AT THE SAME TIME
EMPEROR LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:
The prisoner's body trembled on the cold stone floor, sweat and blood streaking his face. Guards held him tight as I loomed above, blade glinting in the flickering torchlight. Every muscle in my body screamed to end him, but I needed answers and the truth.
"Who sent you?" I demanded again, my voice low, sharp, a blade in itself.
He spat blood, coughing, but didn't answer. His eyes were wide, mocking, as though he alone held the final card. Bai Jun slammed his fist against the prisoner's chest.
"Enough games!"He shouted.
The man gasped, wheezing.
"I… I… I-"He gasped. A guard struck him across the face, and finally, in ragged, broken words, he confessed. "Richard… he… he sent me…"
The name fell like thunder. Richard. My teeth clenched, every heartbeat hammering with rage. Bai Rong's voice cracked.
"Richard? That name… it's—"He started.
