Du Yu, the King of Shu, turned livid, then pale. He cupped his hands toward King Zhou. "This man killed my son and my retainer. Now that he has confessed and submitted to justice, Your Majesty must sentence him to Death by a Thousand Cuts!"
Ouyang Tianlu froze for a moment. The King of Shu really was more agitated than anyone else.
Gao Cheng turned a deaf ear and said slowly, "There is one more thing. I imagine none of you gentlemen knows how a Wufeng Bee kills..."
The moment the words left his mouth, he collapsed to the floor.
Amid the startled cries and confusion, Ouyang Tianlu was the first to rush over. He checked Gao Cheng's breathing, then pried open his mouth and examined it, shaking his head repeatedly.
Why was nobody following the script? Zi Shou hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Summoning his courage, Ouyang Tianlu lifted Gao Cheng's clothes and removed a Wufeng Bee from the skin of his chest. "This should be Wufeng Bee Venom. He must have been poisoned earlier, and it just happened to take effect now."
Zi Shou stared blankly for a moment, then fell silent.
Li Jing closed his eyes slightly.
Bo Yi glanced down and murmured, "Perhaps this is for the best."
With the killer dead, they could give the King of Shu an answer. Even if there were many twists and turns that could not be spoken of openly, none of them would prevent the alliance from proceeding or the two sides from maintaining good relations.
But Du Yu seemed unwilling to let everything end there. His fists clenched, veins bulging, and he roared in fury, "Dead? He died just like that? How am I to vent the hatred in my heart? My son died an unjust death!"
His anger