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"The Xin royal family's surname is Shen?" Shen Tang suppressed the urge to vomit blood, forcing a smile: "Although you might not believe me, you're really overthinking it."
Qi Shan said, "I'm overthinking it?"
Shen Tang nodded vigorously: "Yes, you're overthinking it." Her "Shen" had no connection whatsoever to the Xin royal family! It was truly, truly, truly just a coincidence! Furthermore—"Yuanliang, don't you think it's absurd? If I really were the identity you're guessing, how would I be in this state now..." If Shen Tang wasn't the person involved, she would truly have believed it—logically, Qi Shan's guess was highly plausible, but the premise for the guess to be valid was that this body had to be a young man, and Shen Tang was certain her body hadn't grown any strange "tumors." She! was! a! genuine! girl!
"Not to mention, the officers escorting prisoners wouldn't easily let me go, nor would the Gong clan members accompanying me treat me as nothing..." Therefore, this body could not be the Gong Cheng he spoke of, much less the Xin Kingdom ruler's illegitimate child left with the Gong clan. Even if it were true, could Shen Tang admit it? A princess/prince of a fallen kingdom, how could they have a way to live? Qi Shan pondered upon hearing this. On the surface, he remained calm, making it difficult for Shen Tang to discern his true inner thoughts—whether he was convinced by her words, or stubbornly clung to his own deductions.
"I understand now."
Shen Tang: "..." Big Brother, what have you understood now? At this moment, she had an urge to drill a hole in Qi Shan's skull.
"Go, fill all the waterskins with tea. We're in a hurry."
"And mine..."
"Here too..."
The shouts of soldiers echoed outside the teahouse. Because the escort route was remote and the weather was too hot, their waterskins were long empty. They smiled and threw the waterskins at the proprietress's face. The proprietress endured it, her face red and swollen from the slap, forcing an ugly smile. She bent down to pick up the waterskins, clutching them to her chest, and said humbly, "Yes, yes, I'll go right away—" Her worried glance still fell on her wife. A soldier, seeing him procrastinate, kicked him on the butt and urged, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!" The owner stumbled, almost falling to the ground. The proprietress, held by the soldier, trembled with anger but dared not resist.
The couple's expressions, daring not to be angry or resist, pleased the soldiers. Arrogant laughter, accompanied by the proprietress's fearful sobs, reached the ears of every teahouse customer. Everyone was indignant, but dared not speak out. Even Shen Tang silently chanted, "Endure for a while, and the sea will be vast." After the third recitation, she stopped.
"Damn it, to hell with the vast sea!"
Qi Shan, who clearly heard Shen Tang swear, "..." He hadn't expected young lord Shen to appear cultured and refined, yet possess such a strong rebellious streak. Such vulgar language was usually uttered by street ruffians and uncouth brutes. Seeing Shen Tang stand up, he asked, "Is young lord Shen going to fight injustice?"
Shen Tang: "I'm not stupid." Standing up for others also required strategy. A frontal attack was unrealistic, but that didn't mean she couldn't play dirty. Shen Tang rolled up her sleeves, adjusted her innocent and harmless expression, and went to help the owner. The owner was flattered and quickly refused.
"Young lord, you mustn't..."
Shen Tang: "Why mustn't I? Nearly a hundred waterskins, when will they all be filled? I see this teahouse only has you two. I'm worried you'll be too busy and get harassed again, so it's better to finish quickly and send them off. Consider it my good intention..." The owner's eyes welled up upon hearing this. He choked, "Thank, thank you..." The couple was being tormented; only they knew the feeling of isolation, helplessness, and despair. They also knew that the customers had no obligation to help. Who didn't know how arrogant Geng Kingdom soldiers were? Burning, killing, looting, finding joy in murder, committing all sorts of evil. Everyone feared death.
During this time, a soldier came to check, his gaze sweeping several times over Shen Tang, who was huddled in a corner, diligently working. Due to her young age, quick work, and small, thin back, she was mistaken for a teahouse errand boy. After watching for a while, feeling nothing was amiss, he left. The two worked together for a quarter of an hour. They only finished filling all the waterskins when sweat beaded on their foreheads, completing the task.
Qi Shan asked curiously, "What did you do?"
Shen Tang took a sip of tea, her face practically radiating "joyful mood." "You'll know soon, Yuanliang."
Qi Shan raised an eyebrow, guessing: "Poison?"
"You guessed correctly."
"Where did you get the poison?" As his words fell, Qi Shan suddenly realized something. He then asked, "Spirit Language?"
Shen Tang smiled in response: "Yes."
Qi Shan took a deep breath: "Which one?" Or rather, which Spirit Language had she "ruined" or "subverted" this time? Shen Tang remained mysterious, slowly reciting, "The mouth of a green bamboo snake, the stinger on a yellow hornet's tail."
Qi Shan frowned: "This Spirit Language?" Like the previous phrase, "The plains of Zhou are rich and fertile, even bitter herbs taste sweet as candy," this one had also never been used, or was deemed unworthy of Spirit Language research. Interpreted literally, the poisons should be snake venom and hornet venom.
"Mm, I was afraid it wouldn't be lethal enough, so I added another ingredient. Yuanliang, why don't you guess which ingredient it is?" Qi Shan had a photographic memory. The ingredient Shen Tang mentioned must also be in the Spirit Language scroll he had copied. The only one that could be called a medicine was... He said without hesitation, "Strychnine?"
"Correct guess." Too bad there was no reward. Strychnine was unfamiliar, but mentioning the infamous "Numbness-Inducing Drug" would make it understandable.
Qi Shan: "..." His gaze towards Shen Tang became increasingly complex—this young lord Shen's "Way of Feudal Lords" was not only related to "agriculture," able to fertilize soil, but also able to conjure medicinal herbs from nothing? Shen Tang saw his peculiar expression, thinking he disapproved. "Yuanliang disdains this method?" A true gentleman might not condone poisoning.
Qi Shan shook his head: "No, the method of killing these people is not important; what's important is the result." He had traveled extensively before, passing through many defeated commanderies and counties. These places saw an unusually high number of women forced into pregnancy or suffering from severe illnesses. Every household experienced funerals, and severed limbs and broken remains were commonplace. Considering the soldiers' conduct just now, could their hands be clean? If they died, they deserved it. Only—"You added so much; do you really think people won't taste it?" If the taste was off, they'd just spit it out.
Shen Tang chuckled, "Plain water, perhaps, but they're drinking tea. If the taste is off, they'll just assume it's due to the hot weather."
Qi Shan: "..." As the two chatted, over a hundred soldiers had finished their preparations and departed. They had taken so much advantage, only leaving three copper coins for the teahouse owner, and even those were thrown at his face. Yet, the owner had to swallow his anger, put on a smiling face, and thank them for the reward.
Seeing the troop disappear, Shen Tang stood up and stretched. "Yuanliang, let's go. Time to watch the hot show." Shen Tang led out Motorcycle and flipped onto the mule's back. Qi Shan still walked.
The two followed unhurriedly. Shen Tang suddenly said, "Yuanliang, poisoning and assassinating Geng Kingdom soldiers, that's a serious crime."
"Since you know it's a crime, why did you do it?"
Shen Tang said nonchalantly, "Too many fleas to worry about! I'm an escaped prisoner on the verge of death. Every extra day I live is a gain. What's there to fear in adding another crime? As for Yuanliang, you're still following along. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble yourself?"
Qi Shan lifted an eyelid and said indifferently, "I also said, I am not a benevolent person." Names, after all, fill what's lacking. If it were a prosperous era—looking at young lord Shen, who smiled happily while riding the white mule, Qi Shan sighed inwardly—that would probably be the "Way of Feudal Lords" most beneficial to the world. Unfortunately, it was born out of its time.