“Wasn’t it you who sent Chuxia to buy needles and thread this morning?” Qinglong rose, stepping forward. “If you hadn’t colluded with our enemies, how would they know we were going to the fabric shop and set up such an elaborate trap?”
Bai Xue’s face changed slightly as she turned to the Young Master to defend herself: “Young Master, I only asked Chuxia to mend my cloak, not to go to the fabric shop—”
“You knew we were traveling light, yet you implied to Chuxia that we didn’t have enough clothes. She, being kind-hearted, naturally went to buy more. Unfamiliar with Big Willow Village, she would have asked for the nearest fabric shop, falling right into your trap.” Qinglong gritted his teeth. “What else do you have to say?”
Bai Xue trembled slightly, kneeling down: “Young Master, it wasn’t me.”
The Young Master did not comment, merely stood up and released the acupoints of the person on the ground. It was a woman in her early twenties, trembling in fear: “Don’t… kill me.”
Qinglong threw the hidden weapon that was aimed at him onto the ground and angrily asked, “Who sent you?”
The Young Master raised his hand to stop him: “Qinglong, she doesn’t know martial arts.” He then gently asked the woman, “Don’t be afraid. Who made you dress like this?”
The woman stammered, “Someone gave me twenty coins to hide in the fabric shop for half a day, then to come out wearing a hat and cloak. They said… if someone lifted the hat, I should throw the knife.”
Qinglong remembered the weak throw of the weapon. In his urgency, he hadn’t noticed, just as she described.
“What did the person who gave you the coins look like?”
“He… he was wearing a black cloak, I… I don’t know.”
The Young Master, after listening, waved his hand: “Let her go. She’s not involved.”
The woman, as if pardoned, scrambled out. The three remained in the room, Bai Xue still kneeling, not daring to rise. The room fell into a heavy silence, Qinglong coldly watching her, his hand on his Fengchuan sword, clearly furious.
“Bai Xue, leave us for now,” the Young Master said, touching his forehead, his voice calm.
Qinglong stood up, shifting half a step, urgently saying, “Young Master!”
