Chapter 12: Already On the Path to Death!

The next morning, the dawn was just breaking.

Lin Huanhuan had barely woken from her dreams when the scar-faced man from White Tiger Hall who had visited last night came knocking again.

“Miss Lin, it’s already the second day. Are you ready to set out?”

The scar-faced man spoke solemnly, “Our young master has completed all the preparations. Now we’re just waiting for you to come over. Once Ye Jinxiu returns, we can take action.”

“Your young master really doesn’t have a shred of patience, huh. Fine, lead the way.” Lin Huanhuan yawned lazily as she spoke.

She followed the scar-faced man down the mountain, into Weiyang City. Inside a modest but tidy courtyard, members of White Tiger Hall were sitting in the middle, tossing dice and playing finger-guessing games for money. In a corner were two middle-aged people, a man and a woman, tied up with their mouths stuffed, letting out muffled whimpers.

‘These guys really look desperate, afraid I’ll back out. If I just said I’m not doing this now, I wonder what kind of expressions they’d make. That would be pretty funny, wouldn’t it?’

Lin Huanhuan thought with a trace of malicious amusement, then turned her gaze to the bound couple. ‘These must be Ye Jinxiu’s parents.’

From the moment they entered the courtyard, everyone from White Tiger Hall stopped what they were doing and looked over at Lin Huanhuan in unison.

But none of them got up to greet her immediately. Lin Huanhuan guessed that the young master of White Tiger Hall was still sore about her rejection yesterday, and was trying to give her a hard time with this kind of display.

A few seconds later, a young man stood up. He was dressed in a round-neck robe embroidered with carved flowers and grasses, his face covered with thick makeup, lips painted with rouge, and his fingers pinched in an orchid pose—a sissy by any standard. He looked at her and said,

“Miss Lin, long time no see. How have you been lately?”

The corner of Lin Huanhuan’s mouth twitched. Her little face was filled with disdain.

‘Damn, no matter how many times I see him, White Tiger Hall’s young master, Huang Luocheng, is just disgusting—neither man nor woman. I’ve even heard he likes men.’

“Don’t act so familiar.” Lin Huanhuan said irritably, “We’re not that close. Just call me properly.”

“I can’t believe you’re being mean to me. I’m so heartbroken.”

Huang Luocheng’s orchid fingers pressed down delicately, his eyes filled with what seemed to be resentment. Lin Huanhuan looked on, only wanting to gag, and her resolve to stab him in the back grew even stronger.

‘Consider it mental compensation. He shouldn’t have any objections.’

Huang Luocheng naturally saw that Lin Huanhuan wasn’t interested in currying favor with him, and though a little annoyed in his heart—this was his first time trying to curry favor with someone, hoping to make a girlfriend, maybe even let Lin Huanhuan take the blame for him in the future—who would have thought he’d fail so miserably on his first try?

Lin Huanhuan casually pulled up a chair and sat down, her gaze brazenly sweeping over everything in the courtyard.

The water vat in the corner had been smashed, water stains still lingering. There was a hole in the flowerbed by the door, with soil spilling out, and the nameless flower there drooped as if it wanted to die.

All these details showed the place had been ransacked.

Lin Huanhuan guessed it must have been when White Tiger Hall’s people broke in to capture the couple. Really uncivilized.

Seeing Lin Huanhuan’s apparent interest, Huang Luocheng smiled, “Miss Lin, aren’t you curious how I used perfectly reasonable methods to capture Ye Jinxiu’s parents?”

“Oh, you want to tell me?” Lin Huanhuan replied.

To be honest, she was indeed curious. In the original novel, how Ye Jinxiu’s parents were captured was glossed over with no detail.

And when White Tiger Hall approached her before, they said they’d handle Ye Jinxiu’s parents, so she could just wait for the spoils.

“If Miss Lin wants to hear, of course I’m willing to share.” Huang Luocheng wore a mysterious look, as if trying to tempt her.

“Then I don’t want to hear it. Don’t bother.” Lin Huanhuan replied calmly.

She did want to know, but since Huang Luocheng wanted to tell her, she refused on principle.

Huang Luocheng was just about to speak, but choked on her words instead. His face, caked with powder, turned red as if a thousand unsaid words were stuck in his throat. He looked utterly miserable.

As everyone knows, when a villain pulls off the perfect crime, he wants to talk about it, to share the process and gain a sense of accomplishment.

Lin Huanhuan looked at the suffocating Huang Luocheng and sneered contemptuously before finally saying, “Since you look so uncomfortable, go ahead. I’ll listen.”

Huang Luocheng instantly lit up. “Thank you, Miss Lin.”

But right after saying that, he felt something was off. Why was he thanking her when he was the one speaking?

He wanted to figure out the logic, but Lin Huanhuan didn’t give him a chance.

“What are you standing there for? Weren’t you going to talk? If you’re not, then forget it!”

Huang Luocheng quickly straightened his posture and began, “To be honest, when I first approached Miss Lin, I wasn’t confident I could capture Ye Jinxiu’s parents. I was planning to resort to force if necessary.

After searching for a method for some time, a turning point came—our people at White Tiger Hall discovered by chance that Ye Jinxiu’s father liked to gamble.

So I seized the opportunity, set up a trap, and found an acquaintance to take him gambling. At first, Ye Jinxiu’s father wasn’t too keen, but after a few wins, he got hooked right away.

Just like that, under our deliberate manipulation, Ye Jinxiu’s father racked up a huge debt in spirit stones—ten lifetimes wouldn’t be enough to pay it back. We led him to use his whole family as collateral.

Now, with no way to repay, we went to their house, captured them, and demand their daughter pay the debt. Perfectly reasonable—no one can blame us.”

“Hahaha!”

After finishing, Huang Luocheng looked like a man dying of thirst suddenly drinking nectar—his face twisted in glee.

The rest of White Tiger Hall burst out laughing as well, pointing and jeering at Ye Jinxiu’s parents.

Ye Jinxiu’s parents were utterly desolate, their eyes lifeless. If not for being tied up, they might have ended it themselves already.

Lin Huanhuan listened and twitched her lips. ‘Well, that’s something. No wonder it worked. But White Tiger Hall seems to have overlooked one thing—Lingyun Sect doesn’t play by the rules. No, wait, he actually considered that! That’s why he brought me in, wanting to use me as a shield, to put me in the firing line. Quite the scheme!’ Lin Huanhuan sighed inwardly.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back—did you miss me?”

Just then, a young girl in a yellow dress walked in from the gate. The moment she saw the scene in the courtyard, her voice cut off abruptly, and her expression froze.