Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Inside Three Hearts Temple, Wushenzi and his disciples stared at the screaming Wuxinzi in silence.
“Father! Save me! Save me!” Wuxinzi howled in agony.
Wushenzi said nothing. He did possess pills capable of treating severe injuries, but for some reason, none had the slightest effect on Wuxinzi.
“Master.”
Another disciple spoke from nearby. Wuxinzi turned and found the man holding a knife.
“Master, we should cut it off for Junior Brother. It’s already rotting,” the disciple said sympathetically.
Wushenzi closed his eyes.
“You do it. I cannot bring myself to.”
He turned his back.
The disciple had no choice but to handle it himself. He examined the area, shook his head in difficulty, then fetched a crystal lens and placed it in front. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
“Junior Brother, please hold this for me.”
Wushenzi fell silent.
“Son, don’t worry. Your father will see justice done!”
The moment he finished, Wuxinzi let out another shriek.
Wushenzi strode from the room and descended into the cellar. Senior Lord Liu had been bound to a pillar and was staring at him in terror.
Senior Lord Liu had finally waited until that dwarf advisor fell asleep and thought he might get some rest. Before he could even close his eyes, Wushenzi abducted him and tied him up here.
“Daoist Master, what is this? We’ve worked together so many times. Whatever the problem, surely we can sit down and discuss it. Why must things come to this?”
Senior Lord Liu could speak because Wushenzi had used a pill to restore his teeth and heal his face. Unfortunately, healing him had never been the true goal.
Wushenzi wanted to hear him scream.
“Senior Lord Liu, do not blame me. Your son destroyed my disciple, and that disciple is my only son! Your boy severed my family line. So do not blame me for this. I will kill the person dearest to him and make him suffer the same pain!”
Veins bulged across Wushenzi’s face.
Senior Lord Liu stared at him.
“Daoist Master, what makes you think I’m the person dearest to that brat? Can’t you see how badly he beat me?”
Wushenzi chuckled.
“His little tricks cannot deceive me. He deliberately injured you this badly so we would assume your relationship was poor. Unfortunately for him, his filial devotion betrayed the truth. My man saw him care for you throughout the entire night!”
Senior Lord Liu fell silent.
“You didn’t see how he cared for me! I’m a victim too!”
“Enough pretense.”
Wushenzi approached and blew gently across a piece of red-hot iron.
“I left a letter for your son, ordering him to come to Three Hearts Temple within fifteen minutes. If he is even a moment late…”
He pressed the iron hard against Senior Lord Liu’s flesh.
“Aaaah!”
“Hahahaha!”
…
Elsewhere, Liu Ye, Eunuch Wu, and Qiqi gathered around the letter.
Its actual message read: Liu Ye, your father is in my hands. Come to Three Hearts Temple within one hour, or I cannot guarantee his safety. Wushenzi.
All three looked grave.
“Eunuch, what does it say?”
“Magistrate Liu, you’re making things difficult for me. If I could read, I wouldn’t have gone all these years without a promotion,” Eunuch Wu said helplessly.
His godfather often scolded him about it. If he had learned even a few characters, he would hold a far better post by now. But books had given him headaches since childhood. Why else would he have entered the palace and become a eunuch?
“Advisor Qi!”
Liu Ye turned toward Qiqi. She stared blankly back.
“Boss, I’m only seven. Children my age aren’t supposed to know this stuff.”
Liu Ye fell silent.
He had picked up a few written characters through exposure during his days in the city. The problem was that the characters on this page did not resemble the ones he knew.
“Magistrate Liu, I think these two characters say ‘Three Hearts’…” Eunuch Wu said with great effort.
Understanding dawned on Liu Ye.
“Ah, I get it! He must’ve felt cooped up alone in his room and gone out to clear his heart. Honestly, the old man could’ve told us he was going out.”
“People get like that at his age,” Eunuch Wu agreed with a smile. “The older they grow, the more they become like children.”
“Then we’ll leave him be. Anyway, let’s have hot pot tonight. Eunuch, can you handle spicy food?”
“Magistrate Liu, I don’t mean to boast, but a meal without spice hardly counts as food to me.”
“I can eat spicy food too!” Qiqi’s eyes shone, drool already running from the corner of her mouth.
“Good. Spicy broth tonight!”
…
Sizzle…
“Aaaah!”
Senior Lord Liu had screamed himself hoarse. The stench of scorched flesh rose from his body.
Wushenzi tossed aside the branding iron, looking irritated.
“An entire hour has passed. Why hasn’t that boy arrived? Did you deliver the letter?”
He looked toward his disciple.
“I think so. I left it on the table,” the disciple answered uncertainly.
Senior Lord Liu stared at him.
“Could you people be more careful? With something this important, shouldn’t you place it directly in the family’s hands? You left it on a table! What if the wind blew it away? Boohoo…”
Tears and mucus streamed down Senior Lord Liu’s face. He had suffered all this torture for nothing!
Even Wushenzi looked embarrassed. This was indeed their mistake.
“Deliver another one. Be more careful this time. Put it in his hands.”
“All right.”
The disciple nodded, wrote another letter, and left.
Before long, he reached Liu Ye’s residence. Liu Ye was pacing anxiously around the courtyard, unease written across his face.
“Heh. He must be worried because his father never returned last night. Master read him perfectly.”
With a precise flick of force, the disciple sent the letter flying to Liu Ye’s feet. He watched Liu Ye pick it up, nodded in satisfaction, and departed.
Liu Ye looked at the letter curiously but thought little of it. Instead, he shouted toward the artificial hill.
“Qiqi, are you done yet? I told you not to eat so much! You finished two whole pounds of meat and drank an entire pitcher of iced sour-plum juice. Whose stomach could survive that?”
“Boohoo… Boss, toilet paper.”
“Here, here…”
Liu Ye handed her the letter.
Before long, Qiqi emerged from behind the artificial hill, pulling up her trousers. Her little face looked utterly drained.
“Will you eat like that again?”
Qiqi hesitated.
She could not help it. The food had been so delicious.
Liu Ye stared at her.
…
Crack, crack, crack…
At Three Hearts Temple, Wushenzi swung a leather whip soaked in chili water, lashing Senior Lord Liu until his flesh split open.
“Hahaha! Senior Lord Liu, you merely returned a little late, and your son was already beside himself with anxiety. Imagine how heartbroken he’ll be when he sees you like this.”
Senior Lord Liu sobbed miserably.
Whether his son felt heartbroken or not, Senior Lord Liu had no idea. He knew only that he himself was in unbearable pain. What was that unfilial wretch doing? Why was he taking so long?
To be honest, Wushenzi was puzzled too. So much time had passed. Why had Liu Ye still not arrived?
“Are you certain the letter reached them?”
“Absolutely. I watched him pick it up with my own eyes,” the disciple promised.
“Strange. Then why isn’t he here?”
Wushenzi could not understand it.
“Go take another look.”
The disciple bowed in speechless resignation. What was wrong with this family? Why did one trip outside require so much trouble?
When he returned to Liu Ye’s residence, he saw Liu Ye and the others rush out in a panic.
The disciple was overjoyed. The man was finally on his way!
He immediately hurried back to report.
What he failed to notice was that Liu Ye’s group had gone in the opposite direction.
“Eunuch, didn’t you say you could handle spicy food?”
“It’s precisely because I can that my hemorrhoids are acting up! Aiya, they hurt!”