A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

The barbarian army's offensive was repeatedly repelled by the defenders' fierce fighting.

Qingshikou, incredibly, managed to hold out for another day in this battle that threatened the entire nation.

But that hand did not stop despite the setback in the siege. It hid deep within the central command tent, still silently plotting its next killing move.

As night fell, Yang Hu, Su Heng, and Qin Ying gathered once again in a corner of the wounded soldiers' camp.

That fake account book from the northern route, that familiar seal, that recurring signature—these were the only remaining piece of the tail of that hand they had grasped.

"The person who signed the document is called Wu Yong. He is a clerk in the central command tent who is in charge of military supplies and documents." Su Heng lowered her voice and told him all the details she had gathered over the past few days. "He doesn't hold a high rank, but he handles all the documents related to the allocation of military supplies and provisions. That fake account book for the northern front was balanced, signed, and filed by him."

"How could a mere clerk manage such a large-scale treasonous camp?" Yang Hu said in a deep voice.

"He can't do it." Su Heng shook her head. "He's just a pen in that hand's hand. The accounts are ordered from above, and he just does what he's told to balance and sign. But this pen is the part closest to that hand. If you follow him and trace upwards, you can touch the hand that really holds the pen."

"I've been watching him for three years." Su Heng's voice held a hint of suppressed hatred. "The year my father's pass fell, the weapons that vanished into thin air—the transfer documents were signed by Wu Yong. I've wanted to take him down for a long time, but the hand behind him is too deep. If I touch him, I'll alert that hand, and all my previous efforts will be in vain. For the past three years, I've been enduring, waiting for this opportunity to expose him and that hand together."

Yang Hu looked at her, his heart skipped a beat. This seemingly weak and delicate civil official had swallowed a blood feud and endured it for three whole years in this den of dragons and tigers.

"Then let's start with him." Yang Hu's eyes were calm yet sharp. "But Wu Yong is a henchman of that hand, so he must be very wary. If we arrest him by force, we'll alert him; if we interrogate him, he'd rather die than talk, and it might even lead that hand to silence him prematurely."

Inside the tent, there was a moment of silence.

"Since he's in charge of military supplies documents," Yang Hu's fingertips slowly traced across the scrap paper, and a plan gradually took shape. "Let's set a trap for him regarding military supplies."

He raised his head and, word by word, revealed his plan.

"Miss Su, as a civil official, you deliberately left a loophole in a batch of military supply accounts that he handled, the same one he had done before. Then spread the word that someone has their eye on that old account book from the northern front and wants to investigate it thoroughly."

"If Wu Yong is guilty, he will definitely destroy or tamper with the fake account files he handled to protect himself once he hears the news." A cold glint flashed in Yang Hu's eyes. "As soon as he makes a move, we will wait outside that secret archive room and catch him red-handed. At that time, the fake account he destroyed will be the ironclad evidence of his treason."

"But what if he doesn't do anything?" Qin Ying asked. "What if he can remain calm and doesn't touch those files?"

"He's impatient," Yang Hu said calmly, his eyes revealing a knowing certainty. "A person who hides a poison pill in his mouth may seem heartless, but the more so, the more he values ​​his life. After doing so many shady things, the fear in his heart has long been uncontrollable. As long as the situation is tense enough, and he feels that once that ledger is discovered, he will be doomed, he will definitely take the risk to destroy it."

"This is the human heart." Yang Hu's voice was soft, but every word was firm. "To cure an illness, you must look at the pulse; to examine a person, you must look at their heart. In Wu Yong's pulse, two words are written: cherish life. What we need to do is force those two words to him."

Qin Ying gave him a deep look, a strange light flashing in his cool eyes. She had seen his composure when he rescued people on the city wall, but this was the first time she had seen him so calm and insightful.

Su Heng and Qin Ying exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of approval in each other's eyes.

This plan precisely targeted the most fatal weakness of that hand's henchmen: their guilty conscience.

"Alright." Su Heng nodded. "I'll spread the word. I've been in the army for three years, so I know which channel to use to get this information to Wu Yong's ears the fastest."

"I'll keep an eye on the confidential files." Qin Ying's cold voice carried a murderous aura honed on the battlefield. "If he dares to touch those files, he won't escape unscathed."

"I'll wait outside to provide backup," Yang Hu said in a deep voice. "Once we capture him, we'll immediately take control and I'll pry him open. People like him who are cowardly and afraid of death are much easier to deal with than those die-hard assassins. Once we capture him, we won't have to worry about him not talking."

The three of them sat around the piece of paper filled with clues, meticulously going over every step of the plan. When to spread the word, through which channel, on which night Wu Yong was most likely to make his move, how to avoid the sentries around the secret file room, and how to take the person away without alerting the other party after the deed was done—every detail was meticulously planned.

A net tailor-made for Wu Yong was quietly unfurled.

Sure enough, within two days, the news that Su Heng had spread reached Wu Yong's ears through the loose lips of the soldiers.

Wu Yong, the clerk who usually moved about the central command tent with a meek and obedient demeanor, grew increasingly flustered. Several times, under the pretext of organizing documents, he glanced towards the secret archives, his eyes filled with undisguised terror. He even considered seeking advice from the person behind him, but that person was too well hidden. Even Wu Yong, the person in charge of the accounts, could only wait for orders from above; he had no way to proactively request an audience.

This was the cunning of that hand. It kept each of its claws far apart, completely isolated. If one claw was exposed, it wouldn't implicate the entire hand in the slightest. But this cunning also drove Wu Yong into a desperate situation of isolation and helplessness. If something went wrong, no one would bail him out; he could only panic and fear on his own.

A guilty conscience cannot keep secrets.

The fighting on the city walls intensified day by day. The barbarian attacks grew fiercer with each wave. But amidst this blood and fire, a net woven specifically for Wu Yong was silently tightening.

Finally, late at night on the third day, taking advantage of a shift change, Wu Yong, using a dim lantern, stealthily made his way to the secret archives room, looking back every few steps.

His usually meek and obedient face was now filled with panic and determination. After being pressured by the rumors for three days, he finally lost his patience and decided to destroy the ledger himself before it was discovered.

He had a tinderbox hidden in his sleeve.

What he wanted to do was set fire to the fake account on the northern front that could have killed him, destroying all evidence.

In the shadows surrounding that secret archive room, three pairs of eyes were already watching his every move intently.

Yang Hu stood guard outside to provide backup, Qin Ying held her dagger and waited in the shadows behind the door, while Su Heng kept a close watch on the way they came, wary of anyone coming to their aid.

Wu Yong's hand had just touched the old wooden window.

The net has reached the point where it should be pulled in.