I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 388 Stubborn
In the kitchen, Feng Jing was tending the stove, preparing medicine for Siyue.

Zhou Yuande searched around for a while before finding the person and briefly explained Hongying's situation to him.

Feng Jing immediately disregarded the need to decoct the medicine, summoned Chen Xing, and asked her to watch over the medicine. He instructed her to boil three bowls of water down to one bowl and then feed it to Si Yue.

Then he hurriedly followed Zhou Gonggong (a figure from Chinese mythology associated with sleep).

Upon arriving at the tent where Hongying was being held, Feng Jing first bowed to Xiao Jingfan, then eagerly crawled into the tent to check on Hongying's condition. Tongniang followed him in.

Chu Liuzheng stared at the swaying curtain, still preoccupied with the matter of interrogating Zheng Qianqian.

She tugged at Zhou Yuande's sleeve and whispered, "Eunuch Zhou, if we bring Zheng Qianqian here and let him see Hongying's miserable state, won't he be so frightened that he'll confess everything?"

[The rabbit mourns the fox's death, and all things of the same kind grieve for each other. Second Junior Brother probably wouldn't want to see himself become like Hongying, neither human nor ghost, right?]

Zhou Yuande quickly pulled his sleeve back.

His Majesty is watching right here, so don't act recklessly!

Xiao Jingfan looked over: "What are you talking about?"

I'm already speaking so softly, do you have super hearing?

Chu Liuzheng muttered something to himself, but obediently repeated what he had just said.

Xiao Jingfan thought about it and decided it was worth a try.

He snapped his fingers, and a dark figure flashed out: "Please give your orders, my lord."

"Bring Zheng Qianqian over."

"As ordered."

As the guards left, Feng Jing and Tong Niang emerged from the tent.

Feng Jing walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, sighing repeatedly, his expression very complicated.

Tongniang's expression hardened slightly, as if she had encountered something difficult.

"Don't just shake your head," Chu Liuzheng pointed to the tent, "What have you figured out?"

"Hard to say," Feng Jing smacked his lips. "It's surprising that someone could actually do it."

Hearing that he was still in the mood to keep everyone in suspense, Zhou Yuande urged anxiously, "Dr. Feng, please stop being so mysterious and just tell us already."

“I only have a vague understanding of it myself.” Feng Jing turned to look at Tong Niang. “Hong Ying’s condition must be caused by Miao witchcraft. Abbot Jiang must know more about it than I do.”

The implication is that Tongniang is Jiang Yao's person, and since Jiang Yao knows this, Tongniang, as her confidante, should also know it.

Everyone followed his gaze and looked at Tongniang.

Tongniang pursed her lips, a look of hesitation on her face.

"Speak up." Feng Jing glanced at her sideways. "Things have come to this point, there's no way you can hide it anymore. It wasn't you who did it, so you won't be blamed if you tell us."

Tongniang opened her mouth, then closed it again, her hands clenched tightly, clearly unsure whether to speak or not.

Just then, the guards carried Zheng Qianqian over.

Zheng Qianqian was stuffed into a sack, with only his head sticking out. His mouth was gagged, and he could only struggle with muffled noises. He seemed to have much more strength than before.

Feng Jing walked over, took out a bottle of powder, pried open his mouth, and poured it in.

Zheng Qianqian was so choked that his eyes rolled back, and his struggles gradually weakened.

"Why did you bring him here?" Seeing that the man had become obedient, Feng Jing brushed off the powder that had been sprinkled on the back of his hand and turned to look at Chu Liuzheng.

Chu Liuzheng blinked and explained how he had accidentally discovered Zheng Qianqian's strange behavior and his plans.

Feng Jing clicked his tongue and shook his head: "What a disaster!"

Chu Liuzheng felt that the "misdeeds" were not referring to himself.

“I’ll take him in,” Tongniang said, and Xiao Jingfan glanced at her and nodded in agreement. Tongniang felt a chill run down her spine from that glance and, not daring to delay, dragged Zheng Qianqian inside, sack and all.

The inside and outside of the tent are completely different worlds.

His nasal cavity was filled with a sticky, sweet, and fishy smell. Zheng Qianqian stared dumbfounded at the person in the cage, forgetting even to breathe.

Is that a red tassel?
Could this be Hongying?

What exactly did these people do to Hongying?!

He glared at Tongniang in shock and anger, making "mmm" sounds from his gagged mouth, as if he were cursing.

Tongniang simply pulled the cloth out of his mouth.

"What the hell did you do to Hongying?" Zheng Qianqian demanded angrily, his eyes faintly blue.

Although he didn't particularly like his junior sister Hongying, his relationship with Pingxuan was even more harmonious than that with Pingxuan. Sometimes they would even squat together and angrily curse Pingxuan, that shameless vixen.

Seeing Hongying in such a tragic state, how could Zheng Qianqian not be angry?
"You really have no idea why she became like this?" Tongniang sneered. "Why deceive yourself?"

Zheng Qianqian frowned: "What do you mean?"

Tongniang stared at him scrutinizingly for a moment, then slowly uttered two words: "Human Gu".

Zheng Qianqian was taken aback, then looked puzzled: "What is a human gu?"

This time, Tongniang was stunned, staring at him suspiciously: "You don't know?"

Zheng Qianqian shook his head: "Never heard of it."

"He's lying!" Chu Liuzheng shouted, peering through the curtain to listen to what was happening inside. "He's a complete liar, he never tells the truth. Tongniang, don't believe him."

Zheng Qianqian: "..."

Why is it that annoying woman again!
Xiao Jingfan sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

If you're going to listen, then listen properly. What kind of behavior is it to be peeking through the curtain?
He ordered someone to bring stools, and several people sat in a row in front of the tent, listening intently to what was happening inside.

Feng Jing took out a handful of peanuts and asked each person in turn. Only Chu Liuzheng grabbed a small handful as a gesture of goodwill.

The two enjoyed eating peanuts together.

Xiao Jingfan glanced at it sideways and suddenly said, "I want some candy."

[Didn't the tyrant dislike sweets?]

Chu Liuzheng was puzzled, but his hands moved quickly, and he immediately took out two milk candies from his purse and handed them over.

"Please take your time eating. There will be more if you're not full."

I also gave one to Zhou Yuande.

Eunuch Zhou glanced at his own emperor, not quite daring to accept the offer.

Xiao Jingfan didn't look at him, with a milk candy in his mouth, listening to the sounds coming from inside the tent.

Unlike the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere outside the tent, which resembled a spring outing, the air inside the tent seemed to freeze.

Tongniang stared into Zheng Qianqian's blue eyes: "The Human Gu technique is listed as the top forbidden technique. To refine the Human Gu, you must break a living person into pieces and reassemble them. Even with the assistance of the Netherworld Gu, it is not guaranteed that one out of ten thousand people will survive. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, that person is likely to become a monster that is not afraid of pain or death, has no mind, and only knows how to kill."

“I know pain, and I have sanity. I am not a human poison, nor a monster,” Zheng Qianqian argued, glaring angrily at Tong Niang. “You dare slander my master!”

"Stubborn to the end!" Tongniang had never seen anyone more self-deceiving than him.

She reached out and pulled him out of the sack, then pulled out a dagger and slashed his arm. She forced his head down to stare at her, coldly demanding, "What normal person's injury heals this quickly? What are you if not a monster?"

Pink granulation tissue is wriggling at the fresh wound site.

Zheng Qianqian's face turned pale as he watched, and cold sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging them painfully.

(End of this chapter)