"You've got backbone. I'll be waiting for you to take revenge on me," Jiang Yaoji said as she squatted down, pinching Jing Weiwei's chin and looking her straight in the eye.
"You'll surely get your comeuppance," Jing Weiwei said, sounding as if all her strength had been drained. She pulled her chin out of Jiang Yaoji's grasp and turned her head, looking worriedly at Zhao Qingcang.
Jiang Yaoji cast a disdainful glance at her and then ignored her. She turned to Yu Xiaobei and asked, "Do you know what plans Ji Yunxi and the others have?"
"The God-Slaying Blade is with Ji Yunxi. She's currently in Beidi with Feng Xingzhi, Lu Shu, and Qing Xuan. I'm not sure exactly where they are. The rest of them are still in Qinshe Valley," Yu Xiaobei said, telling them everything she knew.
"What are they going there for?" Jiang Yaoji's eyes flickered. She hadn't heard any news about Ji Yunxi before and was surprised to learn that she had gone there.
"Seems like they're looking for someone, but I don't know who," Yu Xiaobei replied.
"I can't believe you'd betray them like this, you heartless thing! The pavilion master trusted you so much," Jing Weiwei exclaimed in shock. Her voice was hoarse as she shouted at Yu Xiaobei.
Yu Xiaobei timidly glanced at her, then lowered her head and fell silent. She quietly stood beside Yu Mingyi.
"You've done well," Yu Mingyi said, looking at her and laughing heartily. "Take them to the water dungeon and lock them up. No one is allowed to see them without my permission."
The guards immediately dragged the two away upon hearing this. Yu Mingyi slowly sat down at the table, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. His tone was unfathomable as he said, "I thought you were supposed to bring Ji Yunxi and Feng Xingzhi here. Why did you bring these two instead?"
"You don't even need to ask. It must be because Ji Yunxi didn't want to come," Jiang Yaoji said, twirling her hair and smiling smugly.
"That's right. I'll take my leave now," Yu Xiaobei said, lowering her head and avoiding Jiang Yaoji's gaze. She always felt that there was a strange aura around this woman that made her feel uneasy.
Yu Mingyi called out to her, "Wait. Did she not come because she found out something?"
Yu Xiaobei stopped in her tracks and said in a low voice, "No. It's because they were going to look for someone. I insisted, so Ji Yunxi sent them two to help her." Thinking of Zhao Qingcang and Jing Weiwei, Yu Xiaobei's eyes dimmed. She wanted to go and see how they were.
Yu Mingyi clapped his hands and said, "Well done. You made the right choice. Your father would surely be proud of having such a good daughter."
Yu Xiaobei clenched her fists inside her sleeves but didn't say a word. She then lifted her feet and walked out of the palace.
"Do you want me to kill her and her father?" Jiang Yaoji said, looking at Yu Xiaobei's back and idly playing with her fingers. People like her usually caused trouble. If she could betray Ji Yunxi today, she could betray Yu Mingyi tomorrow.
Although she didn't care if Yu Mingyi was betrayed, she didn't want to be involved.
"No. I know what I'm doing," Yu Mingyi said, lowering his eyelids. In the end, he softened his heart.
"Fine. You're all good people, and I'm the only bad one," Jiang Yaoji said, her tone tinged with sarcasm. It was hard to tell if she was mocking Yu Mingyi or herself.
"What, do you have troubles too?" Yu Mingyi said, teasing her with a smile.
"You? Humph!" Jiang Yaoji gave him a cold look and stormed off. Yu Mingyi watched her go, his eyes darkening a bit.
Yu Xiaobei went to the kitchen and made some food. She put it in a food box and carried it to the dungeon.
"Stop. No one is allowed in without the permission of the Shark King," the guards at the door said, blocking her way.
Yu Xiaobei's expression was cold. She took out a token and said, "The Shark King knows I'm coming. Are you still going to stop me?"
"This..." The guards looked at each other. They inspected the food and finally let her through.
Yu Xiaobei didn't even look at them. She straightened her back and walked into the dungeon.
As soon as she entered, her legs went weak, and she almost fell. She quickly grabbed onto the wall to steady herself. The token was fake. She had just been pretending to be calm and had almost been exposed.
Zhao Qingcang was injured. His face was pale, and his limbs were cold. Jing Weiwei was sitting beside him. His wound was bleeding non-stop. Jing Weiwei tried to stop the bleeding by covering the wound with her hands, but the blood seeped out through her fingers. Her eyes were filled with tears as she said, "Does it hurt? Are you okay? I'm so useless. I let you get hurt."
Zhao Qingcang raised his hand and stroked her face. "Silly girl, I'm fine. Don't cry."
Jing Weiwei heard the commotion at the door and looked up. To her surprise, she saw Yu Xiaobei. Both she and Zhao Qingcang didn't look happy to see her. They ignored her when she walked in.
"Have some food," Yu Xiaobei said.
The two didn't say a word. Yu Xiaobei took out the food on her own.
"I'm sorry," Yu Xiaobei said. She glanced outside the cell to make sure there was no one around, and then whispered to them, "I had no choice. I can help you pass on messages."
Jing Weiwei turned her head away and said coldly, "We won't trust you anymore. Stop pretending. Just leave."
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to. They threatened me with my father. I really had no other way. I'm so sorry for hurting you," Yu Xiaobei said sincerely, constantly apologizing. Tears kept falling from her eyes. She wiped them away and sniffed, then continued, "I can help tell Ji Yunxi about your current situation."
Jing Weiwei was a bit tempted when she heard this. Zhao Qingcang was injured, and they had no other choice. Ji Yunxi didn't know what had happened to them, so they could only trust Yu Xiaobei one more time.
She looked at Zhao Qingcang. There seemed to be a lot she wanted to say in her eyes. Her lips parted slightly, but in the end, she didn't say a word.
"Are you really going to let her help?" Zhao Qingcang said, holding Jing Weiwei's hand. He understood that Jing Weiwei was worried about his injury, but he didn't want her to lose her composure.
Jing Weiwei patted Zhao Qingcang's hand to reassure him. Then she turned to Yu Xiaobei and asked, "How are you going to pass on the message?"
"You write the content on paper, and I'll find a way to send it out," Yu Xiaobei said, looking at them with sincere eyes. Jing Weiwei looked at her and thought for a while.
"Get me some paper and a pen. I'll write now," Jing Weiwei said.
"Okay!" Yu Xiaobei nodded, feeling a bit excited. She just wanted to do something for them to ease her guilt.
Jing Weiwei picked up the pen. Just as she was about to start writing, she looked at Yu Xiaobei and said, "Turn around. Don't peek."
"Okay. Don't worry. I won't peek," Yu Xiaobei said obediently, turning around.
Jing Weiwei briefly described their situation and then wrote a letter, stating Yu Xiaobei's betrayal.
After thinking for a while, Jing Weiwei pulled out a hairpin from her head. The head of the hairpin could be unscrewed, and it was hollow inside. She put the letter about Yu Xiaobei's betrayal inside.
"Okay. Take the hairpin and the letter. This hairpin is a token. They'll believe you when they see it," Jing Weiwei said, passing the things out through the bars.
"Okay. I'll remember," Yu Xiaobei said, carefully hiding the things as if they were precious treasures.