The tent's curtain fluttered in disarray, still rippling from the blast of air just moments ago.
A sliver of sunlight pierced through, dust motes drifting silently within its beam, too light to move on their own, borrowing the wind to soar.
A long silence.
"Boom!"
Li Hongling straightened up and slammed her massive halberd into the ground beside her, the impact scattered the dust completely.
She spoke calmly:
"I recall... you were captured in the Jinghe Hall."
Chen Kuang's shoulders loosened. He instantly slumped forward, hands pressed to the ground in a submissive kneeling posture.
His acting was terrible, so it was better to avoid unnecessary movements. He relied on the performance of fear and submission to mask his true expression and responses.
He instinctively compared the pressure he'd felt under Li Hongling's halberd with the suffocating killing intent Huo Hengxuan had directed at him earlier.
It was obvious: the latter evoked a far stronger primal fear. After all, that moment had truly felt like death.
But Li Hongling's threat had been more for intimidation, while Huo Hengxuan had likely intended to actually kill him at the time.
So it couldn't be taken as a measure of power.
Chen Kuang bowed his head.
"Yes. I was summoned into the palace by the late emperor, he meant to receive the pill from me."
Li Hongling sneered:
"I had thought Su Yu truly a fool beyond redemption, playing music and watching dances even at the gates of death. But now it makes more sense."
No... actually, he really was that stupid.
Chen Kuang mocked internally but then paused.
Su Yu, the last emperor of Liang... Was he truly just a fool?
Maybe he was. But any fool who reached that level of power must also be cowardly and greedy.
With war at his doorstep and death imminent, would he really summon court musicians to perform and then wait to die?
Why didn't he run?
Could the missing segment of his memory... be related to Su Yu?
A strange, icy sensation curled inside Chen Kuang's heart, as if a venomous serpent had silently coiled around his chest.
Li Hongling watched the young man in front of her. His slight trembling, in her eyes, was just fear.
She continued, coldly:
"Well then, Musician, where is the pill you were supposed to deliver to Su Yu?"
Chen Kuang had been a prisoner for five days now. Surely his body had been searched multiple times. Yet nothing had been found.
He responded calmly:
"When the General stormed the capital with the Black Armored Army, I was suddenly summoned to the palace. I knew the odds of survival were slim."
"The emperor was about to die. For such a precious item, there was no need to let anyone else know where it was."
"If I handed it over, I would have been executed immediately."
"So... you gambled on your own survival and didn't bring it to the palace at all."
Li Hongling narrowed her eyes.
"Heh... Then that so-called loyal, obedient servant, cultivated by Su Yu himself, chose to betray him in his final hour."
Chen Kuang said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Li Hongling asked:
"Then why did you reveal yourself now?"
Chen Kuang replied:
"The reason I didn't bring the pill to Jinghe Hall... is the same reason I'm exposing myself now."
Li Hongling nodded.
"To live."
It was reasonable, flawlessly so.
Before, Chen Kuang had no reason to expose his secrets, he had no status but if he survived the war, he could live as a slave. There was a sliver of hope.
But after receiving that execution meal, he had no choice but to act, if he wanted to live.
And why hadn't he just shouted for help before?
That too was easy to explain: because Huo Hengxuan was in the neighboring cell.
That old man might act lazy, but he was fiercely loyal to Liang.
If Chen Kuang had spoken then, his head would've been punctured in a second!
If Huo Hengxuan found out the secret he protected with his life had been discovered, and betrayed, by a worthless rat, how would he react?
Li Hongling sneered in her heart.
She looked down at Chen Kuang as her crimson eyes gleamed:
"Fine. Tell me where the pill is, and I'll spare your life."
Chen Kuang shook his head:
"General, don't you remember what I said? For such a precious thing, I ensured no one else would know where it is."
He raised his head. Blood still streaked his face from earlier, but his expression was unnervingly calm.
"Right now, in all the world, only I know where that pill is."
"General."
Li Hongling fell silent for a moment. Then her eyes flared, like a tiger ready to maul.
"You dare... threaten me?"
"Do you know there's a Three Calamities Sect immortal stationed atop the East Watchtower? Even if you won't speak, we can still pry the answer from your mind."
"I wouldn't dare."
Chen Kuang said steadily:
"But the moment I dared to do this, I had already placed my life aside. It's not that I refuse to speak, but even if I survive, I'll spend the rest of my life toiling for scraps. That thought fills me with despair."
He sighed.
"I am base and lowborn. But once I've tasted palace luxury, how can I go back to living like an ant?"
"...Don't trouble your immortals. If General grants me one small wish, I'll tell you everything, without reservation."
Truly despicable.
While others mourned the fall of their country and families, he wept for his lost comfort.
Li Hongling's voice suddenly softened:
"Then tell me, what's your wish?"
Chen Kuang said:
"I want to live... for seven more days, as the emperor once did."
Ha.
Li Hongling almost laughed. She stared at him like watching a clown:
"As the emperor? All within the capital are now prisoners. You think you'll live in the Jinghe Hall? You want me to serve you personally?"
Thanks, but I'd rather have Chu Wenruo do that...
Chen Kuang grumbled internally, then shook his head:
"I want the finest dishes, the best wine, and that Dragon Gums Zither."
Li Hongling stared down at him. His voice was servile, ingratiating.
She thought: Lowborn vermin really do say the stupidest things...
In his mind, that must be what the emperor's life amounted to.
Long Yin, Dragon Gums, the prized ancient zither Su Yu kept in the palace, it was worth a fortune.
To a court musician, possessing that zither would be the greatest possible life.
Li Hongling's red eyes curled slightly, as if smiling. But her gaze was still ice-cold.
"So simple? You should've just said so from the start-"
"But unfortunately, you just tried to threaten me. And that made me... unhappy."
She stepped forward and, with a casual motion, stomped both his shins.
Crack!
Chen Kuang curled up instantly, cold sweat soaking his back.
Blood pooled beneath his tattered robes.
Li Hongling lifted her foot and dusted off her hands:
"Qingcuo, take him back. Starting today, give him meals from the Three Lakes, wine from Xinfeng."
"Oh... and deliver the Dragon Gums Zither to his cell."
"This prison is now your imperial palace for seven days. Enjoy it."
"Seven days from now, whether you talk or not, I'll know where that pill is."
She turned, flung open the tent flap, and strode out with two Black Armored Guards.
The one named Qingcuo entered silently.
He looked at the crippled "blind" man on the floor, hesitating for a moment.
Then he walked over, bent down, and gently lifted Chen Kuang from behind his back and knees.
A full princess carry.
Chen Kuang, who had just endured having both legs shattered, nearly couldn't hold back-
He almost opened his eyes wide.