He waited for a long time, but the woman in the red dress neither exclaimed nor seemed entranced.

Dangling upside down and unable to see her expression, he could only speak up: “It’s just a humble piece of work. I wonder what the lady thinks of it?”

“Zou zou, I don’t understand.”

The woman in red hugged her longsword to her chest and said calmly, “Compose something I can understand.”

“Huh?!”

William Carter was stunned on the spot. She couldn’t even understand something this simple, and yet wanted him to copy it somewhere else.

“What, can’t do it?”

The woman in red frowned slightly and drew her sword again.

His mind raced, and he hurriedly said, “Alright, alright. The sword... the sword rises with the weight of a thousand jun, startling the sun and moon; courage shakes the clouds across ten thousand miles; piercing the nine heavens, what could be the reason? Not a mortal, but greater than an immortal!”

He stammered through it, then let out a long sigh of relief. Luckily, he had some classical foundation and managed to force out this doggerel.

If she still couldn’t understand, then he was truly out of options.

“The sword rises with the weight of a thousand jun, startling the sun and moon... hmm... not bad...”

The woman in red nodded repeatedly, savoring it for a while, and even twirled her sword in a flourish. She seemed to really like the poem.

“You really are a scholar!”

She squatted down in front of William Carter, their faces close, and tilted her head slightly: “With such talent, why would you become a lackey for the court?”

A faint fragrance drifted over, her scrutinizing gaze just inches away.

William Carter put on a bitter face: “Alas! I was born poor, studied hard for ten years but failed the exams year after year, had no money to grease the wheels, and even offended the powerful. I had no choice but to join the Dian Kui Si to preserve my life.”

He lied through his teeth without blushing—a basic skill for a merchant.

The woman in red was half-convinced, frowning: “Dian Kui Si only wants the best from the underworld. Ordinary people can’t become their lackeys. How did you get in?”

Dian Kui Si is divided into the Black Feather Guards and the Eagle Claw Division, both elite private troops under the emperor, highly skilled in martial arts. Ordinary people can’t just get in.

He couldn’t very well claim to be a martial arts master—that would be asking for death. After thinking for a while, he could only say with a guilty face, “I’m a eunuch, running errands and delivering messages inside and outside the palace.”

At this point, he could only use this excuse. He didn’t believe this woman could check his body.

“You’re a eunuch?”

In the room, the woman in red looked at William Carter, who was hanging upside down from the beam, her eyes full of surprise.

She leaned in for a closer look and saw his face was as fair as jade, with delicate skin—indeed like the rumored eunuchs. Only those two bushy mustaches were a bit conspicuous.

“How do you have a mustache?”

“It’s fake.”

William Carter shook his head, letting her pull off the mustache.

The woman in red tore off the two pieces of mustache and was momentarily stunned. With sword-like brows and a dignified appearance, he was actually a rare handsome scholar.

She looked him over for a moment, feeling a bit regretful: “You really are quite good-looking. Why not just be a proper scholar instead of becoming a eunuch?”

William Carter put on a look of deep sorrow: “We scholars should set our hearts for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, continue the lost teachings of the sages, and bring peace to all generations. I, Su Taibai, studied hard for ten years, but was born in troubled times with no way to serve my country. Becoming a eunuch and doing my small part is better than muddling through life.”

So moving it could touch the heavens and earth!

The woman in red gazed into those sincere eyes, silent for a long time, then softly said, “That... was beautifully said.”

Already a dead fish on the chopping block, he felt no shame. He coughed lightly and sighed: “Now that eunuchs hold all the power, the court and the people suffer, but I would never stoop to their level. If you’re here to punish evil, you’ve got the wrong person.”

The woman in red burst out laughing, her smile as radiant as peach blossoms:

“Seeing how timid you are, you really don’t seem like a bad person.”

He was instantly speechless. What did she mean, timid? He was just being wise in a dangerous situation—tied up and hanging, waiting to be slaughtered. Was he supposed to act tough?

A moment later, the woman in red untied the rope and let him down.

She sat by the table and chairs in the room, poured a cup of tea, and introduced herself: “My name is Emily Harris, leader of the righteous army under the Prince of Shu. I came to the capital for two reasons: first, to kill the treacherous eunuch Xue Jiuquan; second, to avenge the Hundred Flowers Sword, one of my masters, who died at the hands of the Black Feather Guard commander William Carter. Su Shi, have you seen this person?”

There were countless heroes who died at the hands of William Carter, he couldn’t remember them all. Seeing she was here for revenge, he didn’t dare sit at the table, but instead walked to the window and said casually, “They’re all big shots. I just run errands at Dian Kui Si, barely ever saw them.”

William Carter, the overlord of the capital, held great power—ordinary people could never meet him. Emily Harris wasn’t surprised, hesitated a moment, then asked, “Since you work at Dian Kui Si, you must know the layout. Draw it for me. Once I kill those two villains, I’ll let you go.”

“No problem.”

He agreed readily, took the brush, and began drawing a map of Dian Kui Si on the blank paper on the table. He spent his days idling around the office, so he at least knew the way to his own office.

Emily Harris frowned slightly, finding this scholar’s way of drawing maps rather unique, with some symbols she couldn’t understand. But seeing how serious he looked, she didn’t ask further.

In no time, the entire layout and defenses of Dian Kui Si were drawn out, even the staircases were clearly marked.

Emily Harris took it, examined it carefully, and found it matched what she had scouted. The places she hadn’t been to were probably accurate as well.

“Thank you.”

Emily Harris carefully put away the map, then picked up the rope and walked toward Master Carter.

William Carter was startled and quickly waved his hands: “Hey, miss, killing the donkey after it’s done plowing isn’t the way of a hero. I swear I won’t run.”

As if! He wasn’t stupid.