Meng Mingying laughed with him, though this time the laughter felt hollow. “Jingyi, do you still remember Black Tiger? That beast must be over ten years old now. How long has it been since you saw him?”
Pei Jingyi’s expression paused. Black Tiger was a young eagle he had caught as a child. He had raised it from a chick, and it had followed him through many battles. When he came to the capital, he had left Black Tiger in the vast wilderness of Bingzhou.
Meng Mingying suddenly leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Last night, I received a letter from an old friend in the army. Black Tiger is seriously injured. He’s not going to make it.”
His fingers repeatedly brushed against a letter inside his sleeve. This was his true purpose for coming. He pulled the letter out. “I have the horses prepared. Tonight at midnight, at the west corner gate…”
Pei Jingyi’s eyes fell upon the snow-white letter. It was sealed with crimson wax. His thoughts shifted instantly, and he suddenly let out a mocking laugh. “The Chancellor sent you, didn’t he?”
He had waited until the third day, and Gu Huaiyu had finally made his move.
Meng Mingying froze, his face turning red with panic. “The… the Chancellor? What does this have to do with the Chancellor? I went through immense trouble to get this for you!”
Pei Jingyi ignored the protest. He snatched the letter, tore open the seal, and pulled out a single, thin sheet of paper.
On the paper, written in the unrestrained, elegant Feibai Style, were four large characters:
“Step Into the Trap.”
He couldn’t help but let out a low laugh. He handed the paper back to Meng Mingying. “A travel permit?”
Meng Mingying’s eyes widened, his pupils trembling violently as if struck by lightning. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. It took him a long while to find his voice. “Gu Yu! That cruel, insidious traitor!”
Pei Jingyi flicked the paper with the four characters. “Lord Meng, care to explain?”
Meng Mingying suddenly fell to his knees with a heavy thud. He kowtowed three times, the sound of his head hitting the floor ringing out. “Jingyi, I have failed your father!”
Pei Jingyi suddenly lashed out with a vicious kick!
Bang!
Meng Mingying was sent flying, his back slamming hard against a pillar in the hall.
His official hat rolled away, his hair became a tangled mess, and he curled into a ball clutching his stomach as a trail of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Pei Jingyi grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up like a small chick and twisting his joints—the standard procedure for dealing with spies.
“What did you do?”
“I had no choice!” Meng Mingying shrieked, his face twitching as if it were about to collapse. “He threatened my grandson’s life! I had to obey!”
Pei Jingyi swung a fist into his face, the blow causing blood to spray. “I asked what you did!”
The agony nearly caused Meng Mingying to faint. He bit his bloodied tongue and screamed, “It was your father’s letters! He forced me to hand them over! Every single letter, he cut them all into pieces—”
“He wanted me to piece them back together… to piece together evidence that your father conspired with Eastern Liao and collaborated with the enemy!”
“I begged him! He just smiled while drinking tea and said, ‘Can you piece it together? Or should I cut up another letter?'”
“I knelt for an entire night, Jingyi! An entire night!”
He wailed, “I didn’t want to hurt your father, I just had no way out! I… I even had someone get you a travel permit. I was afraid you would be implicated… I really wanted to save you—”
Pei Jingyi’s eyes were as cold as ice. He released his grip, allowing Meng Mingying to collapse onto the floor like a pile of mud.
The hall fell into a heavy silence, broken only by Meng Mingying’s ragged breathing.
Pei Jingyi’s face was hidden in the shadows, save for the audible cracks of his knuckles. Suddenly, a low laugh rumbled in his throat.
The sound made the hair on Meng Mingying’s neck stand up; it sounded like a demon grinding its teeth.
Pei Jingyi looked down at him, his brow furrowed in disgust. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill you yet.”
He turned and strode toward the door, his robes billowing like the wings of a hawk. “You just stay here and watch how Gu Huaiyu dies.”
With that, he stepped over the threshold and blew a sharp, piercing whistle. A pitch-black horse came galloping toward him. He grabbed the saddle with one hand and flipped onto its back in one fluid, graceful motion.
“Yah!”
The horse shot forward like an arrow from a bow, charging into the main street as commoners scrambled to get out of the way.
The vermilion gates of the Chancellor’s Manor soon came into view. Seeing the aggressive approach, the guards immediately lowered their spears. “Halt!”
Pei Jingyi pulled hard on the reins. He sat tall on his horse, his expression having returned to normal, though an undercurrent surged deep in his eyes.
“Please announce me,” he said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Pei Du has come to fulfill his appointment with Chancellor Gu.”
The guards exchanged looks. One of them hesitated. “Do you have an invitation…?”
Pei Jingyi suddenly laughed. He pulled out the paper that said “Step Into the Trap” and flicked it. The thin paper flew toward the guard like a blade. “This is the Chancellor’s invitation to me.”
