An Unforeseen Turn

Master Deng looked at Yang Qing without answering.

Yang Qing bent down and looked down at Master Deng. "Tell me, who are you?"

Master Deng looked back at Yang Qing, then suddenly laughed. "Lord Yang, please don't tease your humble servant."

"Who else could I be? Master Deng, of course."

With that, Master Deng turned and crawled over to Dai Sheng. "My lord, I indeed did not go home to visit my elderly mother last night. That was only because Hui Niang stopped me along the way."

"Appetites for food and flesh are human nature. Surely you wouldn't have me bound and brought here just for that, my lord?"

When Master Deng finished speaking, he saw Dai Sheng staring at him with a taut expression, showing no intention of answering. He lowered his head again.

"My lord, I know I was wrong. I should not have deceived you. I submit to whatever punishment you see fit."

Hui Niang was the mistress Master Deng kept outside his household, and Dai Sheng knew about her.

Since this man surnamed Deng was usually diligent in his work, Dai Sheng had turned a blind eye to his conduct.

"Master Deng, I have always treated you well. Never did I imagine you would be so..."

Master Deng pressed his forehead to the ground. "Your reprimand is justified, my lord. It is all because I was so hopelessly enthralled by Hui Niang's beauty that I committed such a mistake. Please punish me!"

Yang Qing had watched from the sidelines the entire time without saying a word.

Now, seeing that Dai Sheng was about to pronounce Master Deng's punishment, he interjected, "Wait!"

"Lord Yang, I should not have made light of my elderly mother's health. Please punish me."

Hearing Yang Qing speak, Master Deng knelt before him.

There was no warmth in Yang Qing's eyes. "Master Deng—for now, let us still call you Master Deng. This story of yours may fool Lord Dai, but it will not fool me."

Dai Sheng looked at Yang Qing in bewilderment. Could there really be something wrong with Master Deng?

This man had been his trusted confidant for years.

Yang Qing did not bother explaining to Dai Sheng. He waved a hand at Bu Er.

Bu Er obeyed, stepping forward and pinning Master Deng to the ground with a shove.

Terrified, Master Deng immediately shouted, "Lord Dai, save me! I will never sneak off to meet Hui Niang again!"

"Lord Yang is punishing your humble servant right in front of you! He clearly has no regard for you at all, my lord!"

Seeing that Master Deng still had the leisure to sow discord between him and Dai Sheng even at this point, Yang Qing turned to Dai Sheng with a smile.

"Lord Dai, I find this Master Deng quite interesting. Would you be willing to leave him in my hands?"

Although Dai Sheng was still somewhat confused by the situation, he agreed without a second thought when Yang Qing asked. "Please do as you see fit, my lord."

Seeing that Dai Sheng had shown not the slightest reaction to his words, Master Deng's face instantly turned ashen.

"I have served Lord Dai faithfully and diligently for nearly ten years. Never did I imagine it would end like this. So be it, so be it. I am the one at fault, after all."

"But, my lord, without me attending you from now on, I truly fear I will no longer be able to keep you safe..."

As he spoke, he clenched his teeth tightly.

Bu Er struck like lightning. Amid Master Deng's squeals like a pig being slaughtered, he thrust a hand into the man's mouth, pulled out a bloodied tooth, and threw it to the ground.

Looking at the tooth, still stained with fresh blood, Dai Sheng's eyelid twitched. "My lord, wh-why did you..."

Yang Qing showed no reaction at all, as though every move Master Deng made had been within his expectations.

"Do not be hasty, Lord Dai. The opening gong of this fine show has only just sounded. Be patient and watch."

With a molar forcibly torn out by Bu Er, Master Deng now had blood streaming from his mouth. He rolled on the ground in agony, hissing through his teeth.

Bu Er stepped forward and planted a foot on him, pinning him so that he could not move. He could only cover his face with both hands and make muffled cries.

"Still haven't decided how to answer?"

Yang Qing fixed his gaze on Master Deng again. "You are relying on that face of yours, thinking no one can see through it, aren't you?"

The moment Yang Qing mentioned his face, Master Deng began trembling like chaff in a sieve.

Whether deliberately or unconsciously, he kept his hands shielding his face.

"Indeed, you have worn that mask on your face for almost ten years. It has practically become part of your head. In that respect, I must say I rather admire you."

Yang Qing sat back down in his chair. "To make someone else's facial skin your own... what you have to endure in the process is not something an ordinary person could bear."

Before Master Deng could react, Dai Sheng spoke in a trembling voice. "My lord, do you mean this Master Deng is an impostor?"

Yang Qing said unhurriedly, "You could put it that way. In truth, as far as you are concerned, Lord Dai, this Master Deng can hardly be called a fake. He has looked like this ever since you first took office in Yan Prefecture."

Master Deng had indeed been an adviser Dai Sheng recruited himself back then. But on the very next day, someone had taken his place.

Sadly, Dai Sheng had known nothing about it.

At the thought that the man at his side was someone of unknown origins—and had stayed by his side for all these years—anger flared in Dai Sheng's heart. He strode forward and lashed out with a kick to Master Deng's chest.

"Speak! Who are you, really?!"

Looking at the nearly crazed Dai Sheng, Master Deng stretched his blood-smeared mouth into a silent grin.

But when his gaze met Yang Qing's, the smile gradually vanished from his face.

As though remembering something, he smiled again. "Lord Yang, I must say, your eyes are truly sharp. But do you think this means Yan Prefecture City will be at peace?"

"One day, you too will taste betrayal! Hahahaha..."

Master Deng laughed for a while, his laughter like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves. Then he abruptly stopped and fixed Yang Qing with an unblinking stare.

"And that day is not far off! Just you wait!"

"Guards! Guards, come at once! Take this insolent wretch away and subject him to severe torture!"

Master Deng was dragged away, leaving only a glistening pool of blood on the ground.

Dai Sheng slumped weakly against the back of his chair. Everything that had happened today was utterly beyond anything he could have foreseen.

Yang Qing, meanwhile, gazed thoughtfully at the pool of blood on the ground.

Before long, the Prefectural Soldiers who had taken Master Deng away returned to report. "My lords, Master Deng has tattoos that appear to be those of Northern Liang. We suspect he is not a subject of our Western Chu. We await your decision on how to deal with him!"

"What?"

Upon hearing the Prefectural Soldiers' report, Dai Sheng sprang out of his chair. "Is that really true?"