Before them stood a row of soldiers in full armor, silver armor, and red helmets, holding spears and standing in formation, their spearheads pointing in the same direction, the spears planted diagonally in the ground, gleaming with a cold light.
Having been attacked first and then suffered this incident, Lu Zhaozhao was now kneeling on the ground, looking rather disheveled.
The cigarette ash got into her nose, making her cough a few times. She struggled to her feet, her body unsteady.
The palace guard sat high on his horse, looking down at her. He was covered by armor, and his face was completely obscured, so his expression could not be seen.
Lu Zhaozhao looked up and met his gaze, then asked loudly, "I am the only one here, where are the humans?"
The Palace Guardian did not answer, but his deputy chimed in, "The Palace Guardian has already discovered that you are the human spy, yet you still try to hide it here."
"Where is the evidence! If there is no evidence, then it is a deliberate frame-up," Lu Zhaozhao replied firmly.
"Fine! I'll let you die knowing why!" The lieutenant sneered, turned around and waved his hand, and two soldiers escorted a person who was bound hand and foot and had his head covered forward.
"Take a good look and see if you recognize him." The lieutenant commanded his men to remove the black hood, revealing the face of the bound man.
Lu Zhaozhao squinted and looked closely. It seemed quite familiar. After looking at it a few more times, she remembered that it was the tiger demon she had encountered when she first entered the Western Region.
It's no wonder she didn't recognize it immediately, given that a lot of time had passed, and the demon was covered in bloodstains, its face in no better shape.
Lu Zhaozhao pondered for a moment, stared at the tiger demon for a while, and then pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Who is this? What makes him think I'm a spy?"
The lieutenant raised his hand and lashed the tiger demon with his whip, causing it to scream in pain. Then, the lieutenant said, "Look carefully. Are you talking about the person in front of you?"
"Yes, yes, sir, it's her. I saw her with my own eyes at the edge of the barrier, there's no mistake." The tiger demon hurriedly spoke, afraid that if he hesitated even a second longer, the whip would fall on him again.
Lu Zhaozhao glanced coldly at the deputy general and said, "The way you're wielding that whip, are you trying to force a confession out of me?"
"Stop slandering me! It was this tiger demon who revealed the truth while drunk in the tavern. I overheard it and, after some interrogation, I found you, you villain!"
The lieutenant, in a panic, gave a signal to the surrounding soldiers, who, upon receiving it, began to stir and move forward.
Lu Zhaozhao swept her sharp gaze over the soldiers, frightening them into not daring to move forward. Then, she looked at the palace guard and asked, "What does Your Excellency think?"
"Now is your time to explain." The palace guard's voice was flat, as if he had only learned something insignificant. "If you can't explain, I'll throw you into the beast cage as food. If you can prove your innocence, this tiger demon will go in for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tiger demon trembled and cried out, "My lord, spare my life! It is this person, there is no mistake!"
Lu Zhaozhao paused for two seconds, then chuckled softly, "That's right, it's me."
Everyone present was stunned for a moment. The palace guard spoke up: "You admit that you are a human spy?"
“I admit that this face might belong to a human spy, but I am not,” Lu Zhaozhao replied with a smile.
"A silver tongue indeed!" The lieutenant was furious. He drew his sword and shouted, "The traitor has confessed! Seize him at once!"
The surrounding soldiers swarmed forward, their spears pointed directly at Lu Zhaozhao.
"Step back!" the palace guard shouted, dismissing the crowd.
"My lord..." The deputy general looked at him in confusion, but was ignored. The palace guard's gaze was fixed on Lu Zhaozhao, his aura imposing. He said in a deep voice, "Explain yourself."
Lu Zhaozhao nodded and walked towards the tiger demon, saying, "You said you've seen my face before, right?"
The tiger demon nodded repeatedly, his face filled with terror.
Lu Zhaozhao scoffed, ripped off the mask to reveal her gaunt face, and said sharply, "And this face? Have you ever seen it?"
The tiger demon was terrified by her action and stood there speechless for a long time.
Lu Zhaozhao took in his reaction, speaking slowly and deliberately, making sure everyone present could hear her clearly.
She said, "This is my true face. The face I had just worn was just a skin that Thirteen Sister made for me when I was in the Ming Palace."
"No, no, you..."
Lu Zhaozhao looked toward the only source of the sound and saw the deputy general, who also looked shocked. This time, she snorted coldly, "If you don't believe me, you can ask the guards at the Ming Palace city gate that day to confirm whether I look like this now."
Her decisiveness made the lieutenant uneasy and he began to have second thoughts, but then he thought of something and said loudly to bolster his courage, "Then how did you happen to have the same skin as that human spy?"
Lu Zhaozhao stared at him, not replying immediately, but instead giggling, making him feel uneasy.
"why are you laughing……"
"You ask why I made this skin? Well, it's because... I've seen this face before," Lu Zhaozhao said with a smile.
"Where...where is this person?"
"Of course I killed her." Lu Zhaozhao looked innocently at the deputy general, seemingly unaware of what was going on. "On the way to Ming Palace City, I saw a woman with a beautiful face, and I thought I'd borrow her face. But she refused, so I had to take it from her myself. I hit her too hard during the fight and ruined her face. Since her face is ruined, she's useless to me, so I killed her. Is there a problem with that?"
She spoke so casually that the surrounding audience gasped in astonishment.
Borrowing someone's face? That sounds nice, but it's more like wanting to tear off their mask!
The lieutenant was speechless at her words, and Lu Zhaozhao continued, "The women of my tribe are so young and beautiful. This can be easily found out with a little inquiry. As for my identity... why don't you go and ask my tribe to see if it's true or not?"
Upon hearing this, the palace guard frowned slightly, and the deputy general broke out in a cold sweat.
It is well known in the Western Regions that the Nuwa Clan lives in seclusion and despises outsiders, even those in high positions of power. Before going into seclusion, the Nuwa Clan once ruled a region in the Western Regions.
As for why they hate it, few people know the reason, but no one in the West would want to get involved.
No one among the human race at present would know about this matter, and Lu Zhaozhao could only glimpse it in historical records. Therefore, as soon as she finished speaking, most of the guards of those who knew a little about it disappeared.
Lu Zhaozhao observed the atmosphere around her, twitched the corner of her mouth, and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, those who were attacked just now were not all the reinforcements, but the eight clans that Lord Palace Guardian had singled out. I know that I've been close to the eight clans a few days ago, and although I've made my stance clear, it's impossible for Lord Palace Guardian to believe me completely. I'm testing them today, and I wonder if Lord Palace Guardian can rest assured now."
Lu Zhaozhao looked directly at the palace guard. The palace guard did not show any embarrassment at being exposed. On the contrary, he seemed to be the one who exposed her with composure.
"Now that the truth is out, take this lying tiger demon away. Also, the deputy general has done a poor job; go and receive your punishment." He calmly and emotionlessly listed the punishments, then turned to Lu Zhaozhao: "You, come with me."
Lu Zhaozhao smiled, knowing that she had passed the test and that the road ahead might be as she wished.
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