Сhаpter 291: Тhе Firе Моth Party 23
Wаtеr trickled dоwn as Zhu Yan stооd dаzеd. Наd she heаrd correctly?
Seеing hеr remаin silent fоr sо lоng, Shеn Du leаnеd сlоsеr and рressed urgentlу, "Wоuld yоu personаlly cаre for mе аs wеll? Wоuld уоu аlso losе уour аррetitе and risk уоur life seаrсhing for аn antidote fоr me? Would yоu аlsо beсome absеnt-mindеd оver gifts I givе уоu?"
Zhu Yаn орenеd hеr mouth, thоught for а moment, thеn clоsеd it аgain.
Sоmеthing wаs оff—really оff. Shen Du was acting verу strangely. Sinсe when hаd he stаrtеd behаving this way?
The next instant, Shen Du’s flawlessly cold face blocked her view. His deep, boundless gaze cut off her train of thought.
It seemed as if everything had returned to the past—that fifteen-year-old boy seemed to appear before her eyes, smiling warmly and full of vigor, as if nothing had ever changed.
Her heartbeat uncontrollably quickened. If she could see her own face, she’d bet even the roots of her ears were flushed red now.
Damn it.
She tried several times to speak, but each attempt was stifled by his soft breaths.
Instinctively, Zhu Yan reached out to push Shen Du away, not daring to meet his gaze any longer. "With your appearance, it’s obvious you’re a man. You can’t disguise yourself as a woman, let alone deal with Ji Dafu."
Unexpectedly, she had completely ignored all his questions and chosen a seemingly reasonable explanation—but this was not the answer Shen Du had hoped for.
He realized then that asking Zhu Yan these questions was like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot—a futile and self-defeating effort.
Thus, Shen Du’s expression visibly darkened, and Zhu Yan suddenly felt as if she had done something wrong.
Just as she was about to explain herself, Shen Du abruptly interrupted her.
"Zhu Yan…" Slowly tilting her chin up, Shen Du felt he should do something.
This guy… this guy’s behavior… could it be he was jealous?
Zhu Yan had no time to dwell on this. She covered her own lips with one hand and reached out with the other to cover Shen Du’s, flustered and at a loss. Soon, both her hands were firmly grasped by Shen Du, leaving her with no escape.
Zhu Yan’s alarm bells rang loudly as she cried out, "Ji Dafu!"
"Shen Du, we forgot about Ji Dafu."
In the midst of dealing with Wang Buzui and Mo Qianzhi these past days, they had completely forgotten about him.
"Remember? He’s still locked up in prison," Zhu Yan struggled a few times before giving up in defeat. "Shen Du, I don’t want this. Must you force me?"
This woman.
Shen Du’s interest was completely extinguished by her words. He released her hands, stood up, and walked out the door.
Somehow, he seemed rather irritable.
Zhu Yan smiled silently to herself, then stood up and hurried after Shen Du, walking alongside him toward the prison.
Hopefully, this remaining lackey of Guangchun Hall would have something useful to say.
—
Before even seeing Ji Dafu, they heard a faint string of singing.
Zhu Yan recognized it as Ji Dafu’s voice. During the siege of the city that day, after half a day of negotiation on the city walls, his voice was something she could never forget.
Hearing the sound of the cell door opening, Ji Dafu stopped his singing. Gone was his previous panic toward these two; now he appeared utterly relaxed and at ease.
For him, there was no desire to struggle. Guangchun Hall had been raided, Wang Buzui was dead, and now he was nothing but a condemned prisoner awaiting death.
If either of the two before him took the slightest displeasure, his head would roll to the ground. Having already avenged his wife’s murder, he had nothing left to cling to and was fully prepared to meet his end.Yet a few days in prison had changed his perspective—a wretched life was better than a good death—so he was now more willing to cooperate with them, preferably cutting straight to the point with as little nonsense as possible.
Before Shen Du could even ask a question, Ji Dafu smiled warmly and inquired, "What brings the two of you to see someone like me?"
This was no longer the same Ji Dafu who had repeatedly tried to kill Zhu Yan and personally orchestrated the beheading of her uncle. He now seemed like an ordinary merchant, his smile still carrying that same obsequious, mercenary flattery.
Was it because he no longer had a place to run rampant and commit evil? Or was it because he no longer wanted to die?
Zhu Yan couldn’t help but frown, feeling a wave of disgust, yet she had no choice but to ask him questions. If possible, she wouldn’t have wanted to spend another moment with this scoundrel who had tried to take her life.
"What do you know about Guangchun Hall?" Shen Du instinctively moved to shield Zhu Yan, keeping her away from Ji Dafu.
A warmth spread through Zhu Yan’s heart as she pressed closer to Shen Du.
Upon hearing the question, Ji Dafu scratched his head, smiling somewhat ingratiatingly, but said nothing.
"You don’t know?" Shen Du murmured, more to himself than as a direct question.
Ji Dafu took a moment to process this before shaking his head again. "Truly, I don’t know," he said, spreading his hands. "There’s no reason for me to hide anything—Guangchun Hall is already finished."
Then he laughed again, his eyes nearly disappearing into the folds of his fleshy face.
"You spent a long time at Guangchun Hall and were even a helm master of a branch. How could you not know?" If they had more time, Shen Du would have loved to wipe that smile off the man’s face.
"Me? I was just an errand boy for Guangchun Hall—running chores, cleaning up messes. How would I know what the higher-ups were up to?" He shrugged helplessly and sat down on the ground, not caring how dirty it was.
Tch. Nothing gained.
Seeing that he seemed about to laugh again, Shen Du cut him off sharply. "You don’t need to smile like that. I’m not your master."
The remark worked. Ji Dafu’s expression fell, but he quickly plastered the smile back on his face, as if it were permanently etched there.
He knew full well that the man before him now held his life in his hands.
He couldn’t afford to upset him.
"I never killed anyone—they did it all. My crimes don’t warrant death," Ji Dafu defended himself.
"Who’s asking you about that?" Shen Du’s brows furrowed with impatience. "Your crimes are a matter for the Great Zhou’s laws. What I’m asking is, during your time at Guangchun Hall, who among the higher-ups did you have contact with?"
"I mostly dealt with the deputy helm master," he said, pursing his lips. He was just an errand boy, after all.
"What about the chief helm master?"
"Ah, in their eyes, I was just a hired hand," he clicked his tongue, seemingly pitying himself. "What luck would I have to meet the chief helm master?"
His responses left the two of them at a loss. It seemed this man was nothing more than a minor pawn.
After all the years he had spent risking his life for Lai Luofu, he was still scrambling on the fringes of Guangchun Hall.
"What about ‘Cocoon to Butterfly’? How much do you know about that?"
Since it was their signature poison, even a peripheral figure like him must have heard of it, Zhu Yan thought.
But when she saw him shake his head, she felt a surge of frustration. How could this man know nothing?
Noticing the shift in their moods, Ji Dafu suddenly grew nervous.It's just a pity that he really was just an errand boy and knew nothing.
"Jing Lin, apply the torture."
No matter how Ji Dafu pleaded, Jing Lin had him dragged over and tortured directly. Before long, they dragged the barely breathing Ji Dafu back.
Shen Du looked down from above: "Still not telling the truth?"
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