Hearing Yuan Cheng speak, Mo Zi’s hair stood on end. She guessed he was scaring the opponent, but looking at his expression, it seemed he might actually mean it. Ancient tortures had been horrifying since King Zhou’s time, ahead of their era. Unlike gunpowder, which after being discovered for so long, let Westerners get ahead and turn around to strike the ancestors.
“That’s not necessarily so inhumane.” She sang a different tune. “The saying goes, minor punishment as major warning. If you ask me, we can start from the fingers, pulling out the nails one by one, then hammering bamboo splinters in. Ten fingers connect to the heart—I’d also like to see if that’s really true. There’s another method, might be a bit slower. Lay the person flat, continuously drip water on his brow, like dripping water wearing through stone. Though I don’t know if it will slowly thin his skin, I heard that though there’s no blood, repeating this gives tremendous mental pressure, since no one can withstand the constant drip-drop sound and tapping on the forehead, even if that tapping doesn’t hurt.” Alright, she admitted, when she spoke such words, even if just verbal threats, the upright brightness of a modern Chinese person had indeed grown distant from herself.
Lei Ting rolled up his sleeves, quite enthusiastic. “Little Yuan, your method is old hat. The girl’s idea is good. Dripping water is slow—why not try pulling out one nail first?”
Yuan Cheng smiled in reply. “Senior, do you find her method fresh?”
“Not fresh, but useful is enough.” She wasn’t a specialist in researching this.
Tao Shan was already half-dead, and at this point his face turned greenish-white with grey, feeling the three people before him were all demons descended to earth. Not only could he not seek death, but having been tormented by the old man earlier, he could barely endure. Slicing flesh and pulling nails? He was an assassin with the awareness of a short life and quick death. However, endless torture and suffering—he discovered that awareness wasn’t enough.
“What I find strange is—” Mo Zi spoke again.
Tao Shan stared at her fixedly. At first he’d thought that being a woman she’d be soft-hearted, but then realized she was more ruthless than Yuan Cheng. Therefore, at this moment he was fully on guard against what she would say next.
“Many people are stubborn at first, but after suffering countless tortures, they still tell the truth. Since you’ll speak sooner or later, why wait until later? Moreover, you’re already wavering inside. Your will isn’t firm.” Mo Zi saw the shifting and shrinking in his gaze.
“Besides, your companion left clues.” Yuan Cheng picked up the paper. “Your brother’s woman—you should know her too.”
“That fool.” His chest heaving violently, Tao Shan cursed. “I told him long ago that women are trouble, but he wouldn’t listen. It’s fine he’s dead, but I have to suffer alive.”
“Women aren’t all trouble.” Mo Zi was a woman and naturally had to represent and clarify this.
Yuan Cheng coughed lightly, suppressing laughter. A country might go to war over her, yet she was completely unaware. However, hearing Tao Shan curse like this, it seemed he was going to confess.
“Prince Li is your master?” He asked, seizing the momentum.
“…” Tao Shan’s bloodshot eyes turned to look at him. “Yes.”
“What does he want to do?” He asked again.
“Of course he wants to be Emperor.” Tao Shan was like a broken pot breaking further—once the dam broke, he confessed everything.
“What about the Water-Purifying Pearls?” Was there really a secret?
“That I don’t know. I’m only responsible for retrieving them.” Tao Shan wasn’t lying.
“Retrieving them? These Water-Purifying Pearls belong to Prince Li? How many does he have?” Mo Zi asked.
“Originally had one. The master’s outside helper obtained a second from a merchant in Nande. Who knew, when going to Luo Zhou to retrieve it, the pearl was stolen—”
“What’s an outside helper?” A gang?
“Originally the Mackerel Gang, now the Eel Gang. Gang leader Feng Shi. It’s because he couldn’t handle his women—big wife and little wife feuding internally—that the pearl got lost. The person who stole the pearl was his little wife.”
“That was his equal wife.” Somehow, though it was unrelated, Mo Zi still wanted to say it so people would know.
Tao Shan naturally froze. “Equal wife? I saw her treated worse than a concubine. Feng Shi detested her fiercely. I heard that even when his big wife schemed to have that woman sold, he didn’t bat an eye. Later when he learned she stole the pearl, Feng Shi cursed furiously, swearing to dismember her into ten thousand pieces. However, he wasn’t thorough in his work, so naturally I didn’t need him to interfere further. After following to Nande, I learned this woman had died.”
“How did you know she gave the pearl to us?” What Mo Zi hoped for least was that there was an inside agent on the ship.
“Duan Geshou was her regular customer, and you could only have gotten his Imperial Gate Token from that woman. From this we deduced the Water-Purifying Pearl was also on your ship.” For this pearl, Tao Shan had traveled over mountains and waters, only to end up in the opponent’s hands.
“You’ve been following us all along?” Yuan Cheng’s pupils tightened.
“Should say we’ve been chasing you, but always a step behind. If you hadn’t been delayed a whole day at Prince Su’s water stockade, then traveled slowly after entering Great Zhou, we probably couldn’t have caught up.” Tao Shan answered.
“Lying.” Yuan Cheng’s expression was already certain. “You have an inside agent on this ship.”
Mo Zi immediately tensed. She asked for nothing except that it not be someone she knew.
Tao Shan fell silent.
“There are too many holes in your story. Our movements in Daqiu were absolutely secret. Even if Duan Geshou told you about the Imperial Gate Token, he didn’t know about this ship, much less could he have known we traveled via Prince Su’s water stockade. At least not known so quickly. Your information was almost synchronized with ours. Other than having an inside agent, there’s no other explanation. Speak! Who is it?!”
“…I don’t know.” Seeing Yuan Cheng’s cold smile, Tao Shan hastily shouted. “I truly don’t know which specific person, only know it’s someone General Xiao brought. He uses secret signals to arrange meetings, but they’re always masked. Really, I’m not lying to you.”
Someone by Xiao Wei’s side? Mo Zi breathed a sigh of relief while also sighing. No wonder even his general’s ship sank. She’d sensed an inside ghost then. Never expected they’d followed all this way—must be someone he trusted quite a bit.
“Does Wu Chengwan have anything to do with the Yuan family’s treason and extermination years ago?” Finally asking about the family vendetta.
“Don’t know. I’ve only followed the master for about ten years, and specifically to find Water-Purifying Pearls for him. I don’t ask much about other things. Even his plot for the throne, I’ve only heard bits and pieces, not qualified to participate. He has many subordinates, each with their own duties, only knowing single-layer relationships with the level above and below. Like Feng Shi—I contact him and assign tasks. He doesn’t know who the master is. The people I brought, except for the one who died at this young lady’s hands, are outer-circle death warriors who know nothing.” Tao Shan explained in detail.
It seemed reasonable.
But Yuan Cheng wasn’t finished asking. “Since you collect Water-Purifying Pearls for Wu Chengwan, then, fifteen years ago in Song County, Yuling, when a couple died tragically in a fire, do you know about it?”
Her parents! Mo Zi held her breath and stared.
Tao Shan narrowed his eyes, hesitated for a while, then finally nodded. “That was my first assignment. At the time, I was just an ordinary assassin following orders, didn’t know where we were going or what we were doing. Until that night, the leader brought us into a household and had us kill everyone in that family while keeping the couple alive. However, the man resisted tenaciously, causing the leader to accidentally kill him. When the woman saw this, she immediately dashed her head against the wall. The leader had us search every corner—only then did I know we were looking for two pearls. But we found nothing and had to return. The master was angry, not only because we didn’t get the pearls, but also because the couple’s two daughters escaped, so he killed the leader.”
Wu Chengwan was the murderer of her parents! Fifteen years later, the truth finally came to light, shocking her while also making her extremely grief-stricken and indignant. For two pearls, to be so extremely vicious.
She sneered coldly. “Everyone under heaven knows the Min family has already bought back four Water-Purifying Pearls. Since you’re searching everywhere for them, why not go to the Min family to kill and rob?”
“The more something is already out in the open, the less urgent. The master’s meaning is, first gather the six pearls—the remaining four won’t be difficult.” Tao Shan saw Mo Zi’s grief and indignation but didn’t know its cause.
“Seeing you’re fairly honest, we’ll stop questioning here for today. I’ll have a doctor come bandage and treat your wounds. Don’t think about escaping. Having said so much, even if you escape, Wu Chengwan won’t spare you.” Yuan Cheng asked Lei Ting to guard him temporarily and pulled Mo Zi out.
“The remaining four won’t be difficult?” Mo Zi’s expression was ice-cold. “How will they not be difficult? Frame the Min family for treason again? Or not even need to—just directly say they have too much money that should be confiscated for the national treasury? Simply arrogant to the extreme.”
“Mo Zi.” Yuan Cheng grasped her cold hand, his voice gentle. “Calm down. Anger is useless. The opponent’s net has been cast for nearly twenty years and has reached the time to draw it in, but we’ve only just caught his tail. Only by being faster than him can we stop this conspiracy.”
Mo Zi took a deep breath and gripped his hand in return. “You’re right. As long as we can prove his rebellion first, the Emperor will give him trouble.”
“Wu Chengwan is very clever.” Yuan Cheng said steadily. “For over ten years, though he’s been collecting Water-Purifying Pearls, he’s been extremely patient. We always thought Daqiu had spies in Great Zhou, but Wu Chengwan can’t be called a spy—can only say he should be cooperating with Daqiu.”
“The difference between the two isn’t great—both are in cahoots.” Mo Zi snorted.
“A spy does things for Daqiu’s interests.” Yuan Cheng smiled as he analyzed for her. “Cooperation is for each side’s own interests. Wu Chengwan planted someone by Xiao Wei’s side, but Daqiu had no precautions at all against our movements, showing the information wasn’t leaked out. Wu Chengwan could afterward claim to Daqiu people he didn’t know the Emperor had a secret decree, but we now know he has his own plans.”
Mo Zi’s thinking caught up. “Wu Chengwan wants to be Emperor, but Daqiu wants to unify the realm—on this point there’s a major divergence. Both sides are using each other while also holding each other back. I guess they may have reached some agreement, like Daqiu helping him rebel and him ceding Great Zhou territory or such. Actually in the end, neither is willing to take a loss. This cooperation is very fragile and can be used by us. This secret decree is an example. You still have eyes and ears in Daqiu—have them quietly spread word that Wu Chengwan knew Great Zhou had operations but deliberately concealed it. If Wu Yanqie investigates and confirms this is true, the cooperation will probably end there. Wu Chengwan has no military authority. Even if he’s cultivated shadow forces, it’s difficult to successfully seize the palace.”
Yuan Cheng’s gaze held appreciation. “Good idea. Act cautiously and great things can be accomplished. However, next, I have a bad idea. Don’t hit me.”
“What?” Mo Zi asked.
“Burn the ship.” Yuan Cheng looked at her seriously. “Burn this ship.”