The stars were twinkling in the sky. On a deserted riverside outside of Jiangning, the night wind blew through the boat house on the river. Light shone from the room.
He woke up in a daze. His consciousness was not fully awake yet. There was no light. The voices outside his head were sometimes strong and sometimes weak. Before his brain could work properly, he could not analyze the meaning of these broken sentences.
"Drink less wine..."
"A scholar without the strength to even truss a chicken …"
"The pig this time..."
"Dalang went to the mountain with a torch to wait for someone... He should know about these things..."
"I know the signal..."
"Three circles left, three circles right..."
"Daddy, that pig... His shoes are beautiful..."
"Don't mess around!"
"But..."
"This kind of pig... Must be at least thirty if not fifty..."
"At least he won't wake up before midnight. Let him..."
"Daddy, this kind of pig... Let him use only one hand..."
"Be obedient..."
The back of his head was aching. It took a long time for him to gather his thoughts. It was an indescribably complex feeling.
It had been a very, very long time since he had felt such naked hostility. Even Tang Mingyuan's hostility wasn't like this.
He tried to recall what happened before. Those eyes, the waving of the stick... Who did these things?
The Su family, the Xue family, the Wu Family... It should not be. It was unreasonable. There was no need for the Su family to do such things to him, unless someone wanted to kill the old grandfather and then Su Boyong and his daughter. There was no need for the Xue family and the Wu Family to do such things to him. He was just a talent. For businessmen of the same level, this kind of action was usually the last resort. Once it was done, there would be no room for negotiation. After shedding all pretense of cordiality, the consequences would be out of control. They should not have made a move on him first...
Wu Liejun? That was even more impossible. If it was them, it would not be like this...
Who was it, who had offended who...
He was very sensitive to the judgment of kindness and malice. If there were any clues before, he would have most likely noticed it. This matter... was really sudden. Xue Jin was one of them, but it was impossible for that person to have such decisiveness and courage. It was impossible even if he was out of his mind. Other than that, he couldn't think of anyone else. Or was this a random kidnapping and blackmail?
Pig, Zi Shi... It did not seem like it.
He could not determine the source of this hostility. However, it was not the time to think about these things. Their hands and feet were tied up. The room was dark. In the room next door, a few people were eating and drinking. The light from the oil lamp shone through the cracks in the wall. The room was shaking slightly. There was the sound of water flowing on the river …
He recalled the image of the man before he fainted. The man was more than two meters tall, and he looked like a boxing champion. He even had an accomplice. It would be difficult to deal with him … He closed his eyes, and his body tensed up slightly. Then, he relaxed a little. His fingers groped around his back, searching for any protruding object that he could use as an excuse. There seemed to be someone walking along the corridor outside …
After a year of systematic training, coupled with the ominous feeling in his heart when he saw the wooden stick, he actually made a slight movement to dodge when the wooden stick swung at him. Perhaps it was because of this that the other party misjudged the timing. This might be his only chance. There was no need for him to think too much or complain too much. Only by solving the problem in front of him would he have the time to think. He might not be able to find an opportunity, but he had to remain calm and not be impatient, not be impatient …
*****
Time flowed like the water below, passing second by second. When the burning sensation at the back of his head gradually faded, the oppressive darkness became even quieter, and the surrounding situation also became clearer. The sounds of conversation and eating could be heard. In the room next door, there were two adults and two children, but the children were probably already adults. There was also a woman … Perhaps they were a family.
Meat pig … This was not the first time he did this. There should be a murder case. That burly man was too difficult to deal with. He was not a heavyweight. If an ordinary scholar saw this, he would probably be terrified. Ning Yi adjusted his breathing and analyzed these in his heart. He did not know when, but there was a slight sound at the door. He opened his eyes slightly. Someone was quietly unlocking the door.
When the door was opened halfway, the person stopped. "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Brother, that meat pig's shoes … He doesn't need them anyway."
"Father said not to mess around. Give me the key!"
"Oh."
The two brothers talked in a low voice and then went away. Ning Yi had originally taken a deep breath, but now he exhaled slowly. His hand rubbed against the wall behind him, increasing the speed of the slight friction.
Not long after, there was a sound at the door again.
*****
The door was not opened much, and a strong teenager quietly squeezed in. Then he snorted softly, a little proud. He held a stick in his hand and put the iron wire in his arms.
The teenager walked to the corner and saw clearly the scholar whose hands and feet were tied and thrown on the ground. This scholar looked weak. It seemed that he was not acquainted with him yet. He looked so weak that he could not even stand a gust of wind.
The rich people in the city were all like this.
"Pig, if you wake up and dare to act recklessly, I'll smash your head with my stick …" That youth said in a low voice and fiercely. After waiting for a while, he put the stick aside and squatted down to take off the scholar's shoes. Taking advantage of the faint light, he looked at it with delight. Then, he sat down with his back facing the scholar and took off his own shoes. Putting on shoes with his back facing the scholar was a subconscious action.
The first shoe, the second shoe, both beautiful and fitting … Just as he was about to stand up, the figure behind him silently sat up. The figure's hands stretched out in the darkness, and the ropes on his wrists continuously fell off. The pair of hands closed abruptly.
Click —
The head turned in one direction.
*****
He did not wear shoes. He pushed the door open silently and walked out. Outside was the corridor of the ship. It was built in the shape of a "king". There were six rooms. He was locked in the room between the living room and the kitchen. There was no door, and the three rooms on the other side only had windows. There was no one in the corridor. He quietly walked over, glanced at the living room, and quickly looked away.
Three people, a table, and an oil lamp. One of them was the burly man who was talking to him. The other was also burly like an iron tower. The third person … should be the burly man's eldest son. He was also more than 1.8 meters tall.
Three lotus roots floating in the green pond …
In the room, the iron tower-like man was talking to the burly man's eldest son.
"… Dalang, let me tell you. In this pugilistic world, only the truly ruthless, the truly daring, and the truly meticulous can stand. But don't think that being ruthless means fighting fiercely. True ruthlessness is only used when it is necessary. Just once, and everyone will be afraid of you. Back then, that Lei guy … "
The words could not enter Ning Yi's mind. He was babbling like a philosopher … He looked around. The door was in the living room. How was he going to get out? He was not a good swimmer. Although the water flow outside was gentle, it was loud. If he was heard, he would not be able to run far.
With a gloomy face, he followed his original pace to the other side. In the kitchen, a fat woman was cooking. Ning Yi looked around, at the chimney, and the like. Two seconds later, he walked in and picked up the knife on the chopping board.
The woman turned around. In the next moment, with a whoosh, blood shot into the sky, like a fountain, and sizzled as it shot into the pot. The black shadow was reflected on the wall. The kitchen knife chopped down continuously.
*****
Blood seeped through the floor, perhaps dripping into the river below. The black shadow stood in front of the stove, expressionlessly pouring pork, kerosene, and all kinds of oil into the boiling pot. His eyes darted around, constantly filtering the various things in the kitchen. Sometimes, he took out some paper packages and opened them, then threw them away. When the pot was completely boiling, he poured the boiling oil into a pot tied with a straw rope.
Then, a voice came from the living room, "Dalang, go see if your mother's cooking is done …"
Ning Yi quietly pushed the kitchen door open. With a weight in one hand and a bone-picking knife in the other, he hid by the side of the door. The sound of footsteps approached. The door was pushed open. The moment the person walked in, Ning Yi blew out the lamp as if it was blown out by the wind. The fire in the stove was still swaying. The young man was slightly stunned, "Mother …"
Ning Yi raised the weight in his hand and slammed it into the back of the man's head. When the man's body fell to the side, Ning Yi caught him.
*****
"I heard that Gu became an official and is going to be a county magistrate …"
"It might be good if Dalang and Erlang can become officials. We have something on him …"
"We don't have to push a scholar like him too far …"
Yang Yi and Yang Heng were chatting in the room. They occasionally drank wine and ate peanuts. Yang Heng frowned when he realized that Dalang had been gone for some time.
"Why isn't Dalang …"
"Mom …" The voice suddenly came from the kitchen. It sounded desolate and hoarse. Both of them shuddered. Yang Yi picked up a crossbow and dashed into the corridor while Yang Heng pulled out his steel knife and headed for the door.
"Look at the pig!"
Yang Heng dashed out of the room to see if there was anyone running away in the river. A few seconds later, Yang Yi suddenly shouted from the room behind. "Let him go —"
It was dark when Yang Yi dashed into the middle corridor. The only source of light was the faint glow from the kitchen. Before he could open the second door to check on the pig, his eldest son was pushed out. His head was covered in blood and he was swaying. Clearly, he had just woken up slightly and was now in this state.
A blood-stained bone-paring knife was placed on his neck. Someone was holding it with one hand. A slight movement could cut his throat open. Hiding behind his son and pushing him away was the pig that he had tied up. The seemingly harmless scholar was covered in blood.
"Let him go!"
Yang Yi raised his crossbow and shouted with clenched teeth.
Ning Yi wasn't short, but Yang Yi was tall. He stood in front of Yang Yi like a wall. Both sides paused for a moment before their voices were heard. It wasn't as loud as Yang Yi's. Instead, it was filled with deep disgust.
"Shoot."
*****
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