Chapter 139: The Death of Lin Xiong

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“What could I possibly do for you?” Lin Xiong asked in confusion. “I’m only a child.”

“Some things can only be done by children,” Aunt Xia said with a beaming smile. “Think about it. You eat and sleep under my roof. Shouldn’t you do something to repay us?”

Lin Xiong said nothing. He was somewhat reluctant.

He had never understood what gratitude meant in the first place.

Seeing this, Aunt Xia darkened her expression. “If you refuse to help me, then get out of my house right now! Let’s see what you’ll eat and drink after that!”

“No, no!” Lin Xiong panicked. “Don’t drive me away! Just tell me what you want me to do.”

Aunt Xia lowered her voice. “Do you hate the Lin Sangqian family?”

“I hate them! I hate them more than anything!” Lin Xiong replied at once.

“Hahaha, good. Let me tell you something. There are treasures buried in the Lin family’s courtyard.”

“What kind of treasures?” Lin Xiong asked, startled.

“Very valuable treasures! They’re buried in their yard. They dug some of them up before, but there are still more.” Aunt Xia said, “If you can help me find them, I’ll support you for the rest of your life.”

At first, she had planned to frighten the Lin family into moving away by pretending that their house was haunted. Then she could dig up the treasure herself.

She had never expected the Lin family not to be frightened at all—and they had nearly discovered her daughter-in-law in the process.

She had no choice but to find another shortcut.

And then Lin Xiong had practically delivered himself to her doorstep. Wasn’t Heaven helping her?

“But how am I supposed to help you find it?” Lin Xiong asked helplessly. “I can’t even get inside their house!”

“Listen carefully. There’s a dog hole at the base of the wall behind the Lin family’s house,” Aunt Xia said. “I discovered it a few days ago, but the opening is so small that no adult could crawl through it. Only a child like you might manage.”

Lin Xiong understood. “You want me to crawl through the dog hole and find the treasure for you?”

“Exactly! There’s no time to waste. We’re going tonight!” Greed glittered in Aunt Xia’s eyes.

She had been longing for the Lin family’s treasure for a very long time.

Lin Xiong was actually rather unwilling.

But he was afraid that Aunt Xia would throw him out, so he could only agree.

Late at night, with the entire Laifu Alley sunk in deep sleep, Aunt Xia secretly brought Lin Xiong around to the back of the Lin family’s house. She pulled away the weeds at the base of the wall, and sure enough, a dog hole appeared.

The opening was indeed tiny. Even a thin adult could not have squeezed through it. Only a child like Lin Xiong could barely manage it.

“Go on, hurry,” Aunt Xia urged. “Search carefully, and remember to keep quiet. Don’t let them discover you.”

“I understand.” Lin Xiong nodded.

Then he began crawling through the dog hole.

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He lay flat on the ground and crawled into the Lin family’s backyard, covered in dirt like a dog.

The moment he got to his feet and raised a hand to brush the dust from his clothes, he looked up—and found himself face-to-face with Lin Sangqian’s smiling expression.

Lin Xiong: “…”

He wanted to scream, but no sound would come out. His face went deathly pale as he stared at her, his entire body trembling.

“My dear cousin.” Lin Sangqian patted Lin Xiong on the head. “Why crawl through a dog hole when you’re visiting? Wouldn’t it have been easier to use the front door?”

“I, I…” Lin Xiong could not even speak.

“Little Sister, your guess was spot-on,” Lin Beitao said sarcastically. “Lin Xiong, what are you doing? Have you started thinking of yourself as a dog?”

Lin Xiong burst into tears.

“Lin Xiong, you’re still too inexperienced,” Lin Sangqian said. “And the person who sent you here isn’t very clever either.”

Lin Xiong’s eyes flew open. He wanted to say that Aunt Xia had ordered him to come, but he was afraid that she would refuse to feed him afterward.

Terrified, Lin Xiong turned and ran, scrambling back toward the dog hole.

Lin Wenyu was about to chase after him, but Lin Sangqian yawned and said, “Don’t waste your time on him. He won’t dare come back again.”

Lin Wenyu thought about it and decided she was right.

Besides, Lin Xiong was only a child. What good would it do to catch him? Even if they took him to the authorities, they would not do anything to him.

“Let’s go back to sleep.”

“But, Little Sister, how did you know Lin Xiong would crawl in through there?”

“I guessed,” Lin Sangqian replied.

She had discovered the dog hole behind the house long ago.

Since the opening was so small, she had never paid much attention to it.

Earlier, she had seen Aunt Xia protecting Lin Xiong right in front of them. Then she had spotted him in the alley that day. She immediately realized that Aunt Xia was probably planning to use him.

So she had stayed awake that night, sitting in the courtyard with her two brothers to enjoy the cool air and chat. When they heard a faint disturbance from behind the house, they rushed over at once.

Sure enough, they had caught him red-handed.

Still, Lin Sangqian could not understand what Aunt Xia was trying to accomplish. First she had pretended to summon ghosts, and now she had sent Lin Xiong sneaking into the house in the middle of the night. What exactly did she want?

Lin Xiong crawled out of the dog hole like a stray dog.

Aunt Xia had initially planned to return home and wait for him. But when she suddenly heard movement behind her and turned around, she saw Lin Xiong crawling out of the dog hole again.

“You useless little brat!” Aunt Xia cursed in a low voice. “Why are you out so soon? Were you slacking off?”

“No, no!” Lin Xiong said in terror, his face pale. “Lin Sangqian—she…”

“Did Lin Sangqian catch you?” Aunt Xia’s expression changed. She seized him fiercely by the arm. “Did you tell her I sent you?”

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“No!” Lin Xiong hurriedly shook his head. “I, I didn’t say anything.”

Aunt Xia was slightly relieved, then pinched Lin Xiong in exasperation.

What a good-for-nothing child!

Wait. Would Lin Sangqian report this to the authorities tomorrow?

Trespassing into someone’s home was a serious crime.

If the authorities questioned Lin Xiong, he would certainly give her away!

A vicious glint flashed across Aunt Xia’s face.

But she said nothing and took Lin Xiong home.

Only after they entered the house did Lin Xiong’s taut nerves relax a little.

He never wanted to do anything like this again!

Even if Aunt Xia drove him away, he would never go back. Lin Sangqian was terrifying!

When Lin Xiong turned around, he suddenly saw Aunt Xia’s face, twisted by a savage expression.

Fear seized him. But before he could say anything, Aunt Xia abruptly raised her hand and clamped it viciously around his throat.

Lin Xiong was only a child and had no way to fight back.

He kicked and thrashed desperately, struggling with all his strength, but Aunt Xia continued to squeeze his neck without loosening her grip. As his face slowly turned bluish-purple, she remained unmoved, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

Gradually, Lin Xiong stopped struggling.

His hands fell limply to his sides.

As if suddenly coming to her senses, Aunt Xia released him with a violent start. Lin Xiong immediately collapsed limply onto the floor.

Trembling, Aunt Xia reached out to test his breathing.

He was dead!

Aunt Xia finally let out a sigh of relief.

After all, the boy’s parents were in prison. No one was looking after him. Even if he disappeared, no one would notice, and no one would care!

…

When Lin Sangqian got up that morning, she heard several people who had come to make chicken feet saying that quite a few people in town had fallen ill recently.

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