Chapter 12: Secrets Best Left Unheard

The arrival of Yi She and his party only slightly delayed the camp’s setup. By the time the sun dipped behind the western hills, the encampment was complete.

As a Deacon, Yi She held a status only slightly below Su Chanzhi within this company, and naturally, he was entitled to a large tent. No sooner had it been erected than "Leopard Head" Cheng Dakuan came to request an audience.

Cheng was the commander of the guards for this Yu family wedding escort. Together with Yang Can, the matchmaker’s assistant, he represented the civil and martial pillars of the group. By all accounts, since Yi She had arrived as the representative of the Yu family to take charge, there was no reason for him to refuse an audience with the guard commander. Yet, when the request was relayed, Deacon Yi returned only two words: "Not now."

Leopard Head stood there, stunned, his spirit crushed, at a complete loss for what to do. Even as a rough warrior, he understood full well what such an attitude from Deacon Yi implied. *Is this it, then? Is he finally going to make an example out of me?*

At that moment, Yang Can walked toward the large tent—or more accurately, toward Leopard Head.

"Master Yang!"
"Master Yang!"

Every member of the Su family encountered on the path would pause to clear the way for Yang Can, showing the utmost respect. Those busy tending to the cooking fires would cast aside their firewood, stand up immediately, and greet him warmly with looks of reverence.

Although the reasoning behind Yang Can’s head-on confrontation with the Su family was perhaps open to scrutiny, it had allowed the long-suppressed Yu family members to vent their frustration. Despite Leopard Head leading them into fierce clashes with the Su clan previously, those had been mere skirmishes between servants. But Master Yang had directly challenged the Su house itself; such boldness and courage earned their genuine admiration.

Yang Can nodded to each of them in turn before slowing his pace to reach Leopard Head. Cheng Dakuan’s fists were tightly clenched, his posture stiff, and his expression indescribably grim.

"Dakuan, why are you here?"

Hearing Yang Can’s voice, Leopard Head’s rigid neck slowly turned, and he forced a stiff smile. "Master Yang, Deacon Yi… he refuses to see me."

Leopard Head tried to appear nonchalant, hoping to imbue his tone with a sense of self-deprecation, but as he finished the sentence, he nearly broke into tears, his voice laced with a subtle sense of grievance. This rugged, wild-looking man was, at heart, quite sentimental.

Yang Can asked with a puzzled look, "Deacon Yi won't see you? Why? You are the commander of the eldest branch’s guards. Regarding the young master’s death, shouldn't Deacon Yi be interested in hearing your account?"

"Heh..." Leopard Head let out a bitter laugh. He understood such simple logic perfectly well.

Yang Can mused, "If Deacon Yi refuses to see you, perhaps it is because the offense you are accused of is too grave for even him to shield you from."

Leopard Head said with indignant grief, "The young master is dead—that is indeed a tragedy of heaven-shaking proportions. But... while I failed in my duty to protect him, there were underlying causes!"

Yang Can sighed, "If someone of higher standing than Deacon Yi has already passed judgment on you, leaving no room for negotiation, then naturally, he has no need to see you or hear your side of the story."

Upon hearing this, Leopard Head’s face turned as pale as paper. The only person with higher authority than a Deacon would be the Clan Leader himself. While the various senior Deacons of the external affairs departments had rankings, those were merely based on their strength and status in the eyes of the Clan Leader; they held no authority over one another.

Leopard Head’s gaze dimmed, like embers burning out to ash.

"Dakuan, if you wish to live, there is only one way now..."

Leopard Head shivered and asked urgently, "What way?"

Yang Can glanced around, said nothing, and strolled past him. Cheng Dakuan hesitated for a moment, then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, hurried to follow him.

...

Once settled, Deacon Yi ordered the horse bandit to be brought in. Accompanying Yi She for the interrogation were Matriarch Tu and Yang Can, while Cheng Dakuan and his guards were responsible for the outer perimeter.

Yi She was a retainer of the Yu clan. If he failed to uncover the truth behind the person who killed their young master before returning to Phoenix Manor, it would be a dereliction of duty. If the Clan Leader had to handle everything personally, what need was there for subordinates? As the representative of the Su clan, Matriarch Tu naturally had to be present for such an interrogation.

The bandit was hung from a large tree at the foot of the mountain. He appeared to be in his thirties. His forehead was matted with dried blood, and his right ear was half-missing—an old injury. The wound on his side, however, was from the raid a few days prior.

By now, the guards had subjected him to several rounds of brutal torture. His body was covered in terrifying new wounds. The bandit gasped for air, revealing a set of jagged, yellow teeth. "Please... I beg you... just finish me off. I... I’ll pay you back with my life."

His voice was extremely weak; he had received no proper medical care since his injury. Now, having endured such torture—his fingernails torn back and bloody, and over a dozen branches shoved into his flesh—he was near death. The branches had been snapped off the tree on the spot; they hadn't even been sharpened, simply jammed into his body, bark and all.

One of the men who had been administering the torture wiped the blood from his own face and reported to Yi She, "Deacon Yi, this thief is stubborn. He won't open his mouth."

"No matter. Continue the torture," Yi She said calmly. "There are many who do not fear death, but very few who can withstand such torment."

Yi She flipped his robe and sat down on a large rock like a general, observing the bandit. "I, for one, would like to broaden my horizons today."

The bandit gave a miserable smile, his voice rasping. "It’s not... that I refuse to confess, it’s that... even if I did, it would be useless. The horse bandits of the Long Plateau have no... fixed dwelling, nor do we have... a fixed leader. What could I possibly... confess?"

There were many bandits on the Long Plateau, but their groups were small. Because the land was vast and sparsely populated, they relied on raiding to survive; if a group grew too large, they could not sustain themselves. Thus, they were mostly small gangs or lone swordsmen. Occupying a mountain to play king was unrealistic; they had to be nomadic, and their numbers had to remain small. However, because the area was so sparsely populated, people tended to cluster together, and the merchant caravans that traveled through were heavily guarded. When a target proved to be a "hard bone," the bandits would "form a group" temporarily. These larger, makeshift gangs were a complex mix of small groups and lone wolves. This was exactly the case for this bandit.

Yi She replied, "That is none of your concern. You only need to tell me: who sent you?"

The bandit said weakly, "We... we are horse bandits, after all. We rob and pillage—do we really need... someone to order us?"

Yi She laughed loudly toward the sky before slowly standing up. "The Su clan is marrying off a daughter, and the Yu clan is the escort. Which side could a mere bandit like you possibly dare to provoke? Even if you didn't 'scout the target' beforehand and didn't know our background, surely you realized it once you saw such a massive guard contingent?"

Yi She paced toward the bandit, lifted his chin with a riding crop, and said in a low voice, "I will ask you one more time: who instigated this?"

The bandit laughed miserably. "I... truly have nothing to say. Just kill me."

"Death is not terrible, because reaching the end is a release," Yi She stared into the bandit’s eyes, sneering. "But the pain of torture... has no end!"

Yi She stepped back and waved his hand. A guard brought over a bucket laced with honey and poured it over the bandit’s head. With his body already covered in open wounds, the honey water immediately drew insects and ants from the surrounding grass. Soon, the bandit’s eyes widened, and he began to tremble violently. He writhed in the air like a fish on a hook, letting out inhuman, piercing wails.

Finally, when even Yang Can, the observer, could no longer bear the harrowing screams, the bandit—eyes rolling back, body convulsing—collapsed.

"I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please, just give me a quick death, give me a quick death!"

Yi She waved his hand, and two guards splashed buckets of river water over the bandit. The bandit caught his breath, his agony momentarily dulled.

Yi She stepped forward again, calm and composed. "Speak. Once you tell me, I will grant you that quick death."

The bandit gasped his final breaths. "It was... it was Yu... Huanhu of the Yu family’s second branch who ordered..."

"Silence!" Yi She’s expression changed instantly.

Matriarch Tu, who hadn't heard clearly, instinctively stepped forward and asked, "Deacon Yi, what did he say?"

Yi She did not answer. He lunged forward, tore a blood-stained strip of cloth from the bandit’s body with a sharp rip, balled it up, and, ignoring the filth, jammed it into the bandit’s mouth by pinching his cheeks.

"Men! Give him the best golden wound powder! Ensure he reaches Tianshui alive!" Yi She commanded sharply, the muscles at the corner of his eyes twitching with uncontrollable agitation.

Matriarch Tu asked, puzzled, "Deacon Yi, what did he say?"

Yi She did not reply, only barking, "Apply the medicine and dress his wounds immediately!" The guards scrambled to obey.

Yang Can had not been standing close, but he wasn't far away either. He was further back than Matriarch Tu, but whether by design or accident, he was standing downwind. As the evening breeze picked up, even though the bandit’s voice had been faint, he had caught the three crucial words.

*Yu Huanhu!*

Yang Can had been a retainer for Yu Chengye for only half a year and had never met Yu Huanhu. But he had long heard of his name. In the Yu family, it was a name that everyone and everything seemed to revolve around.

Yu Huanhu, head of the Yu family’s second branch, the younger brother of the Clan Leader himself—the Second Master of the Yu clan?

*Is this... an uncle murdering his own nephew?*

Even Yang Can felt a jolt of immense shock.