Chapter 115: His name is Gu Qishao (2/2)

“I’m not ‘Hey,’ but Gu Qishao,” the man repeated. He seemed to be lowering his voice on purpose. This time, Han Yunxi did hear, but she was even more surprised.

“What, Gu Qi Sha[4]?”

The person next door laughed lightly. It wasn’t clear if he heard Han Yunxi’s words, but he only repeated what he said before, except much clearer. “I’m not ‘Hey,’ but Gu Qishao.”

This time, Han Yunxi finally got it. Gu Qishao, these three words were very similar to Gu Qi Sha, no wonder she heard incorrectly. But Gu Qishao should be an alias instead of a real name, right?

In any case, she’d never heard it before, nor did she recognize it. Now that she knew the other was there, Han Yunxi moved her position again with difficulty. Her back faced the wall as she tried to make herself look more natural. Not long after she settled down, Qingyi shot a glance back. Han Yunxi didn’t move a muscle, but didn’t avoid her gaze either. She locked stares with her from far away.

Qingyi only stared for a second before turning back in silence. Han Yunxi released a breath. She didn’t speak immediately, but waited awhile to make sure the woman wouldn’t look back again. Only then did she lower her voice. “Hey, why do you want to save me?”

“I’m not called ‘Hey.’ If you don’t mind, you can call me Little Qi.” the playful voice carried over, suddenly making Han Yunxi feel cold. A grown man asking to be called ‘Little Qi’ made her wonder if he was the flashy and ostentatious type.

Next door, Gu Qishao was leaning against the rock wall, much like Han Yunxi. He wasn’t sitting upright like she was, but sprawled lazily against the rock like a sunbathing cat in winter. The lethargy sank straight down to his bones. He was wearing a set of fiery red robes with large red sleeves, the luxurious color spread sumptuously across the ground. A hand dangled easily over one leg, the five fingers long, slender, and white. That skin was far paler than any typical person, as if a single puff of wind would split it apart. His soft laughter was as delicate as a woman’s, his face handsome enough to outshine the Heavens and the Earth; those eyes, seductive and bewitching enough to vanish one’s soul!

“Why do you want to save me?” Han Yunxi asked again from next door.

“Because I like you, of course,” Gu Qishao replied so naturally that it sounded like a joke.

Han Yunxi seemed to have gotten used to his jests and ignored them to ask, “Then when do you plan to rescue me?”

“After a few days, probably,” Gu Qishao said again. It wasn’t clear whether he was just going through the motions or had really set a time.

Han Yunxi wasn’t reconciled with that and asked, “How many days will it be?”

But this time, Gu Qishao didn’t answer. Instead he changed the topic. “Does your neck still hurt?”

“How many days will it be?” Han Yunxi persisted..

“Poison lass, where did you learn your skills from to be so formidable? Is your master still around?” Gu Qishao continued to ask.

“How many days will it be?” Han Yunxi was still being stubborn.

“I remember you weren’t this skilled before, right?” Gu Qishao asked again. Though it was a question, this was more like him talking to himself. His face was lifted upwards, the eyebrows wrinkling faintly as he sat unmoving like a painting of a beauty in thought.

Next door, Han Yunxi stared at the ceiling with both eyes, having given up. This mysterious fellow, just who was he? Why would he show up here? Did he chase after them, or did he meet them by chance? He said he knew her, but there should be plenty of people who did. How was she to guess?

The circumstances of the man next door were vague, and the motives of the woman on guard by the exit were unclear. Han Yunxi gave a long sigh. The only thing she could do was wait!

—

It was now late night.

The Celestial Fragrance Teashop was filled with mournful wails. Long Feiye’s interrogation had started from noon and he’d yet to stop. Once again, he was using the dreaded rat cage against his victims. But instead of killing one as a warning to the others, he was putting every single person through the torture. The giant rat cage was placed in the center of the dim prison cells, where everyone except for Long Feiye was standing up.

It was Guard Shangguan in charge of the interrogation while Mu Qingwu oversaw the torture. From the start, Long Feiye hadn’t spoken a single word, but the icy aura emanating from his being grew more and more horrifying. Leaving aside the torture victims, just the people waiting on the side felt their hair standing on end and their hearts trembling with fear at the sight of that fiendish god.

“Ahhhh!” a prisoner cried out wretchedly, his screams reverberating throughout the prisons.

Another victim had died from torture.

Guard Shangguan was both slow and meticulous in interrogating his prisoners. Though he’d been at it from noon until night, not many people had been questioned. Soon enough, many of the onlookers found themselves throwing up again at the sight. Some were so frightened that they fainted away. But even that brought no relief. They were quickly woken up and put back in line to wait their turn for the cruel torture.

There were only about 20 people present. Long Feiye had steeled his heart to get results from the interrogation and resolved himself to a massacre. From beginning to end, his cold, unfeeling self hadn’t even knitted his eyebrows once. In the silent prisons, there was only the indistinct sounds of chattering teeth amongst the prisoners. Heaven knows how terrified they were. Long Feiye remained expressionless, waving his hand elegantly to signal Guard Shangguan to bring in the next person. Seeing this, a young guard that was first in line quickly kneeled down, crawling on the floor as he broke out into sobs.

“I don’t know anything! I really don’t know…Guard Shangguan, I’m going to get married at the end of the month, just spare me! I’m begging you!”

Guard Shangguan hesitated. After all, if they kept interrogating like this, many more innocents would die instead. He looked towards His Highness Duke of Qin who showed no reaction whatsoever. Without a choice, Guard Shangguan could only forcefully drag the man over. Yet right at this time, a voice suddenly called out from the very back of the crowd.

“Enough, stop with the interrogation! I confess! I confess!”

-o-

[1] Brother (兄台) – xiongtai, a polite appellation for a friend one’s own age. It has no familial relation whatsoever to the speaker.

[2] passerby buying soy sauce (打酱油) – da jiangyou, a saying meaning an onlooker who stops by but then moves on because “it’s none of my business.”

[3] zhiii (吱) – onomatopoeia for a creaking sound.

[4] Gu Qi Sha (古七刹) – this is the name of Pill Fiend from Pill Fiend Valley. In comparison, Gu Qishao is written as 顾七少, or “Little Seventh Gu.”