Translated by: etvolare

  “Your lord? So now you’re some loyal servant devoted to protecting your master? You disregarded his wishes and hauled him out here, all trussed up. You’re about to use him to trade for your own future! How do you still have the nerve to say such a thing?

  “Listen to you being all right and proper, working for the emperor. Do you think us all for fools? You’re doing all this for your own selfish interest yet, you still have the cheek to flatter yourselves like that!” Qin Yining slowly paced in front of the two, fixing her stare on them.

  “If we talk about shamelessness, no one would dare say they’re first if you guys claim to be second. I have a whole new level of respect for you two! Well done, well done!”


  Her words made Feiying and Feilian flush with anger. They didn’t expect such a soft and delicate looking woman to spit words sharp enough to run a person through, nailing them into a bloody mess.

  Feilian was the easily irritated sort and started to curse. “As a woman, you should know your place in the home instead of stirring up trouble outside! You have been surrounded by the Tatar troops, if you don’t find a way out, you’ll just be left in these foreign lands forever!

  “Being from Great Zhou, you should think of a way to return to Great Zhou! I advise you to let us bring Second Master Lu back. Perhaps then, on behalf of your merit, the second elder master may put in a few good words and let you safely return to Great Zhou! After all, you’re just a woman. The emperor won’t really care to make life difficult for a woman.”


  Although Feilian’s words were very unpleasant, his reasoning was quite clear.

  And while the two Minuo tribesmen who’d come with Uncle Alham didn’t understand what they were saying, the elder did!

  Their current situation was just as Feiying said. Stealing the provisions had enraged the Utkin Khan, and the large number of wagons they carried painted continuous targets on their backs. Soldiers would keep coming after them. They couldn’t even escape because they were ultimately still of the Tatar people at the end of the day, followers of the Tatar way of life.

  However, Qin Yining and Lu Heng weren’t! In fact, they really could leave at any time!

  But during this most challenging period, neither of them shrank back. They both decided to throw their lot in with the Minuo tribesmen.

  The realization quite moved Uncle Alham, and his face flushed with emotion.

  Qin Yining didn’t notice Uncle Alham’s mental journey. She just felt that the way these two could still be so convinced of their morality after betraying their former master was truly too disgusting. “Seize them.”


  Feiying and Feilian hastily retreated backwards, but even so, Feilian didn’t forget to throw down a threat.

  “Qin, I advise you to reconsider and think about your family at home! If you let us go, we really can say a few words in your favor! Don’t tell me that because you’re running with the Minuo now, you plan on never returning to Great Zhou for the rest of your life!”


  Qin Yining fixed her stare on them. She didn’t feel like exchanging more words and just kept silent, her face calm.

  This time, Cao Yuqing put the full extent of her martial arts on display as she effortlessly knocked them on the ground before taking a rope from Zhao Promise, pinning their arms behind their backs and tightly wrapping them up.

  Lu Heng looked at Cao Yuqing in astonishment. The two had both been his bodyguards, yet they were subdued in just a few moves. Moreover, it’d been done as easily as grabbing two chicks. Seeing this, Lu Heng couldn’t help but doubt the capabilities of his former bodyguards.

  Liao Zhibing looked at the anguished expression on Lu Heng’s face before looking back at the two on the floor. “What do we do next? How do we deal with these two?”


  Qin Yining looked back at Lu Heng. But when she saw his dark expression and scrunched brows, clearly stuck in a dilemma, she sighed.

  Lu Heng pursed his lips. “Just let them go.”


  The two had clearly just betrayed him, yet despite that, he was still magnanimous and showed leniency. This really gave Qin Yining pause. Am I being too ruthless?

  Uncle Alham didn’t agree with Lu Heng’s decision. “If we let them go and they tell the soldiers, our location will be revealed. What do we do then?”


  Liao Zhibing and the Zhao brothers also nodded.

  Feiying and Feilian panicked this time. They started to struggle fiercely, appearing almost like two wiggling worms as they managed to arduously stand up, only to topple back over.

  “Alright, so the benevolent Second Master Lu wants to spare you two.” Cao Yuqing waved her hand with a sneer. “However, you two just can’t tell good from bad, not only betraying your old master, but even throwing away your dignity now. Really, I just can’t see why people like you deserve to live.”


  Feiying and Feilian’s faces whitened as they started to beg Lu Heng. “Second Master! Please recall how us brothers have sold our lives for you and always brave life and death on your wishes. On behalf of our previous accomplishments, please forgive us, just this once!”


  Seeing how miserable they looked, Lu Heng couldn’t help but hesitate. What might’ve happened to my old subordinates after a new patriarch took power?

  Unlike trees and plants, humans had their own feelings and thoughts. Furthermore, he’d never been a ruthless sort.