Chapter 216: Sinister and Evil
Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Sinister and Evil
So, Liu Lanhua and her son, Li Shan, urged Li Siming not to hesitate.
"Li Siming, Shanzi is right," Liu Lanhua said with a grave expression. "We know their secret now. If we fail this task, Shanzi will be in danger, and our family will lose all hope. But if we succeed, not only will Shanzi be entrusted with great responsibility and rise through the ranks, but our Yingzi can also leave this village for a better future. It’s all worth it. Think about how we used to beg everyone to secure a bright future for Shanzi, especially Wang Dadan. He took so much from us and even forced us into doing so many things. Everything we have is hard-won. We can’t give up now."
Hearing his wife’s words, Li Siming was deeply troubled and indecisive.
’She’s right. We were threatened by Wang Dadan and forced to do so many things.’
’Even though we ended up this way because of Miao Cunzheng, Li Guihua, and Zhao Nuanyue’s group, I’m not so confused that I’ve forgotten Wang Dadan was the one who started it all.’
’If Wang Dadan hadn’t targeted those young people, none of this would have ever happened.’
’If we want to turn things around, our only option is to work with our son to complete this task. Only then will his superior place great trust in him.’
"Since you both agree, I’ll do it with you. We’re a family; we prosper together and we fall together," Li Siming said. "But our family can’t withstand any more chaos. We can’t take another hit. This time, we must succeed. We cannot fail."
Seeing his parents finally agree to his plan, Li Shan nodded. "Of course. We will plan this carefully and not act rashly. I won’t risk our entire family."
Zhao Nuanyue had been suspicious of Li Shan lately, so she often let her Divine Sense drift near his house.
Just as Li Shan was discussing his plot against her with his parents, Zhao Nuanyue heard everything.
’They mean me harm.’ Zhao Nuanyue finally confirmed that her earlier suspicions were correct.
’But who is the person backing Li Shan? Who exactly is trying to harm me?’
’Is it really Guo Dongmei, as Liu Lanhua suspected?’
’Perhaps.’
’Perhaps not.’
She wouldn’t get any answers from Li Shan’s side, but Zhao Nuanyue had three theories of her own.
The first was Guo Dongmei.
The second was her stepfather, Zhao Jinghai, though that seemed unlikely. For Zhao Jinghai, a valuable and beautiful stepdaughter could bring him many benefits. There was no reason for him to want her face ruined.
As for Elder Gu and Hua Yusen’s political enemies, they wouldn’t even deign to notice a small fry like her.
After thinking it over, Zhao Nuanyue still felt it was highly likely that Guo Dongmei was the mastermind. She closed her eyes and began to carefully consider her next steps.
’This Li Shan is far more ruthless than his parents.’
’Not only does he want to kill me and ruin my face, but he’s also not prepared to spare the children in the village.’
’At the same time, Li Shan is much more difficult to deal with than Liu Lanhua and Li Siming.’
Little Red Carp saw her sister’s solemn expression and asked cautiously, "Big Sis, did you hear Li Shan talking with his parents?"
Zhao Nuanyue paused, surprised. She looked at Little Red Carp and asked, "Little Red Carp, you heard it too?"
Little Red Carp nodded.
When Zhao Nuan Yang, who had been drawing in the pocket dimension, came out, he saw his sister and Little Red Carp staring at each other, at a loss for words.
"What’s wrong?" Zhao Nuan Yang asked. "Did something happen? Tell me, and we’ll figure it out together!"
When her brother arrived, Zhao Nuanyue remembered that he already knew about Little Red Carp’s extraordinary nature. She decided it would be fine to tell him what Little Red Carp had heard. Besides, this time Zhao Nuanyue didn’t just want to save herself; she also wanted to save the village child Li Shan planned to use as bait.
"Little Red Carp just overheard Li Shan talking with his parents. He said he was given a job to ruin my face, and he might even try to kill me..." Zhao Nuanyue began, but Zhao Nuan Yang cut her off before she could finish.
"Sis, I’ll protect you! I’m going to kill Li Shan!" Zhao Nuan Yang exclaimed, horrified. The only thought in his mind was to protect his sister.
Little Red Carp was very moved to see her brother act this way. ’He’s such a dependable brother!’
Seeing how impulsive her brother was, Zhao Nuanyue quickly stopped him. "Nuanyang, you’re older now. You can’t be so rash. Let me finish what I have to say, and then we can come up with a plan together. If you just charge in recklessly, you’re no match for Li Shan. He’s been at his work unit for two years; his skills are much better than our flashy but impractical moves."
Hearing his sister’s words, Zhao Nuan Yang calmed down a little. The rage in his heart subsided, and he said softly, "Okay, Sis. Go on, I’m listening."
"Let me tell you everything first, then we can discuss it. With all of us working together, we’ll find the best solution," Zhao Nuanyue said with a small smile. "And Nuanyang, you have to remember this for the future: you can’t be so impulsive."
"Okay, Sis, I understand," Zhao Nuan Yang nodded. He had completely calmed down, and his mind was clear again.
"Li Shan plans to use a child from the village to lure out Little Red Carp, then kidnap her and force me to pay a ransom..." Zhao Nuanyue explained everything she had heard in detail so her brother would understand the full situation.
After hearing Zhao Nuanyue’s explanation, Zhao Nuan Yang shivered and said, horrified, "That... That Li Shan is a ruthless bastard. We definitely need to plan this out carefully. We have to protect our secret, save that child, and most importantly, keep you and Little Red Carp safe."
Little Red Carp adorably shook her big head in front of her sister and brother. "Even if that Li Shan catches me, I’m not scared," she said in a sweet, childish voice. "I have lots of ways to take care of him. But there’s one problem that makes things tricky for me!"
"What is it?" Zhao Nuanyue turned to look at Little Red Carp. "What’s the problem?"
Little Red Carp’s face fell. "Because I’m not really human. I only took human form by accumulating merit. If I kill someone, even scum like Li Shan, I’ll lose a lot of that merit. I’ll turn back into a red carp, and it might be even worse than before. I might not even be able to talk anymore."
Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue smiled. "Little Red Carp, killing is against the law. You’re a person now, so of course you can’t kill anyone. But what if we don’t kill him? If we just teach Li Shan a lesson, you won’t lose your merit then, will you?"
Little Red Carp nodded eagerly. "Yep! As long as I don’t kill him, I could beat him half to death and nothing bad would happen to me!"
Being a fish wasn’t fun, but being human was. Unless she had absolutely no other choice, Little Red Carp didn’t want to take that step.