Chapter Ninety-Eight: Staying in the City, the Ungrateful Wretch

And as for Di Ying... ever since Qin Tiezhong had discovered him at Drunken Verse Hall, a prickling unease had lingered down his back, as though Di Ying's next target would be none other than himself.

So after receiving news from the palace, Qin Tiezhong had planned all of this.

He bore the title of the Capital's Great Orator; in wit, he was certain he was no less clever than the fat Di fellow.

Now all he needed was to wait.

Wait until Xue Huaiyi had left the palace, left the city... heh heh heh.

...

When the last streak of sunset still clung to the edge of the sky, Xue Huaiyi at last climbed trembling onto his horse and, surrounded by attendants, departed from the imperial palace.

Dizzy and seeing double, he wanted nothing more than to hurry back to White Horse Temple and eat, drink, and replenish himself properly.

At that moment, one of the monk attendants, seeing Xue Huaiyi swaying on horseback and sweating profusely, suggested, "Master, I hear a medicinal cuisine hall has opened in the city. Their supreme nourishing soup is said to be made with truly authentic ingredients and to be most beneficial to the body. Would you like to stop there for a bowl before we go?"

At this, Xue Huaiyi's eyes widened at once. He chided weakly, "If there is such a fine place, why say so only now? Hurry up. Clear the way."

The monks who accompanied him immediately answered loudly, shouting as they drove people aside and trotted toward the medicinal cuisine hall.

Not only Xue Huaiyi, even these false monks needed a proper tonic.

As for the meat ban, to them it was nothing but a fart.

And to the shadowy proprietor behind that medicinal cuisine hall, even more so.

...

In the Tribunal, Lai Wangcai let out a fart.

He shifted his backside, which had become sore from the chair because of how thin he was, and asked the person who had just whispered to him, "Is what you say true?"

"Absolutely true."

Wang Hongbin nodded repeatedly and thumped his own neck in guarantee. "This subordinate followed your orders, my lord, and long ago planted a watcher beside Qin Tiezhong.

"The message was just secretly sent back by that watcher.

"My lord Lai, Qin Tiezhong has done so many things behind your back. This is rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Lai Wangcai gave a sinister smile.

"When this official was still mixing about in the streets, that Qin Tiezhong did a great deal for us in procuring all manner of things and came up with many ideas.

"That is why I valued him so highly and promoted him with all my strength. Who would have thought he was such an ungrateful wretch, impossible to tame.

"Hmph. Does he really think imperial intent is something just anyone can divine? Idiot.

"Still, he remains useful. And at present, he only wants to seize a little merit for himself. Let him go ahead.

"Besides, what he is about to do will also benefit me.

"After he has killed Di Ying and then finds himself punished by His Majesty, he will naturally become obedient, honest, and continue to follow my orders.

"We should still give the people below a chance to shine, shouldn't we? Even a grasshopper has to bounce a few times.

"But from now on...

"Keep him at arm's length. If he dares to leap, strike him down and set an example for those beneath us."

"My lord Lai is a master strategist, truly beyond compare," Wang Hongbin hurriedly flattered.

Lai Wangcai laughed, the sound cold and sinister as a wind from the underworld.

...

Di Miao, pressed against the crack of the door and listening for movement outside, also heard a faint current of wind.

It was like the soft whimpering sound made by air passing through a narrow gap.

Di Miao felt a faint breeze brush her cheek.

At once her mind began to sketch the scene.

With wind passing through here, the wall directly opposite this door must be solid. On the left and right there should be narrow passageways, open to the outside.

Or perhaps the passage was longer, with a larger ventilation opening above; only then could the wind descending from above produce such a sound.

There should be no one outside this door.

Otherwise the wind would be obstructed, and the sound would change.

Once she thought it through, Di Miao tugged at the handle on the wooden door, but it would not open.

She pushed again, and the door moved.

But it gave off an ear-splitting creak.

The sound had not been loud in itself, but the corridor's echo magnified it, making Di Miao's heart pound wildly in an instant.

For a moment she even held her breath.

Yet she did not dare let go, fearing the door would spring back and make noise again.

After a moment's thought, she pulled a silver hairpin from her hair and wedged its tip into the gap between the door and the floor. Only after it was firmly set did she slowly release her hand.

No sound. Very quiet.

Di Miao then quickly turned around, blew out the oil lamp on the wall, and groped her way back to the door in the dark. Feeling along carefully, she poured the lamp oil into the latch mechanism between the door and the wall.

When that was done, she pushed the door while withdrawing the hairpin.

The door opened soundlessly.

Di Miao let out half a breath of stale air.

She pushed the door open a crack and peered out through the slit.

There were dimly lit oil lamps on the walls of the passage outside as well. The light was faint, but not so poor that Di Miao could fail to confirm that the situation matched her deduction exactly.

At once she slipped out and pressed herself against the corridor wall, edging sideways toward the corner where the transverse passage began.

With a hairpin in one hand and a boot knife in the other, she reached the corner, swiftly leaned out to glance, then just as swiftly drew back.

There was no one in the transverse passage, and on both sides there were earth-and-stone steps leading upward.

Di Miao quickly turned right, entered the transverse passage, and mounted the earthen steps.

Looking up, she saw an exit above, blocked by a wooden board.

She strained to listen. Outside, it seemed, there was some sound.

After climbing two more steps, she could hear clearly.

It was the low conversation of two men.

"Hey? How long are we supposed to stand guard here? It's already dark, and nobody's brought us even a bite to eat. They can't be planning to starve the two of us to death here, can they? And what about the girl below? Is she going to be starved too?"

"Relax, relax. Our master knows what he's doing. Look at this sky—Di Fatty should be showing up any moment now. Once we trade the girl for him, we can go back and eat and drink to our hearts' content. If no one brought us food, that should be the reason."

"Ah, I just hope that fat fool hurries up. He's really dragging his feet to death. We kidnapped his younger sister before noon, and now it's dark and he still hasn't shown his face. What? Does he not want his sister anymore?"

"If he doesn't want her, then fine. At worst, we'll find another chance later to kidnap his mother, his aunt, his grandmother, whatever. His family is so large that we'll always be able to snatch someone. I don't believe he won't come to exchange them."

"Forget it. If we drag innocent family members into this, we may get struck by heaven's thunder."

No sooner had the words fallen than a thunderous crash suddenly rang out overhead.

Crack!

A peal of thunder shook the night sky, followed by a blinding bolt of lightning of overwhelming force.

Crackle!

It struck the crown of a nearby tree as if it had come down upon them.

"Aaah!"

Caught completely off guard, the two men screamed and jumped in terror, clutching each other and shivering violently.

After quite a while, when the surroundings had grown calm again, one of them shoved the other away and, with trembling lips, scolded, "Y-you had better stop spouting nonsense!"

The man who had been pushed aside was startled again. Hearing the rebuke, he scratched his head and said, "I'm going down. The passage won't get rained on, and it won't be struck by lightning. Besides, we can still keep an eye on that girl."

As he spoke, he reached to lift a wooden board set into the ground not far away.