"Where did you abduct these people from?" Zhu Yu asked.
The old steward trembled: "I’ve never gone out to abduct anyone myself, sirs, you can see it yourselves, at my age, even if I had the intention, I couldn’t execute it!
The people were all brought in by brothers from outside. I can only guess from their clothes and accents when they begged for rcy when they first arrived. Most of them are Lan people, with so being Jin and Shuo people."
"Any Jie people?" This rare question actually ca from Lu Zhang.
"No, no, there really aren’t any," the old steward quickly answered, "The Jie people live far away, and they are notoriously fierce and skilled in battle. Who would dare provoke them without reason?!"
"Not provoke them? Weren’t you wearing Jie armor, pretending to be Jie Country soldiers to commit cris outside?" Yan Shu scolded.
"Spare , spare !" The old steward, seeing Yan Shu’s hand twitching on the whip, was so frightened his voice nearly broke, "That was all the Fortress Lord’s idea! How could we dare have our own ideas? He provides for us, we just do as he says! We have no choice!"
Being called "sir" by this crafty, elderly man made Yan Shu almost nauseous. She spat harshly and turned away with a cold snort.
"What concoction did your Fortress Lord give these people to produce such an abnormal effect?" Zhu Yu asked.
"This old man truly doesn’t know... The Fortress Lord never let us see how it was made. He only handed the stewed hot broth in a dicinal gourd, and I’d have people deliver it door to door.
The way people looked after drinking it was unnerving, so none of us dared to touch it. We really don’t know what it is."
"And the flowers you tended to, you don’t know about them either?"
"Sirs, I truly don’t know!" The old steward almost shook his head off, "Those things are hidden in the cellar, where not a bit of light can reach them, no watering allowed, only blood.
The Fortress Lord isn’t serious about most things, but with those flowers, he is extrely strict.
We once had a brother who didn’t take it seriously, accidentally damaged one of the flower seedlings, and when the Fortress Lord found out, he stabbed him with a knife and used his blood to water the flowers...
Almost everyone saw it at the ti; since then, who dared not to take those words seriously... Each one is grown on our lives."
Thinking about how earlier the flowers in the wooden box were found missing one, how these people rushed to the courtyard to search, the old steward’s words were not an exaggeration.
Earlier, Yan Shu was furious to hear how they masqueraded as Jie people outside, tarnishing the Jie Country’s na. Now, she cald down a bit and found it sowhat unbelievable.
"This Fortress Lord of yours, with his every move so bizarre, aren’t you afraid at all, helping him do harm, committing evil deeds?" She looked incredulously at the old steward and asked.
The old steward gave a bitter smile: "Sir, you jest... We were originally mountain bandits, hooligans. What difference does it make if we are scared?
I was kicked out of the mountain camp, nowhere to go, didn’t know where my livelihood would co from.
The other brothers either ca because I persuaded them, or they got jealous seeing us thrive, and ca over. We killed the original boss, and there was no turning back.
Not working for the Fortress Lord in the Immortal Castle would an returning to a life of robbery, sotis successful, sotis going hungry, maybe one day getting caught by the governnt and losing our heads.
We worry too, but at least here, as long as we obey the Fortress Lord, don’t cross him, he treats us quite generously...
Isn’t this sowhat a stable place to stay..."
He wasn’t wrong.
As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to another — these bandits already chose a wrongful path, jumping from one pirate ship to another, with no chance to abandon ship for shore, only running blindly down the dark path, loyally serving this unpredictable Fortress Lord, unable to defy him. This might indeed be the only choice for these desperate n.
"If the Fortress Lord treats you so well... how can we trust what you’re telling us now?" Lu Qing, having listened for a while, asked with a aningful smile on his face, hinting at so threat, making the old steward quite nervous.
The old steward thought he had shown utmost sincerity, sighing as the unexpected question made him uneasy again.
"Sir, I wouldn’t dare call myself soone of integrity..." He said bitterly to Lu Qing, "This old man only cherishes life. Though the Fortress Lord treats well... but when there’s grievance, there’s a cause; in this fortress, we’re just errand boys and helpers.
Yes, we’ve done disgraceful things, if it displeases you, beat us up if you must!
Just spare my old life, I don’t want to die..."
Lu Qing looked at him without a word.
The old steward’s eyes turned: "Sirs, I’m helpless. I don’t want watching them die in vain, nor do I want bloody hands.
To be honest, I used to be a bandit too, only robbing money, not lives. I’ve never had blood on my hands, never taken a life!
If I didn’t follow the Fortress Lord’s orders, it would be my death. I truly have no choice.
So, sirs, heed my advice, never try to wake those people!
Whether after drinking the hot broth to work or at night after being put to sleep with incense, never attempt to wake them. Once awoken, they either go mad or die.
Those people are pitiful, but we take money and must do the job. If I could choose, I’d never want to see them waste away like that."
Yan Daoxin, who had been downstairs earlier during the commotion, ca up but remained silent, standing to the side, listening closely. He finally got interested and rudely pushed Lu Zhang aside, asking, "Do you an that those people were kept sedated all along, like being in a state of soul detachnt?"
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