Chapter 97 A Gamble
With these words, Zhong Min naturally understood her current situation. This man's meaning was obvious; he had obviously known that she, a spy, had already defected to another master.
Yes, why did she even want to go to Beijing? This was something that was really frustrating her! Zhong Min had no reason to argue. Whether she accepted the man's words or not, it made no difference to her. If she said she was a traitor, it would only make him even more hostile. If she said she wasn't a traitor, wouldn't she be entangled with these people again and be controlled by them once again?
"Whether to go to Beijing or not is not up to me to decide. No matter what you want to do, I just want to say that from the beginning to the end, I have never done anything to let you down." Zhong Min could only respond vaguely, but his mind was quickly thinking of a way to escape.
"It's because you didn't do anything that I came to find you." The man's tone was cold, and his attitude towards Zhong Min was completely different from the last time they met in Mo Garden. "You should know the rules. As a secret agent, you can't have any ulterior motives. Regardless of whether you have done anything harmful or not, if you are discovered to have ulterior motives, the consequences will be one word..."
"Die?" Zhong Min picked up the man's unfinished words and suddenly laughed. Then he said, "So, you're here to kill me and clean up your mess today?"
She'd heard about this kind of thing in novels and on television, but once she'd experienced it firsthand, she felt the barbarity and cruelty of such a system. In such an organization, human rights were completely absent; life and death were a matter of words at the mercy of those in control. Even more terrifying, the other members, who were also being poisoned, saw nothing wrong with it.
"Yes!" The man did not hesitate at all in response to Zhong Min's question. The last trace of warmth had long been lost from his cold face.
Zhong Min had seen his abilities before; escaping from such a master was impossible. But how could she accept being Li Jin'er's scapegoat, dying in vain for people and events she had no connection to?
"Do I have to die today?" She sighed deeply and sat down to analyze the situation for the man. "No matter how much I say, it's useless. Even if I'm willing to work for you again, it won't help. It's impossible for you to trust someone who has had ulterior motives, right?"
After hearing Zhong Min's words, this time the man did not say anything, but just nodded with a slightly complicated expression.
Seeing this, Zhong Min said again, "Since that's the case, since I'm going to die anyway, why not just say a few more words from the heart, okay?"
"Just tell me if you have any last words. I will complete them for you if possible." The man paused, and his expression softened slightly, as if he remembered something from the past. A hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.
Seeing this, Zhong Min suddenly thought of something. He looked towards the man and tentatively called out, "Qin Ke!"
If she remembered correctly, the man's name was Qin Ke. Xiao Mingzheng had mentioned this after he was caught breaking into Prince Mu's mansion for the second time. According to intelligence reports from spies, Qin Ke was one of the most powerful of the court's secret agents, and the most trusted and respected subordinate of Eunuch Wu, the direct manager of Li Jin'er's organization.
Qin Ke seemed surprised to hear Zhong Min suddenly call his name. According to the intelligence they had, Li Jin'er's rebellion stemmed from amnesia, which had caused her to lose her loyalty to the court and their organization. Regardless of the reason, if she harbored such thoughts, her father-in-law would absolutely not allow them. Killing her wasn't just because she broke the sect's rules, but also to serve as a warning to the other secret agents.
But now, she actually called out his name. Could it be that she didn't really lose her memory? If so, then according to the rules of the sect, she must be dead.
"You still remember my name! You didn't lose your memory!" His expression was extremely strange. "You didn't lie to me that night?"
A trace of sadness suddenly flashed through his heart. That night, she had said that she had pretended to have amnesia to deceive King Mu. Since she did not have amnesia and since she was determined not to go back to her old path, why did she still take the risk to go to the capital!
He had single-handedly chosen her and brought her up. Even in this final life-or-death selection, he would rather secretly help her eliminate two other disciples who were stronger than her than bear to see her die. But now, he had no choice but to kill her with his own hands. No one could understand how cruel this choice was for him, not even her.
Seeing Qin Ke's unusual expression at the moment, and thinking about his condition at Mo Garden that night, Zhong Min sensitively felt that the relationship between this man and Li Jin'er was probably more than just that of ordinary fellow disciples.
At the critical moment of life and death, she didn't care about anything else and had to take a gamble. It didn't matter if she lost the bet, because she couldn't escape death anyway. If she won the bet, maybe there would be a glimmer of hope.
"No, I lied to you that day." Zhong Min said, as if he didn't want to hide anything anymore. "Actually, I really did lose my memory. You suddenly sneaked in and found me that day, and I had no idea what was going on. In desperation, I just followed your advice. It's just..."
She paused slightly, looked at Qin Ke and said, "It's just that I have an inexplicable sense of familiarity with you. Until just now, I don't know why, the name Qin Ke suddenly flashed through my mind. It seemed as if you should be called Qin Ke. Originally, I just subconsciously wanted to ask, but I didn't expect that your name would actually be Qin Ke."
Zhong Min's words made Qin Ke look abnormal again. His chest couldn't help but rise and fall violently, as if he was very excited. After a while, he regained some composure.
"What else do you remember?" He stared at Zhong Min intently, his original indifference having faded away silently.
Seeing this, Zhong Min looked like he was trying hard to think, but in the end, he frowned and shook his head in disappointment: "I can't remember anything, but... I just vaguely feel that you must have treated me well before, because when I see you, I always feel an inexplicable sense of intimacy in my heart. Even if..."
She paused, put on a wry smile, and then continued, "Even though I know you're here to kill me, I don't hate you at all."
After saying this, Zhong Min fell silent. She felt a little ashamed. She hadn't expected a security expert like her to resort to such a vulgar tactic to save her life. But then again, this was a matter of life and death; it would be a bit too rigid to dwell on this.
I just hope that my bet was not wrong, and I hope it can play a role, at least to give her a glimmer of hope, and not let her die young in vain. After all, if she is reborn, the possibility is probably almost zero.
"It doesn't matter if I can't remember it, it doesn't matter if I can't remember it!" Qin Ke closed his eyes slightly and murmured, "It doesn't matter if I remember it, there's no way I can make Eunuch Wu retract his order."
Seeing this, Zhong Min immediately understood that her bet was correct. Although Qin Ke hadn't said anything explicitly, she clearly saw the hidden sadness in his heart. She was right; this Qin Ke really liked the original Li Jin'er!
"You're right," Zhong Min said, feigning indifference. "Although I can't remember anything, I imagine that people in our line of work are already completely alone, so there's no need for any last words. I simply wanted to live an ordinary life, away from the violence and bloodshed. Since living won't fulfill my dreams, then death is a form of relief."
She smiled slightly, looked at Qin Ke, and said calmly, "Go ahead, kill me so you can report to your superiors. But considering that we once knew each other, at least give me a quick death. Don't let me die in too much pain, it would be too ugly."
That smile was like a sharp knife piercing Qin Ke's heart. He clenched his fists tightly and the expression on his face froze instantly. At this moment, his will began to waver.
In the past, when there were no outsiders around, she would always smile at him like this, and she would constantly call him Brother Ke with a smile, secretly telling him every bit of her joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. He knew that she had never liked killing people, and didn't like living like this, but as long as he asked her, she would do it, because he had told her that if she wanted to live, this was the only way, because they had no other choice.
From then on, she never complained to him again, because she said she wanted to live! She said she was not afraid of death, but she was afraid that after she died, she would never see him again!
Thinking of this, Qin Ke felt even more distressed. The person who had said that he would live and watch over him now had to be killed by his own hands! He was so reluctant to do this, but he had to do it because he had no other choice!
Originally, he should have been a cold and ruthless person. Originally, he had no right to covet that stolen warmth. Kill her, and from then on, he would no longer have any worries, no longer have any weaknesses! Qin Ke raised his head abruptly, forcibly erasing the reluctance in his heart. He looked at Zhong Min expressionlessly, as if he had finally cast aside the last bit of hesitation and made a decision.
"Don't blame me!" His voice was no longer filled with emotion. As soon as he finished speaking, he floated in front of Zhong Min like a gust of wind.
Zhong Min stood up subconsciously, but just as she stood up, Qin Ke's strong hands had already tightly grasped her slender neck. Before she could reach out to touch the embroidery needle hidden at her waist, she instantly felt a strong sense of suffocation.
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