Although his clothes were ragged, barely covering him, and he was dirty with hair like steel wool, it was indeed the Third Prince who had been jumping up and down in front of Qian Xingzhi a month ago.
The gloom in Qian Xingzhi's heart vanished. What did it mean that heaven had eyes? She, Qian Xingzhi, was truly heaven's chosen one! If not now, when would she brag?
"Mm, indeed this direction. It seems my divination is as accurate as ever. What do you all plan to do next?"
Wei Yang swallowed, as if his worldview had been reshaped. "Lord Qian... truly impressive."
It wasn't that they didn't want to carry the Third Prince back directly, but each of his wrists was bound by two iron chains welded to the wall. They had to find the keys first.
"How about this: Lord Lu sends a message to the General Who Pacifies the South, Governor Wei checks on the Third Prince's condition, and since divination took some effort, let me rest a while?"
Qian Xingzhi gave orders with a clear conscience, and both Lu Yu and Wei Yang, seemingly convinced by her feat, actually obeyed.
While they were occupied, Qian Xingzhi carefully examined the room.
Apart from the additional chains on the wall, everything else was the same as in her memory. Yan Zhaoshuang had been only ten when she hid here, eight years ago. If she could recall who else knew about this secret passage, she might deduce the mastermind behind the current unrest in Nanchuan.
In the past eight years, had Yan Zhaoshuang returned to this passage? Could her father not be dead? Where had her mother gone? Why was there such a passage in this temple? Was the Yan family involved in building this temple, deliberately leaving a refuge?
A series of questions piled up in her mind. Overwhelmed, Qian Xingzhi simply emptied her mind, left the passage, and breathed fresh air.
Lu Yu seemed to have just released a carrier pigeon. He had been unusually silent since Qian Xingzhi opened the passage.
"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly," Qian Xingzhi could barely contain her excitement. "Once the general replies, we should set off back, right? Now that we've found the Third Prince, we can rest a bit more tomorrow."
He seemed to be thinking about something, and after a long pause, he gave a sullen acknowledgment, not appearing pleased.
Qian Xingzhi casually teased, "What? Lord Lu didn't want to find the Third Prince?"
Lu Yu smiled helplessly. "It's just that my old injury hasn't healed, and I caught a chill, feeling unwell. How about letting Yuan Bai and Governor Wei stay to wait for the general's news while Lord Qian accompanies me back to the city?"
Qian Xingzhi then remembered that he had caught a cold and been assassinated earlier. If not for defending her, he wouldn't have had to climb the mountain in the cold at night. His outer robe was still on her.
"Lord Lu's health is important. I'll go inform Governor Wei."
Qian Xingzhi, bewildered, followed Lu Yu back to the North Gate.
She said concernedly, "If we delay further, it'll be dawn soon. Lord Lu, rest early. If there's something urgent, we can discuss it tomorrow."
"It is indeed urgent," Lu Yu said, half-dragging, half-pulling Qian Xingzhi into his room. "Better to settle it now."
Qian Xingzhi vaguely felt something was off, but she was already in the room. Still, what could go wrong?
But the scene in the room immediately became somewhat intense.
"What exactly..."
Before Qian Xingzhi could finish her sentence, a cold sensation touched her throat—Lu Yu was holding a sword to her.
For the first time, she saw such a sinister look in his eyes. Confused, she could only raise her hands in surrender. "Lord Lu's urgent matter is to kill me?"
Qian Xingzhi merely blinked, and Lu Yu flashed from a meter away to stand before her, twisting her arm behind her back and pressing her against the wall, the sword cold against her neck, making her shrink slightly.
"Who... are you really?"
Was he frightened by her spooky act? Qian Xingzhi tried to feign weakness. "Lord Lu, haven't you investigated me? I am Qian Xingzhi, from Luo County, Nanchuan, without parents——"
"You're lying!"
His grip tightened again. Where was the weakness he had shown earlier?
Qian Xingzhi's mind couldn't keep up. She sneered and decided to let it all out. "Fine, fine. Actually, I come from another world. The original Qian Xingzhi might already be dead..."
Lu Yu ignored this completely incomprehensible statement and scanned Qian Xingzhi from head to toe several times. "Who sent you?"
"No one sent me, Lord Lu. I'm really just a powerful charlatan."
The heat from Lu Yu's palm was frightening. Qian Xingzhi wanted to resolve the situation quickly. She resolved to take a risk. "Lu Yu, I'm here to help you. I can help you take revenge."
He let out a contemptuous laugh, his hot breath on the back of her neck. "Qian Xingzhi, you're being a bit too arrogant."
"You know," Qian Xingzhi coaxed him patiently, "we're both in the same boat. If not to avenge the Lu family, why would you struggle so hard?"
Lu Yu seemed to laugh even more happily. "Lord Qian, you're still as sharp-tongued as ever."
"If I said I also came for revenge, would you believe me?"
"Then tell me, who are you trying to kill?"
After some hesitation, Qian Xingzhi finally spoke. "Starting with the Third Prince."
These words seemed to work. Lu Yu released his grip and withdrew the sword.
"The night is still young. We have plenty of time to get to know each other. Sit down, Lord Qian."