Chapter 574: Unable to Live, Unable to Die
"When did you start planning all this? And how did you find out the map to Penglai was hidden in the Eighth Prince’s eyes? Also, who was your inside man in the Imperial Palace?" Ye Qianning didn’t beat around the bush.
Qin Huai cowered, seemingly unwilling to speak.
Ye Qianning shot Ying Ge a look.
Ying Ge was shocked to hear the string of revelations, but she quickly recovered. She stepped forward, grabbed him by the hair, dragged him over, and kicked him in the knee.
"AHH—"
Qin Huai screamed in agony.
"Talk," Ying Ge said, applying more pressure with her foot.
Sweat beaded on Qin Huai’s forehead from the pain. "I... I am... the royal consort of East Shu... How dare you do this..."
"I’d dare to kill the Princess East Shu, let alone a mere consort like you," Ye Qianning sneered.
Qin Huai’s eyes widened in utter shock. "You... you really killed the princess...?"
He had vaguely suspected it, but hearing it with his own ears was still a great shock.
"And she died a horrible death."
"You... If the Monarch of East Shu finds out you dared to kill the princess, he will... he will definitely..." Qin Huai gasped.
"We weren’t the ones who killed the Princess East Shu," Ye Qianning cut him off.
Qin Huai glared at her.
"She was burned alive in a great fire. It seems your mole isn’t so loyal to you after all," Ye Qianning said sarcastically.
"What... are you talking about?"
"A huge fire on the mountain, burned everything to the ground. The arsonist didn’t want East Shu to get down the mountain, nor did they want the Eighth Prince to. Who do you think started that fire?" Ye Qianning offered him a helpful hint.
Upon hearing this, Qin Huai’s expression fell. Thinking it over, he grasped the main point. ’That person in the Imperial Palace is truly a master schemer.’
Even if East Shu obtained the Penglai map from the Eighth Prince’s eyes, they wouldn’t be able to get off the mountain.
And if they failed, the Eighth Prince wouldn’t be able to get down the mountain either, posing no threat to her position.
"With an ally like that, don’t you want to make her pay?" Ye Qianning’s cold voice rang out again.
Qin Huai looked up, his lips tight as he forced out a few words: "Don’t try to fool me."
"Fine, don’t believe me. That person in the palace really found a good ally, one who’s willing to die to keep her secrets. In that case..."
"If you have the guts, then kill me. I won’t say a thing." Qin Huai knew that if he talked, he would surely die. If he kept silent, he might just survive.
"It’s fine if you don’t talk. Just let me know when you feel like it." After speaking, Ye Qianning took a pill from her storage space and handed it to Ying Ge.
Ying Ge took it, pried open Qin Huai’s mouth, and threw it in.
Qin Huai tried to spit it out.
Ying Ge clamped his mouth shut and kicked him in the chest.
Qin Huai let out a muffled grunt. The pill slid down his throat and into his stomach. His face was a mask of panic. "What did you give me?"
"When you decide you want to talk, remember to wave your hand," Ye Qianning said, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
Before Qin Huai could react, a bone-deep pain wracked his entire body. He instantly curled into a ball from the agony, and a moment later, a heart-wrenching scream tore out.
"AHH—"
The scream instantly echoed throughout the entire cave.
Qian Fanji and his men were "facing the wall." Although their hearing was muffled by their Inner Strength, they still heard that desperate roar and couldn’t help but turn their heads.
Not far away, Qin Huai was on the ground, rolling around and screaming incessantly from the pain. After thrashing about a few times, the man’s Inner Strength gave out, and all that remained were his agonized cries.
"I... I... Kill me..." The pain was agonizing. When he opened his eyes, it was as if he saw monsters coming for him.
Fear filled his eyes. His body convulsed violently, and another wretched scream followed.