Chapter 147: Human Organs, Family Meal (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

Lin Zijin lunged forward to grab Xu Yuan's arm, but he was now merely a soul with lingering obsession, and his grasp slid right past Xu Yuan.

"My Lord Xu!" Lin Zijin pleaded, "Spare him a life, I only beg you to spare him a life..."

Xu Yuan said coldly, "Go beg for mercy from those thirty-plus poor souls he killed! Go beg from Lu Qiuyang, He Jun'an, and He Jun'an's widowed mother!

See if they are willing to spare him a life!"

Xu Yuan flicked his sleeve, leaped onto the calligraphy scroll titled "Roaming the Northern Sea at Dawn, Resting in the Green Wutong at Dusk": "Fifth Aunt, please proceed!"

The scroll broke through the air and vanished.

Lin Zijin collapsed in despair. Zhu Sili stood aside, hesitated repeatedly, and finally spoke: "My Lord, he is gone now."

"If he persists in his delusion and lingers here, strange changes will occur; the brothers will have no choice but to..."

Lin Zijin slowly raised his head and said mournfully, "Enough... Since matters have come to this, how can this official make the brothers face further difficulty!"

His soul slowly faded, drifting aimlessly toward the Road of the Yellow Springs.

The three-courtyard Lin Mansion appeared very simple and desolate; the row of horse-tethering posts before the gate stood completely empty.

Everyone in the Zhangcheng Office knew that Lord Lin liked to promote juniors, but after that tragic case fifteen years ago, Lord Lin refused all social exchanges, so the gate remained cold.

It was nearly dinnertime, and the city was still very lively.

Outside Xicheng, the Evil-Exorcising Bureau hunted down evil spirits with great commotion, but news had already arrived: the Evil-Exorcising Bureau had won.

In fact, even without this news, the city would hardly be affected.

The common people in the city were already accustomed to such matters, had great confidence in the Evil-Exorcising Bureau, and knew nothing of the dangers lurking within.

But inside the Lin Mansion, there was silence.

In the front and back courtyards, not a single female servant or underling could be seen; even in the stables of the side courtyard, there was not a single beast of burden.

The entire Lin Mansion was unspeakably quiet.

It was a scene of utter lifelessness.

Even those snakes and rats were nowhere to be seen.

In the several side rooms of the front courtyard, the doors and windows were not closed tight; a cold wind blew, the window shutters swaying and clattering, yet no one tended to them.

The main hall in the back courtyard had its doors and windows tightly shut, blocked inside with thick black cloth, and even some gaps were stuffed tightly with scraps of cloth.

The room was pitch dark, with a single oil lamp lit on the table.

The flame was a ghastly green.

The lamp oil emitted a strange fragrance.

If an old Captain from the Evil-Exorcising Bureau were present, a twitch of the nose would reveal it: this was human oil!

A young man entered through a dark side door carrying a large tray; on the tray were bowls and dishes containing carefully prepared food.

But if one looked closely, regardless of the cooking method used, the ingredients of these dishes were all internal organs and congealed blood.

The young man's face was deathly pale, his eyes' corners and lips covered in unnatural wrinkles, and his hair was completely gray.

He placed the bowls and dishes one by one on the table, carefully adjusting their positions, and then, corresponding to the seats, set out chopsticks and two wine cups.

Only then did he smile happily and shout toward the surrounding darkness: "Grandma, Father, Mother, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Young Aunt... it's time to eat."

A cold wind suddenly swirled up from the floor of the room!

The oil lamp on the table was not blown out; instead, the flame flared up vigorously!

A nearby chair was pulled out, making a sound, as if something invisible had taken a seat.

The young man smiled and waited patiently; after everyone had taken their places on the left, he had no seat.

But he did not mind at all; clapping his hands, he said, "Everyone, eat quickly."

The chopsticks on the table floated up, snatching at the "dishes" in the plates with great speed, followed by the sounds of chewing and tearing.

They ate ravenously, sweeping everything away like a wind clearing clouds.

The young man watched all this with a happy smile, then suddenly slapped his forehead: "Look at my memory! Father, Second Uncle, today is a good day; you two have a drink.

I will pour the wine for you."

He extended his index finger; his fingernail had long since turned into a purple-black, sharp claw!

The claw sliced across his other wrist; foul-smelling black blood flowed down, dripping to fill the two wine cups.

The young man's face grew even paler, but he did not mind at all.

The wine cups floated up and were drunk by something, gulp, gulp.

The young man poured three cups in succession; a burp echoed from the darkness.

The young man, like a child receiving praise, became even happier: "Father, this wine is good, isn't it? I prepared it especially for you.

A family should be like this, eating together every day, round and complete."

He paused; his pale face suddenly became grotesque: "But Grandpa just doesn't understand this principle!

Why must he insist on sending you all back!?

Our family has fallen into this state; it is all his fault! He won't help me take care of you, yet he wants to send you away; his heart is so hard; how could he do such a thing!?

I worked so hard to bring you all back; I will absolutely not let Grandpa send you away again!"

He looked at a chair by the table, his eyes once again filled with filial affection: "Mother..."

"I still want to be like before, taking a noon nap in the sixth month; you would spread a cool mat for me, cover my little belly with your outer robe, tell stories while gently waving a fan to chase away mosquitoes; after you left, I never slept so soundly again..."

None of those things by the table responded to him; only the "delicacies" in the bowls and dishes could be seen rapidly diminishing.

He clenched his fists tightly, muttering to himself: "I won't let you go; a family must stay together, regardless of life or death!"

Behind his sharp nails, that purple-black infiltration had spread upward a bit more.

The areas under his eyes had also turned a greenish-black.

His two eyeballs strangely protruded slowly, revealing clear, purple-red blood vessels!

Suddenly, a door-opening sound came from outside.

Lin Shuyu's ears twitched.

His ears had become pointed, and hard black hairs had grown inside his ear canals.

He remembered he had already locked the back courtyard door.

He snorted coldly, quietly opened the room door a crack, and slipped out.

A narrow strip of light fell in through the door crack; the things by the table were instantly startled and scattered in all directions, chairs were knocked askew, something jumped onto the table, trampling bowls and plates to pieces, that lamp of human oil was also knocked over, lamp oil spilled out, and the ghastly green flame slowly began to spread along the oil.

Lin Shuyu reached the courtyard, and the daylight outside made him frown uncomfortably.

He placed his hand over his brow and looked around the courtyard.

The courtyard gate still hung with that large copper lock.

This was locked by Lin Shuyu himself.

Last night, Grandfather had begged him bitterly to send all these "family members" back; it could no longer be hidden!

Lin Shuyu simply would not listen.

They had a fierce quarrel with Grandfather; in the end, Grandfather gave him one day—if Lin Shuyu refused to send them away, Lin Zijin would take matters into his own hands!

Lin Shuyu immediately locked the courtyard gate from the inside with the large lock; if Grandfather used force, he was prepared to threaten with his own life: If you send them away, send me away too; I will go down below to reunite with them!

But now this lock still hung properly on the gate; could he have heard wrong?

(End of this chapter)