Chapter 1512 – Taking Down Nie Liang and Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Aimed at the World (Part 51)
“Hey, are you okay?”
The Empress of the Mountain Spirit noticed the silence in her head and couldn’t help but ask.
Nie Qing didn’t respond. The Empress continued, “You know, everyone encounters scumbags in their life. Fortunately, there’s still a chance to recover from it. Right now, your most urgent task is to figure out how to regain your identity. With Nie Yang’s face, showing up will just get you killed.”
The Nie Clan’s military camp was heavily guarded. Even with the system’s help to dodge inquiries, if she didn’t find a way to leave the tent, it would be the end. She said, “I can only stay here for six hours. What do you plan to do after that?”
From various messages and system prompts, the Empress discovered that the body she temporarily borrowed was Nie Qing’s. However, thanks to a disguise pill buff, the appearance was that of Nie Yang, who was facing imminent danger of being hunted down.
“I’ll ask you a few questions. Do you trust your father-in-law Wei Ying more, or do you trust your good buddy Nie Yang?”
After a long pause, a trembling, suppressed voice echoed in her mind.
“Of course, my father-in-law.”
The Empress said, “Then that settles it. Your father-in-law claims that Nie Yang is secretly plotting against the Nie Clan and has killed the elders. It’s very likely that your father was poisoned by him too. You inexplicably took a disguise pill and became Nie Yang, so have you considered that the real Nie Yang also took a disguise pill and transformed into you? Otherwise, how do you explain the followers? If he really is your buddy, suddenly changing his face and identity, why didn’t he call you? If I hadn’t shown up, you’d be in for a world of pain from your father-in-law.”
Nie Qing remained silent for a long time, but the Empress could sense his emotions.
Influenced by that intense emotion, even she couldn’t help but feel disgust and pain.
“I say, you should think of a way out.”
Even with the system’s help, she couldn’t escape the Nie camp.
Why? Because that old geezer Wei Ying locked down the camp, declaring that not even a fly could escape.
Her idea of seeking refuge with the Lord went down the drain.
Now, she could only hope that Nie Qing had some clever plans.
Nie Qing said, “Can you do me a favor… can you write?”
The Empress replied, “Big brother, are you looking down on my educational background as a high school prodigy and a college intellectual?”
Nie Qing didn’t understand what she was saying but felt the goodwill. “Just help me write something; I can’t control this body.”
The Empress nodded in agreement; after all, they were just two little grasshoppers tied together on the same string.
She didn’t want to be the first Empress of the Mountain Spirit to end midway through her adventure—that would be way too embarrassing.
It was one thing to bring nothing back, but being chopped into pieces by this body’s father-in-law? No way!
Calming down, Nie Qing said, “Ah Yang… Even though Nie Yang understands me, he can’t know everything. I still have a way to prove my identity. But this requires your help; help me… help me hide for a while, so my father-in-law can cool down…”
He knew very well how loyal his father-in-law was to his own father.
If the mastermind behind everything escaped, it would be a disaster. If caught, he’d be done for, with no chance to defend himself. Although he didn’t know where Nie Yang got the disguise pill, it must be some outside trickery. What Nie Qing feared most was that if he died, the effects of the disguise pill would wear off, returning him to his original form. His father-in-law would suddenly know the truth and would take his own life in shame…
No matter what, he had to figure out a way to regain his identity.
The Empress said heroically, “You say the word, and I’ll write it.”
After a while…
Both fell silent.
“Did you really… go to school?” Nie Qing asked uncertainly.
The Empress nearly exploded, “Are you questioning this scholar’s academic credentials?”
Though it was simplified characters, Nie Qing could barely make sense of it and asked for no more.
Nie Qing had the Empress write an article that Wei Ying penned long ago, reminiscing about his first meeting with Nie Liang. Due to its personal nature, only two or three people had read it, and Nie Qing was one of them.
With comprehensive searches throughout the camp, any suspicious places couldn’t be overlooked, so the words left by the Empress were soon discovered.
“What’s this mess of arm-less, leg-less symbols supposed to mean?”
Fan Chen, one of the informed, naturally joined in to share the pressure to prevent Wei Ying from being overly stimulated and following the previous Lord’s path.
Wei Ying pondered over it for a while, vaguely recognizing that those odd, incomplete symbols were letters.
Fan Chen could only recognize one or two characters, “What is all this?”
Wei Ying maintained a stern face, frowning, “It should be the first line of a poem; is there anything else?”
Fan Chen replied, “There are quite a few parts; do you want to check? Your condition…”
Wei Ying said, “Some things are puzzling…”
They proceeded to several other areas, and Wei Ying’s expression grew darker with every glance, as if he could twist water from his grimace.
“The poem you’re talking about is…”
Wei Ying recited a segment perfectly, his expression complex, “This is a casual piece I wrote in my spare time. How could it show up here?”
Fan Chen was also dumbfounded.
“You wrote this?”
Wei Ying nodded, “It was written years ago; the content is a bit rough, so I let it gather dust in my study.”
Fan Chen exclaimed in surprise, pressing for details, “Zishun, think about who might have seen it. Guess who could have left these characters behind?”
Since it was Wei Ying’s own writing, and an older piece at that, not many would have seen it.
Wei Ying said, “Only three people: the previous Lord, the Lady, and the Young Master.”
One had already passed away, one was far away back home, and the last one was at a funeral.
“Those three are out of the question; think again… did you miss anyone?”
Wei Ying shook his head. “There shouldn’t be anyone else who saw it. What could the person leaving these characters want?”
Just then, a soldier reported another discovery.
This time, the text found wasn’t a poem written by Wei Ying but something penned by Nie Qing in his youth.
However, Wei Ying scolded Nie Qing for the overly simplistic writing and unnecessary grievances, insisting that he rewrite it.
In other words, it was a discarded draft only known to Wei Ying and Nie Qing.
At another spot, the Empress was nearly in tears, realizing the enemy’s search had further narrowed, making it increasingly difficult to evade detection even with the system’s assistance.
“Big brother, are you sure leaving those words was helpful?”
Nie Qing sighed, “It’s a gamble; if I’m pushed to a dead end, I… I can’t die at my father-in-law’s hands.”
The Empress sighed, “Poor child! In your next life, learn from our Lord and be more cautious—I’ll only be able to help you up to this point.”
After a while, the Empress heard a rush of footsteps approaching.
Before long, several gun barrels pointed at her head.
“I suppose it’s game over now.”
The Empress slowly rose from her hiding spot in the stable, raising her hands on either side of her head.
In the distance stood two middle-aged men in scholarly robes—it was Wei Ying and Fan Chen.
Fan Chen said, “You sure can run. Did you ever think about the consequences of your wrongdoings?”
The Empress couldn’t help but struggle a bit, gripping the feeding trough, and shouted at Wei Ying.
“Father-in-law! I’m your son-in-law, no lie! I even know that in the third row of your bookcase, there’s a certain something…”
Wei Ying barked, “Shut up!”
Fan Chen: “…”
What was that something?
