Xi Qingyue’s sudden appearance scared Situ Tai and the others nearly out of their wits. The mechanism outside this secret chamber was extremely well concealed; ordinary people could never have found it. How had this child located it? And how had she arrived so quickly?
“You... How did you...” Situ Tai stammered, his mouth hanging open.
Xi Qingyue glanced at him. “You what? I came all the way from Liucheng so you could kill me. You should be pleased.”
The moment she said this, Situ Tai and the others’ expressions changed drastically.
She had not come back to let them kill her. She had come to kill them. What an arrogant little girl! Yet at this moment, none of them dared contradict her.
She had found the secret chamber so quickly without anyone stopping her. That meant the soldiers outside had either been killed or surrendered already. Their chances of winning were slim, so they could only try to stall or deceive her.
Seeing their expressions shift repeatedly, Xi Qingyue sneered. “What? Trying to think of an excuse to fool a child?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Situ Tai dropped to his knees with a thud and respectfully kowtowed to her.
“This subject pays his respects to the commandery princess! Princess, please don’t misunderstand. Just now, we thought bandits had broken in with their men, so we came to the secret chamber to discuss a response. We truly had no idea it was you. Please forgive us for failing to welcome you properly!”
The others followed Situ Tai and knelt, kowtowing one after another.
Xi Qingyue felt that when it came to shamelessness, she was utterly outclassed.
“Bandits? Do you take me for an idiot? You sent people to Liucheng to assassinate me and even stationed troops at the docks to stop me. You don’t look like a man who would go that far for a concubine. Tell me—who ordered you to do it?”
Situ Tai hurriedly tried to argue. “Princess, it’s a misunderstanding. It’s all a misunderstanding...”
Before he could continue, Xi Qingyue shot him in the leg, while Xi Weilan’s bullet struck his arm.
With a scream, Situ Tai collapsed to the floor, only to meet Xi Weilan’s gaze from nearby.
She was tiny, with an angry little face. Her large eyes looked pure and innocent, but she was more ruthless than anyone when it came to pulling the trigger. The pistol in her hand was aimed at Situ Tai’s other leg.
Mu Jin stood to one side, holding a Gatling gun. The way she looked at Situ Tai and the others was as if she were looking at corpses.
Feeling the pain in his knee and arm, a vicious glint flashed through Situ Tai’s eyes before vanishing just as quickly. Hatred that cut to the bone rose in his heart.
Since they refused to let him live, then none of them would leave alive. At worst, they would all die together.
With that thought, he secretly signaled the steward with the hand he kept behind his back. The meaning was clear: kill Xi Qingyue and the others at any cost.
Even if they killed them, Xi Qingyue’s subordinates outside would still slaughter them afterward. But that was better than dying alone. As for the lives of the others in the secret chamber, he did not care in the slightest. They were all useless trash.
Xi Qingyue noticed his little gesture and gave a contemptuous smile. Trying to scheme under her nose was truly childish.
The steward acted without hesitation. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small concealed weapon about half a foot long, shaped like a bamboo tube.
He pressed the switch. Dozens of silver needles shot toward Xi Qingyue, while he simultaneously drew a flexible sword from his waist and sent it flying toward Xi Weilan.
Xi Qingyue casually swept her hand forward.
A violent gust of wind erupted, sending every silver needle flying back toward Situ Tai and the others.
The steward had not even reached Xi Qingyue when he vomited a large mouthful of blood. His entire body crashed to the ground, his internal organs displaced. The flexible sword fell beside him.
Lying on the floor, his face was filled with shock. He had not even had the chance to use his inner strength before it was completely crippled. He had no idea how his opponent had done it.
Situ Tai and the others were struck by the returning needles, and the rest of them wore expressions of panic and resentment.
“Princess, we knew nothing about this! It was all Situ Tai’s idea. He ordered the steward to do it—we had nothing to do with it!” the commandant was the first to speak.
“That’s right, Princess. We don’t know why the provincial governor attacked you. We truly had no idea!”
At that moment, no one in the secret chamber dared underestimate Xi Qingyue. One by one, they hurried to distance themselves from the matter in the hope of surviving.
After all, a sudden gale had appeared inside the secret chamber, yet the lamps had not even gone out. No matter how they looked at it, it was extremely eerie. None of them wanted to die.
Situ Tai was equally horrified. He had never imagined that the child he had intended to deal with would be so formidable.
He knew exactly how skilled the steward was—far more powerful than the people from Guangling Pavilion. Yet he had been defeated in a single move.
He stared at Xi Qingyue in disbelief. “Who exactly are you?”
Xi Qingyue sneered. Then she raised her pistol and fired several shots in succession. Situ Tai immediately began howling on the floor.
She swept her cold gaze across the people in the secret chamber. “You’re all from the provincial governor’s residence. You should know why he wanted to kill me. And who exactly is behind Guangling Pavilion? Where were the children you captured before taken? I’ll give you one chance. Otherwise...”
She left the rest unsaid, allowing them to imagine the consequences for themselves. In any case, she had never intended to spare them. At most, she would grant them a quick death.
The steward lay on the ground, barely alive, still gritting his teeth and refusing to yield. “You’ll never get anything out of us.”
The next moment, icicles descended from above and pierced various parts of his body, pinning him to the floor so that he could not move.
He was in excruciating pain, yet strangely, he did not die. He could only lie there half alive, feeling the blood slowly drain from his body while being powerless to stop it.
Xi Qingyue pointed at the steward and spoke again. “If you refuse to talk, you’ll end up just like him. You can experience the feeling of bleeding to death.”
At her words, the others’ faces turned deathly pale. Even Situ Tai’s expression changed.
Afraid that Xi Qingyue would turn her attention to him, he hurriedly spoke.
“Princess, I’ll tell you everything! It was Prince Kang. The children were all sent to him, and Guangling Pavilion was also established by Prince Kang. I merely managed it on his behalf. Those children were sent to be refined into human pills. I also know that Prince Kang sent the human pills he produced to the capital—they were all gifts for the emperor. As for sending people to kill you, that wasn’t my idea. It was the Ninth Young Master. He serves Prince Kang and was the one who delivered Prince Kang’s orders each time.”
After finishing, Situ Tai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He did not want to end up like the steward, neither dead nor alive.
The steward closed his eyes, his face filled with disappointment. Then fury overtook him.
“Situ Tai, you worthless fool! If Prince Kang finds out you betrayed him, he won’t spare you!”
Situ Tai snorted. “I told the truth. What did I get wrong? So what if you were sent by Prince Kang? Haven’t I treated you well all these years? Instead of thinking about me, you’re still worrying about Prince Kang, you old bastard! Do you really think Prince Kang will avenge you after you’re dead?”
The two of them began shouting at each other, leaving Xi Weilan staring in bewilderment. Her eyes darted from the steward to Situ Tai and back again, her little head seemingly unable to process it all.
Xi Qingyue was not surprised by what Situ Tai had said, but her expression still darkened. She had guessed correctly—Prince Kang truly was a deranged monster.
She questioned Situ Tai again. “Who is the Ninth Young Master? Is he at the residence today?”
Situ Tai nodded. “He’s here. We sent someone to notify him before we came. There’s a secret room in his quarters too. I can lead you there, as long as you spare my life.”
He knew the chances were slim, but he still wanted to fight for a chance to survive.
