Chapter 6

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Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“My Lord, what if none of us answer all three questions correctly?” asked the masculine and handsome man.

“Humph…” The scholarly-looking man sneered, radiating pride in his own intelligence.

The officer of the Order of the Black Dragon said, “If none of you can answer all the questions correctly, I will kill all of you and then look for another batch of potential candidates. There are plenty of good-looking men out there. This world has no shortage of men who look like Adonis. Besides, if more than two of you answer all the questions correctly, we will still choose only one. To put it simply, one of you surviving is your best-case scenario.”

The handsome, scholarly-looking guy bowed and said, “My Lord, I became a Xiucai, a Distinguished Talent, when I was sixteen years old. If I hadn’t broken the law, I would have become a Juren, a Recommended Man, this year. So, whatever questions you have, ask away.”

“Alright, the first question–” the officer of the Order of the Black Dragon was about to ask the first question.

To everyone’s surprise, he was interrupted as Yun Zhonghe turned to the masculine man. “Brother, may I know your name? And what crime did you commit?”

They were all startled and looked at Yun Zhonghe like he was crazy. “Don’t you understand the situation that you’re in? This is a matter of life and death, and you interrupted an officer of the Order of the Black Dragon just to make friends? You are truly skilled at getting yourself into trouble.”

“I am Lin Bao. I ruined my general’s daughter, and that is why I got arrested,” the masculine man responded.

Yun Zhonghe then turned to the handsome scholar and asked, “Brother, what about you?”

“I am Yan Liang,” the handsome scholar said. “I fell in love with someone that I’m not supposed to be with.”

The officer of the Order of the Black Dragon sneered. “You secretly promised the daughter of Satrap Ning that you would marry her, and then you seduced his concubine. Was that love?”

“Of course it is,” the handsome scholar answered. “Xiao Die looks almost identical to her mother, so is it really strange that I fell for both of them?”

Yun Zhonghe looked at the handsome scholar admiringly and said, “Brother Yan is the role model of our people. I am very pleased to meet you!”

“What about you?” Yan Liang asked. “What is your name, and what have you done?”

Yun Zhonghe answered, “We are men of the same line, which must be why we hit it off. My name is Yun Zhonghe. I’m afraid that I fell in love with more than a hundred women whom I wasn’t supposed to love, and they were all rich.”

1When Lin Bao and Yan Liang heard what he said, anger flashed in their eyes. They exchanged a look and decided to destroy Yun Zhonghe.

In truth, Lin Bao and Yan Liang looked down upon Yun Zhonghe. One was a Martial Juren, a hero in the army who was a powerful fighter; the other one was a child prodigy who became a Xiucai when he was only sixteen years old. Yun Zhonghe was a beggar, a cockroach in the sewer; how could he compare himself to them?

The Black Dragon officer raised his hand. “First question. What quality do you think you have that would attract the attention of the baroness of the City of Torn Gust, Jing Zhongyue?”

The masculine man declared proudly, “My kung fu! I could conquer the South and the North for her and defend her properties.”

The officer nodded and admitted, “You are indeed good at kung fu. Dozens of knights perished in the City of Chill Water to capture you. That is why we have had no choice but to seal your strength and blood flow with a silver needle.”

Next, the officer turned to the scholar and asked, “Yan Liang, what about you?”

The good-looking scholar answered, “I would resort to my wisdom. The Land of No King is a savage and chaotic place. The She-Devil in the City of Order would definitely need a strategist like me.”

“You are indeed clever,” the officer said. “If not for your misconduct, you would still be the chief advisor in the residence of the satrap.”

Then, the officer shifted his gaze toward Yun Zhonghe. “And you? What would it take for you to attract and subjugate the She-Devil?”

Yun Zhonghe thought for a while and replied seriously, “I would use the unparalleled beauty of my face, and some secret and despicable methods, of course.”

When he said that, silence fell upon the cell. All eyes were on him, while he didn’t even blink. They looked at him like he was an idiot.

Was this guy’s brain working? Was he tired of living? Or was his insanity simply driving him to annoy his executioner in every way possible?

The Black Dragon officer continued. “Second question. Who are the people you care for and worry about the most?”

The light in Lin Bao’s and Yan Liang’s eyes extinguished as soon as they heard the question, they understood the hidden meaning of the question instantly.

If they infiltrated the City of Torn Gust successfully, what would it take to ensure their loyalty? Their families would definitely be held hostage. The more they cared about their families, the more confidence the Order of the Black Dragon would have in them. Revealing who they cared about would give them a better chance of surviving this selection process.

Tears welled up in Lin Bao’s eyes instantly. His lips trembled as he said, “My Lord, it doesn’t matter if I die, but my parents back home have worked their hearts out to raise me. Nothing came to them easily. I miss them every day. I don’t care if I die, but there’s no way I could bury my parents when they die and listen to their last words. I would regret everything at that moment! I would rather they totally forget me, their unfilial son, than have them shed tears from dusk until dawn. My father, my mother, I am sorry!”

When he finished talking, he knelt on the ground, facing the direction of his hometown. He burst into loud sobs and bowed his head so quickly that his forehead smacked against the ground.

Yan Liang was cursing in his heart, “Lin Bao, you look honest and brave. I didn’t expect you to be such a good actor. You’ve already talked about parents, so who am I gonna talk about?”

The Black Dragon officer asked again, “Yan Liang, what about you? Who is the person you care about and worry about the most?”

Yan Liang shuddered like he was struck by lightning. His face went blank, and tears started to roll down his cheeks. After a few seconds, he suddenly knelt on the ground and started to speak in a trembling voice, “My Lord, I deserve to die, I deserve to die. Although I have secretly promised to marry Satrap Ning’s daughter, I have an illegitimate child out there, and he is only two years old. Mingming… Mingming, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. Daddy won’t be able to be by your side as you grow up, won’t be able to hear your cute peals of laughter anymore. You always kick off the blanket in your sleep, and no one will cover you with a blanket from now on. Will you catch a cold? Will you starve? Will you be bullied and mocked for not having a father?”

Then, Yan Liang collapsed on the floor, crying silently.

The acting of the two men took Yun Zhonghe’s breath away. Each was more brilliant than the last.

One was wailing, so the other chose to cry without making a sound.

The officer then looked at Yun Zhonghe and asked, “And you, Yun Zhonghe? Who do you care for the most?”

Sorrow covered Yun Zhonghe’s face, and tears threatened to roll down his cheeks.

Lin Bao and Yan Liang sneered in their hearts. “It is impossible that a low-born beggar like you would be better at acting than us.”

“My Lord, how could you not know that you are the one I care the most?” Yun Zhonghe asked plaintively. “You have forgotten that I have just taken you as my father.”

2F*ck, this shameless piece of sh*t!

The officer’s face was twitching. He couldn’t help but reach for the handle of his knife. He wished he could just pull his blade out and slice Yun Zhonghe into pieces.

It was already bad enough that Yun Zhonghe was kissing the officer’s *ss, but the worst part was that everything he said dripped with sarcasm. It was astounding that a person could have so little sense of self-preservation.

The Black Dragon officer then said, “There is a troop of elite secret agents who are undercover in the City of Torn Gust. If you are selected to execute the mission in the city, those elite agents will be at your service. The Imperial Order of the Black Dragon has spent fifteen years and put in an immense amount of effort for the elite troop to successfully infiltrate the City of Torn Gust. This is my third question: imagine that you are at a critical point where you need to sacrifice the whole troop of agents and betray both the Order of the Black Dragon and the empire to stay alive. What would you do?”

“I would rather be chopped into pieces than betray the empire or the Order of the Black Dragon!” Lin Bao roared immediately. “My death matters little! The troop of agents from the Order of the Black Dragon who have infiltrated the City of Torn Gust must survive.”

Yan Liang was again cursing in his heart. “F*ck you, Lin Bao! Do you have to be the first to answer every time? Don’t you know that your fervent righteousness just made this more difficult for me?”

After a moment of reasoning, Yan Liang answered in a level voice, “A good secret agent would never let a situation like that happen. He wouldn’t expose his brothers to danger. I would kill myself in advance and not risk blowing the covers of any of my brothers from the Order of the Black Dragon.”

Lin Bao was shouting furiously in his heart, “Enough, Yan Liang! Do you have to be so outstanding every time? You scholars are cunning.”

The Black Dragon officer turned and asked, “Yun Zhonghe, what about you? What would you choose?”

“Do I even need to answer?” Yun Zhonghe replied. “I would, of course, sacrifice the whole troop of undercover agents from the Order of the Black Dragon in order to survive.”

1The officer was enraged. “That is a troop of agents whom the empire spent fifteen years and put in a substantial amount of effort to cultivate!”

Yun Zhonghe shrugged. “So what? I’m not close to them.”

The snarling officer’s fist tightened on the grip of his saber, and he pulled the blade halfway out of its scabbard. “You are saying that you would betray the Order of the Black Dragon and the Great Ying Empire in order to survive?”

“I’m sorry, but every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost,” Yun Zhonghe said.

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