"I... I..." Qiao'er glanced at Zhong Li timidly, stammering something.
"Speak!" Zhong Li applied slight pressure with her fingertips. "While I disdain torture, it doesn't mean I won't use it!"
Qiao'er quickly covered her mouth, gritting her teeth to suppress any sound.
Zhong Li, surprised by her action, showed confusion and suspicion in her eyes.
"Wuwu..." Qiao'er could no longer control herself and began to sob uncontrollably.
Shaking her head, she looked at Zhong Li apologetically. "Lord Zhong, I didn't want to, I really didn't want to... wuwu."
Zhong Li frowned, gazing at Qiao'er. It wasn't that she was heartless, but the people of the Divine Maiden Sect were cunning and treacherous, undeserving of pity.
As if anticipating Zhong Li's gaze, Qiao'er managed a wry smile. She timidly stood up and presented her other arm to Zhong Li.
"Since you are a forensic examiner, you should be able to distinguish between new and old wounds. Please look at the scars on my arm."
Zhong Li was a little puzzled by Qiao'er's intention but lowered her head to examine it.
Previously, in the masked man's room, the lighting was dim, and the situation was urgent, so she hadn't examined it closely. Now, guided by Qiao'er, she was startled when she saw her arm again.
What was going on? Her forearm, barely the length of a man's palm, was densely covered with scars. New ones overlapped old ones; as soon as one healed, another appeared. Judging by the age of the scars, they were at least three to four years old.
"How could this be?" Zhong Li said, rolling up Qiao'er's sleeve completely. She then followed her upper arm towards her shoulder and chest.
Without exception, they were all scarred.
As Zhong Li released her, Qiao'er quickly put her clothes back on. The tears in her eyes flowed even more profusely at Zhong Li's words.
"I admit I'm not Qiao'er. My name is Cui Ningya, and I am also the Divine Maiden you speak of from the Divine Maiden Sect." Cui Ningya slowly closed her eyes as she spoke.
"My father is Cui Nan, also known as Xuan Qingzi, the founder of the Divine Maiden Sect. My mother is Ning Qing. As I remember it, they left me when I was only ten years old.
My father was arrested, and my mother went to Jincheng to find him, leaving me with my wet nurse. I waited and waited for years. By the time I came of age, I hadn't seen my father. Instead, what I got was the most merciless vengeful spirit from hell!"
As Cui Ningya spoke, lost in painful memories, her body couldn't help but tremble.
"He is Xuan Yangzi, my father's most esteemed final disciple. The remnants of the Divine Maiden Sect found him, initially to revive the sect and rescue my father. However, he resorted to crooked means to control the core members of the Divine Maiden Sect.
He even threatened and exploited me, deceived the populace, and extorted money. Those so-called elixirs were nothing more than foul corpse water!" Cui Ningya's voice grew increasingly indignant. She stared ahead with hollow eyes, speaking hysterically.
"That wasn't enough. Knowing I wanted to escape, he began to abuse me relentlessly. If I disobeyed, I would be punished. For three continuous years, I had two children, but unfortunately, they never even had the chance to be born."
As she reached this point, she seemed to have lost all her strength and slumped against the rock face, gasping for breath.
"So he knew you would come? And had you impersonate a victim to stay by my side?" Zhong Li asked.
Cui Ningya first nodded, then shook her head. "He knew you would come, but he didn't know how you would appear. So he ordered me to lie in wait by Old Guo's side. If the captured women didn't resist, they would be turned into tanned corpses, their organs fed to the่ (gu).
If they resisted, that person would undoubtedly be you. At that point, I would gain your trust and quietly lead people to eliminate you."
"Xuan Yangzi..." Zhong Li unconsciously murmured the name.
There were many ways to eliminate her. This Xuan Yangzi only dared to act in the shadows, which meant only one thing: this person's identity was complex, and there were things he couldn't do openly.
Cao Shao was dead. The only person who could commit such acts and not be apprehended by the county constables was that person.
"Xuan Yangzi, is Tang Yuanhua, isn't he?" Zhong Li voiced her deduction to Cui Ningya.
Cui Ningya was stunned and looked at Zhong Li in disbelief. "Lord, how could..."
"You don't need to be surprised. If I don't even have this much deductive ability, then my position as Dali Temple Assistant Censor would be in vain. You just need to tell me if it's yes or no." In fact, Zhong Li already knew she was correct when Cui Ningya showed that expression, but she still wanted a definitive answer from Cui Ningya.
Cui Ningya nodded. "Yes."
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes. She recalled Tang Yuanhua's unnatural behavior, for which she couldn't pinpoint the reason, when they first met. She should have suspected him earlier.
"What do we do now?" Cui Ningya looked at Zhong Li, feeling lost. She had revealed everything, essentially becoming a traitor to the Divine Maiden Sect. If she were caught, the outcome would be only one: death.
"Tell me, do you know the exit or not?" Zhong Li asked after taking a deep breath.
Cui Ningya nodded.
"Then we need to get out first," Zhong Li said, pulling Cui Ningya to explore the cave again.
Unexpectedly, Cui Ningya wrenched her hand away.
"You..."
"Cannot go, cannot go!" Cui Ningya retreated step by step, looking at the distance with a face full of fear.
"Why are you..."
"They are over there!" Just as Zhong Li was about to ask Cui Ningya what was happening, a shout suddenly echoed from within the cave.
Zhong Li turned her head and saw several torchlights illuminating the area, with about a dozen people running towards them.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Cui Ningya grabbed Zhong Li's arm and kept apologizing. "It was me, I was the one who notified them again. I'm sorry."
Zhong Li's eyebrows furrowed. She glanced at their pursuers and knew she didn't have time to argue with Cui Ningya. She pulled her arm and headed deeper into the cave.
"Where are we going, Lord Zhong?" Just as she took a few steps, torchlight suddenly appeared from the opposite passage, and Tang Yuanhua's face materialized before them.
"Ah!" Upon seeing Tang Yuanhua, Cui Ningya looked as if she had seen a ghost and hid in Zhong Li's embrace in fright.
Zhong Li held her dissection knife horizontally in front of her, staring intently at the man slowly approaching. "Tang Yuanhua, what do you want?"
Tang Yuanhua, dressed in a scholar's robe, slowly approached Zhong Li and took a closer look. "Haha, I suspected it was you before, but the disparity in temperament made me hesitate. Looking at you now... tsk tsk, how could I miss such a beautiful lady?"
As he spoke, his hand reached out towards Zhong Li.
Zhong Li swung her weapon. "You discovered us earlier?"
Tang Yuanhua reacted swiftly, withdrawing his hand and nodding. "Yes, I discovered you early. When was it?"
He narrowed his eyes and feigned contemplation, tapping his lips for a moment. "It must have been when I first smelled that familiar fragrance emanating from the Crown Prince."
Zhong Li's heart sank. So Tang Yuanhua knew from the beginning, and all this was done to catch them all in one fell swoop.
Tang Yuanhua savored the expression on Zhong Li's face and let out a triumphant laugh, waving to those behind him. "Guards, apprehend them all."