Chapter 11: Threat

Rustle… The branches overhead seemed to be shaken by something. Su Tang hurriedly looked up, and a dark figure descended from the sky, landing right in front of him. It was a bald old man wearing a light green robe. He looked Su Tang up and down with a smile and asked, “Little boy, what are you doing?”

Su Tang suddenly felt as if his scalp were about to explode. Although the old man’s smile was friendly, in Su Tang’s perception, the opponent felt like an incredibly fierce wild beast.

“I…” Su Tang did not dare to move his body, and his mind worked rapidly. “I am practicing a Martial Formula…”

“Oh? What Martial Formula is it? What grade? Who taught you?” The old man’s smile became even friendlier.

“I don’t know… I really don’t know… Uncle Shang at home taught me,” Su Tang replied with difficulty. At that moment, he heard footsteps coming from all around, and then figure after figure appeared.

“Haha, what a coincidence! So it is Young Master Su, hahaha…” Along with a wild laugh, Liu Mingsheng’s voice appeared nearby. He pushed aside the branches and walked over arrogantly.

“Be quiet, we are already very close to Little Forest Castle,” the bald old man said displeasedly.

Liu Mingsheng’s loud laughter stopped abruptly. He then leaned close to the bald old man and whispered, “Old Fei, you might not know, but this kid is Su Tang, the eldest young master of Little Forest Castle!”

“Oh?” The bald old man’s smile gradually vanished, and his expression became solemn. He suddenly said in a deep voice, “Little boy, did some people move into your Little Forest Castle yesterday?”

Su Tang reacted immediately. These people were coming for the guests of Little Forest Castle. Could this be what they called “gods fighting while mortals suffer”? Should he speak or not…

Seeing that Su Tang remained silent, a man with a gloomy face lost his patience. He reached out, grabbed Su Tang by the collar, and lifted him up. “Old Fei is asking you a question, are you deaf?!”

Su Tang showed a look of terror and struggled violently, but his true inner self was as calm as a ten-thousand-year-old glacier. One thought after another flashed rapidly through his mind.

Analyzing from the perspective of profit and loss, he should tell them the truth since it had nothing to do with him anyway. However, a conflict at this level would also determine the safety of the entire Little Forest Castle. If they won, would they let him and Little Forest Castle go? And what if the guests of Little Forest Castle won?

It wasn’t just Su Tang’s body that had changed, but also his mind. His thoughts became exceptionally agile, one after another.

Seeing that Su Tang still would not speak, the man pinned Su Tang against a tree trunk, pulled out a long sword from his waist, and stabbed straight toward Su Tang’s neck.

The two Spirit Souls in Su Tang’s brain domain suddenly emitted a dazzling light. This was human instinct; in a life-or-death moment, all strength would be released frantically. However, the Spirit Souls quickly dimmed again because Su Tang had made a judgment in an instant: the opponent’s long sword would not hurt him.

With a thud, the long sword grazed Su Tang’s neck and stabbed deeply into the tree trunk.

“Kid, if you still don’t speak, I’ll slaughter…” the man said viciously.

Su Tang had been staring blankly. When the man spoke the threat, he glanced down with the corner of his eye and only then “discovered” that a long sword was next to his neck. Su Tang suddenly let out a piercing scream, “Don’t kill me… don’t kill me… please don’t…”

Before the man could finish his sentence, he was startled by Su Tang’s sudden violent reaction. Moreover, because Su Tang’s neck twisted, it brushed against the blade, creating a cut that let blood flow out.

The man hurriedly held Su Tang and pulled out his long sword. Having finally found someone from Little Forest Castle, he had found a breakthrough. If something happened to Su Tang, Old Fei would definitely not forgive him.

“Get away, you clumsy fool!” the bald old man shouted.

The man retreated to the side gloomily, while Su Tang’s body pressed against the tree trunk, curling into a ball. “Please don’t kill me…” he continued to wail, his pupils dilated, his heart beating faster, and his body shaking like a sieve. His face was pale and his lips were blue; all his physical signs perfectly matched the behavior of a person in fear.

“Little boy, do not be afraid. This old man will not hurt you,” the bald old man said softly. After speaking, as if worried that he would not gain Su Tang’s trust, he turned around and slapped the gloomy man across the face.

Su Tang stopped screaming, but his eyes were still full of terror, and his body continued to shake.

“Little boy, I ask you, did a group of people enter Little Forest Castle yesterday?” The bald old man walked in front of Su Tang.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes…” Su Tang nodded repeatedly.

“What did you see?”

“They had eight… eight or nine people, and a carriage… and… and a very, very big tiger…” Su Tang replied stutteringly.

“Are they staying at Little Forest Castle?” A cold light appeared in the bald old man’s eyes.

“Mm-hmm…”

“Tell me, for how many days are they staying?”

“They… they are leaving tomorrow or the day after…”

“They are your guests; did you treat them well?”

“They… they didn’t come… maybe… maybe they thought our food… was… not tasty…”

“Oh… then they must drink water, right?”

“The east courtyard… there is a water well in the east courtyard…”

The bald old man chuckled. “Little boy, do one thing for me, and I will reward you!” After speaking, the old man waved his hand, took a handful of silver coins from a money bag handed over by a man, and then grabbed Su Tang’s hand to place the coins in his palm.

“As long as you agree, these are all yours,” the bald old man said to Su Tang, patting the bulging money bag.

Damn, how stingy! Su Tang cursed in his heart. The other party only stayed for two days and gave gold coins. Although that money bag had shrunken a lot, the exchange rate between gold and silver coins was one to ten. In comparison, he really didn’t care about these silver coins.

“If you don’t agree…” The bald old man’s tone shifted, and his face darkened.

The main event had finally arrived. Su Tang increased his alertness; he had been waiting for this moment.

The bald old man raised his hand to slap Su Tang’s mouth. Su Tang clearly saw a black pill about half a centimeter in diameter held between the old man’s fingers. He did not dodge because it would be useless. But the moment the black pill shot into his mouth, he used his lips as cover and lifted the tip of his tongue, pressing the black pill exactly behind his lower front teeth.

The bald old man pinched Su Tang’s throat with one hand and squeezed Su Tang’s nose with the other. Another man came over with a water skin and continuously poured water into Su Tang’s mouth. Su Tang started to struggle, but his arms were no match for the others. He was forced to swallow more than ten mouthfuls of water. When the bald old man let go, Su Tang collapsed on the ground like a piece of mud, coughing incessantly.