Dark Current Rift
In the Shen family, springtime in Linshan County, Qingzhou, was like being torn in two.
Inside the "Yunshangji" shop, the air is filled with the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments and the shimmering light of brocade.
The backyard and shop of "Shan Hai Su" are filled with the scent of soil, seeds, and sweat.
The small backyard, with its cabinet as the boundary and blue cloth as the mat, is like a bowstring stretched to its limit, ready to explode at the slightest spark.
The spark was ultimately ignited by Tiger.
While Shen Yan was in the prefectural city negotiating a lucrative silk business deal, Hu Zi's wild ambition could no longer be suppressed.
He pulled Douya, who had just recovered from her illness and whose eyes still held a trace of shock, and used the 20% of their wages that they had secretly saved to rent an abandoned attic not far from the "Yunshangji" shop.
The attic was low and drafty, covered in cobwebs and dust. Pushing open the creaking wooden window, which looked as if it might fall apart at any moment, the bustling street scene of the East Market rushed into view without any obstruction. Tiger solemnly hung his newly bought, gleaming waist knife on the mottled and peeling brick wall, put his hands on his hips, looked around the shabby room, and let out a hearty laugh.
Bean Sprout carefully placed the precious brass compass on a wooden table with a missing leg, supported by bricks.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, his fingertips lightly touching the cool surface of the compass. After a moment, he opened his eyes, a mysterious certainty in his eyes: "Hmm... Although the energy here is mixed, it flows actively, which is perfect for divination!"
The news spread like wildfire. Shen Yan had barely returned from the capital city when he learned of this "disobedient" act. His silk robe was still damp with the night dew, and his smugness instantly turned into raging magma. That very night, he kicked open the already dilapidated door of the attic!
"Rebellion! Outrageous!" Shen Yan's furious roar exploded in the cramped space, sending dust flying. "Who gave you the guts to bring this up here?! Get the hell out of here! Now! Immediately!"
"Dad! This is rent paid with our own wages!" Tiger said stubbornly.
"Bullshit!" Shen Yan's eyes were bloodshot. "That money was my savings for your wives! Money for building houses! It wasn't for you to squander!"
Without a word, he suddenly reached out with his large, fan-like hand and grabbed Hu Zi's arm hard. "Get down there and squeeze into the dormitory! That's where you belong!"
The tension suddenly escalated.
Tiger, young and impetuous, refused to yield and struggled fiercely.
In the chaos, Bean Sprout hurriedly retreated while protecting the compass on the table, her thin back slamming heavily against the rotten wooden window frame behind her!
The entire window, frame and all, crashed outwards with a loud thud!
Bean Sprout's horrified scream got stuck in her throat, and half of her body was instantly suspended in mid-air!
At the critical moment! A green shadow flashed by like lightning!
Ling Zhan arrived just in time, grabbing Douya's waist belt with one hand, his arm muscles bulging like iron, and forcefully pulling him back from the brink of death!
"Boom!"
The rotten window frame crashed heavily into the middle of the street, scattering pieces of wood everywhere!
Inside the attic, there was a deathly silence.
Bean Sprouts lay limp on the ground, their faces ashen. Tiger trembled violently.
Ling Zhan slowly withdrew his arm, his gaze sweeping over Shen Yan's still-shaken face: "Is this the 'safety right under your nose' you spoke of?"
Shen Yan stared intently at Ling Zhan's hand, his lips trembling, all his angry curses stuck in his throat.
Bean Sprout was so frightened that she developed a high fever that night and kept talking in her sleep.
Su Wanyi stayed by the dormitory without taking off her clothes.
Da Ya took out some calming herbs and brewed them, filling the courtyard with a bitter taste.
Inside the main house, the atmosphere had plummeted to freezing point.
Chen paced back and forth, annoyed and frustrated: "...An accident! Purely an accident! That broken window frame was already rotten...I shouldn't have rented that kind of awful place!"
"Accident?"
Ling Zhan sat cross-legged on the blue cloth, wiping his dark, short dagger. "If I hadn't arrived, Douya would have already fallen to her death on the stone slab, her skull shattered. What was the price for this 'accident'?"
"You—!" Shen Yan was so choked up that his veins bulged.
"It's too late." Ling Zhan sheathed his dagger and raised his eyes. "After this incident, the eagles must leave the nest immediately."
"No time to lose my ass!"
Enraged, Shen Yan slammed his foot hard against the cabinet! The cabinet crashed with a loud bang! The white jade hairpin on top of the cabinet tumbled off the edge of the blue cloth with a "clink".
"You just have to go against me?! You won't be satisfied until you've pushed them all out of the picture! It's all because of your flawed thinking and illogical reasoning..."
"Father! Mother! Something terrible has happened!"
Just then, Da Niu burst through the door, crying, "Little Stone... Little Stone is gone!"
The last shred of balance collapsed with a deafening roar!
Ling Zhan suddenly stood up, and the "Essentials of Agriculture and Sericulture" slipped to the ground.
Shen Yan's angry expression froze instantly, all color draining from his face.
"After...after school...he said he was going to buy sugar paintings at the street corner..." the girl stammered, "but by dark...all the shops were closed..."
"Buy sugar paintings?" Shen Yan's voice trembled. "Where...where did he get the money?!"
Ling Zhan had already reached the dormitory-style sleeping area and pulled up the drowsy Bean Sprout: "Where was Little Stone last? His aura! His location!"
In his drowsy, feverish state, Douya pointed tremblingly to the southeast: "...the sugar painting stall...the atmosphere...disorderly...it has a rusty smell...and...a musty sweetness...so strong...so disgusting sweetness..." His brows were furrowed, as if the smell made him extremely uncomfortable.
"Rust? Moldy sweetness?" Shen Yan roared, "Explain yourself!"
"Brown Sugar Workshop. Southeast of the city, in the old dock area."
Ling Zhan seemed to instantly grasp the chilling darkness hidden behind the words "moldy sweetness" in Douya's ramblings.
Shen Yan was taken aback, clearly having heard of the place's infamous reputation, and his face turned even paler.
In the southeast of the city, there is an abandoned dock.
The salty, fishy river wind carried the pungent, suffocating smell of cheap brown sugar, mixed with the stench of rust and rotten silt, and an indescribable, cloyingly sweet yet sour, musty odor that assaulted the senses.
The odor was so strong and overpowering that it even overpowered the fishy smell of the river, creating a nauseating, unique "deathly aura" that seemed to be sweet mixed with the stench of corpses. The dilapidated warehouses resembled giant beasts lurking in the darkness, their shadowy forms appearing ferocious and terrifying in the pale moonlight.
Ling Zhan lay prone behind the broken wall, while Da Ya beside him twitched her nostrils rapidly, her face deathly pale.
"There... there! The sachet smells... very weak... and... so much musty sweetness! It's making me... my head hurts and I feel like vomiting!" She even gagged a little; the smell seemed to carry a tangible filth, rushing straight to her brain.
"The lamplight flickered... three."
Ling Zhan locked onto the targets: "One outside the door, one under the window, and one inside the house. Little Stone's breathing is weak but steady, with no external injuries."
She paused, then added, "And...at least two fainter breaths, in the corner inside, from other children."
This information struck Shen Yan and Daya like a heavy hammer.
The action erupted! Shen Yan smashed open the wooden door like a raging bull! Ling Zhan subdued the guard under the window like a ghost!
Da Ya closed her eyes and threw in the medicine powder!
Amidst the billowing white mist, Ling Zhan pounced in, precisely kicking over the tall, thin man who was about to tie up the small stones! Shen Yan lunged madly towards the corner.
Little Stone was tied up like a rice dumpling, his mouth stuffed with a rag, his face deathly pale. When he saw Chen Yan, tears streamed down his face.
With trembling hands, Shen Yan cut the ropes, tore off the tattered cloth, and hugged her son tightly in her arms.
Ling Zhan quickly scanned Xiao Shitou's body and confirmed that he was unharmed.
Her gaze finally settled on his small fist, which he had kept clenched even when he was bound—a half-melted, muddy, and tear-stained piece of cheap brown sugar! The sugar was dark brown, almost black, with rough edges, and it exuded the nauseating, cloyingly sweet, and heavily moldy smell of the place!
Like a brand of sin.
In the shadows of a corner of the warehouse, two smaller, ragged children huddled together, watching everything in terror. One of the children clutched half a piece of the same brown sugar tightly in his hand.
A clinic. The oil lamp cast a dim yellow light.
The old doctor diagnosed the patient's pulse and prescribed medicine: "Excessive fright has caused the pathogenic wind to enter the body. The consultation fee plus the cost of the medicine is three qian of silver."
Chen Yan hurriedly reached into his purse.
"slow."
Ling Zhan pressed his hand down, then turned his gaze to Daya, Huzi, and Daniu. "Bean Sprout's illness was caused by a fall from the attic. Little Stone's near-accident was due to your siblings' negligence. You will each pay for your own medical treatment and medicine."
Dead silence.
Shen Yan stared at Ling Zhan in disbelief: "...What did you say?!"
Tiger blushed and poured out the copper coins: "I...I have them!"
The girl silently took out her purse.
Tears streamed down Da Ya's face as she presented several seven-leaf orchids: "Grandpa... Doctor... this will cover the cost of the medicine..."
The old doctor sighed, "...Alright, the herbs will cover half. The rest..."
"I'll give it to you—!"
Shen Yan roared and smashed the silver, “Ling Zhan! You’re ruthless! The child just escaped with his life! And you’re here settling scores with them?! Is your heart really made of stone?!” He picked up the unconscious Xiao Shitou, pushed through the crowd, and rushed into the night.
Ling Zhan stood still, bent down to pick up the children's copper coins and put them back into Da Niu's trembling hand: "Keep them safe. Pay the remaining medical expenses tomorrow."
She then picked up the seven-leaf star orchid and put it back into Daya's medicine bag: "If this medicine is properly processed, it can be worth three coins. Make good use of it."
Her gaze fell once again on the half-eaten, filthy piece of brown sugar on the ground.
The little stone's dazed and terrified murmurs echoed coldly in his mind: "...black cloak...candy...candy is so sweet...afraid...mouse squeak...so dark...and...the little girl's crying..."
Ling Zhan did not leave immediately.
She bent down and carefully picked up the half-piece of brown sugar with a clean cloth, as if picking up evidence of a deadly poison.
The sugar cube in her hand exuded a stubborn, musty sweetness.
"Officer Zhao."
Ling Zhan's voice rang out at the silent entrance of the clinic, cold and clear. Zhao Tieying, the head constable of Qingzhou City who had been leading his men to guard the perimeter and handle the aftermath, strode forward upon hearing the voice. He was a burly man, and his expression was solemn.
Ling Zhan handed him a cloth wrapped with brown sugar: "Old dock, brown sugar shop. There's more than just Little Stone. There are two other children inside. This is the source."
Zhao Tieying took the cloth bag, opened it, glanced at the half-piece of brown sugar, and smelled its unique musty sweetness. His face instantly turned extremely ugly, and a deep disgust and understanding flashed in his eyes. He clearly knew what this sugar meant, and he knew even more about the dirty dealings behind the "Brown Sugar Workshop"—abducting children, forcing labor, and producing inferior or even toxic brown sugar for sale to the lower classes.
He nodded emphatically, his voice deep and powerful: "Don't worry, Madam Ling! I, Zhao Tieying, am determined to handle this matter! I will uproot that den of iniquity and rescue all the children!"
He gripped the cloth tightly, his eyes blazing with anger. "This rotten sweetness should have been eradicated from Qingzhou long ago!"
He turned around and sternly ordered his men, "Leave one team to protect Lady Ling and the children! The rest of you, come with me to the dock! Seal off all exits! Not even a fly is allowed to get out!"
A sudden gust of cold night wind swept into the clinic, causing the oil lamp to flicker violently.
Ling Zhan nodded and quickly disappeared into the bottomless darkness of the county town.
That tiny backyard, that cage bound by a cabinet—she will never return.
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