The intense fury seething within Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei was too much — almost impossible to bridle. But he needed to control the wrath within himself as he ordered all of his men, including Baron Chao Bo's daughter, for inquisition.

The pulse in his temples were throbbing but he was able to effectively put up an apathetic face.

"Perhaps you are expecting that we will go to Baron Chao Bo's domain because I have gathered all of you." Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei started aloofly. "Yes, we will definitely go there but there is one thing I need to know first." His eyes looked hard as he swept his menacing gaze to his soldiers. He walked to the side and, dragged a bleeding and hysterical Jiangjun Han Li. He carried the protesting jiangjun by the back of the latter's collar for all his soldiers to see.

"Who dare to disrespect my authority and cut off Jiangjun Han Li's tongue without my orders?" Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei asked in a loud voice fraught with lividness. "I need to know who did this because that person has lessen our chance to track the princess!"

A surge of different reactions came. The soldiers began to look at each other in confusion, some gasped in surprised and, others secretly rejoiced in Jiangjun Han Li's current demise.

"No one is going to admit it?" Jinzhou questioned again, his face getting darker with simmering indignation. His fists balled in hard rage.

Someone from the soldiers courageously stepped up and said, "No one from here will dare to disrespect you, Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei, because we believe in your good judgement. There can only be one person in here who will dare to do such a thing." The soldier looked far behind and eyed Chao Biming with indignation; he pointed his finger to her and accusingly said, "It is her! It can only be Baron Chao Bo's daughter."

A lot of the soldiers agreed and viciously shouted, "Yes, that can only be her. That woman is good for nothing, she deserves to die!"

Chao Biming's blood ran cold due extreme perturbation. She did not do it, she could barely harm a fly. Why were they accusing her? Tears of helplessness began to rush down from her eyes and her knees began to give up, giving her no option but to fall to the ground. "I did not do it! I swear I did not, you have to believe in me!"

"You rein your deceitful tongue, woman. We know it is you." One of the soldiers near her scoffed in irritation, fist closed in an effort to stop himself from slapping her.

"We have enough of your lies!"

"That woman is a traitor and she lessen our chance of saving the princess by cutting the bastard's tongue so that he cannot say anything!" Someone bawled bitterly.

"Yes, we need to execute her!"

"Revenge for our fellow comrades who are massacred by her treacherous father's army!"

"Yes, revenge!" A lot of soldiers ballistically demanded in unison.

Yan Mei Ling could not tolerate the accusations hurled towards Chao Biming. The latter was innocent and her comrades thirst for revenge had all turned them into irrational people. She knew that she was putting her honor on the line as well as risking the hatred of her fellow soldiers to defend Chao Biming but the latter did not deserve this unjust treatment of her.

"Brothers, let us not accuse Chao Biming wrongfully. It is impossible that she is the person behind the the dismemberment of Jiangjun Han Li's tongue because she has been with me, tending to my injuries. She never left me side — Lee Sui Song and I can attest to her innocence."

"Why are you defending a traitor? Do you forget what her father's army did to us, your fellow Imperial soldiers?" Someone angrily spat at Yan Mei Ling.

"Yes, why are you defending her?" Another snapped at her in agitation.

"I will never forget and I understand your anger, brothers," Yan Mei Ling calmly told her comrades. "But killing an innocent person over something that she did not do is not right. If we execute her, the person who is behind what happens to Jiangjun Han Li will be able to get away with what he did at the expense of the blood of someone who is innocent. There is a possibility that the culprit done it to undermine our campaign against the Hsien army. We cannot let the real traitor to be on the loose!"

"Why are you siding with that witch? Are you implying that you are one of the enemies?" Someone accused Yan Mei Ling.

"Well, Tang Lao Fang saved Baron Chao Bo's daughter. There must be something going on." Another soldier said meaningfully.

"If you say that I have betrayed, then you are terribly wrong!" Yan Mei Ling denied in vehemently. "I too get hurt by what happened to our comrades and I too seek revenge but we cannot be blinded with too much anger and hunger for revenge. Before you think that way to me, remember, the Hsien armies took the most important people from my life and I will never forgive them. Do you think that I will abandon the real reason why I join the imperial army and allow myself to be the enemies' slave? I will never ever do that!"

"Prove that you are one of us by demanding revenge for our brothers who died in Baron Chao Bo's hands." Somebody urged Yan Mei Ling.

"Join us, little boy!"

"I will always be your brother and I will always be one of you." Yan Mei Ling said in a tremulous voice. Her heart was disappointed at how fragile the trust that her fellow soldiers had for her. "I understand that you all seek revenge but the point is we are looking for the correct person who cut Jiangjun Han Li's tongue, and you are all accusing the wrong person. I beseech you, brothers, please be reasonable."

"Tang Lao Fang is right," Lu Jinhai agreed. "We cannot just kill someone who is innocent. It is unfair. Besides, there are Hsien soldiers staying in Baron Chao Bo's domain. Surely, that fool whom Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei is holding is not the only person who can give us the information to track the princess."

Yan Mei Ling stared at Lu Jinhai in surprise and silently thanked him for supporting her amidst the others who doubted her. The latter simply nodded at her.

"So now you are siding with the treacherous boy, Lu Jinhai? Don't tell us that you are a traitor as well?" Someone said in rage.

Lu Jinhai was greatly infuriated at what he heard that he immediately approached the person who accused him. With murder gleaming in his eyes, he angrily carried the man by the collar and hissed, "You will not dare talk to me that way. Do you forget who I am? You are nothing but a stupid commoner, a pathetic dust to the sole of my boots — you should still remember your place, peasant!"

"Lu Jinhai," Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei called Lu Jinhai's attention and ordered sternly, "I command that you release your fellow soldier."

Lu Jinhai briefly looked at Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei in distaste before tending his dangerously arctic stare at his fellow soldier. "Do not provoke me again." He whispered in a threat before pushing the frightened man to the ground.

"Everyone, silence and listen" Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei called for his soldiers attention. "Tang Lao Fang and Lu Jinhai both have a point. I did not call you to fight each other and demand death on another. I am asking for the person who dared to cut Jiangjun Han Li's tongue because I want to know his real motive." The soldiers calmed down at what Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei said. "However, since no one can procure the person who did it, then we will go to Baron Chao Bo's domain and find a different means of tracking the princess."

"What if Baron Chao Bo's daughter is simply luring us to our death?" Someone asked.

"Yes, jinzhou!" Several soldiers clamored.

Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei sighed silently to restrain his increasing vexation. He looked at Chao Biming who was being comforted by Tang Lao Fang and Lee Sui Song. He slowly walked to her direction.

"I trust that you will not betray us as we go to your father's domain, Lady Chao Biming?" Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei calmly asked as he squatted down to her level.

Chao Biming sniffed from her tears and weakly nodded, "Yes, I swear I will never betray you. I also swear that we will repay with the best that we can and punish all of those Hsien traitors in our village."

Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei bobbed his head apathetically and stood to announce, "Everyone of you heard her. She will not betray us nor lure us to our death. Now, I don't want anyone of you to protest or else, you will face my wrath."

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Author's Note:

Hi! Last part of Chapter 34 down, we are getting near the action-filled part again. :)

-Midnight_Carousel