Night swallowed the mountain wilds, leaving only the cave casting a dim, drowsy glow.
The fire pit sent up smoke, flames crackling and popping as they burned, the orange-red light flickering unsteadily, stretching human shadows into grotesque, twisted forms.
Zhang Da's face was savage as he struggled desperately against the hemp rope binding his hands, all while craning his neck to glare defiantly at Wang Yulan, who could barely stand nearby.
His neck was flushed red, layers of flesh sagging beneath his chin, his face a mask of menace.
Cold sweat trickled down her cheeks. Wang Yulan hunched over, not daring to lift her head, her face deathly pale. Had Daya not been holding her tightly, she would have already collapsed to the ground.
Erya hurled a stone at him. "You're tied up now—don't you dare try to hurt us!"
The stone clattered against Zhang Da's body. Though it didn't hurt, it infuriated him all the more.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he glared furiously at Erya—but he couldn't help catching sight of Pei Yunheng and Jiang Weiyao walking in behind her.
His ferocious expression froze instantly, and a flicker of cowering fear darted through Zhang Da's eyes.
He wasn't stupid.
He dared to bare his teeth at Erya, Wang Yulan, and the others because he knew they feared him, dreaded him.
And that was exactly what he wanted—their fear, their dread.
Only by intimidating them could he seize the chance to bargain and find a way to escape.
But these two weren't afraid of him.
Baring his teeth at them would only earn him a slap across the face.
There was no point in asking for trouble.
And besides…
He swallowed hard, the memory of poison searing down his throat still fresh and terrifying.
The mere sight of Jiang Weiyao's face made his legs tremble. He lowered his head sullenly, shrinking his neck, all trace of his earlier arrogance gone.
Standing behind Pei Yunheng, Jiang Weiyao rolled her eyes.
This fool.
His obvious change in demeanor hadn't escaped Pei Yunheng's notice—nor even young Erya's, who spat bitterly: "A coward who bullies the weak! The moment Brother Pei shows up, he doesn't dare strut around anymore!"
Since Jiang Weiyao stood behind Pei Yunheng, always presenting herself as gentle and timid, Erya naturally assumed as much.
But Pei Yunheng's eyes narrowed.
He had keenly detected something off in Zhang Da's expression.
His gaze probing Zhang Da, he suddenly asked: "Where did the cloth strips to gag him come from?"
Erya answered honestly: "Before Lady Jiang went to find you, she tore a piece from her own clothes for me to stuff in his mouth—she was afraid he'd wake up and start yelling, bringing danger to us."
Pei Yunheng looked toward Jiang Weiyao and indeed saw the tear in her skirt.
So quickly, his suspicious nature was acting up again.
He really was so sensitive and paranoid, doubting her every day.
How annoying—and he guessed everything so accurately!
Jiang Weiyao said with a hurt look: "When we fled, you didn't think to grab me a change of clothes."
Then she sighed. "But I don't blame you. I was unconscious at the time—you must have been frantic. Never mind clothes, I bet you even forgot to bring the silver from home."
Her tone was open, her gaze clear, every expression and gesture natural—nothing the slightest bit unusual about her.
Pei Yunheng lowered his eyes and said nothing more.
Jiang Weiyao pulled him aside and whispered: "Husband, let's move this man somewhere else to tie him up."
"Why?" Pei Yunheng asked, his expression unreadable.
Glancing toward Wang Yulan in the distance, Jiang Weiyao said with concern: "I'm afraid he might provoke that young woman again."
The explanation was flawless.
Rubbing his fingers together, Pei Yunheng could find no flaw and no reason to refuse—yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
The only thing about her whole body that was the most sensitive was her mind.
Suppressing the urge to curl her lip, Jiang Weiyao raised her head and waited for his answer.
She hadn't killed Zhang Da earlier because he was useful, but now his existence was like a venomous snake coiled around her neck, liable to lash out and bite her at any moment.
She had to act before Zhang Da caught on, before he was interrogated, and right under Pei Yunheng's nose, make him shut his mouth obediently.
Best if he shut his mouth forever.
Jiang Weiyao's fingertips, hidden beneath her sleeve, twitched slightly.
Not far away, Wang Yulan suddenly clutched her head and let out a scream.
A thick terror surged onto her face. Her ashen complexion was slick with sweat, as if she'd just been hauled out of water. She wrenched free of Daya's supporting hand and ran toward the depths of the dim cave.
This turn of events caught everyone present off guard. Daya hurried after her, and Erya took two steps in pursuit as well before whipping her head back to glare furiously at Zhang Da: "You still dare to threaten her!"
Zhang Da had also been startled into shrinking back by the sudden scream, but with his mouth gagged, he couldn't even cry out his innocence like Dou E.
After shooting Zhang Da a vicious glare, Erya turned to Jiang Weiyao and pleaded, "These past days, Sister Wang has been in a constant daze, so I gathered calming herbs and boiled them for her to drink. It's just that I don't know how to start a fire in the wild. Might I ask Lady Jiang to help me?"
Jiang Weiyao naturally agreed.
Having been an assassin for so many years, she'd often camped in the wilderness to evade pursuit—starting a fire was effortless for her.
Erya couldn't help but marvel, "When I first met Lady Jiang, I thought you seemed like a pampered young lady from a wealthy household. I never imagined you'd be so skilled at starting fires—even better than me."
Jiang Weiyao's hands paused mid-motion, and she cursed inwardly.
She'd actually forgotten about that!
She raised her eyes and surreptitiously glanced at Pei Yunheng.
He stood with his arms crossed at the cave entrance, facing the bright moon. The night wind made his robes snap and flutter loudly.
After Erya finished speaking, he didn't turn around, as if he hadn't heard the conversation over here.
But Jiang Weiyao was certain he had heard.
She carefully recalled the background she'd previously told Pei Yunheng—
A young lady sent away to a country estate since childhood knowing a bit about starting fires in the wild—that shouldn't be strange, right…
Daya's return interrupted Jiang Weiyao's thoughts.
She walked up to Jiang Weiyao with a hesitant expression: "Could I trouble your husband… to knock him unconscious again."
Hearing this, Jiang Weiyao looked up at Daya.
Pei Yunheng also turned around.
—So he really could hear!
Daya explained, "Yulan escaped death by a hair's breadth. Seeing him always fills her with fear. She can't take any more shocks."
After a pause, Daya's voice dropped even lower: "Whatever you want to know, I can tell you. What I know isn't necessarily less than what he knows. As long as you can let Yulan calm down first tonight."
Zhang Da immediately grew anxious. He struggled desperately, muffled "mmph mmph" sounds coming from his mouth continuously.
That Pei fellow had such brute strength—what if one punch killed him?!
Daya's request hit exactly what Jiang Weiyao wanted, but she didn't agree right away. Instead, she looked helplessly at Pei Yunheng, waiting for him to speak.
Daya caught on as well and bowed to Pei Yunheng: "Please."
She could have done it herself, but Zhang Da had been captured by Pei Yunheng and his wife after all, and her subsequent plans still required the couple's help. It wouldn't do to create friction over this.
Meeting Jiang Weiyao's gaze, Pei Yunheng pondered for a moment, then casually picked up a stone, walked over to the terrified Zhang Da, and raised his hand to strike.
His body suddenly swayed, and Zhang Da collapsed limply to the ground.
Daya let out a breath of relief. After signaling with her eyes for Erya to keep Wang Yulan company, she said, "Even if the things at home haven't been packed up, I'd advise you not to go back to the village. Li Anbo won't let you off, and reporting to the authorities will be useless."
Pei Yunheng asked calmly, "Who in the county office is colluding with him?"
Daya sighed slowly. "Tomorrow night, he will host a banquet in the east chamber on the third floor of Chunxi Tower in the city. Go there, and you'll understand everything."
"Don't worry about me lying to you. I have been chosen as a Flower Maiden—I'm the one who wants to be free of them the most. If you don't feel at ease, you can tie me up and bring me along."
Jiang Weiyao drew close to Pei Yunheng and tugged at his sleeve, asking anxiously, "Husband, should we go?"
Pei Yunheng lowered his eyes. "You don't want to?"
"It's not that…" Jiang Weiyao said, troubled and hesitant. "I'm scared staying here, but going to Chunxi Tower also feels wrong…"
Halfway through her sentence, she gritted her teeth. "Never mind. Wherever you go, Husband, I'll go. You two discuss it. I'll go check on Young Madam Wang."
Erya was not good with words. Though she wanted to comfort Wang Yulan, she didn't know what to say, and scratched her head in frustration. Seeing Jiang Weiyao approach, she felt as if she had seen a savior.
Jiang Weiyao rubbed her head. "Go decoct the medicine."
Seeing that Wang Yulan did not object, Erya finally left.
Jiang Weiyao walked over and sat down in front of Wang Yulan, who had been facing the stone wall the whole time, as if there were a flood of savage beasts behind her.
"He's already been knocked unconscious," Jiang Weiyao said.
Wang Yulan's body was still trembling, even her teeth were chattering.
Jiang Weiyao fell silent.
The night wind howled past, sometimes slipping into the cave and bringing a chill. The cave was fairly deep; sitting at the far end, one could not clearly hear conversations beyond a few feet, and the silence was terrifying.
Just when Wang Yulan thought Jiang Weiyao would not speak again, she suddenly opened her mouth, trembling: "Seeing you is like seeing my former self."
"…W-what?" After a brief silence, Wang Yulan's voice was hoarse, and she wondered if she had misheard.
"Since childhood, I was tormented and bullied by a wicked slave. I suffered indescribable hardships, and my body is covered in countless scars."
Jiang Weiyao rolled up her sleeve, revealing several crisscrossing scars. "Back then, I was so small and so terrified. When the whip came down, I begged desperately for mercy, kowtowing against his shoe and pleading."
"I was truly in despair then, like an ant groveling at a giant's feet, my life and death hanging on that person's whim. I could never resist or move him in the slightest."
Her fingertips clenched tightly. Wang Yulan bit her lower lip and asked, "And then?"
"And then?"
The corner of Jiang Weiyao's lips curved up imperceptibly for a moment. "And then he died."
Wang Yulan's breath caught, and she looked at Jiang Weiyao in disbelief.
Jiang Weiyao said, "He loved wine as if it were his life. One night, he drank himself into a stupor, and when he passed by a pond, he lost his footing and fell in. He drowned. When he was found, his corpse was already bloated and rotting."
Hearing this, Wang Yulan's tense heart settled—but strangely, what arose was not relief, but a sense of loss.
She did not dare dwell on that loss, but then she heard Jiang Weiyao continue: "Actually, when he fell into the water, I was near the pond. After I heard the sound and rushed over, I did not save him."
Wang Yulan's hand suddenly clenched tight.
Jiang Weiyao turned her head to look at her. "That feeling was strange. I used to be so afraid of him, but when he struggled in the water, when he begged and wept for his life, I was surprised to discover that he was nothing more than that."
"He was also human. He could bleed, he could feel fear, and he could… die."
Jiang Weiyao's expression was gentle, and her tone remained soft and light, no different from usual. But as Wang Yulan looked at those curved, almond-shaped eyes, her breath trembled, and her withered heart suddenly began to race again.
She could clearly feel a long-suppressed emotion breaking through the soil of her heart and taking root.
Perhaps there was something she could do.