Chapter 160: Perfect Psychological Induction

"Let me out! Let me out!!"

"You bastards! Do you know who I am?!"

"I am Tie Renhao! I am the Royal Highness of the Great David!"

"How dare you lock me up?! I will hack you into pieces and execute your entire clan to the ninth degree!!!"

Hoarse roars and the clashing of iron echoed endlessly through the dungeon, yet it was pitch black inside, concealing whatever was happening.

At that moment, Ye Xin slowly walked in. Yue Hu, who had been resting his eyes with them closed, snapped them open upon hearing the movement. Seeing it was Ye Xin, he leaped to his feet and said, "Lord, you're here."

Ye Xin waved a hand, listening intently to Tie Renhao's distant, muffled roaring. A smile touched the corner of his mouth, and he asked, "How many days has it been?"

"After tonight, it will be the third day," Yue Hu replied.

"How is his condition?" Ye Xin asked again.

"Constantly agitated, just like a fierce beast caught in a trap, but he has a stubborn spine." Yue Hu smiled. "I haven't given him anything to eat or drink for the past two days, and it's truly a wonder how he's managed to hold on. Anyone else's throat would have gone dry and hoarse long ago, making even speech difficult. Yet he can still shout now, and his vital breath is surprisingly strong."

"It's about time, then," Ye Xin nodded.

"Lord, if you loathe him, just put him out of his misery. There's no oil to be squeezed from him anyway," Yue Hu remarked.

"Who says there's no oil? I've pinned my hopes entirely on him," Ye Xin's eyes gleamed with a flickering light.

"Is the Lord... planning to break him like a wild eagle?" Yue Hu seemed to understand something.

"I've never seen an eagle broken, nor do I understand how it's done," Ye Xin said. "Locking him here is meant to force him into Stockholm Syndrome. That will make things much easier for me to handle."

"What... what kind of syndrome?" Yue Hu was dumbfounded, having never heard of such a thing.

"It's an excessive psychological dependence," Ye Xin murmured. "Judging by the time, it should be just about right. Open the door."

"Understood," Yue Hu replied, and then unlocked the iron gate.

"Tell Bai Qi to bring the paperwork over to me, and prepare brushes, ink, a table, and a chair," Ye Xin instructed. "Executing a flawless psychological induction takes at least a few hours. We mustn't waste it."

"Understood," said Yue Hu.

Soon, light illuminated the pitch-black dungeon. Someone then arranged a table and chairs, setting out writing brushes and ink. Ye Xin's figure appeared; he walked over to the desk, sat down slowly, and a stack of documents was handed to him by someone at his side, placed right on the table. Ye Xin picked up the topmost document and began to review it carefully.

The instant he caught sight of Ye Xin, Tie Renhao ceased his futile howling. He stared blankly at Ye Xin, beads of cold sweat pooling on his forehead.

Tie Renhao's current state was abyssal. Confined within a vicious standing cage, he could not even turn around. His demeanor was wilted, and his lips were parched and cracked, stained with blood.

"Ye Xin... So... so it was you who wanted to kill me..." Tie Renhao said with great effort.

Ye Xin remained silent, continuing to flip through the paperwork.

"I've already been reduced to this... Do you still refuse to spare me?" Tie Renhao wanted to weep, wanting nothing more than to collapse, but restrained by the cage, he couldn't fall down at all.

Ye Xin rapidly jotted a few notes on the documents, then switched to another file.

"What on earth do you want? What exactly do you want? Speak! Say something!!" Tie Renhao howled.

Ye Xin turned a deaf ear, as if he and Tie Renhao existed in two entirely different, mutually isolated worlds.

"Fine... I know I've offended you too many times and have no hope of survival. Fine! I'll ask you for one last favor—if you want to kill me, just give me a quick death!" Tie Renhao screamed.

Ye Xin put down the second document and picked up the third, treating the place entirely as if it were his own Grand Commandant's Manor.

"Kill me! Come and kill me!" Tie Renhao had completely lost his mind, frantically shaking the iron cage.

Finally, Ye Xin reacted. He raised his head and glanced in Tie Renhao's direction, then turned slightly and called out, "Yue Hu, bring a flask of water in for him."

"Right away." At the call, Yue Hu walked in from outside carrying a water flask. He strode quickly to the cage and handed the flask to Tie Renhao.

Tie Renhao had not tasted water for two days. Acting purely like a wild beast, he snatched the flask with all his might and tilted his head back, pouring it straight into his mouth.

In just a few gulps, the water in the flask was entirely drained. Not yet satisfied, Tie Renhao used his remaining strength to shake the flask continuously, attempting to squeeze out even a single drop more.

A dignified Fifth Royal Highness reduced to such a plight was somewhat heartbreaking.

"Enough," Yue Hu reached out and snatched the flask back.

Tie Renhao swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he asked in a low whisper, "Is there... is there anything to eat?"

Yue Hu said nothing and looked back at Ye Xin, who nodded.

"Wait here," Yue Hu said with an irritable tone, then walked outside.

Before long, Yue Hu returned holding a steamed bun, which he handed through the bars to Tie Renhao.

As if grabbing for dear life once more, Tie Renhao snatched the bun and shoved it directly into his mouth. He swallowed it in two or three bites, though the process was somewhat difficult, choking him so badly his eyes rolled back.

Yue Hu departed once again, pulling the iron gate shut behind him. With only Ye Xin and himself left in the dungeon, Tie Renhao, whose complexion had slightly improved, stared fixedly at Ye Xin.

Psychologically speaking, creating a victim with Stockholm Syndrome requires four key elements:

First: The hostage must genuinely feel that the captor threatens their survival.

Second: During the captivity, the hostage must recognize small acts of kindness performed by the captor.

Third: The hostage must be isolated from all outside perspectives, usually receiving no external information other than the captor's single viewpoint.

Fourth: The hostage must believe that escape is utterly impossible.

With these four elements in place, coupled with psychological induction, a sufferer of Stockholm Syndrome could be born.

Now, all four conditions were completely met.

"Ye Xin, I've never begged anyone for anything in my life, but I'm begging you today—just kill me cleanly!" Tie Renhao pleaded mournfully.

"My ignoring you was meant to make you reflect on your own foolishness, but looking at you now, you seem completely beyond saving," Ye Xin said slowly. "Why would I want to kill you? What benefit would killing you bring me? I've already driven Tie Xinsheng to his death and taken the blame for it; must I still come after you? More importantly, there's no need whatsoever. With your abilities, you pose no threat to me at all!"

"Then why did you lock me in a place like this?!" Tie Renhao screamed.

"Figure it out yourself," Ye Xin replied, and with that, he ignored Tie Renhao entirely and picked up the fourth document.

Tie Renhao turned his meager wits to frantic rumination. What Ye Xin said made sense; ever since Tie Shudeng had been named crown prince, few people bothered with him, often ignoring his existence entirely. Since Ye Xin already held sole command of the military, was there any need to target him like this? Confident though he was, Tie Renhao wasn't arrogant enough to think he could pose a threat to Ye Xin.

Time slipped away drop by drop. By the time Ye Xin had started browsing through the ninth document, a flash of insight struck Tie Renhao's brain, and he suddenly shrieked, "It's the Third Brother? Tie Shudeng wants me dead?!"

"You finally haven't suffered in vain," Ye Xin said indifferently.

Tie Renhao's heart turned to ashes. He had一直 vied with Tie Shudeng for the position of crown prince. Now that Tie Shudeng had succeeded, eliminating him to prevent future trouble was only natural, and for Ye Xin, as Tie Shudeng's confidant, to carry out the deed made complete sense.

"Then... kill me then... give me... a quick death... stop... torturing me..." Tie Renhao said in utter despair.

"If I wanted you dead, you would have been a corpse two days ago," Ye Xin remarked.

What? Tie Renhao could not believe his ears. Why was Ye Xin unwilling to kill him?

Unfortunately, with his shallow intellect, he simply could not puzzle out the truth. After a long silence, Tie Renhao shook his head. "I don't believe you. You're definitely just going to keep torturing me. I refuse to believe you'd defy Tie Shudeng's orders..."

"The logic is simple," Ye Xin smiled faintly. "Tie Shudeng wants you dead right now; in a few days, he'll want me dead too."

"Has he lost his mind?" Tie Renhao was struck dumb. "Without you, what does the Great David have left to withstand the offensives of the Great Zhao and Great Yu?!"

"Oh?" Ye Xin paused, a flicker of moved emotion crossing his eyes. "Tie Renhao, is that genuinely what you think?"

Wait... Ye Xin was actually moved? Then he must have accidentally guessed right about something! Tie Renhao's emotions surged with excitement as he racked his brain to think.

Ye Xin narrowed his eyes. He had originally prepared to spend several hours completing the psychological induction, but things were progressing far more smoothly than he had anticipated.

The key to psychological induction is creating a shared point of destiny. While he was still testing the waters, Tie Renhao was already trying his hardest to cater to him.

"I suppose everyone in Great David thinks the same way, don't they?" Tie Renhao ventured cautiously. "Ye Xin, executing Sima Qinghong in battle could still be brushed aside, but daring to set your sights on Zhuang Buhuo proves what kind of nerve you possess. I don't know what Tie Shudeng thinks, but I admire you."

"The Third Brother believes someone else could do better than I have," Ye Xin said flatly.

"Impossible!" Tie Renhao shook his head decisively, using so much force that his head slammed right against the iron bars of the cage.

"In truth, the reason I haven't killed you according to Tie Shudeng's orders is because I've been weighing a certain matter," Ye Xin said.

"What matter?" Tie Renhao grew tense once more.

"I've been wondering..." Ye Xin sighed, then began pacing back and forth inside the dungeon.

Tie Renhao's eyes followed Ye Xin's figure relentlessly. Ye Xin walked quickly, pacing back and forth not far from him; after just a few dozen trips, his gaze could barely keep up anymore.

"If..." Ye Xin suddenly stopped dead in his tracks right before Tie Renhao. "If I were to enthrone you as the sovereign, would you trust me?"

"What???" Tie Renhao nearly fainted on the spot. He had only hoped to beg Ye Xin for mercy and spare his life, never expecting happiness to arrive so suddenly, and on such a colossal scale.