Villain Lady

But that was nothing more than a foolish dream. Yang Xian pulled himself together because he knew that the matter was not finished yet.

Yang Xian got out of the tent, leaving Wei Liuying and the wolf's leader inside. There were several other wolves who were around the tent, unwilling to leave their leader. From their current behavior, they looked more like a pack of dogs rather than wild wolves.

"She might be mistaken as the wolf's princess if this continues," Shan Yi commented.

Yang Xian sent a glance to Shan Yi. "You're not going to rest? You took quite a beating when you're staying in the temple."

The wounds that Shan Yi suffered was only superficial in his eyes. However, there were so many of them to the point that one wondered what kind of thorny forest he passed through. 

"Rest?" Shan Yi rolled his eyes. "I can't rest like those three ladies over there."

"Shan Yi."

"Yes?"

"Should I stitch your mouth?" Yang Xian asked with a smile, yet the dark and menacing aura around him prevented anyone from trying to get close to him.

Shan Yi was stunned then he realized he had made a grave mistake. Liu Ying was posing as a man, which meant that he shouldn't utter any words regarding her real gender to anyone. If he did, there would surely be someone who wouldn't hesitate to make his life miserable.

"I'm sorry, Xian. It's just a slip of tongue."

Yang Xian shook his head and glanced to another tent. He was sure that both Prince Ji Sheng and Gao Ling were inside because that prince didn't want to leave his fiancée alone. He slowly turned around.

"I need to interrogate the men. Do you want to come with me?"

"Hell yeah! I have been wanting to beat them black and blue for messing with me and my men! I can't believe that he can make 7 out of 10 of my men died just like this," Shan Yi said while clenching his fist tightly. He wanted to make them pay dearly for what they have done to him.

"If they speak peacefully, I'll not harm them in the slightest bit," Yang Xian said unhurriedly.

"Hah? Do you think I believe such kind hearted words from you? You're someone who had roamed in the most dangerous area in the world by yourself without relying on the adults in the slightest bit," Shan Yi refuted.

Yang Xian smiled but didn't elaborate. He walked to the small room where the prisoners were held. They were all tied to make sure that they couldn't even try to kill themselves nor wounding others.

"Now, shall we start?" Yang Xian asked as he walked to the numerous type of weapons by the side. Shan Yi looked at the collections and felt that he felt nausea. Somehow, the number of torture tools that Yang Xian have increased over the span of the time he didn't see him. 

"I'll never tell you!" the man blurted out.

"Oh, really?" Yang Xian asked in a low tone. He took out the needles and looked at the man. "In that case, we should start. Since you're already prisoners, you don't need your martial arts ability, right?"

"What are you…AAAAAAAAAAA!"

The screams filled the tent, but Yang Xian's expression didn't change at all. By the side, Shan Yi was only watching without any interest in the slightest bit. In any case, he knew the cruel side of Yang Xian because he had been accompanying him for a long time. The young man never had any qualm for dirtying his hands.

And knowing parts of Yang Xian's past, Shan Yi didn't think that it was that strange. Even though others would feel nausea when they saw other people's organs were pulled out and creating gory sight, Yang Xian would not even change his expression in the slightest bit. 

Time passed with only occasional screams sounded from the tent.

By the time it was finished, the sky had brightened. It was already the time for lunch.

Shan Yi watched as Yang Xian wiped his hands on the cloth he had prepared. "Are you going to eat now?"

"Yes. It's already the time to eat. Do you not want to eat?"

"I better go and catch some sleep. After seeing how gory it is, I can't believe you're still in the mood to eat."

Yang Xian passed a look at the minced flesh and also the pool of blood, but he felt nothing. For someone who had grown up in the midst of battlefield, he had to get used with all kind of cruelty there.

"I'll ask them to heat it up for you."

"You should know that Prince Ji Sheng is capable to do the same with you, right?"

"Even if he can, it's my job to make sure that I can be his right hand and protect him," Yang Xian replied. "Even if I have to dirty my hands to do it, it's all very normal."

"You…Forget it, you're not the type to be the one standing at the forefront."

Yang Xian smiled and walked out of the tent. Not everyone liked to stand in the limelight and stayed at the forefront. Even though he had the ability to do so, he preferred to be nothing more than a strategist whose task was to assist and help Prince Ji Sheng to achieve the victory.

Shan Yi scratched his head and thought about the two strategists. "These two are really similar. They both really don't like to be the leader and preferred to stay in the dark to assist. Is it true that similar people attract each other?"

But when he thought about his own, he quickly shook his head. "Nah, it's just that they have weird taste. That must be it. Now, I better rest so that I can check on Lu'er condition tomorrow."

While Shan Yi was heading to rest, Yang Xian headed to the tent where Prince Ji Sheng stayed. Since Gao Ling had fallen asleep, Prince Ji Sheng was currently free from taking care of her and had to review their current situation.

"Your Highness."

"What is it, Xian?"

"We can't leave the frontline for too long. This time, there's barely any preparation from our side and if they managed to find out that we're not present, it's hard to say what they're going to do."

Prince Ji Sheng sighed. He did think about this matter before, but he didn't think that it would be so quickly. "We'll talk about it later. Have you found out who's the one behind the attack this time?"

"Yes. Three tribes are collaborating with each other. The first is Bo Tribe, but their members including their leader has been annihilated under Liu Ying's leadership. The second one is Tu Tribe, which is the men whom we met when we arrive at the top. The last one is Xu Tribe. They're making diversion for the local soldiers so that no one can assist Lady Gao."

Prince Ji Sheng's eyes narrowed. "How did they find out Gao Ling's location so quickly?"

"There are spies planted within General Gao's soldier. When you return back, please sent a letter to him containing the names of the higher ranked soldiers who are actually spies," Yang Xian replied.

"Have you found them?"

"The man spilled quite a lot. Since he's one of the advisors for Tu Tribe, it just meant that he knows more than what other people can possibly know."

"It's good," Prince Ji Sheng said and sighed. "Good work, Xian. Sorry for always troubling you."

"It's not a trouble at all, Your Highness. This is just how my task is," Yang Xian replied.

"Make the report to the Emperor. At the same time, tell him that I'm going to depart back to the north with Gao Ling because I can't bear to have her in this condition. As for the capital city, I'll leave it to you and Liu Ying. Do you know what to do, Xian?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good."

Yang Xian looked at Prince Ji Sheng for a moment, but he didn't say anything more. He knew that whatever he said wouldn't help him much in this situation.

"In that case, excuse me, Your Highness…."

"Xian."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"Your Highness?!" 

Prince Ji Sheng looked up at Yang Xian. "I'm sorry for assigning Liu Ying to this mission. If only we're more careful, we won't fall for their trap."

Yang Xian didn't know what to say. It took him some time before could muster the strength to answer the question, "If you say it to Liu Ying, I'm sure that she will only say that it's her job, so there's no need for you to feel sorry, Your Highness. Also, we'll need to investigate the relationship between each tribe."

"Ah yeah, that one… I'll do it as soon as you return back to the north."

"Your Highness, can you stop giving your job for me to do?"

The two men looked at each other and laughed.