Cen Yu rose and walked to a wall, pulling a lever on a wall-mounted oil lamp. The wall immediately split open, revealing a hidden door. "Xiao Man, it's still not too late to regret this. Once you step inside, there's no turning back."
"Will you leave me a way out?" Xiao Man scoffed. "Don't make me laugh until my teeth fall out."
"If you choose to retreat now, or if you choose to pursue the clues of the killer of your father, I will let you leave safely." Cen Yu leaned against the wall, his expression unreadable. He hated Xiao Man. He had once been utterly alone. His own father treated him as a tool, his siblings treated him as a slave, and even the servants in the manor dared to bully him. Only Wen Mohan had offered him a sliver of warmth, and he had merely wanted to cling to that sliver of warmth, only to have it cruelly snatched away by Xiao Man!
Xiao Man didn't even look at Cen Yu and walked straight in. She had long known the mastermind behind her father's murder. Even if she hadn't, she wouldn't trade Wen Mohan's life for a clue of uncertain veracity. The living were far more important than the dead!
Cen Yu watched Xiao Man's retreating back, a flicker of madness in his eyes, a sinister smile curling his lips. "You're right. From the very beginning, I never left you a way out!"
In the dim secret chamber, Wen Mohan huddled in a corner, clutching a shard of broken porcelain. The shard dug into his hand, drawing blood, but he felt no pain. Again and again, he plunged the shard into his thigh. Blood stained his robes, yet Wen Mohan's face was flushed with an unhealthy crimson.
Wen Mohan pressed his back against the wall, trying to draw some coolness from it. The heat seemed to be burning his blood, his breathing heavy and erratic. Wen Mohan did his best to maintain his sanity.
Before him lay two doors. He could open either one and find release, yet he chose to wait. Whatever awaited him behind either door was bound to be no good!
"Mohan." Cen Yu's voice sounded beside his ear. "Have you decided which path to take?"
Wen Mohan panted, tugging at his collar, trying to breathe more easily. "Who is the killer?" Su Dan Novel Network
Upon hearing this, Cen Yu suddenly laughed. "You people are so funny. As soon as you arrived, you only asked about the killer. As soon as Xiao Man arrived, she only asked where you were. And yet, I am the one who ends up being the villain."
"Man'er is here. What do you intend to do to her?" Wen Mohan grew anxious. "Cen Yu, if you dare to harm her, I will not spare you!"
Hearing this, Cen Yu's anger flared. "What's so good about her that you would risk everything for her?"
"Her goodness doesn't need others to know. As long as I know, it is enough." Wen Mohan said weakly, "Cen Yu, for the sake of our many years of brotherhood, I beg you, do not harm her."
Cen Yu laughed, his smile full of malice. "Mohan, why would I harm her? I said I wouldn't harm her."
"Truly?"
"Of course." Cen Yu's voice was full of temptation. "Because the one who will harm her next is you, not me!"
Wen Mohan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The Fire Charm Poison made him wish he were dead, yet he felt a chill run down his spine. "You… you can't do this!"
"Mohan, I have given you a choice. One of the two doors before you leads to a woman I have carefully selected for you, and the other leads to Xiao Man, who is rushing here. Will you choose to harm Xiao Man, or will you choose the person I have chosen for you?"
"Cen Yu, you despicable scoundrel!"
"Mohan, instead of wasting your energy, you'd be better off thinking about what you're going to do." Cen Yu's voice held the satisfaction of revenge. "Will you harm Xiao Man, making her hate you, or will you choose another woman, severing your own possibility with her? You'd best make a decision quickly, otherwise, by the time Xiao Man arrives… guess whether she will save you?"
Wen Mohan's skin was turning pink, and a warm stream flowed from his nose. He wiped it with his sleeve. He had been poisoned for almost two hours. If the Fire Charm Poison was not alleviated within two hours, he would surely die!
"Do you think I'll walk the path you've laid out?" Wen Mohan asked, tearing open his collar and gasping for air.
Cen Yu did not reply. After so many years of brotherhood, he believed he understood Wen Mohan quite well. He just couldn't understand why it had to be Xiao Man!
"Why Xiao Man?" Cen Yu asked the question that had been lingering in his mind. "She is rebellious, she is arrogant and overbearing, she is even defiant. Why did you choose her?"
"Because she lives the most authentically, living the way no one else dares to live." Wen Mohan felt his vision blurring, as if everything had turned blood red. He plunged the shard of porcelain into his thigh again. The pain momentarily restored his clarity. "I cannot be as unrestrained and carefree as her. So, I will protect her, so that she can continue to live her life freely."
"But she doesn't love you!" Cen Yu said coldly. "She pretends not to see your efforts."
"If she truly couldn't see, could you have lured her here?" Wen Mohan said calmly. "She does have feelings for me."
"This is just you deceiving yourself. Do you know where she went tonight?"
"To see the Prince of Qin." Even in this perilous situation, Wen Mohan remained calm. "I've always known she admired Nangong Yu. Nangong Yu was ambushed and severely injured. How could she not go to visit him."
"Since you know, why do you remain infatuated?"
"You are the one who is infatuated." Wen Mohan leaned against the wall, his consciousness slowly slipping away. He worried he wouldn't be able to hold on long enough to see Xiao Man one last time. "From beginning to end, I knew what I wanted. Do you know?"
"I know."
"You don't know!" Wen Mohan retorted. "You think you want me to always be with you, but what you truly want is just someone to understand and love you."
Cen Yu did not refute him for once. Wen Mohan gave a bitter smile. "Cen Yu, tell me, do you have anything to do with the General's death?"
"So what if I do, so what if I don't?"
Wen Mohan sneered. "As promised, you should tell me who the killer is now."
Cen Yu suddenly laughed. "Mohan, speaking of which, I must congratulate you."
"Congratulate me on what?" Wen Mohan asked. "Congratulate me on being so foolish as to fall into your trap?"
"No, congratulations on eliminating your greatest romantic rival without shedding a drop of blood!"
Wen Mohan felt his body getting hotter and hotter, as if he were being cooked. He kept tearing at his clothes, trying to cool down, but it was all in vain.
"I don't understand."
"If I say that Xiao Zhen's death is related to Nangong Yu, do you understand now?"
Wen Mohan's eyes snapped open, filled with suspicion. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"