Chapter 48: Human Tragedy

Through this tea drinker's account, Lu Yuan immediately learned of the tragic ordeal suffered by Lin Asheng's family.

It turned out that after Lin Asheng delivered the wine to Qin Fu by cart, the steward immediately arranged for it to be moved to the back courtyard wine cellar.

However.

Just as Lin Asheng and his assistant finished moving the dozen or so jars of wine and were preparing to leave, the steward suddenly turned hostile, accusing them of molesting the women in the back courtyard and ordering the guards to seize them on the spot.

The specific details thereafter are unknown to anyone; it is only known that Qin Fu seemingly subjected Lin Asheng to extremely cruel private torture, beating him until he was covered in wounds, his hands and feet broken, and he was no longer human in appearance.

Such actions were, naturally, for the sake of the secret wine-brewing recipe.

Having been beaten and tortured in such a way, Lin Asheng had no choice but to hand over the secret recipe.

Yet, after achieving their goal, Qin Fu did not let him go; instead, the steward personally led the servants to drag him to the government office, accusing him of the crime of indecency.

Though the half-dead Lin Asheng refused to admit it, the assistant he had brought along, having been severely beaten and bribed, betrayed him completely, testifying on the spot and slandering him for the act.

Qin Fu's master, Qin Wuhui's older brother, Qin Wenhui, was the East City Registrar, a figure of the same rank as the Assistant Prefect; just like that, Lin Asheng was framed and imprisoned that very day. Upon hearing the news, Alin Sao was terrified and immediately tried to find ways to plead with Qin Fu and send money to the yamen to save her husband.

In the end, Qin Fu bought their wine shop at a pittance, and the yamen officials took advantage of the situation to loot them; she exhausted almost all her family wealth, and by the third day, she finally waited for Lin Asheng to be released.

However, by this time, Lin Asheng's hands and feet were broken and his injuries were severe, leaving him with only half a breath; no matter how Alin Sao sought medical help or medicine, she could not save him, and in less than three days, he breathed his last at home.

After her husband died unjustly, Alin Sao's hair turned white almost overnight, and she went nearly insane, taking Lin Asheng's corpse to Qin Fu to demand justice.

It is a pity that, facing a powerful and wealthy family like Qin Fu, the strength of an orphan and a widow was as insignificant as cats and dogs on the street; no matter how she wept blood, cried out for justice, or begged for fairness, she was met only with fists and clubs, and the yamen ignored her completely.

Especially later on.

Because Alin Sao's tireless appeals and complaints had truly enraged them, Qin Fu actually arranged for a gang of thugs to break into Alin Sao's home, rape her, and even kidnap her child, who was only a few years old, to sell to a human trafficker!

Having suffered such a human tragedy, Alin Sao became half-mad and deranged after waking up, her mind unclear, as if she had lost her wits.

The only two things she remembered every day were going to the yamen to beat the drum and appeal for justice, or wandering the streets like a walking corpse, constantly calling out and searching for her child.

After hearing this past story.

Even with Lu Yuan's good Nurturing Qi skills after cultivating immortality, he could not help but feel a surge of anger and baleful energy in his heart.

He forcibly suppressed his emotions and said slowly:

"You say this Alin Sao has been mad for a year; how has she survived?"

The old tea drinker sighed and said:

"She finds rotten vegetable leaves on the street herself, or even competes with wild cats and dogs for food. Besides, their family's wine shop used to be at the end of this street, and they were quite well-liked. Because their family's ordeal was too miserable, the merchants and pedestrians here generally give her some food or clothing to help her out, which is how she has survived."

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment: "Very well, thank you for clearing this up."

Having said that, he settled the bill, walked down from the teahouse, and walked along the street.

Before long, he saw Alin Sao at close range in the bustling market.

This woman was dressed in a tattered padded jacket, her whole body filthy, her gaze dull, though one could vaguely see that her appearance was not bad.

But at this moment, her expression was solemn yet revealed a hint of nervousness; even under the gaze of countless strange eyes, she remained completely unaware, kneeling every three steps with extreme piety, chanting as she kowtowed:

"Heaven is above; Qin Wuhui has a human face but the heart of a beast, slandering and murdering my husband to steal a secret recipe; he has committed countless evils and is unforgivable."

"This foolish woman kneels and begs you to send down the Qingyike to manifest divine power, execute the wicked thief, cleanse this murky world, and seek justice for my husband and child."

She kept repeating these two sentences. The people around were discussing it; some were simply watching a joke, while others showed pity and advised:

"Alin Sao, let it go!"

"The Qingyike is no longer in this Fengyang Prefecture; no matter how much you kowtow, it's useless!"

"Yes, if you keep going like this, once Qin Fu finds out, they might just take your life!"

During this time, Alin Sao turned a deaf ear to everything outside, continuing to repeat her kowtowing and praying, as if there was only one thing in her eyes: kneeling before Heaven.

"Qin Fu, Qin Wuhui..."

Lu Yuan watched with deep eyes for a long time, not stepping forward to say anything, just turning and leaving with a cold gaze.

That night.

East City, Qin Fu.

The night curtain shrouded the world, and most of the city district was plunged into darkness, but in front of Qin Fu, the residence of a Martial Recommended Scholar, two large red lanterns hung constantly, illuminating the road in front of the gate to show their status.

And at this moment, in the darkness of a street corner not far away.

A figure dressed in a Night Suit, as if merged with the night, appeared silently, revealing only a pair of eyes like cold stars.

It was Lu Yuan.

During the day, he had already inquired about Qin Fu and knew its location.

At the same time, he also knew that the master of Qin Fu, Qin Wuhui, was over forty years old, but six years ago he had passed the Martial Examination Prefectural Examination, officially becoming a Martial Recommended Scholar, and had accumulated this vast family business through various means.

Although the administration of the Great Jin is corrupt today, because of successive defeats, they have increasingly valued the Martial Examination. Those who can pass the Prefectural Examination and become a Martial Recommended Scholar generally have reached the Three Realms Bone Forging level as a Martial Master, and are by no means mediocre in Martial Arts.

At the Bone Forging realm, a martial artist has already tempered steel muscles and iron bones, with strength exceeding a thousand jun; when armored, they can single-handedly rout a cold-weapon army of dozens, and their strength cannot be underestimated.

Although Qin Wuhui took a leisure martial official post after passing the Martial Examination and has been addicted to wine, women, wealth, and power all these years, he is still the strongest target Lu Yuan has encountered so far.

Such an opponent must be handled with caution, so after observing in the darkness for a while and confirming no one was around, he circled the high walls of Qin Fu to the back courtyard and then activated the Invisibility Technique.

His figure instantly merged into the darkness, and then with a light tap of his toes, he easily leaped over the ten-foot-high wall and entered the back courtyard of Qin Fu directly.

The entire Qin Fu was quite large, also with three courtyards and deep corridors. Lu Yuan identified the path with his eyes and crept into the residence silently.

Although he has now cultivated True Qi and the duration of his Invisibility Technique has increased slightly, the time he can maintain it now is only about thirty breaths.

Because he did not know which room Qin Wenhui lived in, this time he could not go straight to the heart of the matter like when he followed Kundu last time; he still needed to spend quite a bit of time searching.

Additionally, in Lin Asheng's tragic experience, that so-called Qin Fu steward was also the biggest accomplice and belonged to the must-kill target list.

Therefore, his main goal in sneaking in today was to figure out the situation and confirm the whereabouts of the two, not necessarily to act immediately.

And just as Lu Yuan had walked out of a corridor and reached the central courtyard, preparing to sneak toward the depths of the back courtyard.

Not far ahead, two figures suddenly walked out from a corner in front, simultaneously making a sound of slight complaint:

"... It's our turn to stand guard again, damn it!"

"We've been guarding for over a month, and that Qingyike still hasn't come; how much longer do we have to guard?"

(End of chapter)