My lord, spare his life!

"Does 'Shuyan' refer to the Prime Minister of Puyang?"

"She's barely able to protect herself, isn't she?"

Zhang Yang had taken note of the defenses within the capital city and recalled the number of Green Names sent to rescue Puyang Kui. He didn't hold out much hope for Puyang Kui and his group's escape. Escaping the city with the half-crippled Puyang Kui amidst a city-wide siege would be no easy feat.

Fan You said, "Someone helped me, and you know them."

Zhang Yang carefully recalled the people he had met in the capital city.

Her activities these past few days have been limited, and she's met even fewer people. The only person with the power to open doors for Puyang Kui is Xie Shu: "You're saying Xie Shu is on Puyang Kui's side? Then why is she assisting Qin Huang in attacking Tianbian?"

Listening to Zhang Yang's analysis, Fan You cast a strange look at him.

"How could Xie Ruxin be on Puyang Kui's side?" This conclusion was so bad that even Puyang Kui himself would curse it. He said, "However, she did help us secretly this time. As Qin Huang's strategist, Xie Ruxin naturally had to do her best to protect his interests. But Xie Ruxin is also a person, and as a person, she is bound to have selfishness, emotions, and desires."

"Do these two have a connection?"

"It is said that they had a good relationship in their early years, but later went their separate ways."

Zhang Yang nodded: "Oh, the sea of ​​hatred and the sky of love."

Fan You: "...Not really."

Fan You revealed a harsh truth: "Not many people came to rescue her today, which means that only a handful of Puyang Kui's former subordinates remain. Xie Ruxin only showed a little leniency because of this. If a large number of people had come to rescue her, not only would Puyang Kui be imprisoned, but you would also be thrown in jail." Puyang Kui is of little value now; her death wouldn't affect the overall situation, and her life wouldn't shake Qin Huang's resolve.

They can be let go if they pose no threat.

Even if they let this go, Fan You suspected it was a long-term strategy to catch a bigger fish, to see if Puyang Kui still had the potential to become a threat: "Xie Ruxin arrived too just in time. It's hard to say where she was watching this place when the incident happened."

Zhang Yang: "She's quite cunning."

Wasn't it said that he only had 89% intelligence?

Fan You: "..."

He assumed these were all things that were already written down.

In the stillness of the night, Zhang Yang casually chose a place to spend the night.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Fan You slowly sprinkled insect repellent powder on the ground to repel mosquitoes and wild animals. Turning his head, he saw Zhang Yang conjure a brightly colored tent out of thin air. He couldn't tell what material the tent fabric was made of, but it looked very sturdy and warm. Through the lifted tent flap, Fan You could see the simple yet comfortable furnishings inside. Even scions of noble families probably didn't have such living conditions when traveling.

Zhang Yang made the fire burn brightly.

Place a metal rack for hanging iron kettles, add clean water, some dried meat and seasonings, and you have a pot of warm soup. With soup, those bland and hard-to-chew dry rations are transformed into a rare delicacy in the wild.

Zhang Yang, who was initially somewhat averse to dry rations, ate a few pieces.

Without Shen Zhi, Zhang Yang and Fan You didn't exchange a single word for a long time, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense, until Fan You heard a rustling sound approaching them. His eyes darkened, he gripped the armrest of his wheelchair, and gestured to Zhang Yang that something was amiss.

He added, "It should be someone from the Puyang governor's office."

Zhang Yang didn't even twitch his buttocks.

She spotted the green-named figure lurking around from afar, expecting him to reveal himself soon. But after waiting for what seemed like forever, she discovered he was using a serpentine, spiraling approach, which exhausted her already dwindling patience: "Don't show off your clumsy stealth. There's no one else here besides the two of us. Just say what you want."

The NPCs have pretty long names.

[Former subordinates of the Puyang governor, currently in hiding]

Zhang Yang could actually sense a hint of embarrassment from the few green words.

A few feet away, the previously empty space began to ripple and twist, revealing a grown-up figure in a short while.

The green name above his head has also been changed to 【Puyang Kui Jiubu Jia】.

[Puyang Kui Jiubu Jia] cupped his hands and explained his intention.

"My lord wishes to thank these two benefactors in person."

Zhang Yang chewed on the soft, overcooked beef jerky, but his mind was filled with thoughts of how miserable the NPCs' lives were. Even the original beef jerky had a fishy, ​​gamey smell. How come this shop hadn't gone out of business? Not eating well naturally affected his mood, and Zhang Yang's first words were provocative.

"Can't she come by herself?"

Even NPCs should show some courtesy.

"What kind of sincerity is it to let us go?"

Since Zhang Yang had set the tone, Fan You naturally couldn't contradict him, so he looked at her indifferently and said, "Let her do it herself."

"My lord is too badly injured to be moved. Please forgive me. It was not intentional." [Puyang Kui's former subordinate A] said this, but Zhang Yang saw his green name turn yellow.

Zhang Yang slowly swallowed the last bite of jerky.

"Alright then, you lead the way."

Puyang Kui and his group hid in a very secret location.

Zhang Yang and his companion followed in the footsteps of [Puyang Kui's former subordinate A], or more precisely, Zhang Yang kept his eyes fixed on the name above the other's head.

He was thinking to himself that if it turned red, he would kill it.

The latter did not give her that chance.

As they walked, the yellow name turned green again.

I have no idea what the other person was thinking along the way.

"Our two benefactors have arrived; they are right here."

Zhang Yang didn't see the expected red-named ambush soldiers, but instead found a cave with a dozen or so green-named individuals with the prefix "[Former subordinates of Puyang Kui]". Among them, one green-named individual had a particularly strong presence.

[Puyang Kui, seriously injured]

Puyang Kui, who had been so disheveled during the day that there were hardly any good patches of flesh on his body, had now changed into clean and simple clothes and was able to get out of bed with the help of his former subordinates: "My two benefactors have arrived."

Fan You called out her name directly: "Puyang Jundu".

Puyang Kui was taken aback: "Who are you?"

Fan You said, "Fan Shuyan."

Puyang Kui thought for a moment and said, "It's you?"

Zhang Yang was looking around suspiciously, her demeanor quite furtive. If Puyang Kui hadn't given the order, those dozen or so of her old subordinates, whose faces turned yellow with every shake of their heads, would have instantly turned red.

She took a moment to reply, "How come you all know each other?"

The few detailed NPCs I've encountered so far are all on a social network, but their social circles are too small.

Fan You: "..."

Puyang Kui: "Is this your benefactor?"

"It is my lord."

Puyang Kui's gaze was somewhat strange: "Your lord?"

He really looks like a thief. After a long pause, it all boils down to a dry, platitude: "A rising star, a hero among the young."

The two were not very familiar with each other, and they didn't exchange many words of catching up.

After a brief exchange of existing intelligence and a question about future plans, Fan You said, "There have been rumors these past two days that members of the Dou Kingdom's royal family are escorting the king to flee to Dog Kingdom County, intending to use Tian Tian's military strength to restore the kingdom. I think this plan has little hope. Currently, the warlords within the country each have their own allies. Xie Ruxin will probably take this opportunity to install a puppet ruler, and then appoint one of her own people to take over Tianbian County under the puppet's name. What are your plans for the next step? Will you return to your hometown to rally the people to rise up in rebellion, or will you do something else?"

Which puppet do they want to install?

"Naturally, we'll choose whichever option is easiest to manage."

The two of them thought of the same person without prior arrangement.

The difference was that Fan You remained expressionless, while Puyang Kui looked utterly disgusted, as if he had eaten a pile of shit: "You mean, choose her?"

Fan You: "He is indeed a good candidate. He comes from the royal family and has pure blood. He doesn't have much prestige among the common people, so we won't have to worry about discarding him after we've used him. He even helped Qin Huang's army break through the city before. But no matter how good he is, Xie Ruxin and the others can't use him."

"Why can't we use them? Did they escape?"

"He's dead."

Before leaving, Shen Zhi explained some things to Fan You in detail.

This includes, but is not limited to, the fact that Princess Wang was brutally murdered and dismembered by a group of her extremely resentful subordinates during her escape. Shen Zhi also encountered Zhang Yang when she was trying to destroy the evidence. Zhang Yang's state at that time was exactly the same as the description given by her subordinates of Princess Wang being murdered, dismembered, and hung up.

However, Shen Zhi then denied that Zhang Yang was a princess.

The latter's behavior was completely unlike that of Princess Wang.

Puyang Kui's voice suddenly rose several decibels.

"You're saying she's dead?"

"That's what the message said."

"How did she die?"

Fan You: "When the city fell, she led her people to escape, but was killed on the way by her vengeful servants and attendants."

"...He died rather hastily."

It could even be described as casual.

This princess was highly favored, as evidenced by both her title and fiefdom. The previous king hesitated between his son and daughter, but ultimately chose the princess because the royal family supported his son and felt she was too incompetent and had a terrible reputation.

The previous king, to make amends to his daughter, gave her the best of everything.

When a princess establishes her own residence, all the people there are carefully selected, and the lives of many of their families are in the hands of the royal family. Even if they harbor rebellious intentions, they would have to consider the safety of the hostages. With so many layers of protection, how could that incompetent fool still drive those around him to such a desperate situation?