Chapter 165: Who Exactly Are You?
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Pfft! The yellow mud that had been stuffed down Cheng Ming’s throat was spat out. He finally let out the breath that was stuck in his throat.
Then, Number Two and the others went forward and helped to remove the yellow mud from his nose. Only then was Cheng Ming able to breathe freely again.
Xiao Jin reached out and pinched the spot between Cheng Ming’s thumb and forefinger. Cheng Ming’s elbow twitched, and then he slowly regained consciousness.
“Master…”
When he saw that Cheng Ming had regained his normal breathing rate, Xiao Jin got someone to bring a water bag over and wash the mud out of his mouth and nose.
Xiao Jin turned around and looked at the two men. “Were they the ones who hurt you?”
Cheng Ming looked at the two men with hatred in his eyes. If he hadn’t been discovered in time, he would have been buried alive by them!
“Yes, they were slacking off. I only ticked them off a little and they attacked me. If Master hadn’t discovered me in time, I would have died.”
“Master, please spare our lives, please spare our lives. We were just muddle-headed. We won’t do it again.”
“That’s right, Master. We won’t dare to do it again. Please give us a chance to turn over a new leaf.”
When the two of them saw Xiao Jin looking at them, that pair of deep, dark eyes made their bodies turn cold. Their knees went weak as they begged for mercy repeatedly.
Xiao Jin’s dark eyes were so unfathomable that no one could see through his thoughts. “Number Two, go to the bottom of the slope and bring back two long wooden stakes.”
Number Two acknowledged the order and led a few people to the bottom of the slope to carry the wooden stakes that had been dug out from the slope.
Xiao Jin told them to erect the wooden stakes at the highest point of the slope. After the wooden stake was fixed, those two men were tied to the wooden stakes.
Xiao Jin then took out a cane that resembled a whip and looked icily at the two men who were trembling in despair.
“Letting you guys off is out of the question. Ten lashes a day. If you can endure for ten days, I’ll spare your lives.”
Thwack! As soon as Xiao Jin finished speaking, the cane in his hand tore through the air and landed on the two men viciously like a snake shooting out of its hole to bite them.
“Argh!”
Miserable screams resounded throughout the entire slope. Everyone could not help but feel terrified when they saw this scene. With this lash, the skin of those two men instantly split open. They might not even be able to last three days, let alone ten days.
They knew that Xiao Jin was setting up these two men’s punishment as a warning to the rest. This time, all those who harbored evil thoughts or wanted to slack off did not dare to act rashly. No doubt it was tiring to work, but it was better than being beaten to death!
Xiao Jin only hit out three times before he stopped. He handed the cane to Cheng Ming. “You do it.”
Cheng Ming looked at the blood-stained cane with an uneasy expression. He had been farming for so many years. If he hadn’t met Su Ying and her group on the road to exile, he would never have seen what a true slaughter was.
He had fought before, but he was still a non-violent person at heart. As he looked at the bright red blood that was so appalling to his eyes, he still felt his heart tremble.
When he saw that Cheng Ming did not take the cane, Xiao Jin’s icy voice rang out. “Are you planning to let these two people who want your life go?”
Cheng Ming’s expression changed slightly. He suddenly thought of the suffocation and despair he felt when his mouth and nose were stuffed with mud. He gritted his teeth and took the cane. He glared at the two of them angrily and swung the cane out with a roar.
Thwack! As the sound of the cane rang out, it was accompanied by the howls of pain.
Although Cheng Ming’s strength wasn’t as great as Xiao Jin’s, the two men still had a hard time.
After ten lashes, the two of them almost fainted from the pain. However, just as they were about to faint, Number Two and the others would splash water on them to wake them up, keeping them alert to suffer the gut-wrenching pain.
When Cheng Ming packed up his things and went back at night, he begged Xiao Jin and the rest not to tell Su Ying and the others about what had happened today. He didn’t want them to worry about him because of his incompetence, especially Madam Jiang. She had taken care of him for several days without sleep or rest because he had been bitten by a venomous snake earlier. If she knew that he had almost been killed this time, she would be even more worried.
“If you don’t want your family to worry, then you should become stronger. When Number One and the others do their morning training, you should go with them.”
Upon hearing Xiao Jin’s suggestion, Cheng Ming hurriedly replied, “Don’t worry, Master. I’ll definitely train hard.”
Meanwhile, Su Ying and the others had also packed up and returned home after finishing their work.
“Mother is back.”
As soon as Su Ying entered the courtyard, the two little fellows rushed over and eagerly threw themselves into her arms.
Su Ying picked them up and planted kisses on their increasingly chubby little faces before putting them down. Then, she took out a bag of osmanthus candy as if she was performing a magic trick.
“Osmanthus candy. Do you like it?”
When the two little ones saw that there was candy to eat, their eyes widened.
“I like it, I like it. I want to eat candy,” said the younger toddler Ling.
Su Ying pinched her tiny face. “You guys can eat it with Brother Lin Sheng.”
The older toddler Ji took the candy and nodded happily. “Okay.” As he spoke, he picked up a piece of osmanthus candy and brought it to Su Ying’s mouth. “Mother, have some too.”
Su Ying opened her mouth and took the candy into her mouth. “Oh, it’s so sweet. It’s as sweet as you guys.”
When the younger toddler Ling heard that, her tiny face changed dramatically. “Mother, Big Brother and I arc not sweet. You can’t cat us… Big Brother, run! Mother is going to eat us!” The younger toddler Ling pulled the older toddler Ji along and scampered away.
Su Ying watched the two little ones running away helter-skelter and laughed loudly as she went up to the second floor.
In the room on the second floor, Chu Yun was still writing furiously. The oil lamp in the room shone on him and cast a big shadow in the room.
Su Ying walked over and blocked the light from his table.
Chu Yun raised his head and put down the brush in his hand.
Su Ying said, “Tian Mu is free now. Tomorrow, I’ll get him to bring some people up the mountain to cut down trees and start building houses in the middle of the four districts.”
Chu Yun didn’t say anything and waited for her to continue.
Su Ying continued, “On this empty plot of land, I will build the shop that I mentioned before. Behind the shop, I will build a school building and a clinic. I’ve already gotten someone to count the number of children in the respective age groups in each district today. Once the school building is completed, I’ll be the acting principal. I’ll be the person in charge of the school building and teach the children here how to read and write.”
A look of surprise flashed across Chu Yun’s eyes as if it had never occurred to him that Su Ying would have such a plan.
“You want the children here to study? They are all descendants of rootless people. What’s the point of them learning to read and write?” In reality, he did not think that way inwardly. He only said that because he was thinking from an ordinary person’s point of view.
They couldn’t even fill their tummies now, so what was the use of studying?
“You are asking what’s the point? In time, when one becomes one of the rare people in this world, notwithstanding the fact that he has no nationality, even if he is the most vicious person in the world, there will still be people kneeling down and begging him to give them everything they want. Reading and writing will lay the foundation for these rootless children to stand up. How can it be pointless?”
Chu Yun couldn’t hide his shock. He looked at Su Ying standing before him and was once again overwhelmed by self-doubt.
The truth had been placed before him time and again, yet he was very unwilling to believe that the person before him was the Su Ying of the past.
Chu Yun couldn’t help but ask, “Who exactly are you?”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺