Looking at Maomu who was cautious and shocked at the same time, Qin Yunuan didn’t say anything. However, her faint smile was already threatening. Leng Changxi walked out from the dark and guarded by Qin Yunuan’s side. He looked at Maomu and said, “Prince Regent poisoned you. Even if I don’t hurt you in the rings, you’ll die sooner or later, in an unpleasant manner. So, after all, we actually saved you.”
Maomu was talking with a heavy North Di accent. “I didn’t ask for your help.”
“Oh, in that case,” Leng Changxi turned around and looked at Lu Wuyi, “Doctor Lu, is there a way to put the poison back?”
Lu Wuyi arched his hands and said seriously, “It dies as soon as it leaves human body.” Maomu was immediately relieved, but Lu Wuyi continued, “But I can put in a more powerful one. It goes around human’s arteries on nights of full moon, and it eats human flesh until it breaks free from the skin.”
Maomu trembled, “What do you want me to do?”
Leng Changxi turned his head away and said, “I heard that you’re the only one who walked out of Yeren Valley alive in the past decade. I need you to be my guide.”
As soon as Leng Changxi mentioned the words Yeren Valley, Maomu looked extremely terrified. His pupils seemed to have enlarged immediately, as if he already saw the deadly snakes and traps in the wild. He felt that these people in front of him must be insane to fake his death just for getting into that haunted place.
“You’re insane.” Maomu voice was shaky. “You’re going to the Yeren Valley? It’s cursed. No one can walk out from there alive, no one.”
“What about you?” Leng Changxi asked directly.
“You have no clue. You’ll never know how terrifying that place is.” Maomu’s limbs started trembling too. “There were twenty-four of us. We received orders from the Prince to find an herb which could cure the Princess’ illness. However, one day morning, I woke up in my tent to find that everyone else was missing. I found them about a mile from the camp. To be precise, I found their bodies.”
Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi stunned, as Maomu sorrowfully covered his face with his palms. “The devils had taken their organs and hanged them to the trees. I saw their bloody bodies. I wished to have died together with them at the moment. I didn’t understand why I was left alive. I wanted to carry their bodies out with me, but my hands were like on fire as soon as I touched the bodies. I seemed to hear the devils’ laugh as well. The only thing I could do was to return to the camp and brought along everything that I could make use of. It took us only three days to enter the valley, but half a month for me to come out. The elderly said that I must have gone round in circles. It’s the devils’ revenge as I had offended them.”
After Maomu was finished, even Qin Yunuan got goose bumps because of fear. She seemed to be terrified of the haunted valley that Maomu described. However, Leng Changxi looked calm. He approached Maomu and looked him in the eyes.
“You are lying.” Leng Changxi didn’t believe in Maomu’s stories.
“I’m not.” Maomu argued, “They all died. You have no idea how sad I was.”
“But you’re lying.”
“This is not only an insult to me, but also my companions who went searching the herb for the princess.” Maomu stood up. He was as tall as Leng Changxi, so he could look at Leng Changxi from the same height.
“Then, did the princess die?”
Maomu lowered his head and said, “No.”
Leng Changxi sneered, so Maomu immediately added, “That’s because a famous doctor came to the Manson and cured the princess.”
“I know who that doctor was.” Qin Yunuan said. “He happened to stay at my place before. I heard him talk about his experiences in North Di. He said that the princess just got a severe cold. There’s no need at all to search for an herb especially for her.”
Maomu continued to explain himself, “That’s because the Prince loved the Princess too much, so he was anxious.”
Leng Changxi sneered, “Then let me ask you this. Did your companions really die because of the “devils”?”
“Of course.” Maomu looked at Leng Changxi with the corner of his eyes and said, “You West Xia people don’t even know how to respect the spirits.” Leng Changxi alleged that his surname was Tuoba. Together with Prince Regent’s words, it seemed that everyone just assumed that Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan were from West Xia.
Leng Changxi sneered and suddenly took out a blade from his waist. The blade seemed to reflect Maomu’s fear clearly.
Maomu was stunned and took a step back, “What do you want?”
“I’ll ask you one more time.” Leng Changxi said as he pointed the blade towards Maomu’s chest. “Did the devils take your companions’ hearts, or something more terrifying than the devils?”
Maomu’s mouth twitched and he didn’t dare to move a finger, as if he was frozen.
Leng Changxi was like a mind-reader. The ups and downs in his life made him able to read the tiniest changes in people’s expressions. He was testing Maomu before, but now he was sure about it. “I think that you’re the one who killed your companions, not the devils. Also, you didn’t go to seek the herb for the princess. What are you looking for then? Treasure?”
Maomu trembled, and Leng Changxi knew that he was right. Even though the treasure was a secret of Qi, the four major families had either scattered or lost power after all these years, and it was likely that the secret had been exposed. He had seen what the Prince Regent was capable of earlier. It was reasonable that he knew about it.
Leng Changxi continued, “If you’re not saying anything, then I will continue to guess. You must have gone deep into the valley. Just when you thought that the treasure was very close, there was some disagreement between you. Maybe part of you was loyal to the Prince Regent all along, while the other part wanted to take the treasure as your own. I guess that there was a conflict between you, and you’re the only one left. In order to cover up your crimes, and to avoid the Prince to send more people into the valley, which might probably find traces of the conflict, you made up a terrifying story to scare off the people who wanted to enter the valley. The Yeren Valley was naturally a dangerous place. With your story, no one would want to head there anymore.”
Maomu grinned, “Then guess whether I’m supportive of the Prince or against the prince?”
To be fair, since Maomu returned to the Prince’s mansion and worked humbly for Prince Regent for all this time, he should be loyal to the Prince. However, Leng Changxi didn’t think so.
“I guess you’re the leader of the rebels. You only want to gather more information by returning to the Prince’s mansion. Even though you entered the valley back then, you didn’t actually find the treasure. In fact, you have the same purpose as we do, hiding in the Prince’s mansion for all these years.”
Maomu didn’t respond. Leng Changxi held Qin Yunuan’s hand and was about to leave. He only turned back and said, “You’re a dead man to the outside world anyway. To be fair, I can’t think of any other choices you have other than cooperating with us. Think about it. It’s merely my suggestion. Just a suggestion!”
He said that it was a suggestion, but Leng Changxi had opted out all other choices for Maomu. The sun was set already and hanging on the mountain like a fully ripe mandarin. Qin Yunuan’s coat was keeping her warm at the moment. She wrapped the coat around herself. It was like this in North Di. It could be hot in the daytime, but really chilly after the sun was set.
Seeing Qin Yunuan shivering, Leng Changxi took off his own coat and covered it up for Qin Yunuan, while wearing a thin shirt himself.
“Changxi?” Qin Yunuan blinked, looking at Leng Changxi.
Leng Changxi only held Qin Yunuan tighter, and said gently, “I’m no longer the general of Qi. I can’t give you good food and nice dress anymore. All I could do is to hold you tight when you’re feeling cold.”
Leng Changxi wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by someone.
“Mister Tuoba, the Prince would like to see you.”
It was the guard of the Prince Regent. Normally speaking, the fight should have ended, but it was not like a calligraphy contest. It was reasonable for contestants who have similar strength with each other to fight for hours. Hence, after the incident of Maomu and Bochaerji’s warrior, followed by a short break, the number three and number four contestants fought for the whole afternoon without a result. They had agreed to rematch tomorrow. Now was the time when the audience left for their own homes.
If Leng Changxi was right, the number four warrior was Leng Wu. He had no idea who this number three was that he could actually fight Leng Wu for so many rounds. Apparently, there were masters everywhere, and he couldn’t be too relaxed.
Leng Changxi looked at the guard who came to invite him. He was tall and strong. His eyes were bright. Leng Changxi became more cautious and said, “The fourth Prince was still waiting for me. To be frank, I didn’t know the Prince Regent before, and it was at times during the martial arts contest. In order to avoid misunderstandings, if the Prince Regent wants to see me, he could send someone to the fourth Prince’s mansion and notice them.” Leng Changxi was being very humble, as if he really cared of what Wanyan Su thought.
The guard was a bit embarrassed. Leng Changxi held Qin Yunuan’s hand and was about to leave, as a carriage stopped slowly in front of him. There were golden-eagle patterns engraved on the carriage. The carriages of North Di were quite different from that of Qi. The carriages were exposed with only a top on it, from which hung white curtains. From the outside, the people in the carriage could be slightly seen.
Leng Changxi narrowed his pupils, and his glance fell on the man in the carriage, who was wearing an official outfit of North Di. It was no one else but the Prince Regent.
