Liu Kuohai dragged Jia Liu onto an open patch beside the road. Hu Xiaotian came over as well, smiling at Jia Liu. "Well, if it isn't Jia Liu! What a coincidence. Were you following me, or were you following me?"
Jia Liu clutched his nose, looking utterly bedraggled. "M-my lord... I've been wronged..."
"Wronged, my ass!" Liu Kuohai snapped. "You dared to follow His Lordship in secret! Talk! What were you after?"
"I was just hunting," Jia Liu said. "I wasn't doing anything else."
Murong Feiyan said nothing. Her sword moved with a hiss, slicing open Jia Liu's sleeve, and a monocular telescope hidden inside rolled out. Earlier, while Jia Liu had been hiding in the woods and spying through it, Murong Feiyan had spotted the reflection from its lens. That clue had led her to his hiding place.
Hu Xiaotian picked up the telescope, closed one eye, and peered into the distance. Then he tucked it straight into his robe, plainly intending to keep it.
"My lord, I've been wronged..." Jia Liu pleaded.
"Kuohai," Hu Xiaotian said to Liu Kuohai, "I remember there was a cliff back there, several dozen yards high, wasn't there?"
Liu Kuohai nodded. He had no idea which cliff Hu Xiaotian meant, but there were plenty of cliffs back there.
"If someone accidentally fell off it, would he die?" Hu Xiaotian asked.
Liu Kuohai caught his meaning and hauled Jia Liu up from the ground. Jia Liu shook with terror. What sort of official was this? He was a bandit through and through! Murder, arson-there was nothing he wouldn't dare do! He screamed in fright, "My lord! My lord, I was wrong! I'll never dare follow you again..."
Hu Xiaotian gave a cold chuckle and reached out to pat Jia Liu's gaunt, withered cheek twice.