In the Middle Military Tent, General Shu Cheng was discussing with the officers of the Northeast Border Army. Suddenly, he felt the fluctuation of the Qi of Heaven and Earth from deep in the camp and heard the scream. His expression changed slightly.
A deputy general's expression suddenly tensed up as he stood up and prepared to rush out of the tent.
General Shu Cheng stared at him coldly and asked, "Xu Yin, what do you want to do?"
The deputy general called Xu Yin turned around and looked at General Shu Cheng, who was as cold as steel. He finally understood why there was such a meeting today. He forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and explained in a low voice, "There is movement in the camp. Maybe enemy spies have sneaked in. As the deputy general of the Mountain Battalion, I should go and check it out."
"No need." General Shu Cheng's rank was far above Xu Yin. He looked at him expressionlessly and said, "The imperial court is carrying out a task. You don't need to go and check."
Xu Yin felt as if he had been hit in the chest. He was worried about the situation over there and worried that if the imperial court was really investigating the Horse Gang, it might involve more people. He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Why don't I know what the imperial court is investigating? And now we are deep in the Wilderness. Will the imperial court send people to investigate? "
General Shu Cheng slammed the table and shouted, "How dare you! Does the imperial court need to explain to a small deputy general? You shut up and sit down! "
…
…
The pale-faced middle-aged man was the leader of the Horse Gang who had ambushed the grain team in the Wilderness. He looked at Ning Que's face with listless eyes and said weakly, "Since you can find me, why do you still ask who I am?"
"I can find you because I have guessed your identity. But guesses are not valid after all."
Ning Que closed the big black umbrella and continued, "It doesn't matter who you are. And it is easy to find out. I just need to draw a picture for the Military Ministry to check."
The middle-aged man frowned painfully and said, "Then you can check."
"I can't go back to Chang 'an now that I am in the Wilderness. And even if I find out who you are, it won't help me with what I want to know. It's like if I break the law of Tang Empire and kill people, no one would dare to say anything bad about the Headmaster of the Academy."
The middle-aged man slowly closed his eyes and said, "My name is Lin Ling, the commander of the Imperial Northeast Border Army's Inner Vanguard Battalion."
Ning Que looked at his pale cheeks and repeated the name in his heart. Then he said, "Very well. Next, let's talk about who ordered you to kill me."
The middle-aged man tightly pursed his dry, bloodless lips. It seemed that he wouldn't say another word.
Since he was the general of the Inner Vanguard Battalion of the Northeast Border Army, then his immediate superior was General Xiahou. In fact, Ning Que did not need to ask, and the middle-aged man did not need to say. They both knew who wanted to kill Ning Que. However, inference could never be turned into evidence. As Ning Que had said before, the Psyche Master Lin Ling admitted his identity because he knew it was nothing.
Ning Que looked at the middle-aged man who had his lips tightly closed. He glanced outside the tent and saw a vague figure. After a moment of silence, he said seriously, "I swear by the Headmaster's character that as long as you are willing to tell me who the mastermind is, I can let you go back alive and let the Academy guarantee your safety."
The Psyche Master Lin Ling opened his eyes and looked at him, but he still did not say a word.
"I have already sworn by the Headmaster's character. Do you still not believe me?" Ning Que spread out his hands and said.
Lin Ling said with difficulty, "No one ordered me. This is my own decision."
"Even if it is your own decision, it must have been tacitly approved by someone. You should know that although you are a powerhouse in the Seethrough State, you are still not qualified to command more than 600 Horse Gangs in the Wilderness. "
Ning Que looked into his eyes and said, "I want to know that person's name."
Lin Ling gasped and said, "Is it really so important to hear that name from my mouth?"
"It may not be important to the investigation of the imperial court." Ning Que paused for a moment and said, "But it is very important to me."
Lin Ling suddenly laughed. His pale smile looked a little strange. "If it is very important to you, then why would I say it?"
Ning Que frowned and found that he had underestimated Xiahou's prestige in his heart and his loyalty. He gently stroked his knees and after a long silence, he suddenly asked, "Do you have parents or children?"
Lin Ling seemed to have guessed what he wanted to say and said with difficulty with a smile, "No."
In Ning Que's eyes, this smile was very hateful and proud.
After a moment of silence, he continued to ask with a gentle expression, "Then as a cultivator, you must have a master or a sect, right?"
Lin Ling answered, "Yes, but after I joined the army, I had little contact with the sect and I have no feelings for it."
"You are lying."
Ning Que looked at him and said calmly, "If you have no feelings for the sect, you can let me have this empty door. But you are in a hurry to tear the sect apart, which proves that you have a strong intention to protect it."
Lin Ling was slightly stunned and painfully frowned. He said, "Believe it or not, I won't say anything anyway."
Ning Que smiled and said, "Well, whether you are lying or not, you have to know what kind of crime it is to collude with the Horse Gangs to attack the grain team, especially to murder a disciple of the Second floor of the Academy."
Lin Ling said calmly with a firm expression, "It is just death. Who doesn't die throughout the ages?"
"Of course it is not as simple as death. Although I think that death is indeed the biggest threat, I know that loyal people like you have always thought that there are things in the world that are more important than life and death."
Ning Que looked into his eyes and said, "I'm a disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy and a trusted official of His Majesty. Based on this matter, I can punish your Master and elders, disband your sect, and even kill all your relatives and fellow disciples. Maybe you really don't care about their lives, but what if your childhood sweetheart is among them? What if there's a Senior Sister who tucked you into bed at night? Wouldn't it be a pity if she died like this?"
Lin Ling did not understand childhood sweetheart, but he understood Ning Que's undisguised killing intent. So his body, which was cold due to excessive blood loss, became colder and colder, as if it was more miserable than the wind and snow outside the tent.
"I am not used to threatening people like this, because I rarely have the capital to threaten people before."
Ning Que said very seriously, "And I don't want to threaten people. I just want to know an answer. You and I both know this, but I want to hear the answer from your mouth."
Lin Ling's skinny cheeks revealed a struggling expression, and his gray eyes gradually overflowed with feelings of abandonment and guilt. Ning Que looked carefully and calmly added, "I swear by the Headmaster's character."
After a long time, the dying Psyche Master finally slowly uttered a dry syllable from his dry lips.
Ning Que lowered his head and listened quietly, asking a few questions from time to time.
After hearing everything he wanted to know, he stood up and looked at the dying middle-aged man, whose eyes showed some calmness and relief besides guilt. He nodded to show his respect.
Then he pulled out the podao from the sheath and chopped down, and the cold blade cut the man's throat.
The Psyche Master's complex emotions, such as guilt, relief and fear, all turned into gray shock and despair. His eyes were wide open, and he could not close them even if he was not breathing.
Walking out of the tent, Ning Que looked at the Tang soldier who was waiting for him and said, "It's really a pity that he didn't make it."
This Tang soldier, who was an informant of the Imperial Center Administration in the border army, had seen what happened today from the beginning to the end. Hearing this, he did not know how to respond at all. Looking at the residual blood on Ning Que's blade, he could only remain silent. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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