Lán WàngJī versus Alcohol: Chapter 17

Jīn Líng’s gaze was sharp, his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. When he spoke, it was neither hurried nor slow, and his voice carried a quiet authority that prevented anyone from interrupting and compelled everyone to listen attentively.

“People die in pursuit of money, just like birds die in pursuit of food*,” Jīn Líng began. “Jīn Chǎn has lost all sense of his own morality. After the monster escaped, he failed to report the incident. Instead, he secretly began selling the wine produced by the monster to test its effectiveness in manipulating people’s minds.”

*This Chinese proverb describes people who are excessively greedy for money and willing to use unscrupulous means, warning that they will eventually meet a tragic end, like birds lured by bait to their death.

As he spoke, Jīn Líng slowly rose from his seat, one hand resting on his sword and the other behind his back. He then paced, solemnly listing Jīn Chǎn’s crimes.

He went on, “If such inhuman crimes are not punished severely, how can we explain ourselves to the common people? How can we uphold our sect’s rules and restore our century-old glory?”

“As for Jīn Mǐn, he failed to raise his son properly,” Jīn Líng carried on. “He was consumed by his lust for power and had given himself over to a life of debauchery. When his misdeeds were exposed, instead of showing remorse, he compounded them by sending his men to attack me in the dead of night. Such a treacherous villain deserves to die a thousand deaths.”

He continued, “Today, I ask everyone present to witness the fate of those two men and understand that, if you are willing to stand with me, I, Jīn Líng, will strive to live up to your expectations, humbly seek your guidance, and dedicate my whole life to restoring our sect to its former glory.”

After a brief pause, he added, “However, should anyone violate our sect’s rules, seek to usurp power, or commit heinous acts that bring disgrace upon our sect, regardless of their status, I, as sect leader, will show no mercy. That is all I have to say.”

Jīn Líng’s speech was well reasoned and delivered with unwavering conviction. He asserted his authority as the sect leader and vowed to root out all the treachery within the sect.

He then slowly walked towards them, looked at each person in the eye, bowed solemnly and said, “I hope you will all give my words careful thought on your journey home.”

The elders and branch leaders remained silent for a moment. No one raised any objections. Then, one by one, they returned his bow with sincere respect. With the matter settled, they took their leave.

Jīn Líng breathed a sigh of relief. Then, recalling something, he glanced at Jiāng Chéng with a hint of apprehension.

Jiāng Chéng watched his nephew walking towards him, studying the face that was gradually losing its youthful innocence. Without even realising it, the little boy who had been following him every step of the way, always wearing a defiant expression, had truly grown up.

“My sister’s child has become an adult,” he thought. “All those years I devoted to raising and teaching him were simply to help him become independent once he left my side.”

He continued, “Is this what every parent feels when they watch their son grow into a fine young man?”

As he was about to stroke Jīn Líng’s head, Jiāng Chéng suddenly paused, then patted Jīn Líng’s shoulder instead.

Noticing Jīn Líng’s bewildered expression, a hint of annoyance appeared on Jiāng Chéng’s face. Still, with a satisfied smile, he said, “Well done.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Jīn Líng felt his eyes sting and his nose tickle, filling with the urge to sneeze, but he held it back.

Unable to resist, Jiāng Chéng gave Jīn Líng a light pat on the back of the head, causing Jīn Líng to finally sneeze.

With a disdainful expression, Jiāng Chéng asked, “How did you get yourself covered in dust?”

Remembering what had happened to him the previous night, Jīn Líng’s expression grew gloomy. He bitterly regretted not being able to beat up Wèi WúXiàn. Then he recounted the event to his uncle.

  … … …
 

Flashback:

After making sure that all the important documents had been gathered, Jīn Líng handed them over to Jiāng Chéng for safekeeping just in case. He then devoted all his energy to rooting out enemy spies and dispatched some trusted subordinates to track down Jīn Chǎn.

Strangely enough, while Jīn Líng had been causing quite a stir, Jīn Mǐn had remained calm. The spies monitoring their household reported that Jīn Chǎn had neither returned to his family home nor left the city.

Jīn Líng concluded that the culprit was still lurking within Lánlíng City. Although the evidence was conclusive, it would be better to capture Jīn Chǎn and punish him in front of everyone to set an example.

However, time was running out, and he was short of manpower. Still, Jīn Líng sent more of the men his uncle had assigned to protect him to search for Jīn Chǎn, keeping only two men by his side.

As the night wore on, the surroundings gradually fell silent. Jīn Líng had been studying the latest investigation reports for quite some time. There were so many suspects mentioned in the case that he could no longer bear to examine them.

He was feeling sleepy, but when he thought about the next day’s meeting, he refused to go to bed. Instead, he took his sword and went outside to get some fresh air, while the two guards stationed outside his room followed him quietly.

As he strolled, Jīn Líng wondered where Jīn Chǎn might be hiding. Everyone who had been sent to search for him had a clean record.

However, there was no guarantee that none of them were suspicious. If the investigation were compromised, it would cause serious problems.

Even Xiānzǐ had been brought into the search, yet there was still no sign of Jīn Chǎn, which was truly baffling.

Lost in thought, Jīn Líng continued wandering further away from the residence. The two guards grew anxious–they had arrived only recently and were unfamiliar with the surrounding area. Unable to hold back any longer, one of them called out, “Jīn Zōng-zhǔ…”

Jīn Líng’s train of thought was interrupted. He said impatiently, “Be quiet!”

At that precise moment, he noticed a silk thread suspended across the path. It appeared to have been tied to something on either side. Jīn Líng walked over, puzzled.

“Who put this thread here, blocking my way?” he wondered.

Before he could get any closer, Jīn Líng noticed the silk thread trembling slightly, immediately putting him on alert. He hadn’t intended to walk down this path, but he couldn’t bring himself to dismiss it as a coincidence.

His suspicion was confirmed when the suspended thread suddenly darted towards him.

“Step back!” Jīn Líng cried as he jumped over it.

As he did, he caught sight of two figures on either side of the path, dashing through the bushes while manipulating the thread.

Startled, the two guards immediately drew their swords to slash at it. However, they were not given that opportunity–the thread was pulled back, heading for Jīn Líng once more.

As though his movement had been anticipated, Jīn Líng landed straight in a snare, which was immediately pulled tight around his ankles.

“Zōng-zhǔ, be careful!”

The two guards called out a warning, but Jīn Líng was already trapped, and the thread was looped around his neck.

The two guards grew anxious as they saw Jīn Líng being restrained. Before they could act, several men dressed in black sprang out of the bushes.

Four of them rushed towards Jīn Líng, sealed his spiritual veins and took his sword. Without wasting a moment, they flew away on their swords, taking Jīn Líng with them.

Meanwhile, the others moved to deal with the two guards, who immediately fired their signal flares before engaging them in combat.

The incident was entirely unforeseen and unfolded with astonishing speed.

Jīn Líng forced himself to remain calm as he analysed the situation. Since these men had not killed him immediately but had instead captured him, they were clearly taking him to their leader. That person was most likely Jīn Chǎn.

“I thought that he would restrain himself after his crimes had been exposed, but instead he dared to make a reckless move,” Jīn Líng thought. “He’s acting as though he has nothing to fear. Where on earth has he been hiding?”

Jīn Líng began to struggle out of one of his kidnappers’ grasp, and the latter tightened his grip on Jīn Líng’s wrists, warning him, “Don’t move if you want to stay alive! You’re as good as dead if you fall!”

Jīn Líng’s reasoning had proven to be correct–they had no intention of killing him yet. Since that was the case, how could he just remain idle and be at their mercy?

Above all, the kidnapping had occurred at Jīnlíntái. If the word got out, the LánlíngJīn Sect would become the laughingstock.

With his wrists seized from behind, Jīn Líng suddenly bent forwards, grabbed the hand restraining him and then hurled himself backwards, dragging his kidnapper down with him as they fell through the sky.

Caught off guard, the man loosened his grip–he had not anticipated that Jīn Líng would dare take such a risk even with his spiritual veins sealed.

Jīn Líng seized the opportunity and kicked him away.

There was a grove of trees below, and before reaching the treetops, Jīn Líng bent his legs to slow his descent. He quickly grabbed hold of a trunk, but it wasn’t enough to halt his fall, and he slid down the tree.

Ignoring the excruciating pain in his palms, Jīn Líng immediately rushed towards the densest part of the woods. Once inside, he felt more relieved, knowing his pursuers would be unable to follow him while riding their swords.

However, when he heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind, Jīn Líng grew anxious. There was no way he could defend himself–his sword was still in his pursuers’ possession, and his spiritual veins had been sealed.

Running at full speed, Jīn Líng suddenly realised that he had reached a large clearing bathed in moonlight, while the surrounding woods were too dark to distinguish anything within them.

His body tensed when he heard a whoosh behind him. He turned his head and saw a large pair of eyes and two long ears. He couldn’t make out the rest of the creature’s features, as it was still standing at the edge of the clearing.

The thought that it had been an animal chasing him through the dense woods, rather than his pursuers, terrified Jīn Líng so much that he couldn’t suppress a piercing scream.

The creature, frightened by the shriek, brayed in return.

The men chasing Jim paused immediately as soon as they heard the braying, wondering where the donkey had come from.

Regaining a little bit of his composure, Jīn Líng wondered, “Why is there a donkey here?”

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Jīn Líng’s mouth as he realised he had actually screamed in unison with a donkey in the middle of the night.

At that moment, his pursuers also reached the clearing and were stunned by the sight.

One of them sneered, “Jīn Zōng-zhǔ, you’re still so young, yet your courage is truly surprising.”

“You’re flattering me,” Jīn Líng retorted sarcastically. “Earlier, when I kicked you while we were in mid-air, your reaction was surprisingly slow.”

“Let’s see how long you stay so smug.” As soon as he had finished speaking, they all charged forward with their swords drawn.

Jīn Líng took a step back and was immediately surprised to hear the donkey braying just behind him. He wondered when it had got so close to him.

Jīn Líng was filled with indignation, pondering whether he should shield himself behind the donkey. He suddenly made up his mind to fight to the death.

“If I’m going to die, then so be it!” Stepping forward, he faced his opponents.

At that precise moment, a soft laugh echoed through the air, and the donkey began stamping its feet impatiently, its hooves clattering against the ground.

Jīn Líng’s opponents felt a sudden chill run down their spines. They hadn’t even noticed the newcomer’s arrival.

Jīn Líng, on the other hand, felt that the voice sounded very familiar. He looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

Through the darkness of the dense woods, the newcomer slowly opened his eyes. Jīn Líng saw them glowing crimson, their eerie light piercing the gloom.

Suddenly, sinister, cackling laugher rang out from all directions, as something crawled out of the darkness towards Jīn Líng’s pursuers.

At a leisurely pace, the newcomer approached from behind them and gradually stepped into the moonlit clearing.

Jīn Líng’s eyes widened. “Wèi WúXiàn!” he cried.

As soon as they heard that name, the pursuers were instantly seized with terror, their faces turning pale.

Just as they were about to flee, the ground beneath them cracked open, and hands with rotting skin shot out and clamped onto their legs.

Wèi WúXiàn deftly twirled his black flute, the red tassel fluttering with it.

He snatched Jīn Líng’s sword from one of them as he expressionlessly walked past them, then stopped in front of Jīn Líng, staring at him in silence, his gaze impassive.

Jīn Líng had grown used to seeing him playful and smiling, but now, with Wèi WúXiàn’s calm demeanour, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

Just as Jīn Líng was about to say something, Wèi WúXiàn swiftly struck him in the chest with considerable force. Jīn Líng let out a muffled groan, then felt his spiritual veins become unsealed.

Wèi WúXiàn suddenly asked, “You were so scared earlier, so why didn’t you run away?”