Chapter Ten
This Princess Qin looks like she's been pampered at home. She's never seen a prisoner who's been tortured beyond recognition. If she gets scared and something bad happens to her, wouldn't the King of Qin blame her?
Si Yanmo didn't like what he said.
“If you can go, why can’t I? General Liu Feng, I’m not that weak and frail.”
She reached out to push the man away.
Liu Ziwei was speechless upon hearing this, and looked at Zhou Yanqing with difficulty, "Your Highness, this..."
"It's alright, let her come."
Her ability to see other people's destinies can probably be of help.
Liu Ziwei reluctantly stepped aside.
The soldiers escorted the spy into the dungeon.
Deep underground in the dungeon, a chilling wind swept over her as soon as she entered, causing Si Yanmo to shiver involuntarily.
It was this slight twitch that Liu Ziwei caught a glimpse of and gave a disdainful smile.
I told you you couldn't come! Why are you pretending to be a heroine?!
Zhou Yanqing saw this, called over a soldier, whispered a few instructions, and the man left the dungeon.
The deepest part of the dungeon was where prisoners were tortured, with all sorts of instruments of torture laid out there.
The damp walls, the squeaking rats, and the nauseating smell of decay made Si Yanmo, who had grown up in luxury, turn away and cover her nose in disgust.
We'll see each other often in the future, we'll see each other often...
She comforted herself.
If you're going to become a shaman for a ruler in the future, and you can't even see these things, what else can you do?
She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and followed the others inside.
The spy was tied to the rack by Chen Wu, but his face still showed a look of resignation to death. He did not utter a word as Chen Wu tortured him with the instruments of torture.
"My lord, this guy is too stubborn!" Chen Wu threw down the whip in his hand and said through gritted teeth.
Zhou Yanqing snorted impatiently, stood up and went straight to the stove next to him. He picked out a red-hot iron rod, and without even looking at it, pressed it directly against the man's bare chest.
The thin shirt covering the man's chest instantly caught fire, exposing his skin, which sizzled as it was heated by the iron rod.
A burnt smell filled everyone's nostrils, and Si Yanmo couldn't help but raise her sleeve to cover her nose and cough a few times.
Seeing the spy's face contorted in pain, covered in cold sweat, yet still clenching his teeth and refusing to utter a sound.
"So much backbone?" Zhou Yanqing raised his eyes slightly, a dangerous smile curving his lips. "It's alright, I have plenty of ways to make you talk."
With that, the man waved his hand, "Waterboarding."
Water torture involves covering a person's head with wet sheets of Xuan paper, layer upon layer, so that even if the person opens their mouth to breathe, the paper will block their airway, causing them to slowly suffocate.
This process, repeated over and over, torments a person until they lose their senses and start saying anything.
Chen Wu received the order and was about to take action when he saw Si Yanmo walk up.
"How about... I give it a try?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanqing lowered her eyes slightly, her fingers unconsciously groping for the jade pendant at her waist.
This woman said she wanted to be his own sorcerer, and now was indeed a perfect opportunity for her to demonstrate her abilities. He also wanted to see if Si Yanmo truly had the capacity to be his ally and assistant.
He nodded and gestured for him to proceed.
Si Yanmo walked step by step to the spy's side.
The man was tortured beyond recognition by the instruments of torture, and his eyes were somewhat unfocused.
"You have an elderly mother, a wife, and two children at home, all of whom are currently in Jinzhou, Qin, right?"
Her voice was soft and her tone gentle, but it startled the man so much that he immediately looked up, staring at her in disbelief.
"Who...who are you?"
Anger was forced out of the man's hoarse voice.
This woman just guessed that I was Qi Gu's spy, and now she can even tell me the location of my family. How could a newlywed woman who has just married into Qin know this?
Could it be that the King of Qin saw through all this and deliberately found a diviner to try and extract information from him?
"Your parents, wife, and children are all in Qin, yet you serve as a lackey of Qi Valley. I suppose you must have your reasons."
Si Yanmo smiled and said, "The King of Qin is not a ruthless person. As long as you tell me what the King of Qi sent you here for and who your accomplices are, I can guarantee the safety of your entire family. Otherwise..."
She didn't say anything more, but just gave a mysterious smile that made the other person's hair stand on end.
The dungeon seemed even colder.
Seeing the panic finally show on the man's face, Zhou Yanqing's lips curled slightly. It seemed she hadn't made a mistake in choosing this ally.
This woman is quite adept at threatening people.
Liu Ziwei, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed. He hadn't realized the princess had such abilities.
Just then, the soldier who had just left the dungeon returned with a brown cloak and handed it to Si Yanmo. It turned out that Zhou Yanqing had noticed that her clothes were too thin and had sent someone to fetch a cloak.
Si Yanmo put on the cloak and immediately felt much warmer. She nodded her thanks to him and looked at the spy again: "What? Aren't you going to talk?"
The spy lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then finally sighed and resignedly began, "I'll talk, I'll talk..."
"The King of Qi sent us here because—"
Before she could finish speaking, a "plop" sound was heard, and a splash of red splattered onto the brown-gray fur collar, and then scattered onto Si Yanmo's face and eyelashes.
Her mouth involuntarily opened, and her pupils contracted sharply. Blood seeped from the corner of the person's mouth, and their head slumped down, lifeless on the rack.
Si Yanmo seemed frozen in place, her face deathly pale, only the sound of a dagger slicing through the air could be heard.
Just then, a strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled hard. She staggered, the world spun around her, and she was thrown to the ground, kneeling on one knee.
Clang!
A flash of sword light swept across, piercing the air. Several more swords were drawn, and the fighting began.
The sounds of clashing swords were incessant.
Soon, with a clang, the sword and knife fell to the ground.
Si Yanmo suddenly raised her head, her eyes narrowed, and she finally saw the situation before her.
The soldier who had just given himself the cloak now had a long sword pressed against his neck by Zhou Yanqing.
He was a spy too!
They probably killed the person to silence them, fearing they might reveal something.
Fortunately, Zhou Yanqing reacted quickly and shielded her behind her; otherwise, she would probably have been a victim of the blade long ago.
With his weapon destroyed, the man stopped fighting and lunged forward, grabbing a fallen dagger and plunging it into his heart. Blood gushed from his chest, soaking Zhou Yanqing's sleeve.
Seeing that the spy was dead, everyone put away their swords.
Si Yanmo lowered her head and realized that there was a big gash on her arm, from which blood was seeping out.
"Come with me."
Seeing this, Zhou Yanqing grabbed her uninjured arm, helped her up, and led her out of the dungeon, all the way back to the camp.
He asked Si Yanmo to sit on the edge of the bed, then went to the cabinet and found a small white medicine jar, along with a clean handkerchief, before returning to her side.
Zhou Yanqing knelt down beside her, pulled her injured arm over, and gently wiped away the blood with a handkerchief.
"Um... I... I can do it myself."
Si Yanmo was a little embarrassed and tried to push him away, but he grabbed her wrist and said, "Don't move."
"Wounds don't scab over easily, and if not treated properly, they will leave scars."
He opened the medicine jar, dabbed some brown ointment with his finger, and applied it to Si Yanmo's wound with unprecedented gentleness.
The ointment felt cool and refreshing, but it didn't hurt when it was applied to the wound.
Si Yanmo's gaze, which had been fixed on her pitiful little arms, slowly shifted to Zhou Yanqing's face.
The man who had just been so fierce that he would kill anyone who dared to approach was now looking down with his eyes slightly lowered. Illuminated by the warm light coming through the window, he had lost all his ferocity and looked like... like a little dog carefully licking its master's wounds.
"Zhou Yanqing, has anyone ever told you that you're cute? Like a puppy?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Si Yanmo regretted it.
Someone kindly treated your wound, and you actually called them a dog!
As expected, Zhou Yanqing looked up at her and squinted at her, "Has anyone ever told you that you're bad at talking?"
"Hehe." Si Yanmo gave a slightly embarrassed laugh, then immediately waved her hand to explain, "I, I didn't mean that. My point was—you're very cute!"
Zhou Yanqing stood up, closed the medicine jar in her hand, snorted softly, and threw the medicine into her arms.
"No, they usually call me—Sha, Xing."
He deliberately emphasized the words "jinx," his smiling eyes meeting those of his superior, Yan Mo, as he said, "You must know this, Madam, too, right?"
Holding a grudge!
I only mentioned it once on our wedding night, but this guy still remembers it now.
Si Yanmo had originally wanted to thank him for saving her life, but upon hearing these words, she felt no gratitude whatsoever.
"I'm not going to argue with you! Let's get down to business." Si Yanmo rolled her eyes at him, then put on a serious expression. "There are definitely other spies in the military camp."
"I know, did you see it in your destiny chart?"
"No." Si Yanmo shook her head.
"However, I feel that these spies probably don't know each other. Today, one of them was exposed, and the others were silenced. But there must be someone who can connect them. Otherwise, how could the King of Qi, who is thousands of miles away, give them orders?"
"But why did they silence them?" Si Yanmo asked, still puzzled.
"Logically speaking, spies are planted in various places to gather intelligence. I don't see anything special in the spies' fates. If you catch one, at most one person will be exposed and executed. Why risk two lives like this?"
"So you were just bluffing him? You've already seen his destiny and know his mission?" Zhou Yanqing raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. So it's even stranger, isn't it? Unless—"
“Unless their mission involves more than just intelligence gathering,” the man continued.
"You think so too?"
Zhou Yanqing nodded. "Wufeng Pass is where three places meet. Once it falls, it means that Qi Valley soldiers are stationed in Guanzhong, Qin. If the border is lost, the entire Qin region will be in danger."
"This is also the only border between Nandu and Qin. If Qi Valley occupies it, Qin will be completely isolated from Nandu, and then—"
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