Chapter 152 The Journey to the Western Cold
After the upsetting incident involving Gu Dexing and his daughter, the Lin family's illusions about Jiangnan as a paradise on earth were completely shattered.
What quaint bridges and flowing water, what painted boats and pleasure boats? Beneath them all lies the filth of those who exploit the common people!
The mood for sightseeing was completely gone.
However, Xie Sangning still took them on a quick tour of some of the most famous tourist attractions.
Standing by the misty lake, looking at the exquisite garden, the younger generation of the Lin family felt utterly bored.
Lin Ziyuan looked at an old man selling lotus pods by the lake with a worried expression, and then thought of the steamed buns that cost fifty coins each. He felt that the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan was covered with a layer of dust.
"Let's go, there's nothing to see."
The next day, the convoy left Jiangnan Prefecture without hesitation, heading straight for their final destination – Xihan.
On the way, Lin Ziyuan leaned against the car window, looking at the increasingly desolate scenery outside, and couldn't help but ask Xie Sangning, "Cousin, how does Xihan compare to Jiangnan? Is it really... better than Jiangnan?"
He simply couldn't imagine how good that legendary, godforsaken place of exile could possibly be.
Jiangnan has already disappointed him.
Xie Sangning was resting with his eyes closed. Hearing this, he didn't even lift his eyelids, only uttering a few words indifferently: "Jiangnan? Not worth mentioning."
Not worth mentioning?!
These four words, like a small pebble, stirred ripples in the hearts of everyone in the Lin family!
Even a place like Jiangnan is nothing to my cousin? Then what kind of paradise must Xihan be?!
Their enthusiasm, which had been dampened by the trip to Jiangnan, was instantly reignited! The younger generation was so eager to get their heads in their hands that they wished they could sprout wings and fly directly to Xihan!
The day before their departure, Xie Sangning dispatched her fastest messenger with a handwritten letter to the Xihan County government office, informing Magistrate Qu Zhinian of their approximate arrival date.
However, the road to Xihan is not an easy one.
Once you leave the Jiangnan region and enter a relatively remote area, danger follows you like a shadow.
In just a few days, the convoy encountered more than one group of uninvited guests.
They were dressed in black, masked, and well-trained, their target Xie Sangning's car!
But each time, these assassins failed to cause any trouble.
Xie Sangning's guards were like killing machines.
Chen Feng's team of overt and covert agents worked seamlessly together, and the battle was over before the assassins even got close to the convoy.
There were no earth-shattering shouts of battle, only the brief clash of weapons, muffled groans, and the sounds of people falling to the ground.
The battle ended very quickly. The bodies were swiftly dragged away and buried, and the bloodstains were covered by yellow sand and dust. Only a faint smell of blood remained in the air, which was soon dispersed by the wind.
The Lin family members were completely unaware of this. They either rested in the car or admired the scenery, which was quite different from that of Jinling. They felt that the journey was quite peaceful.
Only Old Master Lin would occasionally, during a rest stop, keenly sense the lingering chilling aura emanating from the guards, as well as the faint, almost imperceptible, rusty smell in the air.
After a short rest, Lin Zhu, leaning on his cane, walked to Xie Sangning's side and whispered, "Girl, the road... isn't safe?"
Xie Sangning patted the dust off his hands: "Don't worry, great-grandfather. They were just some rats hiding in the gutter, trying to cause me trouble. They've been cleaned up."
She spoke as casually as if she had crushed a few ants.
Lin Zhu gave her a deep look, his heart trembling.
Although he knew before that Xie Sangning had many capable people under her command, he only realized now that the power she controlled far exceeded his imagination!
These guards, capable of silently eliminating several groups of assassins, are far superior to ordinary servants and guards!
This girl's work in Xihan over the years has gone far beyond simply focusing on improving people's lives!
Xie Sangning knew almost without thinking who sent these assassins.
At this moment, Emperor Pei Yan feared Xie Sangning's death more than anyone else. If she died, Xie Zhenting would surely throw Daqing into chaos, and it might even be vulnerable to invasion by neighboring countries that were eyeing it covetously.
Within the deep palace, the only one who saw Xie Sangning as a thorn in her side, wishing nothing more than to get rid of her, and who most wanted to prevent her from safely reaching Xihan, was the Second Princess Pei Mingyue.
A day later, another assassination attempt was quietly thwarted several miles away.
The guards were skillfully and quickly handling the scene, burying the bodies.
Just then, an old voice rang out: "Wait!"
It was Lin's instruction.
He got off the bus at some point and stood not far away, leaning on his cane.
His gaze swept over the dozen or so corpses the guards were dragging, and he called the Lin family members off the carriage.
"father?"
"Grandpa, what's wrong...?"
The Lin family members were all puzzled, not understanding what the old man was going to do.
Lin Zhu's voice boomed: "Everyone in the Lin family, come here! Open your eyes wide and take a good look!"
The guards stopped what they were doing and looked at Xie Sangning.
Xie Sangning remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
The guards stepped back.
The Lin family members gathered around, puzzled.
When their gaze passed over the guards and fell upon that scene of carnage—
"Ugh—!" When the women saw the corpses lying haphazardly, in various positions of death, and covered in blood, their faces turned deathly pale instantly, their stomachs churned, and they couldn't help but bend over and dry heave, tears streaming down their faces.
Even Lin Ruhai gasped, his face turned pale, and his hands and feet went cold.
Although he was a man, he had lived in the capital for a long time and was used to a life of luxury. He had never seen such a bloody and cruel scene before.
Lin Ziyuan and Lin Huan, the two teenagers, were struck dumb!
Lin Huan was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground if she hadn't been supported by the people around her.
"Look carefully!"
"This is what your niece, your cousin, faces every day! This is the environment our Lin family is in now! Did you really think this trip was just about romance and sightseeing?!"
His sharp gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Lin Huan, whose face was deathly pale: "Our Lin family and the Xie family have long been bound together in the same boat! We prosper together, and we perish together! If the Xie family prospers, the Lin family prospers! If the Xie family dies, the Lin family will be reduced to its original state in an instant, or even... die without a burial place!"
Lin Huan trembled under the old man's gaze and lowered his head in shame.
He used to think that studying was useless and practicing martial arts was too hard. He thought it would be enough for him to be a rich young master who didn't have to worry about food and clothing. Why bother to work so hard? He even got angry in front of his great-grandfather.
He felt that his great-grandfather was talking about him.
"All these years, you've been like flowers grown in a greenhouse!" Lin Zhu's voice was filled with heartache. "You only know how to complain about how boring school is, how cumbersome the rules are, and how insufficient your allowance is! But you don't know how cruel the outside world is! You don't know how many people are bearing the burden for you! And you don't know that you yourselves might become a burden to others!"
"I haven't paid attention to the Lin family all these years because I was extremely disappointed. Fortunately, Sang Ning's appearance gave me a glimmer of hope. I'm showing you this today not to scare you!"
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