Volume 12: Invitation to Hell, Chapter 25: The Hell of Crushing Stones

Back at the police station, the suspects brought in were already being interrogated, but progress remained minimal. The interrogating officers noted that these individuals were seasoned veterans who knew exactly how to speak to minimize their sentences.

"Charge the johns with the rape of minors and intentional injury. As for these human traffickers, lock them all in the largest interrogation room. I want to see them myself; I want to see just how long they can hold out under my watch," Yaoguang said, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

"I’m still saying, don't play them to death," Xuan Chen swallowed hard. Whenever Yaoguang wore that smile, it meant she was about to use ruthless methods.

"I wouldn’t dream of killing them. They are only fun to play with while they’re alive," Yaoguang chuckled, her expression growing even more sinister.

Upon entering the room, the nine individuals showed no reaction at the sight of Yaoguang. If the male officers couldn't break them, surely this delicate, clean-looking young woman couldn't either. But they were wrong—terribly wrong. Yaoguang’s methods were enough to make even the Demon Realm tremble in fear.

"Don't look at me like that. Before I start, you’d better take a good breath of air. It won't be so easy in a moment," Yaoguang said as she sat down.

The group remained silent, watching her with disdain. The next minute, Yaoguang walked over and unlocked all their handcuffs, leaving them stunned.

"Uncuffing you will make it easier for you to writhe on the floor later," Yaoguang laughed.

The men were confused, unsure of what this beautiful officer was up to. Behind her, Xuan Chen and Tianyou were breaking into a cold sweat; they knew Yaoguang was about to pull out all the stops.

Yaoguang looked at them, raised a hand, and sent several streams of spiritual energy into their minds. As she began to read their consciousness, the men felt their brains go numb, accompanied by sharp, searing pain.

"Fatty, you’re the worst of the nine. You arranged how to use these children for theft and begging. Shorty, you’re the most venomous; all the scars on those children are your handiwork. As for the rest of you, you’re just responsible for surveillance and acting as go-betweens. Fine, I see it all now." Yaoguang retracted her energy and walked up to the fat man. "Your mind is quite flexible. To come up with such twisted ideas... very well, 'Soul Judgment' is perfect for you."

Yaoguang formed a hand seal and struck the back of the fat man’s head. Before he could react, he felt as if countless knives were carving into his body from within. The agony was unbearable, and he collapsed, thrashing on the floor.

Yaoguang approached the short man and leaned down. "You really enjoy beating people, don't you? Those scars on the children—they were all you." As she spoke, the Golden Silkworm Gu King flew from her body and vanished into the short man’s skin.

"Xue’er, let him endure a thousand cycles of torment. I want him to be a living, breathing wreck," she said, returning to her seat.

The remaining seven in the room felt a chill run down their spines as they watched the two men screaming and rolling on the floor in inexplicable agony.

Thump. A woman knelt down, trembling. "We won't do it again! Please, let us go! We confess!"

"You confess now? You won't do it again? When those children knelt before you, begging just like this, did you listen? You liked withholding food from them the most, didn't you? From today on, you won't eat either." Yaoguang waved her hand, and a beam of light struck the woman. "I won't hit you, but from today, you will feel such hunger that you'll question your existence. Yet, you won't be able to keep anything down. You won't die, though; I’ve placed a curse on you. It will last for a year. Enjoy the feeling of hunger for the next twelve months."

"You broke that boy’s leg, didn't you?" Yaoguang walked to another man. "Then let this Bone-Eroding Worm stay with you. You will feel the constant, excruciating pain of a broken bone, but you will still be able to move normally. Only when that boy’s leg fully heals will this worm lose its effect." As she spoke, she placed a tiny black insect on the man's leg; it vanished instantly, and a moment later, the man shrieked as his leg felt as if it were being drilled through.

"You poisoned the throat of the child who stole my phone, didn't you? How should I punish you?" Yaoguang looked at the final man.

"I was wrong!" the man cried, terrified out of his wits.

"How did you poison the child? What did you use? You poured boiling oil down his throat, didn't you?" Yaoguang smiled.

"I was wrong! I was wrong!" the man wailed in panic.

"Xuan Chen, how should I punish him?" Yaoguang asked, turning back.

Jiang Yun walked in at that moment and struck the man in the neck, causing him to cough up blood. "For the rest of your life, you will cough constantly. It will never heal, and you will never be able to speak clearly again."

"A-Yun, what did you do?" Yaoguang asked in surprise.

"I planted the Yin energy of a Ghost Pill inside him. Let him suffer; that is the price," Jiang Yun said sternly. This girl certainly had his flair.

The remaining few, who hadn't physically harmed the children, escaped the worst of it, though they were terrified beyond measure.

Over an hour passed, and the fat man and the short man had already lost control of their bowels. The interrogation was completed amidst the wailing and howling.

Zhang Chunxia and Zhang Chunhuan were the ringleaders. They were responsible for scouting targets, while their subordinates handled the sales. The older children, difficult to sell, were trained to steal, while the younger ones were maimed and forced to beg.

The gang had existed for four years. Including those rescued, thirty-one children had passed through their hands, including four infants stolen by Zhang Chunxia.

During the search of their compound, they found an ledger recording the sale prices, the addresses where the children were sent, and the names of the buyers. Looking at the records, Yaoguang felt a burning desire to crush these people into dust. She filed for a nationwide search to locate the remaining children.

Yaoguang and her team discovered that Zhang Chunxia and Zhang Chunhuan were secret millionaires, and their nine subordinates were also well-off. To amass wealth by exploiting other people's children was a crime beyond forgiveness.

During the trial, Yaoguang appeared in person. After the proceedings, Zhang Chunxia and Zhang Chunhuan were sentenced to death, to be executed immediately. As they were already dead, they couldn't be punished further, but their crimes were permanently recorded. The short man and the fat man were sentenced to death as primary offenders, while the remaining seven received life imprisonment. Yaoguang’s curses followed them into their cells.

Before being loaded into the van to prison, the fat man looked at Yaoguang. "Our lawyer defended us, so why did no one speak in our favor?"

"Defense lawyer?" Yaoguang smiled. "I’ll let you die knowing the truth: he was my man. It was meant to ensure you paid with your lives. Did you know that of the thirty-one children you sold, two were sent to a black-market brick kiln and didn't survive? They are already waiting for you on the path to the underworld. How can you meet them if you don't go?"

"You're not a police officer—you're a devil!" the fat man shrieked.

"Yes, I am the eternal nightmare for people like you. I forgot to tell you: Zhang Chunxia and Zhang Chunhuan were crushed to death by a massive stone slab—the Stone Pressing Hell. After your execution, you will go to the real Stone Pressing Hell. I will be waiting for you in the underworld of Fengdu. Don't think I'm joking; the eighteen levels of hell truly exist, and the judgment there is even more severe," Yaoguang said with a wicked smile. The fat man’s mind shattered.

Two months later, the Supreme People's Court confirmed the judgment.

On the execution grounds, Yaoguang stood with her hands behind her back, looking at the two scoundrels. "I’m here to escort you to the Fengdu Underworld. Hahaha!"

The two men looked at her in terror before their eyes were covered. Gunshots rang out. Both bodies collapsed, blood pooling around them.

"Greetings, Divine One," Black and White Impermanence appeared, holding iron chains.

Two spiritual bodies floated out of the corpses. Seeing Yaoguang and the Ministers of Death, they began to tremble violently. The police officer was right; there really was an afterlife.

Black and White Impermanence approached, hooked their chains around the men’s necks, and began to drag them forward. The two struggled in vain, their eyes filled with indescribable horror. The ground beneath their feet changed from the cement of the human world to a dusty, dark, and gloomy path. They stumbled until they reached a grand archway. Looking up, they saw a black plaque with glowing, menacing characters: "Underworld."

"Move. You two are going straight to judgment," Black Impermanence said in a strange, shrill voice, dragging the two souls into the Palace of King Qinguang.

King Qinguang glanced at Yaoguang, who gestured for him to proceed without minding her.

"Trafficking children, causing disability... hmm, sentence them to the Oil Cauldron Hell and the Stone Pressing Hell. Take them away for execution," King Qinguang said, closing the Book of Life and Death.

Yaoguang followed and watched as the two were thrown into a boiling cauldron, the sound of sizzling flesh filling the air. After the cauldron, they were moved to the stone press.

Yaoguang left with a cold smirk on her lips. Those who sow evil shall reap it.

Upon returning to the police station from the underworld, the main entrance was once again crowded with families. Of the thirty-one children, only twenty-nine had been brought back. Yaoguang’s heart ached.

She returned to the Sky Sword office, where the television was broadcasting the news: "A major child trafficking case in the city has been solved. All suspects have been apprehended..."

*If you don't cherish your own children, how could you use others' to get rich? How could anyone be so cruel? Are they even human? They are worse than beasts. Zhang Chunxia, Zhang Chunhuan, when your souls return, go take a walk through the real Stone Pressing Hell.*

The eleventh level of hell: Stone Pressing Hell.

Passing through the small square near Jinse Road, Yaoguang felt someone tugging at her clothes. She turned to see a young boy of about ten.

"It's you," Yaoguang recognized him immediately—the boy who had once tried to steal her phone.

"Sister, thank you," the boy whispered.

"You can speak?" Yaoguang asked, overjoyed. During the Stone Pressing Hell case, she had learned the boy had been rendered mute due to vocal cord damage.

"I can. Thank you for saving me, Sister," the boy smiled.

Yaoguang reached into her pocket, took out a hundred-yuan bill, and pressed it into his hand. "You must always smile like that."

"I will," the boy nodded.

"Xiaoyang!" A woman ran up, startled to see her son holding money.

"That sister is the officer who saved me. I almost stole her phone back then, but she didn't blame me; she even gave me a hundred yuan. Mom, I was able to come back and speak again because she helped me. When I grow up, I want to be a police officer too," the boy said, watching Yaoguang’s retreating figure with a smile.

The woman hugged her son, looking at Yaoguang’s back, her face streaming with tears.