Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 177 Cave

After taking out the topographic map again and refining every detail of the plan, Lin Zhiqing got up and put everything away.
"I've already had the rooms tidied up. Everything is in order. Everyone should get some rest tonight; it's still early until tomorrow."

That's right, tomorrow is still a long way off.

The group nodded solemnly, said nothing more, and got up to walk to their respective courtyards.

The main hall fell silent immediately.

Perhaps because so many servants had left during the day and the house had been almost completely emptied, the Lin family home appeared deserted.

After nightfall, it was quite quiet, even a bit desolate, as if the entire Lin family had fallen asleep.

"Click~ Squeak~"

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of a door opening rang out from the darkness.

The door to the back room was slowly opened a crack and then quickly closed again.

A man dressed as a servant tiptoed out.

After taking a couple of steps, he looked around and, seeing that no one was around, immediately straightened his back.

The Lin family mansion was very large. After the servant went around the back building, he first went to Lin Congli's courtyard. Seeing that the courtyard was dark, he felt much more at ease.

Walking south past Lin Congli's courtyard, the lights in Lin Yangyang's and Lin Zhiqing's courtyards were already off.

After confirming that all three were asleep, the servant's steps became much lighter.

He was very familiar with the terrain and quickly made his way to Lin Shi'an's courtyard.

Clearly, it was pitch black here as well.

The servant had his own thoughts. He felt that the Lin family was about to be finished, so these people naturally had no intention of struggling anymore.

That's good, it saves a lot of trouble.

Thinking this, he pressed his ear against Lin Shi'an's courtyard gate.

Before he could listen carefully, a sound of footsteps quickly came from nearby.

The servant felt a chill and immediately retreated, hiding not far away and keeping a close eye on the courtyard gate.

The person inside gently pushed open the door and came out carrying a tray.

The servant squinted and recognized the person as Xiao Cui from Miss Yangyang's room.

Besides Lin Shi'an, the young master of the Lu family and the heir of the Marquis of Zhenyuan also live in this courtyard now.

Xiao Cui's tray contained some white cloths and bottles and jars.

The servant knew that Jiang Liuyun was injured. Now that he saw that most of the servants in the Marquis's mansion had left, Xiao Cui must have come to change the bandages for the young master Jiang.

As Xiao Cui's figure receded into the distance, the servant stepped forward again and peeked into the courtyard through the crack in the door.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual, he was completely relieved, and his steps became much lighter.

He walked around the mansion and soon reached the westernmost part.

The courtyard of the Fourth Master, Lin Congyan, was located here, but after the incident of great disrespect, the west courtyard became completely empty.

The west courtyard was where the servants frequented the most during the day, since no one wanted to wait to die.

The servant didn't want to either.

He took a deep breath and went to the innermost room of the lower quarters.

The servants' quarters were for their exclusive use and were located not far from the main courtyard.

Over the years, because Lin Yangyang liked to sneak out, he led people to block up all the dog holes in the vicinity and took the opportunity to tamper with the house.

Once inside, he immediately moved the cabinet aside and then gently tapped the wall twice. The plaster on the wall instantly peeled off, revealing the straw filling inside.

This was a secret passage he had prepared long ago, connecting to the outer wall of the Lin family's west courtyard. He had also plastered the outer wall with cement, so it looked like an ordinary wall.

It has never been discovered in all these years.

Once he crawls out of this hole, he can spread the news he's heard these past few days.

He put in a lot of effort, all for this day.

Thinking of all this, he first reached out and slowly pulled out the straw filling the hole.

Soon, a hole large enough for an adult man to crawl through appeared before him.

Because it was connected to the outer wall, the walls of the lower room were built very thick to prevent servants from tampering with them. It took him a long time to dig it open.

After working for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he noticed that the straw was running out, so he sped up.

Finally, the cave entrance was fully revealed.

He clapped his hands and crawled inside without hesitation.

He only needed to climb three or four more steps to completely break away from the Lin family and report back to his master.

At that time, he will not only receive a large sum of money, but also be freed from his lowly status and will no longer have to work for others.

The more he thought about it, the happier he became, and he sped up considerably.

close!

He moved to the entrance of the hole, and with just a gentle push, the thin layer of plaster on the wall would peel off, and he would be free!

Thinking this, he reached out and pushed without hesitation.

Freedom, here I come... Wait, feeling a great resistance, the servant frowned.

He pushed hard, but the wall in front of him didn't budge.

A thin layer of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead, and the servant quickly noticed that something was wrong.

He had originally only applied a thin layer of plaster to this area, which should have been easy to remove with a simple push.

Given the current situation, someone must have tampered with the secret passage here.

Oops!

He knew things were going badly, so he quickly backed away.

But before he could take two steps back, the straw he had just pulled out was stuffed back in.

"Who? Who is it?!" the servant shouted as he parted the straw with his hands.

But no one answered him; the straws rushed in, quickly filling up his space.

The small hole instantly went dark.

A feeling of suffocation and the slight pain from the straw rubbing against his skin swept over him, and a deep sense of despair welled up in the servant's heart.

He didn't care whether he would be discovered or not, and pushed the straw outwards with all his might, making a great commotion.

But his struggles were doomed to failure. Soon, he was surrounded by straw, leaving him with no space at all.

The servant had no strength left to struggle. He huddled in a corner, where the air around him grew thinner and thinner.

It was early summer, and the weather was extremely hot. He was soon sweating profusely and panting heavily.

Finished!

It's all over!
As the air inside the cave dwindled, the servant's thoughts drifted away, and his consciousness quickly sank into a state of confusion.

He shouldn't have come, he shouldn't have come...

"Susu~"

Just as he was about to faint, a voice rang out, and the straw beside him was quickly pulled away.

A refreshing breeze swept over me, followed by a continuous flow of fresh air!

The servant sensed the presence of the qi and instinctively began to breathe deeply.

But he had been trapped for far too long, and this amount of energy was far from enough.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, he struggled to crawl back in the direction he had come from.

After scrambling out of the hole at lightning speed, his head bumped into the cabinet he had moved, but he didn't have time to look at it closely. Instead, he lay on the ground, greedily inhaling the air.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but his breathing gradually became steady, and the servant felt as if he had come back to life.

He opened his eyes and saw nothing but straw and several pairs of brocade boots and embroidered shoes.

One of them looked very familiar to him.

Before he could examine them closely, the owner of the boots slowly squatted down, and an aged voice rang out:

"No, I never expected it to be you. You've been with me for so many years, and you've really disappointed me."

"No response" refers to the servant's name.