The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 102 The Night Ghost's Cry and Laughter
Lin Qian gave Bai Langzai a wink.

Bai Langzai strode forward, punched the man in the stomach, and then pulled him down to the ground.

Bai Qing grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into the man's mouth, then gagged him with a rope and tied his hands together.

The man recovered from the abdominal pain and was about to struggle and whimper when Bai Langzai stomped on his stomach, causing him to faint from the pain.

The siblings worked together in perfect harmony, their movements fluid and seamless, without making a sound.

Lin Qian looked at the pile of wine jars, lost in thought.

It seems that even if the women in the backyard could drink a lot, they couldn't possibly drink this many jars of wine. These jars are piled up here specifically to block the person standing at this foot.

The servants and guards they killed along the way were most likely pre-arranged.

Tonight's catching someone in the act of adultery was no coincidence, but a setup that Lin Qian just happened to stumble upon.

Judging from the sounds coming from outside the preparation room, there were about twenty people.

Footsteps were heard walking into the courtyard, and someone said, "Brother, Aunt Li, come out yourselves."

The woman, referred to as Aunt Li, feigned composure: "What does the Second Young Master mean by breaking into the backyard with his men in the middle of the night?"

……

Negotiations could be heard coming from inside the compound.

Lin Qian understood that if they continued talking, they would definitely be exposed, so she whispered to Bai Langzai, "Take some men around to the back and take care of those outside the wall."

Bai Langzai, leading his men, walked towards the back of the preparation area, and disappeared into the darkness in a moment.

Aside from the preparations, the argument grew increasingly heated.

……

"Search for me!"

"Second Young Master, there is no one in the room."

"Tell me, where did he go?"

"Ha, you call yourself Zhili (meaning 'propriety')? Breaking into your aunt's quarters at night, what kind of manners are you?"

"Go check on the preparations."

Upon hearing this, five or six servants, carrying torches, charged forward like wolves and tigers.

They were all stunned when they reached the entrance of the alley.

"Oh no, a thief has broken in... Ah—"

The servant was stabbed in the face, half of his cheek was sliced ​​off, and he fell into a pool of blood, screaming in agony. Then more steel knives stabbed him, and the servant lost his life in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, more masked men poured out of the alley, hacking at anyone they saw without mercy.

The servants who had been preparing were all carrying wooden sticks, but they were caught off guard and were all chopped down in the blink of an eye.

"Who is it?" Lin Zhili was completely confused about what was happening. Just as he was about to retreat out of the courtyard, he heard screams coming from outside.

Then came the sound of weapons clashing.

The fighting lasted only a moment. With screams of agony, the torches outside the courtyard wall gradually fell to the ground and went out, and soon silence returned to the outside.

Lin Zhili stared in disbelief as the strongmen emerged from the alley, one of them carrying a disheveled scholar on his back.

Lin Zhili recognized the scholar and exclaimed, "Big Brother!"

At this moment, Bai Langzai and the others came in from outside the courtyard and said, "They've all been killed."

Now that their whereabouts have been revealed, there is no need to continue concealing their actions. Lin Qian ordered, "Proceed according to the backup plan. Bring everyone in the household to the women's hall. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes!"

Bai Langzai led his men toward the main courtyard.

Lin Qian said to Bai Qing, "Send orders to both the east and west routes, instructing them to execute the backup plan."

Bai Qing tilted her head back, put her hands to her mouth, and imitated two owl calls.

The sound was like the wailing and laughing of a night ghost, carrying far and wide, making the hairs on the ears of those who heard it stand on end.

Lin Qian glanced at Lin Zhili and the concubine, and said, "Tie these two up too, and take them to the women's hall."

Some crew members went forward to tie up the men, and mud was stuffed into their mouths as well.

Lin Qian then kicked open the main door of the courtyard. A middle-aged woman fell to the ground in fright, her face filled with terror. She must have heard the commotion and was peeking through the doorway.

This is the room of the first wife of the Lin family. She has two sons, named Lin Zhishu and Lin Zhili.

Lin Qian had already memorized the relationships within the Lin family. Although she didn't know these people personally, she had figured out their identities based on their rooms and previous conversations.

"Take her away." Lin Qian pointed to the woman on the ground.

The crew led several prisoners in a chain to the women's hall.

Along the way, they encountered more than ten servants carrying axes and machetes.

Two crew members in leather armor and shields stepped forward first; these ordinary weapons were almost useless against the shields.

The servants were no match for the enemy and were quickly scattered.

Bai Qing wielded a goose-feather saber and moved with extreme agility, killing several people in just a few moves.

Upon seeing this, the remaining servants threw down their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Lin Qian ordered the crew to tie the person up with ropes again.

Lin Qian had arranged for guards to be stationed at all the key locations in the inner palace. Although the servants could hear the sounds of fighting and wanted to gather together, they were unable to do so.

Some of the more timid ones hid under haystacks, wood piles, or stoves.

Those with more courage would take out their weapons, turn a corner, and become victims of the blade.

Therefore, despite the commotion, Lin Qian and her group actually moved even faster.

After passing through several doorways and leaving behind more than ten corpses, Lin Qian arrived at the women's hall.

According to the layout of traditional Chinese architecture, the tea hall, main hall, flower hall, and women's hall are the last hall in the mansion. The women's hall is mainly used for meeting relatives and handling family affairs.

Lin Qian ordered the crew to push the tables and chairs aside and pile the prisoners captured from the Lin residence into the women's hall.

The crew roughly dragged people over and pushed them to the ground, and in an instant, the noble gentlemen, ladies, sons and daughters were all tumbling together.

The men were all bruised and swollen, with tears streaming down their faces, while the women were crying so hard they almost passed out.

Lin Qian called Xie Er to her side and asked, "Take a close look, is anyone in the mansion absent?"

Xie Er looked timid and glanced at the crowd, where most of them were covering their faces and crying.

Lin Qian snapped, "Lift your faces up!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it startled many people, causing them to tremble and lift their faces.

Xie Er glanced at him and stammered, "The...the eldest young master is not here."

Lin Qian kicked something under her feet: "The young master is here."

Xie Er looked down and saw a person lying at his feet, his mouth full of mud and vomit, his hair disheveled, his eyes closed, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.

It was Lin Zhishu who had fainted.

Xie Er trembled: "It's the eldest young master."

Lin Qianhan pressed, "Who else is absent?"

Xie Er had no choice but to glance at them sideways and said, "And the eldest master and Master Lin."

"Here it is!" Lei Sanxiang's voice came from outside the hall.

He was carrying two people in each hand, the two who were not there.

Lei Sanxiang casually tossed the two men to the ground and explained, "They were trying to run out through the front gate, but I caught them."

Lin Qian asked Xie Er, "Are there any people who haven't arrived yet?"

"No...no more."

At this moment, Lin Zhili recognized Xie Er's figure and immediately let out a loud cry.

Although Xie Er was masked, Lin Zhili remembered his figure.

Lei Sanxiang stepped forward and swung his hand in a wide arc, slapping Lin Zhili across the face with a heavy thud.

Lin Zhili's neck bone made a cracking sound, and a spurt of blood shot out from his nose like an arrow, his cheek immediately swelling up.

At this moment, Lin Jiren also recognized Xie Er and was extremely surprised. He had been captured by Lei Sanxiang, but there were no ropes binding him or mud stuffed in his mouth. He stretched out his trembling hand and pointed at Xie Er: "Did you bring the thieves here? Our Lin family has treated you well, why are you treating us like this?"

(End of this chapter)