - there is endless chatter among men too. A better interpretation would be; where there are people, there is gossip.

And surrounding the flogging grounds are indeed many people. While they were not necessarily twisted perverts like Mo Xi, many had hoped that their presence would pressure Mo Xi to be more lenient towards Jing Wen, or simply were attracted by the name ‘Jing Wen’. The man was originally associated with his influential father, yet now, he was subjected to one of the cruellest punishments in the Empire, causing many of the court ladies to feel sympathetic to Jing Wen, but few dared to voice it aloud.

“When it comes to Jing Wen, the young man is just too stubborn. Since he is essentially punished in exchange for sparing the life of his old subordinate, it’s reasonable for His Majesty to want to bring Jing Wen down a notch. His Majesty even halved the amount of beating he would take.”

“But even so, the officer responsible for caning Sir Jing should not be Mo Xi. Empress, surely you’ve heard of Mo Xi’s act against women, how can you defend him?”

The heroic yet fragile appearance of Jing Wen contrasted with the vicious image of Mo Xi caused the woman to grow even more defensive of Jing Wen. Moreover, she was never one to hold back her words to begin, even before the Emperor’s wife, she dared to question the decision of the Emperor.

“Consort Ru (如), while Mo Xi is vicious, he is one of the few experienced enough to truly inflict pain upon those at the peak of martial arts. As someone coming from a martial family, you should be well aware that martial artists are far more resilient than normal men. Bu Jin is too young, and has no talent in martial arts.”

Consort Ru shook her head and said with urgency, “Empress, Jing Wen had already lost the ability to move Qi around his body to protect himself. Aside from his body being a bit tougher, he is just an ordinary person!”

The Empress looked at Consort Ru and gave a sober smile. Consort Ru had only joined the Imperial Harem recently, and knew nothing of the darkness hidden within the human heart. She was an oddity even more in the Harem, as she had come from a martial sect, while most consorts were daughters of noble families. In regards to court politics, she was no different than a farm girl.

There wasn’t a woman in Lin’an that despised Mo Xi, but what can any of them do? The man had been granted countless privileges in the capital, and even rumours were that he was even a part of the Seventh Prince’s faction, which even surpassed the influence of the Crown Prince.

“Consort Ru, your thinking is too naive. Even if Jing Wen does, then so what? He had lost the backing of his father and position as the captain of a division of the Imperial Guard. He is no different than a stray dog, only good for garnering pity.”

Consort Ru bit her lips as she watched Jing Wen continued to be tortured under Mo Xi’s cane. On Jing Wen’s body, there were already nine wounds, each deep and gruesome. The smell of blood permeated the air, causing many of the other spectators to feel faint.

Yet even upon till now, Jing Wen had not muttered a single sound from his, his facial muscle not changing in the slightest. This amount of will truly surprised Mo Xi, causing him to even feel somewhat afraid of such a monster that seemed unable to feel pain.

He knew that while he was unexceptional at most things other than torture, his martial arts was still far better than most. The force behind his cane has been steadily increasing, and even beads of sweat have begun to roll down on Mo Xi’s face.

The next strike he could launch was the last of the punishment. If Jing Wen still can bear it silently, Mo Xi will feel as though his entire existent has been insulted. He wiped the sweat on his face with his sleeves, before forcing the Qi within his body to flow into the cane in his hand.

The bamboo immediately churned out a loud hum, as if unable to resist the Qi flowing into it, ready to break at a moment’s notice. But before that could happen, it broke through the winter wind and cut towards Jing Wen.

Jing Wen was still tied to the pole, and helpless to stop it. A loud ‘pah’ resonated throughout the filled flogging grounds, overpowering the conversations happening between the observers.

However, the expected cry of pain did not come. Jing Wen’s face did indeed turn purple with pain, yet he managed to suppress the urge to howl through biting his lips, so hard that he had pierced through skin, and blood flowed through his lips, causing it to become dyed crimson.

Mo Xi’s face had now become both black and white, from anger and exhaustion. His hands were longer unable to hold onto the bamboo cane, which had already begun to split into countless parts. As the cane dropped onto the ground, the cracks expanded at an increasing rate, and the stick soon turned into no more than dust.

The entire field was silent. All the spectators were well educated and knew that Mo Xi had purposefully and illegally injected Qi into his last strike. This amount of Qi was enough to destroy earthen bricks, yet Jing Wen still hasn’t uttered a single sound.

The silence was finally broken when Consort Ru scolded, “What are you waiting for! Do you want to watch Mo Xi beat him a few more times? Someone untie Sir Jing.”