Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 380 - 379: Spare Me, Hero

The old steward looked eagerly at Yan Daoxin, clearly not understanding what "soul detachment" was all about.

Yan Daoxin, slightly impatient, pursed his lips: "It’s like this, even though the person appears to be asleep and unaware of their surroundings, they act as if they’re awake, capable of walking, talking, and doing tasks!"

"Oh, oh! Exactly! Exactly! You’re absolutely right, sir!" The old steward suddenly realized, nodding quickly in agreement, "That’s exactly how it is. I don’t know how the Fortress Lord does it, but those people just seem to be awake while actually unaware of who they are, where they are, or why they’re doing things."

Although Yan Daoxin usually joked around and was easygoing with Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, he was not like that with others, carrying a certain arrogance.

Now seeing the sleazy old steward calling him "grandfather" with every sentence, his expression looked as if he saw maggots in his food, utterly disgusted.

"If you dare call me ’grandfather’ again with that shameless face, I’ll make sure that for the rest of your life, every time you open your mouth, all that comes out are pig noises," Yan Daoxin said through gritted teeth to the old steward.

The old steward, though unsure of Yan Daoxin’s identity and background, was certain from his demeanor and the presence of these formidable individuals that he couldn’t afford to offend any of them, so he quickly changed his tone: "Oh brave heroes! Great warriors! Sirs! This old man knows his mistakes, I truly do!

No matter what you require of me, I shall comply without question!"

"When exactly will your master return?" Lu Qing asked.

The old steward, with a bitter expression, shook his head: "At this point, how could I dare hide anything from you! I genuinely want to save my own life!

The Fortress Lord is always on the move, returning unpredictably. Sometimes he’s away for three to five days, sometimes over a month, but not usually longer.

After all, we don’t know how to prepare the hot soup and incense for those people, and if the supplies run out during his absence, we’d be at a loss."

"How much longer will your supply of hot soup and incense last?" Zhu Yu asked, following his line of thought.

The old steward thought for a moment: "There’s about half a month’s supply left, so I estimate the Fortress Lord will be back soon. It shouldn’t be too long."

This news was decent for the group to hear.

Yan Daoxin glanced distastefully at the old Shopkeeper, then turned to Lu Qing and asked: "Do any of you have more questions? If not, hurry and lock this old swine away!

Every time I see his face, I remember him calling us grandfather, and it’s nightmare-inducing!"

Zhu Yu barely suppressed a laugh, maintaining a stern expression without showing any emotion.

Although she had been dressing as a man lately, she inherently knew her female identity, so the old steward’s repeated "grandfather" calls were just an act of submission she didn’t take seriously.

However, from the perspective of Yan Daoxin and the others, genuine men, being called "grandfather" by someone who specialized in deceit and harmed innocent locals seemed indeed repugnant.

Lu Qing waved his hand, and Talisman nodded, reaching into his robe to pull out a pill prepared by Yan Daoxin. He stepped forward and pinched the old steward’s jaw, forcing the pill into his mouth.

The old steward, startled, didn’t even have time to struggle or beg for mercy before the pill dissolved in his mouth, leaving a bitter taste. His eyes rolled back, and his head drooped as he lost consciousness.

Fu Lu stepped in as well, untying the rope from the tree and securely binding the old steward, wrapping him like a cocoon, and then they each grabbed an end of the rope, hauling him out of the courtyard—likely to be locked away with the other subdued guards.

"How long will that pill keep him asleep?" Zhu Yu asked Yan Daoxin.

Yan Daoxin brushed his sleeve, as if the old steward’s dirty presence had soiled him, but spoke with his usual confidence: "Not too long; he should remain unconscious for the better part of a day, possibly regaining some awareness by tomorrow night."

After saying this, his expression suddenly changed, and he called out, "Talisman, Fu Lu! Come back here!"

Though they had gone quite a distance, Talisman’s and Fu Lu’s sharp ears picked up the call, and they returned with the unconscious old steward in tow.

"Divine Doctor, what are your orders?" Fu Lu asked quizzically, "This guy’s completely out of it; your pill works wonders."

"I know, I know, that’s why I called you back!" Yan Daoxin said while rummaging through his sleeve, "No way I’m letting him off that easy! He abetted the villain, causing the deaths of countless innocent villagers, and now you think I’ll let him sleep peacefully from the drugs? No way!"

He pulled out a porcelain bottle, extracted another pill, and had Talisman open the steward’s mouth to force it in.

The anti-narcotic was as quick to work as the sedative; the old steward’s throat barely twitched before, in a breath’s time, he awoke.

Upon awakening, he found himself bound tightly on the ground and begged for mercy in a frightened voice, on the verge of tears: "Spare me, brave hero! I beg for my life!"

"This guy, together with that phony Fortress Lord, kept giving the innocent villagers soporifics to make them work while slowly starving them, even using their blood for the flowers, an outrageous villainy not to be let off easily!"

Yan Daoxin ignored the old Shopkeeper’s wailing and turned to Lu Qing as he spoke.

Lu Qing nodded in understanding: "We’ll do as you suggest. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Talisman, Fu Lu, take him away and isolate him, silence him so he doesn’t disturb others with his wailing. Deprive him of food and drink so he may experience the anguish of hunger and thirst.

This is the price for his complicity in oppressing the villagers."

"Yes!" Talisman and Fu Lu felt this was justified and eagerly complied with the order.

"Mercy, brave heroes! Mercy!" The old steward hadn’t expected they’d spare his life but make him suffer. Terrified, he began to wail, "The white-clothed hero didn’t say anything..."

As he was carried off by Talisman and Fu Lu, the sounds from outside soon faded, possibly from moving out of earshot or because he’d already been silenced.