The emphatic answer leaves him gaping for a moment - and then he grins. Of course torture would upset Xiao Xingchen's delicate sensibilities! Does the daozhang call it something else? Correction? Justice?

Glancing at the hand on his shoulder, he licks his lips.

"I did that for a reason. I told you why."

Usually he would dance on the fence, never letting anyone know what he might or might not do next. Yet Xingchen has been nice to him, so...

"Unless someone tortures me again, I won't go that far."