Female General (16)
There was a loud noise when the blades collided, and Gou Su's shouts could be clearly heard amid the flying sparks.
Huang Heng fell into Gou Su's arms. Just as he was about to speak, a stream of thick blood spurted out of his throat, instantly blocking his mouth and tongue, and a fishy smell filled the air.
Seeing that Huang Heng was still awake, Gou Su slapped his cheeks repeatedly, trying to make sure he was alright: "Can you hear me? Ah Heng! Wake up! Don't sleep!"
Obviously, Huang Heng had not fainted yet, but the pain in his back made him weak and unable to stand up for a while.
"I... I'm fine..." He replied with a weak breath.
Seeing that he was still breathing, Gou Su had no time to take care of him. Seeing the powerful enemy in front of her, the most important thing in her mind was to catch the traitor Fu Jue in one fell swoop.
She dragged Huang Heng to the corner and made him straighten his back. Without saying a word, she picked up the golden sword again and rushed straight towards the enemy leader.
Previously, he accidentally got his right palm nailed on the stone wall. The leader did not seem to be very good at martial arts. Seeing Gou Su pressing him step by step, he did not have the courage to endure the pain and break free.
Gou Su came up to him in three steps, holding the golden knife in reverse, and pressed the handle of the Jiaozi beast head against his jaw, forcing blue veins to bulge on his neck.
"You have no chance of winning, why don't you surrender immediately?"
The deeper the knife handle pushed into the leader, the more purple his face turned. He knew that if he didn't say anything in reply, the next moment, more than one knife handle would appear on his neck.
At this point, he no longer needed to resist. He knelt down and begged for mercy in his not-so-fluent Central Plains dialect: "I... I plead guilty... I plead guilty..."
To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader. The leader knelt down, and the surrounding soldiers were also defeated. In the end, the group of thieves were outnumbered and knelt down to beg for mercy.
But Gou Su did not give up. She still held the leader's pulse tightly with her golden knife and changed the subject: "Tell me! Who ordered you to come here and commit such evil deeds?"
After years of fighting on the battlefield, Gou Su had seen many ambitious people, but assassinating an envoy was a serious matter, and the bandits in front of him were obviously not elite soldiers, so they naturally had nothing to do with the royal family.
Judging from the situation, they might be privately hired killers.
But the leader was either frightened by Gou Su's attitude or something, he hesitated for a long time and couldn't say a word, which made her furious.
"Tell me or not! Who ordered this?" she roared.
The leader shuddered, his eyes wandered, his fingertips trembled wildly, his body hunched, and he looked like a lamb to be slaughtered.
No matter how Gou Su threatened, he remained silent, or just uttered a few meaningless murmurs.
"Looking for death!" Gou Suke has no patience to play with you guys. Since he is a "loyal servant", it is also a kind of free and easy to become a dead soul under her knife.
She swung her golden knife and was about to chop the man's neck, but suddenly, he took advantage of the moment when she raised her arm and slipped away, heading straight for the torch.
"Not good!" Gou Su hurriedly turned his body, but was still a step too late.
The leader pulled out a parchment scroll from his chest and threw it directly towards the brightest part of the fire. His previously dim eyes suddenly reflected spots of light.
It’s too late. How can it be too late?
The corner of the parchment scroll touched the flame, and the quiet flame suddenly leaped into the sky.
The evidence was destroyed, and Gou Su was so angry that he gritted his teeth and wished he could stab the thief to death on the spot.
Suddenly, a gray shadow flashed by, just in time to block out the flames that shot up into the sky.
Huang Heng endured the pain and rushed towards the flames. He took out the remaining scroll from the flames with one hand, then rolled on the ground several times, using his body to put out the fire, and only then was he able to barely save the remaining scroll.
The matter was exposed, and the leader fell into Gou Su's hands again, but this time, the handle across his neck was no longer a knife.
The white blade pressed against his skin, leaving a cut from which blood gushed out.
Gou Su hated sneaky and cunning people the most in her life. Now that she had fallen into someone else's trap, she didn't have to be nice to him. Since he didn't value his life, she would definitely show no mercy with her weapon.
However, before getting the details, he has to be kept alive.
Gou Su gritted his teeth and grabbed the leader's collar. Leng Ren moved closer and closer: "Tell me! Who bribed you?"
“I…I…”
Seeing that the man still chose to conceal his secret, Gou Su came up with a plan: "With such crude tactics, I guess you came here without the knowledge of the Fujue royal family, right? Returning to your hometown is a crime of treason, punishable by death of all nine generations of your clan. In Kuixi, you are even more of a band of thieves. If you don't make meritorious contributions while guilty, do you think King Fujue will let your relatives go?"
“You…you…”
"You knew full well that this was wrong, yet you took on the job regardless, all you wanted was a little money to support your family. Now your family is broken, your brothers are dead or injured. In such a disastrous situation, do you still want to muddy the waters?"
Gou Su's tongue was like a sharp sword, cutting through his flesh and blood.
Yes, the weapons used by this group of thieves are not sophisticated, and their martial arts skills are also mediocre. It is impossible for them to be involved in family and national affairs. I am afraid that someone with ulterior motives is setting up a trap and using them.
The noise in the cave gradually died down. Huang Zhi and Li Yun, who were guarding outside, saw this and led the remaining soldiers into the cave, where they happened to meet Gou Su and others.
Standing at the entrance of the cave, Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the thieves being pinned to the ground by the soldiers.
But when she raised her eyes, Gou Su's vicious look as if he was interrogating a criminal made her feel scared again.
Even if she drew a red line with her golden knife, he would keep silent.
At this moment, Huang Heng, who had rolled to the side, suddenly took a staggering step and walked towards him, holding the sheepskin scroll tightly in his hand.
He knelt down with a thud, unfolded the parchment scroll, and faced Gou Su: "General... General... This person has signed a contract with someone..."
Hearing this, Gou Su frowned and looked carefully, but before she could see the handwriting on it clearly, the parchment scroll suddenly fell into the hands of Li Yun, the Minister of Justice.
Huang Heng was already holding on with the little strength he had left, and Li Yun's sudden pull caused him to fall to the ground again.
Li Yun wanted to reach out to help, but saw Ah Chou rushing over, so he just glanced at the two of them and then started reading the ink.
Gou Su was of low rank, so even though she was feeling impatient, she had no choice but to control the leader and put the cold blade against his jaw.
As Li Yun's pupils moved up and down, his expression became increasingly ugly.
Gou Su's heartbeat became faster and faster, but suddenly stopped the next moment.
"Gou Su! Look at the soldiers you brought with you!" Li Yun was furious and threw the parchment scroll to the ground.
Gou Su was inexplicably scolded and was left completely confused.
She immediately used her toes to pick up the dusty parchment scroll and read it carefully with her peripheral vision.
At first, there was nothing unusual. They just used gold as a reward to ambush these people in the mountains and take the opportunity to kill the envoy.
But only the signature becomes the big word that cannot be ignored in this transaction.
There is no name, but there is a red mark.
And that red seal was none other than the white tiger totem used by Gou Su's men—it was a contract signed by Gou Su's men!
"How...how could this be! My Lord, please investigate clearly. I, Gou Su, have absolutely no second thoughts!"
But the evidence was irrefutable, and Li Yun was obviously unwilling to listen to her explanation. The veins on his forehead bulged out, making Gou Su lose her breath.
Confused and angry, she turned and glared at the bandit leader, her eyes bloodshot. She subconsciously raised the golden knife and scraped a bloody mark on his cheek.
The leader screamed in pain, but Gou Su grabbed his throat.
Her eyes widened in anger as she demanded, "Tell me! Who signed the contract with you? If you keep silent, I'll chop off your head!"
At this point, with his cheek aching, the leader was suddenly frightened and finally spoke incoherently through his rotten teeth: "I... I say... I say! It was... it was a masked stranger who came to me in the middle of the night. We didn't recognize him, but he gave us a lot of gold, more than we can spend in this lifetime! We already roam the border and commit murder and robbery for a living. This deal only requires killing one person, so why not do it..."
"Kill one person? You're clearly going to massacre the entire team!"
"There's no other way! We have to save our lives too! If we don't kill them now, we'll be the ones to be killed tomorrow!"
"Then you know that the person you killed was an envoy from another country!"
“I…I…”
"Alright, I won't discuss this with you for now. Tell me who asked you to sign the contract! What are the characteristics of that person's hands and feet?"
Gou Su tried her best to suppress the anger in her chest and tried to discuss the matter calmly, but the gazes from the others behind her were like hellish fire, urging her to prove herself.
The leader's temples were covered in cold sweat, his teeth chattering, his face shone with fear. After thinking for a long time, he finally blurted out under Gou Su's threat: "Yes, yes, yes! There is a black mole the size of a copper coin on the palm of that man's right hand!"
This should have been a happy event, but after he said this, Gou Su's heart became even colder.
How could she not recognize this person? There was a mole on the palm of his right hand, and he was working right under her eyes. All these clues pointed to the missing Wang Pu.
"How...how is it possible..." Her eyes suddenly blurred, and her tightly clasped fingertips loosened a little. "You're talking nonsense! You're talking nonsense!"
Seeing Gou Su losing control, Huang Zhi immediately ordered people to step forward and pull her away to prevent her from losing control of her emotions and killing the hostage in anger.
Xiao Lin and Mu You stood at the entrance of the cave, and in the dim light they could see Gou Su's every move, and a trace of fear rose in their hearts.
Hiding behind Mu You's shoulder, Xiao Lin murmured unconsciously: "There's a mole on the right hand, who is it..."
"It's Wang Pu."
In the blink of an eye, she heard an inexplicable low voice in her left ear. She turned her head and saw that it was Ah Chou who was walking with Huang Heng.
It was at this moment that Xiao Lin was able to see clearly that Huang Heng's fingers were unable to bend or stretch - after being put into the fire, his hands were burned with blisters, and the back of his hands were immediately eroded. Just a glance at them was enough to give him nightmares all night.
She quickly hid her head and tugged at Mu You's sleeve.
Fortunately, Mu You was not afraid of these things. After frowning, he comforted Xiao Lin while asking, "Wang Pu? It was actually Wang Pu who did it?"
But Ah Chou just shook his head: "I don't know. What will happen in the end depends on what the two adults have to say."
Yes, the people sent by the emperor to try this case are Huang Zhi and Li Yun. Even if Gou Su defends himself in any way, the final decision still depends on these two adults.
Even so, Gou Su refused to give up: "Sir! The talisman can be faked, and the black mole is definitely not unique to Wang Pu. He is a close confidant cultivated by me, and he has always been honest and loyal, and he has no second thoughts towards our dynasty."
"But now that things have come to this, every single thing points to him as the real culprit. It's useless for you to speak up for him now. I'll bring the thief to the main hall, present this evidence, and convict him. There's no way around it."
Li Yun was impartial and would not allow Gou Su to play with him for even a moment.
Gou Su continued his argument, "Sir, there must be something hidden. Wang Pu was sent here by me. He accepted the task in a time of crisis. How could he have planned everything beforehand? Now that his life or death is uncertain, whether to punish him or not will require further discussion with others. After all, perhaps someone is plotting something grander, and Wang Pu is merely a pawn."
She clearly explained the doubts, but Li Yun's expression still showed no sign of relaxation.
He took advantage of the light to glance at Gou Su with disdain, his brows raised, then relaxed, and he waved his sleeves and left.
Yes, for Gou Su, even though she knew that her words and actions were inappropriate and offended Li Yun, the resentment in her heart still urged her to refute.
She didn't believe it. She didn't believe that Wang Pu could do such a thing as treasonous behavior.
Besides, where he is now remains a mystery.
He was not even given a chance to explain himself and was blamed so hastily. Wouldn't this discourage the officers and soldiers?
Li Yun must have thought of this, so he stopped arguing with Gou Su, and then ordered the escort of all the thieves and was about to return to Beijing.
However, as he walked over, he extended his hand to Huang Zhi's shoulder, his eyes full of admiration, and praised him, "Young Master Huang is courageous and resourceful. He will surely be valued by His Majesty. If it weren't for him today, this parchment scroll would have turned into a pile of ashes."
Huang Zhi frowned: "..."
"I will report the truth to the emperor tomorrow. Young Master Huang is indeed a meritorious official, and the emperor will surely reward him. It is truly admirable that the Huang family has produced such a person." Li Yun's face was relaxed, and every word he said showed his approval of Huang Heng, but his curved white eyebrows could not bring out the joy in Huang Zhi's eyes.
Huang Zhi forced a smile and reluctantly sent Li Yun away, then ordered his troops to withdraw.
Amid the sounds of armor colliding, Huang Zhiyu suddenly changed his usual behavior in the dark. His face was gloomy, his eyes were cold, and he stabbed Huang Heng, whose hands were floating in the air, as if he was thinking about something.
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