Chapter Fifty-Five: A New Threat

Seeing that Jiang Chen still hadn’t given an answer, Lin Rou extended her slender hand, spreading all five fingers, and named her price.

“As long as you do as I say, once it’s done I’ll give you five thousand taels of silver. What do you say?”

Jiang Chen, however, shook his head, unmoved.

“All right, you’re even greedier than I thought. I’ll add another five thousand, making it a total of ten thousand taels. That should be enough, right?”

“Of course not,” Jiang Chen replied. “You can stop wasting your breath. The business I mentioned with your father is worth far more than a mere ten thousand taels. That’s why I said it needs to be discussed with him directly.”

“It’s just a business deal, isn’t it? You won’t take free silver, but insist on doing business instead. I can’t tell if you’re a fool or just too full of yourself!”

Lin Rou found Jiang Chen more and more unfathomable. She even wondered to herself whether Jiang Chen had ever actually seen what ten thousand taels of silver looked like.

After some haggling, Jiang Chen finally agreed, but with one condition: Lin Rou had to tell him why she didn’t want to go home.

“It’s because my father is forcing me to marry! I’ve told him I can’t stand that useless dandy, but he’s determined to have his way. If that’s the case, he can’t blame me for running away!”

Lin Rou’s answer took Jiang Chen by surprise. He knew the marriage between the Lin and Shi families was the talk of all Ziyang City, but he hadn’t expected that Lin Rou herself was so strongly opposed to it.

If that was the case, her sudden disappearance would surely cause a sensation throughout the city. Who could say how the Lin family would react?

It felt as if agreeing to Lin Rou’s request was like stirring up a hornet’s nest—he was asking for trouble. But Jiang Chen also resented Shi Guangjun, that arrogant official’s son; if this incident gave him a chance to slap that brat in the face, it would be most satisfying.

At dawn the next day, the Lin household received a note. Following the directions on it, they found three corpses in the dense forest, along with a traitor tied to a tree.

After questioning, the deeply anxious Lin Xuesong only learned what had happened the previous night. With Lin Rou and the carriage missing, the entire Lin household was thrown into chaos.

“Yu Hong, where is the young mistress? You’d best tell the truth, or you know what fate awaits you!”

The Lin family steward not only threatened him but was ready to torture him. Yet Yu Hong truly knew nothing of Lin Rou’s whereabouts after being knocked out the previous night.

He confessed honestly that a mysterious man had left with Lin Rou, but beyond that, he knew nothing.

Lin Xuesong immediately mobilized the household; he was determined to search every inch of Ziyang City and its outskirts to find his daughter. But he didn’t know that Jiang Chen had already spirited Lin Rou far away during the night.

Since the Lin family could not be allowed to find her, Lin Rou couldn’t remain anywhere near Ziyang City. Jiang Chen simply took her to Guanshan Town, a small and inconspicuous place where no one would ever think to look for the Lin family’s eldest daughter.

“I’ve tidied up your room, and the bedding is new. Of course, things here are nothing like the Lin residence, so you’ll have to make do for now,” Jiang Chen said as he handed her a set of plain clothes and urged her to change quickly.

“What is this?” Lin Rou said with a look of disdain. “You expect me to wear this?”

“All the girls in town dress like this,” Jiang Chen replied. “Your silks and finery would draw too much attention—any fool could tell you’re the daughter of a wealthy family. Do you really want word to get out so soon?”

“And don’t get them dirty. Those are Yue’er’s clothes—I’m loath to let you wear them as it is!”

“You!” Lin Rou bit her lip, stamping her foot in annoyance. Though she hated it, she had no choice but to accept.

Just then, Jiang Chen’s expression grew alert and his eyes turned cold. Five men approached from the distance, exuding an unusual aura.

The leader was short and stocky, while the four behind him were all tall and powerfully built. Though they wore civilian clothes, the straight swords at their waists were impossible to miss.

Jiang Chen could tell they weren’t from the Lin household—they must have come because of Wu Da and his companions. He wondered if they had any solid evidence. Their sudden, unannounced appearance at the Wu home made his heart uneasy.

“Who are you gentlemen looking for?” he called out.

At that moment, only Old Wu was home. As soon as he came face to face with the men, the atmosphere grew tense.

“No need to be nervous,” the short man said. “Not long ago, several of my colleagues died on Tiger Head Mountain. Before they died, they were tracking a major fugitive, and just as their investigation led to you, it came to an abrupt end.”

“Now they’re dead and gone, but I’ve inherited the case, and I’ll see it through. I’ll also avenge them. Don’t you agree that’s only right?”

Old Wu replied calmly, “Those officers beat and interrogated me for no reason, wronging an honest man. Sir, there’s no need to waste time on an unremarkable butcher like me.”

“Chief Zhao, there’s no one else in the house, front or back. Looks like he’s home alone,” one of the others reported as they began to search the premises. Fortunately, Wu Yue was off doing laundry by the river and Wu Qingshan was out, thus avoiding further trouble.

Jiang Chen watched the scene from the courtyard, but Old Wu had already signaled him with a glance to stay out of it.

Now Jiang Chen worried that the short man would not be so easily fooled. Wu Da and his companions had died by his hand, and Jiang Chen couldn’t just sit by and let Old Wu fall into danger.

“Wu Kuishan,” the short man began, “before coming here, I asked around in town. Folks say you’re an honest, law-abiding man. But you’ve spent years slaughtering pigs and sheep, and that kind of work breeds a fierce spirit. It wouldn’t be surprising if, after all that butchering, you learned to kill people too.”

“Sir, you jest,” Old Wu replied. “I’m just a timid, law-abiding citizen. I’d never dare to commit a crime.”

Chief Zhao strolled slowly past Old Wu. As Old Wu bowed respectfully, Zhao suddenly shoved him to the ground and drew his sword, bringing it down in a fierce chop.

Jiang Chen’s heart leapt into his throat. With a sharp clang, the blade struck the millstone beside Old Wu, missing him by only half an inch. Had it landed any higher, it would have been fatal.

“Wu Kuishan, if you’d fought back just now, you’d already be dead.”