The cold seeps into my bones as consciousness returns, though I'm too disoriented to open my eyes immediately. Every muscle screams in protest, and there's a dull throbbing at the base of my skull where they struck me. The air smells of damp stone and wood smoke, earthy and primal, nothing like the clean incense of the royal camp.\n\nI force my eyes open, squinting against the sudden light of a torch flickering in a wall sconce. My arms are suspended above my head, chains biting into my wrists, feet barely touching the ground. The rough stone of the dungeon presses against my back, and I realize with a sickening lurch that I'm completely naked except for the ragged remains of my undergarments.\n\nA low chuckle echoes through the small space. I crane my neck to see him - Su Quanzhong, leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, watching me like a predator enjoying the sight of wounded prey. Behind him sits his father, Su Hu, calm and imposing in a simple chair brought down into this filth just to witness my degradation.\n\n"Finally awake," Su Quanzhong says, pushing away from the wall. He moves with the easy grace of a warrior confident in his victory, footsteps echoing on the stone floor as he approaches. "Thought we might have broken you already."\n\nMy jaw tightens. I won't give them the satisfaction of seeing me afraid, no matter how much my body trembles with a mixture of cold and dread. "You'll have to do better than that," I manage, voice嘶哑 from disuse and the lingering taste of blood.\n\nSu Hu rises from his chair, moving to stand beside his son. His eyes rake over my exposed body, taking in the bruises and welts already forming from their earlier attentions. "Chong Yingbiao," he says quietly, "son of Chonghouhu, leader of the northern质子. We have questions. You will answer them."\n\nThe certainty in his voice is chilling. I meet his gaze steadily, summoning what remains of my pride. "I'll tell you nothing, old man."\n\nSu Quanzhong's fist connects with my stomach before I can react, knocking the breath from my lungs. I double over as much as the chains allow, gasping for air while pain radiates through my abdomen. He grabs my hair, forcing my head back until I'm staring at the ceiling, and leans in close.\n\n"You forget your position, dog," he growls. "You're not in Chaoge anymore, not the great leader of your little band of hostages. Here, you're nothing but meat."\n\nSaliva mixes with blood in my mouth, and I spit directly into his face.\n\nFor a moment, he goes completely still. Then he smiles, a cold, terrible expression that sends genuine fear through me. "Very well," he says, wiping the spit away with the back of his hand. "We'll do this your way."\n\nSu Hu nods to his son, who moves to a table in the corner where various implements of torture await. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch him select a heavy iron rod, placing it carefully in the fire until the end glows red-hot.\n\nThe real torture is about to begin. And somehow, beneath the terror, I feel something else stirring - a sick, twisted defiance that refuses to be extinguished, even in the face of certain pain and probable death.