Gao Teng didn’t really believe the words of the Xi sisters. He had clearly seen the way they killed without batting an eye in his own mansion.
In his eyes, these two children were far from normal. He didn’t think they were the type to keep their word either—they hadn’t even reached the age of fifteen, so why would they care about such things?
But if he didn’t obey, he was sure he’d be worse off dead than alive. So, he decided to go along with their demands for now, treating it as a gamble.
He took a closer look at his surroundings. It was a stable—not the familiar prefectural office, but still likely within Bozhou city. Just realizing that made him breathe a little easier. As long as he was still inside the city, his men would surely come to rescue him.
He immediately picked up a brush and began writing on the paper, doing so with great seriousness.
While he was writing his confession, Xi Weilan trotted over to Tafeng.
Tafeng lowered his head so she wouldn’t have to stand on tiptoes to speak, and then Xi Weilan whispered softly into his ear, pointing toward Gao Teng as she did so. Tafeng gave a happy bray in response.
Xi Weilan patted Tafeng’s head and giggled. “Tafeng, later I’ll take you to drink water, and you can drink as much as you want.”
The girl and the mule chatted pleasantly, with Xi Weilan chattering on endlessly while Tafeng replied with brays.
Watching this, Xi Qingyue smiled faintly. Who knew what kind of person her sister would grow up to be? At least she wouldn’t be a fool.
After a while, Gao Teng handed over what he had written.
A large sheet of paper was densely covered in writing. It recorded everything he had done in Bozhou, including the names of the officials who had worked with him. It even clearly detailed his plan to defect to Prince Kang and rebel.
“Who is Prince Kang? You didn’t write that here,” Xi Qingyue said, glaring at him with dissatisfaction.
Gao Teng felt a chill run through him under her gaze. “Prince Kang is the emperor’s eldest son—the First Prince. Prince Kang is his title, and his fief is in Xuanzhou. It was he who had his trusted men contact us. He was certain that the Northern Yue army would attack, so he told us to bring our troops and join him. If we succeeded, he promised to make me a duke. I was just looking out for my own future.”
He didn’t think he had done anything wrong. Compared to being a prefect, the rank of duke was far more desirable. And if he died, his descendants could still inherit the title.
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue let out a cold laugh. “You? A duke? Even my little sister would make a better duke than you.”
Gao Teng’s face flushed red with anger. Furious inside, he wanted to curse but didn’t dare. He could only suppress his rage and test the waters. “I’ve written everything as you asked, and I’ve even pressed my fingerprint. Can you let me go now?”
At that, Xi Qingyue gave him a look that clearly said “Are you an idiot?” and then waved her hand toward Xi Weilan, who was not far away.
Xi Weilan ran over immediately, with Tafeng following behind.
“You... you promised you wouldn’t kill me!” Gao Teng’s voice trembled. He really didn’t want to die—he hadn’t become a duke yet.
Xi Qingyue shook her head. “We two won’t kill you. I’m a woman of my word. If I say I won’t kill, I won’t kill.”
“Yeah, big sister says no killing, so no killing. I listen to her.”
Gao Teng finally relaxed. They were just kids, after all—easy to fool.
The next second, Xi Qingyue said calmly, “Tafeng, go ahead. He’s yours.”
Before Gao Teng could react, his eyes widened in disbelief, filled with terror and resentment. A mule charged at him, its front hooves raised and then slammed down. In pain and despair, he gradually lost consciousness.
Xi Qingyue crouched down and searched him, found nothing useful, then dragged his body out of the space. The ground beneath loosened, swallowed the corpse, and was buried again under fresh soil.
Back in the space, she used her powers to clean up the blood and rinsed Tafeng with water-based abilities. Only then did she nod in satisfaction.
“Big sister, I’m taking Tafeng to drink water.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
Xi Qingyue read the confession again. She had only heard of three princes: the Fourth Prince and the Tenth Prince were no good, and now the First Prince, who was already a vassal lord, was restless too. They all fought for power without caring about the common people—every single one of them was bad.
She was even considering avoiding the direction of the capital. Otherwise, if she went there, she’d be provoked at every turn, and she might not be able to resist unleashing a slaughter—one that might end up reaching the imperial palace.
Meanwhile, back in Bozhou city.
Inside the mansion, the refugees had found many oxcarts and flatbed carts. To their delight, they also discovered a large store of food—enough to sustain everyone for a while.
Afraid that they would start fighting over it, Ding Su hurriedly spoke up. “There’s enough for everyone. Line up, and we’ll distribute it by headcount.”
The others looked at the mountain of grain and nodded in agreement. After all, everyone would get a share.
Suddenly, one refugee said in confusion, “Strange. I came here yesterday, and there wasn’t this much food.”
Bai Feng couldn’t help but speak up as well. “There are many strange things. The fire at the prefectural office didn’t start by itself. Our weapons definitely didn’t come from those soldiers. And when we left the tents, there were soldiers dead outside—someone was clearly helping us. The food and weapons were deliberately left behind.”
He had heard about his mother’s escape experience. At first, he thought it was a blessing from heaven. But tonight’s events didn’t feel the same. If heaven had been watching, it would have acted long ago. Someone on the ground must have hated the prefect’s actions, killed him, and given them a chance to live.
As for the whirlwind his mother mentioned, he simply assumed it was a legendary martial arts master helping from the shadows.
The other refugees were puzzled for only a moment before brushing it off. What mattered to them now was filling their stomachs. Since their benefactor hadn’t shown up, they wouldn’t overthink it.
They divided all the food, then filled their water skins with the water from the mansion’s wells.
Just then, the people who had gone to scout the prefectural office returned, running.
“People are coming! Dozens of soldiers are heading this way. They’re the ones who stayed at the prefectural office. They don’t know what happened here yet.”
A thin young boy quickly relayed the news. Everyone immediately prepared for battle.
The group approaching was led by the military officer who had stayed at the prefectural office. Before they could get close to the camp, they were surrounded by the refugees. With no means of resistance, dozens of men were swiftly killed.
Afterward, the refugees didn’t dare waste time. They rushed straight to the city gates.
Like Xi Qingyue, they exited through the southern gate. The number of guards there had already been halved, and the refugees had no trouble killing them before fleeing through the gate.
Overnight, the entire city of Bozhou underwent a dramatic transformation. Every official, from the provincial governor to the chief administrator, was slaughtered. Not a single guard remained from the governor’s mansion’s several hundred elite soldiers, nor from the guards of the armory and granary. The soldiers patrolling the city’s interior were nearly all dead—only the troops at the other three city gates were left.
The city’s standing garrison had been almost entirely wiped out. When the common citizens awoke to the news, some grieved while others rejoiced.
