Xiao Nanhui could not actually bring Su Pingchuan back to her room.
His status was different from Hao Bai’s; if she truly did such a thing, A-Kuang and his lot would easily become suspicious.
Thus, despite her internal reluctance, she had Su Pingchuan locked in a makeshift cell. She made a show of starving him for three days, claiming she would wait until he was too weak to resist before "dealing" with him.
Though A-Kuang said nothing, she estimated that the Bai clan’s people would likely arrive in a few days to claim the prisoner.
She was anxious, yet she had to maintain a facade of absolute composure. By the night of the third day, she finally managed to drink the bandits under the table.
With a few words, she dismissed the Nanqiang guards at the door. After repeatedly confirming that no one was around, she first sent Hao Bai inside to check on the unlucky soul’s injuries.
About the time it took for half a stick of incense to burn, Hao Bai emerged carrying his small medical chest.
Xiao Nanhui, who had been waiting outside while rubbing her hands and stamping her feet against the cold, hurried to meet him.
"How is he?"
Hao Bai tucked his hands into his sleeves, wearing an inscrutable expression.
"He was hit by a poisoned dart—a type of frog toxin common here in Nanqiang. It causes instantaneous full-body weakness. Fortunately, he has a hardy constitution. Despite the delay, there is no grave danger, though his meridians are currently obstructed, leaving him without strength. He will need the antidote to make a full recovery."
"Can you neutralize the poison?"
He gave a cold snort, his voice brimming with inflated self-confidence and a touch of disdain for her ignorance.
Xiao Nanhui slapped him hard on the shoulder and hissed under her breath, "If you can treat it, just say so! What are you huffing for?"
Hao Bai glared at her fiercely, looking as though he wanted to retaliate. However, remembering the strength in this woman’s hands, he sullenly withdrew his claws and retreated to his room with his medical chest, looking quite resentful.
Xiao Nanhui stood outside the cell for a moment. Estimating that Su Pingchuan should be decently dressed by now, she finally stepped inside.
The cell was a temporary structure she had ordered built earlier. Though crude, it was relatively clean. The lighting was poor, and since it was now late autumn, the nights were bitterly cold.
Su Pingchuan’s armor was nowhere to be seen—likely stripped by A-Kuang’s men to be sold for profit. His white inner robes bore faint traces of blood. He was huddled in a corner and did not look up when he heard someone enter.
Xiao Nanhui cleared her throat. After a long silence, Su Pingchuan finally raised his head, his tone unfriendly.
"What are you here for now? To see if I’m dead yet?"
She had intended to offer some words of comfort, but his remark sparked a flicker of irritation. "If I wanted you dead, you’d be long gone. Why would I need to come see it in person?"
Su Pingchuan snorted coldly and fell silent again.
At the end of the day, he was still just a youth. Without his armor, he looked no different from any other young scion of a noble family in Que City.
She sighed, reaching into her robes to pull out two steamed buns, which she held out to him.
Looking at the two buns—which had been pulled from her inner garments without even a scrap of paper to wrap them—Su Pingchuan turned his head away. "I’m not hungry."
Xiao Nanhui methodically peeled away the thin outer skin of a bun and pressed it into his hand. "A general who lost a battle and yet dares to find fault with a white flour bun... if word got out, people would die of laughter."
Su Pingchuan had not eaten a single grain of rice for days, surviving only on sips of dirty water. His stomach was filled with nothing but bitter bile. After a brief struggle, he took a savage bite.
Once a bun was down, his complexion finally softened slightly. She then handed him a waterskin.
"Tell me, how were you so careless as to get captured?"
Su Pingchuan drained half the skin in one go. Wiping his mouth, he spoke with a voice full of resentment. "If someone hadn't leaked the route of our surprise attack, how could the battle at Famang Ridge have gone wrong?"
This was unexpected. "What do you mean? Are you saying there is a Bai clan mole within the Tiancheng Army?"
"The Guangyao Battalion has always had the strictest background checks. I don't believe there could be a spy among us, but the facts speak for themselves. My subordinates and I have suffered a great loss. If that traitor is allowed to continue, then..."
"Do you have a suspect, or any clues regarding this spy?"
Su Pingchuan stopped abruptly, as if the last bite of the bun had stuck in his throat. It took a long moment before he squeezed out two words.
"I don't."
Xiao Nanhui felt the urge to roll her eyes, but considering his current state of mind, she forced herself to suppress it.
"No matter. All is fair in war; it’s just the way of things."
Su Pingchuan cast a strange look at her. "Could it be that you are a spy as well?"
*This brat,* she thought, *his tongue is truly foul.* She shouldn't have been so considerate just now; she should have mocked him mercilessly.
Just as she was about to snap back, he continued, "I heard someone delivered a map of the Bijiang terrain to the army. I never imagined it was you. However, since this surprise attack failed, the Bai clan will be on high alert. It is likely unsafe for you to remain here much longer."
Xiao Nanhui blinked, swallowing her retort.
Though she hadn't spent much time with this General of the Left, it wasn't hard to see that he was a straightforward young master. He might be arrogant, aloof, and haughty, but he wasn't truly a bad person.
How did such a precious—and frankly, somewhat dim-witted—ancestor end up being sent on a flanking maneuver mission?
Furthermore, Prince Xuanyuan currently had only this one son. How could he bear to send him to this slaughterhouse?
"I say..." She hesitated, then decided it was better to ask directly. "For this campaign... you didn't run away from home to join, did you?"
The moment the question left her lips, she saw his slightly relaxed expression turn unnatural again.
The answer was clearly seventy to eighty percent 'yes.'
She thought of how hard she had worked to build her merits, literally risking her head to accept the Emperor's mission. Meanwhile, here was someone who had a perfectly safe place to stay but insisted on squeezing his way onto the edge of a blade.
Comparing oneself to others truly was infuriating.
"What's wrong with Que City? Why did you have to come here? Now that things have gone wrong, even if you don't think of yourself, you should think of Prince Xuanyuan. If he knew something happened to you..."
"What? Are you afraid my father will punish you once he finds out?" Su Pingchuan interrupted, making no effort to hide the cold mockery in his voice. "Rest assured, he won't. My dear stepmother has been pregnant for several months. The physician says it's a boy. Even if I die out here, his lineage won't end."
Caught off guard by this sudden revelation of domestic grievances, Xiao Nanhui didn't know how to react. She simply handed him another bun.
Su Pingchuan took it and began stuffing it into his mouth. "You certainly are leisurely, having the heart to come and watch me make a fool of myself."
Xiao Nanhui knew he found her presence annoying, but she felt somewhat wronged. "It's not that I enjoy being cramped in this hellhole with you, but it's still too early."
Su Pingchuan glared at her. "It's the middle of the night. How is it early?"
Xiao Nanhui blew the dust off a corner and shifted her weight. "I told the guards I wanted to have some 'fun' with you and requested half an hour. If I leave before the time is up, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"
Su Pingchuan froze for a second. Then, realizing what she meant, the bun in his hand was instantly crushed out of shape.
"You woman... have you no shame?!"
This time, she couldn't help it. She rolled her eyes grandly.
Having spent the last few days seeing Hao Bai constantly, she had learned the finer points of eye-rolling through osmosis. This particular roll was executed to perfection.
"You, a grown man, need a woman to save you, and yet you have the nerve to call me shameless? If it weren't for the fact that we are colleagues of a sort, I should have just left you to those Nanqiang men to let you learn the true meaning of shame."
These words were like a resounding slap, turning Su Pingchuan’s face bright red.
He lowered his head and fell into a long silence.
She waited irritably for a while. When she glanced back, she saw his eyelashes were damp, and a teardrop the size of a bean was being held back with great effort.
"It is my own uselessness. My mother is gone, and my father no longer cares for me. After being captured like this, even if I don't die, returning would only bring further humiliation. If it makes things difficult for you, just hand me over to them."
In her life, she feared people's tears most of all, especially in a situation like this. Although she found his sudden melodramatic despondency childish, she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
"How could that be? You're overthinking it."
Su Pingchuan looked up at her gloomily. "You truly are terrible at comforting people."
Xiao Nanhui was speechless, but he continued on his own.
"They say the battlefield is the most dangerous place, but in my view, it doesn't compare to the inner manor. I witnessed the 'skills' cultivated in the back courtyard when I was a child. My mother died when I was three. I was raised by a concubine. Before the age of nine, I knew only how to compose poetry, paint, and admire flowers and beauties. I looked down most on those who brandished spears and staves, thinking them utterly uncouth."
Xiao Nanhui had a sudden realization. "No wonder you couldn't even beat a little girl like me back then. But how did you end up a military officer? Did my punch break your brain?"
Su Pingchuan’s mouth twitched. This woman really knew how to poke at a sore spot.
He took a deep breath and tried to speak as calmly as possible. "My father found out about the punch you gave me. Only then did he realize the concubine had long ago bribed the master teaching me riding and archery. My daily martial arts practice was all for show; I knew nothing of swords or horses, but I had learned how to cricket-fight and appreciate ballads. He gave me a severe thrashing that night. The next morning, he sent someone to take me to Taozhi Mountain to join the Six-Slasher Broken Sword Sect. I spent five years in bitter cultivation in the mountains before my father brought me home."
At the mention of Taozhi Mountain, Xiao Nanhui’s interest was piqued. "You learned your swordplay at Taozhi Mountain? No wonder your forms are so elegant. However, I don't think your frame is suited for the sword. You should try the Modao. When we get back, I can introduce you to some formidable masters..."
"I am a disciple of the Broken Sword Sect! How could I take another as my master?!" Su Pingchuan was incensed. He felt that this entire conversation had been a mistake. He turned his back on her sharply, refusing to look at her again.
*Fine, don't then. What are you getting so worked up about? With a temper like that, how did you even survive in the army?*
"Forget it, forget it." Xiao Nanhui, having met with a rebuff, rolled her eyes at him. She muttered to herself: *Considering you're younger than me, I'll just put it down to youthful arrogance.* As a senior, she naturally couldn't stoop to his level. "The time is about up. I'm leaving. This is a bandit den, after all, and the Bai clan will likely be here in a few days. Keep your wits about you. I'll find a way to get you out."
Having finished her instructions, Xiao Nanhui rose to leave. Halfway to the door, she remembered something and turned back.
Su Pingchuan was sitting facing the wall when he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and spun around. The woman who had returned grabbed his collar with both hands and gave a forceful yank. Half of his chest was exposed with a *shing*. Before he could react in his dazed state, that "demon claw" reached for his belt and gave it a violent pull, snapping the only cord on his person in two.
Xiao Nanhui stepped back to look. Feeling he still didn't look disheveled enough, she moved forward to mess up his hair. Finally snapping out of it, Su Pingchuan swung a hand and slapped Xiao Nanhui right across the face.
"What are you doing?!"
Xiao Nanhui rubbed the red mark on her forehead, her own temper rising. "If you've been 'violated,' you have to look the part! I've been in here with you for so long; if you're still clean and tidy, won't that give us away?!"
Su Pingchuan had likely never suffered such a profound humiliation in his life. His eyes turned red with fury. He was naturally fair-featured, and in this state, he looked like a wronged rabbit—a picture of absolute misery.
Seeing this, the fire in Xiao Nanhui’s heart died down.
She knew all too well how proud the legitimate son of a Prince must be. Falling to this state must have been agonizing enough. She lowered her voice to comfort him. "You've been starving for days; you don't have my strength. I know you feel awkward and can't bring yourself to do this. Don't worry, I will never tell a soul what happened today." She paused, then added, "Staying alive is more important than anything. Don't throw your life away over pride."
With that, Xiao Nanhui turned and left.
***
