Chapter 10

"Y-You actually killed Grandma Gui, you...!"

Seeing the old woman’s last breath, Xiao E, who had initially instigated the trouble, pointed at Ding Chunqiu in disbelief.

"Hmph, laughable, if a dog-like person is killed, so be it. What’s there to hesitate about!"

Ding Chunqiu now despised the people of Man Tuo Manor to the core.

They were clearly just servants, yet they had to act as if they were so noble.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, using living people as fertilizer for flowers, their crimes were heinous.

If it weren’t for his plan to steal the *Xiao Wu Xiang Gong* from Wang Fu (Li Qingluo), he would have been tempted to level Man Tuo Manor to vent his anger.

And this Xiao E, though a young girl in her prime, was as venomous as a snake or a scorpion, killing without blinking, ready to take lives with her every move, which gave a glimpse of the environment in which she had grown up.

"Go back and tell your master, heaven’s wrath can be forgiven, but self-inflicted calamity cannot. Good and evil will eventually be repaid. If you continue to bully the people and kill innocents, one day, you will receive the punishment you deserve. Get out of here!" Ding Chunqiu sat down, unwilling to look at these people any longer, as each glance filled him with a strong urge to kill.

Hearing Ding Chunqiu’s words, the evil servants of Man Tuo Manor showed no remorse, all of them looking at him with eyes full of fear and hatred, as if trying to memorize his appearance for future revenge.

"Let’s go!"

At the command of an older woman, the women carried Grandma Gui’s body and quickly disappeared from the entrance of the tavern.

After the women left, the tavern once again buzzed with activity.

"Brother, you..."

The man who had been sitting with Ding Chunqiu no longer dared to sit at the same table, looking at him with a mix of admiration and fear.

"Brother, don’t worry, sit down and drink!" Ding Chunqiu smiled when he saw the man’s fear.

"Uh... Okay!"

The man mechanically responded, raised his wine cup, and drank it in one gulp, but coughed violently due to the haste.

Seeing this, Ding Chunqiu knew it was impossible to continue drinking with the man.

After sitting for a while, he left early to avoid making the man even more nervous.

It didn’t take long, just a short time after the women had left. After leaving the tavern, he asked for directions to the dock and headed straight there.

The dock was not crowded; only a few old boats were moored by the shore, likely belonging to local fishermen.

"Impossible, did they just leave without buying clothes?" Ding Chunqiu was speechless. He had calculated that the people from Man Tuo Manor would not take the clothes from Yanbo Tower and would have to buy them elsewhere, which would delay them. He thought he could afford to wait a bit, but now he was at a loss.

Ding Chunqiu was speechless. Although Man Tuo Manor was well-known, Taihu Lake was vast. Finding Man Tuo Manor was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, over the past dozen years, Man Tuo Manor had committed countless atrocities on Taihu Lake. Even if old fishermen knew the location, no one would dare to go there, which left Ding Chunqiu in a difficult position.

Just as Ding Chunqiu was feeling frustrated, a cacophony of voices suddenly arose. He instinctively hid in the reeds by the lake and saw the evil servants of Man Tuo Manor returning with their spoils, clearly delighted: they hadn’t left yet, but why were there no boats?

"Sister, will we be punished this time? Grandma Gui was killed by that despicable man. We..."

A few young girls said with worried faces. The rules of Man Tuo Manor were strict. Apart from the lady and the young mistress, the most important were the grandmothers. Since Grandma Gui had been killed, they couldn’t avoid being involved.

"Punishment is inevitable, but don’t worry. Although Grandma Gui’s death is infuriating, it’s not our fault. I don’t think the lady will use us as fertilizer for the flowers, but we will definitely be punished!" The leading woman said softly, not stopping in her steps.

Hearing this, the women felt much more at ease. As long as they weren’t turned into fertilizer, enduring some hardship was no big deal.

"Alright, it’s getting late. Xiao An, send the signal!" the leading woman instructed.

"Okay, sister!" A young woman took out a bamboo tube from her waist, unscrewed one end, and raised it high.

Whoosh!

A whistle-like sound rang out, a signal flare similar to fireworks.

"Damn, the boat wasn’t even at the shore. These wicked women are quite cunning!"

Ding Chunqiu understood and cursed under his breath.

Soon, a fast boat approached swiftly, reaching them in no time.

"Jing Sister, what delicious things did you buy this time?"

From a distance, a woman on the boat called out. As her voice fell, the boat docked.

The woman leaped off the bow, looking delighted. Just as she was about to say something, she was interrupted by the leading Jing Sister: "Don’t say anything. Grandma Gui is dead. Everyone, get on the boat quickly, don’t delay!"

"What? Grandma Gui is dead? How is that possible?" The woman said in shock.

"Say nothing more, get on the boat first!" Jing Sister said firmly, directing the women to board the boat quickly.

In no time, all the goods were loaded onto the boat, and the women boarded one by one. Ding Chunqiu’s eyes lit up; the opportunity had come.

As the boat started moving, Ding Chunqiu activated the *Zhai Xing Gong* to its limit. His body seemed to float on the wind, leaping several yards over the lake like a feather, landing silently on the boat’s roof. As he landed, his hands touched the ground first, then he lay flat, making no sound.

All of this happened in a split second. Ding Chunqiu hadn’t expected the women to be so cunning, not docking the boat, leaving him no chance to sneak aboard.

He didn’t dare enter the cabin now, not knowing how it was arranged. If he was discovered, it would be troublesome.

But the roof was different. Who would climb up there for no reason? Even if someone did, Ding Chunqiu was confident he could subdue them before they could make a sound.

Thus, Ding Chunqiu boarded the boat heading to Man Tuo Manor.

The boat sped across Taihu Lake, turning left and right through the reeds without stopping.

The sun gradually set, turning the clouds on the horizon a fiery red, casting a brilliant glow.

In the sunset, a small island appeared before Ding Chunqiu’s eyes.

The boat docked, and Ding Chunqiu remained motionless, tightly pressed against the roof. He watched as the women unloaded the goods and left, then he let out a sigh of relief.

"This kind of sneaky business really tests one’s nerves. I’m not cut out for this!"

Ding Chunqiu shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. The journey seemed smooth, but the pressure he felt was more intense than fighting bandits. If he had a choice, he would rather charge into a bandit stronghold than go through this again.