Chapter 12 Breaking the Limbs
Liang Wei’s face turned ashen with terror, his body shaking uncontrollably.
“Dad, why are you looking at me like that?”
“It wasn’t… it wasn’t me.”
Liang Wei’s voice quivered.
Liang Xianrong’s expression was unreadable, his tone grave: “A-Wei, I haven’t even questioned you yet, so what are you so eager to defend yourself for?”
Liang Wei was completely panicked, his voice trembling as he said, “Dad, I’m scared! I swear it wasn’t me!”
“A month ago, you were the one who suggested repairing the main gate, and you were involved from start to finish. Why, then, was a piglet’s carcass buried here?” Liang Xianrong questioned him in a deep, stern voice.
“I don’t know! I really don’t know!”
“Dad, don’t listen to that cripple’s nonsense. He’s insane, nothing but a charlatan! He’s trying to sow discord between us on purpose!”
Liang Wei shouted in fear and desperation.
Liang Xianrong’s face was like thunder as he strode one step after another toward Liang Wei.
Liang Wei kept retreating, shaking his head desperately, crying out, “Dad, I’m your own son! And yet you believe that wretched cripple over me!”
Ye Tianci spoke again in a calm voice: “The Death Master Formation has a defining feature: one dies, one prospers. When the master dies, the one who arranged the formation flourishes.”
“So, the one who sets the formation will affix a talisman to himself, transferring the master’s luck, blessings, longevity, and happiness onto himself.”
“Perhaps the Liang family’s patriarch would care to check your son’s back? See if there’s a talisman there. Its color should be white tinged with red.”
“When all the white has faded and the talisman turns completely red, it means all your fortune and blessings have been transferred to him. And by then, you’ll already be dead.”
Upon hearing this, Liang Xianrong took a deep breath and gritted his teeth: “Feng Hai, strip this unfilial child’s shirt off!”
The butler Feng Hai and two burly men immediately rushed up, restraining Liang Wei and tearing off his shirt.
Liang Wei’s back was exposed to everyone—and there it was, a talisman pasted to his skin!
The color matched Ye Tianci’s description exactly: more than half red, less than half white, white tinged with red!
“Heavens! That cripple is truly a master in plain clothes! He predicted everything!”
“He doesn’t look like much, but his abilities are extraordinary—almost a sage!”
“To think it really was Young Master Wei who set up this deadly feng shui trap. He would harm his own father? He’s worse than a beast!”
“Honestly, I’m not even sure Young Master Wei is Lord Rong’s real son. He looks nothing like Lord Rong. I remember Lord Rong once suspected as much, but when he couldn’t find proof, he let it go.”
“Hush! Keep your voice down, don’t let Lord Rong hear that.”
…
The Liang family’s servants whispered among themselves.
Liang Xianrong’s expression had changed completely, his face deathly pale, drained of all color.
With a resounding slap, he could restrain himself no longer and struck Liang Wei hard across the face!
Liang Wei was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground several meters away, four teeth knocked out in the process.
His lip split open, blood streaming down his chin.
“You unfilial wretch!”
“How dare you plot against me!”
Liang Xianrong pointed at Liang Wei, his eyes blazing with fury.
Liang Wei knew that all was lost; no amount of denial could save him now.
He pushed himself up off the ground, wiped the blood from his mouth, and gave a sinister smile. “Liang Xianrong, my mother told me before she died—you’re not my real father!”
“She made me promise never to tell you. Ha! You raised me for over twenty years, but you were raising another man’s child. What a man you are!”
Liang Xianrong narrowed his eyes, suppressing his rage. “So this is your reason for harming me?”
Liang Wei gritted his teeth and roared, “The day my mother died, I swore I’d see you dead and avenge her!”
“And another thing: Eldest and Second Brother are useless, just like you, only interested in women. You divided the family business between them. Outwardly you spoiled me, but in reality you never trusted me!”
“So I wanted you to die quietly, without a trace! Once you’re dead, those two are no match for me! All the Liang family’s assets would be mine!”
“But fate is cruel! That damned cripple had to ruin everything!”
He glared venomously at Ye Tianci as he spoke.
Liang Xianrong’s anger could no longer be contained. He spat out each word: “Feng Hai, break his limbs!”
“But sir, Young Master Wei has been with you for over twenty years…”
Feng Hai hesitated, but a single glance from Liang Xianrong shut him up.
“Do I need to repeat myself?”
“At once!”
The moment Feng Hai finished speaking, he moved in a flash.
With a crack, Liang Wei’s left leg was broken.
“Ahhh!”
Liang Wei screamed in agony.
As his screams rang out, Ye Tianci’s deep voice echoed: “Young Master Wei, your five minutes are up.”
“Is disaster upon you? Has your bloodshed come to pass?”
“Damn cripple! May you die a miserable death! Just you wait—ahhh!”
Liang Wei howled as his right leg was broken as well.
Crack! Crack!
Feng Hai went about his task with ruthless efficiency, breaking both of Liang Wei’s arms.
Liang Wei fainted from the pain.
With a dull thud, Gao Hongqiang fell to his knees, trembling, panic-stricken. “Master Rong, we only ever followed Third Young Master’s orders. We know nothing else!”
Gao Hongsheng, falling from his wheelchair, knelt despite his broken leg, forehead pressed to the ground. “Master Rong, we know nothing. Please, have mercy.”
Liang Xianrong waved a hand, expressionless. “When I, Liang Xianrong, act, I’d rather wrong a thousand than let one go. Feng Hai, send that unfilial wretch Liang Wei to Beiliang. Even if he’s crippled, let him mine coal there for the rest of his life!”
“The Gao brothers go with him! If they take a single step out of Beiliang, execute them on the spot!”
With a thump, Gao Hongsheng and Gao Hongqiang collapsed, faces devoid of color.
At a gesture from Feng Hai, several strong men dragged the unconscious Liang Wei and the Gao brothers away like dead dogs.
Once everyone had withdrawn, Liang Xianrong turned to Ye Tianci and cupped his hands in salute. “May I ask your esteemed name, young sir?”
“Ye Tianci.”
“Mr. Ye, you have exposed this unfilial son’s treachery and eliminated a great threat to my family. For that, I thank you.”
Liang Xianrong bowed deeply to Ye Tianci and continued, “All your observations about my health were accurate. This past month of agony has nearly destroyed me. I beg you, please save me.”
“That can be done. But first, let’s discuss the matter between the Lin and Liang families.”
“The Lin and Liang families?” Liang Xianrong was clearly unaware.
Ye Tianci glanced at Lin Qingqian, who understood immediately and stepped forward to recount how, during this time, Liang Wei had oppressed the Lin family in the name of the Liang family.
Liang Xianrong’s anger had not faded. “That was all the doing of that unfilial son!”
He regarded them with curiosity and asked, “Miss Lin, may I ask, what is your relationship with Mr. Ye?”
Ye Tianci replied, “Lin Qingqian is my fiancée.”
Liang Xianrong’s eyes brightened, and he hastened to flatter them: “Such a talented young man and a beautiful lady—truly a match made in heaven!”
“Miss Lin, rest assured, my family will never meddle in your Lin family’s resort business!”
“And in Mr. Ye’s honor, the Liang family will invest one hundred million in your Xishan Resort.”