Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The shadow coughed heavily, startling Liu Wen into a violent shiver.
"You can't help now, can you? How did you promise me back then?" the shadow trembled as it scolded.
"I-I..." Liu Wen cried out, her voice trembling. "Big Brother, please don't scare me! It was my fault. I accepted your land and promised to take care of the Liu family. I acted against my conscience just for that piece of land and didn't take good care of them! Big Brother, please forgive me!"
The shadow of Liu Daniu swayed slightly, causing the flames around him to flicker ominously, making the room alternately dark and bright, creating a terrifying atmosphere.
"Did you not take care of them properly?" Liu Daniu pointed at her angrily. "Not only did you trick me out of my land, but now you want to harm my daughter-in-law and leave my children homeless. Wen, I've cared for you all these years in vain; your conscience must have been eaten by dogs!"
Liu Wen could only cry, nodding vigorously. "It was my fault! I was foolish! Big Brother, please go away! Don't scare me anymore!"
"Hmph! You still think you can fool me!" Liu Daniu waved his hand, and the flames surged toward Liu Wen, nearly hitting her face. Terrified, she could only huddle on the ground, too scared to move.
Liu Daniu's voice was old and weak but filled with chilling anger. "You better confess honestly how you framed my daughter-in-law! If you dare deceive me again, I won't let you off lightly this time!"
"I-I! I'll tell you everything! Just please don't take me to the underworld!" Liu Wen prostrated herself on the ground and confessed everything she knew.
"I was chased for debts. In a moment of desperation for money, I thought if I got rid of Ye Xiaohan that bitch, the Liu family would belong to me again. That's why I approached Liu Gongzi and did such a stupid thing! Big Brother, believe me; it was a moment of panic! I won't dare do it again!"
Liu Daniu asked, "Then why did you poison her?"
Liu Wen hurriedly tried to clear her name. "I'm wronged! The poison was given to me by Liu Gongzi; we didn't even know what it was. We never expected it would be so severe and harm so many people. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared!"
Ever since she saw another disfigured victim, she had been plagued by nightmares.
Now, just a reminder brought that horrifying face rushing back at her.
"At least you still have some conscience," Liu Daniu said. "You weren't like this before; you used to be obedient and lovely. Now... sigh... didn't your hands tremble when you poisoned her?"
"Wen cried out, 'Big Brother, you have to believe me! I didn't poison anyone! I only saw the poison that Husband brought back, and since then, that box of poison has been kept by Husband. He is the one who used it; it has nothing to do with me!'
'How dare you lie! If you didn't do it, then show me the evidence! You keep saying someone else instructed you. What about the agreement you signed? Show it to me!'
Da Niu was furious. His anger caused the flames to flicker ominously, making Wen feel uneasy.
Wen quickly defended herself, 'No, I wouldn't dare deceive you; this is all true! It's just that I can't provide any evidence. Liu Gongzi only gave verbal instructions. We thought, being the son of a county magistrate, he wouldn't deceive us. Besides, we couldn't afford to offend him; whatever he says goes—who would dare go against him?'
'I don't believe you. You've deceived me for so long; your words are worthless unless you write them down and burn them for me to take to Yama to verify their authenticity. Only then will I believe you.'
Da Niu set his terms; otherwise, he wouldn't let her go.
Wen begged for her life, and Da Niu made her promise everything: 'Alright, alright! I'll write it; I'll write it right now!'
Suddenly, the oil lamp on the table lit up by itself. Wen stumbled over, finding that ink and paper were already prepared.
Da Niu's shadow loomed behind her, coughing painfully. Terrified, Wen grabbed the brush and wrote down everything she knew in detail.
'Sign and seal it; otherwise Yama won't know if it's really your writing,' Da Niu urged.
Wen trembled as she signed her name. Just as she finished, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck and instantly lost consciousness.
The flickering flames vanished in an instant. Yang rushed in from the yard, quickly glanced at the paper, and exclaimed joyfully, 'This is great; sister-in-law is saved!'
He shot a glance at Wen lying on the ground but didn’t help her up to the bed; he just left her there.
'Brother Gu, look at this!'”
Yang handed the paper to Gu Da, inviting him to take a look and see if anything was amiss.
Gu Da appeared out of nowhere, dragging along the unconscious Yang Juanjuan. Behind him, there was an eerie silence; the earlier commotion from the "Six Great Bulls" had vanished like a shadow.
Gu Da read through what Liu Wen had written, finding it largely consistent with what she had said earlier. He tucked the paper away carefully; it was hard-earned evidence. Although they were still far from their desired outcome, it was a significant step forward.
"Yang, we owe you one this time. If you hadn't thought of scaring them with that ghost trick, Liu Wen wouldn't have confessed so quickly."
Gu Da had gained a deeper appreciation for Yang's cleverness; it seemed this kid was more capable than he had initially thought.
Yang beamed at the praise, grinning widely. "So, I really helped out?"
"You helped a lot." Gu Da gave him a thumbs-up, generously showering him with compliments.
Children need to be praised well to build their confidence; only then can they dare to take risks and tackle challenges head-on.
Yang smiled but glanced at Liu Wen, his expression dimming slightly. "Actually, it's not that big of a deal. I just remembered something from the past. My dad gave Liu Wen a piece of land before he died, on the condition that she would take care of our family’s children after he was gone."
Though Gu Da hadn't witnessed what happened next firsthand, he could guess that Liu Wen wasn't the kind-hearted aunt she pretended to be; Yang's father had entrusted the wrong person.
"She took our land but never really cared for us. Back then, when my brother and I were still young and things were tough at home, that piece of land was the only valuable thing we had."
It seemed that for Liu Wen, such matters were hardly worth her concern.
Yang chuckled lightly. "I was foolish back then. With so few adults around, anyone who showed me a bit of kindness felt like family. Then one time, Liu Wen came back home late at night and got scared by a shadow. She thought my dad had found out about her actions and came to confront her, so she hurried back home."
After that incident, Liu Wen fell seriously ill. Once she recovered, she became paranoid, always feeling like Gu Da was lurking behind her. She dared not visit their home anymore and only occasionally brought over some supplies to ease her conscience.
"She has done too many guilty things, and with a guilty conscience, I can use her inner demons to capture the real monster!"
Liuyang smiled brightly. He decided to forget all the unpleasant memories from before; he now had a new family, and they were what mattered most.
Gu Da comfortingly patted his shoulder, offering no words of consolation. The young man in front of him had already developed enough resilience; some things didn’t require outside commentary.
"However..." Liuyang spoke with some concern, "Liwen hasn’t signed an agreement with Liu Yuan. Doesn’t that mean we can’t bring that bastard to justice?"
Gu Da shared this regret but remained optimistic: "This was expected. Liu Yuan is cunning and deeply strategic; he isn’t someone easy to handle."
The two of them ignored Liwen and Yang Juanjuan sprawled on the ground and climbed back over the wall they had come from. Gu Da saw Liuyang to the door and only turned to leave after watching him enter.
Afterward, Gu Da made his way to the residence of Street Dragon General.
Flying Dragon General was still sitting beneath the grapevine, as if carved from wood or stone, seemingly frozen in that peculiar posture for a long time without moving.
"General, everything went smoothly. Here is the signed confession written by Liwen herself for your review," Gu Da respectfully unfolded the paper from his arms before presenting it.
Upon hearing Gu Da's voice, Flying Dragon General seemed to come alive, moving slightly. Remarkably, even though it was just a gentle motion, the aura surrounding him shifted dramatically, making him appear entirely different.
Flying Dragon General took the paper and read it carefully before pondering aloud, "Just this might not be enough."
Comment 0 Comment Count