◎Only in death would she go to the Northwest to keep the appointment◎

Luo Wanqing was pressed by the blade, her mind somewhat dazed.

Zhang Jiuran?

Liu Xiniang had said her original name was Zhang Jiuran. How had Qin Jue discovered her connection to Liu Xiniang?

And why was he pointing a blade at her? What was his relationship with Zhang Jiuran?

She desperately pondered while maintaining a calm expression. She knew she couldn’t rashly admit her relationship with Liu Xiniang, so she frowned in confusion, “Zhang Jiuran? Who is that?”

“Don’t you know whose blade techniques you’re using?”

Qin Jue asked coldly, pressing closer, “Where is Zhang Jiuran?”

Luo Wanqing raised both hands to make him relax his guard, retreating while trying to dissuade him, “Calm down. I don’t know who she is.”

“Then how do you know her blade…”

Before he could finish, Luo Wanqing quickly snatched the blade from his hand, grabbed his wrist, and spun him around, pressing him against the wall with the blade at his neck, saying coldly, “Now is not the time to discuss this. Listen to me.”

“You…”

“At least I guarantee you’ll stay alive!” Luo Wanqing shouted sternly, “Stop causing trouble!”

As she spoke, knocking sounds came from above. Zhao Yuyan said urgently, “Xiniang, they’re gone. Let me in, will you?”

Hearing this, both Qin Jue and Luo Wanqing looked up at the ceiling.

The two exchanged glances. Qin Jue whispered, “The people protecting me died in the room she came out of.”

“I know.”

Luo Wanqing responded.

From the beginning, Zhao Yuyan had been trying to team up with Qin Jue. She hadn’t understood why.

Then, when Zhao Yuyan wanted to split up to search for keys, she had said “I’m afraid you won’t approve of my methods for finding keys.” After that, she hadn’t seen Zhao Yuyan again, and finally in one room she had seen a floor covered with torn corpses.

Then, when Qin Jue said the people protecting him were all dead, he glanced at that room full of dismembered bodies, indicating that his protectors had died in that room.

Finally, Zhao Yuyan had rushed in from that room, telling them to enter the underground palace.

If those dismembered corpses were Zhao Yuyan’s handiwork, and her goal was to kill Qin Jue, then everything made sense. Zhao Yuyan saying she wouldn’t approve of her methods was understandable, too.

She wasn’t sure if Zhao Yuyan was good or bad, so she could only temporarily keep her outside.

If she was good, then those assassins were after Qin Jue, making him a human target. In that case, she wouldn’t implicate Zhao Yuyan.

If Zhao Yuyan was bad, then at least she had temporarily protected Qin Jue.

Luo Wanqing thought for a moment but didn’t respond to Zhao Yuyan. Instead, she turned to survey their surroundings.

The sound of Zhao Yuyan knocking above paused for a moment. Then she said gently, “Xiniang, you don’t have any keys yet, do you? There’s only a quarter-hour left. If you can’t get keys, even if you take the final test, you’ll only be a Shadow Envoy. Open the door and I’ll come down to give you the keys.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing started to move, but Qin Jue immediately grabbed her and shook his head, “Something’s wrong with her.”

“Let’s go.”

Luo Wanqing pulled him and ran straight toward the passage ahead.

This underground palace was originally a dungeon. She dragged Qin Jue, quickly leading him to randomly find a room, threw him into it, and said quietly, “I’m going to grab keys. Hide well. They’ll find a way to come down looking for you. I’ll draw them away. In a quarter of an hour, the first examination will end and you can leave. When I return,” Luo Wanqing pressed her lips together and finally said, “You can tell me who you are.”

Qin Jue was stunned. Luo Wanqing turned to clear away traces, then rushed out.

She leaped several times to distance herself from Qin Jue, then jumped onto a rooftop.

This was the most conspicuous position. If anyone was still in the underground palace, they could see her at a glance.

Such a large underground palace couldn’t possibly have only one entrance. If Zhao Yuyan was someone who wanted to kill Qin Jue, then just now only she had been talking to them. Where were the others? Had they entered the underground palace?

As soon as Luo Wanqing thought this, she felt a blade of wind coming from behind. She retreated on her toes and saw the burly man who had initially chased Qin Jue looking at her excitedly, shouting, “Come…”

Before he could finish, Luo Wanqing’s expression grew fierce. She rushed forward and crushed his throat with one grip!

Blood and flesh exploded in her hand. She jumped down from the roof with the body, quickly searched all over him, took his keys, created false escape traces, then hid in nearby baskets.

Soon several people rushed over. They never expected Luo Wanqing hadn’t fled. They left one person behind and chased after the false traces Luo Wanqing had created.

The person left behind to attempt rescue crouched down to check the condition of the person lying on the ground. Luo Wanqing took the opportunity to leap out from behind and directly slit his throat from behind, then searched for a moment and obtained the keys.

After doing all this, she turned to clear traces and rushed back to where Qin Jue was.

Having killed two people like this, those people certainly wouldn’t dare scatter anymore. This way, the possibility of them searching and finding her and Qin Jue was much smaller. They just needed to hold out for another quarter-hour. When the first examination ended, the Supervision Department people would come.

At this stage, if Qin Jue encountered assassins, he would surely die.

She didn’t want to gamble on this possibility, so she hurried back.

Returning to the small room, as soon as she entered, she saw no one there. Luo Wanqing’s eyes widened as she was about to rush out to chase, when she heard someone in the corner lifting straw and saying quietly, “I’m here.”

Seeing Qin Jue in the darkness, Luo Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief. She walked into the dark corner and sat beside him.

After a moment of silence, Luo Wanqing said quietly, “In another quarter-hour, the Supervision Department people will come.”

“They can’t come.”

Qin Jue spoke. Luo Wanqing was stunned. Qin Jue lowered his head and said softly, “The underground palace is the final test location. People eliminated from the preliminary test will all enter the underground palace. Once the palace doors close, they can only be opened from inside.”

“How do we open them?”

Luo Wanqing frowned. Qin Jue said calmly, “There’s a room in the center of the underground palace that opens after the Hour of the Rooster. That room senses weight. You enter the room, close the door, and when the room’s weight decreases enough, the floor of that room will rise to ground level, and then you can get out.”

“Decrease to light enough?”

“There are side chambers where bodies can be piled. When people die and are stacked there, the room’s weight decreases.” Qin Jue explained, “People die and get piled up, then the room’s weight decreases.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing understood. This final test was entirely about killing. Those who survived won.

“Must they die?” Luo Wanqing frowned deeply. “What about knocking them unconscious and throwing them over?”

“That means death.” Qin Jue lowered his head and said softly, “We’re all death row prisoners. Those who haven’t passed the Supervision Department examination will all be executed. No one will give you the chance to knock them unconscious and throw them in the side chamber. Everyone fights desperately.”

Luo Wanqing said nothing. After a moment, she realized, “So Zhao Yuyan had us enter the underground palace. Once we’re in and the palace gates close from inside, the Supervision Department can’t enter.”

“Yes.”

“Our only option now is to take the final test to get out?”

“Yes. Now, all the eliminated prisoners should be waiting in that final test room. When that room’s floor rises to ground level, the underground palace’s internal gates will open.”

If that was the case, those assassins didn’t need to come find them.

They just needed to wait in the final test room. If Luo Wanqing and the others didn’t come, Qin Jue wouldn’t have enough keys, which would count as an examination failure. Going out afterward meant execution by the Supervision Department – death.

If Luo Wanqing and the others went over, they’d be sitting ducks waiting to be caught – also death.

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing fell silent.

Qin Jue thought for a moment and said calmly, “Actually, their target is me. You don’t need to worry about me. I was supposed to die anyway. Dying sooner or later… is also fate.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t speak. She lowered her head and after a long time said slowly, “You… aren’t Qin Jue, are you?”

Qin Jue paused. Luo Wanqing pondered and turned to look at him, “Or rather, you’re not the Qin Jue who returned from Yangzhou with me?”

Qin Jue didn’t immediately respond. He seemed to hesitate. Luo Wanqing knew the answer. She turned her head away and said lightly, “I used my blade in front of him. He asked me where my blade techniques came from. I said to my family, and he said my blade work was crude. Today, as soon as you saw my blade techniques, you asked who Zhang Jiuran was. Your temperament is very different from his, and your abilities are different too. If it were him, he would never be in such a sorry state. Last night I saw him and found him well, so I was relieved. Today, seeing you, I found you severely injured. This physical change was too rapid.”

“I’m sorry…” Qin Jue spoke with apology, “I didn’t want to deceive you either, but it’s a matter of life and death…”

“It’s nothing.” Luo Wanqing shook her head, “I also deceived him about some things. He never harmed me, so I don’t blame him much.”

She just felt somewhat sad, feeling that the person was like standing behind layers of curtains, never clearly visible.

As Luo Wanqing spoke, she turned to look at him.

The young man had ordinary features, but compared to most people, he still had an unmistakable air of upright integrity.

She had previously felt that person’s eyes were too beautiful, creating some discord with those features. Now, the person before her had eyes and features that matched extremely well.

“So you’re the real Qin Jue?”

Luo Wanqing looked at his eyes and spoke with understanding. Qin Jue nodded.

“Then who is he? Who is he?”

“He…” Qin Jue hesitated, then slowly said, “He’s from the Supervision Department.”

“Did he tell you about today’s examination?”

“Yes.”

“Why did he impersonate you?”

“My Qin family was falsely accused of treason. I’m the only surviving member of the Qin family now, and I have some evidence. Those who harmed my family are terrified and desperately want to kill me. When I was in Yangzhou prison, they organized an assassination. Director Xie’s informant got word and set an ambush to catch them, but there was a mole in the Supervision Department who leaked information, and one still escaped.”

As Qin Jue spoke, Luo Wanqing paused. She could guess that the escapee was Liu Xiniang, whom she had intercepted.

She felt somewhat guilty and couldn’t help saying, “It… might not necessarily be a mole.”

“Director Xie’s ambush was known by very few people. If it wasn’t a mole, how could that master have escaped?”

Qin Jue frowned deeply. Luo Wanqing didn’t dare meet his eyes and stiffly changed the subject, “And then?”

“Director Xie is still collecting evidence for the Qin family case, but if I continued staying in Jiangnan, I probably wouldn’t live much longer. So, Director Xie wanted to transfer me from Yangzhou to the Supervision Department through this examination route. Once I’m in the Supervision Department, he can legitimately protect me. But before that, the Supervision Department can’t intervene too much. He needs to maintain distance from me, a son of a treasonous minister, to avoid His Majesty’s suspicion.”

“So to protect you, the Supervision Department sent someone to secretly impersonate you, traveling from Yangzhou to the Eastern Capital to take the Supervision Department examination?” Luo Wanqing understood, then frowned, “Then why not help you pass the Supervision Department exam? With your current injuries, even without assassins chasing you, you might not pass.”

“Do you think today’s estate examination only had Supervision Department people?” Qin Jue smiled bitterly, “Right now in that highest small building, there are Central Imperial Office Grand Eunuch Yang Chun, Imperial Censorate Vice Director Sun Shu, and the current Third Prince, Li Guiyu. These are all eyes sent by His Majesty.”

Hearing this name, Luo Wanqing’s movements stopped.

She used tremendous willpower to control herself from losing composure, not letting herself reveal excessive concern for that Third Prince, and said calmly, “Because they’re watching, there’s no way to continue deceiving them, so they had to have the real you take the test. But the Supervision Department also secretly sent masters to protect you, except Fengyu Pavilion’s assassins were more skilled and killed all your protectors?”

“Yes.”

“So after entering the Eastern Capital, I saw you during the day. But last night, the one who came to find me and warned me not to get close to you was him.”

Qin Jue’s movements paused. He lowered his head somewhat awkwardly and said quietly, “If he did anything…”

“I understand.”

Luo Wanqing interrupted him. After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked the question she had always wanted to ask but hadn’t dared bring up rashly.

“Then what about Zhang Jiuran? Who is she?”

Hearing this name, Qin Jue’s face paled slightly. Luo Wanqing felt for her blade and said softly, “I never properly learned martial arts. I rely entirely on chance encounters. When someone teaches me, I learn a few moves. This blade technique was taught to me by a female warrior I met in Yangzhou years ago. She never told me her name. According to what you’re saying,” Luo Wanqing turned to look at Qin Jue, feigning confusion, “her name was Zhang Jiuran?”

“You…” Qin Jue looked up, seeming to desperately suppress his emotions, “only met her a few times?”

“Yes.” Luo Wanqing said seriously, “But I consider her my master.”

And also a good friend.

Luo Wanqing didn’t speak this sentence aloud.

However, hearing this, Qin Jue laughed. Tears welled up uncontrollably in his eyes as he said mockingly, “Then your master is an extremely vicious person.”

“Why do you say that?”

Luo Wanqing stared at Qin Jue. Qin Jue clenched his fists, and in the blink of an eye, tears fell. “Using marriage as a pretext to frame others – is there anyone more vicious in this world?”

Luo Wanqing was stunned. Qin Jue gritted his teeth, “Do you know why my Qin family fell to such a state? It’s because of her.”

“Impossible!”

Luo Wanqing instinctively denied it. She thought of that carefree woman in prison. Though she was unreliable, she was… she was…

But actually, she didn’t understand her either.

Luo Wanqing’s voice cut off.

Qin Jue laughed, “You don’t believe it? Yes, no one believes it. Who could imagine that someone so bright and pure as the moon could be a fraud?”

“But she deceived me,” Qin Jue stared fixedly at Luo Wanqing, “she deceived the entire Qin family! My parents treated her like their own child, and my sister regarded her as an older sister. The Qin family never treated her poorly in the slightest! But what did she do?!”

“Scheming and plotting, forging evidence, colluding with influential families, framing us! My father died on the execution ground in the Eastern Capital, my mother and sister perished in prison…”

Luo Wanqing stared blankly at the person before her, who seemed half-mad, listening to these familiar accusations.

Sharp pain cut across her chest. She felt somewhat unable to breathe.

She had experienced this pain.

She had been through it.

So she understood.

The person before her was like Luo Wanqing just a few months ago, when she had learned the truth about Jiang Shaoyan’s betrayal. He seemed to forget what she had said, rushed forward, and grabbed her collar, saying excitedly, “Tell me, where is she? Where did she go? Where is she?!”

“She deceived me! How can she just walk away like this?!”

“I want to kill her! I want to avenge my Qin family! Speak! Tell me where she went! Say something!”

“She…” Luo Wanqing couldn’t speak. She suppressed the shock in her heart, trying hard to detach herself from her emotions, and said with difficulty, “She… I heard… she left.”

“Left?” Qin Jue was confused, “Left for where?”

“I heard it was the Northwest.” Luo Wanqing didn’t dare look at Qin Jue, half-truthfully saying, “She left Fengyu Pavilion and departed.”

“Impossible.”

Hearing this, Qin Jue shook his head and stared fixedly at Luo Wanqing, “People from Fengyu Pavilion can’t leave unless they die.”

“She found a way…”

“She removed the parasitic worm?” Qin Jue spoke up. Luo Wanqing was stunned.

She sensed something was wrong. “What parasitic worm?”

“Do you think Fengyu Pavilion assassins are loyal for no reason? It’s because they all have a type of worm in their bodies. Suppressed by inner energy, they can live for a year. Without inner energy, at most three months, and she’ll lose all five senses, then die in complete darkness. She can’t leave Fengyu Pavilion, and she wouldn’t go to the Northwest. She told me,” Qin Jue seemed to realize something and suddenly released Luo Wanqing, murmuring, ‘before her father died, he said he would take her to see the poplar trees in the Northwest, but he never kept the appointment. So all these years, she’s been to the far south and distant seas, but never to the Northwest, because it would remind her of her father.”

“Only in death.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing looked up in disbelief.

Qin Jue said tremblingly, “Would she go to the Northwest to keep the appointment?”