WNST - 106

The distant sound of a rooster crowing signaled the approach of dawn.

But the night in the camp had not yet passed.

Xie Que Shan froze for a moment, then smiled broadly: “Your Highness is joking with me, isn’t she?”

Wanyan Puruo’s smile slowly faded, and her face, once bright, now resembled a drawn sword, cold and sharp: “If there were no traitor among us, Lidu Prefecture would have long been ours. Why have there been so many setbacks? Gusha traveled south with you. While he was somewhat reckless, his suspicion of you wasn’t baseless. As for me, I would rather believe that there is something than not. I trust there’s truth in his doubt.”

She fixed her gaze on Xie Que Shan, waiting for his response.

The cup of poison sat there, and the interrogation had formally begun.

Her words left a gap, waiting for Xie Que Shan to defend himself. No one feared death, but when a person panics, they are prone to mistakes, especially when their defenses are weakest.

And in the art of interrogation, Wanyan Puruo excelled. Even without concrete evidence, she could extract cracks from Xie Que Shan’s words.

Xie Que Shan froze, not responding, his expression betraying a sense of unspoken helplessness. After a long pause, he forced a bitter smile and said, “Those who abandon their masters will eventually be abandoned… Since the royal court no longer trusts me, whatever I say is pointless.”

He then picked up the tea cup and drank from it.

Wanyan Puruo jumped to her feet—she hadn’t expected him to take no issue with her words and instead directly confront the danger.

What a foolish move!

She quickly reached out and knocked the cup from his hand, but he had already drunk a portion.

Blood started to seep from the corner of Xie Que Shan’s mouth, and his voice grew sluggish. He felt dizzy, his vision blurred with bloodshot veins. He struggled to hold onto the table, his breath labored: “A soldier dies for his true friend. Please pass a message to Lord Han… just tell him… I couldn’t complete my mission, and I have no face to see him again. I must… die to make a point.”

“Someone! Quick, come here!”

Wanyan Puruo was startled. She hadn’t anticipated that Xie Que Shan would go so far as to resolve to die.

A strategist like him was irreplaceable. If Xie Que Shan were her own, he would be worth more than ten Gushas.

This elaborate performance was only meant to extract Xie Que Shan’s position—she knew he wasn’t just any man and needed to use an unexpected tactic. A person’s life is fragile, and before a cup of poison, who can stay calm?

Xie Que Shan collapsed.

He was gambling.

He was betting that Wanyan Puruo wouldn’t be able to pin the death on him. There were a thousand ways to kill him, so why bother with such theatrics?

But he knew that he couldn’t stand firm against Wanyan Puruo. Eventually, he would slip up. The seeds of suspicion are easy to plant but hard to uproot. If he didn’t create a dramatic scene, it would be hard to clear his name. If things fell apart here, everything would be ruined, and Song Muchuan would be doomed as well.

She wanted him alive, but he had to show her that he was willing to die for her. He could never be led around by the nose.

He was betting that Wanyan Puruo would not have anticipated that he was a madman willing to stake his life.

If he really died, the trail would end with him. If he survived this ordeal, her attitude toward him would change, and she would need time to continue investigating his true identity.

Right now, he needed to buy time by any means necessary.

When Wanyan Puruo knocked the cup from his hand, Xie Que Shan knew he had won the bet.

The blood was forced out by biting his tongue. He hadn’t drunk much of the tea, and what little he did drink was mostly spat out with the blood.

But the tea really was laced with arsenic. Just before he lost consciousness, Xie Que Shan thought to himself, Wanyan Puruo truly is thorough in everything she does. She’s a formidable opponent.

Even a little poison taken into his system quickly accelerated its effect.

There was a tributary of the Qu Ling River, flanked by steep mountains, the waters flowing rapidly and the area sparsely populated. A single-story painted boat was anchored on the river. This was a non-motorized barge, typically used for leisure by officials and the nobility on the water.

In a bustling city, this would be a gold mine, but in the remote river’s heart, it becomes a cage.

When Xie Que Shan woke up, he found himself trapped in this cage. Surrounded by the vast river on all sides, there was nowhere to escape.

And there was another unpleasant person in front of him.

Zhang Yuehui.

“Ah, you’re awake. You sure have a big life—no, I should say you’re too crafty, your acting skills are top-notch,” Zhang Yuehui said, nonchalantly sitting with his legs crossed and cracking sunflower seeds.

Xie Que Shan took a deep breath, feeling his internal organs clear and unobstructed, which meant he was still alive. Perhaps he hadn’t ingested much of the poison, and it was treated in time.

He ignored Zhang Yuehui and stood up, only to find that his right hand was shackled, with the other end of the iron chain nailed to the wall, limiting his movement to just this room.

Xie Que Shan felt a surge of anger.

Zhang Yuehui wore a smug expression on his face. “This place is a good choice, right? Wanyan Puruo asked me to arrange this for you. I thought, with someone as crafty as you, you could find an opening anywhere, but here, in the middle of the river, there’s no way you can escape.”

“Where did Wanyan Puruo go?” Xie Que Shan cut straight to the point, tired of beating around the bush.

Zhang Yuehui squinted his eyes, paused for a moment, and slowly said, “If you want to solve the issue of the Lidu Prefecture, you can’t just investigate within the Lidu Prefecture. Sometimes, you need to think outside of it. Maybe the answer lies in Jinling.”

Xie Que Shan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Stop pretending to be profound—just say Wanyan Puruo went to Jinling to find out who the biggest mole in Lidu Prefecture is.

Wanyan Puruo’s thinking was clear—she was here to solve the problem. If the Lidu Prefecture was a fog, she would step outside of it to look at it from another angle.

Indeed, there were people in Jinling who knew about Xie Que Shan’s true identity.

The Bingchu Division in Jinling controlled all the information flowing in and out of the region.

Moreover, Jinling had already produced one traitor. Who exactly “Daman” was, Jinling hadn’t been able to figure out yet. This person was highly secretive, extremely skilled, and the information they gathered was incredibly accurate. They were likely hidden within the Bingchu Division.

If Wanyan Puruo were to ally with Daman, it would be twice as effective. This move of hers was quick, precise, and deadly.

Before she confirmed Xie Que Shan’s identity, he would be kept under house arrest here. Xie Que Shan had a feeling... the day the news from Jinling arrived would be the day of his death.

Everything outside of this was beyond his control. No matter how capable he was, he couldn’t calculate a single thing. Moreover, now he was completely immobilized, with only death to wait for.

Although he had long accepted the inevitability of his death, there was... someone he still cared about.

“How will you explain where I went to Wang Xuewu?”

He didn’t mention Nan Yi’s name, but Zhang Yuehui knew who he truly cared about.

The two of them understood each other without needing more words, and the atmosphere was subtly tense for a moment.

“Just say you returned to Great Qi. Your attendant, He Ping, will take the journey for you and cover up your whereabouts.”

Before meeting with Wanyan Puruo, Xie Que Shan had already sensed that he might not be able to return. So, he told He Ping to find a way to go home and deliver a contraceptive medicine to Nan Yi.

He couldn’t leave her with any trouble.

He Ping should be able to handle it. And when Nan Yi learned that he had returned to Great Qi, she likely wouldn’t pursue him further. This sudden departure might even make her resent him.

A fleeting moment of joy—it truly only lasted for a brief time. Xie Que Shan bitterly mocked himself.

Fortunately, during every moment spent with her, he had prepared for the possibility of parting, so he wasn’t completely unprepared now. She had grown strong, and he could let go at any time.

There was nothing left to hold on to. He sighed heavily.

“My esteemed Xie Que Shan, see if there’s anything else you lack. I’ll have someone help you get it. The princess has ordered that you must be well taken care of.”

Zhang Yuehui interrupted Xie Que Shan’s thoughts and stood up, brushing the seed shells off his clothes.

After a moment of thought, he grinned mischievously and said, “Long night, lonely pillow, can I interest you in a woman?”

“Scram.”

Zhang Yuehui gave Xie Que Shan a suggestive look, scanning him from head to toe. “Tsk, you’re so sensitive—I’ve heard you don’t like women in Great Qi. Could it be you’re still a virgin?”

Xie Que Shan’s face showed a hint of anger. How could this person bring up such vulgar things? But then he thought, what’s the point of getting angry at him? This man was truly interesting. If he really told him, would he jump into the river right then?

Xie Que Shan shouldn’t have cared, but seeing Zhang Yuehui’s smug face irritated him. He couldn’t help but want to shut him down. With a sneer, he shot back, “You’re so quick to handle things for Wanyan Puruo, could it be you’re her lover?”

Instead of being angry, Zhang Yuehui proudly flicked his hair. “I do have that kind of appeal.”

Xie Que Shan realized he had been drawn into this pointless and shameless conversation. He wanted to quickly end it, “Fine, I don’t need anything from you, just help me pass a message. It shouldn’t be too difficult for the mighty Zhang boss, right?”

Zhang Yuehui’s expression froze, his features contorting with irritation. “What? You’re really ordering me around? Get your facts straight. I’m the boss of Gui Lai Hall, not some lackey of your Bingchu Division!”

“The death of Husa—you can’t escape your involvement. I have a loose tongue—do you want to die at Wanyan Puruo’s hands?”

“Good for nothing,” Zhang Yuehui cursed, feeling frustrated. Since declaring war on Xie Que Shan, he hadn’t gotten any satisfaction from getting back at him. Instead, Xie Que Shan had been digging pits for him. He glared at Xie Que Shan for a while, before finally saying, “Only this time.”

Zhang Yuehui flicked his sleeve and walked straight out the door.

“Not going to ask what message I want you to send?” Xie Que Shan called after him.

“Too much nonsense,” Zhang Yuehui said without turning back, his mind already made up.

What else could it be? He would pass on the news about Wanyan Puruo secretly going to Jinling to the Bingchu Division and warn them to be on guard.

Zhang Yuehui already had one foot in the thief’s boat. Doing one more thing wouldn’t make much difference.

It’s really annoying.

He didn’t want to do anything for Xie Que Shan.

However, delivering even a single message in such a tense situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Zhang Yuehui didn’t want to expose that the message had come from the Gui Lai Tang; if he did, the resources he could use would be greatly reduced.

Song Muchuan was still being closely monitored by Wan Yan Jun, and his people could hardly get near him. Zhang Yuehui didn’t know the message delivery system of the Bingzhu Division, and Xie Que Shan wouldn’t easily tell him, so he had to rely on his own methods.

After thinking it over, it seemed that only Nan Yi could pass this message. She must have a way to contact Song Muchuan. But Zhang Yuehui, secretly, didn’t want to drag Nan Yi into this.

In the past, he would always find a way to avoid involving Nan Yi.

But it was strange. Although he didn’t want to admit it, his girl was now completely different from when they first met, and he couldn’t stop her from being a warrior.

If he gave her armor and weapons, surely she would be happy.

After much contemplation, Zhang Yuehui made his decision.