Xi Qingyue looked at Situ Tai with pity. “Is the Ninth Young Master dressed all in red, and is he exceptionally skilled in lightness kung fu?”
Situ Tai nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. He’s a martial artist. He is the true master of Guangling Pavilion, and the steward was brought here by him as well.”
Having confirmed her guess, Xi Qingyue shook her head. “Then you don’t need to lead the way. He used his lightness kung fu and left the moment we arrived—much earlier than the rest of you.”
Situ Tai’s expression changed once again. It turned out he had merely been a pawn. When the Ninth Young Master realized something was wrong, he had fled on his own without even warning them.
The others also came to their senses. Enduring the pain in their bodies, they walked over to the steward and began kicking and punching him. At that moment, the people they hated most were actually the Ninth Young Master and Prince Kang.
They had risked their lives for someone else, only to be abandoned first when it mattered most.
The steward let out a cold laugh. “Don’t get too pleased with yourselves. I coated the needles with poison. You won’t live for more than a day. Cough, cough…”
He wanted to laugh loudly, but someone kicked him viciously, causing him to cough up blood again and again.
Xi Qingyue had no interest in watching them turn on one another, so she shifted her attention to the rest of the secret chamber.
She walked to a corner and crouched down. After pressing lightly on one of the floor tiles, the wall in front of her suddenly moved. The entire section rotated ninety degrees, revealing an even deeper secret chamber behind it.
Everyone was stunned by the sight. Even the steward and the others had not known there was another chamber within the secret room. The wall was not solid at all—it had merely been made to look that way from the outside.
Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan walked toward the boxes of gold and silver piled inside.
Situ Tai collapsed to the floor in disbelief, muttering to himself, “How is this possible? How could she know where the mechanism was?”
This was the wealth he had accumulated over many years. Even if he died, he had intended to take the secret with him. No one was allowed to touch his possessions. Yet now, everything had fallen into the hands of two children. In his fury, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
The commandant and the others stopped beating the steward as well. They stared at the mountains of gold and silver and swallowed hard. Hadn’t they chosen to work for Prince Kang and commit all those evil deeds for the sake of wealth and glory? Yet even the provincial governor had amassed more money than anyone could spend in a lifetime.
Suddenly, Xi Weilan pointed at a large barrel in the corner. “Big Sis, what is that?”
As she spoke, she reached out and lifted the white cloth covering the barrel.
Xi Qingyue did not have time to stop her. Sections of white bones were immediately exposed. They were unmistakably human bones, so she quickly pulled Xi Weilan behind her.
“Lan’er, this isn’t as nice to look at as gold. Go count how much gold there is.”
Xi Weilan had only caught a glimpse of the bones and had not seen the details clearly. Hearing Xi Qingyue’s words, she happily ran over to the piles of gold.
The boxes were stacked one on top of another. Since she could not count very well yet, she took Mu Jin by the hand and had her help count the gold.
Xi Qingyue turned toward Situ Tai, her gaze so cold it seemed capable of freezing a person solid.
The others noticed her stare and shrank back in fear. They had not expected Situ Tai to be hiding such a secret either. Though they were some distance away, they had still seen the bones and understood what had happened.
The secretary-general cursed inwardly. Then he crawled over to Situ Tai, pinched the philtrum beneath his nose, and brought him around.
He hurriedly backed away, keeping as far from Situ Tai as possible—and even farther from Xi Qingyue.
The moment Situ Tai opened his eyes, he met Xi Qingyue’s murderous gaze. Then he glanced at the barrel and instantly sobered. This was where he had placed the remains after indulging his depravity, so that he could admire them in private. He had never imagined that they would be discovered—least of all by Xi Qingyue. Terror seized him at once.
Xi Qingyue stared at him for a long while without saying a word. Then she called toward the outside, “Nan Yun!”
A moment later, Nan Yun entered with several people carrying ropes.
Without a word, they walked up to Situ Tai and the others, bound them tightly from head to toe, gagged them, and led them out of the secret chamber. Nan Yun remained behind.
Xi Qingyue looked at her and said calmly, “I’ve tampered with those people’s lives. They won’t die for the time being. Question every one of them again and find out the exact locations of the Guangling Pavilion branches in the other regions. Then place them at the entrance of the provincial governor’s residence and let the people decide their fate.
“Especially the governor and the steward—have the people cut them slowly, one slice at a time. Don’t let them die too quickly. Also place this barrel beside them and tell everyone that it was found in the secret chamber of the governor’s residence.”
“Yes, Commandery Princess.”
Nan Yun glanced at the white bones in the barrel, her expression briefly stiffening. Then she picked it up and walked out.
After she left, Xi Qingyue looked at Mu Jin and Xi Weilan. “Have you finished counting?”
Mu Jin nodded. “Yes, Commandery Princess. There are roughly six hundred thousand taels of gold and five million taels of silver. Altogether, it comes to more than ten million taels of silver. This governor is even richer than those officials in the capital.”
With a wave of Xi Qingyue’s hand, all the gold and silver in the secret chamber vanished.
Situ Tai had been the provincial governor of Xinzhou for at least ten years, and Jiangnan was a prosperous region. It was only natural that he had amassed a fortune—but it was equally clear that he deserved to die.
Outside the governor’s residence, many townspeople stood at a distance, craning their necks to look inside. They all wanted to know what had happened.
Xi Qingyue had been inside for some time. Apart from the sound of gunshots, the only things coming from the residence had been brief screams and cries of agony. Nothing had lasted long before falling silent.
The townspeople speculated about whether the governor’s household had been wiped out or whether Xi Qingyue and the others had been killed instead. They did not dare approach, but they were too concerned about the outcome to leave, so they could only watch from afar.
Another quarter of an hour passed before someone finally emerged from the residence. One by one, the townspeople pricked up their ears and listened to the activity at the entrance.
Standing before the governor’s residence, Nan Yun projected her voice with internal energy.
“Xinzhou Provincial Governor Situ Tai had people steal children from all over the region and deliver them to Prince Kang so that he could use them to refine pills. Such conduct is utterly devoid of conscience, and everyone has the right to kill him! We have both witnesses and physical evidence, as well as their signed confessions. The Commandery Princess has decreed that these vermin who preyed upon the people shall be handed over to the people of Xinzhou for judgment. She will bear all responsibility for the consequences.”
After saying this, she waved her hand. Situ Tai was brought to the entrance and thrown onto the ground.
Nan Yun tossed several knives onto the ground and shouted again, “What’s more, human bones belonging to children were discovered inside the secret chamber of the governor’s residence. Any families whose children have gone missing may come forward to identify the remains. The Commandery Princess also says that these creatures, lower than pigs and dogs, deserve to suffer a thousand cuts!”
The people had already been furious after hearing the first announcement. Once they heard the second, they rushed toward the entrance of the governor’s residence.
When they saw the bones in the barrel—bones that had clearly been gnawed on—some people could not hold back and ran aside to vomit. It was not disgust that overwhelmed them, but grief from the depths of their hearts—for the children who had died.
Many people began to weep. How utterly depraved did someone have to be to commit such atrocities? And Prince Kang—he was a prince, yet he had done things even more inhuman than beasts. One after another, the people began cursing them furiously.
A woman whose child had gone missing covered her face and sobbed when she saw the bones. After crying, she picked up one of the knives lying nearby and hacked it down at Situ Tai.
She had no intention of killing him. She still remembered what Nan Yun had said just now, and knew all too well that killing him with a single stroke would be letting him off far too easily.
She hacked off a large chunk of flesh. The pain twisted Situ Tai’s face, and he was completely terrified. He didn’t want to be torn apart by the crowd.
Looking at the furious townspeople around him, he desperately shook his head at Nan Yun. At this point, all he wanted was a quick death.
Nan Yun ignored him and had the steward thrown down beside him. “Don’t worry. You’ll have company on the road to the underworld.”
