Chapter 102 A Heavily Drunken Man's Breath Still Lingers
There was only one answer, and it was right on his lips.
But saying it out loud is more painful than killing him.
He clenched his fists tightly, letting his nails pierce his palms and draw blood. But he seemed not to feel the pain and clenched them even tighter.
Bai Ming forced back his tears, raised his eyes briefly, and exhaled a long breath. He seemed unable to meet Yang Xiao's gaze again, and could only frown and stare intently at the bloodstain on the wall behind Yang Xiao.
"I only believe in evidence."
Those few words, though brief, were like the tip of a knife, piercing the hearts of everyone inside the tent.
Everyone knew perfectly well what was going on, yet they had no choice but to painfully continue the performance. Yang Xiao sighed, her eyes flickering slightly as she glanced sideways at Qi Kun, "Master?"
"Don't call me master. I've never had a disciple like you." Qi Kun slowly stood up with his back to Yang Xiao and shouted sternly, "Guards, drag him out!"
"No need for you all to worry, I have my own legs." Before Qi Kun finished speaking, the knife in Yang Xiao's hand was thrown out, and the clanging sound immediately spread through the boundless night, shaking the hearts of everyone in the tent.
Yang Xiao took a step forward, her eyes flashing slightly before landing gently on Bai Ming's reddened eyes, just as she always had. She tilted her head slightly towards the door, raised her hand to touch her neck, and then looked up at Bai Ming again.
Bai Ming felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He gritted his teeth, looking at Yang Xiao with eyes full of longing and pain, and nodded slightly.
Looking at his expression, Yang Xiao smiled with relief and continued walking forward, but as she brushed past him, she tightly grasped his hand.
The sound of their heartbeats suddenly synchronized, and something burning hot was burning in their tightly clenched hands.
Yang Xiao squeezed Bai Ming's hand comfortingly, then loosened her grip and slowly withdrew her hand from Bai Ming's tightly clasped fingers.
Slender fingers slipped through Bai Ming's fingers like flowing water, and he couldn't hold on to them at all. Only that hot thing from before was tightly gripped in Bai Ming's hand, so tightly that it hurt.
With each step Yang Xiao took, Bai Ming felt a sharp pain in his heart. He looked up at the sky and took a long breath, his fingers trembling as he opened them. What came into view was none other than the bone flute that Yang Xiao's mother had left her, the one with the blood-written letter inside.
At that time, the Northern Qiang princess's belongings were Yang Xiao's only remaining connection to her blood relatives.
Tears welled up instantly, splashing heavily onto his clothes. Bai Ming bit his lip, trying his best to calm himself down. He kept regulating his breathing, barely managing to stop the tears, then turned around and stepped into the courtyard, squatting down beside the corpse.
He frowned and reached out, only to feel damp blood flowing from a small hole. He reached out again and pinched something sharp and thin. He frowned and pulled the object out forcefully, revealing a blood-stained silver needle at the tip of his palm.
"So this is the trump card you were talking about..."
He looked up at Yang Xiao, who was being swallowed up by the crowd, clutching the blood-stained silver needle tightly in his hand. A wave of grief washed over him, and his heart burned with pain, just as the silver needle had pierced through it.
A ray of dawn broke through the darkness, illuminating the blood-red night.
"Yang Xiao!" Qi Kun suddenly flung open the curtain and stepped out of the tent with a face full of indignation. He immediately saw Yang Xiao being held down on the ground by soldiers.
She knelt on the ground with her hands clasped behind her back, yet she looked up at the tent with a clear conscience, showing no sign of submission. Even the two soldiers could not budge her an inch.
Seeing this, Qi Kun felt a pang of pain in his heart. He frowned, gritted his teeth, and asked in a deep voice, "Yang Xiao, do you plead guilty?"
Yang Xiao looked up at his angry face and sneered as if she had heard a joke, "Admit it? Why don't you admit it?"
“You…” Xue Chang pointed at Yang Xiao, speechless for a moment.
"Executioners!" Qi Kun closed his eyes, turned and walked into the tent, shouting without looking back, "Behead them and display their heads."
These words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving the entire camp stunned. How could their commander, who had served Zhongli An for so long, suddenly become a traitor to his lord? They trusted Yang Xiao implicitly, and with a clatter, they knelt down, pleading for his life.
Although the two axemen on either side had received their orders, they hesitated, clutching Yang Xiao's arms, and dared not move. They exchanged a glance, made up their minds, threw down their weapons, and knelt before Qi Kun and Xue Chang along with the other soldiers.
"Strategist!" Zhang Ping, who was standing to the side with tears streaming down his face, grabbed Qin Yi and rushed over. He knelt down in front of Qi Kun with a thud and grabbed his clothes. "General, she must have been wronged. Please give her a chance to explain."
Qin Yi gritted his teeth, looked up at Qi Kun and earnestly clasped his hands, saying, "Everyone knows the general's character. How could such a loyal man do anything to harm his master?" His nose tingled and tears welled up in his eyes. "Strategist, you have known her the longest. How could you not know?"
The overwhelming pleas for mercy filled everyone's ears, and Qi Kun couldn't help but shudder. He clenched his hands tightly and tilted his head back to forcefully suppress the soreness that welled up in his nose.
"Do you intend to disobey orders?" Qi Kun turned his head and shouted angrily at the crowd behind him, "Our lord is unconscious now, how can such a traitorous subject be spared!"
He frowned and glanced at Zhang Ping and Qin Yi kneeling behind him, "If either of you speaks a good word for her again, you will both be punished!"
"We are willing to live and die with the general!"
“You…” Qi Kun pointed at the two of them, his heart suddenly clenched, and he was speechless.
"Strategist!" Before Qi Kun could finish speaking, Cen Xun rushed out of the house, clasped his hands and knelt before him, his eyes red as he looked up at him. "The evidence is indeed as it is, but if we execute her like this, the case will be impossible to investigate. If she is found guilty, wouldn't we be losing a great general on the battlefield? You should spare her life and find out the truth before killing her!"
Qi Kun looked down at Cen Xun, a single tear involuntarily falling from her eye. He quickly reached out to help Cen Xun up, and looking at her tearful eyes, he steeled himself and turned his head away.
The next moment, Xue Chang's hand landed on Qi Kun's shoulder, "Leave him alive, it's not too late to interrogate him later."
Qi Kun nodded, closed his eyes and exhaled, "Although he is spared the death penalty, he cannot escape punishment." He still had his back to him, and flicked his hand behind him, "Drag him away and give him fifty strokes of the cane!"
The two axemen breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged a glance, got up from the ground, and walked toward the military batons placed to one side.
Fifty strokes of the military rod would have been fatal for an ordinary woman. Qi Kun felt a sharp, clenched pain in her heart, yet she had no other choice.
This was the path she chose herself. The spies hadn't been eliminated, so they could only put on a show and report back to Xiao Yan.
If Yang Xiao softens her heart even for a moment, all her efforts and the momentum she had created will be wasted.
-
Blinding beams of light shone on the rack, clearly illuminating the red marks left on Yang Xiao's wrists by the handcuffs.
The heavy military baton struck Yang Xiao's back with a series of dull thuds. Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at the crowd standing before her, her gaze filled with resentment and unwillingness, yet also tinged with a hint of relief and liberation.
Blood seeped through her teeth and trickled from the corners of her mouth, yet not a single cry of pain escaped her throat. The iron chain she gripped with her backhand clattered with a deafening sound, like a knife slicing through everyone's hearts.
Bai Ming could no longer bear to watch. He turned around and walked into the tent. As soon as he entered, tears streamed down his face like a broken string of pearls.
He tilted his head back and closed his eyes tightly, but his body trembled uncontrollably. He clutched the bone flute left by Yang Xiao tightly in his hand and pressed it hard against his chest.
The baton continued to strike Yang Xiao's back, her grip on the chain gradually weakening, the blood and sweat clinging to it as it slowly slid down her back. But the sudden, excruciating pain forced her to hold on tightly to the chain. The air was instantly filled with the pungent smell of rust, whether from the chain itself, the rust that had remained unchanged for over a decade, or from the dried blood smeared on the rack.
The stabbing pain across her back caused Yang Xiao to involuntarily tighten the chains, trying her best to dodge forward. But every erratic movement brought her a violent blow that nearly shattered her spine.
Large drops of sweat rolled down her forehead, and a sudden stinging sensation filled her tightly closed eyes, whether from tears or the sweat dripping into them, she couldn't tell.
All ambitions were shattered by the heavy military baton, and even the strongest will could not escape the real and intense pain.
The scorching sun seemed intent on drying her battle robe, already soaked with sweat, leaving only a faint metallic taste in her parched mouth. Her hands, gripping the chains, trembled incessantly before slowly releasing them as if in resignation. The pain that had pounded on her heart like drumsticks had long since gone numb. She forced herself to open her eyes, only to find everything before her a blur, a wave of dizziness washing over her, as if she were about to vomit up her internal organs.
The scenes from just now kept replaying in her mind, relentlessly encroaching on her consciousness.
She could have wiped out all the enemy spies, so why did she willingly step into the execution ground where she was being denounced?
Why risk the life of a general and embark on this perilous road of no return after only three defeats?
I have been fighting alongside Zhong Li'an for nearly five years, so how did things get to this point where it's out of control?
Is it really worth risking your life for a slim chance?
Her consciousness gradually faded, yet she desperately raised her head. In an instant, the blinding sunlight shone into her eyes; a flash of golden light, and then a crimson hue suddenly appeared before her.
This golden light was like a tolling bell that awakened her from the mire.
The Chang'an battle was not worth the risk she took, but the truth hidden in her heart was, and the world that Zhong Li'an wanted to pacify was worth it.
This was her only and best chance to get close to Xiao Yan.
Her own voice suddenly appeared in her dizzy mind, echoing endlessly.
"Let no one make any more unnecessary sacrifices..."
"Think about how and why Yude and Mufei died..."
"For the country, for the family, Xiao Yan still owes you an explanation..."
"I will break through the formation with my own body!"
Her eyes snapped open, the iron chains she gripped rattling loudly above her head. She gritted her teeth, and her weak legs somehow managed to straighten her spine. Her fiery eyes fixed firmly on the sky, her conviction burning across the heavens.
Suddenly, the neighing of warhorses came from not far away, and another commotion broke out among the crowd to the west.
"Help! The horse can't be held!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
