Chapter 776
Bo 1
"That would be best!!!"
Tang Long gave Butler Jiang a cold glance.
Although the situation was pretty much the same for them, once Butler Jiang had done it, there was no turning back.
However...
Should we kill him next?
Tang Long glanced at Butler Jiang, who was still lost in his dream of dividing up the gold.
This greedy man probably hasn't realized what Tang Long is thinking yet.
However, Tang Long was indeed considering whether or not to do this.
If that's the case, killing him would indeed be an option, since all the gold would be ours if Steward Jiang were killed.
But if we actually do that...
Although I am a despicable and shameless person, I do feel that what I did was unethical, even if I have no morals at all.
Forget it
Should we just kill him afterwards?
After all, only the dead can keep secrets.
Even though Butler Jiang ultimately asked for less and he ended up taking it all, it was still quite good for him.
After all, logically speaking, some of it should indeed be given to Steward Jiang.
But he himself was well aware that even if this guy asked for less...
But I'll still want it.
Ultimately, you'll have to contribute a portion yourself.
And most importantly, what if this guy teams up with others to come after me?!
It's not impossible!
After all, once the money is divided, the only person who knows that he owns this Jiang family gold is none other than the Jiang steward!
So as long as this person still knows, it's not a good thing for me, as they could betray me at any time.
If this guy seizes the opportunity, won't I end up like the Jiang family?!
Therefore, Tang Long would absolutely not allow such a crisis to occur.
Chopping the grass does not remove the roots, but the spring breeze blows and regenerates.
Since Butler Jiang can betray the Jiang family, he can naturally betray us without any scruples.
So at this point, he decided to shut the person who knew the secret up completely.
I'll take care of him once I get the gold.
"Alright, you should go back now, otherwise the Jiang family will become suspicious!"
Having figured this out, Tang Long decided not to let Butler Jiang stay any longer.
Anyway, we've already decided to take them down.
He's just a dead person. There's absolutely no need for me to continue talking to him. What's the point of talking to a dead person?
"I'll head back now!" Butler Jiang nodded, then, as if remembering something, turned to Tang Long and said, "Lord Tang Long, I'll leave after I get the gold."
When the time comes, we'll go our separate ways. If I die, I can't guarantee that the whole world won't find out about this.
"At that time, with so much gold on you, even if you're highly skilled in martial arts, you probably won't be able to withstand it, right?!"
As Butler Jiang spoke, a cunning smile flashed across his face.
It's obvious that Butler Jiang isn't stupid in this matter, and she understands one thing clearly.
I am not safe at this moment.
Ultimately, if he were to actually do that, he wouldn't even know how he died if he didn't have some trump cards up his sleeve.
After all, how could he not know what kind of person Tang Long was?!
Here, everyone knows that Tang Long is a ruthless and unpredictable person.
Cooperating with Tang Long would be like playing with fire; if I didn't make preparations, I could forget about it altogether.
Tang Long will definitely kill him the moment he gets the gold.
While he himself possessed a bit of cleverness, he was utterly weak in martial arts, whereas Tang Long was a martial arts master.
If they want to kill me then, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?!
So how could Butler Jiang possibly do absolutely nothing about this?!
She had originally planned to leave, but Butler Jiang suddenly realized that she should probably tell Tang Long something.
Otherwise, who knows what this guy might be thinking?
Even if Tang Long doesn't benefit from my death, I'll get nothing in return.
This might tear away the facade that the two had carefully constructed.
But for the sake of his own life, he felt it was absolutely necessary to do so.
Hearing Butler Jiang's words, Tang Long's face darkened, and he stared intently at Butler Jiang, saying, "Heh...you really are a cunning fellow!! Aren't you afraid I'll kill you now and just leave?!"
Tang Long was also surprised that this guy had even taken this into account.
Even so, Tang Long was still very unhappy.
Although he did have other intentions, he would kill this guy if he wasn't ready.
But
This is completely different from being threatened. Of course, Tang Long wouldn't be in a good mood about this.
Doing this is tantamount to planting a time bomb for yourself at any moment.
This bomb could explode at any moment. Just thinking about it made him think, why not just kill the other person now and leave?
Anyway, I can just leave.
But
This incident left Tang Long feeling somewhat resentful. Was he really just going to leave like this?
What is this then?!
I absolutely refuse to leave like this!!
After all, what if I really just left like this?
They really did leave like a stray dog.
Then I would have nothing left.
This is absolutely unacceptable to Tang Long.
But aren't you going to leave?!
If we don't leave, even if we do it, won't this situation still remain in the end?!
Is this what I wanted to see?!
This is definitely not what I wanted to see.
He absolutely would not allow any threats to come from behind him.
Tang Long stared intently at Butler Jiang, his eyes like a poisoned dagger.
The cunning smile on Butler Jiang's face froze instantly, like a lake surface frozen by the cold wind, cracking open with a barely perceptible tremor.
He took a half step back, his fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of his faded gray long shirt, which now seemed unusually thin.
The flickering light of the oil lamp in the room stretched and distorted the shadows of the two people, casting them onto the mottled earthen wall like two ghosts lurking in wait.
Although his threat was intended to let Tang Long know that it was best not to attack him.
They have their own trump cards.
But he was also genuinely afraid that if his move didn't have much effect and instead angered Tang Long, it might backfire.
What should we do then?!
Ultimately, Tang Long is just a madman!
Everyone here knows this!
If he really angered Tang Long, he might be beaten to death on the spot.
He then ran away. Although he lost the gold, at least he was gone; for Tang Long, it was simply a fresh start.
But for me, that's not the case.
Thinking of this, his heart skipped a beat.
“Master Tang,” Butler Jiang’s voice was dry, like sandpaper rubbing against wood, “How could I dare to scheme against you? I was just trying to save my own life.”
Just think about it, those wax corpses of the Jiang family, every night when I pass by the corridor, I can hear them scratching at the wooden planks in their coffins.
I stayed there for twenty years, twenty years!
Every day feels like walking on a knife's edge. Now that I've finally got a chance to turn things around, don't I even deserve to save my own life?
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and his eyes even turned a little red, whether from fear or from the long-suppressed grievances finally breaking down.
But Tang Long's eyes remained as cold as iron, unwavering in the slightest.
He knew this kind of person all too well: cowardly and timid in the first half of their life, but once they seize an opportunity, they become greedy and crazy, even willing to gamble everything.
Butler Jiang's show of weakness at this moment was merely to conceal the sliver of hope in his heart: he was betting that Tang Long would not be willing to part with that batch of gold, and that Tang Long would not dare to truly break off relations.
"Save your life?" Tang Long scoffed and slowly approached.
His footsteps were light, yet they seemed to tread on Butler Jiang's heartbeat, each step making her face paler.
"What will save your life? A letter hidden somewhere? Or did you entrust it to some distant relative?"
Butler Jiang, since I know the Jiang family has gold, I can also find out all your connections in this town.
Do I need to mention your sister who married into a neighboring county, and your nephew who's studying at a school in the provincial capital?
Butler Jiang's pupils suddenly contracted, and the last trace of color drained from her face.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; only his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
He didn't know what to do at that moment.
Ultimately...
His trump card was indeed useless against Tang Long in his current state.
Tang Long now knows everything about her.
I was so ashamed that I had always thought I had done something flawless.
But there's something even more important.
That means his methods were no longer effective against Tang Long.
That is
My life was no longer guaranteed at this point.
The air seemed to freeze, and the wick of the oil lamp crackled and burst into a spark, illuminating half of Tang Long's face in a flickering light, like a demon peeking out from hell.
Butler Jiang's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground, barely managing to stand by holding onto the wooden table next to her.
Cold sweat slid down his forehead and dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision.
He knew that Tang Long was truly determined to kill him, not just to silence him after the deed was done, but to make him die on the spot, right now.
But at this critical moment, a thought suddenly flashed through Butler Jiang's mind.
That was the deepest secret he kept in his heart, a trump card that even Tang Long might not be able to find out.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to straighten his back, and tried to calm his voice despite his chattering:
"Master Tang, if you kill me now, you will lose more than just gold. Do you know why the Jiang family has made wax corpses for generations?"
Butler Jiang felt that she had to do something at this point.
Although, if he were to reveal this matter, he might be killed by Tang Long.
But now, even Butler Jiang knew that he had no other options.
Ultimately, this meant that they had reached a point where they were completely out of resources.
So if we don't reveal that secret by now...
Then there's absolutely no way I could survive.
Although Steward Jiang originally intended to take a small amount of gold, after Tang Long and the others had all left...
I took this thing myself.
But looking at it now
I doubt I can do it myself.
His words did indeed stop Tang Long from moving.
Tang Long's hand stopped.
He had indeed investigated the Jiang family and knew that the family had a strange custom of making wax figures of deceased relatives using a special technique and storing them in a secret room in the ancestral hall.
Popular rumors suggest this is to "consolidate the family's fortune," while others say it's because their ancestors were cursed and needed to be sustained with their flesh and blood.
But he didn't delve into the deeper reasons, after all, for Tang Long, his only goal was gold.
But since Butler Jiang brought this up at this time...
Tang Long suddenly became somewhat interested as well.
He wanted to see what exactly was here.
Surprisingly, Butler Jiang believed that revealing this information would save his life.
This guy.
Do you genuinely believe this is achievable, or is there something else at play?
If I say something I don't want to hear later.
In that case, he might as well just kill Butler Jiang.
Although some things were not yet finished, he could already sense that Butler Jiang seemed to be getting out of control.
However, Tang Long's curiosity was indeed piqued.
It has to be said, this has certainly whetted people's appetites.
Seeing what Butler Jiang said, he immediately felt energized.
Could it be that there's something else besides this gold?
If that's the case, then we'll still have to get rid of this Butler Jiang later.
They're really not honest at all!
They actually kept this matter a secret.
"Speak." Tang Long released the hilt of his sword, crossed his arms, but the vigilance in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
Steward Jiang swallowed hard and lowered his voice, saying, "The ancestors of the Jiang family were not ordinary people. They were the tomb officials of the previous dynasty, in charge of the dragon vein sacrifices."
They possess a secret technique that allows them to temporarily seal the soul of the deceased within a wax corpse, using the yin energy to nourish the earth's veins.
What lies beneath the Jiang family's old residence isn't a treasure vault at all, but rather the entrance to a yin vein!
At this point, Butler Jiang couldn't care less about anything else.
This matter was originally a secret, and I only heard about it by chance.
Originally, I wanted to keep this secret to myself.
But there really isn't any other way right now.
If I were truly alive, why would I bother with all this?!
So, at this point, they knew they might die.
Why not take this and give it a shot?
Anyway, he had already decided that if he died, he would definitely not let Tang Long get away with it! (End of this chapter)