Jiang Si’s tone was too calm, too certain, causing the man to pale in shock. He blurted out, “How do you know?”
He feared death but dared not expose his tribe’s secrets. His earlier admission was merely to mislead them and shift the blame to Wu Miao. But how did this young man know he was from the Xue Miao tribe?
The calmer Jiang Si appeared, the more terrified the man became.
Yu Jin suddenly leaned down, looking the man in the eye, and asked slowly while stroking his chin, “Did your clan leader send you to assassinate me?”
The person he had planned to eliminate had struck first – was this an attempt to turn the tables?
With this, Yu Jin’s last trace of hesitation vanished.
“Tell me the reason.”
The man pressed his lips tightly together, remaining silent.
He would die before speaking!
Jiang Si wasn’t surprised by the man’s behavior.
These tribes, with their faith in true gods, had incredibly strong willpower. They wouldn’t reveal what shouldn’t be said even if subjected to the pain of a thousand snakes gnawing at their hearts.
For the Xue Miao clan to move against Ajin, they must have had a compelling motive. Otherwise, they wouldn’t risk opposing a Prince of Da Zhou.
In recent days, Jiang Si had learned much from the Grand Elder that she hadn’t known in her previous life. As her thoughts raced, she formed a guess.
“Is it because of that divination?”
The man was stunned, looking at Jiang Si as if he’d seen a ghost.
He couldn’t fathom how this ordinary-looking young man could know about this.
The man’s reaction further confirmed Jiang Si’s suspicion. She said coldly, “You Xue Miao want to quickly eliminate the Seventh Prince of Da Zhou, who could bring dawn to Wu Miao, isn’t that right?”
Years ago, Xue Miao and Wu Miao were part of the same tribe. Later, dissatisfied with the tradition of female supremacy, some talented men split off to form the Xue Miao clan.
Unfortunately, the most gifted individuals were always the Holy Maidens, generation after generation, keeping Xue Miao under Wu Miao’s thumb.
Among the dozen or so tribes, if any saw Wu Miao as a thorn in their side, it would be Xue Miao. Naturally, they would try to eliminate anyone beneficial to Wu Miao.
In her previous life, Jiang Si hadn’t known about this divination and wouldn’t have guessed Xue Miao’s involvement so quickly. This showed the importance of information.
At this moment, Jiang Si couldn’t help but wonder: What were the other two divinations? If she knew them, surely all the perplexing mysteries would be solved.
“Who exactly are you?” The man stared intently at Jiang Si, his heart sinking.
Even the Wu Miao Grand Elder couldn’t be certain they knew about this divination. How did this young man know?
He scrutinized Jiang Si’s face, desperate to see through her.
Ignoring the man’s question, Jiang Si recalled a past event: “So, finding a woman who resembled the Wu Miao Holy Maiden to approach Prince Yan – that was your doing too?”
The frightening incident at Baiyun Temple was still fresh in her memory. Later, she and Ajin had schemed to capture those two people but couldn’t get any information out of them.
And the assassination attempts on Ajin weren’t limited to just this one—
Jiang Si glanced at Yu Jin.
Yu Jin’s expression darkened, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. “I wondered why some annoying flies kept appearing after we returned to the capital. Now I know the source.”
The man felt his scalp tingle at Yu Jin’s smile and bit his lower lip hard.
He couldn’t help what these people already knew, but he wouldn’t say another word about anything else.
A faint cracking sound was heard.
The man’s expression contorted. He tried to speak but found he could no longer make a sound.
What happened?
As he slipped into complete darkness, this question floated through his mind.
In that brief moment, he suddenly realized what had occurred: the Seventh Prince of Da Zhou had snapped his neck without asking a single additional question.
This person must be insane… What kind of interrogation was this…
These thoughts dissipated as the man’s head drooped, gone forever.
Yu Jin took out a pristine handkerchief, wiped his hands, and tossed it beside the corpse. He said calmly, “Dispose of the body.”
Long Dan responded with a “Yes” and dragged away the still-warm corpse.
Jiang Zhan licked his lips and said, “Your Highness, we hadn’t gotten any information out of him. Why did you kill him so quickly?”
Having been to the battlefield in the south, Jiang Zhan had seen his share of bloodshed. But killing someone so decisively during an interrogation was a first for him.
Yu Jin smiled. “Knowing who’s trying to deal with me is enough. There’s no use in asking more.”
Jiang Zhan disagreed and worriedly said, “But if the Xue Miao clan is after you, these foreign tribes have countless mysterious methods. It’s impossible to guard against them all.”
Since coming here, he has received special attention from his superiors. They had specifically warned him to avoid provoking the tribes living between Da Zhou and South Lan, lest he fall victim to their schemes without even knowing who was responsible.
His Highness killing the man without getting more information would surely lead to more trouble. If Fourth Sister got caught up in it, things would be even worse.
Thinking this, Jiang Zhan glanced at Jiang Si, his gaze involuntarily moving downward as he imagined the black insect hidden in his sister’s sleeve. He silently withdrew his gaze.
Perhaps he was overthinking things…
Yu Jin smiled dismissively. “It doesn’t matter how many mysterious methods they have. Long Dan, protect the Princess Consort. I’m going out for a while.”
“Ajin—”
Yu Jin patted Jiang Si’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m just going to kill someone. I’ll be right back.”
Jiang Zhan rubbed his face. “Wait, Your Highness, who are you planning to kill?”
The casual tone made it sound like his old friends saying they were going for a stroll by the Jinshui River.
“The Xue Miao Clan Leader,” Yu Jin replied nonchalantly.
Jiang Zhan nearly stumbled. He grabbed Yu Jin’s sleeve and said, “Your Highness, surely their clan leader isn’t so easy to kill. I think we need to consider this carefully—”
Jiang Si handed a sachet to Yu Jin and said softly, “Go and come back soon.”
Jiang Zhan slowly turned his neck, looking blankly at Jiang Si.
Seeing this, Jiang Si reassured him, “Don’t worry, Second Brother. Ajin knows what he’s doing.”
Hearing Jiang Si say this, Yu Jin was overjoyed. With a faint smile, he said, “Mm, I’ll be back before dawn. It won’t delay our journey.”
Even after Yu Jin’s figure disappeared into the night, Jiang Zhan still hadn’t recovered.
This wasn’t just about delaying their journey. How could Fourth Sister let His Highness leave like this?
“Fourth Sister—”
“Yes?”
“I’ve always thought I was quite rash—”
“Second Brother has improved a lot lately,” Jiang Si smiled, comforting her brother.
“No, I mean… isn’t His Highness being too hasty?”
“Don’t worry, Second Brother. Ajin isn’t a rash person. It’s late, let’s all rest. We have a long journey ahead tomorrow.”
Jiang Zhan returned to his room and sat down heavily, belatedly realizing: That his Highness wasn’t rash, and he had improved a lot. Fourth Sister was clearly showing favoritism!
The Second Young Master Jiang sulked for a while, then, realizing no one would comfort him, fell asleep in a huff.
Unlike those who had fallen into deep sleep, Yu Jin was rushing through the deep winter night.
Sometimes killing a person can be complicated, other times it’s simple.
He preferred to cut through the chaos swiftly. No matter how many tricks Xue Miao had up their sleeve, with that toad-mouth dead, they would surely be too preoccupied to cause trouble for a while.