With County Captain Zhong, Divine Physician Zeng, and the others still nearby, Zheng Zhuxi restrained her curiosity and asked no further questions. She quietly mounted her horse and headed back toward Xuande County.
It was winter, and darkness came early. Before their party reached the city gates, the sunset's lingering glow had already draped the walls in gold and red.
Divine Physician Zeng rode over and cupped his hands toward Zheng Zhuxi and Ding Songyan.
"I must stop by the Medicine Hut, so I shall take my leave here.
"You two were merely passing strangers to Chen Jindong, yet upon discovering a hidden danger within him, you feared neither gossip nor damage to your reputations, nor even a Martial Grandmaster's wrath. You galloped after him to offer a warning. Such chivalrous hearts and gallant spirits truly command admiration.
"Though the outcome was less than ideal, that sentiment was the genuine compassion of true heroes."
Zheng Zhuxi looked dazed. Her lips moved, but only after a long while did she manage to speak.
"You praise us too highly, Senior Zeng."
My junior brother and I weren't going to warn Chen Jindong at all. From beginning to end, we intended to use this to force him to expose his own wickedness...
True, we feared neither gossip nor damage to our reputations, nor a Martial Grandmaster's wrath. And we did draw our swords against injustice and uphold Heaven's justice. But our purpose and what you described were as far apart as north and south!
At that moment, Zheng Zhuxi thought of distinguishing good from evil, of intentions and deeds, of sincerity and deception, of the Xiaoming Sect and the Sage-Slaying Path, and of how truth became falsehood when falsehood passed for truth.
Her thoughts were somewhat tangled, yet she also felt she had