Chapter 86: Does the Truth Really Matter?
When Jing Yuan received Dan Heng's reply, he was on his way back to Shence Mansion.
[Danheng]: What's wrong?
Jing Yuan looked at Dan Heng's question and answered concisely.
[Real-name Internet Access]: Shen Mi has been kidnapped. It's a problem left over from the Yin Yue Rebellion. Their goal is to use Shen Mi to lure you out... In short, protect yourself and don't fall into the trap set by others.
Dan Heng's breath hitched. Almost simultaneously with the shock, it felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart. The thought of those four words brought back the pain of shedding his scales, which crept up his spine like a nerve reflex, causing him to suddenly bend over.
He slowly raised his hand, gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly at his left chest, his fingertips turning slightly white from the force, his body trembling uncontrollably. The dim light from the screen reflected on his lowered eyelashes as he typed those words with a force that seemed to pierce through the screen:
[Danheng]: How is Chen Mi doing?
With his fingertips hovering over the screen, Dan Heng's eyes were dim, as if he had been drenched in cold water from head to toe.
The Grand Elder noticed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward, raising his hand to steady Dan Heng's arm, his tone revealing undeniable concern: "Dan Heng, what's wrong?"
Dan Heng slowly raised his eyes, which seemed to be behind a thousand layers of clouds, deep and dark, unable to see the moonlight, only reflecting the anxiety and unease surging in his heart.
He remained silent for a moment, as if trying his best to suppress the sudden surge of panic in his chest, until his breathing returned to normal before he spoke in a low voice: "Elder... if something happens to someone who is extremely important to me, but my appearance might put her in even greater danger, what should I do?"
The Grand Elder frowned, trying to piece together what had happened from Dan Heng's few words.
"Is he the very important person you mentioned?" the elder asked, staring intently at him.
Dan Heng remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Since things are already set in stone, calm yourself down first." Her voice was deep and slow, yet carried an undeniable power. "Showing yourself rashly will only give them what they want. If you want to save her, you must first protect yourself. If you fall into their trap, not only will you be powerless to save yourself, but she will also lose all hope of survival."
Dan Heng's knuckles tightened subtly within his sleeve, his thin lips pressed into a straight line. Guilt weighed heavily on his chest, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
"It's my fault... I dragged her into this," he said in a low voice, his tone trembling with suppressed emotion. "I shouldn't have hoped for a normal life..."
The elder sighed softly, his eyes filled with pity and helplessness, as if looking at a young man who had been trapped by the wind and snow for too long.
"Danheng, what you were born carrying is indeed heavier than what others bear. But people are not made of stone, devoid of emotion, nor are they boats that can only drift along the river. Even a moment of warmth is worth reaching out and grasping."
Her hand gently landed on his shoulder, as if to pull him out of that heavy shadow. "But—if you want to hold onto warmth, you have to hold onto it yourself, instead of going with the flow and denying all the efforts you've made in the past. What you need to do is stay rational and do your best to find a breakthrough."
Dan Heng remained silent, the shadow between his brows as deep as the night.
The screen vibrated gently in his sleeve. He lowered his eyes and slowly took out his phone—it was Jing Yuan's latest message, containing only a short sentence:
There is currently no information about her. As long as they cannot find you, they will not dare to touch her easily. I will share any new information with you.
A glint of light suddenly ignited in Dan Heng's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He hadn't found Chen Mi yet; this wasn't the time to be happy.
He put away his phone, turned to look at the Grand Elder, and said in a low but firm voice, "I want to save her—"
That tone wasn't an impulsive vow, but the swan song of someone who had made all the preparations for it.
"Elder, can you help me?"
"certainly."
*
After briefly reporting the situation to Dan Heng, Jing Yuan stared at the screen, remained silent for a long time, and finally let out a heavy sigh.
He couldn't tell whether this sigh was a sigh of relief for Shen Mi's temporary safety or a sigh of worry for the situation he might face in the future.
Sure enough... he was on the Immortal Ship.
When exactly did they start contacting each other? And have they ever met in person?
Jing Yuan recalled the travel arrangements Shen Mi had casually mentioned. Although they were infrequent, they still pierced his heart like a nail. The suspicion and unease surged like an undercurrent, churning in his chest and lingering for a long time.
Even though he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on these issues, his thoughts were still drawn in, and he couldn't ignore even the slightest hint of it.
As expected, he was still selfish; he couldn't remain indifferent.
And so, Jingyuan sat quietly in the hall for a long time until Qingcu returned with the latest intelligence.
“General, you guessed correctly. All of this is related to 7379. Bai Qi has been arrested and is currently being held in the temporary detention room of the Ten Kings Division. As for Bai Xuan, we don’t know where he is yet, but I have sent people to investigate.”
Qingcu reported the information she had gathered one by one, standing a few meters away from Jingyuan, her tone cautious and composed. However, after she finished speaking, she looked up and saw that the general had his head down and did not react to what she had said.
Qingcu frowned and tentatively asked, "General?"
The next moment, Jing Yuan's deep and steady voice came from above: "Did she say anything?"
Qingcu quickly realized that the "she" the general was referring to was Bai Qi.
"She didn't explain anything, but she asked to see you."
Jing Yuan sighed softly, as if expelling all his troubles at once, then raised his head and revealed the familiar smile he wore when dealing with alliance affairs: "Then I'll go and meet her."
The temporary prison cells of the Ten Kings' Division are located beneath the ancient sea, and deeper still lies the infamous "Prison of Darkness." The surrounding stone walls are thick, dark, and damp, with only the dim light of the chandeliers illuminating the space. The air is filled with a chilling dampness and a metallic scent that inspires disgust.
Each cell was sealed with sturdy iron bars, the heavy iron doors covered with chains and rivets, and the faint, sharp light filtering through the cracks. Judges and guards stood watch at key positions, their eyes sharp as knives, spears and shields in hand, ready to respond to any sudden situation. Their footsteps were heavy, each movement like a warning bell tolling in the air, reminding anyone not to act rashly.
Bai Qi sat on the chair in the prison cell, listening to the news being discussed outside the door. He managed a bitter smile, but his heart felt as if it were being chilled to the bone by a cold wind.
She hummed "The Fox Orphan" softly, mocking her puppet-like life.
The low curses and intermittent wails of prisoners in the dark dungeon echoed from beneath her feet, sometimes accompanied by the crisp sound of chains clashing, reverberating in the gloomy space like the echoes of the eighteenth level of hell rolling between the walls, proclaiming her heinous crimes.
Bai Qi sat on the prison chair, raised her head and looked at the person standing at the door. She stopped humming.
He said to the figure he could only see, "Jingyuan, you still came."
Her voice was weak and helpless.
"Bai Qi, now is not the time for pleasantries. As long as you reveal the kidnapping plan and the location where Shen Mi is being held, I can vouch for you in front of the judges of the Ten Kings Division and reduce your sentence," Jing Yuan said slowly, standing outside the cage with his hands behind his back and his face calm.
Bai Qi lowered her head and remained silent for a moment, her eyes glancing at the dark red, broken sword outside the cage. Through the heavy iron bars, her voice was hoarse: "It's come to this, I've been arrested by you, you don't need to vouch for me, and there's no point in continuing to hide it."
“Shen Mi escaped long ago,” Bai Qi said.
Jing Yuan frowned, displeased with her lies, but maintained a calm tone: "There's no need to delay any longer. Now that the Cloud Cavalry has found you, finding Shen Mi is only a matter of time."
Then he added, "And you only have this one chance to confess."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qi let out soft laughter from the iron bars.
“Jingyuan, I bet you didn’t see the evidence that was brought out with me… Look closely, besides the keychain you gave her, there’s something else inside.”
"I believe you must be very familiar with that thing."
Bai Qi said firmly.
Jing Yuan frowned and gestured to Qing Cu beside him to lift the black cloth covering the evidence.
His gaze first fell on the custom-made wooden keychain, and when he saw the mischievous face that looked just like a real person, the tension in his eyes quietly eased, but then tightened again in the next second, almost bursting.
"The Fragmented Sword?" he exclaimed in surprise.
Hearing the satisfactory answer, Bai Qi smiled and said, "Yes, it's the real Fragmented Sword. Now you should believe me, I really don't know where she went."
"The man with the powerful healing ability and dark blue hair escaped with her."
Bai Qi recounted the last scene she saw on the surveillance footage.
Qingcu stood to one side, seemingly understanding but not quite comprehending what Bai Qi was saying.
“It was all my plan. I was the mastermind. My accomplices were hired by me. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I hope you can let the others go.”
Bai Qi was eager to put a definitive conclusion to this incident.
Jing Yuan recovered from his shock and, after regaining his composure, pointed out the flaw in Bai Qi's words: "Bai Qi, you have no deep-seated hatred for Shen Mi, so I don't think you would come up with such a meticulous plan."
“If you did it, the Ten Kings Court will punish you according to the laws of the Immortal Ship…” He paused and continued, “If not… I don’t want you to make a decision that you will regret for the rest of your life for someone else.”
"Regret for a lifetime..." Bai Qi pondered these four words carefully. "There's no such thing as regret anymore. On the day I went from sparrow to phoenix, I had already accepted the gifts that fate had ordained."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch..." she roared, venting the words that had been pent up inside her.
As Jing Yuan listened, a heavy and complex feeling welled up inside him. He had wanted to use reason and warnings to persuade her, but faced with her almost numb yet stubborn tone, he suddenly realized that no amount of words could truly touch the loneliness and determination deep within her heart.
He crouched down, looked at Bai Qi, and slowly spoke, his voice low but warm: "Bai Qi... I don't want you to push yourself into an abyss of no return because of anyone or anything. Even if the whole world leaves you to walk alone, I hope you can retain at least the right to choose."
“Bai Xuan is the real mastermind,” Jing Yuan said slowly. “His motivation for doing all this isn’t hard to guess. Perhaps he learned the truth about Bai Heng’s death, or perhaps he was instigated by others…”
"You don't have to sacrifice yourself and bear everything because of the debt of gratitude you owe your parents."
Bai Qi stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, at the man before her, listening to his words, which seemed to be the truth. Now, she finally understood that the title "General of Divine Strategy" was not an exaggeration.
He had already calculated everything without anyone noticing.
Bai Qi slumped to the ground, utterly dejected.
"yes……"
"So now you're willing to tell me your whole plan? And the location where Shen Mi is being held?"
Jing Yuan once again wore the same smile he wore when dealing with alliance affairs; this time, he was certain he would bring Shen Mi back unharmed.
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Author's Note: I'm late! I'm late!!! I went out to play today! I had a lot of fun, and I just finished dinner!!! [Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes]
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