After Zhao Guanshou had left, Chang Dong first went to Li Jiniao and explained the matter of the "substitute tongue." Li Jiniao thought for a while before finally recalling what it was. "Yes, it's different from the water eye. Using the substitute tongue harms the person, so it's listed in the second volume of *Bo Gu Yao Jia*. There are pairs of primary and secondary tongues. The primary tongue can be used directly, while the secondary tongue must be placed in the person's mouth to enable speech—usually, it merely repeats what others say." "This is just like a telephone, isn't it? Have you seen telephones in the small films? It's only one-way: you can only listen. That is, when Jiang Zhan activates the primary tongue, he's essentially calling you. Only then can you communicate with him. You can't call him back." Chang Dong's face grew serious. "So this tongue simply grows and stays in a person's mouth all the time?" "Generally, yes." "Though it's quite cruel, it's not entirely useless. Jiang Zhan doesn't intend to withdraw it, does he?" "Li Jin'ao explained: 'Either it's seen as primary and auxiliary, with the primary tongue nourishing the auxiliary one, so even if the auxiliary tongue is lost, it doesn't matter. I heard that during the time of the beast-headed chaos, many people were specifically designated as substitute tongues—this made message transmission much more convenient.'" Chang Dong frowned: "Can we remove it? Will it hurt?" Thinking of Ah He again having to endure the pain of tongue removal, he felt a shiver of unease. Li Jin'ao seemed to have anticipated his thoughts: "It won't hurt much. It's just like a prosthetic limb—you may feel some discomfort when attaching or detaching it, but not severe pain at all. Listen to me—" He described vividly: "The substitute tongue won't willingly yield; it will struggle fiercely. So, the cutting must be skillful, and the patient should hold a strong, hot wine for as long as possible. The longer they endure, the more the substitute tongue will be drowsy and eventually unconscious, at which point the blade can be applied." As he concluded, he added: "However, I recommend you—don't cut it at all." "Why?" Li Jin'ao stared wide-eyed: "Once you've had it cut off, won't you just become a mute?" Chang Dong didn't immediately grasp what he meant. Li Jin'ao stomped his foot: "Are you stupid? Haven't you noticed? This tongue enables people to speak. Of course, at first, when you're getting used to it, you can only repeat what others say. But as time goes on and you grow accustomed to it, you can gradually train yourself to speak through this tongue—yes, it does feel awkward at first, but isn't that better than being completely mute?" Chang Dong's mind exploded with sudden clarity. Ding Liu was at a loss, standing by the door, unsure of what to do. Ye Liuxi and Gao Shen, who had been having breakfast in the living room, came over upon noticing something was amiss. As soon as they reached the door, they heard Chang Dong saying to Ah He: "Ah He, I hope you tell me the truth—was it Jiang who cut off your tongue, or was it the Yulin Guard?" Ding Liu stood stunned, while Gao Shen closed the door behind him, his palms now damp with cold sweat. Ah He trembled slightly, not daring to look up at Chang Dong. Chang Dong continued: "Your shoulder feathers are those of a pigeon—pigeons are typically used for messenger duties. I had overlooked this earlier, only just now realizing: How did you stay in touch with Zhao Guanshou when he assigned you to this remote village?" "There are no telephones in the Guan area, and information transmission is slow. I never saw you raising pigeons in the village, so there's no story of pigeon courier service." "Li Jin'ao told me that during the time of the Beast-Head Crisis, some people were specifically designated as 'delegates'—those who But you've always spoken clearly to us—have you been serving as a substitute speaker for many years now? After so much time adapting, you've grown accustomed to speaking in this way. "Jiang Zhan didn't cut off your tongue; he simply replaced it with a secondary tongue, since your original tongue had been paired with the primary tongue held by Zhao Guanshou. The blue and purple marks on your neck—those are injuries from the struggle when your secondary tongue was swapped out, aren't they?" Haha remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding. Ding Liu drew in a sharp breath, realizing what had happened—her first reaction was anger. How could they have deceived her emotionally, made her cry so many tears? Yet then, compassion followed: having served as a substitute speaker for so many years—had that meant you'd lost your tongue since childhood? Chang Dong said, "You may find it a bit unfamiliar at first with the new secondary tongue, but I believe it won't affect your ability to speak. It might just be a matter of clarity in your articulation. Try it out, shall you?" His tone was gentle, not one of formal reprimand. Ahuo hesitated, then began to speak in a somewhat unclear manner. Though her pronunciation did indeed sound odd—sometimes as if she had a heavy tongue, at other times as though she were cutting off at the end—after a few sentences, her meaning became easily understandable. Ahuo said: "Most of the Yulin Guard are drawn from established families and surnames, but there are certain specific positions open to ordinary people, especially those who are young—ideally, the younger, the better." Changdong understood this generally: adults were more complex, with their intentions and motives often hard to discern, whereas children were easier to shape; once in hand, they were like young saplings, and whatever one wished for them to become, they would grow into that. "My parents arranged for me to apply, and after going through several rounds of screening, I was finally selected—and I felt truly honored." "Then I was appointed as a substitute messenger, responsible for gathering and relaying information—though the details of this appointment remain a secret, known only to us and the senior officers of the Yulin Guard, even to other members of the Yulin Guard." Ye Liuxi interrupted her: "Did you know Zhao Guanshou said Jiang Zhan cut off your tongue?" Ahu nodded: "At the time, I couldn't speak. Mr. Zhao wrote it down and explained that first, Jiang Zhan indeed did cut off my tongue—so his claim wasn't entirely false; second, by making Jiang Zhan appear ruthless, it would inspire unity among the Yulin Guard members, so that they would stand together against him." Chang Dong took up the rest: "So you kept crying, pretending you'd never speak again, to win our sympathy?" Or perhaps, to intensify their resentment toward Jiang Zhan. Ahu felt both embarrassed and blushing—her tears weren't entirely feigned. In Zhao Guanshou's eyes, a Yulin Guard scout becoming a mere messenger for the Scorpion's voice must have seemed even more burdensome than a useless employee. Fortunately, Chang Dong didn't press the point any further: "Tang is still in Xie Yan's hands. Now, I want you to recount everything—what happened, who you saw, what that person looked like, what clothes they were wearing, what they said, even their expressions—verbatim." Changdong had been lost in thought for a long time, not even having time for lunch. By afternoon, Ye Liuxi finally couldn't bear it anymore. She filled a plate with several pastries and brought a cup of plain water to him. She tried to open the door gently, only to find Changdong half lying on the neatly folded quilt, already asleep. This time, she was even more careful, placing the cup and dishes softly beside him and then bringing over a coat to cover him. Just as she had covered him halfway, a sudden tightness in her waist made Changdong open his eyes. He gently pecked at her lips before pulling her into a seated position with his arms. "Didn't you fall asleep?" asked Ye Liuxi. "I just closed my eyes to think—how easy it was to fall asleep?" "Did I interrupt you while you were focused on something?" Changdong replied, "You're not exactly my main focus, are you?" Ye Liuxi felt her heart stirred by his words, just as she was about to speak, her eyes suddenly fell upon the open book lying beside him. The two pages were filled with dense writing, with clear lines highlighting the relationships. She asked, "What have you figured out?" Chang Dong countered, "When I'm talking to Ahuo, you're listening beside us—what have *you* figured out?" Ye Liuxi said, "That's all—sentence by sentence. Isn't it all clear?" Chang Dong looked at her for a while. "Liuxi, if you keep being this indifferent, one day you'll never even know how you die." Ye Liuxi smiled brightly. "How could I die? I'm under the protection of the Nandou Star. Besides, I've got you." Chang Dong spoke calmly. "But I will die. Not just me—Gao Shen, Ding Liu, we all will. Fu Tang's incident has already been a lesson." He said the word "die" so calmly. The room was so quiet that the words felt ominous—once spoken, they couldn't be taken back. Ye Liuxi suddenly shivered. She reached up and hugged Chang Dong, resting her chin against his neck, and whispered softly, "Chang Dong, please don't say that." She held on tightly, with an unyielding determination that left no room for negotiation. Chang Dong felt a warm glow in his heart, embraced her gently, and lingered in tenderness before turning to the main point. "Since we entered Black Stone City, a series of events have unfolded—one after another, closely spaced in time." "The first night, Zhao Guanshou poured over all the information, filling us in as if we were being stuffed like ducks; the next day, we were being photographed while out shopping; the third day, Fei Tang was kidnapped; the fourth day, Ah He was returned, and Jiang Zhan negotiated with us through her, while Zhao Guanshou immediately revealed his handcards right after. Don't you find it striking—like a well-orchestrated sequence of tightly scheduled scenes, each one building on the last, leaving us with hardly any time to catch our breath?" Yexiu Li listened quietly. "In fact, at first I even doubted whether the 'scorpion-eyed' individuals who kidnapped Fei Tang were also part of Zhao Guanshou's own arrangements." Because everything hinges on what they say—how Fu Tang was taken away, we never saw it happen. Especially, you notice this: Xue Yan's account actually supports Zhao Guanshou's claims from an indirect angle. He gestures to Ye Liuxi to rise and opens the register for her to see. "Zhao Guanshou says you were a double agent within the Yulin Guard. You fell in love with Jiang Zhan, and Jiang Zhan hanged you to death, after which you were rescued during the sandstorm." "Meanwhile, in the conversation between Qingzhi and Jiang Zhan, you're described as a double agent who caused them to lose the city and killed hundreds of people. Jiang Zhan therefore intended to hang you, but you disappeared during the sandstorm." "The only real difference between the two accounts is whether it was the Yulin Guard that hanged Xue Yan—or Xue Yan that hanged the Yulin Guard." He picked up his pen, drew two overlapping circles on the paper, then shaded the overlapping section with the pen: "Generally speaking, by listening to both sides, one becomes enlightened; by favoring only one, one grows blind. The overlapping part—where the two accounts converge—should be the truth. As for Scorpion's perspective, most of it is simply repetition of Zhao Guanshou's points. So I initially suspected they were working together—Jiang Zhan and Qingzhi were both actors hired by Zhao Guanshou." Ye Liuxi had a strong intuition that there should be a turn here: "But?" "But when you spoke to Zhao Guanshou this morning, I observed him carefully. He had subtle, unconscious facial expressions that were hard to fake. He and Jiang Zhan are indeed in opposition. He proposed to eliminate Jiang Zhan and take over Scorpion's position—this doesn't sound like a fabrication." "Moreover, Ahuo described Qingzhi's appearance—she has a silver chain wrapped around her right wrist, a tattoo on her left wrist just like yours, and a scorpion drawn at her eye corner. If I'm not mistaken, you've also drawn one—this gives the impression that you've fallen for Jiang Zhan and have been imitating Qingzhi ever since." Ye Liuxi nearly jumped up: "Imitating her? There's no one in this world worth imitating—not even from the very beginning!" Chang Dong had anticipated her reaction, reaching into her clothes and gently scratching her along the waist: "Just listen when people speak." Ye Liuxi, softened by the scratch, still felt indignant and crossed her left wrist to show him: "I've always thought this tattoo is my greatest flaw. This sense of aesthetics... it simply doesn't compare to the burn scars on my legs. Though the scar is unattractive, at least it's rugged and authentic." Oh, terrible—it had to elevate her scars to praise them just to diminish this tattoo. Chang Dong redirected the conversation: "So now, a rather contradictory situation has emerged." Zhao Guanshou and Jiang Zhan are indeed at odds, yet they surprisingly agree on their statements regarding Ye Liuxi. "If you choose to believe them, it means you're acknowledging your past: that you've been a double agent, imitating Qingzhi, longing for love but never attaining it, and harboring a deep grudge against Xieyan." "If you choose to believe you, it means you're simultaneously dismissing Xieyan and the Yulin Guard—two long-standing rivals. It truly doesn't make sense for them to come together in support of your case." Ye Liuxi felt completely stunned: "Then, what should I choose?" Chang Dong asked her: "Would you like black tea or milk?" "Huh?" "Choose one—black tea or milk?" Ye Liuxi didn't particularly like either, hesitated, and reluctantly replied: "Milk, then." "Why not orange juice?" "You didn't offer it!" Chang Dong said: "See? That's exactly the issue. You've been constrained by the false dichotomy of either-or. In reality, there are far more options than just these two." "The truth must be the most perfect. If, in your judgment, all current options fall short and fail to convince you, then by all means, dare to discard them entirely. Let us assume an even more extreme scenario: whether it's the Scorpion-Eyed Guard or the Feathery Lancers, at least one—or both—have been deliberately set up within the scheme. That is, there are others behind the scenes orchestrating a more intricate web of plots. Your status as a spy, your falling in love with Jiang Zhan, your being hanged—all of these are merely convenient façades, designed solely to conceal the true nature of what's really happening." Ye Liuxi was left dizzy by his constant references to "plots" and "schemes," suddenly losing his patience and shouting, "Do these people have nothing better to do than sit around and watch? Do you think I'll go and create my own chaos?" Chang Dong replied, "Exactly. It's now your turn to disrupt the status quo." "You once said you've always been designed, moving in a certain direction. In the past, you couldn't respond because you couldn't see any early signs. Now it's different—Jiang Zhan, Zhao Guanshou, and all the people connected to you have come into the light. Liuxi, it's time for you to take the initiative."