Chapter 45: A Dying Man’s Words Are Honest

“Seventh Highness, have you come to mock me?”

Xu Xianyang looked at Xiao Rui, somewhat surprised, but his tone was neither angry nor sad, as if he had seen through life and death.

Xiao Rui shook his head and said, “I am not that despicable, to specially come and humiliate a criminal who has already faced justice.”

“Justice?” Xu Xianyang murmured, giving a self-mocking smile, and said casually, “Perhaps…”

“Is it not?” Xiao Rui asked.

Xu Xianyang seemed unwilling to argue and instead asked, “What does Seventh Highness want with a dying man like me?”

Xiao Rui stated his purpose directly: “I am very curious about the Night King. I wonder if Lord Xu can tell me something?”

“Hmm?” Xu Xianyang raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting this matter. It was beyond his expectations.

“Seventh Highness, a dying man’s words are honest. I advise you, don’t meddle with anything or anyone related to the Night King, even if you are Your Majesty’s own son. Moreover, even if I told you everything I know, you would not find any trace.” Xu Xianyang warned.

I don’t want to either!

Xiao Rui wailed inside, but he could only put on a brave face and say, “If I insist on knowing, is Lord Xu willing to tell me?”

Xu Xianyang immediately stared at Xiao Rui, his eyes like those of a hawk. Even though he had fallen into prison, it did not diminish the authority he had cultivated from holding high positions. Xiao Rui boldly met his gaze, showing no sign of backing down.

In this kind of situation, he had to remain steady! In his past life, he had been involved in official careers; he had seen high-ranking officials before!

“Fine. Since you are actively seeking trouble, I naturally have nothing to hold back.” Xu Xianyang suddenly closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “You caused my Xu family to be destroyed. If you are asking for trouble, why would I not be happy to oblige?”

Xiao Rui rolled his eyes at him, truly wanting to give him a whip to let him know he brought this upon himself.

“What do you want to know?” Xu Xianyang asked.

“Where is the Night King?” Xiao Rui asked the most critical question directly.

“Cough, cough…” Xu Xianyang, who had only been calm for a moment, was choked by the question and said angrily, “If I knew where he was, I could atone for my crimes by performing a meritorious service. Would I be here?”

Xiao Rui responded with an awkward smile and asked again, “Then, did you really recruit traitorous ministers, intending to rebel?”

He could see Xu Xianyang’s eye twitch. Then, Xu Xianyang nodded and said, “I recruited them.”

“I have always been unable to understand why Lord Xu would recruit traitorous ministers. There is no reason.” Xiao Rui hesitated for a moment but still voiced the doubt in his heart.

Xu Xianyang sighed, evaded the question, and said, “When poor, attend to your own virtue in solitude; when in office, serve the world as well.”

Xiao Rui scratched his head, really wanting to spit in his face. He was corrupt and broke the law, yet he talked about serving the world.

“Then, the traitors you recruited—did they come to you on their own, or did you recruit them through other means? When you recruit people, don’t you investigate their backgrounds?” Xiao Rui asked.

Xu Xianyang said, “You want to find the Night King through the traitors. Why not just ask those traitors directly?”

“Even His Majesty couldn’t get anything from interrogations. Could I get anything from interrogating them? Moreover, I heard that those traitors bit into poison hidden in their teeth and killed themselves. There wasn’t even a chance to interrogate them.” Xiao Rui said helplessly.

Xu Xianyang retorted, “Then do you know that the Eastern Depot asked me the questions you just asked, even more thoroughly? They not only interrogated me but also did not spare anyone in my residence. I told them everything truthfully, and the Eastern Depot still found no trace of the Night King. So, asking me again is still useless.”

Xiao Rui smiled, however. “I naturally know the Eastern Depot would conduct strict interrogations to make you spill everything you know. I also know that asking again is unnecessary. But I think that humans, as beings, ultimately keep some things hidden in their hearts. Lord Xu would say what you know, but what about your speculations? You might not say those… I don’t believe you did not investigate your retainers! They could kill members of the Wang Family for you to silence them, so they must be trusted confidants. You must be hiding a little secret, something you didn’t even tell the Eastern Depot. Right?”

Xu Xianyang fell silent.

Xiao Rui pressed further, asking, “How about we make a deal? You tell me your little secret, and I agree to one request of yours. Is that fair? Your son is certainly doomed, but you still have daughters and a wife. Exile over three thousand miles is not easy for women, children, and the elderly.”

These words touched Xu Xianyang. He hesitated for a moment and finally said, “I truly do not know the origins of these traitors. But you are also right; these retainers were indeed my confidants. During these days here, I have given good thought to the origins of the traitors. Indeed, I discovered a strange common point.”

“What common point?” Xiao Rui quickly asked.

Xu Xianyang, however, said, “You need to promise that my family can complete their exile safely and have a place to settle and make a living at the border.”

“No problem. I can still manage that.” Xiao Rui agreed.

Xu Xianyang said, “Good. I believe Your Highness’s word is as good as gold. Then I will tell you: those traitorous retainers of mine all seemed to have a common liking for Braised Chicken.”

Several question marks appeared on Xiao Rui’s forehead.

“Like Braised Chicken? I like it too.” Xiao Rui said. In his previous life, he was from Pengcheng, not far from Ludong, so he naturally liked the Braised Chicken from there.

Wait… Ludong?

Isn’t the Night King the Military Governor of Ludong?

Xu Xianyang continued, “Among the five traitors, I have seen almost all of them buy Braised Chicken. Originally, this was just a dietary matter and nothing special. But these past few days, upon careful thought, the more I pondered, the more it seemed problematic. If you really want to find the Night King’s traces, you could investigate from this angle.”

It wasn’t easy, but finally, there was a clue.

Xiao Rui almost burst into tears of emotion.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to leave, Xu Xianyang suddenly called out to him and said, “Xiao Rui, you are right. People like to keep little secrets in their hearts. But I am a dying man; I do not hope to keep little secrets but rather try every way to survive. However, do you know why I did not tell this common point to the Eastern Depot?”

“Why?” Xiao Rui instinctively asked.

Xu Xianyang smiled mysteriously. “The Capital City is vast. Although I was honored as a Grand Secretariat official of the Second Realm, my origins were humble. I did not belong to the topmost aristocratic families or powerful clans in this great Capital City. But why were my retainers traitors? Aren’t you curious about that? What about other powerful nobles? What about the retainers they keep? You should take care. Ah… So it is said, when a man is about to die, his heart becomes good!”

Xiao Rui shuddered and was speechless for a long time.

Returning to his residence, Xiao Rui told Jia Xu exactly what Xu Xianyang had said.

Jia Xu, however, smiled and said, “Your Highness, you need not worry needlessly. No matter how deep the waters of the Capital City’s powerful nobles are, everything is ultimately under Emperor Xia’s control. In my opinion, even if the Night King is not dead, he is unlikely to achieve much.”

Xiao Rui smiled and said, “Yes, I am overthinking.”

“Then does Your Highness still intend to continue searching for the Night King?” Jia Xu asked curiously.

Xiao Rui nodded. “Yes!”

Hearing this, Jia Xu frowned. He could not guess Xiao Rui’s intention at all. He had met countless people, but such a situation rarely occurred.

Probably, even if he racked his brains, he would not know about the existence of something like a System.