240 Those Worthless Things (2/2)

Lin Ling sucked in a breath. ”Is it really important to hear that name from my mouth?”

”For the investigation of the imperial court... maybe not.” After a pause, Ning Que continued, ”But it's very important for me.”

Lin Ling suddenly laughed and his pale smile seemed off. ”If it's important for you, then how can I say it?”

Ning Que frowned and realized he had underestimated Xia Hou's prestige in Lin Ling's heart as well as Lin Ling's loyalty. He gently touched his knees and asked after a long silence, ”Do you have parents or children?”

Lin Ling seemed to have guessed what he was getting at and smiled bitterly. ”No.”

Ning Que's eyes, his smile appeared wicked and proud.

After a short moment of silence, Ning Que continued with a gentle expression. ”Then as a cultivator, you must have a sect, right?”

Lin Ling replied, ”Yes, but I rarely communicate with my sect after entering the army. I have no feeling for it, either.”

”You're lying.”

Ning Que looked at him and said quietly, ”If you have no feelings for your sect, you can just tell me what it is. But you immediately avoided mentioning it. This proves you're trying to defend it.”

Lin Ling was startled and frowned in pain. ”It's up to you whether you believe it or not. Either way, I won't say a thing.”

Ning Que laughed. ”Have it your way. Whether you're lying or not, you should know what kind of crime it is to entice the Horse Gang to attack the food team, especially to murder a Second Floor disciple of the Academy.”

Lin Ling appeared determined as he calmly said, ”It's just a death. Who doesn't die in the end?”

”Of course it's not as simple as a death. Though I think death really is the greatest threat, I know people like you have always believed there to be more important things than life and death in the world.”

Ning Que looked at Lin Ling's eyes. ”I'm a disciple of the Headmaster of Academy and a trusted official of His Majesty. In this case, I can condemn your elders, wreck your sect, and even kill all your relatives and your same-sect disciples. Maybe you don't care about their lives. What if there's a childhood playmate among those relatives or a Senior Sister who made your bed among your same-sect peers? Won't you feel... sorry to them?”

Lin Ling didn't understand what Ning Que meant by childhood playmate, but he could hear the unconcealed thirst for blood in the latter. His body that had been cold for excessive bleeding dropped several more degrees in temperature. The tent seemed actually seemed even bleaker than the blizzard outside the camp.

”I'm not used to making such threats because I've very few capitals to do so in the past.”

Ning Que seriously said, ”And I don't want to threaten you. I just want to know an answer, an answer that both of us know. I just want to hear it from your mouth.”

A conflicted look appeared on Lin Ling's withered and thin face. A feeling of despair and guilt gradually overflowed from his gray eyes. Ning Que looked at it carefully and calmly added, ”I swear by the Headmaster's character.”

After an unnoticed period of time, the dying Psyche Master finally muttered several weak syllables from his withered lips.

Ning Que lowered his head and listened quietly and seriously. From time to time, he would ask questions.

After hearing all that he wanted to know, he stood up and looked at the dying man. Though Lin Ling seemed to be carrying some guilt, his expression was also calm and relaxed. Ning Que nodded at him, showing his respect.

He then pulled out his podao from its sheath and cut down, the cold blade slicing Lin Ling's throat.

Complicated emotions including guilt, calmness, and fear in the Lin Ling's eyes turned into gloomy shock and despair. He stared with his great eyes that couldn't be closed even if he was out of breath.

Ning Que walked out of the camp and looked at a Tang soldier who was waiting for him. ”I'm really sorry he didn't make it.”

This Tang soldier, who was sent here by the Imperial Center Administration to be in the Border Army, had witnessed what had happened from beginning to end as a bystander. He didn't know how to answer Ning Que and kept his silence as he stared at the blood still smeared on the latter's blade.