Chapter 140: Chapter 77 Executioner_1
The rain was still falling, and all around there was a sinister, deathly silence.
Liu Kun felt the cold wind seeping through the gaps in his bones, the old knee ailment from his early years of running a noodle stall began to throb with pain.
He looked at the person in front of him, his words coming out in a frantic, incoherent rush, "How is it possible? Isn’t Little Girl Tong dead?"
The person before him just smiled faintly, a smile as captivating as a painting on silk.
Liu Kun remembered Little Girl Tong.
Lu Qilin, his cousin once removed, had two daughters and a son. His wife, Lady Lu, had nearly lost her life giving birth to their youngest daughter, who was therefore cherished all the more. Lu Rou, Lu Qian, and Lady Lu all doted on her, and although Lu Qilin was strict with his words, he also indulged his youngest daughter with an affection rarely seen in him.
But the more precious something is, the harder it is to hide. The Lu Family’s youngest daughter had gone missing at the age of nine, in the year when Changwu County was hit by a sudden epidemic. The rest of the Lu Family had just recovered from a serious illness, and on one afternoon, the little girl went out to fetch water and never returned.
At that time, Liu Kun’s family had already moved from Changwu County to the Capital City. It was only after receiving a letter from Lu Qilin that he learned about the incident. Lu Qilin pleaded with him to help look for her in Shengjing as well. Liu Kun agreed, though he felt a pang of sorrow—the ways of the world such that a nine-year-old girl, once missing, was most likely sold by a passerby. There was little to no hope of her being found.
So many years had passed, and everyone apart from the Lu Family had given up, believing that the youngest daughter of the Lu Family must have long been dead.
Liu Kun had thought so too.
He looked at the person in front of him, delicate and exquisitely beautiful, nothing like the memories of that plump, spoilt, childishly arrogant little girl. But upon closer inspection, the faint traces of beauty between those delicate brows and gentle eyes bore some resemblance to his late niece, Lu Rou.
Thinking of Lu Rou sent a shock through Liu Kun’s heart, and a wave of guilt washed over him.
He asked, "Are you... are you really Little Girl Tong?"
The other just smiled faintly.
"Where have you been all these years? Your parents have been searching everywhere, your brother has been worried sick..." He rattled off irrelevant remarks, not knowing what he was trying to obscure with his words. As he spoke, he suddenly snapped back to his senses, halting abruptly and staring at the person across from him, "Was that letter written by you?"
Why would Little Girl Tong write him a letter?
The letter mentioned Fan Zhenglian, had she found out about the Fan Family? And how much did she know about the inner dealings of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion?
His gaze flitting in disarray, he shuddered uncontrollably.
Until the voice opposite him pulled him out of his daze.
"I wrote it, uncle," she said. "Haven’t you already met my second brother?"
With those words, the silence around them was as if death itself had stilled the air.
After a while, Liu Kun heard his own dry voice, forcing a strained smile, "Yes... I have met him. Rou passed away, and he came to the Capital City for the funeral, and he stayed at my home for a few days."
"Just staying over?"
"Just staying over."
"Not quite," Lu Tong said lightly, "You betrayed him."
"I didn’t!" Liu Kun suddenly yelled out loud, his voice warping in the cold, rainy night, startling even himself.
He lowered his voice, speaking quickly and trying to sound calm.
"It wasn’t me. He committed a crime and was wanted by the Imperial Court. I had intended to hide him in my house, but the search warrant was posted everywhere, and the government officers found out about my place. There was nothing I could do, what could I have done?"
He said this, sounding as sincere as if it were the truth.
But Lu Tong laughed, her clear eyes piercing him, seeing through his facade to the unspeakable secrets buried in his heart.
"Really? May I ask uncle, what crime did my brother commit?"
"It was... breaking into a private residence and stealing belongings, violating the homeowner’s daughter..."
Lu Tong nodded, "Such a grave offense, yet when you harbored a fugitive, the officers chose not to charge you with a crime of complicity, and took only my brother. How very considerate."
Liu Kun’s face turned ashen white. He clenched his teeth tightly, suspecting that the person before him already knew all the details, but he dared not admit a word.
Lu Tong looked at him, her gaze growing colder by the moment.
The man before her shrunk back in cowardice, his eyes darting away, and on that familiar face, poverty and degradation had devoured his conscience, spawning greed and desire.
Her father, Lu Qilin, was stern and old-fashioned, while her uncle, Liu Kun, was affable and lively. Lu Rou was gentle; she and Lu Qian always followed Liu Kun about. Liu Kun would often scoop her up onto his shoulders, pricking her face with his rough stubble, and when Wang Chunchi returned from doing business at the temple fairs, he would bring her a bright red candied hawthorn.
They had sheltered from the rain together under neighboring eaves and eaten from the same pot. Now, they faced each other from opposite ends of a path, separated by indelible blood feuds.