“Grandfather Yang had saved Grandfather Chang, and after coming to Chang’an, the two of them formed a friendship because of that life-saving grace. Not long after, they arranged a marriage between their children.”

In the prison, what Wei Fu was talking about with Second Master Su at this moment was also this matter.

“The mountain bandits were that fierce. How could Grandfather Yang escape alone without even a scratch on him?” Wei Fu said this and shook his head. “It didn’t make sense!”

“Seeing the way those mountain bandits treated Grandfather Chang, how could they spare Grandfather Yang for no reason?” Wei Fu said. “How could Grandfather Yang possibly have been, just as he claimed, an ordinary merchant who was also captured?”

Second Master Su lowered his head and said dejectedly, “You’re right, sir! The man surnamed Yang was one of those bandits!”

Wei Fu didn’t seem surprised at all. They had long suspected the identity of the Yang family, but they lacked evidence!

Now, with Second Master Su’s testimony, their suspicions were confirmed.

“Back then, the man surnamed Yang had a conflict with them…” At this point, as if remembering something, a strange look suddenly appeared on Master Su’s face. “It’s quite interesting, sir. Do you know why the man surnamed Yang had a conflict with those thieves back then?”

Wei Fu glanced at the strange look on Second Master Su’s face, coughed lightly, and continued, “What conflict?”

Before speaking, Second Master Su looked at Wei Fu and asked, “Lord Wei, were you unaware of these matters before?”

Wei Fu glanced at him and sneered, “Second Master Su doesn’t want to say?”

This sneer startled Second Master Su, who quickly waved his hand and said, “Of course not, sir, you’ve misunderstood me!” Before Wei Fu could speak again, Second Master Su hurriedly said, “I wanted to ask you, sir, that I’m cooperating and confessing; isn’t that enough?”

Seeing the obsequious look on Second Master Su’s face, Wei Fu glanced at him and pointed to the clerk behind him, saying, “Every word spoken in the Dali Temple is recorded; there’s no room for falsehood!”

When these words came out, Second Master Su finally let out a breath of relief and spoke: “That Yang fellow had actually been someone with influence among them. He was considered a ‘brain’ who came up with plans, and inside their group, he was called the ‘military adviser.’ In the end, because a conflict arose over the seizure of a noblewoman, he chose to slip away without saying a word.”

That bandits who killed and plundered for years even had a “military adviser” was truly laughable! Wei Fu found it a little absurd, but his expression did not show it. He only looked at Second Master Su and said, “They had killed people for years. How could a conflict arise just because of a single noblewoman they robbed?”

These ruthless killers, who had long since ceased to value human life, were they really going to suddenly have a change of heart?

Second Master Su shook his head: “I don’t know the exact name or identity of that young lady. After all, it happened decades ago!”

“I only know that she was from the imperial clan, extremely wealthy, and of noble status. She was kidnapped while traveling!” Second Master Su said. “The pampered young lady had never seen anything like this before. She was terrified and willing to pay to save her life. It was on this issue of whether or not to kill her that the Yang fellow had a conflict with those people!”

“Those people didn’t want things to get complicated and wanted to kill her directly, but the man surnamed Yang wanted to release her!” Second Master Su’s expression became strange again as he said this. “The man surnamed Yang was tempted! But not by the young lady herself, but by her wealth and the power behind her…”

This situation sounded so familiar that Wei Fu only paused for a moment before blurting out, “Isn’t this exactly the same situation as that young master Yang?”

“That’s exactly it!” Second Master Su nodded, his expression growing increasingly strange. “So many years have passed, generations have gone by, and this grandfather and grandson really do look alike!”

As for the final outcome…

“The Yang family’s plan was brilliant, and those people weren’t stupid either! If they killed the noblewoman, her wealth could be divided equally among everyone; if they let her go, she could indeed get more money, but that money would belong to the Yang family alone!” Second Master Su said. “I’ve heard them sneer whenever they talk about those days after drinking, saying that their ancestors knew Yang’s character all too well, and once it’s in Yang’s mouth, there’s no way he’ll spit it out!”

“So, taking advantage of Yang’s inattention, those people secretly killed the noblewoman,” Master Su said. “They thought that since she was dead, Yang would have no choice but to give up, but unexpectedly, perhaps fearing they would turn on him, Yang suddenly packed his things and secretly ran away in the middle of the night!”

“When he fled, he also took a rice shop vendor surnamed Chang with him!” said Second Master Su. “Those people knew Yang’s character well, and Yang was no pushover either. I heard that he also took a huge handle on them when he left, which made them afraid to act rashly!”

As for what the handle was…

“I joined later, unlike their fathers, who were already there, so I don’t know much about it!” said Second Master Su. “However, Yang was cunning. Because he took the rice shop vendor with him, those people thought the goods were hidden in the rice shop vendor’s house. So they found some thugs to cause trouble for the Chang family. The poor Chang family didn’t know the inside story. Because Yang helped them, they were grateful to him and even arranged a marriage between their children. Little did they know that this whole thing was caused by Yang!”

“Later, they realized that the Chang family was just a decoy, and they found that the handle had been taken, so they ‘temporarily cut off contact’ with Yang.”

“After Mr. Yang died, his son’s cloth shop business was only so-so. Eager to make money, he actually contacted those people!” Second Master Su said. “At that time, I also got involved. Mr. Yang used the cloth shop business as a cover to secretly help them find buyers like the owner of Linliu Village, and he pocketed the money!”

“Mr. Yang was cunning. He held leverage over those people, so they dared not act rashly, but he forgot that those ‘nobles’ who sought to have people buried alive with them were not easy to deal with. Presumably, to prevent this matter from leaking out, Mr. Yang was silenced!” Second Master Su said. “It was those buyers who did it!”

So that was how Master Yang died back then! Wei Fu suddenly understood.

“When it was this Yang’s turn, he contacted us too,” said Second Master Su. “But since I was already the go-between, he wasn’t included, so he volunteered to be the bait!”

“But when he saw the fish was too big, he changed his mind!” Second Master Su’s face showed a hint of disdain as he said this. “But he’s already lost a grandfather and a father, and the person in charge of this group has changed. The newcomer wasn’t as easy to talk to as the old one. To appease us, he sent Miss Chang over!”

“The Chang family is a bunch of fools. They shielded Yang from trouble back then, and now this young lady has been sent here by Young Master Yang to die!” Second Master Su clicked his tongue as he said this. “Ah, how pitiful!”

His sighing tone made him sound like some great philanthropist! Wei Fu sneered, “This Young Master Yang is certainly no good, but what kind of kind people are you to send all these young women to be sacrificed alive?”

They’re nothing but evil spirits wearing human skin masks!

(End of Chapter)

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