Chapter 38: The Real Fugitive
Xiao Yi allowed the patrol soldiers to tie his hands, and calmly walked with them, appearing to be an innocent civilian.
After a long while, he was brought to a temporary police station nearby, which was filled with vagrants who had broken the law, and the air was filled with a mixed odor of filth and sweat.
Feeble cries of “Injustice!” rose and fell.
“Quickly report to the Commander, we’ve caught the killer of an officer and soldier, it’s a Khitan woman…”
The junior officer, eager to claim credit, pointed at Xiao Yi in passing as he spoke, arranging for him.
“Take him to the inner room to await interrogation.”
After that, no one paid attention to Xiao Yi.
He simply closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, conserving his strength.
After seemingly sleeping for a while, he suddenly heard a conversation outside, between an old man and the Khitan girl.
“May I ask if you are the daughter of the Imperial Uncle of Great Liao and Princess Abuli?”
“Indeed, I am the County Princess of Liucheng in Great Liao. If you wish to kill or butcher me, I shall not frown!”
“Greetings, County Princess. The County Princess misunderstands. The one who fought your country and rashly started border troubles is the traitorous General Guo Wei. He abducted the County Princess here, and his crime deserves death. Our Han state genuinely wishes to be on good terms with Great Liao.”
“You didn’t say so earlier, causing me to hide for so many days.”
“Yes, yes. The Imperial Court only saw the County Princess’s name on the list of captives tonight. We have been greatly presumptuous. The County Princess, please forgive us and proceed to the Sifang Inn to rest.”
“Alright.”
Xiao Yi couldn’t help but be astonished.
With the death of Shi Hongzhao, the swift and ironic shift in the Later Han Imperial Court’s attitude towards the Khitan was laughable and absurd.
When he came back to his senses, he felt someone staring at him. Turning his head, he saw a man in a blue official robe.
This man was around thirty years old, with a thin face and sharp, calm eyes. He looked somewhat frail, yet inexplicably possessed a dangerous aura.
It was not the majesty of power or martial strength, but a danger.
Xiao Yi couldn’t articulate why he felt this way.
The man in the blue robe pointed at Xiao Yi and said, “Bring him in.”
“Yes.”
Xiao Yi was led into a more secluded interrogation room.
Placed in the room was a desk with an oil lamp on it. The man in the blue robe sat down in the shadow behind the oil lamp.
“Xuanhuiyuan Interrogating Official, Meng Ye.”
“Southern Hero, Zhan Zhao.”
Meng Ye’s gaze landed on Xiao Yi like a tangible substance, and he smiled slightly with a hint of meaning, asking, “An enthusiastic and upright knight-errant?”
“Treating the common people like pigs and dogs, and Khitan people as honored guests. Is there still law and order?”
“That is not my concern. I apprehend wanted criminals.”
“Wanted criminal? What does that have to do with me, Zhan Zhao?”
“You acted well,” Meng Ye said with a smile. “But, enough is enough.”
“Perhaps it is you who should stop. May I ask what crime I, Zhan, have committed?”
Meng Ye said, “Stop acting. I’ve seen you before.”
An expression of shock appeared on Xiao Yi’s face, and he asked, “When did I, Zhan, ever meet Official Meng?”
“That day, when you were controlling your horse on the long street, the Xuanhui Envoy by the window invited you. I was beside him, a youth with a green robe and a red horse, full of youthful spirit, deserving of praise.”
“So that’s how it is. That day, I, Zhan, was walking with Bao Gong on the street, and I happened to see…”
Laughter interrupted Xiao Yi’s words.
Meng Ye seemed to be amused to the point of laughter, his smile wild and somewhat unsettling.
“Have you forgotten? That day, the Imperial Uncle sent people to follow you, and you declared your family name: the Grand Tutor’s residence.”
Xiao Yi knew the situation was turning unfavorable and lowered his gaze in thought.
Meng Ye’s smile grew wider. “Since you are unwilling to be open and honest, I will speak first.”
He took a thin silk handkerchief from his sleeve, inhaled its fragrance deeply, and placed it on the desk.
“Do you recognize it?”
“I do not.”
“From a maidservant at the Shi Residence. I still recall today the way she wept and moaned beneath me.”
Xiao Yi’s heart sank.
At this moment, he felt an intense killing intent towards Meng Ye.
“Heh heh,” Meng Ye continued to smile. “This maidservant went to Shi Hongzhao’s study before she fled and took two items with her. But she refused to say where she hid them, so I had to ask her myself. By the way, do you know who she is?”
“I do not.”
“Guess, you know her.”
“I cannot guess.”
“It’s alright, here’s a hint.” Meng Ye said, “She… was not originally a woman. I made her into one.”
Xiao Yi was taken aback.
He had to admit that this seemingly frail official before him had given him a shock.
“Is it… Shi Deyu?”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Meng Ye clapped his hands and laughed, nodding repeatedly.
“See, I told you you could guess it.”
“What did you do to Shi Deyu…?”
“She wanted to be a woman, so I made her into a woman.”
Meng Ye’s eyes showed a look of recollection, and the dangerous aura around him became even more intense.
Xiao Yi felt a chill and couldn’t help but want to distance himself from this person.
“In any case, Shi Deyu was overjoyed to the point of death, and then she confessed.”
Saying this, Meng Ye leaned forward slightly, his gaze like a knife, his voice lowered a few decibels, and he spoke slowly.
“Second Young Master Shi, speak directly, where did you hide the item?”
Xiao Yi’s pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed, “What?”
“Heh, still acting. Your ‘sister’ has already betrayed you.”
Meng Ye tapped a document on the desk with his finger and pushed it towards Xiao Yi.
This was precisely the military order for apprehending fugitives that Xiao Yi had seen on the city tower.
He fell silent.
So, these people were not searching for Guo Xin, but for “Shi Deyuan.” The description “about twenty years old, with a handsome appearance” actually referred to him.
Ridiculous.
Xiao Yi said, “You extracted a confession through torture? He said what you wanted him to say. Shi Deyuan is clearly already dead…”
“All the bodies in the Shi Residence have been examined, and the entire family is present, only Shi Hongzhao’s second son, Shi Deyuan, is missing. That night, the only one who broke out was the guard general beside Shi Deyuan, Zhang Mantun. He created a diversion to let you escape. You are Shi Deyuan.”
“No, I killed Shi Deyuan, in the stable, because of the stable fire, you didn’t find the body…”
“Bang!”
Meng Ye suddenly slammed the desk and said with a sinister grin, “Do you want to test my might too?”
Xiao Yi fell silent.
The look of shock on his face gradually faded, replaced by a strange calmness. At the same time, countless thoughts raced through his mind.
He couldn’t admit to being someone else. If his identity as the Second Young Master Shi were confirmed, he would undoubtedly die. But merely denying it would be useless.
It was the same principle: to live, he needed to have value. He needed to think about what they wanted.
The Imperial Guard Military Tally?
No, a mere Imperial Guard Military Tally would not warrant such a commotion. There was another item that was worth such a great effort.
—The Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs’ Seal, which could mobilize all the troops in the realm.
Did Shi Hongzhao not hand over the Command Seal to Guo Wei? Or did Wang Yanchao return the Command Seal to Shi Hongzhao when he returned to the capital?
This Command Seal might not be that important to Guo Wei, but it was crucial for the court officials vying for power.
That night, Shi Deyu must have taken the Command Seal, but it was not found when the officers and soldiers raided the residence.
There was only one possibility: it was taken by Zhang Mantun.
Now, the officers and soldiers were misled and investigating in the wrong direction.
These thoughts were jumbled, but in Xiao Yi’s mind, they flashed by in an instant.
“You are too arrogant. I am not Shi Erlang…”
“Heh,” Meng Ye sneered. “It seems I can’t persuade you with words.”
Xiao Yi ignored him and continued with what he wanted to say.
“I am not Shi Erlang, but I can find what you are looking for. To be precise, I can find the Military Tally and the Command Seal.”
When the last two words were spoken, Meng Ye’s eyes changed.
“Where?”
“On the day of the raid, Liu Zhu went to the Shi Residence precisely to confirm if the Command Seal was still in Shi Hongzhao’s possession, but it disappeared afterward.”
“Where?”
“You not only searched the entire Shi Residence but also the entire Guo Residence. Su Fengji, Liu Zhu, Nie Wenjin all want to find the Command Seal, right? Because it not only concerns the mobilization of troops but also their distribution of power.”
“I’m asking you, where?”
“You are the Imperial Uncle’s man. Who are you cooperating with? Su Fengji? It seems not.” Xiao Yi stared intently into Meng Ye’s eyes and asked, “Liu Zhu? Or Nie Wenjin? The ones who arrested me were Nie Wenjin’s subordinates, so it seems to be him.”
“I am the one interrogating you. Speak, where is the Command Seal?!”
Finally, Xiao Yi caught a fleeting glint of urgency in Meng Ye’s eyes.
One breath, two breaths…
Xiao Yi deliberately paused for five breaths, and when Meng Ye began to grow impatient, he spoke.
“I want to see General Nie and speak with him face to face.”
“Heh, taste my torture.”
Meng Ye grinned sinisterly, picked up the handkerchief from the table, smelled it, and put it back in his sleeve.
Xiao Yi’s back tingled with cold. Smelling that wisp of fragrance, he could almost see Meng Ye hanging it on Shi Deyu’s face…
No.
This fragrance was much richer and of lower quality than that used by the maidservants at the Shi Residence.
Why?
The next moment, Xiao Yi seemed to see a trace of bluster in Meng Ye’s dangerous, sinister grin.
Could it be that a frail official seeking survival among overbearing martial men, in order to make others fear him, devised a perverted method to shock people, but had to use this fragrance to steel himself to act?
If so, he was merely a pathetic wretch born of a perverted era, with a hollow core.
Good acting, quite the drama queen.
Xiao Yi gritted his teeth and said, “You want to find the Talisman Seal, and I want to see Nie Wenjin. Each gets what they need. Once I see him, I’ll speak immediately, and you’ll have a great achievement.”
The torture chamber fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the occasional crackling of the oil lamp’s wick.
The two stared at each other, as if trying to intimidate the other with their presence.
Xiao Yi no longer felt the dread caused by disgust towards Meng Ye. His gaze did not flinch from the dangerous smile, only showing determination.
He was not afraid of his torture and was not intimidated.
After a long while, perhaps unsure he could extract a confession from Xiao Yi, Meng Ye’s gaze wavered unintentionally. He stood up and walked towards the exit. After two steps, he stopped and uttered three words in a tone that was impossible to discern emotion.
“Follow me.”
Xiao Yi left the inner room and looked around. He saw no new individuals being brought in, realizing that Hua Nong and Guo Xin had likely managed to slip away. He breathed a sigh of relief.
A plan was gradually forming in his mind, one that would not only ensure his safety and escape but also directly lead to the officers and soldiers preparing everything he needed to travel north and escort him out of the city.
It was worth a try.
