loyalty
The cool moonlight spilled onto the carved beams and painted rafters of the corridor, casting dappled shadows.
As soon as Gu Jinghong stepped out of the main building and turned into a secluded corridor leading to her residence, she heard a suppressed, painful gasp.
Qingwu leaned against the cold pillar, his face as pale as paper, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and dark, damp marks were faintly visible through the back of his clothes.
Thirty lashes were left firmly on her back, and even through her clothes, the gruesome wounds were clearly visible.
When she saw Gu Jinghong, her eyes instantly blazed with intense resentment and unwillingness. Gritting her teeth, she growled in a hoarse voice, "You used me. You knew all along, you deliberately lured me into this trap!"
Gu Jinghong stopped in front of Qingwu, standing at the boundary between moonlight and shadow, his face half clear and half hidden in darkness, making him appear exceptionally cold.
She stared silently at Qingwu's pale face and the bloodstains soaking into his back, a fleeting, almost imperceptible, complexity flashing across her eyes—was it heartache? Was it disappointment? In the end, it all returned to the cold stillness of a deep pool.
“Use?” Gu Jinghong slowly squatted down, his voice soft, yet like ice shards striking each other. “Qingwu, you seem to have forgotten that back then at the mass grave in the west of the city, you were covered in wounds, delirious with a high fever. Who dragged you out of the pile of rotting corpses? And who stayed by your side for three days without taking off their clothes, saving your life with the best wound medicine that they themselves were reluctant to use?”
The moonlight illuminated her cool, aloof features, hinting at a touch of regret.
“I am the Grand Secretary, Qingwu. What kind of place is Qianyuan Pavilion? It is a jungle surrounded by ferocious beasts. If I didn’t have eyes that could see through people’s hearts, the ability to control the situation, and the ironclad rule that makes my subordinates know the price of betrayal, do you think I could have held this position for long?”
"I know everything about you: your thoughts, your actions, even the number of times you secretly went to the master's quiet room to speak... I know it all. All your skills were taught by me. I can see right through you, your every move, your every thought, as clearly as the lines on my palm. You think you've gotten on the master's good side without anyone noticing?"
Qingwu paused slightly, her pupils suddenly contracting due to pain and fear.
She felt as if she had been stripped naked, all her secrets exposed to Gu Jinghong's cold gaze.
Gu Jinghong squatted down and looked carefully at Qingwu's face, reaching out to tuck her loose hair, stained with blood and sweat, behind her ear.
"These thirty lashes will save your life. Qingwu, do you think the Master will still trust you? Will still use you?"
Gu Jinghong leaned close to Qingwu's ear: "Without my 'protection,' do you think you could have left the meditation room alive?"
Qingwu's body trembled violently, and the resentment in his eyes was overwhelmed by immense fear.
She never expected that Gu Jinghong's unexpected protection in the quiet room was actually an attempt to dig a trench in the landlord's heart, a trench that would destroy the trust she had painstakingly built in the landlord's heart.
Deeper within Qingwu's heart, a sense of bewilderment and pain, bordering on despair, surged forth.
Her voice was hoarse, as if she were talking to herself or questioning Gu Jinghong; it was broken and shattered.
“I...I just...want to live...want to do the right thing...the host is...the only one in this thread who cannot be disobeyed...I reported you...because I was afraid you would do something wrong...and implicate everyone...and also, it was out of loyalty to the thread rules...to loyalty to the host! Was I wrong?! I just wanted to prove...that my loyalty...was worthwhile!”
Gu Jinghong stood up and looked down at her, his eyes showing no emotion, only a coldness that seemed to know everything.
"Foolish! To this day, you still haven't figured out what loyalty is, yet you dare to talk about loyalty in front of me? You're courting death..."
"Do you think that being 'loyal' means wagging your tail like a dog, obeying your master's commands without question, and even tearing apart your companions to get a bone with meat on it?"
"Do you think that by offering your pitiful, easily replaceable 'loyalty' to that high and mighty Lord who sees everything as a pawn, you can prove your 'worth' and survive in this cannibalistic place?"
Qingwu was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale.
"What do he see in your betrayal, your 'loyalty'?" Gu Jinghong's voice suddenly rose. "A pawn to test me! A chess piece to verify the secret box! A wild dog that can be discarded at any time, or even used to make an example of someone! Tell me, does a wild dog deserve to talk about loyalty?"
Gu Jinghong's words were like sharp daggers, piercing Qingwu's self-deceiving reasons and the beliefs he relied on, leaving them riddled with holes.
...It turns out that, from beginning to end, what she thought was "loyalty" and "correctness" was nothing more than a play that could be discarded at any time in the eyes of the host! The immense sense of absurdity and the grief of being completely fooled instantly overwhelmed her. She leaned against the pillar, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind. She didn't even have the strength to resent, only an endless emptiness and coldness remained.
Seeing her completely break down, Gu Jinghong withdrew what he was about to say and sighed, "From now on, give me your life completely. Be my eyes and my ears. Do whatever the Master tells you to do, but I must know every single word you say first. Do you understand?"
She leaned slightly forward, lowering her voice even further, like a judgment from hell, shattering Qingwu's last shred of hope.
"What do you think the look the host gave you at the end meant? He suspected you, suspected that you conspired with me to put on this show today, just to force him to reveal his hidden abilities in public!"
"In his eyes, you, Qingwu, are not just a useless pawn, but a potential threat who may know too much and harbor resentment. How long do you think someone who is considered a threat by the lord can survive in this Zhuoyue Tower?"
Qingwu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her body trembling so much that she could barely stand.
She looked up abruptly, the last vestiges of struggle and resentment in her eyes completely overwhelmed by overwhelming fear. The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. She looked at Gu Jinghong, the only person she had just betrayed, yet who had reached out to her in her desperate situation. He had become the only light in her dark world, even if that light might lead to another abyss.
She opened her mouth, making a hoarse, bellows-like sound in her throat, and finally, with great difficulty, she nodded almost imperceptibly.
Gu Jinghong's tone did not soften at all; on the contrary, it became even more forceful: "Very well. Remember your choice now. How long have you been following the 'Falcon Eagle' trail? More than half a year, right? How much effort have you put in? I want you to tell me everything you know about 'Falcon Eagle'... everything. This is your only chance to prove to me that you, this discarded pawn, are still useful to me."
Qingwu looked at Gu Jinghong, unable to say a word, and silently left, enduring the excruciating pain.
The cool moonlight filtered through the sparse bamboo leaves, casting dappled, shimmering shadows on the ground. Gu Jinghong didn't return to her residence; instead, she took a shortcut, blocking the path leading directly to Xie Yan's courtyard. She leaned against a clump of thick, green bamboo, her figure almost blending into the shadows, only her eyes shining brightly in the night.
The image of Qingwu's pale, broken face and the bloodstains soaking into her back flashed through her mind.
Lady Liu from the sewing room was indeed born to be a spy. Her eyes, which could be described as a "living ledger," keenly caught the anomalies from the idle chatter of the servants in the Prince's mansion after meals, and from the subtle changes in Qingwu's expression after he "casually" delivered clothing materials several times. She then meticulously pieced together the clues to the "accidentally" extra footprints outside the master's quiet room... She might really be bitten even deeper by this ungrateful wretch.
Thirty lashes for a life—it's a trade, but also a shackle. She'll send someone to "properly" treat Qingwu's back; the gruesome wound itself is the best shackle. The Hawk's intelligence is just the beginning; Qingwu must prove that this discarded pawn still has value to be exploited.
From this day forward, Qingwu's eyes, ears, and even every heartbeat must be used solely for her own purposes. What does the Master want her to do? Very well. That will become the most concealed dagger she can use to stab the Master.
Of course, Lady Liu's gossip wouldn't stop, and the eyes in the shadows wouldn't relax either. If Qingwu harbored any more delusions, or lost her value... then the cold stone steps outside the quiet room would be her final resting place.
The footsteps grew closer. Xie Yan appeared, seemingly in a good mood, even humming a tuneless melody—until he keenly caught the familiar yet dangerous presence in the shadows of the bamboo grove.
The humming stopped abruptly.
Xie Yan abruptly stopped, his body tensing instantly like a cheetah. His languid aura vanished, replaced by a wary, bloodthirsty alertness, ready to pounce.
He slowly turned around, his gaze precisely locking onto Gu Jinghong in the shadows. Those phoenix eyes, which always held a mocking air, were now filled with only icy killing intent and undisguised hatred.
"It's a lingering ghost."
He uttered four words, his voice hoarse as if his throat had been rubbed by rough sandpaper, carrying the weakness of someone still recovering from a serious injury, yet adding a touch of sinister ruthlessness. His knuckles turned white from the force of his grip on the jade flute at his waist.
Gu Jinghong slowly emerged from the shadows, the moonlight illuminating her cold face, making her appear as aloof as a fairy from a cold palace.
"What? The mute drug didn't kill me, so you're here to finish me off yourself?" Xie Yan's lips curled into a malicious, icy smile. Though his voice was hoarse, every word was like a poisoned needle. "Or... you weren't satisfied in the water dungeon?"
Gu Jinghong subconsciously gritted her teeth—this damn thing, they could have said "they didn't have enough fun in the water dungeon," but they insisted on saying "they didn't have enough fun in the water dungeon." It's only a one-word difference, but the meaning is completely different.
She looked at Xie Yan's arm. "Are you... sure you want to come again?"
Before he could finish speaking, Xie Yan ripped the strip of cloth off his arm with a "whoosh," and his figure shot up like a ghost. Even with his shoulder injury still unhealed and his throat throbbing with pain, the speed and power he unleashed were still terrifying.
The jade flute held by her slender fingers transformed into a deadly beam of light, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, aiming straight for Gu Jinghong's heart.
Gu Jinghong's pupils contracted slightly, already on guard. He retreated swiftly, and at the same time, with a flick of his wrist, the thin, willow-leaf-like short blade narrowly deflected the jade flute.
"Ding." A piercing, crisp sound rang out, and the enormous impact made her arm go numb. She staggered back several steps before regaining her balance, her chest heaving with blood and qi.
The difference in strength was clearly revealed when Xie Yan unleashed his full power in a fit of rage.
"Stop, Xie Yan! Listen to me!" Gu Jinghong suppressed his surging blood and shouted sharply.
Xie Yan: "Shut up! After you're done, I'll hear your last words!"
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