Chapter Ninety-Nine: How Did You Survive?

The things Jiang Chen asked Shen Xueying to prepare were rather odd. First he wanted twenty candles, then a pair of large cymbals and a war drum.

Shen Xueying did not ask why. She immediately ordered the people outside to get to work at once. It was clear she was a highly capable woman as well; she knew Jiang Chen had probably come up with a good idea, and she did not want to interrupt his train of thought with needless questions.

At the same time, Jiang Chen yanked Wang Qiaoling out of the dark corner where he had been crouching, dragging him fully into the glare of the firelight. His movements were brutally rough, as if he and Wang Qiaoling bore some deep blood feud.

“Your Excellency, during this visit to comfort the troops, did His Majesty entrust you with any words to bring?”

“My lord, you’ve only been here one day, and yet such a grave incident has already occurred in the army. What on earth is the reason for this?”

“Oh, and to have broken through the iron horsemen of Northern Yan and returned safely to Yan Prefecture in one piece, My Lord truly must be blessed with immense fortune!”

Jiang Chen spoke to Wang Qiaoling one question after another, all of them centered on what had happened in the northern border camp. Shen Xueying stood silently to one side, watching the subtle changes flicker across Wang Qiaoling’s face.

She had come from the Night Punishment Bureau and had received all manner of interrogation training since childhood. At this moment she understood that Jiang Chen was using one of those methods, trying to provoke Wang Qiaoling’s mind and then draw reasonable conclusions from his reactions.

The process went on for a long time. Gradually, Jiang Chen noticed that whenever he mentioned the moment the Northern Yan army launched its attack, Wang Qiaoling’s reaction became most intense. At that time, Wang Qiaoling, the provincial governor stationed with the Qishan Iron Cavalry, had been the highest-ranking official from Great Qian present on the front line.

So naturally, he would have been the Northern Yan people’s most desired target. Yet he had somehow returned to Yan Prefecture unscathed. Something unusual had almost certainly happened in between.

Wang Qiaoling was already past fifty and had spent his whole life as a civil official. He had no skill with blades or spears, and it was impossible that he had escaped all the way back on his own by force of arms. That made no sense at all.

Jiang Chen then asked, “With so many Northern Yan men as savage as wolves and tigers, tearing apart everyone around you and spilling blood for seven paces, you must have been terrified, yes?”

“Quickly tell me which noble benefactor helped you preserve your life. He was truly a great man; you must repay that kindness.”

Before he had even finished speaking, Wang Qiaoling suddenly clutched his head with both hands and cried out loudly. His nerves seemed to have been struck hard in the vital point, and he began to tremble in fear.

Jiang Chen glanced at Shen Xueying, then turned and walked away from Wang Qiaoling.

Once the things I asked for are brought here, have several people come over and do their utmost to fake the chaos of a battlefield, with war drums thundering to the sky and metal clashing on metal. Also, make this prison as bright as possible.

Shen Xueying said, “Your method is certainly bold, but I don’t know whether his mind can take it.”

“Anyway, he’s a madman. We might as well try this all the way to the end. Perhaps there will be an unexpected gain. Didn’t I just pry out a clue a moment ago?”

“You think someone helped him escape, but that person may have had ill intentions. Wang Qiaoling knows he must keep it secret, or his life may be in danger?”

“More or less the same as what I was thinking. Why not try to infer this: what if the person who helped him stay alive was from the Profound Flame Manor, or even from Northern Yan?”

Shen Xueying’s eyes lit up. If Jiang Chen’s deduction was correct, then no matter which side Wang Qiaoling had benefited from, he truly could not reveal it, because secret dealings with a rebel organization or with a hostile foreign power were both crimes that led straight to utter ruin.

“I’m going somewhere to catch a nap. First arrange for someone to wake Lord Wang up. I believe he’ll say something valuable.”

Jiang Chen had a premonition that he could find a breakthrough in Wang Qiaoling. Before being taken into the dungeon, this man must have taken some extremely drastic measure to ensure that he would not break under the Ministry of Justice’s interrogation.

After all, a person’s spirit and will were limited, and the Ministry of Justice was infamous for its cruelty. Mere endurance would not be enough to withstand it. That explained why Wang Qiaoling had fallen into mental collapse when he was brought into the dungeon.

He wanted to keep the secret. If he could not, then the consequences would be unimaginably severe, far worse than becoming a madman and losing the office of governor of Yan Prefecture.

During the day, Jiang Chen had still been racking his brains for a way into this waterside pavilion dungeon. Yet after midnight, he was already able to come and go here as he pleased. He had even found a recliner and was taking a leisurely little nap.

After about half an hour, Jiang Chen heard the commotion coming from the far end of the corridor gradually die down, and he got up and walked inward.

Along the way he passed several cell doors. The prisoners, kept awake by the noise, were cursing at the windows, hurling abuse and venting their frustration with all their might.

Just then, something was suddenly tossed out from one of the windows and landed on the ground.

At first Jiang Chen did not pay it much mind, but when he passed by and looked down, he saw that it was unmistakably a Qishan Iron Cavalry identity badge, exactly the same as Old Wu’s!

The appearance of the badge immediately caught Jiang Chen’s attention. He bent down, picked it up, and walked straight to that suspicious cell.

“You’re from Qishan?”

Inside the cell, it was pitch black, yet a pair of eyes seemed to glimmer within it, carrying an indescribably eerie aura.

“I just heard you interrogating Wang Qiaoling, and you kept bringing up matters related to Qishan, so I deliberately threw out the badge to test you. It seems that even if you are not from Qishan, you must have a very deep connection to it.”

“So what if I am?”

Jiang Chen’s curiosity toward the person in the cell deepened a little.

“Find a way to get me out of here. I know of a shocking conspiracy that could bring the entire realm of Great Qian crashing down. If that thing truly happens, then Qishan will inevitably be dragged into it as well.”

“You wouldn’t want to see Qishan perish together with this hopeless court, would you?”

At first hearing, the man’s words sounded alarmist, perhaps merely an attempt to lure Jiang Chen into rescuing him.

“Even if everything you say is true, how do you plan to convince me to believe you?”

“After the Northern Yan army breaks through Liao City, they will split their forces to attack Beisong Mountain City and Wangchuan. The northern frontier noble houses, which have guarded Wangchuan through generations, will certainly choose to avoid the enemy’s edge and flee without a fight. In that way, Northern Yan’s southward invasion will become unstoppable.”

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes and pressed, “Who exactly are you, and how do you know Northern Yan’s strategy for invading the south? And on what grounds do you say the northern frontier noble houses will flee without a fight?”

The person in the cell laughed three times and replied, “When what I have said truly comes to pass, you will come looking for me again.”