Chapter 1152: The True Culprit Behind the Scenes

He Lingchuan rushed out and retrieved the eyeball spider from the treetop, where he had placed it a few days earlier.

The fire was nearing the mountain, and the snail toad, disliking the heat and dryness, quickly burrowed underground to escape.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui returned to the foot of the mountain and saw hundreds of soldiers encircling the small hill, as if to prevent anyone from escaping.

They were soldiers of the Peng Kingdom.

One small squad, consisting of about ten soldiers, had its leader dragging a person away from the main group, into a darker area.

The person was sallow-faced, emaciated, and dressed in rags, clearly not a soldier.

"Get lost!" the officer commanded, pointing into the distance. "There's nothing for you here anymore!"

Seeing the officer turn to leave, the person panicked and grabbed his arm. "Sir, you haven't given me the fifteen taels of gold! The fifteen taels for the bounty!"

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui, hidden in the shadows, exchanged a knowing glance.

So this was the informant? He looked like a beggar.

No one else had found Consort Mei; how did he manage to discover her?

The officer's gaze turned sinister. He suddenly kicked the person's leg, and after he fell, delivered a few more kicks, sneering, "I already gave it to you! How dare you ask for more? You greedy scoundrel, a lazy wretch who gets money but can't live to spend it!"

The person cried out in pain, curling into a ball and screaming, his voice shriller than an owl's.

The other soldiers stood by, watching with cold, mocking gazes.

The officer finally stopped, then asked him, "Did you take the money? Did you just take the money, huh?"

"I did!" the person cried, his face covered in blood, two teeth missing, weeping on the ground with snot and tears. "I took the fifteen taels of gold! I was greedy, I dare not ask for more!"

"Good that you know your place," the officer sneered, spitting at him before turning and leading his squad away.

The person struggled on the ground for a few moments before slowly getting to his feet and limping away.

He kept looking back, cursing the officer furiously, his eyes gleaming with resentment.

Despite the dense summer vegetation, in just over an hour, the small hill was burned bare, with wisps of smoke rising everywhere.

The Peng Kingdom army didn't leave until dawn, having ascended the mountain twice to inspect the fire scene.

Only then did He Lingchuan and Dong Rui return to Ji Town, bringing the captive into a guest room for interrogation. The old doorkeeper had long since disappeared.

The black figure's cloak had long fallen off, revealing a graceful face. Her presence made the desolate ruined house seem much less grim.

"Consort Mei, we meet again."

The black figure was indeed Consort Mei. Her hands were bound, her beautiful hair was disheveled, and her clothes were dusty, presenting the image of a distressed beauty.

She looked around, then extended her bound hands. "This is uncomfortable. Could you please untie me? I am but a weak woman; where could I possibly escape?"

Her fair wrists were already red from the ropes.

"There's a barrier; she can't get out," He Lingchuan said with a nod. The ghost ape on Dong Rui's shoulder immediately leaped over and untied her hands.

Consort Mei rubbed her wrists, then found a chair and sat down. "How did you know I would come to White Hill?"

Her tone was as if she were very familiar with them.

"We probably thought the same way as the new King, Youn Guang," Dong Rui said, pointing toward Lone Mountain. "This is your masterpiece; you'd likely want to see it again."

He Lingchuan had guessed Consort Mei would come to admire her handiwork. But he hadn't expected to witness such a horrifying scene: she had dug out and eaten King Bo's heart.

Seeing such a vibrant beauty devour a rotten heart piece by piece, as if it were a dessert, was quite visually shocking. What kind of deep-seated hatred must that be?

Consort Mei gave him a gentle smile, as if she wasn't the one who had just eaten a heart raw. "Why are you looking for me?"

"To find the mastermind behind this series of events," He Lingchuan said, exhaling. "Youn Guang is eager to kill you. It seems he's working with you."

"Now that you know, does it matter?"

He Lingchuan shook his head. "Youn Guang has already ascended to the throne; the entire Peng Kingdom is now his. Even if you expose him now, it won't change Emperor Mou's mind."

"Why?" Consort Mei asked, tilting her graceful head slightly, as if puzzled.

A beautiful woman looking puzzled was especially charming, and Dong Rui couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. But when he remembered what the beauty had just done, a chill ran down his spine. Beautiful but vicious, he had to repeat it to himself a few times: beautiful but vicious.

"Emperor Mou needs to establish a regime here that is loyal to the Mou Kingdom," He Lingchuan said calmly. "Youn Guang is very shrewd; he came to surrender before the war, full of sincerity. He understands the bigger picture and considers the overall situation. With no better alternatives, he was naturally chosen. Compared to that, what does the death of a few Shadow Guards matter?"

Such a small loss would not concern Emperor Mou at all.

"You were originally with Youn Guang's faction," He Lingchuan told her. "He feared your crimes of stealing the Lantern of Enlightenment and framing the Shadow Guards would be exposed, displeasing the Mou Kingdom, which is why he wanted to silence you. He used you, but he wasn't smart enough, or perhaps too cautious. Otherwise, he would have realized it was unnecessary."

"It doesn't matter," Consort Mei sighed softly. "I only intended to use him too."

She didn't mind being used at all. People must possess value to be used by others, and in such cases, neither party truly has good intentions.

"You've caught me," she said. A ray of morning light passed through a broken window, caressing her face and illuminating a hint of innocent bewilderment. "What do you want to do with me?"

A delicate, helpless beauty, sitting crookedly in a ruined house in a desolate town, asking what you want to do with her... Even if one had no intentions, such a question might spark some ideas.

Dong Rui had just reminded himself that she was a femme fatale, but upon hearing her words, he couldn't help but swallow.

He Lingchuan sized up Consort Mei and said, "King Bo said you murdered royal relatives. What deep-seated hatred is there between you?"

This woman really knew how to use her assets.

"He killed my entire family and seized my father's legacy," Consort Mei said lightly, as if it were someone else's family that had died. "I returned tooth for a tooth: killed his entire family and destroyed his legacy. Isn't that fair?"

Her voice was still so gentle, like honey laced with poison.

Dong Rui immediately said, "Fair, very fair."

He Lingchuan then asked, "Does Prince Bo's madness have anything to do with you?"

Consort Mei's delicate eyebrows relaxed. "Oh, did you just refer to the Mou Kingdom?"

Shouldn't someone from the Mou Kingdom refer to it as "our kingdom"?

This woman was very observant. "I ask, you answer. How much do you know about the Lantern of Enlightenment?"

Consort Mei's gaze lowered slightly as she tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Why?"

"Prince Bo went mad after cultivating wrongly," He Lingchuan said, looking at her. "The newly appointed Imperial Physician Chen reported that the Lantern of Enlightenment could save the prince, and coincidentally, the Lantern of Enlightenment matured recently. This series of coincidences, when put together, becomes an inevitability—an inevitability you created. You're very familiar with how to use the Lantern of Enlightenment."

Consort Mei said calmly, "My knowledge of the Lantern of Enlightenment is limited to that ancient text, which is now with Imperial Physician Chen. Why don't you just get it from him?"