The Endless Promise

70. Utterly Ruined

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Back at the Yan house...

"Cheers!" Luoyin and Yinying chorused, clinking their liquor cups, and they both downed the wine.

"But Xiaobai, how did you find all these people?" Yinying asked in curiosity.

"I didn't..." Luoyin confessed, toying with his liquor cup. "It was a result of 'Zhang Luoyin's' investigation through the years..."

'Bailong' had seen all this in Duan Xiu's memories.

Or more accurately, as he watched Duan Xiu's ghost follow Luoyin around, more of Luoyin's memories had awakened within him.

Back then, Luoyin had already lost Weiyan and went about as a ghost, so no one paid him any attention... Till one day, when he accidentally ran into an old maid.

Luoyin bowed a hasty apology and made to move past her, but the woman had suddenly gripped his shoulders, a sorrowful look on her face, and then she fell on her knees and apologised for 'not taking care of her lady'.

That woman had been his mother's maid towards the end, and overcome with a guilty conscience, she had confessed to finding out Duan Xiu had been poisoned, but she had said and done nothing about it for fear of being sold off.

The incident had filled Luoyin with a new spark of life, and had led him down a rabbit hole of discoveries...

Since no one noticed his existence, they also didn't realize the many times he disappeared, venturing down the mountain to other cities or settlements.

This continued for the following years, and through whispered secrets from the lips of frightened servants on the run, to bold curses from more than a few outraged individuals who sought justice for themselves or dead family members, most of the story was unraveled.

Back at present, 'Luoyin' had told Yinying the full story.

"I was impressed to discover just how much the lad uncovered!" He said with some pride. "And I was pleased that he didn't simply waste away in those last years...

"I couldn't let his work go to waste, so in the days before the 2nd stage, I used the one thing I had a lot of... Money! I sent Meng Qiu and other servants to shamelessly bribe anyone possible and smuggle in all those people!"

The servants had also been instructed to spread rumours along the way - nothing too serious--.

"...but when added to the appearance of Duan Xiu's ghost in the Arena, and the anonymous information I sent to Sect Leader Xu, no one would look too closely at those documents!"

"Don't tell me... The documents are fake?!"

"Hehe, more than half of them! Zhang Furen is not that careless!" They both laughed, and Yinying shook his head as Luoyin refilled their cups, but Luoyin's hand stilled as he felt a mild twinge.

The Spirit-Binding Seal reappeared to show Zhang Furen's arrow reduced to a tiny pointed tip.

"Wah, so much of it has vanished!" Yinying observed. "What else can we do to finish it?"

"I suspect she will have to die. 'Luoyin's' hatred for her is too strong, and she likely had something to do with his death..."

"So when do we kill her?" Yinying asked, suddenly changing to his tiger form. "I can go over right now if you want."

"Laoying, calm down!"

"I am calm."

"I mean put away your hatred! We may not need to move at all. That woman probably won't live past tomorrow..."