Chapter 120
The bookkeeper, smashed until his head was broken and bleeding, stared blankly at Wang Jin as if he had never known him before.
A team of beastman guards, led by Yuan Heng, rushed in, each one fierce and menacing. The bookkeeper's face instantly turned deathly pale, and even the finger pointing at Wang Jin trembled.
Finally, seeing Xiao Xiao and Xiao He kneeling at the door, trembling with fear, the bookkeeper's legs went weak. He walked in front of Wang Jin and knelt down.
"Young master, I... I... know nothing. I only listened to... listened to the two of them..."
Wang Jin took a deep breath, suppressing the anger eager to pour out. "Hand over all the silver in the accounts room, and the account books..."
"This..." The bookkeeper secretly glanced at Xiao Xiao and Xiao He.
The two were so terrified by the beastmen surrounding them that they didn't even dare to raise their heads. Seeing this, the bookkeeper, his legs shaking, stood up and gathered the silver to give to Wang Jin.
The entire accounts room yielded only a small bag of silver, not even equivalent to the one ingot Wang Jin had given to Uncle Shan the previous night.
"..." Uncle Shan, witnessing this, was even more agitated than Wang Jin. "The young master receives a monthly allowance from the city lord for the pavilion's expenses. The young master hasn't been here lately, but the city lord has never shortchanged the pavilion. How could only this little be left?"
Cold sweat broke out on the bookkeeper's forehead. He wiped it with a trembling hand, his lips quivering. "This... this... the pavilion spent it all..."
"How was it spent?" Uncle Shan asked. "Where are the account books?!"
"..." The bookkeeper hemmed and hawed, unable to give a clear answer. Uncle Shan was furious and wanted to press further.
Wang Jin raised his hand to stop Uncle Shan from speaking. He picked up the silver, hefted it in his hand—it was about what he expected, only enough left for the servants' food and drink... not a bit more...
Fortunately, he had gotten some from his brother last night.
Wang Jin carried the silver over to Xiao Xiao and Xiao He and threw the money bag in front of them. "Speak. Where did the rest of the money go? Where are the account books now?"
"...This... we don't know?" Seeing they were subdued, Xiao Xiao and Xiao He exchanged a glance, seeming to communicate something, then simultaneously pretended ignorance.
Wang Jin's anger flared seeing their pretence. He had roughly learned about the original owner's past in the pavilion during this time.
He swept his gaze over the people kneeling on the ground. These people, who had been so arrogant and domineering before, were now kneeling obediently, trembling, as if they were the ones terribly wronged... The more they acted like this... the greater Wang Jin's rage became...
Perhaps, before, they had always put on this act in front of others, making people think everyone in the pavilion served the original owner diligently. It was also their glib talk that easily interrupted and misled the tongue-tied original owner when he wanted to complain about his grievances. And it was their scheming minds that led them to bully the original owner.
Although the original owner was timid, he treated others with kindness, was considerate to his family, gentle and peaceful...
He never mistreated anyone. In Wang Jin's time in Ning'an City, he had never heard anyone spread rumors of the original owner being malicious towards others. He even preferred being bullied himself to causing trouble for Xi Ning...
He never thought of seeking revenge when bullied...
When his food, drink, and allowance were taken by others, from conversations with Uncle Shan, Wang Jin knew he never held a grudge...
Should such a gentle and peaceful person, just because he was a bit weak and timid, deserve to be bullied like this?!
If Xi Ning, who doted so much on Xi Yao, found out, how heartbroken would he be...
The more Wang Jin thought about it, the angrier he became. He directly lifted his foot and kicked over the ringleaders, Xiao Xiao and Xiao He.
The two, suddenly kicked, showed some anger in their eyes but were too intimidated by the surrounding beastmen to move.
"Hit them," Wang Jin pointed at the kneeling people and said to the beastmen around. "It doesn't matter if you kill them."
Wang Jin was so angry his shoulders were trembling slightly. His clear eyes held not only hatred but also heartache... His always clear eyes were tinged with a bit of darkness, the corners reddened as if he had suffered great injustice...
The man's fingertips twitched, his knuckles moving slightly. He stepped forward and held Wang Jin's shoulders, gently patting one shoulder to comfort him...
His heart felt as if it had been fiercely clawed a few times, and now those claw marks were bleeding profusely... It hurt so much he could hardly bear it.
"Do you need me to throw them to the ferocious beasts?" Yuan Heng asked softly from the side.
Wang Jin was startled upon hearing this. He was this angry and hateful because he had learned about the original owner's past from Uncle Shan and various encounters... But the man knew nothing...
Wang Jin's full rage was somewhat doused by the man's gentle question. He patted Yuan Heng's hand and shook his head lightly.
Throw them to the ferocious beasts? I'm afraid that would be too cheap for them...
Rage is easy to extinguish, hatred is hard to eliminate.
Wang Jin glanced at Yuan Heng and Uncle Shan beside him, pursed his lips and said, "Brother Heng, I want to handle this matter myself. Why don't you and Uncle Shan wait outside for me?"
He didn't want the man to see his too fierce side...
"..." Yuan Heng paused, a trace of hesitation in his light-colored pupils, but it was soon replaced by tenderness. "Alright."
He agreed and went out with Uncle Shan.
Shortly after they left, louder screams were heard.
"..." The man's knuckles tightened.
Since stepping out, the man's eyes hadn't left that tightly shut door. Although he appeared calm on the surface, the worry in his eyes couldn't be concealed...
Uncle Shan, seeing this, stepped forward. His expression lacked Yuan Heng's worry, but instead held a wanton sense of retaliation. "If the young master can be like this, this old man can rest assured."
"?" Yuan Heng looked at Uncle Shan in confusion.
Uncle Shan said, "Young Master Yuan, you don't know this, but the servants in this pavilion have always bullied the young master... They often beat the young master. Those people have many tricks, often they could hit the young master without leaving any scars on him. So much so that besides me and the young master, no one else knew about this..."
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