Chapter 55

Xiao Ming brought Cheng Shanping to Tie Miaqing’s presence. Sun Ping poked Cheng Shanping a couple of times, releasing the mute restriction on him, but not giving him the strength to shout or the full flow of blood, though at least he could speak.

Cheng Shanping immediately asked, "Boss, what do you mean? Why are you treating me like this?" He looked furious.

Zhu Shangbiao, who had followed, looked from one to the other, also wanting to know what was going on.

The eyes under the straw hat were complex. After a moment of staring at him, Tie Miaqing said, "Old Cheng, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Cheng Shanping analyzed this sentence in his mind, inwardly confirming his suspicions, a bitter taste spreading in his heart, but on the surface, he looked surprised, "Boss, I don’t understand what you’re saying."

Yuming, frowning, interrupted, "Let’s save some time. Cheng Shanping, I don’t want to hear your excuses. I just want to know who is lying in ambush outside." He was dissatisfied with Tie Miaqing’s inefficiency and had had enough of her delays, so he stepped in to interrogate personally.

Or perhaps, he had already achieved his goal, having taken control of Cheng Shanping, and now had no qualms about taking action!

This statement shocked Zhu Shangbiao; even a fool could tell what was being suspected.

Sun Ping also closely watched his reaction.

Cheng Shanping was furious, "What are you talking about?" His eyes darted to the others, and he hurriedly defended himself, "Boss, it must be this guy. He has always been at odds with me and is used to deceiving others. It must be him who is framing me. Whatever he says, he must have ulterior motives. You mustn’t be fooled by him!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shangbiao, who was unaware of the situation, looked at Yuming with some suspicion, knowing that he and Cheng Shanping were at odds.

Emotionally, Yuming was still an outsider, and anyone would prefer to trust their own people.

Yuming’s face was full of disdain and contempt. He reached behind him, took out another incense stick, lit it, and blew away the smoke, "You’re not worth me wasting my energy on. I need to save some energy to break through. I’ll give you two choices. First, you can choose not to speak. I just need to take you hostage to the cave entrance. Whether you’ve been wronged or not will be clear in an instant. If the people outside have nothing to do with you, they won’t care. If they see you being held hostage and come out, what does that say about you?"

Cheng Shanping’s feigned anger twisted his face.

"At this point, being stubborn is meaningless. If I take you hostage to the cave entrance, do you think the people outside will spare us for your sake? If we use you as a hostage and they refuse to let us go, the knife on your neck will be faster than their actions. We will send you on your way first. If you have such great charm that they will be wary of us because of you, then it’s perfect. We can use you to clear the way and escape."

Tie Miaqing, Sun Ping, and Zhu Shangbiao all pondered his words.

Cheng Shanping’s face grew even more grim. He could imagine the scene if he were pushed out; the people outside would certainly come out immediately.

Clang! Yuming suddenly drew his sword, startling a few people. Sun Ping quickly pulled Cheng Shanping behind him, unwilling to let anyone kill Cheng Shanping without knowing the full story.

However, they were overthinking it. Yuming’s sword tip touched the ground, drawing a square box with an arrow inside.

He lowered the torch in his other hand, illuminating the drawing, and lifted his chin, "Mr. Cheng, can you see clearly?"

Cheng Shanping, who was not blind, twitched his lips, widened his eyes, and swallowed hard, slowly raising his gaze to meet Yuming’s.

This drawing left Tie Miaqing and the others puzzled, not knowing what it meant, but sensing its impact on Cheng Shanping.

Yuming cheerfully provided the answer, tapping the pattern with his sword, "Do you think we didn’t know you were leaving markers for them? This is what you left when you left the ancient forest. Do you think we didn’t know you met someone last night?"

Tie Miaqing was inwardly shocked, staring at Yuming. If what he said was true, it meant this guy had known the traitor was Cheng Shanping all along, but hadn’t said anything. What was his intention?

Last night? Zhu Shangbiao thought of something.

Cheng Shanping’s eyes were fixed on Yuming, the humiliation of being exposed making him want to tear Yuming apart.

"Don’t look at me like that. Don’t even think about dragging me down with you. You know very well that even if I fall into the hands of those people outside, I won’t die!

They need my help to find the third fire cricket; they won’t kill me. I can use the two fire crickets and my own life as leverage to ensure Boss and the others can escape. After all, they want the fire crickets, not Boss and the others’ lives. I believe they will make the wise choice.

Once Boss and the others are free, those people outside won’t dare to kill me!

Who am I? I am a scholar from Jin State, escorted by the Sannan Mansion all the way to the capital for the imperial exams.

There are very few people in this world who dare to openly defy the Sannan Mansion!

Not to mention, the old monster of Qixia was slapped to death by the Sannan Mansion!

Those sneaky people outside, let them try to touch me!

If they violate the neutrality rules of Youya, the Sannan Mansion will demand an explanation, and Youya won’t be able to protect them.

Once I explain the stakes, they won’t dare to touch me!"

Tie Miaqing and the others were stunned, feeling that his logic made sense.

Suddenly, it was like this, and Cheng Shanping felt like he had just stepped into a void. His face was filled with anger and frustration, feeling completely exposed and powerless before this young man, without even the courage to speak harshly.

"Do you think we need to waste more words on you? It’s because Boss has feelings for you! You know what kind of person Boss is. To put it nicely, she’s kind-hearted; to put it harshly, she’s too soft. Even now, she can’t bring herself to harm you and still wants to give you a chance. But she doesn’t understand why you did this; she just wants to know the truth. Boss said that if you give her an explanation, she will let you go!"

Yuming’s words left the scene in silence, as if he had said everything that needed to be said.

Cheng Shanping’s expression gradually showed difficulty, more so with a sense of helplessness and guilt.

The others gradually understood. Tie Miaqing’s eyes showed a deep sense of pain, and she didn’t care about the promises Yuming had made on her behalf, nor would she deny them. Yuming had indeed read her mind correctly; she couldn’t bring herself to kill someone from Miaoting.

Sun Ping suddenly asked sternly, "Old Cheng, why did you do this?" His tone was filled with uncontrollable anger.

Zhu Shangbiao glared, his fists clenched.

Sun Ping’s stern question broke through Cheng Shanping’s facade. He looked helpless and gave a difficult answer, "It’s the people from Jianyuan Hall!" He looked at Tie Miaqing, who was now filled with sorrow, "Boss, I never wanted to betray Miaoting, but I had no choice. You know, I have an old mother, and she is in the hands of Jianyuan Hall."

"Jianyuan Hall?"

"Miaoting and Jianyuan Hall have no grudges. Why would they use such despicable means?"

The three from Miaoting were shocked, each with their own questions.

Cheng Shanping stared at Tie Miaqing, smiling bitterly and shaking his head, "Boss, think again. Is there really no connection?"

This question left the three from Miaoting deep in thought.

What’s going on? Yuming was puzzled, looking at their reactions, guessing that there must be some unresolved issues between Miaoting and Jianyuan Hall.

Cheng Shanping: "Boss, if you still don’t understand why they kidnapped my mother, are you really that blind?"

This question clearly left Tie Miaqing in great distress.

Sun Ping suddenly asked Cheng Shanping, "The boss’s secret trip should have been unknown to outsiders. Why did they suddenly attack? Is it related to you?"

Cheng Shanping seemed unable to face the question, looking up and closing his eyes, "I leaked the boss’s whereabouts to Jianyuan Hall. I had no choice. If I didn’t agree, they would have disgraced my mother!"

"You..." Zhu Shangbiao was furious, stepping forward to strike him.

Sun Ping stopped him, shaking his head and nodding toward Tie Miaqing, indicating that she should handle it.

Tie Miaqing lowered her head, her face hidden under the straw hat, making it impossible for outsiders to see her expression.

Yuming, confused, couldn’t help but ask, "What’s the grudge between you and Jianyuan Hall?"

Sun Ping replied, "This is none of your business. You don’t need to ask." Clearly, they didn’t want outsiders to know, indicating there were secrets they couldn’t share.

Yuming sneered, "If we’re talking about the cause and effect, how is it not related to me, since I’m the one who’s trapped? Since you don’t want to say, I won’t force you. Cheng Shanping, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Why did you start off against me, even trying to kill me? Was it just my imagination, or why?"

Cheng Shanping immediately turned and glared, "If it weren’t for your interference, would it have come to this? If you couldn’t find the fire cricket, would it have turned out this way?"

A few words revealed the whole truth, and everyone understood.

Jianyuan Hall might not have relied on Miaoting to find the fire cricket, but once Miaoting found it, Cheng Shanping couldn’t afford not to report it to Jianyuan Hall, or he wouldn’t be able to explain himself later.

"..." Yuming was speechless, understanding now.

It turned out that his initial offer to help had already made Cheng Shanping uneasy. The days of conflict weren’t about not trusting him but about trying to stop him, which was why he had wanted to kill him from the start, not even giving him a chance.

Whether Cheng Shanping didn’t want everyone to know he was a traitor or was trying to protect them, it didn’t matter now.

Tie Miaqing, head still lowered, said painfully, "Go, from now on, we owe each other nothing and will never see each other again!"

Sun Ping slowly released Cheng Shanping but didn’t completely lift the restrictions on him. He gestured toward a direction leading to the end of the underground passage, "We can’t let you send a message now. Go hide at the end."

Cheng Shanping, his legs weak, stumbled forward, passing by Tie Miaqing and saying, "Boss, I’m not afraid of death, but I don’t want to die. My mother is still in their hands, and I can’t die now!"

Tie Miaqing was silent, turning her head away.

Cheng Shanping smiled bitterly, knowing this woman no longer wanted to speak to him or even look at him, just like Sun Ping and his wife.

The boss was severely injured, and two old comrades had died. He didn’t expect forgiveness from them, so he somberly removed his bag, unloading the group’s spare supplies, and then stumbled forward.

But before he could go far, his body trembled, and he let out a muffled groan.

A flash of cold light reflected off the torch on the cave wall.

Tie Miaqing and the others turned in shock.

They saw the hilt of a sword protruding from Cheng Shanping’s back, blood quickly spreading on his clothes.