Chapter 30: Throat-Slitting Under the Moon!

It was night.

Approaching the third watch of the night.

Having just finished squandering money at the casino with his drinking buddies, Kundu sat in his own carriage, reeking of alcohol, and returned to the General's Mansion.

Two sturdy house servants helped him down from the carriage, led him through rows of corridors, and brought him to a separate courtyard.

Although it was late, the main room in the separate courtyard was still lit.

Seeming to hear movement, a beautiful woman draped in an outer garment pushed the door open and walked out; seeing the alcohol-reeking Kundu, she spoke with displeasure:

"You dead ghost, why do you only know how to mess around outside every day? Don't you look at what time it is now?"

Kundu shoved away the two house servants supporting him and said, half-drunk and half-sober:

"I am in a good mood today, you had best be sensible, otherwise I will go sleep in Qiudie and the others' room!"

"You dare?"

Besides her, his legal wife, Kundu had also taken three concubines who were kept in other separate courtyards; although the beautiful woman was annoyed, she still welcomed Kundu inside and then personally wiped and served him.

While busy, the legal wife, Youshi, said:

"Dead ghost, don't say I didn't warn you. Today, when you weren't here, the Old Master was asking about you again. Tomorrow at lunch, he will likely scold you again; you had best be prepared."

After some wiping and drinking a sobering soup, the drunken Kundu was suddenly much clearer and asked:

"What did he ask about me?"

Youshi curled her lips: "What else could it be? Asking if you have been misbehaving, and about preparing for the Martial Examination."

Seeing that his hiring of a substitute had not been exposed, Kundu set his mind at ease and said indifferently:

"Our Great Jin is currently in a time of needing people; with my skills and background, passing as a Martial Cultivated Talent is as easy as turning over one's hand. But what kind of times are these? In these last ten-plus years, the imperial court has been forced to fight four or five major battles against those foreign devils outside, and I don't know how many Banner People have died. Once someone from our Upper Three Banners passes the Martial Examination, nine times out of ten they will be thrown into the army to lead troops.

If the foreign powers attack again, I don't even know if I can return alive. Rather than that, it is better to be a wealthy idler; why bother wading into these muddy waters?"

"You dead ghost are certainly quite clever."

Youshi curled her lips:

"But now, this massive General's Mansion is eating away its savings and relying entirely on the Old Master to hold it up. To say something disrespectful, after the Old Master passes away, you cannot inherit the title, and you have no official rank; how is this mess supposed to be maintained?"

"Talk nonsense, our charcoal business is currently booming, and there are rice shops and medicine shops, with ten or twenty thousand Silver Yuan coming in every year; how is that called eating away savings?"

Kundu cursed:

"Besides, I have been planning something recently; if it succeeds, it might open up a significant new source of wealth for the family."

Youshi asked curiously: "What source of wealth?"

Kundu laughed slyly: "Of course, the Qinglong Gang's Boxiyuan."

Youshi also often went to the Boxiyuan with Kundu, and she immediately frowned:

"I remember you were schemed against at that Boxiyuan two months ago. I even forgot that you said later you wanted to find people to deal with those Qinglong Gang thugs; what was the result?"

Mentioning this, Kundu felt unhappy again:

"It was just that Bata's subordinates were too useless. Two military elites who had Refining Strength, carrying Box Cannons, couldn't even kill those three ruffians, wasting two hundred Silver Yuan for nothing."

Only learning of this now, Youshi was slightly shocked:

"You lost your mind doing something like this? If you had finished the job, that would be one thing, but you actually failed. If the Old Master finds out, what will happen?"

Kundu said unconcernedly: "Don't worry, failure is failure. It has been over two months, and I haven't seen those useless officials at the government office investigating."

Youshi also knew what the government was like now, and asked again:

"Then what do you mean by opening a source of wealth from the Qinglong Gang's Boxiyuan?"

Kundu said leisurely:

"You don't know this, but the three Qinglong Gang ruffians I dealt with are the disciples of Li Junxian, the manager of the Boxiyuan's back garden. They probably guessed that the ambush was arranged by me, and they must be very resentful, thinking of finding an opportunity to take revenge."

I carry Mengda with me every time I go out now, and I always carry a Firearm. As long as the three of them dare to make a move and I catch them in the act, I can use that as an excuse to bite a huge chunk of meat off the Boxiyuan and buy a stake in it."

Youshi's eyes lit up as she listened:

"The Boxiyuan is a treasure bowl; just the rake alone can easily earn ten or twenty thousand Silver Yuan every year. If you could buy a stake, it really would be a significant source of wealth... but won't you be in danger doing this, you dead ghost?"

Kundu laughed disdainfully: "With Mengda following me, they are just three lowly things at most at the Tendon Changing level; where would there be any danger?"

Mengda was originally the trusted aide of Kundu's father and is now the head of the guards at the Feng'en General Mansion, possessing Martial Arts cultivation close to the Bone Forging level, even stronger than himself.

A martial artist of this level, equipped with a Firearm, is as easy as turning over one's hand to deal with some gang thugs.

He has been deliberately provoking them from time to time during this period, just waiting to see if those three have the guts to make a move on him.

Youshi thought that was true and was about to ask more, but saw Kundu give a huge yawn:

"Alright, stop asking. I am exhausted now; hurry up and let's go to bed!"

Youshi could only shut her mouth and roll her eyes at him, then immediately helped Kundu onto the bed.

During this process, Kundu's large hands wandered, then he blew out the lamp, took off his clothes, and in a short while, the bed began to sway, and sounds of spring-filled passion drifted out.

Outside, the moonlight was scattered everywhere, the night wind blew, and the leaves in the courtyard rustled.

Inside the room, neither of the man and woman in the midst of their fierce battle noticed that the door of the outer room, which had been closed, suddenly opened silently by itself and then closed again without a sound.

In the pitch-black room, Kundu, who was sweating profusely on the bed, felt absolutely nothing. A moment later, he collapsed beside Youshi and began to pant heavily.

Youshi was covered in sweat, lying lazily beside him without moving, and said charmingly: "You dead ghost, you seem more vigorous today than usual."

The panting Kundu laughed and gave a pat with his large hand: "Nonsense, when have I ever been soft—"

He had not finished speaking.

A 'chi' sound!

His mouth felt as if it were being tightly covered by a pair of invisible hands, and at the same time, a huge bloody gash instantly split open across his throat, and a rain of blood immediately gushed out like a tide!

His eyes widened in extreme terror, and his hands subconsciously covered his completely severed throat, yet he could not make the slightest sound from his mouth.

In the pitch-black room, the smell of blood surged to the heavens, and the rain of blood sprayed onto Youshi's face. Not knowing what had happened, she also lifted her head in shock, struggling to open her eyes wide in the darkness:

"Husband, you..."

Another hiss sounded!

The next instant, she only felt a sharp pain in her mouth and the back of her head, as if a sharp blade carrying immense force had pierced in through her mouth and out through the back of her head, blocking all sound back into her throat!

(End of chapter)