The grand reception hall.
Once comrades who had endured hardships together in the same camp, they were now caught in a farcical drama.
Er Gou, a robust soldier commander clad in heavy armor, pointed his thick fingers at Rou Si, a man of effeminate features. Bloodshot eyes filled his dark pupils, and a ferocious expression contorted his face, as if he were about to devour Rou Si alive.
Su Ni knelt on the ground, sobbing, while Kai Lin's eyes were filled with bewilderment.
Sona hugged her shoulders, gazing silently.
The little devil, who was overseeing the grand affair, watched quietly, inwardly feeling fortunate that Chen Yu was not the one sitting there. All these people were individuals he had personally promoted, who had gone through the most arduous times with him, and among them were brothers who had shared life and death with him.
Chen Yu valued emotions the most, and the little devil dared not imagine.
If he were the one sitting here.
How desolate his heart would be at this moment.
"Gouzi, there's no need to keep biting indiscriminately at this point," Rou Si said, placing his hands on his knees as he calmly looked at Er Gou, who was hysterically breaking down. Contempt, or perhaps amusement, flickered in his eyes. "Now that there are witnesses and evidence, what else do you have to say? No matter how much you rant and rave, your issues cannot be cleared."
"What issues do I have?!"
Er Gou, clenching his fists, roared in response.
"When money falls into my lap, why shouldn't I take it? I did accept money from the Seventh Prince, but I dare say I did everything with a clear conscience. I said I did not cooperate with the Seventh Prince, and I did not. Even if the boss were standing here, I would still say these words with my head held high."
Rou Si looked at him with a mocking expression.
Even without him saying anything, the look on his face was immensely mocking to Er Gou, fueling his rage like dry tinder meeting a raging fire.
"Speak, damn you!" Er Gou shouted, his fists clenched.
"Ah?"
Rou Si, his eyes filled with confusion, looked at him in bewilderment.
"What do you want me to say? I've already said all that needs to be said. Su Ni has indeed confirmed your secret dealings with the Seventh Prince. The rest is for Sister Ba and Sister Sona to judge, what does it have to do with me?" Rou Si spread his hands and smiled faintly. "Do you want me to talk about how dark your heart is, how stubborn your mouth is, how you are two-faced, and how hypocritical you are?"
"I'll kill you!"
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Er Gou suddenly lunged forward, raising his great saber and slashing it down at Rou Si.
The expected scene of blood splattering did not occur. Er Gou's swinging saber was caught by the little devil with one hand. A faint luminescence pulsed in her palm, preventing the sharp blade from inflicting any substantial damage.
"Enough."
"Sister Ba, I was truly not disloyal to the boss!" Er Gou's eyes, still gripping his saber, were filled with anxiety and despair. "I admit I made a mistake. But Rou Si keeps slandering me, his words filled with instigation. If anyone is treacherous, it is he who harbors malicious intent!"
"Step back."
"He..."
"I told you to step back!" The little devil slammed the table, glaring at Er Gou. "Is my word no longer effective? It seems it's not only when Chen Yu stands here that you shut up, or perhaps even with Chen Yu here, you still think he doesn't deserve your arrogant head bowed?"
Er Gou, clenching his fists, was filled with sorrow.
He moved his lips, and his grip on the saber loosened without warning. The heavy saber clanged onto the floor, cracking the obsidian tiles.
"I understand. No matter what I say now, you won't believe me."
Er Gou grinned, looking at everyone in the reception hall.
In their eyes, he saw disappointment, guilt, ridicule, indifference, and suspicion. These were the people who once bantered around the campfire, talking from night until dawn, but now they looked at him with the coldness of strangers.
Even if his arm were cut by a blade, embedded in his bone.
Even if a monster were to bite his thigh, leaving it bloody and mangled.
Despite enduring all this without a groan, his eyes were now moist. Images of Chen Yu's presence flashed involuntarily in his mind.
"I... owe the boss."
After a long pause, Er Gou pursed his lips, suppressing the tears welling up in his eyes, and nodded slightly.
"I am very fortunate to have found a boss worth following, allowing me, a mere bandit leading a dozen kobolds in the wilderness, to command an army of hundreds of thousands, to govern a majestic city, and to bring glory to my ancestors."
"I made a mistake!"
"For the sake of a paltry gain, I foolishly accepted gifts from the Seventh Prince of the Tattoo King's royal family, ultimately becoming a tool for the treacherous to condemn me."
Rou Si, leaning back on the sofa, continued to smile with a pursed mouth, unaffected by Er Gou's veiled insinuations.
"I admit this sin," Er Gou said, his voice hoarse. He suddenly turned his gaze to Rou Si, a contemptuous smile in his eyes. "Rou Si, who is loyal and who is treacherous, the boss will know in the future. Don't think that your petty tricks can deceive the boss's eyes. When the boss returns to the city, he will judge who among us is loyal and virtuous."
"What do you mean? Are you calling Sister Ba and Sister Sona incompetent?" Rou Si asked playfully.
"Did I say that?"
Er Gou, grinning, laughed sadly, his gaze fixed on Rou Si's eyes.
"At this point, you don't need to keep framing me. I don't care. No matter what you say, I no longer care."
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to."
"You want to use this incident to make Sister Ba and Sister Sona suspicious of me, have me removed from my position as soldier commander, and then, by showing your loyalty, you will command this city. That way, it will be more convenient for you to carry out the despicable acts you have in mind." Er Gou looked at him with piercing eyes, his voice deep and slow. "This time, you win, I admit it! But I'll also tell you about your little tricks, which I don't think you can pull off."
Rou Si remained silent, and Er Gou turned his gaze to the little devil.
"Sister Ba, accepting bribes from the Seventh Prince was indeed my fault. I won't be a soldier commander anymore, but I hope you don't let Rou Si take my place. He is definitely not a good person." Er Gou's expression was sincere, even somewhat tragic. "I made mistakes, and I should pay the price. But no one has the right to trample on my dignity, and I will not allow anyone to question my loyalty to the boss."
Er Gou patted his chest, his two fingers pointing directly at his sternum, a wild laugh on his face.
"Rou Si, didn't you say my heart is black? Didn't you say I was hypocritical and two-faced? Fine, then I'll dig out this heart and show it to you now."
"Let's see if this heart of mine is black or red!"