Against the Current - Chapter 210

Chapter 210 - Disappearance 

The veins on Lin Jinlou's forehead were bulging, and a raging fire surged from his ribs, rolling around erratically in his chest like a piece of scorching hot iron, making his sides ache with every breath he took. Hu Lai looked in terror as his master's handsome, masculine face gradually flushed red, his gaze turning fierce, and the heroic, overbearing aura of his entire body leaked out chillingly. With a dark expression, he demanded harshly, "What is the situation now?"

Hu Lai swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "By the time this subordinate rushed back, Captain Wen had already led ten brothers to charge inside, and someone has already gone to nearby Centurion Xu's quarters to fetch reinforcements..." His voice grew lower and lower as he spoke.

The implication was that he did not know whether the people inside the temple were dead or alive.

Lin Jinlou's heart sank, and he cursed angrily, "I told you all to protect the female dependents of the manor, what the hell have you been doing?" With that, he flicked his foot and strode off.

Hearing the commotion, Lu Shaotang hurriedly walked out and called out loudly to Lin Jinlou's back, "Why is Brother Lin in such a hurry to leave? My brother and I haven't finished drinking yet..."

Without even glancing back, Lin Jinlou swept along like a gust of wind, stomping down the stairs with heavy thuds.

Everyone at the banquet exchanged glances.

Lu Shaotang furrowed his brow, leisurely stroking the ruby ring on his finger. The guards Lin Jinlou had left behind at the temple should have long since been slaughtered by his men; if someone were to come and deliver a message, it should at least have waited until dawn. Who would have thought people would arrive before the fourth watch? Could it be that the situation had changed? Or was Lin Jinlou leaving for an entirely different reason? Pondering slightly, he beckoned his confidant over and whispered, "Go and check what is happening at Qixia Temple." That man accepted the order and left.

Lu Shaotang slowly exhaled a breath and returned to his seat at the banquet. His temperament was quite similar to Lin Jinlou's—both belonged to the breed of men who possessed both courage and strategy, and they had been exceptionally close playmates in their childhood. But as they grew older, he had secretly harbored a desire to compare himself against Lin Jinlou. Their prowess in studying, martial arts, and horse-riding and archery had been evenly matched, but Lin Jinlou seemed born a leader, acting as the king of the children since youth, and as they grew up, he increasingly commanded universal obedience, intentionally or unintentionally stealing Lu Shaotang's thunder. When Lu Shaotang deliberately refused to obey Lin Jinlou's commands, Lin Jinlou had led the others to isolate him. At the age of twelve, burning with hatred, Lu Shaotang had placed iron spikes underneath Lin Jinlou's saddle. That fellow Lin Jinlou had a thick life, narrowly avoiding having his head kicked by the horse; he had merely rolled on the ground and escaped disaster. Afterward, however, Lin Jinlou had taken a whip and thrashed him until his skin was broken all over, stepped on his head, and forced him to call out "Grandfather" ten times. Busybodies had spread the tale far and wide, causing him to be unable to raise his head for a full three years. That was the ultimate humiliation of his life, and from then on, he and Lin Jinlou were irreconcilable enemies.

Yet in recent years, his luck had consistently lagged a step behind Lin Jinlou's. Seeing the other man trade in maritime goods, meddle in the daily salt administration, privately recruit troops, and build the "Lin Family Iron Cavalry" while still young, earning considerable favor from the imperial court—old officials in the court all whispered that his future was boundless, and if he weren't so young, he might even have secured the position of "Grand Admiral of Water and Land Forces."

With a dark, ashen face, Lu Shaotang drained the wine in his cup in a single gulp. Nowadays, that title of "Grand Admiral of Water and Land Forces" was merely a nominal concept; Lin Jinlou was actually a fierce tiger entrenched in the Jiangnan region, and even commanders two ranks higher than him had to watch his expression and yield three parts of respect. It was just that this brat knew how to conduct himself; even though his temperament was arrogant and domineering, he never missed sending filial tributes during festivals, and gave all the face that was due, making his path remarkably smooth.

Looking at himself, however, things were difficult. Ever since his father passed away, as the saying goes, "when people leave, the tea goes cold," his authority in the military was not what it used to be. His mother had died early, and the second wife the old marquis subsequently married poured all her heart and soul into her own biological son, stealing public funds from the estate to spend on her dear boy. Step by step, this had depleted more than half of their family property, leaving him with no surplus silver to use when he took over the marquisate. Now, he had managed with great difficulty to find the Second Prince as his backer and rallied his father's old subordinates, barely managing to secure a firm footing in the military. But without silver, how could he compete with Lin Jinlou? He was so strapped for cash that even sending holiday gifts and making social visits stretched his resources to the limit, let alone raising a private army. He refused to accept this! He was only inferior to Lin Jinlou in terms of luck; was he supposed to spend his whole life living under the other man's thumb, tucking his tail between his legs like a grandson?

Lu Shaotang fiercely gulped down another cup of wine, a somewhat dark and sinister smile plastered across his face.

For this maneuver, he had orchestrated a trap. Du Bin, a personal soldier of Lin Jinlou, originally had a younger sister who was Lin Jinlou's favored concubine, but she had engaged in unspeakable misdeeds and fallen out of favor, dragging Du Bin down with her into the cold seats of neglect, leaving his official career without hope. That fellow was certainly no simple character—he excelled in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling to the highest degree, and being a daring and ruthless scoundrel, he had actually come to defect to Lu Shaotang, spilling secrets about his illicit affair with Lin's third young miss to serve as a meeting gift. He had always looked down upon Lin Jinlou's second branch of the family, but coincidentally, this was a heaven-sent opportunity. He had ordered Du Bin to bring the clothing of patients sick with smallpox to the Lin household to infect the maidservants, thereby luring the Lin family's female dependents out to perform Buddhist rites.

Everything had gone precisely according to his calculations. Tonight, he intended to wipe out all the female dependents of the Lin household in one fell swoop, first extorting hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and then killing Lady Qin to force Lin Jinlou into a three-year period of mourning. That way, he could recruit troops, expand his private army, take this opportunity to meddle in the canal and salt affairs, and carve out a share of the spoils. Ultimately, one day, he would step on Lin Jinlou's head, force that petty thief to call him "Grandfather" a hundred times, and make his life a living hell!

"What fun is there for the Marquis to sit here all alone drinking wine in low spirits? Why not let this slave accompany the Marquis in finger-guessing and drinking games; it might have some flavor." Lu Shaotang looked up to see Yunzhu gracefully drawing close to his side, holding a silver pot with her slender, delicate fingers. She looked as though she had just been crying; her eyes were somewhat red, and their watery sheen made her all the more alluring. As it turned out, Chu Dapeng had just hinted to Yunzhu that she should look for another patron, and Yunzhu could not help but slip away on a pretext to shed a round of tears. Upon returning, seeing Lu Shaotang drinking alone, she thought to herself that this young marquis was also top-tier in terms of wealth and appearance; since she could not climb up the massive tree that was Lin Jinlou, Lu Shaotang was likewise a rare and desirable choice, so she mustered her spirits to come forward and entertain him with flattering attentiveness.

Lu Shaotang glanced at Yunzhu and could not help sneering—how could he possibly take a fancy to a woman Lin Jinlou had played with? With that, he viciously gulped down a cup of wine, shoved Yunzhu aside with a sweep of his arm, stood up, and strode out the door.

Meanwhile, Lin Jinlou rode out of the city like a whirlwind, followed by a hundred or so mounted guards, kicking up countless clouds of dust along the way. By the fifth watch, they finally arrived at Qixia Temple, where they saw from afar that the temple gates were thrown wide open and brightly illuminated within. Burning with anxiety, Lin Jinlou hurried his horse into the temple grounds and found the courtyard in complete chaos. Dozens of government soldiers holding torches were shouting continuously as they shuttled back and forth, while a group of monks stood in a row against the wall. The senior monks wore expressionless faces, their palms pressed together with eyes closed as they chanted silently, while several young monks, terror-stricken on their faces, huddled together in a trembling cluster. An observant guard immediately hurried forward to report: "Reporting to the General, the Madam and the Young Misses are currently settled in the Mahavira Hall."

With a dark face, Lin Jinlou kicked his feet out of the stirrups to dismount and strode straight inside. Upon reaching the Mahavira Hall, he saw a circle of guards stationed outside, with Captain Wen Rushit guarding the temple entrance. Seeing Lin Jinlou arrive, Wen Rushit hurried forward to greet him: "General Lin." Seeing Lin Jinlou's gloomy, pitch-black expression, he braced himself and reported, "At noon today, this subordinate and the others escorted Old Madam Lin home, but when we returned tonight and saw the temple gates closed, we stayed in the fasting quarters outside the temple grounds together with the monks. Around the third watch tonight, we heard the temple bell tolling, and when this subordinate hurried over, we discovered that bandits had raided the temple. The Eldest Madam and the Fourth Young Miss escaped from their room and took refuge in the Sutra Depository, thus escaping disaster, but the Second Madam and the Third Young Miss are nowhere to be found. Centurion Xu has already sent men in pursuit, but the bandits were all exceptionally bold, skilled, and highly organized; taking advantage of the deep night, they all escaped, and not a single one of the captured ones was left alive..." As he spoke, he choked up with tears and sobbed, "The twelve brothers left behind in the temple have all met with a tragic fate... Their corpses are laid out right over there." He pointed toward the side as he spoke.

Lin Jinlou paused in his steps and walked straight over to inspect the corpses. He saw them neatly laid out on the ground, all killed by a single slash to the throat, without even the slightest trace of a struggle remaining—clearly meeting King Yama while fast asleep. These were personal soldiers he had trained with his own hands, sharing life and death in a bond unlike any ordinary one. Just two days ago they had been living, breathing men, and at this moment they had turned into ice-cold corpses; Lin Jinlou felt as though his intestines were being torn apart by pain.

Pressing his lips tightly together, he strode into the main hall. Inside, under the brilliant glare of candles, Lady Qin, Lin Dongxiu, and Hongjian sat pale-faced and thoroughly exhausted upon the rush mats, their hair pinned in simple buns and cloaks wrapped around their bodies.

The moment Lin Dongxiu caught sight of Lin Jinlou, she stood up, ran forward, and cried out tearfully, "Big Brother..." before choking up and sobbing softly, with Hongjian wiping away tears beside her.

Lin Jinlou took a few steps to reach Lady Qin's side, dropped to one knee on the floor, and said, "Your son is unfilial for arriving late and letting Mother suffer a fright."

Lady Qin's eye rims turned red as she nodded and said, "It is good that you've come."

Lin Jinlou hurriedly asked, "Is Mother injured?" Looking around, he frowned and asked, "Where is Xianglan?"

Lady Qin was startled: "Has Xianglan not been found yet?"

Lin Jinlou's heart sank. Xianglan had been quartered together with Lady Qin; he had assumed she had escaped alongside the Madam and the young misses.

Lady Qin then recounted the events of the night to Lin Jinlou, adding, "If not for Xianglan, the two of us mothers and daughters might never have seen you again... She, she... Could she truly have met with some misfortune..." As she spoke, tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks.

Lin Jinlou clenched his fists, managed a few words to comfort Lady Qin, and turned to go outside to order carriages and horses to escort Lady Qin and the others back to the manor, while dispatching men to summon five hundred elite soldiers to search the temple grounds inside and out thoroughly. Before long, Wen Rushit brought over a young monk who claimed to have seen a pretty woman wearing monk's robes whose appearance strongly resembled Xianglan. Hearing the young monk's incoherent account, Lin Jinlou's mind settled slightly, but when he went outside the temple to check the thicket where Xianglan had hidden, he found it completely empty, and his face dropped instantly once more.

Before departing, Lady Qin lifted the carriage curtain and said to Lin Jinlou, "Perhaps it is late, and Xianglan is a young girl with a timid nature, so she found a place to hide. Once it is fully bright, we can shout out across the mountain again; when she hears the commotion, she might come out."

Lin Dongxiu looked at Lin Jinlou as if she had something to say, but ultimately closed her mouth. Lady Qin dropped the curtain, and the carriage creaked away under the escort of dozens of guards.

Once the carriage had rumbled far into the distance, Lin Jinlou's expression turned gloomy once more, and he forcefully rubbed his face. The nearby mountain forest had already been searched from top to bottom by him; not only was Xianglan nowhere to be seen, but even Second Madam and Lin Dongling had vanished into thin air. Seeing that daybreak was about to arrive, Lin Jinlou felt as though a heavy stone were pressing down upon his heart. Such an operation had been pulled off right under his very nose, with his family dependents being abducted by bandits, and in the end, it was a frail woman like Xianglan who had protected his mother and sister—this felt like a resounding, naked slap across his face. Raging and furious, he wished he could roar up at the heavens and smash a wall to pieces with a single punch.

Just at that moment, a guard on horseback galloped in, leapt down from his saddle, dropped to one knee, and reported, "Reporting to the General, news has come from the manor: Second Madam and the Third Young Miss have returned home safely. Guard Du Bin heroically subdued the enemy, wiped out all the bandits, rescued Second Madam and the Third Young Miss, and escorted them back to the manor."

Lin Jinlou stepped forward and asked, "Only Second Madam and the Third Young Miss?"

The guard replied, "There is also Second Madam's maidservant, I hear her name is Shanhuru; only these three."

Lin Jinlou closed his eyes and forced his overwhelming irritability down another notch. He was accustomed to having everything under his control, remaining calm and sharp on ordinary days so that he rarely lost his composure even when faced with formidable enemies. Yet this single matter left him abruptly feeling groundless. He took a deep breath, cupped a handful of ice-cold well water to wash his face and wake himself up, closed his eyes, and carefully pondered the situation. Xianglan was merely a delicate and frail girl, who ordinarily struggled even to move a slightly heavy flowerpot, and whose courage was as small as a mouse's—he only had to scare her slightly and she would water up with tears. In the pitch black of this mountain, where could she possibly be? Missing up to this moment, could she really have been intercepted and carried off halfway by bandits? She was born with such beauty... Lin Jinlou did not dare to think further and let out a thunderous roar: "Wen Rushit!"

Wen Rushit hurriedly hurried over to him, bending his waist and lowering his head. With a gloomy expression, Lin Jinlou ordered, "Go find Guo Renjie. Have the brothers from his various factions search for people for my sake. Keep an eye on the human traffickers and brothel dealings these few days; detain anyone who involves the buying and selling of beautiful young girls without exception." Wen Rushit hurriedly complied.

Guo Renjie was a notorious scoundrel in the city of Jinling who had always sought opportunities to cozy up to Lin Jinlou. Lin Jinlou naturally looked down on him given his eyes were set above the top, but Guo Renjie wielded immense influence among the common folk, with a multitude of local ruffians and scoundrels under his command, and both pleasure quarters and gambling dens had to give him a measure of face—so this matter indeed required his help.

Lin Jinlou added, "At the official roads and ferry crossings, tighten the searches strictly over the next few days. If you encounter any unidentified beautiful women, detain them all as well and await my disposal." Wen Rushit complied once again.

Lin Jinlou commanded, "Seal this matter off tightly. Whoever spreads rumors concerning the Lin family's female dependents encountering bandits will face this general's military law."

Wen Rushit assented repeatedly, bowed, and retreated.

Immediately afterward, Lin Jinlou personally led men to search Qixia Mountain meticulously once more, combing the nearby villages house by house, yet still found nothing. For the entire day, Lin Jinlou failed to find any trace of Xianglan. As the setting sun dipped low and night fell once more, Lin Jinlou grew increasingly restless and anxious, hating the situation so much that he chopped down a bamboo as thick as a rice bowl with a single stroke of his blade.

At that moment, Guo Renjie rode over in person, knelt before Lin Jinlou, and smiled, "General Lin, I have not failed my mission. The brothers under my command indeed found the two young misses—they had been sold to different brothels, and both claimed to be maidservants of the Lin household, though they were both frightened out of their wits. General, how do you see this matter..."

Lin Jinlou felt a loud buzzing in his head and hurriedly asked, "Where are the people?"

Guo Renjie replied, "This subordinate has already brought them out, found a private parlor to treat them well with food and drink, and then came over to report the good news to the General!"

Lin Jinlou immediately mounted his horse and, leading his troops, followed Guo Renjie. He had just run through all his sworn enemies in his mind, gritting his teeth with a cold sneer. This affair was clearly laid out in broad daylight to target him, Lin Jinlou; over the years he had made plenty of enemies, and those who dared harbor such guts numbered no more than two or three. It would be best if one of those two maidservants turned out to be Xianglan; otherwise, if she suffered some mishap and no one else stepped forward to claim responsibility for it, he wouldn't mind going berserk, grabbing whomever he laid hands on and tearing them to pieces, letting those beasts witness what his true fury looked like.