"Let him go."
Feng Tingliu's smile on his face was as venomous as a snake's. You clearly knew it was dangerous, yet you couldn't help being drawn into it.
"But..." Yu Chi Feng didn't understand Feng Tingliu's meaning. He turned his head and met his enigmatic expression. Yu Chi Feng had no choice but to take a step back, making way for the study door.
Qin Qimu, who was sitting on the ground, looked at Feng Tingliu blankly. When he met those crimson eyes, his legs trembled in fear.
He didn't know why Feng Tingliu would let him go, but he also vaguely felt that things were definitely not as simple as they seemed.
But he also knew that as long as he was alive, there was a glimmer of hope!
"Thank you, City Lord! Thank you, City Lord!" Qin Qimu clenched the pouch in his hand and kowtowed three times to Feng Tingliu, with even more force than when he first met Feng Tingliu. After the three kowtows, his forehead was already swollen and red. If the study floor hadn't been smooth and neat, he would probably have been bleeding profusely.
"Go." Feng Tingliu leaned against the door, still smiling as he looked at him.
Qin Qimu didn't dare to stay any longer. He hurriedly stood up and rushed forward without looking back. When he passed by Feng Tingliu, it felt as if there was a malicious spirit breathing behind him, attacking him. His legs turned weak and he staggered several steps.
Qin Qimu thought that Feng Tingliu would strike at this moment and take his life.
But until he ran out of the Feng Mansion, Feng Tingliu didn't make a move.
He didn't believe that Feng Tingliu really let him go. Something even more cruel must be waiting for him.
He decided to leave this place quickly. As long as he could escape, wealth, power, and fortune would be within reach!
Feng Tingliu was still leaning against the study doorframe, smoking. He looked in the direction where Qin Qimu had fled and chuckled softly.
" Young Master, how should we handle this matter? Maybe he has stolen important secrets from the study." Yu Chi Feng frowned and asked.
"Don't worry." Only then did Feng Tingliu straighten up, walk into the study, and stand next to the desk. He casually flipped through the things on the desk and in a moment, he knew that a ledger was missing from the desk.
"Is something missing?" Yu Chi Feng followed and asked.
"Ha, it doesn't matter what's missing." Feng Tingliu chuckled, turned around, lifted his robe, and sat down leisurely, leaning to one side. He took a sip from his pipe and said, "Bring Qin Qizhao here."
Hearing this, Yu Chi Feng was quite surprised: "Is Young Master planning to start with his elder brother? The two of them came to Liudu City together. They are most likely accomplices."
"It doesn't matter if they are accomplices. I only care about the result."
"The result?"
"The result of whether they live or die."
Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Feng knew that Feng Tingliu didn't plan to spare the young man's life. Although he was puzzled, he still went out and headed towards the Heavenly Craft Pavilion.
When Yu Chi Feng arrived at the Heavenly Craft Pavilion, he found that his guess was indeed correct. Qin Qizhao seemed to know nothing and was helping Xie Zicun repair the machinery.
"Qin Qizhao, come with me." Yu Chi Feng had a serious expression and said in a deep voice.
Qin Qizhao raised his head to look at him, as if he had a sense of what was coming. His movements stopped for a moment, and then he clenched his fist and replied, "Okay."
Xie Zicun's reaction was even more intense. He also looked up and asked, "What's going on? Why are you taking my person away? I won't be able to finish repairing this machinery!"
"It's the Young Master's summons." Yu Chi Feng looked at him, his eyes even sharper than usual.
Xie Zicun knew at a glance that the reason for Feng Tingliu's summons of Qin Qizhao was by no means simple. He put down the tools in his hand, stood up, and patted the long robe covered in wood chips.
"I'm going too. After all, Qin Qizhao was brought in by me. I should know if something goes wrong."
Upon hearing this, Qin Qizhao quietly lowered his head, and his hands clenched even tighter behind his back.
The three of them walked together into the Feng Mansion and saw Feng Tingliu who was reading a book in the study.
"Young Master, I've brought the person." Yu Chi Feng walked to Feng Tingliu's side and said softly, bending down.
However, Feng Tingliu didn't raise his head from the book, causing the room to fall into silence for a moment. Even though he didn't speak or give a glance, the majesty and killing intent emanating from him made no one dare to move recklessly.
Qin Qizhao was forced to lower his head by this pressure. His hands were twisted tightly behind his back, and he didn't say a word.
"Lord Feng, what exactly happened?" Seeing that he didn't speak, Xie Zicun frowned and asked. He then turned to Qin Qizhao, who was also silent, and couldn't help but reach out and pat the young man's lower back.
Qin Qizhao quickly regained his senses, took a step forward, and bowed to Feng Tingliu.
"Lord Feng."
Feng Tingliu ignored Qin Qizhao. Instead, he put down the book and looked at Xie Zicun, whose clothes and hair were in a mess and obviously had come in a hurry, and asked, "Why are you here?"
"Although I don't know what happened, Qin Qizhao is the child I brought in. I should be informed if something goes wrong!" Xie Zicun said righteously.
Feng Tingliu chuckled, glanced at Qin Qizhao, and said lightly, "Indeed, the child you brought in stole the ledger from my room. You tell me, whose fault is this?"
As soon as these words were spoken, both Xie Zicun and Qin Qizhao were shocked and looked over.
"Steal the ledger?! How is that possible! Qin Qizhao has been with me going out early and returning late these days. He's either at the Heavenly Craft Pavilion or the Tianyi Pavilion!" Xie Zicun had been with the two brothers for so long that he had developed feelings for them. Now, hearing Feng Tingliu suspect Qin Qizhao like this, he was immediately so angry that his face turned red as he argued with him.
And upon hearing this, Qin Qizhao's hands trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"When did I say it was Qin Qizhao?" Feng Tingliu spoke slowly, looking at Xie Zicun, who had lost his composure, with disdain.
"It's not Qin Qizhao?! Then who... could it be... ah..." Xie Zicun's arguing voice became smaller and smaller, as if he had realized something was amiss. He widened his eyes and looked at Feng Tingliu, askingUnbelievably, "Is it Qin Qimu?!"
Feng Tingliu didn't answer. He just raised the corner of his mouth and his gaze fell on Qin Qizhao.
Receiving Feng Tingliu's tacit answer, Xie Zicun was even more shocked and turned to Qin Qizhao.
"What's going on?!"
Startled by Xie Zicun's questioning, Qin Qizhao quickly took a step forward and knelt on both knees in front of Feng Tingliu.
"We voluntarily entered Liudu City. I failed to take good care of my younger brother. This matter has nothing to do with Senior Xie!" Qin Qizhao said loudly, actually taking the responsibility upon himself and even clearing Xie Zicun of any responsibility.
"You..." Hearing Qin Qizhao's words, Xie Zicun was also somewhat surprised.
In addition to Xie Zicun, both Feng Tingliu and Yu Chi Feng were also surprised upon hearing his words.
"Oh? Interesting." Feng Tingliu changed his sitting position, looked at Qin Qizhao's trembling yet still clenched fists, and asked with interest, "Do you know what will happen to the traitors in Liudu City?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Qizhao was stunned. He instantly thought of the cold and damp dungeon filled with the smell of blood. For a moment, it seemed as if the wails of those emaciated people rang in his ears, and he even recalled the screams he heard when he and his younger brother plunged the dagger into the chest of that cult member.
He knew that as long as Feng Tingliu wished, his younger brother would definitely be thrown into the dungeon and subjected to all kinds of torture. Feng Tingliu wouldn't listen to anyone's pleas for mercy, and wouldn't even let those traitors die quickly. He would only let them spend the rest of their lives in pain.
Even though all of this was Qin Qimu's fault, how could Qin Qizhao bear to let his own younger brother endure such pain.
"I know..." Qin Qizhao lowered his head, pursed his lips, and trembled.
But what Qin Qizhao didn't understand was why Feng Tingliu didn't immediately deal with Qin Qimu but instead summoned him in... What was the reason for this.
Could it be that Feng Tingliu thought he was Qin Qimu's accomplice and wanted to deal with them together. Or...
Qin Qizhao thought for a while, and suddenly a strange thought flashed through his mind.
He looked up in a daze and met Feng Tingliu's gaze. He saw that those blood-red eyes were filled with a smile, as if he was very satisfied with his understanding.
Thinking of his younger brother who depended on him, Qin Qizhao's eyes immediately turned red and tears fell.
Qin Qizhao kowtowed heavily to Feng Tingliu and said in a trembling voice with a crying tone: "I will definitely give the City Lord an explanation for this matter!"
"Very well." Feng Tingliu stood up, raised the corner of his mouth, and actually leaned down. With one hand on Qin Qizhao's shoulder, he said in a low voice, "I'm waiting for your explanation."
Qin Qizhao wiped the tears on his face with his sleeve, gritted his teeth, and staggered to his feet before walking out of the study.
Yu Chi Feng looked at the young man's back in confusion. He turned to look at Feng Tingliu, whose face still had an unchanged smile, and for a moment, he was also confused.
"What is Young Master going to do?"
Feng Tingliu sat back down next to the desk, took a deep breath of the tobacco with a bitter herbal scent, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Liudu City doesn't accept useless people, people who can't survive, or traitors. Do you still remember this?"
Feng Tingliu's crimson eyes looked over. The gaze that had just been smiling was now so cold that Yu Chi Feng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.