Against the Current - Chapter 219
Chapter 219 - Chaos
Xianglan hurriedly said, "I am truly not tricking you. Just untie the rope on my hands, and I will give it to you right away. With my feet still bound, where could I possibly run?"
Hearing this, Chunyan thought to herself, "Fifty taels is no small sum. Most of the silver I earn ends up taken by that old hag. If she really has fifty taels, I might as well keep it so I have something to fall back on in the future." Aloud, she said, "If you're tricking me, you'll be in for a world of hurt." With that, she untied Xianglan.
Xianglan let out a breath, rubbed her wrists, and truly pulled a fifty-tael silver banknote from her inner garments, thrusting it into Chunyan's hands. While Chunyan was happily inspecting the banknote, Xianglan carefully scooted over, preparing to get off the bed.
Humming a little tune, Chunyan tucked the banknote into her bosom. Seeing Xianglan in this state and remembering her own circumstances when she first arrived in this pleasure quarter, she couldn't help sighing. She slipped off the shoes on her feet, handed them to Xianglan, and said, "I'm in a good mood today, and it's rare to do a good deed. Wear these shoes and go. I went to check just now, and the back courtyard isn't locked. If you were abducted, you should run away."
Xianglan was stunned once more and couldn't help asking, "Why aren't you leaving?"
Chunyan sneered, "Where could I go? I might as well rake in more silver while I'm young and pretty. Hopefully, with good luck, I can be redeemed later to become a concubine for a well-off family, or else open a brothel just like Madam and save up some private money for myself." Cocking her ear to listen to the commotion outside, she carefully pushed the door open a crack. Hearing that the noise outside had suddenly quieted down, she said, "That she-devil must have left. Strange, it was so rowdy just a moment ago." With that, she pushed the door open and stepped outside.
Xianglan wanted to leave as well, but because she had been bound with rope for so long, her legs were so numb and sore that she couldn't even walk. At that moment, Qian Wenze had already drunk himself into a stupor. Up front, the tigress of a wife had been raising a ruckus, demanding that the procuress hand over Chunyan. Having had a romantic past with Chunyan, Qian Wenze couldn't bear to see her meet a bad end, so he had specifically come to the back to find her and tip her off.
Hearing people say that Chunyan had just run into Auntie Hong's room, Qian Wenze pushed the door open and walked right in. Opening his bleary, drunken eyes, he saw a remarkably beautiful young woman standing disheveled by the edge of the kang bed—none other than the young nun he had crossed paths with before—and he was struck utterly dumb.
Xianglan was also startled, a chill instantly striking her hands and feet. Before she could even figure out what was happening, Qian Wenze lunged forward, shouting, "Good sister, am I dreaming? How did you get here!" With that, he reached out to embrace her, thrusting his face forward to kiss her while tearing at her clothes.
Terrified, Xianglan struggled frantically to dodge him. Facing that lustful, repulsive expression, she was frightened beyond measure, scratching and kicking before sinking her teeth straight into Qian Wenze's neck. Qian Wenze, consumed by desire, let out a miserable howl from the bite. He grabbed a handful of Xianglan's hair and delivered a fierce slap across her face, roaring, "You stinking bitch, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!" He forced Xianglan down onto the kang bed, intent on violating her.
At that exact moment, Du Bin kicked the door open. Seeing this scene, he froze for a split second, then rushed forward to grab Qian Wenze, hauling him up before driving his sword straight through him twice with a wet thwack, thwack. Unable to move anymore, Qian Wenze collapsed into a pool of blood.
Xianglan was already terrified out of her wits, trembling like a sieve while tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Seeing that the clothes on her upper body were about to be torn away, revealing her powder-blue bodice, Du Bin swallowed hard in his throat and stepped forward to pull at her. Xianglan shrieked in terror. Frowning, Du Bin stepped up and struck her across the face, snarling, "What are you howling for! Scream again and I'll kill you too!"
Frightened into silence, Xianglan forced herself to compose herself as best as she could. Du Bin grabbed her roughly, first groping her chest and feeling how soft and alluring she was, while secretly cursing that this wasn't an ideal spot. Lowering his head to look for rope, he prepared to bind her and take her away.
Xianglan darted her eyes around and spotted a beast-headed porcelain pillow resting on the kang. Gritting her teeth, she thought to herself, "I'd rather be shattered to pieces like jade than ever fall back into the hands of this villain!" With that thought, she snatched up the porcelain pillow from the kang and smashed it with all her might straight onto Du Bin's forehead. Yelping in pain, he couldn't help loosening his grip. Clutching the pillow, Xianglan tumbled and scrambled down from the kang, trembling all over.
Utterly infuriated, Du Bin touched his forehead and found his hand covered in blood. Reaching out with one hand to grab Xianglan while holding his head with the other, he dragged her back. Just then, an uproar even louder than before erupted outside, followed by a heavy thud-thud-thud of footsteps. The door burst open with a loud crash as someone shouted, "Hey now, search the place thoroughly for my young master! Don't let a single person go—round them all up for me!"
Upon bursting into the room and taking in the scene, the newcomer was startled dumb, spotting a body lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Being the sort of person who loved nothing more than a good spectacle, he recovered his wits, stepped back out while stoking the flames, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Found her! Found her! Come quick! Big Brother! Big Brother! Someone's bullying Xianglan!"
As he retreated outside, he ran right into Lady Zhou, who had just tracked down Chunyan and was dragging her out of an adjoining room in the middle of a brawl. Lin Jingting collided straight into Lady Zhou. Thinking that Lin Jingting had come to protect Chunyan, the tigress flared up in anger, scratched Lin Jingting across the face, and ordered, "Beat him!" Having never suffered such an indignity in his life, Lin Jingting yelped, "Ow!" Touching his neck, he found a layer of skin torn away, burning with fiery pain. Seeing people actually stepping forward to beat him, he flew into a rage, dancing about on his tiptoes and shouting, "You bitch, damn your grandmother, how dare you strike your own ancestor! Men, beat them for me!" With that, he rolled up his sleeves and waded right into the fray to exchange blows.
Meanwhile, other patrons emerged from their rooms to watch the spectacle—some laughing, some gossiping, and others itching to jump into the fight—each of them trembling with excitement.
The courtyard instantly plunged into total chaos.
As for Lin Jingting, after bellowing his shout and retreating, Du Bin knocked the pillow out of Xianglan's hand with a single sweep of his arm. At that very moment, through her tear-blurred eyes, Xianglan saw a crowd of people flooding disorderly into the room. Right in the center, flanked by attendants, stood Lin Jinlou. His gaze was icy cold, like a pair of poisoned arrows; his expression stern and impassive, his face locked in place like an ancient, ice-bound mountain that would never thaw.
Xianglan couldn't tell whether she felt she had been rescued or if a wave of inexplicable disappointment washed over her. She feared Du Bin, but she also feared Lin Jinlou. Right now, there was malevolence in both of Lin Jinlou's eyes, making him even more terrifying than when he had tried to strangle her last time.
Du Bin, however, had completely lost his mind. His head was buzzing furiously, yet maintaining a shred of clarity, he lunged toward Xianglan to use her as a hostage, reaching out to grab the sword on the kang. Just then, Lin Jinlou suddenly made his move. Springing forward in a single bound with a roar of "Leave your life here!", he delivered a crushing punch. With a sharp crack, Du Bin's facial bones shattered.
Xianglan huddled into a tight ball in the corner, shaking with fright.
Du Bin possessed some martial arts skill and threw up his arm to block, but Lin Jinlou, consumed by rage, seized that arm and applied brute force, snapping the joint right out of its socket. The excruciating pain wrung a blood-curdling scream from Du Bin.
C
Lin Jinlou's expression remained calm, but he was boiling with fury inside—so angry that even his vision swam. He never imagined he would track down Xianglan under such circumstances. He saw that her clothes were nearly torn to shreds, her hair was unkempt, and there were several heavy handprints on her face, leaving her delicate, jade-like face all swollen. The mere thought of what had almost happened just moments ago made him so furious he felt his soul leave his body, the veins on his forehead bulging fiercely. He commanded his subordinates, "Get out! Guard the door properly!" With that, he raised his fists and struck. Having been trained by several renowned masters, his fists were as hard as iron. Fueled by white-hot fury, he struck wherever he could reach. Du Bin tried to resist, but having already taken a porcelain pillow to the head from Xianglan, he was completely disoriented. After three blows from Lin Jinlou, Du Bin's face was covered in blood as he collapsed into unconsciousness without a sound.
Xianglan was paralyzed with terror. Lin Jinlou's punches were fast and vicious, his face dark and venomous, and with every strike came the crisp crunch of breaking bones, yet he deliberately left Du Bin with a thread of life so he could suffer the agonizing pain of a slow death.
Outside the doorway, Lin Jingting shouted at the top of his lungs, "Big Brother, have you beaten him enough? Should little brother go brew you a cup of tea so you can moisten your throat before you carry on?"
Lin Jinlou finally stopped his blows, straightened up with a look of annoyance, and reverted to his usual poised and elegant self as a young master of the Lin family. He looked down at Xianglan and asked, "Was it this bastard who got you into this state? And what's going on with the fellow lying on the floor?"
Trembling all over, Xianglan wept tears silently without being able to utter a word, looking every bit like a helpless little mouse pinned beneath a giant cat's paw—a truly pathetic sight.
Growing even more exasperated, Lin Jinlou hauled Xianglan up by her collar and barked, "Running away, are you? Running away! Deserving every bit of this suffering for your own foolishness!"
Xianglan pitifully wiped her eyes as her tears cascaded down in a torrent.
Suddenly, a leisurely voice chimed in from the doorway, "Alright, now that you've found her, calm your temper and hurry up and take her away." The voice sounded unfamiliar; she had no idea who it belonged to.
Lin Jinlou drew a deep breath, forcing down the overflowing fury in his chest. Letting go of his grip, Xianglan collapsed limply back onto the ground. He let out a scoff and muttered, "Look at your uselessness. With this kind of cowardice, you actually dared to grow legs and run off on your own!" Terrified that Lin Jinlou might strike her again, Xianglan lowered her head and didn't even dare to draw a full breath. Meanwhile, Lin Jinlou stripped off the crane-cloak he was wearing, scooped Xianglan up, and wrapped her from head to toe until she was sealed away from the wind. Bending down, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and carried her straight out.
The courtyard was in utter turmoil. Striding with powerful, commanding steps, Lin Jinlou carried Xianglan outside, where someone had already brought up a carriage. He tossed Xianglan right into the carriage and snapped the curtain shut.
The other man strolled over and asked, "Well then, Yingyang, did you find your cousin?" Yingyang was Lin Jinlou's courtesy name.
"Found her. I'm heading out first; do me a favor and clean up this mess."
"Rest assured, rest assured."
Lin Jinlou let out another deep, exasperated sigh. The man laughed and said, "Yingyang, aren't you usually quite the tender protector of flowers? Stop scolding her, go coax her properly instead."
Grit-toothed, Lin Jinlou muttered, "She really is my nemesis. Of all people, she's the one most capable of stirring up trouble, and now she's even got a mind of her own!" His tone softened slightly as he added, "I owe you one for this. I'll thank you properly later."
The man chuckled. "We're going to be in-laws soon enough, no need to speak of two families." As it turned out, this man was none other than Marquis Yongchang, Yuan Shaoren.
Lin Jinlou said, "Come over to my place tomorrow, and I'll have that dead girl pour you a drink herself." He ducked his head and climbed into the carriage.
Xianglan had already struggled to her feet, curling up in the corner like a frightened little rabbit. Without so much as a glance at her, Lin Jinlou sat there with a face as dark as iron.