Chapter 184: Encountering a Clear Day Chapter 161: The Mongoose, Follow Me

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Shaowei

Liu Qi

The surviving assassin captured previously at Nanshan, half are in Xiuyi Yu, and another eight were secretly taken away by Liu Qi.

Because of Shaowei's countdown, the days felt exceptionally long, as if over a thousand days and nights had passed, but in reality, the Nanshan assassination had only been a little over twenty days ago; for these death warriors trained with such rigor, this interrogation was exceptionally difficult.

These captive killers, forged by years of brutal training and slaughter, had wills that were firm yet numb, their fear of death far less than that of ordinary people.

And among them there were indeed those who knew nothing; they were kept in captivity, knowing only to obey orders, and had no idea who the master behind them was. Therefore, it was absolutely necessary to screen and distinguish the informed ones from these limited survivors, even if what they knew was only a fragmentary clue.

All eight were wounded, and four had already died during the interrogation; from the remaining four, Liu Qi confirmed one minor leader.

In such death warrior organizations, almost anyone with a little authority had family or other weaknesses controlled by the master; to pry open their mouths required extraordinary methods. One punishment every four days—this man was reduced to ruins, left with only a desire for death, when Liu Qi ordered A Ya to try driving insects and snakes with flute music to disturb his mind, finally extracting one confession: outside Lantian County, the Peng Family Iron Mine.

Upon obtaining this clue, Liu Qi immediately sent word to Shaowei. To avoid alerting the enemy, Liu Qi did not rush to notify the Xiuyi guards, but took several dozen guards and quickly left the city.

Relying on the imperial decree in his possession, he acted without regard for rules and never explained himself to anyone; everyone had long grown accustomed to this, viewing his departure from the city as merely another routine search.

Shaowei had her appearance altered by A He, her complexion darkened; now dressed in dark clothes and a dark cloak, she mixed among Liu Qi's guards, showing not the slightest incongruity.

By the time they left the city, dusk had fallen, and the party reached the Peng Family Mine only at midnight.

In the night, someone broke in; the guards of the mine immediately woke the laborers, who took up clubs and iron implements for defense.

Before any confrontation, they saw the visitors' formation was orderly, each riding a horse and wearing a blade, and then they revealed their identities—actually members of the imperial royal family. The mine steward immediately put away his arrogance and ordered the weapons lowered.

Although this was a private mine and the master had the right to deal with trespassers, Lantian County fell under the jurisdiction of Jingji, and the court had already begun tightening restrictions on private iron and salt operations. At such a critical juncture, the steward dared not offend this imperial noble bearing a royal decree on behalf of his master.

The steward cooperated on one hand, while secretly sending someone to report to the master, only to discover that several exits were all blocked by blade-wielding men.

The steward, feeling even more startled and uneasy, became all the more respectful and cooperative.

Searching back and forth, Liu Qi and the others finally discovered, on the opposite hill below where these laborers lived, conspicuous traces of a group of houses that had been burned.

The steward recalled and explained the situation: these houses were originally built for the laborers. Five or six years ago, when the master first took over this mountain, he had intended to make a big show, so he prepared so many laborer houses. However, Lantian produced fine jade in abundance; although this mountain had iron ore, mining it proved not as abundant and easy to obtain as imagined. Thus the laborers were greatly reduced, these houses stood empty, and the master used them to raise livestock and poultry.

This was not his concern; he was only responsible for mining. The mountain was too large, the mountain paths winding; this side already belonged to the outer edge of the mine, with many trees providing cover, so he rarely came here. Occasionally approaching, from afar he only saw someone herding sheep around.

Until twenty days ago, perhaps due to drought and dryness, this place suddenly caught fire. After extinguishing and cleaning up, the people were gone and the houses empty, leaving only these traces of burning.

Shaowei looked at the scorched earth everywhere and had already concluded in her heart: no matter how excellent a death warrior was, they did not possess the ability to become invisible. At least over a hundred death warriors would need a place to stay; hiding in this private mine, concealed within the mountain forest, almost completely cut off from all sight.

The Nanshan assassination had failed and caused such a commotion that the emperor was furious; the other side had already destroyed the evidence of the death warriors' presence here beforehand.

But with the death warriors' confession and these suspicious traces of burning found, the owner of this mine was eight or nine out of ten not innocent—

"Liu, Your Highness—" Shaowei looked at Liu Qi with a solemn expression, urgently changing her words: "Hurry to the Peng family!"

The party soon departed, horse hooves thundering like sound, rushing into the county and waking many households.

Along the way, Liu Qi conscripted a night watchman to guide them, and sent someone to the county office to mobilize more manpower.

The night watchman was terrified out of his wits, rushing to the wealthy Peng family residence. Not long after, the gates of the Peng mansion were knocked upon, boom boom like the urging beats of a night watch.

The gatekeeper came to open the door and immediately saw the men standing solemnly, torches blazing, surrounding the residence.

Amidst the swallowing and spitting of firelight, a youth in a green robe walked over. He had a leg ailment, yet his posture was upright, his face radiant like a divine being. Even the guard closely following at his side, though smaller in stature, had light and powerful steps, his gaze sharp and cold, absolutely not an ordinary person.

Could such a group be...

The gatekeeper trembled with his lips, looking at the gold-copper token shown by another guard, hearing him say: "The Sixth Prince, by imperial order, has come to thoroughly investigate the traces of the assassin traitors. Immediately have Hu Sheng come to see us!"

Although the Peng family was a wealthy household, they were far from reaching the level of contacting royal personages. Hearing these words, the gatekeeper nearly fainted from fright and hurriedly said: "... Our master has gone out and is not at home at the moment!"

Hu Sheng was the master of the Peng family; his surname was Hu, but the capital with which he started his business originally belonged to his wife's family. He was a son-in-law living in his wife's household, so therefore the family children and the iron mine business all followed his wife's surname.

Shaowei lowered her voice to question: "When did he go out? Where did he go?"

"It's been twenty-something days... as for where he went, this lowly one doesn't know!" The gatekeeper answered trembling, only to see this group stride into the residence, surging in like dark clouds and thunderstorms.

"Not necessarily a bad thing." Walking along, Liu Qi said in a low voice.

Shaowei naturally understood. This Hu Sheng, though a wealthy merchant, could not be called a great clan. To say he was the final mastermind, an accomplice of Chiyang, was simply impossible for Shaowei to believe. He was probably just a pawn, and even more feared that he had already met the same fate as those houses—erased.

Therefore, if he truly "went out early," at least that was better than dying suddenly early.

But once he went out, his whereabouts were uncertain, and the investigation would inevitably take a great deal of time. Thinking of the worst, this man might die outside... In that case, who knew when this clue would be traced to, or how long it could be sustained without interruption.

Shaowei felt impatient and wanted to scratch her head with both hands, but it did not affect her actions. Soon, she followed Liu Qi to the outer front hall to see Hu Sheng's wife, Lady Peng.

During this time, Deng Hu had already taken people to quickly question the startled neighbors, confirming that Hu Sheng had indeed gone out twenty days ago, and many people had seen his carriage and horses when he left.

Lady Peng, who had hurriedly risen to receive them, was thin and small in stature, and her face bore signs of illness. She had just finished her salute when she heard the Sixth Prince, who should never have appeared in her home, ask: "Where did Hu Sheng go? For what matter did he go out?"

Lady Peng: "Only said he was going to the Southern Regions, seeking people to discuss business along the way..."

Liu Qi looked at her: "Nowadays, everywhere is not very peaceful. He is a wealthy merchant; traveling personally, isn't he afraid of inviting disaster?"

"There are strong servants following..." Lady Peng looked apprehensive, hesitating as she said: "Besides business... there is also a private matter. He said this year is a year of great misfortune, with drought and plague not yet ended, and all affairs going poorly. For this reason, he went to see a Taoist. That Taoist advised him to go out to avoid disaster and dispel calamity. He has always believed in these things, and hurriedly went out..."

After answering, she immediately asked nervously: "May I ask, Your Excellency, what crime has my husband committed to trouble Your Excellency to come in person..."

Liu Qi: "Raising death warriors in the mine, committing treason."

Lady Peng turned pale with fright. The servant women beside her supported her. She shook her head incessantly: "Absolutely impossible. There must be a misunderstanding here. Although my family also operates an iron mine, we cannot compare to even half a finger of the Huaiyang Zheng Clan. We have only a hundred or so laborers, and twenty or thirty servants, old and young. How could we dare, or how could we have such treasonous ambitions!"

She had suffered from an old illness for many years. The business matters were handled by Hu Sheng, but she also had her own opinions and views. Now, though panicked, she was not flustered: "Your Excellency, please investigate clearly. This must be someone slandering us!"

"There is already a designated confession, and the mine also has physical evidence. If you were coerced, confess the instigator as soon as possible, and there may still be a possibility of avoiding the extermination of the clan."

The youth's voice was without emotion. The words "extermination of the clan" caused Lady Peng's eyes to widen in shock. From not far away came the crying of her children, making her heart cry out in chaos.

Liu Qi reminded at the right time: "Madam, if you have any clues you have noticed, you should also explain them as soon as possible."

"I, I don't know anything at all..." Lady Peng was at a loss. She hurriedly proposed: "Your Excellency, I will send someone out to find him right now. I must make him give an explanation!"

Liu Qi's eyes moved slightly. Shaowei then spoke to ask for instructions: "Your Highness, should we search this residence?"

Deng Hu felt these words were ostensibly asking for instructions but actually urging him. His master immediately nodded: "It is indeed time to search properly."

Peng Niangzi gripped the maidservant's arm, struggling to steady herself upright, and said: "Steward, take the honored guest to the Head of Household's living quarters, and the study as well..."

The living quarters and study were inevitably the most private places; these words were beyond reproach, even commendably cooperative, but alas some people are born rebellious — Shaowei had already lifted her leg to go, yet upon hearing this she only felt she was being arranged in reverse, and from this a thread of suspicion arose.

At this moment, Liu Qi's voice sounded beside her: "Go."

Shaowei raised her head to look at his lowered eyes; their gazes met for an instant, and she followed the guiding steward away.

Arriving at Hu Sheng's residence and study, Shaowei searched and rummaged for a good while; relying on the vast accumulated experience of tracking people both openly and covertly, as well as the thieving arts taught by the household slaves, Shaowei had by now honed a supreme searching skill — she could turn even a mouse hole inside out.

But no clues were discovered here.

Shaowei was not surprised; the dwellings where deathsworn had left traces of activity had all been destroyed, so how could forceful evidence be left here? Still, since she had come all this way, she could not be willing to leave without searching thoroughly.

Not only must she search, but personnel at every place reached must also be questioned; Shaowei wore her blade and strode with great steps, her face stern, her gaze like a torch; all along the way she borrowed Liu Qi's identity to unleash awe-inspiring might, intending to make those who knew any clues feel trepidation and have nowhere to hide.

On the surface she followed Liu Qi, but in fact Liu Qi was driven by her; Shaowei searched meticulously, not even willing to let the kitchen off.

Dawn was about to break but not yet broken; the kitchen courtyard had already gathered quite a few servants; recently the Peng family had been distributing porridge at the back door, several large pots cooking simultaneously, therefore seven or eight servants had started busying themselves early.

At this moment these servants were as if subjected to a body-freezing technique; some stood outside the stove house door, some stood under the corridor, in twos and threes with heads lowered, not daring to breathe.

Liu Qi took two guards down to the underground cellar to inspect; Shaowei used her knife scabbard to push open the half-closed woodshed door.

The firewood pile was also thoroughly rummaged through; confirming nothing unusual, Shaowei turned and walked out.

Not far outside the woodshed stood a servant, hands lowered, head bowed, tense and uneasy, no different from the others.

Shaowei stepped two paces closer and questioned as per routine: "What do you do?"

"Burn, burn fire..."

When dawn was near, lamplight and the thin morning light reflected each other; all around was a hazy gray-blue, and visibility was actually no clearer than at night with lamps lit, but Shaowei still saw some stove soot on his face.

After asking a few more sentences, Shaowei was about to lift her foot and leave, but as her gaze dropped, she looked at the coarse hemp shoes on that servant's feet.

The edges of the soles had traces of mud stuck to them.

The sky was dry and the earth parched; only flying dust was seen — where would damp mud come from?

In the damp underground cellar, filled with smells not yet dissipated.

The underground cellar was mainly used for winter storage; at this moment only some baskets and bamboo cages were stacked.

Deng Hu used his blade to push aside the stacked cages, and saw a basket at the bottom containing bowls, plates, water jugs, and clothing —

By torchlight, Liu Qi bent down, fingers touching the bowls and plates; there was no dust, but rather leftover food.

Above the underground cellar, outside the woodshed door, Shaowei suddenly seized one of that servant's arms.

The servant was greatly startled, but could not break free.

Shaowei forcefully raised his hand.

Damp mud on the shoe edge could still be explained by water contact. But the tiger's mouth of these hands had no wear from long-term use of fire tongs, and the fingernails showed no traces of smoke or ash from fire.

Shaowei's gaze moved from his hands to his face.

He did not look like a fire-tender; rather he looked like her — at this moment both draped in skins not their own, hiding among the crowds.

Shaowei's gaze was aggressively pressing: "Who exactly are you?"

"Hu Sheng." Liu Qi's voice came: "Come with us."

The man disguised as a servant tried to flee; Shaowei backhanded and pinned his arm; he screamed miserably in pain, his whole body trembling.

The servants in the kitchen courtyard were all astonished: "The Head of Household isn't out the door?!"

Amid the chaotic clamor, Peng Niangzi was supported over; seeing this scene, she thoroughly had no more luck.

Just now sending the person first to the residence and study was to ask her husband one sentence — what exactly was going on; but the matter was urgent, Hu Sheng only hastily said he was wronged, insisting on avoiding this ordeal first...

Luck shattered, affection also turned to resentful anger; Peng Niangzi's voice trembled as she interrogated: "You only said enemies wanted to harm you, that you needed to hide in the house for a time... ten years as husband and wife, I kindly believed you, yet what ulterior motive are you hiding!"

"Madam..." Hu Sheng's face full of pain: "Enemies want to harm me, but I didn't deceive you!"

The frail Peng Niangzi fainted in the maidservant's arms.

Hu Sheng, who had hidden in the underground cellar for many days, in despair let out a stifled sob and convulsed, eyes rolling back as he also fainted dead away.

By the time the unconscious Hu Sheng was brought back to the Capital, it was already afternoon.

Subsequent matters could not do without borrowing Court personnel to handle, and must also proceed openly; Liu Qi therefore directly pressed Hu Sheng into the Xiuyi Yu.

The Great Wu Nu in secluded meditation could no longer accompany the interrogation; Shaowei could borrow A He's marvelous hands to roughly disguise appearance, but it would only startle momentarily — if she came into close contact with He Pingchun and the others, there would certainly be exposure risk; this move would lose more than it gained.

Liu Qi said to her: "Go back and rest for now; rest assured and leave it to me; before tomorrow night, I will definitely deliver detailed testimony to you."

Hu Sheng is not a deathsworn, and has too many soft spots; judging by his conduct, he certainly cannot withstand cruel punishment; one only needs to pay attention to distinguishing truth from falsehood in his words.

The Sixth Prince sought out the South Mountain deathsworn hiding place, and news of capturing a key suspect quickly spread; all parties, including the Emperor, were waiting for the results of this interrogation.

Shaowei, who had not slept for too long, returned home and barely slept one double-hour before suddenly waking.

Feeling this anxiety, Zhan Zhan flew to the Ox Shed and plucked the green ox's hair.

The next day afternoon, the third day of the seventh month, Shaowei sat on the platform steps waiting for news; the household slave whose whiskers had been plucked exceptionally clean returned from outside, but said: "Today I went to the small courtyard, saw Shunzhen curled in the corner, breath fading, yet seemed to be calling someone's name."

Because his tongue had been bitten off, pronunciation was hard to discern; but the slave drew near and saw Shunzhen, at some unknown time, had used finger blood to write two characters on the ground; those two characters traced many times were crooked and overlapping, yet simple enough; the slave could recognize them.

— A Zhou.

Shaowei could not possibly forget this name.

That was Chi Yang's first move's pawn; the Wu Nu who, by the act of sacrificing herself to help, nearly caused her to be buried in the Mausoleum Chamber.

Since she was waiting for news anyway, Shaowei simply went to see Shunzhen one last time.

Amid Mo Li's day-after-day craftsmanship hammering sounds, Shunzhen's will gradually disintegrated.

The body was decaying, yet the soul was ferried back by those familiar hammering sounds to the ordinary years before the clan extermination.

Those warm years he dared not recall pried open a crack in the humanity long imprisoned within him; immense fear finally surged out from the crack.

And in that fear named guilt, what made him most unable to face was not those children he personally killed; those children, though pitiable, were ultimately strangers — he had deliberately ignored them, refused to remember their faces...

But A Zhou's face he could not forget; the two grew up together, reunited again, she killed for him, yet was killed by his own hand.

When he acted he had said: once all matters are done, he would go to her to plead guilt; that was no lie, but now he could not help wondering: would she be willing to accept his one-sided plea of guilt?

In a daze, A Zhou walked over.

In familiar witchcraft attire, wearing a ghost mask, she stood before him.

The girl looked at him through the mask.

This thing, huddled in the corner, filthy and ruined to the point of no longer resembling a person, now shed two lines of tears, sobbing indistinctly, its eyes pleading for some forgiveness.

The girl's tone was flat and low: "Speak what you know, as a small redemption before death."

Shunzhen smiled bitterly, nodded, and lowered his head.

He perhaps was not unaware that there was another truth behind the mask, only his spirit had scattered, and he preferred to hover between dream and waking, using this mask that was and was not real to instead release the emotions in his heart and make that last bit of self-redemption.

Shunzhen laboriously lowered his body shape, and with his worn-down fingers, stroke by stroke, wrote the truth he alone knew.

The blood-red strokes were striking enough even in the dim light; Shaowei watched them gradually take shape, forming three large characters.

In the Di Shi that never saw daylight, all emotional tremors were hidden behind the blue ghost mask.

After Shunzhen finished writing, his body shape collapsed, he crawled on the ground, covering those three characters, and reached out to grab the girl's clothing corner, laboriously raising his head.

Shaowei slowly lowered her brows and eyes, looking down at his scattered, unclear eyes, and from his opening and closing mouth judged his words: "A Zhou, can you forgive me?"

He had said it all—would his sins be lessened?

While waiting, behind the mask ruthlessly spat out two words: "Don't even dream of it."

She would not forgive the Wu Nu A Zhou who had harmed her for the sake of "suffering."

Nor would she forgive, on behalf of Wu Nu A Zhou, this thing before her that had "suffering."

Under the clothing corner grabbed by dirty hands, a foot was raised, pressing on Shunzhen's shoulder, forcing him to straighten his upper body, his back against the wall.

Shaowei removed the ghost mask and casually discarded it.

Her true face was fully revealed, forcing the coward who tried not to wake to look at her clearly.

The hand that discarded the mask drew the short knife at his waist, suddenly leaning backhandedly, the sharp blade cutting his throat.

His turbid tear-filled eyes widened, fresh blood gushed forth; Shaowei first withdrew the blade, then withdrew her leg, turned and left, saying as she went: "Mo Li, come with me."

"Yes, Young Master!" Mo Li immediately dropped the copper and iron in his hand, rose, and followed.

In the twilight, Shaowei left this Small Courtyard and headed straight for Lianqing Guan.

As Shaowei approached Lianqing Guan, she saw from afar the Brocade Cloth Guards running, the crowd clamoring in discussion.

The Brocade Cloth Guards led by Liu Qi and the Imperial Guard had already surrounded Lianqing Guan; by this point, Hu Sheng's and Shunzhen's confessions mutually confirmed each other and had become credible fact.

Twilight was spent; the always orderly Lianqing Guan was thus thrown into chaos, with no time to light even a few lamps, but soon it was filled and occupied by groups of red torches.

?? This is a long chapter, everyone good night early or late, thank you everyone for the monthly tickets, comments, and rewards, deeply grateful!