Mermaids Weep (16)
"So you stole his treasure, and they're after you?"
"That's right!"
In the blink of an eye, as Lin Fang was being put on the carriage, Yao Yao had already struck up a conversation with the kidnapped rogue cultivators. From them, Yao Yao learned that these cultivators had been imprisoned here for some time. The place was dimly lit, often blurring the lines between day and night. They didn't know each other at first, only developing a basic understanding of one another after being imprisoned together. For example, the rogue cultivator who first spoke to Yao Yao was named Liao Heng. He was the first among them to be imprisoned, and it was said that those before him who were taken away never returned—it was obvious they were all killed by the Lin family.
Liao Heng and his group were about to be slaughtered, but for some unknown reason, the Lin family suddenly seemed to have forgotten about them, and no one visited the area for several days. Fortunately, the rogue cultivators usually abstained from food to save money, otherwise they would have starved to death long ago before the Lin family could kill them.
“You’re the first person to come here since then.” Liao Heng said, then sighed again. “Sigh, I thought there was hope, but it turns out you’re in trouble yourself.”
"You can't say that. Yao Yao has helpers outside the manor, but we just can't contact them for the time being," another rogue cultivator comforted her. "At least it's better than us being helpless and having no one to turn to."
"It's all because of this rope that it locked up our spiritual energy. Otherwise, this dilapidated house wouldn't have been able to trap us!"
Upon hearing this, Yao Yao suddenly had a bright idea and said, "Then I'll help you untie the ropes, and then we can escape together!"
The people in the room remained silent for a long while before Liao Heng coughed twice and explained, "This rope is specially designed to bind cultivators. It has restrictions inside, and only experts with cultivation levels above the Golden Core stage can break it. Not to mention in this manor, even in the entire Secret Sea, there are probably only a handful of people above the Golden Core stage."
Yao Yao fell silent. According to this explanation, she really couldn't untie the rope. She picked up the cracked communication talisman again, seemingly praying for a miracle. She wondered what was happening outside. If only Lin Fang would give up the search, she could sneak out and reunite with Ying'er and the others.
Should we go out and take another look? Yao Yao suddenly thought, it's better than staying here and getting anxious.
Yao Yao immediately told them her thoughts: "You guys wait here, I'll go check what's going on outside, if it's them..."
What do you want?
An elderly voice came from behind her at an inopportune moment. Yao Yao turned around abruptly and found Steward Qian standing there, calmly stroking his white beard and smiling sinisterly: "Your maid is quite good at hiding, managing to find her way here."
"Oh no!" Liao Heng tensed up upon hearing the familiar voice. "Run!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. Manager Qian ordered several servants to surround Yao Yao with sticks, and Yao Yao had nowhere to retreat.
"Do you know that very few who come in here ever leave alive?" Manager Qian stepped forward, speaking in a tone that was both threatening and mocking. "If you obediently hand over what you stole, you might die a little easier."
"Hmph!" Yao Yao sneered, her face full of disdain. "I threw the stuff into the lake a long time ago. If you can't find it, it's because you're incompetent!"
Upon hearing the word "lake," Steward Qian's facial muscles twitched involuntarily, and the surrounding servants exchanged glances, fearing that the steward would give the order to fetch water again.
Steward Qian was an older man who had seen his share of big events, but he had never seen his master attempt such an absurd act as draining the lake. To make matters worse, his master had a fiery temper, and anyone who dared to disobey him was asking for trouble. The chaos that had ensued was already enough to make him angry and sweating profusely. Now that he had finally managed to stop the farce and find the instigator, this girl came up with the lake idea—she really knew how to rub salt in the wound!
"Fine, fine, is this how you want to play the game?!" Manager Qian trembled with anger, pointing a finger at Yao Yao and shouting, "Lock her up!"
Several servants, already seething with resentment, subdued Yao Yao on the spot with long sticks without a word and quickly tied her up with ropes. Steward Qian shakily unlocked the door, then grabbed Yao Yao by the back of her collar and threw her into the mud-brick house.
"Keep a close watch on them until the master returns; not even a fly is allowed to escape!"
Manager Qian slammed the door shut and stormed off. Yao Yao, Liao Heng, and the others, who had been thrown into the dark room, looked at each other, all feeling bewildered.
"Manager Qian, are we just going to let that girl go so easily?" a servant who had followed Manager Qian asked, puzzled. "She just had us completely fooled, and the master was furious!"
Steward Qian abruptly stopped, turned around and warned, "Shh! When the master isn't in the manor, everyone listens to me!"
After saying that, Steward Qian's gaze turned solemn, and he lowered his voice to say to the servant, "Think carefully, when has the ancestral home ever personally sent a carriage to pick up the master?"
The servant was taken aback. After thinking it over carefully, he realized that he had never encountered such a situation before. Even on important holidays like the New Year, the master always traveled to the ancestral home by carriage from the mansion.
"Could it be..." that something is about to happen to the master?
Lin Fang was indeed in deep trouble. He was kneeling before Lin Shiyou's desk, awaiting his impending judgment. His head was bowed, his eyes fixed on the floor, almost as if he wanted to burn a hole through it. Beads of sweat dripped down his face and onto the floor. Lin Fang's mind was in turmoil. The deal with Lin Xiaowen hadn't been fulfilled yet, and Lin Xiaowen would definitely renege on his promise soon. Right now, he could only rely on himself. What should he say…?
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, bringing a gust of wind that brushed the sweat from Lin Fang's forehead, sending a chill through him. Lin Fang turned his head and saw the burly Lin Shiyou stride into the room, followed closely by Lin Xiaowen.
"Big brother..." Lin Fang tried to call out, but Lin Shiyou didn't even glance at him and went straight to sit down behind the desk.
Lin Xiaowen tactfully closed the door and stood to the side. When his eyes inadvertently swept over Lin Fang kneeling on the ground, they narrowed slightly, and a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.
Lin Fang saw all this, but could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger; preserving his own life was the most important thing at the moment. Seeing that Lin Shiyou had been sitting there for a long time without saying a word, he mustered his courage and looked up, calling out, "Big brother, I—"
Before Lin Fang could even protest his innocence, Lin Shiyou suddenly spoke up: "Today at the Yihai Hall... do you know how arrogant those two Han family boys were?"
Lin Shiyou's voice was filled with suppressed anger, like the undercurrents before a storm. Lin Fang trembled upon hearing it, no longer daring to meet Lin Shiyou's gaze. He quickly kowtowed heavily to the ground, begging for mercy in a panic: "Big brother, spare me! Spare me!"
"Spare you?" Lin Shiyou glared angrily at Lin Fang, who was kneeling on the ground. "Second brother, what is the punishment for losing the fish tally?"
“Remove him from his position and execute him by slow slicing.” Lin Xiaowen replied respectfully. “However, Third Brother’s cultivation is quite high. It would be a pity to execute him by slow slicing alone. In my humble opinion, it would be better to throw him into the open sea and feed him to the fish. That way, his spiritual power will not be wasted.”
Lin Xiaowen is indeed ruthless. Not only did he not speak up for him, but he also added fuel to the fire! Lin Fang glared at Lin Xiaowen, but the latter smiled as if nothing had happened and looked at the person on the seat, waiting for his verdict.
No! He has to fight for himself! Lin Fang has endured humiliation and hardship for so many years, and finally made it to the position of the third leader. How could he be willing to die like this?
"Brother! It is true that I was wrong about the fish talisman, but I have done so many dirty and hard jobs for the clan over the years without ever complaining. You see, even if I have no merit, I have worked hard!"
Lin Shiyou frowned upon hearing this but remained silent.
"Brother, that bastard Han is too cunning. I fell into his trap by accident. I really didn't mean to, brother!"
"You said that from childhood to adulthood, I've always listened to you. If you told me to go east, I wouldn't dare go west. Even if you asked me to die in your place, I wouldn't hesitate..."
Here we go again… Lin Xiaowen rolled his eyes inwardly, already used to this kind of rhetoric. Lin Fang had only managed to become the third-in-command by being a lackey for so many years without making any major mistakes, but what room was there for redemption for a mistake like losing the fish tally? He was truly stupid. On his way here, he had heard from his scouts that not only the Han brothers, but even that usually smooth-talking old fox Li Qianhuai dared to openly mock Lin the Great Leader in the Yihai Hall today. The originally promising situation had been instantly reversed because of this idiot losing the fish tally. How could Lin Shiyou possibly swallow this insult?
Lin Xiaowen looked at Lin Fang as if he were looking at a dead object, without any pity. He then secretly glanced at Lin Shiyou, only to see that the other man's brows were tightly furrowed, one hand was resting on his brow and fidgeting, while the other hand was already bulging with veins, having crushed a gash in the armrest of the seat.
Lin Fang naturally heard the noise as well, and became increasingly flustered, starting to ramble: "Brother, and the injuries I sustained when I went to find that Azure Nether True Fire for you all these years...!"
"Bang!"
A sudden, loud crash echoed through the room. Lin Fang, who had been talking incessantly, was abruptly sent flying, his head slamming hard against the corner of a table. Blood gushed from his wound, and he died instantly, his eyes wide open. The table shattered, sending objects crashing to the floor. Fine porcelain pieces were smashed to pieces, emitting sharp, chaotic sounds.
Lin Xiaowen was startled by the sudden situation. He turned to look at Lin Shiyou and found him standing in front of the table, his sinister gaze fixed on Lin Fang's corpse in silence. A black aura seemed to slowly emerge from the corner of his eyes, which resembled several crawling giant pythons that slithered under his eyes, turning everything in their path pitch black.
As if sensing Lin Xiaowen's gaze, Lin Shiyou suddenly turned his head, glanced at him sideways, and said calmly, "Lin Fang has violated the family rules, refused to accept punishment, and even tried to escape from under my nose. He deserves to die."
"Understood." Lin Xiaowen quickly bowed his head, his eyes no longer daring to meet the gaze of the person before him. A sense of crisis welled up from the bottom of his heart. His intuition told him that there was something he should never know in Lin Fang's words just now, something that could very well cost him his life.
"There are still a few 'bait' in Lin Fang's residence. Go find them and we'll deal with them together tonight."
If they deal with it overnight, wouldn't they have to deal with him too? Lin Xiaowen dared not agree, so he could only come up with a roundabout reason: "It's around the time of the full moon these days, and there might be merfolk rampaging at sea at night. Why don't we go tomorrow morning?"
Lin Xiaowen lowered his head, his heart pounding as he awaited Lin Shiyou's reply. An eerie silence fell over the room. Lin Xiaowen dared not move, fearing that he might be struck dead by Lin Shiyou's palm if he made any careless move.
After waiting for a long time, Lin Shiyou finally agreed to set off again tomorrow. Lin Xiaowen didn't dare to stay any longer and quickly made an excuse to slip away. Fortunately, Lin Shiyou's thoughts weren't on him, and he just nodded and let him go.
Lin Xiaowen strode quickly out of the ancestral home and got into his own carriage. The coachman asked him if he wanted to return to the manor. Lin Xiaowen hesitated for a moment, then, remembering what had just happened, he ordered the coachman, "Go to Lin Fang's residence."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
