Chapter 41: Kill First
In the end, Xie Hui’s suggestion of “selling out one’s master for glory” was the most effective, allowing Xiao Yi to transform from a servant into a guard captain for Nie Wenjin.
Only one problem remained: Meng Ye was a bit of an eyesore.
“General, he might very well be Shi Deyuan, trying to rescue Shi Degong and Zhang Mantun.”
Xiao Yi thought to himself, Meng Ye was actually quite wrong; he actually intended to use the two of them to facilitate his own escape.
He then said, “General, if Officer Meng is still uneasy, you can let him accompany me to supervise me.”
Nie Wenjin cast a cold glance at Xiao Yi, his eyes warning him, and reprimanded, “If Officer Meng goes, do you still expect Shi Degong and Zhang Mantun to cooperate?”
“Yes, General, your insight is keen. One fears Meng Officer, and the other detests him, so they wouldn’t cooperate.”
Xiao Yi knew his intention to kill Meng Ye on the way had been seen through, and he feigned shame.
Meng Ye sneered, “The issue isn’t whether I go or not, but that Shi Degong and Zhang Mantun are serious offenders. General, you probably cannot handle them arbitrarily.”
“I will inform the Imperial Uncle myself.”
Nie Wenjin was filled with worry, but it wasn’t for the escape of Shi Degong, rather, it was fear of Wang Yin.
Xiao Yi realized then that in this group of conspirators, the Son of Heaven was young, Su Fengji was treacherous, Liu Zhu was madly slaughtering the entire Guo Family, and Li Ye had sent such a fool. Only Nie Wenjin was genuinely working. He had finally met an intelligent advisor, but unfortunately, he himself would abandon him too.
Meng Ye continued to obstruct, saying, “General, you trust his nonsensical ramblings too much…”
Seeing this, Xiao Yi lowered his head, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
“Officer Meng, are you trying to deceive yourself out of fear of serious consequences, or are you deliberately leading the General to investigate a baseless ‘Second Young Master Shi’?”
“Questioning me? What are you?”
“I’m just curious. You are guiding Shi Degong and Zhang Mantun to give false testimony, wasting time and manpower. Do you have some unspeakable motive? For example, to buy time for Wang Yin?”
“You… Shi Deyuan! You’re framing me? General Nie, let me interrogate him!”
Nie Wenjin waved his hand and ordered two guards beside him, “Take him down and settle him.”
In an instant, Meng Ye’s eyes were filled with venom as he stared intently at Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi merely smiled, as if mocking the person who brought himself here, Meng Ye, his gaze full of defiance.
“The General can discern the truth himself. This subordinate takes his leave.”
Finally, he bowed gracefully and left with the two guards.
After walking more than ten steps, Xiao Yi said softly to the guards behind him.
“Did you see it? The General has killing intent towards Meng Ye. To subdue Zhang Mantun, the charge is colluding with Wang Yin.”
“Don’t give us that crap, we don’t know you…”
The rear yamen.
A secluded side room.
The room contained a table, a stool, an oil lamp, and a simple bed, likely for guards on duty to rest.
“Wait here.”
“You two, please wait a moment.”
Xiao Yi stopped them and asked, “Could I wash up, change my clothes, and get something warm to eat? Soup noodles or eggs would be fine.”
“You… well, you’re quite demanding.”
“I am not a criminal. General Nie has shown me great kindness, and I intend to follow him in achieving great things in the future.”
“Then what? You plan to live at the Imperial Guard Headquarters? You can give orders when you’re actually a captain.”
“I wouldn’t dare, we are all fellow brothers.” Xiao Yi said, “My name is Xiao Yi. May I ask your esteemed names, my brothers?”
“Lu You, and this is my brother, Lu Chou.”
“My name is Lu Chou. As you can see, it’s certainly not because I’m ugly. Ah, I was born in the Year of Ji Chou, the Ox, and my elder brother was born in the Year of Yi You, the Rooster.”
“So you are Big Brother Lu and Little Brother Lu.”
“You’re quite good at naming things.” Lu Chou became happy.
Xiao Yi pointed to the bedding on the bed and said, “I smell of fish. You wouldn’t want me to soil this place, would you? To serve the Marshal, I should present myself properly.”
Lu You and Lu Chou were stunned and exchanged glances.
“Alright, you can wash up. There’s no soup noodles, but we’ll give you some extra provisions and dried meat, and a bowl of hot soup each meal.”
“Thank you.”
“Wait.”
After a while, they came in carrying a large rough pottery basin, along with soap pods, a towel, a wooden ladle, and a stack of old clothes.
Xiao Yi saw that the pottery basin was not steaming, knowing it was cold water.
He removed his foul-smelling clothes in the cold wind under the corridor, first washing off the medicinal paste from his face to show sincerity, then scrubbing his body with cold water.
The cold pierced to the bone.
His skin immediately erupted in goosebumps from the cold.
Fortunately, in his previous life, he often soaked in ice water after training to reduce inflammation, which wasn’t necessarily scientific, but he was accustomed to it.
Although guards were watching, he paid them no mind, calmly and unhurriedly, gritting his teeth to wash himself clean and put on the old clothes.
“Damn, you’ve got quite a physique.”
Lu You admired him somewhat, gasping, and gave him a thumbs-up, reminding him, “But be careful, don’t let that Officer Meng bully you.”
Lu Chou frowned, showing deep thought, and sighed, “Every time I see Officer Meng, I get a tightening in my backside. Ah, I am too handsome.”
“Who says otherwise? Damn it, killing is just a nod of the head, but if he were to defile us, who would respect us afterwards?”
“As the saying goes? A scholar can be killed, but not insulted. Xiao Yi, you shouldn’t have washed up. Didn’t you see how he looked at you earlier?”
Lu You agreed wholeheartedly and cautioned, “The three of us are handsome, we must all be careful.”
Xiao Yi said, “He wouldn’t dare, would he?”
“Heh, you’re quite something, so carefree.”
Xiao Yi showed a look of fear, saying, “I was just speaking impulsively. Reflecting on it now, I deeply regret it.”
“You know your mistake now, it’s too late. What? Can you go back and apologize to him?”
Xiao Yi took a silver ingot from his hair and handed it over, asking, “Could I borrow a dagger for self-defense?”
“That won’t do.”
“Little Brother Lu, you are handsome and should understand my fear. This is the Imperial Guard Headquarters. What harm can a small dagger do? It would just give me peace of mind.”
“Impossible. The yamen keeps an inventory of weapons. If something happens, it will implicate us.”
Xiao Yi said, “The General appointing me as guard captain is just so I can receive weapons a day earlier.”
Lu You said, “Your smooth talk is useless. Personal daggers are like household items; they are not lent out.”
Xiao Yi had expected them not to lend it, and still pushed the broken silver into Lu Chou’s hand, his gaze falling on the crossbow quiver at his waist.
Lu Chou understood his intentions and quickly shook his head, refusing even the silver. “Really, it’s impossible.”
“If you won’t lend it, then fine. Take the silver. It’s not good to trouble you for nothing. We’ll have to get along in the future.”
“This…”
Xiao Yi smiled, turned, and entered the room. He saw the food had already been placed on the table.
He slowly chewed the Hu Bing and drank the hot soup, dispelling the chill.
Afterwards, he picked up the soup bowl, preparing to smash it and use the broken porcelain for self-defense.
This was his backup plan.
A soft “click” suddenly sounded from outside the door. Xiao Yi pushed the door open and saw a crossbow bolt lying on the ground.
Picking it up, he saw the shaft was short and sturdy, and the iron arrowhead gleamed coldly.
It seemed the elder and younger Lu were cooperative after all.
Back in the room, he closed the door, placed a pillow in the bedding, and shaped it into a human form. He didn’t lie down, but blew out the oil lamp.
Darkness filled the room, with only the faint light from outside outlining the shapes of objects.
Xiao Yi, holding the crossbow bolt, stood leaning in the darkness by the bed, waiting.
The night was as dark as ink, and all was silent.
The side room was pitch black. Xiao Yi still leaned against the cold wall, hidden in the shadow beside the bed.
Like a dormant leopard.
He closed his eyes to rest, his muscles relaxed, but his mind remained alert.
Time slowly passed, and drowsiness washed over him in waves.
It seemed Meng Ye wasn’t coming.
Xiao Yi hadn’t been absolutely certain, but he refused to lie down, blending into the wall.
“Creak.”
A very faint, yet sharp enough to pierce the silence, sound of a door opening was heard.
Instantly, Xiao Yi became alert, the muscles in his hand holding the crossbow bolt tensing.
He quickly adapted to the darkness and looked towards the window. He saw three figures pass by the window.
The first two were powerfully built; one held a rope, the other a saber. The last person was relatively slender; it was Meng Ye.
As soon as they entered the room, they immediately pinpointed the bulging bedding on the bed.
Xiao Yi held his breath, waiting for them to make their move.
One step, two steps…
The lead person, without hesitation, stepped forward quickly, pulled the rope taut, and moved directly towards the bedding, intending to bind the figure within.
In a faint glimmer of light, a sinister smile appeared on Meng Ye’s face.
This was the moment.
Xiao Yi suddenly moved.
He sprang from the darkness, the tightly gripped crossbow bolt flashing out like lightning, piercing directly into the side of the neck of the person holding the saber.
“Pfft.”
The three-edged iron arrowhead tore through flesh, and blood spurted out.
The man slowly fell, his saber clattering to the ground.
Xiao Yi stepped on the saber, pulled out the crossbow bolt, bringing with it a spray of blood, and thrust it at the other person.
At the same time, the other person reacted quickly. The rope had already been placed around his nape and was pulled tight, crossed to strangle him.
Xiao Yi immediately couldn’t breathe and couldn’t see the other person’s body parts. He simply stabbed wildly with the crossbow bolt in his hand.
“Pfft.”
“Pfft.”
“Pfft…”
While struggling, he felt Meng Ye trying to draw the saber he had stepped on, so he forcefully kicked Meng Ye away.
The rope around his neck tightened even more.
If he couldn’t make the person holding the rope let go, he would be strangled to death.
Xiao Yi widened the range of his crossbow bolt stabs, trying to pierce the other person’s heart.
After several more muffled thuds, the crossbow bolt became stuck in bone and couldn’t be pulled out.
Finally.
The rope around his neck loosened, and the cold air entering his chest made him feel incredibly comfortable.
After taking two deep breaths, Xiao Yi, without resting, directly picked up the saber from the ground and stabbed the two people on the ground twice each.
And there was Meng Ye.
Xiao Yi looked around the room; he didn’t see anyone.
His breathing was too heavy, and he didn’t hear any movement from Meng Ye.
So, he took the saber and walked outside the door, glancing left and right down the corridor. The guards were gone, and the corridor was empty.
“Click.”
Xiao Yi directly opened the door, letting the moonlight shine into the room. There was a table, a stool, a bed, two corpses, and blood all over the floor, but still no sign of anyone.
“Meng Ye.”
“Meng Ye.”
No one answered.
Xiao Yi walked to the bedside and tapped the bed with the saber handle.
A rustling sound came from under the bed.
Xiao Yi, too lazy to crawl in, poked around a few times and sneered, “Why die so miserably?”
“I… I am an confidant of the Imperial Uncle. How dare you kill me?”
“If you thought Li Ye would protect you, you would have confessed to him long ago instead of coming after me.”
“Don’t kill me. I’ll tell you the truth, I’m not a bad person. I was forced to do it, I was forced to do it… I find it disgusting myself, but if I didn’t, I couldn’t control those arrogant martial men. I am a pitiable person. I… I only tormented Shi Degong, it’s not a capital offense… You… don’t you also hate the Shi Family?”
“If you treated Shi Degong like this, would you let anyone else go?”
“I’ll let them go, I’ll definitely let them go. Don’t kill me, please…”
The voice came from under the bed, filled with subservience, fear, and despair, completely unlike the cold and perverse Xuanhuiyuan official from before.
Xiao Yi ripped open the bedding on the bed, revealing the bed board.
“Ah!”
Meng Ye cried out in surprise and retreated to the position against the wall.
“Are you crying?”
“Don’t kill me, please, I…”
Xiao Yi thrust his saber down.
The tip of the blade, pointed downwards, pierced through the gaps in the bed board and into the flesh.
“Pfft.”
The sound of pleading for mercy abruptly stopped.
What replaced it was a gasping sound of being completely pierced and unable to breathe, along with muffled thuds of his body convulsing and hitting the bed board.
“Pfft.”
Xiao Yi delivered another stab, completely ending Meng Ye’s life.
There was no more sound from under the bed.
