Chapter 542 - 542: Liang Village
Under the cover of the arrow, the big black man took the opportunity to rush to the study. He slashed at Li Yu with his long saber. Li Yu waved her crossbow and sent the big black man’s saber flying. The big black man was stunned for a moment. He did not expect a woman to be so strong.
Li Yu pivoted off the corridor pillar and kicked the big black man’s chest repeatedly. The big black man flew out and knocked over two bandits with bows under the eaves of the corridor. The three of them fell to the ground and rolled into a ball.
Li Yu activated the sleeve arrow and dealt with the last bandit with the bow. The other two had already gotten up. The two of them raised their bows and whipped at Li Yu with them.
Li Yu waved the crossbow to block a bow, and the dagger at her wrist slipped into her hand. She leaned forward and cut the throat of a bandit. She grabbed him and used his body to block a blow. She raised her leg and kicked the remaining bandit.
With a crack, the bandit heard his jaw crack and swayed to the ground. Before he died, he finally understood what Old Chai meant by natural divine strength.
Seeing that the situation was bad, the bandit who had been shot in the arm ran away. Li Yu chased after him and reached the outer courtyard. The bandit staggered and fell to the ground. He lay on the ground and shouted, “Heroine, spare me.”
Li Yu stood still and looked down at him. “Tell me, who are you? What is this place? What are you doing? Who asked you to capture me? If you tell me the truth, I’ll spare your life!”
The bandit shrank his body and looked at Li Yu. ‘My name is Big Stone. This is Liang Village. Someone brought me here ten years ago and I’ve been living here. I usually explore the wasteland and raise chickens to feed the pigs. Every ten years, someone will come and teach us martial arts. A few years ago, I often went out to rob passing merchants. I haven’t gone out in the past few years. There were originally more than a hundred people who left one after another before the new year. Only ten of us are left to manage the farm.”
Li Yu looked at him and said, “What does Old Lin do? How much land is there in the manor? Where are the original villagers! Are those thatched houses occupied?”
Big Stone glanced at Li Yu. “Old Lin used to manage us here. A few years ago, the steward came to the manor and took him away. Later, I heard from them that he looks 80 to 90% like someone’s coachman, so they got him to enter the capital to drive someone’s carriage.”
It seemed that the original Old Lin had been killed. That guy was an imposter. Why hadn’t Uncle’s family discovered it?
Big Stone stole a glance at Li Yu and continued, “There are a total of five to six hectares of land in the manor. After the main family bought this place, the villagers took the money and settled down elsewhere. Some of the thatched houses have livestock locked up and raised chickens and ducks. There are also a few rooms that have women locked up separately. The manor head doesn’t allow them to live in the manor.”
There were five to six hectares of land in the village. It was impossible for them to have only harvested so little food. Where were the sweet potatoes? “Where did the manor head go? Where’s the cellar in the manor?”
“The manor head went out early this morning. I don’t know where he went either. Every time he goes out, he’s delayed for at most a night. He always comes back around noon.” Big Stone pointed at one of the rooms. “It’s filled with food.”
Li Yu pointed at him with her dagger. “Get up and lead the way.”
Big Stone got up and limped toward the room. He pushed open the wooden door and there was a mountain of sacks on a wooden shelf in the dim light. A row of more than ten houses was filled with food.
Li Yu took a hemp rope and said to Big Stone, “Behave yourself. I won’t kill you. If you’re not obedient, you can join them.”
Big Stone looked obedient. “Tie me up! I promise to be good.”
Li Yu tied up the Big Stone and put him into a sack. She took the torch and entered the lit room. She saw stewed chicken, roasted duck, fried fish, stir-fried peanuts, and steamed sweet potatoes on the table.
Li Yu sat down and ate. After eating and drinking her fill, she took the oil lamp to the cellar.
After lifting Old Lin out of the sack, Old Lin looked at Li Yu fiercely, wishing he could kill Li Yu with his gaze.
Li Yu looked at him coldly and threw him to the ground with a bang. She pulled the rag out of his mouth and looked at him. “Tell me! Who are you working
“Pfft!” Old Lin spat at Li Yu. “Bitch, don’t even think about me telling you.”
Li Yu stepped on his finger and crushed it with her toes. Old Lin broke out in cold sweat from the pain. He gritted his teeth and did not shout.
“Take it slow. I have plenty of time to torture you.” Li Yu looked down at him, revealing her white teeth. She looked at him fiercely. “If you dare to say evil words again, I’ll crush your body inch by inch and turn you into a pool of soft meat. Oh! There seems to be a stone mill outside. I heard that it grinds people, including their bones and flesh, into meat paste to feed the pigs. The chickens and pigs grow quickly after eating them. Tell me, would you like to try it?”
Old Lin was shocked. His lips turned white, and his eyes revealed uncontrollable fear. His lips moved with difficulty. “You’re not human. You’re an evil ghost!”
Li Yu began to exert force. “Are you with the Second Prince? Did you slaughter everyone in Liang Village?”
With his fingers connected to his heart, Old Lin finally couldn’t withstand the heart-wrenching pain. “I don’t know about the Second Prince. I only know that every time there’s a mission, they place the note under the Upper Horse Stone outside the Lin family’s door. I don’t even know what the person who sent the note looks like. Those people in Liang Village really have nothing to do with me. When I came, there was no one in Liang Village.”
It seemed that these people were all one-way contacts. She did not expect the second prince to have such talents under him. “Where did the real Old Lin go?”
Old Lin stammered, “They… they killed him.”
Li Yu stared at him. “Why did you kidnap me here?”
Old Lin looked at Li Yu’s sharp gaze and said, “The higher-ups instructed us to kidnap you to the farm and send the news out. Someone will come to pick you up. Old Chai said that the higher-ups said that you killed their people.
He should be to the Eldest Prince and the Imperial Consort. Chu Yuhao being the emperor had nothing to do with Li Yu. The Eldest Prince didn’t have the ability to rule the world and only knew how to settle scores with women and children.
Li Yu looked at the trembling Old Lin. “When are they coming to pick me up?”
Old Lin hurriedly said, “They are waiting for us to send the news.”
“How do you send it?” Li Yu asked indifferently.
“Stick the note in a crack in the wall outside North City. They’ll send someone when they get the news.”
Li Yu patted Old Lin’s cheek with the dagger. “You better tell the truth and not lie to me. Otherwise, just wait for me to deal with you!”
“Everything I said is true.” Old Lin gritted his teeth and said in one breath, “If you find out that I lied to you, you’ll grind me using the mill.”
“I’ll believe you for now.”
After saying that, Li Yu stuffed the rag into his mouth and came out of the cellar. She closed the courtyard door and went to the woodshed to lean against the straw pile and narrow her eyes. She began to recuperate.
The people from the government office found Ji Xiang and Ruyi at the north gate. Li Qing, Lin Lan, and Lin Yun also rushed to the north gate after hearing the news. They were relieved to know that Li Yu had left a note..