Ya's capture was not unexpected for her, but what exactly did Yuwen Sheng mean by those words?
What does it mean that he brought the child, who had been tortured beyond recognition, to her?
In her anxiety, she recalled that troubled letter again...
Back at the quarry, the cavalry dismounted and lined up in a square formation, with only a few key men remaining in the center.
He moved a pear blossom chair over, lifted his battle cloak, and sat down with an air of leisurely elegance. He casually tore off the blood-stained gloves from his hands and put on a new pair.
Although his hands were once again spotless, the aura of bloodlust lingered around him, causing anyone who touched him to retreat at least three hundred feet away.
He glanced at Zheng Quchi, his skin beneath the mask was flawless, yet his crimson eyes were chilling: "Where are the others on Guixu Ridge?"
Zheng Quchi replied, "They should all be hiding in caves deep in the mountains now."
The soldiers searched, tracked, and explored the surrounding area, but found no signs of fighting or bloodshed. The empty quarry made the whole incident even more mysterious.
Fu Rong's gaze lingered on Zheng Quchi, as if he had noticed something unusual about her. He was observing her closely: "Are you... unharmed?"
Zheng Quchi felt very resistant to Fu Rong's gaze, and she didn't understand why.
She looked terrible, and her injuries were worsening, but she had no choice but to force herself to face them.
“I don’t know. When I discovered that nomadic barbarians had invaded, I immediately ordered the workers to ring the bronze bell and evacuate the crowd. Because I had trained the craftsmen in emergency response measures in advance, when they heard the third-level danger bell, they would leave the construction site on their own and run to the shelter I pointed out.”
Because of her throat injury, her speech was rough, hoarse, unpleasant, and slow.
Yuwen Sheng's gaze drifted casually over the red, swollen line on her neck: "And you? Why were you there?"
"Me?" After a moment of silence, Zheng Quchi said matter-of-factly, "I am their leader. They can escape to safety immediately, but I can't. I have to make sure the beacon towers are lit to summon reinforcements. Otherwise... hiding won't solve the problem. In the end, the barbarians, who sniff out the danger like wolves, will still find us."
Everyone looked at her in surprise upon hearing this.
Is this...is he really being sincere?
But she has clearly been identified by them as a spy for the Mohists. If that's the case, why would she risk her life to save some craftsmen who have nothing to do with her?
Yuwen Sheng continued to ask her, "You were the one who lit the signal fires and lured the nomadic barbarians northward, so how did you manage to escape from so many people?"
Wang Zebang observed the quiver on her back: "Are you skilled with crossbows?"
By this time, Zheng Quchi's crossbow had been lost along with his horse, leaving only the quiver he carried with him. The arrows for the bow and arrow were different from those for the crossbow, and it was easy to tell them apart at a glance.
As he spoke, he glanced at the boy lying silently on the ground; this boy was also skilled with a crossbow…
Is there really such a coincidence in the world?
He immediately asked in a cold voice, "Sang Xuanqing, you are probably not an ordinary disciple of the Mohist school. What exactly is your relationship with the Mohist school?"
Zheng Quchi's heart skipped a beat. He swallowed hard, gritted his teeth, and struggled for a long time, but still couldn't respond.
Because she herself didn't know the details of the matter, but she roughly understood that it was definitely not just about doing clerical work such as relaying messages, but perhaps also involving some assassination-related activities.
"She can't answer, so why don't you answer?" Wei Yao lowered her eyes and kicked the boy who looked like a dead dog.
Ya was filled with hatred. He suddenly opened his eyes and asked Zheng Quchi, "Did you betray us?"
Zheng Quchi hesitated for a moment before asking tentatively, "Which one are you asking about?"
The child's pupils constricted.
How many times has this bastard betrayed them, huh?!
Seeing that Ya was easily defeated by her words, she took advantage of the moment to turn to Wei Yao, her eyes filled with earnestness, and asked the question that had been on her mind all along: "Wei Yao, did you receive the letter I sent you?"
She didn't call him "Brother Wei" as she usually did, firstly because it wasn't appropriate for the occasion, and secondly because she didn't want to implicate anyone.
Wei Yao was taken aback: "What letter?"
Zheng Quchi's face paled upon hearing this, but he was still unwilling to give up and pressed on, "Then do you know about the time I came to see you a few days ago?"
"You came looking for me?" Wei Yao frowned.
"What about Feng Qing? Have you seen him?"
Upon hearing the name Feng Qing, Wei Yao's face turned ashen, and she stared at her with a complicated expression: "Feng Qing died several days ago!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Quchi's mind went completely blank.
"...Dead?"
The letter wasn't delivered, and her search for someone wasn't reported. In other words, in their eyes, she hasn't done anything to "turn back from the wrong path."
She was even a traitor who feigned allegiance but secretly planned to collude with Ya to save people.
How can she explain herself and tell them so that they will believe her?
She looked at Yuwen Sheng and solemnly said with all her might, "I have never betrayed you, and the matter of Feng Qing has nothing to do with me."
Yuwen Sheng stared into her eyes, those light brown eyes, fragile and tearful yet so strong and unyielding, bright and dazzling, which slightly stirred his indifferent expression.
Wang Zebang pulled out a piece of paper and threw it at her: "Sang Xuanqing, this map, you drew it, didn't you?"
Zheng Quchi didn't pick it up. He knew what it was: "Yes, but it's fake. If you don't believe me, you can compare it carefully."
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