俱是真的 We Are All Genuine
小鑽風連聲應道：「長官，我們俱是真的。」行者道：「你既是真的，大王有甚本事，你可曉得？」小鑽風道：「我曉得。」小钻风连声应道：「长官，我们俱是真的。」行者道：「你既是真的，大王有甚本事，你可晓得？」小钻风道：「我晓得。」
逐句解 Line by line
The Little Borers of the Wind answered one after another, "Officer, we are all genuine."
連聲應道 is answering one on top of another, a chorus of protestations. 應 is yìng, to answer, not the yīng of ought to — the base gets it wrong every time and this chapter has now corrected it six times.
Pilgrim said, "If you are genuine, then what can the king do? Do you know that?"
本事 is what a person is capable of — the exact word Pilgrim used to himself on the hat, when he worked out that the one thing he lacked was the chiefs' capabilities. The question he came for is now being asked under cover of a loyalty test.
A Little Borer of the Wind said, "I know."
Seven characters, and the whole chapter turns on them. Somebody has volunteered.
The trap closes here and it is beautifully made. Prove you are genuine by telling me what the king can do — so the only way to establish innocence is to hand over the intelligence.
The demons' eagerness is what makes it work. They are not being tortured or threatened; they are anxious to demonstrate that they belong, and the demonstration required is exactly the briefing Pilgrim came for.
And one of them steps forward. Seven characters, in a chapter that has spent four thousand failing to get a straight answer out of anybody.