General Bai's sword edge still pressed against the skin of Fei Ming's throat.
The sword drew a thin red line at his neck.
"You think I won't cut you down right here?" His voice echoed through the open field, gripping the hilt tighter.
Fei Ming kept his chin level. His eyes stayed on Bai's. "You won't. At least not yet. You want answers first. And you want the credit of delivering me yourself."
Clenching his jaw, Bai's sword remained in place for a while. Then he stepped back, lowering his blade.
"Search him," he ordered. "Every fold, every seam. If he so much as twitches wrong, break his fingers."
Two soldiers behind General Bai moved in fast.
One seized Fei Ming's left arm and twisted it behind his back.
The other soldier patted down his coat, sleeves, waistband, boots, even roughly pried open his mouth, jabbing their fingers between his lips and cheeks, forcing his jaws wider to inspect his teeth and mouth.
