The candlelight in the side hall flickered erratically in the night wind. Qín Wǎnshuāng's fingertips, still smeared with jade dew ointment, lingered at her shoulder and neck, yet the cool sensation of the wound failed to suppress the surging chill in her eyes. "When they abducted me, they deliberately chose the seventh day after the northwestern military provisions heist."
Ye Fan sat on a wooden stool opposite her, the Jiuxiao Huanpei glowing faintly beneath his lapel. Gazing at the pale red scratch amidst her drooping locks, he suddenly recalled her demeanor from three days ago when she stood in the imperial study and declared, "If the ledger of military provisions falls into Wang Ba's hands, the blood of three hundred thousand soldiers in the northwest will soak half the map." At that time, her fingertips had pressed against the sheepskin map on the desk, her nails almost piercing right through the hide.
"The ones who abducted me were six assassins in the Liquid Condensation Realm. Their leader had a snake-like tattoo on his left wrist." Qín Wǎnshuāng pulled a piece of plain paper across the desk, dipped a brush, and swiftly sketched the outline of the tattoo. "They locked me in the cellar of an abandoned dyeing mill, and every two hours someone would come and ask, 'Where is the key to the Great Chu treasury hidden?'"
Chapter 174