Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

70. The Cruel Truth

Translator: Flying Lines

“Also…” Zhou Zaiyue suddenly remembered a much more important thing. He retrieved a bamboo strip from his rooms and handed it to Su Jie.

“This is…” Su Jie’s head lowered. The bamboo was as cool as ice and a chill ran through him the moment he touched it.

“This is the record of the places Hu Qin found his men of sacrifice. Because it has been so long since, we have only researched a portion of it.”

Su Jie opened the bamboo strip. The tiny, compact characters inside made his eyes shrink.

This bamboo strip had records of the places Hu Qin had been to. State Xi, State Yanhui, State Yanling…

There was even a record showing that the Guqin Master had once come across a small sect and killed all its protestors. Even though the sect was small, but the disciples had an intense sense of belonging. A lot of people had died because they refused to yield to the Guqin Master, preferring to perish alongside their sect instead.

But there were also about ten people who feared death and chose to yield to the Guqin Master. The Guqin Master then planted the poisonous insect within these people and trained them to become men of sacrifice.

These kinds of death-fearing people valued their lives, but their wills were not strong. After many years of being controlled by the death insect, they became the Guqin Master’s most capable underlings. This was because of many reasons: they were scared of the poison’s pain and also feared death, which forced them to the point of helplessness; they could only use their wits and various other means to ensure their survival during their missions; in addition, some of those people were even good at martial arts.

Su Jie roughly skimmed through a section that talked about the Guqin Master’s sources of men of sacrifice. When he saw the last portion, his eyes suddenly became glued to the bamboo strip, no longer able to move his attention elsewhere.

On a certain day in a certain year, Hu Qin brought a child along with ten men of sacrifice past a village. The villagers were welcoming, and the children were playful. Hu Qin ordered the men of sacrifice to scatter poison into the well’s water. The people who ingested the poison would die from having their essence being sucked dry. When they died, the villagers had yellow faces and thin limbs, and their postures were crooked. The children in the village were not affected by the poison, and Hu Qin ordered the children to kill each other, only to leave one child alive. The last child standing who had fresh blood stained onto his hands was considered to be the strongest potential man of sacrifice…

His fury gushing out from his heart, Su Jie’s eyes stared fixedly at this section of words. His whole mind was filled with these words.

When they died, the villagers had yellow faces and thin limbs and their postures were crooked…

The children were ordered to kill each other…

Only one child was left alive…

His hands clenched around the bamboo strip, he lifted his head and asked Zhou Zaiyue, “That child was me?”

Zhou Zaiyue heaved a sigh and nodded his head.

“How did you find out the truth?” Su Jie’s voice was as hard as steel, his gaze was clouded with darkness.

The truth of the incident felt like a bucket of cold water tipping over him. Not only did his body freeze at the truth, but his heart also felt like it was trapped in a vise of ice. Even though it was sunny right now, Su Jie could not feel a trace of warmth.

“Of the ten men of sacrifice Hu Qin brought with him that year, the one who was ordered to scatter the poison into the well hailed from State Yanling. His last mission was to assassinate an official of State Yanling but he refused to hurt people from his homeland so, he wrote his autobiography and then committed suicide.” Zhou Zaiyue nodded, and then added to his explanation, “His original draft still exists. I have organized the chapter in which he had written his autobiography and added it to ‘History of Yanling: Common Folks’. If you don’t believe me, you can have a look at the original draft.”

“So… the villagers didn’t die of a famine that year, but rather of poison…” Su Jie suddenly laughed sardonically. This laughter was full of despair and anguish, yet it carried hatred that was sharp enough to cut through bones. “It’s hilarious to think that I’ve worked myself to the bones for the Guqin Master for nine years…”

He laughed and laughed. Tears welled up in the youth’s eyes.

Words were on the tip of his tongue but Zhou Zaiyue swallowed them and instead chose to say nothing. In the end, he only heaved a long sigh.

It was like Da Hua could sense the discord within Su Jie’s mind. He began to restlessly circle Su Jie a few times. Seeing Su Jie was still trying to suppress his anger, he decided that the bamboo strip was the main culprit behind Su Jie’s rage. So, he pounced towards Su Jie, opened its big mouth and then… snatched the bamboo strip with his teeth.

This carnivorous animal then dodged to the side with the bamboo strip in its mouth and bit and tore at it with a burst of agitation and violence. The bamboo strip was all but reduced to fragments.

Su Jie was so stunned at Da Hua pouncing at him that he nearly aimed a strike at Da Hua’s head out of reflex. Thankfully, he abruptly restrained his actions but because he pulled back so quickly, which was also in part a reaction to Da Hua’s pouncing, he stumbled and fell straight to the ground.

Su Jie’s reaction was lightning fast. The moment he fell to the ground, he immediately stuck out both his hands just in time to prevent his bottom from landing roughly on the ground.

Da Hua stepped on the shredded bamboo strip and strutted triumphantly to stand in front of Su Jie.

Su Jie was at a loss at how to react. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but the actions Da Hua took to destroy the bamboo strip caused the corners of his mouth to twitch. He couldn’t help but suspect that the tiger had turned into an animal spirit.

After all… Da Hua’s behavior was too extraordinary. He retained his carnivorous savageness, yet he seemed to possess exceptional wisdom. At Prince Rui’s residence, he didn’t attack the servants of the residence but rather, he displayed his more docile side, particularly in front of Su Jie.

“Will Da Hua transform into a human one day?” Su Jie was rendered completely speechless.

“He probably won’t. I have lived for so many years and have yet to see an animal spirit.” Zhou Zaiyue also felt some helplessness in this situation. He explained, “This tiger has been by my side for many years. So, naturally, he is more preceptive of human emotions. You don’t need to be scared. He is only a bit more clever than a typical tiger. Besides, he hasn’t shown any malicious intent towards you.”

“Isn’t there a record in ‘History of Yanling’ which states that the founder of State Yanling was an immortal? You’ll never know for sure; this tiger could be a spirit.” Su Jie sat on the ground, his eyes wide as he watched Da Hua rub his head intimately against his chest.

“This… the legend of the immortal has been around for a long time. I am not sure whether the immortal is still alive or not, but the immortal is your ancestor and is also someone who all citizens of State Yanling should respect. I hope you… Please don’t compare Da Hua to the immortal. After all, State Yanling’s citizens strongly believe in the immortal.” Zhou Zaiyue had an open mind. His loyalty to the royal family was not because of the legend of the immortal, but rather because of his gratitude towards the founder. Besides, after he found Su Jie, Zhou Zaiyue had developed a sense of concern and love for the crown prince who had suffered for so many years outside his home. Zhou Zaiyue didn’t start a family nor did he have children. Even though the thought itself was blasphemous, but whenever he was with Su Jie, Zhou Zaiyue would always think of Su Jie as his own child.