The great bird soared through the sky for over fifteen minutes before finally beginning its descent.
To snatch up an entire carriage without a word suggested the creature’s intelligence was likely low, or perhaps its master had simply given it a very rudimentary command. By contrast, its movements were surprisingly gentle as it set us down on the ground; I suspected it feared damaging the "precious cargo" it believed was inside.
A man crudely tore away the carriage curtain and reached in with a violent tug. Wen Qi and Wen Jing were hauled out in a heap, landing unceremoniously on the dirt. Though Wen Qi had been doing her utmost to maintain a semblance of calm and dignity, she couldn't help but let out a cry of shock and indignation. Ignoring her, the man prepared to crawl into the carriage. I held the Demon Spirit Jade out in front of me and said coldly, "Is this what you’re looking for?"
The man was none other than the bearded brute who had been fighting Xuesu earlier. Up close, I realized he was a demon who hadn't even bothered to tuck away his wings—likely of the Golden-Winged Great Peng lineage or something similar. The fact that he had flown in a near-perfect straight line meant he could navigate the illusory array that had trapped us. He knew exactly where to go without hesitation, which meant the illusion at the site of the battle hadn't been set by the person who lured us, but by the Thousand Colors Palace itself.
The bearded man stared blankly at the jade tablet for a moment before reaching out savagely to snatch it. I wasn't about to let him take it so easily; I tossed the jade into his arms, shoved past him, and leaped off the carriage. I gathered Wen Jing into my arms and signaled for Wen Qi to stay behind me. As it turned out, we were in a derelict manor in the southeast of the capital, which the Thousand Colors Palace had seized as a temporary stronghold.
After so much turmoil, Wen Jing had actually woken up. Her reddened eyes were piteous to behold. Finding herself in an unknown location, held by Su Zhenzhen in the middle of a desolate, ruined garden in the wilderness, she was understandably unable to process anything. She could only ask in a raspy voice, "Zhenzhen? You... I... and Sister Qi... what is happening..."
I smiled. "Just think of it as a strange dream, Sister. Don't dwell on it. Is the fever still bad? Do you want some water?"
"If there is... I'll drink..." she murmured as if in a trance, seemingly listless toward even the basic necessities of life. "Thank you."
I summoned a waterskin from my Qiankun Bag. There were no facilities to brew tea, but at least the water was warm. Wen Qi sensibly took it and carefully fed it to Wen Jing.
The bearded bird-man was nearly losing his mind. He paced back and forth, clutching the jade tablet, and roared, "It’s not it! It’s actually not it! Damn it, how did this happen?!" Seeing Wen Qi and me tending to a patient as if he weren't even there, his rage boiled over. He reached out to grab one of us to vent his frustration, but I pointed my sword directly at the tip of his nose, staring him down coldly.
"You don't even know where your target is, and yet you still have the face to show yourself?" I sneered.
The bird-man was furious. "You wench, you dare say another word?"
"I dare. Why wouldn't I?" I laughed. "Even if I die, I’d rather speak my mind and die satisfied. As for you, you’d better hurry and find the true whereabouts of the Demon Zither to make up for your blunder. Otherwise, how will you explain this to your master?"
"You know I'm looking for the Demon Zither?" The bird-man’s hand, which had been halfway toward my throat, stopped mid-air. He spoke almost reflexively.
I flashed the smile of a traveling charlatan. "I not only know you're looking for the Demon Zither, I know whose hands it's in. The daughter of Chancellor Zhang, Zhang Zhuyi—am I right?"
Aside from the misleading Demon Spirit Jade, there was another reason for the Thousand Colors Palace’s miscalculation: the Wen family used the same grade of carriage as the Zhang family. In other words, the person originally intended to carry the Demon Zither out of the Xixi Pavilion was Zhang Zhuyi. It was highly likely she was the one who had used us as decoys. As for how she had stolen or snatched the zither from Yan Mingqiu, that remained a mystery; perhaps she hadn't even made her move yet. Regardless, it wouldn't hurt to bluff this great bird.
Clearly, I had hit the mark. The bird-man found it difficult to actually strangle me now. He let out a cold snort and waved his large hand. Immediately, seven or eight men emerged to seize the three of us. I allowed them to take my weapons and Qiankun Bag with a smile. They bound our hands behind our backs and shoved us into a dark room.
Wen Jing was already weak. Treated so roughly, she collapsed onto the floor the moment we entered, trembling with discomfort. Yet her expression was strangely serene; perhaps she had long felt that life held no joy, and thus did not fear death. Wen Qi was heartbroken, but with her hands bound, she could only shuffle toward her, using her own body to support Wen Jing. Fortunately, the thugs had been lazy and bound Wen Jing along with the thick felt blanket she was wrapped in, so she wouldn't catch a chill.
However, I sensed that we were not the only three in the room. I watched warily for a moment. There were two others—one lying down and one sitting—keeping a significant distance from each other, clearly not on intimate terms. The figure of the one sitting looked remarkably familiar...
"Sister Yin Deng?"
"Zhenzhen?" It was indeed Yin Deng. She seemed to have been in a daze, but upon hearing my voice, she stood up in pleasant surprise and took a few steps toward me, wearing a bitter smile. "Ah, it truly is a small world."
I first asked if she was injured. She shook her head. "Just some medicine to make one faint and weak. Nothing else is serious."
Considering she might have been captured while on a mission for the Temple, I felt it inappropriate to ask in front of Wen Qi and the others. I sent a telepathic message: *Sister, who harmed you? How did you end up here?*
Yin Deng let out a cold sneer and tilted her chin toward the person on the floor. She replied via telepathy: *I was harmed by this slut. If I had known this would happen, I should have killed her back then.*
It turned out that tonight was a grand banquet hosted by Prince Xuan to celebrate his return to the capital. He had arrived yesterday and attended a royal family dinner in the inner court; today’s event was held at his own princely manor. This was Prince Xuan’s first formal return to the capital from his remote fief in four or five years. One could imagine how many people were scrambling to curry favor; the banquet had a scale of three to four hundred people. Yin Deng and Jin Zhu had both been invited. They were originally attending to their own business, but they crossed paths midway. Jin Zhu had approached her with a smile, offering a toast as an apology, claiming she had accidentally broken an antique screen while visiting Yin Deng’s room a few days ago. She admitted her recklessness and promised to buy a better one as a gift another day.
"I didn't care about that screen; it was just a gift from one of her long-time patrons. She was jealous enough to smash it, so I let her. I didn't expect this fool would dare to poison me in public. It was my own momentary negligence; I failed to see through her method," Yin Deng said coldly. "At the very least, before the poison fully took hold and I sank into a stupor, I grabbed this wench and dragged her onto the carriage with me. We were kidnapped by the thugs together. This slut won't have a good end either; the poison she took is far worse than mine. Her master wants to silence her. She hasn't got many hours left to live."
After listening, I asked, *In your opinion, Sister, why did this happen? Could it be that your identity at the Temple has been exposed?*
Yin Deng’s expression darkened slightly, but it was mostly replaced by the calm of one who had accepted death. *Likely so. In this line of work, this day comes sooner or later. This isn't the first time. I won't cause trouble for the Temple. If they try to force a confession, I'll just end it cleanly.*
The cold desolation in her words filled me with pity. It reminded me of how Wei Qingming always felt in her heart that today might not lead to a tomorrow. Her carefree and flirtatious attitude was entirely built upon a mindset of living for the moment amidst constant peril. The burden weighing on them was simply too heavy. I hurriedly urged her: *Sister! Don't say such things. Let's find a way out together!*
Yin Deng smiled. *Yes. It might not necessarily be that I'm exposed. Let's find a way out first.*
The priority was to figure out who the enemy actually was. With Jin Zhu’s own abilities, she couldn't have harmed Yin Deng; someone must have instigated it and provided the secret poison. Although my arms were tied tightly, it wasn't difficult to perform hand seals. I also had to thank the bird-man for his oversight—he had forgotten to bind our legs. I shuffled over to Jin Zhu’s side and first extracted her memories to take a look.
She had indeed been heavily poisoned and had little life left in her. In her memories of tonight, before she moved against Yin Deng, she had been approached at the banquet by a man. He first acted the part of a sympathetic listener, then used his silver tongue to stir up her intense jealousy and hatred toward Yin Deng. Finally, he meticulously provided the poison and taught her how to use it. As it turned out, the poison wasn't in the wine she offered, but on Yin Deng’s zither and in the incense burning beside it. Touch and inhalation—a double dose. That cup of wine was merely to accelerate the onset of the poison.
As for this man... he was Wu Ziming, a guest of Chancellor Zhang’s household.
When Yin Deng heard this, she let out a sudden, cold laugh. "So it’s Prince Yi’s dog. I should have known. Tonight, my mission was to eavesdrop on the bidding prices Prince Xuan set for several military supply contracts he favors. His 'brother,' Prince Yi, is truly closer than kin, losing no time in sending a venomous dog to clear the path for him." Her eyes flickered, and her voice grew a bit quieter. "The intelligence hasn't been obtained yet. I was foolish and careless; I botched the task Master Wei entrusted to me."
"Don't blame yourself. How could Qingming blame you? As long as you escape safely, she will surely be happy," I smiled. "Seeing you so submissive toward her all of a sudden makes me feel quite unaccustomed. It’s more fun when you’re sharp-tongued and prickly with her."
Yin Deng finally let out a soft laugh. "You're pricking A-Zhi’s beloved; how can you find that fun?"
"She’s usually so dignified and proper that I can't win an argument against her. You're the only one who can make her eat her words, Sister. Of course I find it fun."
I was deliberately rambling to keep her mind off sacrificing herself for the country. Sure enough, the atmosphere lightened, and Yin Deng regained her usual charming and spirited demeanor. After laughing for a bit, I returned to the main topic, briefly recounting our side of the experience and raising a key point: "I don't know if I'm overthinking this, but this Wu Ziming and Zhang Zhuyi seem to have some connection. Listening to their casual conversations at home, I always felt every sentence had a deeper meaning, as if they were laden with hidden codes. Our two parties meeting here tonight—could it be that it wasn't a coincidence at all?"
"A fateful encounter..." Yin Deng mused for a moment, then suddenly said, "You are her beloved wife. Those two are the cousins of the Wen family who raised her. And I... in the eyes of outsiders, I am barely considered a confidante of the Third Young Master Wei. And here we all are, fallen into this trap together..."
I began to feel a chill of horror. If we all truly died at the hands of the Thousand Colors Palace, with Wei Qingming’s ruthless nature and her heaven-reaching methods, she would surely turn the capital upside down and crush it. The Thousand Colors Palace would no longer be able to hide in the shadows with its meager assets; the Ninth Envoy Wei would ensure it was annihilated down to the very roots.
Despite these thoughts, I teased her with a grin, "My, it seems the enemy truly holds 'Wei Tian' in high regard, considering her such a formidable figure! I suppose I should feel honored by association!"
"Of course they must," Yin Deng said flatly. "In recent years, four-fifths of the Temple belongs to Eunuch Feng. Within that, Master Wei and Master Hou Yi each hold half. To say the three of them *are* the entire Yingzhao Temple would not be an exaggeration."
"I understand now," I said. "So, the faction behind Zhang Zhuyi and Wu Ziming aims for the Demon Zither, for the military contracts, and also to provoke Yingzhao Temple into destroying the Thousand Colors Palace for them. The Thousand Colors Palace’s pursuit has always been everything related to the Four Divine Artifacts; seizing Mingyu’s demon weapon was a certainty. This other faction’s goals are far too complex—they want the ancient artifacts of legendary power, and they want the massive profits vital to the nation. Just what kind of person possesses such a grand and terrifying ambition..."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 金翅大鹏 | Golden-Winged Great Peng | A mythological bird-like creature in Buddhist and Chinese mythology. |
| 宣王 | Prince Xuan | A member of the imperial family returning to the capital. |
| 宜王 | Prince Yi | Another prince, likely a rival to Prince Xuan. |
| 金烛 | Jin Zhu | "Golden Candle," a courtesan and rival to Yin Deng. |
| 吴子明 | Wu Ziming | A guest/advisor (清客) in Chancellor Zhang's household. |
| 侯奕 | Hou Yi | A high-ranking official in Yingzhao Temple. |
| 魏天 | Wei Tian | Likely a formal name or title for Wei Qingming. |
| 九令使 | Ninth Envoy | A specific rank or title held by Wei Qingming within the Temple. |
