Shulitu huddled in the chair, trembling all over. The bloody scene in Little Yanzhi's tent kept flashing before his eyes. He could appear calm and composed before outsiders, but inside, he was terrified.
"It's different," he said. Perhaps feeling that he had lost his composure, he explained before the Dragon King could ask, "On the battlefield... killing and being killed are both predictable. But with two corpses lying there... Zhesu and Duoercha never expected to be murdered. The light was dim, blood was everywhere, and then there was Little Yanzhi's gaze... I hope the Dragon King won't laugh at me."
"I won't," Gu Shenwei said. As a twelve-year-old child, Shulitu's performance had been nearly flawless. "So you believe Little Yanzhi plotted to kill them both."
Shulitu nodded first, then shook his head. "It's only a guess—or rather, a feeling. I have no direct evidence. Little Yanzhi is a formidable woman. Even if she wanted to marry me, I wouldn't dare take her as my wife."
Shulitu still lacked experience. In time, he would learn that many clear truths lay hidden within one's feelings.
"Has she made demands of you?"
Killing Zhesu and Duoercha had been part of an agreement, yet Little Yanzhi had acted ahead of schedule.
"No." Shulitu raised his head, looking somewhat bewildered. "I thought so too... That's what makes this so strange. Little Yanzhi seemed genuinely frightened at the time—very convincingly so. From beginning to end, she never mentioned the matter of her investiture. When I brought it up, she wouldn't take the bait."
Little Yanzhi was increasingly becoming a nuisance, but she was not the greatest problem at present.
"Was I wrong to let the Naihang tribesmen go?" Shulitu asked. His action had won little approval, which left him deeply uneasy.
"You did the right thing.