Chapter 184: Catch Up
Two people: !!!
Aren’t you going to interrogate them at all?!
They have intelligence on them, hey!
Seeing that the dirt had already reached their knees, Black-clothed Man Number Two hurriedly spoke up, “Wait! As long as you let us go, I’ll tell you Zhong Chenghong’s whereabouts. Otherwise, we’ll never tell even if you beat us to death!”
“Whether you tell or not doesn’t matter. The pit is already dug; it’d be a pity not to bury someone.” Shi Tou continued shoveling dirt into the pit, seemingly determined to bury the two alive.
Black-clothed Man: “…”
What living King of Hells is this whole family?!
Shi Tou was skilled at digging pits, and the speed of filling them was even swifter. In no time, the dirt had reached the waists of the two black-clothed men and quickly spread toward their chests.
“Wait!” The black-clothed man, covered in dirt, spat out the soil he had accidentally eaten, strongly demanding another chance.
Shi Tou propped up the shovel and looked coldly at the two, “No more conditions?”
The two black-clothed men shook their heads in unison.
Their lives were at stake; what conditions could they possibly mention?
Shi Tou glanced at the deep pit and muttered regretfully, “What a shame.”
The two black-clothed men: “…”
What, does this pit have to bury two people?
Shi Tou grabbed one in each hand and yanked them up like pulling radishes.
The soil had been loosely filled in, so pulling them out was effortless, but Black-clothed Man Number One was missing a chunk of flesh on his calf. Being pulled like a radish caused excruciating pain, nearly killing him on the spot.
“Isn’t it just a wolf bite? Why so much pain? If you hadn’t stolen chickens and dogs, would my family’s Xiao Hui have bitten you?” Shi Tou dragged the two back, kicked Black-clothed Man Number One in the leg, “Stop yelling. It’s late at night; if you wake my family’s child, I’ll take your life.”
Yuan Yuan and A Nian were still sleeping. What if they didn’t sleep well and wouldn’t grow tall?
The two black-clothed men: wuwuwu~
Don’t ask; asking would just mean their guts were green with regret.
The three people in the room were eating a late-night snack: sesame-filled glutinous rice balls that Xiao Huan had boiled after washing dishes, kept cooling in well water. They were sweet, soft, cool, and very refreshing.
“Come quickly; we’ve been waiting for you.” Xiao Huan waved at Shi Tou.
Shi Tou washed his hands, sat down at the table, picked up a bowl, and ate the rice balls.
Shang Wan put down her chopsticks and looked coldly at the two disheveled black-clothed men, “Confess.”
Black-clothed Man Number One was in too much pain to speak and could only rely on Black-clothed Man Number Two to answer.
Black-clothed Man Number Two was panicking inside but calmly countered on the surface, “Confess what?”
Shang Wan didn’t change expression, her voice cold, “Or drag them out and bury them—”
“We’re people hired by Zhong Chenghong!” Black-clothed Man Number Two hurriedly interrupted Shang Wan, breaking out in cold sweat in the midsummer heat.
Don’t bury people alive at the drop of a hat!
Knowing the people before him were all evil stars, he didn’t dare play tricks anymore and spilled everything at once.
The two black-clothed men were blood brothers surnamed Yu from Hejian Prefecture. On the surface, they were instructors at a martial arts school, but privately they did murder for hire.
As long as the price was right, they could be bodyguards or killers.
This time, they had followed Zhong Chenghong to Dongning County under his employ: first to protect his safety, second to help him kill Shang Wan.
After the three entered the city, a little inquiring revealed the change at Lu Residence.
Zhong Chenghong found an information broker to buy news on Shang Wan. After learning her recent situation and whereabouts, he immediately ordered the two brothers to come to the village to kill Shang Wan, then dump the corpse in the back mountain to feed the wild beasts and destroy the evidence.
The information broker favored his old patron; it absolutely wasn’t fear of being beaten up by Shang Wan. He quietly concealed from Zhong Chenghong that Shang Wan knew martial arts, so Zhong Chenghong had no defenses and sent the two brothers to murder without any plan.
Shang Wan asked puzzledly, “Why does Zhong Chenghong want to kill me to silence me?”
Did the original host spend money on him and end up making an enemy?
The two black-clothed men shook their heads together. They were only responsible for protecting the employer and killing for the employer; who cared about the rest?
Besides, in their line of work, the more you knew, the faster you died.
Lu Chengjing wiped the soup stain from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief and asked, “Where is Zhong Chenghong now?”
“At Fu Yuan Inn in the city.” Black-clothed Man Number Two answered, “Tianzi Room Number Two.”
Shang Wan turned her head and exchanged a glance with Lu Chengjing, seeing the same meaning in each other’s eyes.
Black-clothed Man Number Two looked at Shang Wan and said, “We’re just handling affairs for money. We’ve told you everything now; can you let us leave?”
Shang Wan sneered, “Let you leave? If you run to tip off Zhong Chenghong and he escapes, how am I supposed to catch him?”
The two black-clothed men hurriedly guaranteed they wouldn’t tip him off, but Shang Wan didn’t listen at all. She signaled Shi Tou to gag their mouths and lock them in the woodshed.
Seeing that Shang Wan didn’t seem to intend to kill the two, Xiao Huan simply bandaged the wound on Black-clothed Man Number One’s leg to prevent him from dying from excessive blood loss.
Xiao Huan came out of the woodshed carrying the medicine box, bent down to pet the gray wolf’s head, “Xiao Hui, guard the woodshed obediently. If they dare escape, bite them to death.”
These words were of course meant for the two black-clothed men in the woodshed.
Xiao Hui gave a low whine, dragged over his wolf den with his mouth, lay at the woodshed doorway, and occasionally howled, scaring the two black-clothed men into not daring to close their eyes all night, fearing they’d wake up buried in the dirt.
Burying people alive at the drop of a hat—what even the King of Hell wouldn’t play at.
The next morning after breakfast, Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing drove the ox cart to the county town together.
After passing the city gate, they went straight to the back alley of Fu Yuan Inn.
In Tianzi Room Number Two, the window was half-open, letting in faint morning light.
The blue-and-white bed curtain hung to the floor, and even snoring came from inside.
With a soft “click,” a crimson figure pushed open the window and leaped in, landing silently.
The bed curtain was lifted at one corner, morning light filtering in for an instant before being blocked again as it fell.
Disturbed by the light, the youth sleeping on the bed rolled toward the inside, a red mole on his left earlobe standing out.
“Zhong Chenghong.” The female voice was chilling, carrying the unique coldness of morning.
The youth’s eyelashes trembled, he opened his eyes, and was shocked to meet a familiar face.
“Ah—” The scream cut off abruptly.
Shang Wan swiftly stuffed a handful of handkerchief into the youth’s wide-open mouth. Under his terrified gaze, she curved her lips in a very kind smile, “Don’t be afraid. I’m just here to catch up with you.”
With a palm strike, the youth’s eyes rolled back white, and he collapsed headfirst onto the bed.
Shang Wan hoisted the person over her shoulder and left. The window “clicked” shut, as if no one had come.
She put the person into a large wooden bucket prepared in advance, piled vegetables on top for cover, and said, “Let’s go.”
Lu Chengjing tugged the reins, driving the ox cart out of the city as they had come.
The gate soldiers casually checked the cart’s cargo, found nothing unusual, and waved them through.
The ox cart traveled a stretch on the official road, then turned and ran into the dense forest.
·
Intense pain forcefully awakened his consciousness. Muscles twitching, Zhong Chenghong came to from his coma and blankly looked around.
Deep greenery everywhere, with a river not far away where he could hear the water flowing.
Wasn’t he sleeping in the inn? How did he end up here?
Memories before the coma slowly returned. The youth’s pupils contracted in shock—it was Shang Wan, that hateful woman!
A night had passed, and that woman was still alive!
