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Chapter 379: Spare My Life
The old steward looked at Yan Daoxin expectantly, clearly not understanding what "soul separation syndrome" was.

Yan Daoxin pursed his lips impatiently: "That is to say, although a person is asleep, unconscious, and unaware of their surroundings, they act as if they are awake, able to walk, talk, and work!"

“Oh! Yes, yes, that’s exactly right! Grandpa, you’re absolutely right!” The old steward suddenly realized and nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly how it is. I don’t know how the Lord of the Fortress managed to do it. Anyway, those people seem to be awake, but they don’t actually know who they are, where they are, or why they are doing those things.”

Despite his usual amiable and easygoing nature, Yan Daoxin is quite different when dealing with others; he has a rather arrogant air about him.

Hearing this sleazy old steward calling him "Grandpa" all the time, his face turned as if he'd seen maggots in his food—it was utterly disgusting.

"If you ever have the nerve to call me 'Grandpa' again, I'll make sure you can only make pig noises for the rest of your life," Yan Daoxin said through gritted teeth to the old steward.

Although the old steward didn't know Yan Daoxin's name or background, seeing his confident demeanor and considering that the people in front of him were all powerful figures whom he couldn't afford to offend, he hurriedly changed his tune: "Heroes! Great heroes! Gentlemen! This old man knows his mistake! He knows his mistake!"
"No matter what, I will do whatever you ask of me without hesitation!"

"When exactly will your master return?" Lu Qing asked.

The old steward shook his head with a bitter face: "Now that things have come to this, how dare I hide anything from you all! I truly want to save my own life!"
The lord of the fortress is always unpredictable, and he will suddenly return at any time. Each time he leaves, it is either three or five days or more than a month, but it seems that it has never been longer.

After all, we didn't know how to make the hot soup and incense for those people. We'd been away for too long, and our remaining supplies were gone; we didn't know what to do with them either.

"How many days' worth of hot soup and incense do you have left?" Zhu Yu asked, following his words.

The old steward thought carefully and said, "There's only about half a month's supply left, so I reckon the lord will be back soon. We shouldn't have to wait too long."

This news is actually quite good for everyone.

Yan Daoxin looked at the old shopkeeper with disgust, then turned to Lu Qing and asked, "Do you have any more questions? If not, quickly take the old pig and dog away and lock them up!"
The moment I saw his face, I remembered how he called us "grandpa" earlier—it was the kind of thing that would give me nightmares!

Zhu Yu couldn't help but want to laugh, but she managed to hold it in and kept a straight face without showing any expression.

Although she has been dressing as a man lately, she knows deep down that she is a woman. So when the old steward called them "grandfathers" repeatedly, she knew it was just a humble gesture and didn't take it seriously at all.

However, from the perspective of Yan Daoxin and his fellow genuine men, being called "Grandpa" by someone who specializes in using underhanded tricks to commit evil deeds, harm the local people, and is also quite old and has an old face...

It does seem a bit disgusting.

Lu Qing waved his hand, Fu Wen nodded, took out a pill prepared by Yan Daoxin from his pocket, stepped forward and pinched the old steward's cheek without saying a word, and stuffed the pill into his mouth.

The old steward was startled. Before he could even struggle or beg for mercy, the pill melted in his mouth, and he felt a slightly bitter taste in his saliva. His eyes rolled back, his head slumped down, and he became motionless. Fu Lu also stepped forward, untied the rope from the tree, and tied it tightly around the old steward, binding him like a rice dumpling. The two of them, each holding a rope, carried him out of the courtyard, presumably to be locked up with the other fallen guards.

"How long will this pill keep him unconscious?" Zhu Yu asked Yan Daoxin.

Yan Daoxin brushed his sleeves as if the old steward's dust had splashed all over him, his tone as confident as ever: "It won't be long. I reckon he won't wake up within a day, but he might regain some consciousness later tomorrow."

After saying that, his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Runes and Talismans! You two, come back here!"

He had a loud voice, and his runes and talismans had sharp ears. Even after walking quite a distance, he came back carrying the unresponsive old steward.

"Divine Doctor, what are your instructions?" Fu asked, somewhat puzzled. "This fellow is currently unconscious, and your pills are very effective."

"I know, I know, that's why I called you back!" Yan Daoxin said, pulling something out of his sleeve. "How could it be so easy! He aided and abetted evil, causing the deaths of so many innocent people. Now I'm letting him take his medicine and sleep soundly? That won't do!"

As he spoke, he took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and then had Fu Wen pry open the old steward's mouth and stuff it into his mouth.

The drug had taken effect incredibly quickly, and the antidote was just as fast. It felt like the old steward's throat had barely trembled before he woke up in the blink of an eye.

He woke up to find himself tightly bound and lying on the ground. Terrified, he begged for mercy, his voice trembling with tears: "Hero, spare my life! Please, hero, spare my life!"

"This scoundrel, along with that fake lord, spends all day feeding those innocent people mind-altering potions, making them work while they're actually starving. They've worn them down to the point of exhaustion, and then they use their blood to water the flowers. It's utterly despicable! We can't let him get away with this so easily!"

Yan Daoxin ignored the old shopkeeper's wailing and looked at Lu Qing as he spoke.

Lu Qing nodded knowingly: "Then we'll do as you say."

Use runes and talismans to take him away and lock him up in a separate place. Press his acupoints to silence him, so that he won't wail and disturb the peace. Apart from that, don't give him any food or water. Just let him stay awake and suffer, and experience what it feels like to be starving and thirsty.

This is the price he paid for aiding and abetting evil and harming the villagers.

"Yes!" The rune talisman also felt that doing so would be more satisfying, and its reply was particularly loud.

"Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life!" The old steward, not expecting that the other party would not kill him but instead wanted him to experience what it meant to wish he were dead, immediately cried out in terror, "That white-clad hero clearly didn't say anything..."

As the others were carried away by the runes and talismans, it was unclear whether they were too far away to hear or their speech acupoints had been sealed, but soon there was no more noise outside.