Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 665 - 656: The Zhao Family of Cold Spring City
The night descended once more, and the once quiet city during the day gradually became lively.
"How many days has it been?" Huang Niu'Er's mind was a bit hazy, struggling to lift his head and look outside through the small window.
However, after the bright daylight vanished, it was still the familiar flickering of candlelight; he could only see the trees in the courtyard and half of a white flower.
In his dreams, the granny with a kindly smile who controlled the puppet to save him turned out to be an illusion.
"Wuwuwu... Granny, I'm sorry, I know I was wrong, please come and save me..." The cold chains were chafing against his already exposed bones, and he whimpered softly.
Even now, Huang Niu'Er still fantasized that after Granny Huang was successfully rescued and healed, she would still remember the child she raised with her own hands. Thus, she decided to track down Zhao Gui's lair, and eventually, with the expert who rescued her, they would trace back to rescue him, allowing him to see the light of day again!
"Granny, give me one more chance, I beg you to come save me quickly. As long as you come to save me, from now on Huang Niu'Er will obey you in everything and will never act foolishly again!" He muttered to himself, relying solely on fantasy as his mental support.
He was so desperate to be saved that he deliberately forgot how he personally dealt with the benefactor who raised him during the interrogation in the basement.
That day, the situation was urgent, and when Zhao Gui teleported to escape, he took Huang Niu'Er with him, making him extremely touched.
He thought the other party really cared about his safety and risked everything to lead them to escape, but what he didn't expect was that upon arriving at this more luxurious house in the city, Zhao Gui turned hostile!
Huang Niu'Er was in the middle of dreaming about living in a bigger, more luxurious house and becoming a young master, but the next second, he was stripped of his luxurious magical robe, his golden crown and hairpins were yanked away, and he was thrown into the underground water prison—Zhao Gui wanted immortality and insisted that he figure out the Longevity Technique that Granny Huang held, or else he'd be unable to live or die!
He, an apprentice who was lazy and unambitious, unable to even make the simplest puppet, how could he possibly comprehend the intricate methods that Granny Huang couldn't ascertain her entire life?
Unable to provide useful information, he would have to suffer hardship and pain!
After Zhao Gui escaped, there was no news of his father, and the patriarch of the vast family suddenly disappeared; anxious to fight for the position of patriarch, greedy for the Longevity Technique, yet too afraid to go back to find Old Lady Huang, he could only target this little calf.
At least he couldn't really kill him, or else there genuinely wouldn't be any clues left. Zhao Gui was banking on slowly torturing him so that the memory restoration technique might take effect in the throes of fear and pain, perhaps making him recall the vital clues to immortality that had been overlooked in daily life by Granny Huang.
"Splash..."
The water gate started releasing water again, and upon hearing this sound, Huang Niu'Er reflexively shivered all over.
This city was famous for its cold springs, and the massive Zhao estate naturally drew in the spring water.
This water was bone-chilling, containing a kind of carnivorous small fish whose sharp teeth could tear off a strip of flesh with a single bite, the blood would attract more of its kind until the trapped person was gnawed into a skeleton. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Of course, Huang Niu'Er, who grew up in the market and had never encountered something like this, wouldn't know, but couldn't resist Zhao Gui's "enthusiastic" introduction, making him fear whether he would end up as a live skeleton while being bitten.
"No, no more water! Brother Zhao, I'm begging you, let me go! I'll do whatever you want! Please..." He began to cry in fear, his struggles causing the chains to jingle.
Yet the only response he got was Zhao Gui's lazy voice, "Little Calf, it's not that Brother Zhao is ruthless, but those folks provoked by your granny were too fierce, enraging the entire family.
I have no choice, just keeping your life intact took a lot of my pleading. As long as you can remember the Longevity Technique your granny casually mentioned, not only can you atone for your mistakes, but you can also go back to living a life of prosperity again."
With that, Zhao Gui scooped three cold spring tooth fish from the bucket and threw them into the water prison.
These fish were very small, but their mouths were full of sharp teeth and quite fierce, though given their size, two or three could at most gnaw the leg meat to a bloody mess but wouldn't cause death.
What he wanted was for Huang Niu'Er to experience the pain and fear of being bitten bite by bite by the cold spring tooth fish, which was far more convenient and effective than whipping or beating with a stick.
After waiting a while, the water level in the water prison rose just enough to reach Huang Niu'Er's nose and mouth; to avoid drowning, he had to exert all his effort to keep upright, a moment of slack would have him choking on the freezing water.
"Wuwuwu... No more biting! Help! Somebody save me! Granny, granny save me!" Huang Niu'Er's scarred legs were soaking in the spring water, the medicine Zhao Gui applied during the day washed away and started to seep blood again, and the three newly added cold spring tooth fish frantically pounced to bite.
Listening to his wailing cries, Zhao Gui couldn't help but be a little impressed—this kid was really damn resilient! Even half-dead he could still scream so loudly.
The problem was, despite being tortured persistently, Huang Niu'Er still couldn't say anything, making Zhao Gui more anxious, indicating that the old lady really hadn't passed on the Longevity Technique to the little calf.
Seeing the chance of obtaining the Longevity Technique slipping away, Zhao Gui grew more frustrated, simultaneously increasing his hatred for Huang Niu'Er.
Such an idiot, clearly possessing the Longevity Technique yet unable to cherish it, not even thinking to extract and grasp it early on, truly stupid to death! Of course, if he weren't that dumb, there'd be no chance for manipulation.
"Sigh... Keeping on like this isn't a solution, holding a good hand full of cards and playing them to a rotten mess, and several days going by without any movement from dad, what can I do?" Zhao Gui scratched his head, listening to Huang Niu'Er's heart-rending cries from outside, feeling particularly annoyed.
As the Patriarch, Father loved power to death, handling everything big and small himself. With his high cultivation realm and long lifespan, he couldn't bear to nurture the next Patriarch.
Now, suddenly, he's vanished without a trace, throwing the entire Zhao Family into chaos.
No one dares to investigate the situation at the other courtyard, fearing that the old man is truly dead. If even he, with such a high realm, couldn't handle it, what if the enemy is ambushing there? Wouldn't going there be suicide?
No one could take charge, but when it comes to seizing profitable businesses, nobody hesitates. Zhao Gui, lacking power and backing, couldn't compete and was frustrated after facing setbacks with Huang Niu'Er.
"How about visiting Cold Spring Temple?" he secretly considered a way out.
On the surface, the four major families in Cold Spring City—Zhao, Liu, Wang, and Lu—stand side by side, but in truth, the most powerful is Cold Spring Temple!
The city has no City Lord, and the head of Cold Spring Temple, with the highest cultivation, stays in seclusion all year round. If he could gain the support of the Buddhist Cultivators, taking control of the Zhao Family would be within reach!
"Young Master, what about that little calf?"
His trusted follower sneaked over and whispered, "The Eldest Young Master heard you've been occupying the dungeon for some time and is quite displeased. Now, there are the most people in the family following the Eldest Young Master. Shouldn't we lie low for a bit? We might as well sell that useless calf."
Zhao Gui frowned slightly, "Sell?"
"Heh heh, the usual practice—drug him until he's an obedient mute idiot and sell him directly. With his looks, if we find someone who likes them young, he could fetch some Spirit Stones."
"No realm to speak of, what a fool, how many Spirit Stones can he sell for?" He wasn't familiar with the sales channels and was a bit reluctant—after all, if the little calf suddenly remembered some valuable intel, it could be far more worthwhile than selling him for a few Spirit Stones.
His follower smirked, lowering his voice, "You don't know, do you? Many people like these tender little kids, playing with them is even more fun than with women!
I've heard those with a taste for this even scout for young apprentices at the Market. They're poorly fed and clothed, doing laborious work all the time. Just give them some benefits, and they'd happily follow along.
When taken back... heh, we all know the fate of catamites—either they're drained early on and sold as slaves or cruelly killed, then replaced with another. As for the price, that calf is kept fair and cute. If we find the right buyer, three to five thousand Spirit Stones wouldn't be out of the question."
"Oh? It's worth that much?" Zhao Gui's eyes widened suddenly.
No wonder Father was keen to develop the business of trafficking children and women. A fellow with no capital can resell for thousands of Spirit Stones. If this goes on, even without discussing other businesses, just handling this could bring in hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones in revenue for the family!
"I tell you, Young Master, you must be more mindful." His follower said with urgency, "The Eldest Young Master controls the underground casino business, which is highly profitable. With money on hand, he has many supporters.
You need to get familiar with the business quickly. Even this little demon, if we can't find a buyer with special tastes, we could sell him to those Evil Cultivators who like torturing to enhance strength. The price is lower, but those guys are not picky..."
Zhao Gui, being persuaded, turned back to the dungeon window and looked inside. Seeing Huang Niu'Er straining to keep himself from drowning, he asked, "Niu'Er, have you recalled any valuable intel yet?"
"I-I really don't know!" Huang Niu'Er cried. He had considered deceiving them for temporary relief, but his lack of skill in lying quickly exposed him, resulting in more brutal beatings.
He dared not lie anymore and couldn't think of anything useful from Granny Huang's endless chatter.
His bare legs were being bitten by the Cold Spring Fish, and he was terrified, fearing they might chew him down to bare bones. He cried and begged for mercy.
"If that's so, there's nothing I can do." Zhao Gui lost patience and motioned to his follower, "Drug him then. Make him a mute idiot, get his injuries treated, find a buyer and sell him. Remember to bring back the money for our account."
His follower grinned slyly, "Young Master has finally come around. I know someone who loves this type, and I'll have it arranged to fetch a good price."
After speaking, he whispered again, "Have you planned how to claim a share of the family's wealth? There's been a lot of private activity in the different branches these past two days; you need to plan quickly, or you might not even get to eat the scraps left over."
Zhao Gui lowered his voice, "I have always been close with Master Zhiming from Cold Spring Temple. If he can lend me a hand, with Cold Spring Temple's support, the Patriarch position is mine!"
His follower's face suddenly changed, "Cold Spring Temple? Young Master, have you gone mad? Everyone knows Cold Spring Temple is the most important force guarding the entire city. They're especially adept at dealing with cultivators like us.
In the past, the Patriarch protected us, so no one knew about our real business. If you get too close to the monks and get exposed, aren't you walking right into a trap?"
"They say Cold Spring Temple's sacred treasure can detect Evil Cultivators, but after so many years, hasn't our family been just fine?
I visit the monks often and have never been exposed.
It's enough to show that those rumors are false. I'll first test the waters. If I can get their help and secure the Patriarch position, I'll make you Chief Steward!" Zhao Gui dismissed it casually, creating a pleasant illusion, and flew on his sword straight to Cold Spring Temple.
