Rescuing the Captives

The three-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye.

At dusk, as the sun sank in the west, Lin Qing slipped away from Benevolent World Hall.

He had taken care to disguise himself. He wore a dark gray martial outfit, a gray cloth mask over his face, and a wrapped horizontal saber on his back.

His qi and blood surged within him, the strength of the Tendon Opening Realm coursing through his limbs and bones. It left him less apprehensive about the coming operation and more confident.

As agreed, he went to the abandoned, crumbling Land God Temple on Ten Mile Slope outside the city.

The setting sun veiled the broken walls in gauzy light, lending the place an even more desolate air of secrecy.

Zhang Shun was already waiting there.

He had changed into a neat outfit for moving at night and wore a mask as well. His face still held its usual boldness.

But deep in his eyes, there was more gravity and urgency than usual.

"Junior Brother Lin, right on time!"

Zhang Shun came forward and spoke in a low voice.

"Senior Brother Zhang."

Lin Qing cupped his hands and glanced around. "Just the two of us?"

"That's right."

Zhang Shun nodded, his eyes sharp.

"This matter must be kept quiet. The fewer people who know, the better."

"I trust you, so I invited you along."

He paused, a trace of ruthlessness showing on his face. He stopped concealing the truth and went straight to the point. "To be honest, Junior Brother, the mission changed at the last minute. Today, our target is Pan Family Manor, twenty li outside the city."

"Pan Family Manor?"

Lin Qing's gaze sharpened. What a narrow world.

He hadn't expected to cross paths with the Pan Family again so soon.

"That's the one!"

Zhang Shun spat, his tone full of contempt.

"The Pan Family's second young master, Pan Zhongyou, is known as Pan Three-Inch. He's a good-for-nothing libertine, a wolf hungry for women."

"Relying on his elder brother's influence and his younger sister, who's a concubine to the county magistrate, he acts like he owns the world!"

"This manor is his secret den for debauchery. No one knows where he lures or abducts all those respectable women from, but he brings them here to abuse and toy with them."

He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. "I know of at least three or five cases that ended in death. In the end, the Pan Family used its money and influence to bury them all."

"The victims had no way to seek justice. They could only swallow their grief while their families were torn apart!"

Lin Qing listened in silence, his face growing colder beneath his mask.

Pan Yun had been relentlessly aggressive, and the Pan Family's younger generation behaved this way as well.

The Pan Family really was a nest of venomous snakes.

"Why are you so invested in this, Senior Brother?"

Lin Qing asked. He needed to know Zhang Shun's real motive.

At the question, a complicated look crossed Zhang Shun's face, mingled with pity.

He fell silent for a moment before answering in a lowered voice. "Among the women taken to the manor a while back, there was one who used to live next door to me. The neighbors all called her Widow Zhang."

He paused, seeming to drift into memory. "Her husband died young. She ran a flatbread stall on her own. Life was hard, but she was strong-willed and kind."

"We grew up together. We never crossed the line, but... sigh!"

He let out a breath and said no more.

The sorrow in his eyes said everything.

"I can't stand by and watch that beast Pan Three-Inch ruin her and beat her to death!"

"This change of plans was my own decision, made in private. It has nothing to do with the martial school or the association."

"Junior Brother Lin, if you think the risk is too great, you can back out now. I won't hold it against you!"

Lin Qing looked at Zhang Shun.

His usually boisterous senior brother now had a look of utter resolve in his eyes.

He was testing Lin Qing, and he was pleading with him as well.

This private trust weighed more than any mission from the association.

Lin Qing didn't deliberate for long.

The Pan Family was his enemy, the Pan Family's own members had committed these evils, and Zhang Shun's plea accorded with the chivalry in his heart. Whether for public or private reasons, he had no cause to back down.

"If you trust me, Senior Brother, how could I be the sort to shrink back?"

Lin Qing's voice rang through his mask, filled with fervor.

The Pan Family threw its weight around every day and had offended plenty of people.

Now that he had a chance to cause them trouble, he certainly wouldn't refuse.

"I'll go with you to Pan Family Manor."

"Good! A true brother!" Zhang Shun slapped Lin Qing hard on the shoulder, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"I, Zhang Shun, will remember this kindness."

They said no more. Taking advantage of the last cover of sunset, they set off like two shadows, racing toward Pan Family Manor.

The manor sat in a secluded mountain hollow, surrounded by tall walls, deep courtyards, and trees—a perfect place to hide every kind of filth.

Once they arrived, the two hid at a distance and watched, memorizing the guards' patrol patterns and the gaps between shifts.

It wasn't until midnight, beneath a moonless, starless sky, that the moment came.

Both were skilled martial artists, quick and nimble. They dealt with several visible guards and hidden checkpoints, then silently vaulted over the tall wall and landed inside.

A few lights glimmered around the manor. Most of it lay in dark silence, except for a delicate courtyard in the back, which was still brightly lit. Faint sounds of revelry drifted from within.

Zhang Shun had clearly scouted the route beforehand. He signaled to Lin Qing, then led him through the shadows of ornamental trees and rockeries toward the courtyard.

The closer they got, the more strongly they smelled cosmetics mingled with alcohol.

The courtyard was lightly guarded. Pan Zhongyou must have thought the place so secret that no one would dare interrupt his fun.

The two found a blind spot and climbed up the wall like geckos. They crouched low, gently lifted a roof tile, and peered down.

The room was lavishly furnished, with thick carpets covering the floor and candles blazing.

A middle-aged man in brocade, his face dark and sinister, was drinking and carousing with two women in disheveled clothes, their smiles forced.

"Pan Yun? What's he doing here?"

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes, killing intent surging in his heart.

In the shadow of a corner, three or four women were huddled together.

Each was tall and slender, but their clothes were in tatters, revealing shocking lash marks. Some wounds were even still bleeding.

Their eyes were vacant and numb, like soulless puppets. They huddled there, trembling, barely breathing.

Lin Qing glanced over them, and an inexplicable anger flared in his chest.

Every one of them had long, straight legs. Pan Three-Inch had clearly sought them out for that very reason.

He was short himself, so he took pleasure in humiliating tall women.

What a twisted perversion. He was worse than a beast!

Zhang Shun's gaze was fixed on a woman lying face-down on the floor.

Though her face was smeared with blood and her long hair hung loose,

her delicate features and long legs were still faintly recognizable. It was Widow Zhang.

She seemed to have suffered even worse torment and lay motionless on the floor.

Only the faint rise and fall of her back showed that she was still alive.

"The young master's coming tomorrow. I'll teach you a lesson today. If you still don't learn to behave, I'll beat you to death."

Pan Yun sneered.

"You villain! I'd rather die than submit!"

Widow Zhang gritted out.

Zhang Shun's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. His breathing grew ragged, and he could barely hold himself back.

Lin Qing gently pressed a hand to his shoulder, signaling him to stay calm.

"The man downstairs isn't Pan Zhongyou," Lin Qing whispered.

"I know. He's Pan Zhongyou's lackey. I called you here because Pan Three-Inch isn't here today," Zhang Shun whispered back.

Lin Qing nodded inwardly. Killing a young master of the Pan Family would be no small matter; the family would surely fly into a rage.

But making a move now wouldn't cause too much trouble.

They exchanged a glance and decided to wait until Pan Yun fell asleep or left before acting.

About half an hour later, Pan Yun seemed overcome by the wine. He waved away the women beside him.

Staggering, he went into the inner bedroom. Soon, snores came from within.

The women attending him in the outer room were also greatly relieved and quietly slipped away.

The moment had come.