#159: Interrogation

Yunyi’s expression darkened as she interrupted him. “Enough! Stop talking!”

“Can’t bear to hear it anymore?” Li Xuanba’s voice was icy. “But that’s the truth—repaying kindness with betrayal, worse than pigs or dogs!”

Yunyi struggled to suppress her growing frustration. “I’ll give you one last chance. Where is Feng Li?”

Li Xuanba showed no fear. “Even if you ask me a hundred or a thousand times, I won’t utter a single word. If you have the guts, kill me!”

“Then go ahead and die!” Yunyi spat out these words coldly. She tightened her grip on the dagger and thrust it toward Li Xuanba’s chest. A stab to the heart would be fatal, no matter how skilled he was in martial arts.

Just as the tip of the dagger was about to pierce his chest, Yunyi suddenly froze. The images of Li Shimin and Caiping flashed through her mind, causing her hand holding the dagger to tremble slightly. She tried several times to push forward but couldn’t bring herself to strike!

After a long moment, she abruptly withdrew her hand. After snatching the jade pendant from Li Xuanba’s waist, she stood up and turned her back to him. “I’ll give you one more day. Tomorrow, I’ll return. I hope by then you’ve come to your senses. Otherwise, I’ll cut off each of your fingers one by one!” With that, she found some old clothes and tied them into long strips, binding Li Xuanba to a pillar. She then found a bronze lock and secured the door from the outside.

This village had been abandoned for a long time. People from nearby villages avoided it, fearing bad luck from the dead, and the earlier ghostly rumors had only reinforced this belief. Even if Li Xuanba screamed his throat raw, no one would hear him.

After leaving the village, Yunyi went home and spoke briefly with Wu Laosan before returning to the Taishou’s residence. Everything appeared calm, and no one seemed to notice Li Xuanba’s disappearance yet.

As she passed the gate, Yunyi asked the guards, “Have either of you seen Third Young Master return?”

The two guards exchanged glances and shook their heads. “No, why?”

Yunyi took out the jade pendant from her waist and said, “I just met Third Young Master on my way back. He looked hurried, not even noticing that his jade pendant had fallen. By the time I picked it up to return it, he was already gone.”

The guard examined the jade pendant and said, “It really is Third Young Master’s. But he hasn’t returned yet. You can give it back to him tomorrow.”

“That’s the only option.” Pretending to be curious, Yunyi asked, “By the way, do you know where Third Young Master went? It’s strange that he hasn’t returned so late.”

The guard laughed. “How would we know? All we know is that Third Young Master left early this morning, right after you did.”

Another guard added, “That’s right. Ever since meeting that guy named Ah Jin, Third Young Master has been going out frequently.”

Yunyi’s mind stirred. Casually, she asked, “Ah Jin? Is he Third Young Master’s friend?”

The guard chuckled. “How could Third Young Master have such a shabby friend? That man was raggedy, practically like a beggar.”

Another guard interjected, “I smelled fish on him. He’s probably either a fisherman or a fishmonger.”

Yunyi smiled faintly. “Do you know what he wanted with Third Young Master?”

The guards shook their heads. “We don’t know. At first, he wanted to see the Taishou, but the Taishou isn’t here, and he couldn’t explain his business, so we didn’t let him in. Later, Third Young Master came out, spoke with him briefly, and left with him.”

Yunyi firmly memorized the name “Ah Jin.” She subtly probed further but found nothing else useful. Eventually, she entered the residence.

________________________________________

The night passed quietly. The next day, instead of seeking out Li Shimin, Yunyi visited Lin Shi at Cailan Pavilion. Using the pretext that Wu Laosan was unwell and needed care, she obtained permission to leave the residence.

Instead of going to Wu’s house, Yunyi headed straight out of the city gates to the abandoned village where Li Xuanba was held captive. After unlocking the door and entering, she was shocked to find the room empty. Only half of the cloth that had bound him to the pillar lay on the ground, and the window that had been closed the previous night was now wide open.

Something was wrong. Did Li Xuanba escape through the window? But she had tied him securely to the pillar—how could he have untied himself? Or had someone discovered him?

While pondering this, something struck her head hard, sending waves of pain through her skull. She staggered forward and fell. Before she could react, something heavy pressed down on her back. Li Xuanba’s icy voice rang in her ears: “Move again, and you won’t live to see tomorrow’s sunrise!”

Once the throbbing pain in her head subsided slightly, Yunyi dared not move. She calmly asked, “How did you untie the ropes?”

Li Xuanba ignored her and commanded, “Throw away the dagger. I know you’ve been hiding it in your sleeve. Hurry up!”

Reluctantly, Yunyi retrieved the dagger from her sleeve. Her eyes kept darting to the severed piece of cloth on the ground. Just as she prepared to toss the dagger, her gaze sharpened. The dagger whistled through the air, and the person behind her hastily rolled aside. Yunyi seized the opportunity to stand up, pointing the gleaming blade at Li Xuanba, who was still bound tightly. “Third Young Master sure is resourceful, almost tricking me!”

Realizing he’d been exposed, Li Xuanba revealed his regret, spitting out blood-tinged saliva. “A pity—I still couldn’t deceive you.”

“If you had truly untied the ropes, you would’ve returned to the Taishou’s residence by now. Why would you still be here? Besides, if you really untied them, why use your teeth to bite through the cloth, even injuring your gums? I noticed the bloodstains on the torn cloth and realized you hadn’t untied the ropes—you were bluffing.”

“What a shame—it was so close!” As Li Xuanba finished speaking, Yunyi coldly remarked, “Wrong. Even if I threw away the dagger, could you possibly defeat me in your condition?”

Li Xuanba struggled to his feet. “You won’t know unless you try.” Without waiting for her response, he added, “Don’t waste any more words. If you want to kill me, do it. Don’t think you can extract a single word from me.”

“I already know the person who saved Feng Li is named Ah Jin.” At these words, Li Xuanba’s face paled with shock. “You… how do you know?”

Yunyi examined the exquisite dagger in her hand, smirking faintly. “No wall is without cracks. No matter how hard you try, you can’t save Feng Li’s life!”

Li Xuanba shook his head repeatedly, panic-stricken. “Impossible! You couldn’t possibly know about Ah Jin—I never told anyone, not even Father or Second Brother!”

“After killing you, I’ll go kill Feng Li. Then there’s no need to worry about my identity being exposed.” Yunyi’s words made Li Xuanba’s expression grow even more frantic. After steadying himself, he said, “Even if you kill Feng Li, there’s still Elder Brother. Do you think you can rush to Hedong and kill him too?”