Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 278 The Mastermind (2)

Outside the window, the cold wind howled.

The lanterns at the entrance of the Wind Comes Inn swayed, casting flickering light on the inn's lobby.

Ten died and one was seriously injured.

Dozens of corpses lay outside the inn.

The strong smell of blood drifted slowly on the night breeze.

The innkeeper and waiter of Fenglai Inn were no longer as afraid as before. They quietly peeked out from behind the counter and secretly watched everything that was happening... Although someone had died, they no longer needed to be afraid when they saw Lord Jue.

Although the lord had killed countless people, he had never killed a single innocent one. Since these people were dead, it meant they must have committed some unforgivable crime. It was better for such people to die cleanly; if they were all dead, the world would be at peace.

The common people have very simple ideas. They believe that their governor is a good person, so whatever Song Yan does is right and the other party must be wrong.

Kong Xinghuai was so angry that he was trembling all over.

Even though Kong Lingchen had lost too much blood, his face still had a strange flush.

Son of a bitch.

Kong Lingyun is an idiot.

I told him to investigate the other party's identity before making a move, so as not to get into trouble he shouldn't. But this bastard did it, and he went and messed with the most dangerous person in all of Pingyang.

No wonder Song Yan was so angry that he killed someone without saying a word.

Perhaps, Kong Lingyan's love letter was just a side effect.

Most people know about Princess Luo Yuheng's affairs. Luo Caiyi is just Luo Yuheng's adopted daughter and has no royal blood. But no matter what, she is still a member of the royal family in name.

If Emperor Ninghe remains indifferent to the kidnapping of imperial relatives, what will become of the royal family's reputation? Now that Emperor Ninghe has just straightened his back and is in the process of rebuilding his prestige, if this matter were to reach his ears, His Majesty the Emperor might take this opportunity to exterminate the entire Kong family.

Kong Lingyun felt a chill run down his spine. He never imagined that a mere little girl he had casually set his sights on would push the Kong family into an abyss of no return. Although they were arrogant and perverse, how many of these scions of noble families, who received the best education from childhood, were truly fools? However, after only a moment's thought, he had already grasped the implications.

In an instant, all three turned pale, their previous arrogance of discussing heroes over tea completely gone.

Song Yan was unaware of the thoughts in the three people's minds. He simply looked slowly at Kong Lingyun and said, "It seems you are the third young master of the Kong family." His demeanor remained indifferent, seemingly unchanged, yet it sent a shiver down Kong Lingyun's spine. A chill ran from the soles of his feet and almost instantly swept through his entire body. "Tell me, where is Caiyi?"

Gudong.

Kong Lingyun swallowed hard.

All sorts of thoughts surged through Song Yan's mind like a madman at this moment.

It must never be admitted.

Once he admits to kidnapping Luo Caiyi, not only will he be finished, but the Kong family will also be pushed into the abyss.

Now, the only way to survive is to grit your teeth and refuse to admit it.

I just hope that lowly maid can be a little smarter. With such a commotion here, it's impossible that she didn't hear it. If we can move that little hussy away in time, without the evidence, there will still be room for maneuver.

Thinking of this, Kong Lingyun took a deep breath: "My lord, I don't understand what you mean. I, Kong Lingyun, have always abided by the law and would never abduct a woman. I think there must be some misunderstanding here..."

Squeak.

The sound of the door being pushed open.

It's the third floor.

Kong Lingyun's eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously looked up, only to see a round thing fall from upstairs.

boom!
The round thing rolled wildly on the ground, and only stopped when it accidentally touched Kong Lingyun's toes. He subconsciously looked down...

"what……"

Another piercing scream rang out, and Kong Lingyun instinctively staggered backward, her forehead beaded with cold sweat.

It was clearly a human head.

He had just been chopped off; blood was still dripping from his neck.

The face appeared to be wearing a metal mask, which was flung off by the impact of the fall from the third floor. When people saw the face beneath the mask, almost everyone got goosebumps. What a face it was! It looked as if it had been burned in a fire, covered in stiff, blackish-red scars. Even the eyelids were burned off, and in the center of the distorted eye sockets were two ugly eyeballs.

Kong Lingyun gasped.

This is... Ling Zi!
The personal maid who always stayed by his side.

Speaking of which, it was an accident that Ling Zi ended up with him. Many years ago, Ling Zi was a maidservant of a young lady. That young lady was also a pervert, with a vicious heart. At only eleven or twelve years old, her personality was already twisted. She usually took pleasure in torturing people. One day, she suddenly had a whimsical idea. She heated a metal mask until it was red-hot and then ordered the maidservant next to her to wear it. Watching the maidservant convulse and scream in pain, she was overjoyed.

Although he was a pervert, he was undeniably quite handsome. Then Kong Lingyun set his sights on him. While the young lady had some family background, she was utterly insignificant compared to the Kong family. Once he was done with her, he killed her. As for Ling Zi, she got her revenge and has remained loyal to Kong Lingyun ever since.

Kong Lingyun initially disliked Ling Zi's ugliness, so he sent her to learn martial arts from the guards. Unexpectedly, this woman displayed remarkable talent in martial arts, so Kong Lingyun allowed her to continue. Due to the torment she suffered as a child, Ling Zi harbored deep hatred for young ladies from wealthy families. Over the past few years, Kong Lingyun had abused seventy or eighty girls, most of whom were captured by Ling Zi.

In the past two years, her morbid personality has even intensified. She is insanely jealous of any woman who is prettier than Ling Zi. Even those girls who were tortured to death by Kong Lingyun, Ling Zi would still torment their corpses until their pretty faces were completely destroyed. Only then would the hatred in Ling Zi's heart be slightly relieved.

Now that Ling Zi is dead, then...

The thought had barely crossed my mind when a figure fell from the third floor. Just as it was about to hit the ground, it paused for a moment, its speed decreased sharply, and it finally landed steadily on the ground.

She was a tall, slender, and beautiful woman, as lovely as an angel.

In the woman's arms was a little girl of about eleven years old. The little girl was fast asleep, and despite the chaos outside, she showed no signs of waking up.

Luo Tianxuan.

Luo Caiyi.

Although he knew that Luo Tianxuan's plan was going smoothly and that Luo Caiyi was safe and sound, he could only feel at ease when he saw Song Yan with his own eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Luo Caiyi's slightly flushed face and soft breathing, and couldn't help but chuckle. Everyone was worried sick about this little girl, but she was sleeping so soundly.

Song Yan looked at Luo Tianxuan.

Luo Tianxuan nodded: "Fortunately, it was discovered in time. Caiyi was not harmed, but was drugged. She should be fine when she wakes up tomorrow morning."

It's good that nothing happened. It's good that nothing happened!

As he watched Luo Caiyi being carried out, Kong Lingyun felt utterly hopeless; he knew it was all over.

Since Song Yan was able to kill Kong Lingyan directly because of a letter, and had kidnapped Luo Caiyi, he had even less chance of surviving.

Fear, despair, hatred, resentment...

A myriad of thoughts seemed to surge into her mind in that instant, eventually mixing together and transforming into a viscous madness, her eyes fixed intently on Song Yan. Seeing that Song Yan's attention seemed entirely focused on Luo Caiyi, a wicked thought suddenly arose within her.

Give it a try.

If you win, at least you can take someone down with you.

Kong Lingyun's body moved even faster than her thoughts. The moment the thought crossed her mind, she suddenly stepped forward, a half-foot-long dagger sliding down her sleeve and into her palm. She then stabbed it towards Song Yan's neck.

Kong Lingyun does possess some skill; although not exceptionally powerful, he is still at the level of a third or fourth-grade martial artist.

The two were already extremely close, and caught off guard, Song Yan seemed to have no chance to react at all. But at that moment, Song Yan frowned, suddenly turned around, and kicked out with his left foot.

boom.

The dagger was about to tear open Song Yan's neck, but it moved away even faster. Kong Lingyun's body flew backward like a cannonball.

Rumble…

He slammed heavily onto the counter.

Unfortunately, my lumbar spine slammed right into the edge of the counter. I could faintly hear a cracking sound, but I couldn't tell if the counter shattered or if my bones broke from the impact.

His body fell to the ground, and as if electrocuted, he convulsed once, twice, three times...

He wasn't dead yet; blood and foam were still gushing from his mouth. Kong Lingyun's eyes were wide open. He was horrified to find that his body seemed to have completely lost control, and he couldn't even feel the existence of his lower body; all he felt was numbness.

Even his upper body and arms were unresponsive. He could only forcefully open his mouth, but no sound came out.

In my ears, I could hear a soft, pattering sound, as if someone was gradually approaching.

Kong Lingyun frantically rolled his eyes, the only organ he could control in his entire body. As Song Yan's image gradually appeared in his eyes, his gaze filled with terror and despair. He watched helplessly as Song Yan crouched down beside him, grabbed his hair, lifted him up, and then…

boom!
His forehead was slammed hard onto the ground.

The solid wood flooring shattered instantly.

boom……

boom……

boom……

boom……

Heads rise and fall, rise and fall... endlessly.

Regardless of whether there was a mastermind behind this incident, the fact that Kong Lingyun kidnapped Luo Caiyi cannot be changed. He touched Song Yan's sore spot, so he must bear the corresponding consequences.

Once, twice...

Ten times, twenty times...

Song Yan didn't know how many times he had smashed Kong Lingyun's head until there was a loud crack and the entire skull was completely shattered. The brain was already filled with yellow and reddish-white viscous substances that were splattered everywhere. Song Yan finally stopped what he was doing.

He tore a piece of cloth from Kong Lingyun's body and carefully wiped each of his filthy fingers. He let out a heavy breath, glanced at the mangled head on the ground, and felt a sudden, inexplicable nausea. He casually tossed the dirty cloth aside, and even this simple action made Kong Lingchen and Kong Xinghuai shudder.

Watching helplessly as Kong Lingyun was crushed to death, the two didn't even have the courage to plead for him; the pride of these aristocratic scions had long since vanished.

Another one died.

Of the three legitimate sons of the Kong family, two are dead and one is seriously injured. Even if the seriously injured one survives, he will be crippled. I wonder if the Kong family head will be furious when he finds out? Thinking this, Song Yan chuckled. He imagined the Kong family head's expression would be quite something. He pursed his lips and turned to look at Kong Xiyan, who still looked shaken.

"Miss Xiyan..."

"Please go back to Jin and tell your father what happened here. If he still wants the lives of his eldest son and second brother, he'll have to pay five million taels of silver in exchange..."

"If the Kong family's sincerity satisfies me, I might just forget something."

"Well, I'll only give the Kong family three days. They'd better hurry."

Kong Xiyan stood there blankly for several seconds before she finally seemed to react. She got up from the ground, took off running, and disappeared into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

"As for these two..." Song Yan turned to Kong Xinghuai and Kong Lingchen: "Get them out of here."

"Find a place to keep them under surveillance, just don't let them die..."

With a wave of his hand, several black-armored soldiers stepped forward and dragged Kong Lingchen and Kong Xinghuai away. After looking at the blood-soaked state of Fenglai Inn, as well as the smashed floor and tables and chairs, Song Yan was somewhat shocked.

I was a little tipsy just now, and I really didn't think much about it.

After thinking for a moment, Song Yan took out a silver ingot from his pocket and placed it on the table.

This is ten taels of silver; it should be enough to repair the floor and tables and chairs.

Immediately, Song Yan waved his hand, and a large number of black-armored soldiers quickly retreated, also dragging away the corpses on the ground and the six wagons loaded with pig iron by the door. Although the quality of this pig iron could not compare to the steel produced by Song Yan's blast furnace ironmaking method, it was still a good material, more than enough to forge some kitchen utensils and farm tools.

call!
As soon as you step outside, a gust of wind hits you in the face.

Song Yan's body shuddered slightly, and her consciousness seemed to become clearer.

Looking up at the night sky, I always felt as if a pair of eyes were hiding in the shadows, silently watching me.

What happened today is truly bizarre.

It seemed as if a pair of hands were manipulating everything from a place unseen by oneself.

(End of this chapter)