Chapter 144: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Flame Li's lips were bitten raw, and she wished she could burn this hateful Ninth Young Master to ashes.

Glancing casually at Flame Li, Lin Shu shook his head. "Ninth Young Master, she is certainly not the one who harmed the refugees!"

"As the saying goes, the face reflects the heart. How could such a beautiful maiden be a wicked scoundrel?"

Damn you! He really is a bastard! Han Fei was momentarily stunned!

Her lover frowned, and Zinu looked on with reluctance.

"Although Young Master Lin's direct involvement in harming the commoners cannot yet be proven, many of the carriages and horses fleeing the city were personally burned to ashes by this gentle-faced woman!"

Seeing Lin Shu nod in agreement, Flame Li also gave a cold smile. In their eyes, she was nothing more than a barbarian criminal.

After nodding, Lin Shu slowly began to speak.

"Everything has a cause and effect. Back then, Han nobles ordered the Han army to invade Baiyue, looting, killing, and pillaging. Now that they have returned for revenge, is that a crime? Is that evil?"

"May I ask, Ninth Young Master, did the Han army slaughter one hundred or two hundred thousand civilians upon entering Baiyue? How many people lost their homes and wandered in destitution? How many women and children paved the road with their bones?"

"If we speak of evil, shouldn't all the lords and soldiers of Han be considered guilty?"

This! Han Fei lowered his head in shame!

"Young Master Lin! It is indeed the guilt of Han!"

Zinu also smiled bitterly and shook her head. "In a world like this, it is so hard to distinguish between good and evil!"

Hmph! This bastard really knows how to talk! Flame Li secretly nodded; so she, too, was seeking vengeance for hundreds of thousands of her kinsfolk!

Having caught his breath, Wei Zhuang could no longer sit still.

"What Young Master Lin says is true. Yet, each serves their own master, and our state of Han belongs to the Northern Alliance, whereas the Baiyue tribes remain estranged from our Huaxia civilization."

"Young Master Lin, do not let beauty make you forget your foundations!"

Glancing at Wei Zhuang, Lin Shu nodded faintly.

"Your Han state slaughtered her kinsfolk, and then she killed your Han people. Now you want to kill her, and in the future, her relatives will come to kill you!"

"When will this cycle of vengeance and retribution ever end? The purpose of the Northern Alliance is precisely to quell these endless killings."

Hearing this, Han Fei grew excited; putting an end to the bloodshed was precisely what he hoped for.

"Young Master Lin's intentions are benevolent! We naturally understand, but this Baiyue enchantress is hardly likely to listen to Young Master Lin."

Without much thought, Lin Shu replied, "She will listen! As it happens, I shall play the peacemaker."

A peacemaker! Wei Zhuang smiled faintly and shook his head; this Young Master Lin thought too simply of hatred!

Looking at the confident scoundrel, especially that hidden, sly smile, made Flame Li all the more furious.

"Bastard, have you finished talking? I've finally caught you."

The two fire serpents on Flame Li's hands blazed high as she walked toward Lin Shu.

Ha, excellent! Wei Zhuang almost burst out laughing!

Zinu also smiled joyfully as she pulled Han Fei back.

"Fair maiden, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I certainly don't know you!" Lin Shu looked genuinely bewildered. How could this little goblin possibly recognize him?

Hmph! Lord Yan was also baffled. Could this husband of hers have been sneaking around behind her back again for some dissolute fun?

Flame Li stopped and sneered as she looked at Lin Shu.

"Young Master Lin is truly a noble who forgets easily. Even if you were turned to ashes, I would still recognize you."

Lin Shu smiled bitterly and hurriedly denied it. "Oh~ Fair maiden, do I look very much to you like some old acquaintance of yours? But truly, I am not. This is my very first time laying eyes on you."

Glancing down at the tender legs beneath the red cloth, Lin Shu could not help but swallow hard. What a little goblin she was!

Ah! Lord Yan was now certain that her husband was spouting nonsense once again.

"Make your move. Today, you won't be able to deny it." Sensing the terrifying pressure radiating from Lord Yan, Flame Li did not dare to step any further forward; she could already feel a horrific oppression.

Alas! With a sigh, Lin Shu grew serious. It seemed she had truly found him out.

"When will this cycle of vengeance end? Flame Li, from now on, stop following Tian Ze and killing people indiscriminately! This time, Brother Wei Zhuang and the Ninth Young Master will spare you for my sake."

Flame Li? Tian Ze? Han Fei understood now; they really did know each other!

"Could Young Master Lin be speaking of the Red-Browed Dragon Serpent, the Crown Prince of Baiyue, Tian Ze? Wasn't he already..." Zinu had recently been researching matters concerning Baiyue.

Lin Shu nodded. "He was released by Bai Yi Fei."

The Six Swordsmen were active near Xinzheng, and many things could not be kept from him.

"Hmph, lecher! You finally admit it!" Flame Li glared fiercely, yet she dared not make a rash move.

Frowning, Lord Yan could not help but complain, "Husband, what is the meaning of this?"

Damn you, Flame Li! Lin Shu was getting irritated too!

"Lord Yan, listen to me, let me explain slowly."

Hmph! With a cold laugh, Flame Li wanted to see how he would quibble his way out of this.

Glancing at Flame Li, Zhang Zang hurriedly looked away. No wonder even Young Master Lin could not help himself.

Heh~ A lecher!~ How truly amusing! Wei Zhuang now found the situation quite delightful.

"Young Master! Am I, Nongyu, really inferior to this seductive temptress!" Nongyu was equally baffled as to why Young Master Lin seemed to ignore her completely these past few days!

The scene instantly fell silent.

"Damn you all, just waiting to watch a show, aren't you?" Lin Shu glared at Flame Li. This goblin truly had no conscience!

Sighing once more, Young Master Lin finally spoke up.

"Earlier, when hurrying toward Xinzheng, I happened to find a woman locked inside a subterranean water dungeon! Without regard for the danger, I broke through the rock wall! But little did I know that the woman would suddenly pounce upon me, and furthermore, she..."

"Shut your mouth! Say no more!" Flame Li regretted it instantly; she should never have brought any of this up! She had not expected him to be truly this shameless.

Lin Shu chuckled inwardly and continued, "Some misunderstandings occurred amidst all that. At the time, I didn't pay attention to who the disheveled woman might be. Could it be that it was you!"

"Ah! Confucius was right: truly, no good deed goes unpunished!"

So that was how it was! Nongyu glared furiously at Flame Li. What an ungrateful wretch!

"Did the Sage Confucius ever utter such words?" Han Fei fell into deep thought.

Lord Yan sighed softly, shook her head, and withdrew her inner energy. She understood now! Her husband had probably found this siren too alluring and couldn't resist taking advantage of her, much like that night all those years ago!

"Ha! What a fine 'good deed'! Scoundrel, go to hell!" Flame Li, her eyes practically blazing with fire, lunged forward furiously. She intended to use the flames of her entire body to burn this bastard—and herself—to ashes.

Lin Shu was unfazed. Raising a hand slightly, he whispered, "Great Move of Heaven and Earth."

Crack—dozens of blinding electrical currents struck down from the roof tiles above.

Wei Zhuang and the others instinctively closed their eyes and stepped back.

"Ah~ You lecher~"

Flame Li managed only a single cry before being sucked upward directly into the carriage resting on the rooftop.

Flame Li vanished, and the moonlight drifted down from above.

"You absolute bastard!" Zinu couldn't help cursing aloud, before hastily clamping her hand over her mouth.

Lin Shu glanced at the two-meter-wide hole in the ceiling and understood why Zinu had reacted that way.

"The enchantress has been driven away. Nongyu, let us return first as well."

"Very well! Sister Zinu, we shall head back first!" Nongyu said with a look of guilt.

Alas! With a sigh, Zinu managed a faint smile. "Very good, and I must thank Young Master Lin for his timely assistance."

Lin Shu cupped his fists in a polite salute with a smile. Then, the four women and one man drifted upward toward the hole in the roof, followed by a small wooden chest that floated down gently to land at Zinu's feet.

The carriage departed, the good show came to an end, and the gathered spectators still stood quietly staring at the shards of broken tile on the ground.

"The Great Move of Heaven and Earth! Brother Wei Zhuang, what kind of mystical arts are these?" Han Fei was intensely curious; even he, who detested martial arts, was beginning to feel a sense of envy.

Sparks of electricity had burst right before his eyes, and Wei Zhuang, having been forced to close his eyes in defense, still had spots dancing in his vision and had seen nothing at all.

"Merely some minor trick for shifting and concealing things. But shouldn't the Ninth Young Master be worried instead?" Wei Zhuang casually bluffed.

"Worried?" Han Fei was puzzled.

This was no place for conversation, so Zinu led Han Fei and the others back into the soundproof private pavilion.

With the crowd dispersing, the various maidens and guests in the surrounding area gradually took their leave one by one.

"Could Young Master Lin... be a man of the Northern lands!" A young nobleman's eyes flickered. To command such a reaction from the Ninth Young Master, it could only be someone from the North!