In the dimly lit room, Ma Shan picked up the branding iron glowing red-hot, his expression calm. Yet his fierce, menacing face carried an oppressive aura. He turned to look at the people behind him; in the candlelight, he resembled a malevolent ghost, one that would not let go once it sank its teeth in.
Immediately, someone beside him splashed water to wake them. The suspended prisoners were already covered in wounds, their breath as faint as a thread, yet they were tormented into staying conscious, not even allowed to faint.
Seeing Ma Shan approach, the group trembled in fear, struggling desperately.
"Please, spare me."
"I really didn't do anything!"
"Name your price, I'll pay anything, just let me go."
…
"Confess." Ma Shan ignored their pleas, his eyes suddenly sharpening. "If you don't confess, none of you will leave here alive today. What exactly did the Northern Yan Crown Prince buy from you…"
As he spoke, he casually pressed the branding iron against the nearest person. A sizzling sound followed, and a strange odor filled the air.
The man wept uncontrollably, in too much pain to even scream.
"I'll confess!" someone on the other side finally couldn't endure it any longer, roaring out in terror.
Imperial City Department, Imperial Prison.
Ye Xiren couldn't help but exclaim:
"You were absolutely right. Those merchants really were problematic. Chizhan Lan Ce openly bought some ordinary valuable items from them, but in reality, he privately purchased… gunpowder."
Yan Danqing was not surprised, only frowning slightly.
Those merchants were all involved in mining operations, and mining was permitted by the court to use gunpowder. If Chizhan Lan Ce truly wanted gifts to bring back, he would have asked Daliang for them rather than spending money to buy them. What he purchased wasn't the items on the surface!
It really was gunpowder.
"He bought only a small amount from each person. Those merchants, greedy for profit and seeing he was willing to pay ten times the price, couldn't resist the temptation and sold it to him privately. According to their confessions, they mixed the goods in with other cargo when handing them over to the Northern Yan people. They were also worried if there might be any issues, but thinking the quantity was small and couldn't accomplish much, they proceeded with the transaction…" Ye Xiren sighed deeply.
How could a small quantity mean no harm?
The Northern Yan Delegation buying gunpowder within Nandu's territory was clearly plotting something sinister. These merchants, driven by greed, disregarded everything to trade with the enemy, merely using the "small quantity" to mask their traitorous, profit-seeking hearts.
"Added together, this quantity is enough to cause significant trouble." Yan Danqing lowered his gaze, frowning in deep thought. "He probably intends to use it to save his own life the moment the peace talks break down."
If they killed him, Chizhan Lan Ce would immediately tear up the peace agreement, stir chaos in Nandu, so that Northern Yan could quickly breach the Huai'an Qu, storm into Nandu, and seize this southern capital they had long coveted.
Although gunpowder's power wasn't immense nowadays, this combined quantity could still play a significant role. Since Chizhan Lan Ce bought this gunpowder, he had a major purpose for it.
Ye Xiren sat up straight, her eyes suddenly brightening as if she had thought of something, sweeping away the gloom. She asked excitedly, "With the witnesses and evidence from the courier station, plus the witnesses and confessions regarding Chizhan Lan Ce's private purchase of gunpowder, doesn't that prove Northern Yan's malicious intentions and clear your name of false accusations?"
Doesn't this mean we have leads on both objectives?
Ye Xiren was overjoyed.
Seeing her happiness, Yan Danqing nodded slightly and smiled along, his expression gentle. The flickering candlelight seemed to dispel the chill from the cold, dark dungeon, filling it instead with a sense of warmth.
He stared fixedly at the person before him, unable to look away.
"Let my father present this evidence to the Emperor and the court officials. As long as we can delay for a day, by the third day of the third month, the evidence regarding the military provisions will arrive, and your grievances will be cleared. As for killing Chizhan Lan Ce…"
Ye Xiren frowned, clenching her hand tightly. "Once Chizhan Lan Ce is dead, war between Bei Yan and Daliang will be inevitable. You are not a rebel, and the Emperor has no fear of you plotting to usurp the throne. Perhaps the Emperor will pardon you and allow you to continue leading troops into battle!"
Even without Chizhan Lan Ce, Bei Yan still had its fierce cavalry. If Daliang could truly fight, they wouldn’t have retreated step by step all the way to Nandu last year.
In any case, peace talks were already off the table. As long as it could be proven that Yan Danqing was not a rebel, surely the court wouldn’t still want to execute such a prodigious talent?
He could be saved!
Ye Xiren grew increasingly confident, nodding repeatedly.
Yan Danqing watched as she convinced herself, a faint smile lingering in his eyes. No matter the final outcome, there had once been someone like this, struggling to save him through repeated deaths…
"Ah!" Ye Xiren slapped her forehead again, remembering something. "I forgot to stop my father. I need to make him wait for me!"
Ye Pei had to attend court early in the morning. By the time she obtained the evidence, he had already left. She had to make him wait.
With her decision made, she lifted her chin, her delicate face abruptly appearing before Yan Danqing.
Her tousled bangs slightly curled, her skin smooth and fair, almost flawless. Her features were like a painting—large eyes closed, a small nose holding its breath, and thick eyelashes casting two shadows.
So close, her muttering seemed to whisper in his ear: "You did it without any pain at all. But why didn’t you say so earlier? Hitting the wall, slitting my throat… it nearly killed me with pain before."
This person’s method was practically a painless restart. Thinking back, she had really suffered for nothing.
"Come on, kill me," she finally requested.
Yan Danqing: "…"
He had intended to act but hadn’t had the chance.
Ye Xiren’s face was right before him, close enough to feel her breath. His eyelids trembled slightly as he slowly reached out, placing a cleaner hand than before on the back of her head and applying gentle pressure.
Ye Xiren’s vision instantly went dark.
"Wait…" Yan Danqing closed his eyes. "Will Ye Pei wait?"
"Thud!"
Ye Pei collapsed unconscious.
Ye Xiren withdrew the wooden stick, gritting her teeth. "I told you to wait. Why didn’t you believe me?
"I really just wanted you to wait while I fetched the evidence—so many witnesses and physical proof. That stuff is far more useful than you taking the blame for someone else!"
From Ye Pei’s perspective, yesterday was the second day of the third month. He and his daughter had just had a huge argument, with Ye Xiren angrily denouncing his decision to take the blame for Yan Danqing and trying to stop him from marching to his death.
So today, when Ye Xiren asked him to wait and follow her to retrieve the "evidence," Ye Pei didn’t believe her. He naturally assumed it was just another trick his daughter had come up with to stop him from attending court. He refused to listen, stubbornly refusing to wait…
Left with no choice, Ye Xiren had to "force" him to wait.
Yan Danqing: "…"
Ye Xiren paid no mind to any of this. She was, after all, the person who had broken her brother’s hand, smashed her grandmother’s Guanyin Statue, and poisoned the entire family. Merely "detaining" Ye Pei was nothing—she had a precise touch.
Even if she made a mistake…
No matter. At worst, she could just restart!
She was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, doing more each time and growing more exhausted than before. This time, she could barely speak, her words coming out in broken gasps.
"Today…" Yan Danqing moved closer to the dungeon bars, with straw still piled in front of him. Ye Xiren instinctively reached out to sift through it but suddenly felt embarrassed when she realized her hand was near Yan Danqing’s feet. Her hand shifted instead to a smaller pile of straw beside her.
Yan Danqing’s pupils contracted, his breathing quickening. "Don’t!"
But Ye Xiren had already pushed it aside.
Beneath lay a row of mice, either dead or unconscious, neatly arranged in a line with their heads all facing the same direction, lying there silently…
Ye Xiren: "?"
With a strange expression, she covered the straw back up and muttered meaningfully, "What kind of hobby is this?"
Yan Danqing: "…"
He sat rigidly inside, motionless, appearing calm and composed as ever, like a bright moon hanging high in the sky—aloof and serene. Only his ears twitched slightly, the tips turning faintly red.
Ye Xiren sat outside the bars, calculating that there was still time, and asked curiously, "If not for the peace talks, who would have won between you and Chizhan Lan Ce at Huai'an Qu?"
Yan Danqing thought for a moment before replying:
"It would have been a fifty-fifty split."
The stalemate at Huai'an Qu was precisely because neither he nor Chizhan Lan Ce could gain the upper hand. He could have won, but too many people were holding him back. Chizhan Lan Ce could have won as well, but this was Daliang territory, and his cavalry venturing deep into enemy lands faced its own challenges.
"What if both you and Chizhan Lan Ce had died?" Ye Xiren pressed on.
"If the Yanjia Army and the Northern Yan Army remained stable…" Yan Danqing answered earnestly, "it would still be a fifty-fifty split."
"What if you died, but Chizhan Lan Ce lived?"
"Certain defeat."
"And if you went to Huai'an Qu while Chizhan Lan Ce died?"
"Certain victory."
Ye Xiren took a deep breath.
It was all because of those parasites in the court holding him back. Otherwise, with Chizhan Lan Ce practically delivering himself to their doorstep, they could have just cut down that scourge and let Yan Danqing charge forward, reclaiming the northern territories long ago!
She was just an ordinary person, initially only concerned with protecting herself and her family. But when her father risked his life to save General Yan, she sought a way to achieve both goals.
Later, witnessing the chaos in Daliang after Yan Danqing’s death, reading that blood-stained letter, and seeing the man imprisoned here, she didn’t understand all the grand theories of saving the nation, but she… wanted to rescue this person.
Someone like him shouldn’t die unjustly.
Ye Xiren stayed a while longer, estimating that it was about time, then stood up and waved her hand. "Alright, I’m leaving. General Yan, wait for me to rescue you!"
With that, she went to pick up the veiled hat nearby.
After struggling to lift it, she placed it on her head, took a deep breath, and strode away stiff-necked.
Yan Danqing’s gaze followed her retreating figure, lingering long after she had gone. The dungeon’s brief liveliness vanished, sinking once more into silence and darkness, devoid of life.
"Finally out." Lu Qian looked her up and down. "If I didn’t know you two were strangers, I might have thought you were bidding farewell to a lover, reluctant to part…"
Ye Xiren couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense and simply kept walking ahead without a word.
Lu Qian clenched his hand in anger, gripping his longsword tightly, his eyes venomous. "Let’s see how long you can last. Sooner or later, you’ll fall into my hands, and I’ll make sure you wish you were dead."
The two left the Imperial Prison one after the other.
Whoosh!
Arrows sliced through the sky with sharp whistling sounds. Before anyone could react, the projectiles were already upon them, carrying a fierce killing intent that stole one’s breath and nearly stilled the heart. The surroundings fell into an eerie silence.
Chizhan Lan Ce was waiting outside, ready to kill them!
Lu Qian grunted and fell to the ground in disbelief. He had dared to bring people to meet Yan Danqing, and his so-called "compatriot," the Northern Yan Crown Prince, had dared to kill him.
One arrow shot straight toward Ye Xiren’s neck, aiming to pierce her throat!
"Clang!"
The arrowhead struck the veiled hat Ye Xiren had pressed down, metal clashing against metal. Then, the arrow fell to the ground, while the gauze of the hat tore open, revealing a black, sturdy iron shield beneath.
With her head tilted and the veiled hat still pressed down, Ye Xiren curled her lips into a smile. "I knew you’d be waiting here. Did you really think I wouldn’t prepare?"
Having died countless times, she was no longer the person she once was.
Ye Xiren, the Goddess of Death!