Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Would You Let Me Go?

"Do you want to know where those four guns went?" Su Qing asked with a smile.

Brother Jian and his three men shook their heads like rattle-drums. ’Are you kidding me?’ Knowing she could control vines was already more than enough trouble. If they found out where the guns went too, they’d be done for.

Su Qing asked again, "I’ll say it one more time: are you really not going to tell me who’s behind this? I’m not letting any of you go today, but you can still choose how you die. For instance, what if I have these vines slice open your skin, one cut at a time, leaving thousands upon thousands of tiny gashes all over your bodies? Then, I could have them carve off your flesh, piece by little piece, making you suffer for days and nights. You’ll have to watch as you’re reduced to a skeleton before finally taking your last breath. Is that the kind of death you want?"

Su Qing’s tone was placid, but the frenzied cruelty beneath the surface sent a chill down the spines of Brother Jian and his men. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’This is goddamn death by a thousand cuts!’

The thought of such a death made the teeth of Brother Jian and his men chatter uncontrollably.

’Today, there’s really no escaping death. This woman is dead set on killing us.’ As for whether to die quickly or in agony, they would obviously choose the first option.

"Fine, we’ll talk," Brother Jian said through gritted teeth.

"Great, then start talking," Su Qing said with a smile. "Who sent you, what was your objective, and what were your instructions for dealing with me? Tell me everything, and be honest. If you tell a single lie, I’ll flay you alive. Don’t even think about trying to fool me. I’ll know the moment you lie."

"Don’t worry, we won’t lie," Brother Jian said through his teeth. He looked at Su Qing and added resentfully, "If you kill us today, aren’t you afraid this will all come to light someday? On the mainland, they execute people for this, don’t they? Aren’t you afraid?"

Su Qing gave a faint smile. "Do you think someone with my abilities would let anyone find out?"

Brother Jian looked at the vines wrapped around his body and instantly deflated. "No, you wouldn’t."

’He could already imagine it. With this woman’s methods, their bodies would probably become fertilizer for these vines. Besides, who would ever find them this deep in the mountains?’

"It was our Young Miss who sent us to follow you," Brother Jian said, taking a deep breath.

"An Zhiwei?" Su Qing asked for confirmation.

"That’s right," Brother Jian nodded. "The Young Miss of our An Family, An Zhiwei."

"What was your objective? And how were you supposed to deal with me?"

"The goal was revenge. She felt that she’d lost face to you a few days ago, so she wanted to get back at you. She also wanted us to take that batch of gold and the few pieces of jadeite from you. As for how to deal with you..." Brother Jian pursed his lips. "She wants you dead. And, she said we could... have some fun with you first. Basically, she wanted you to suffer as much as possible, and then... then destroy the body to get rid of the evidence. After all, no one would find anything out here in the deep mountains."

Since death was inevitable anyway, Brother Jian spilled everything he knew. He was acting out of self-interest, really. If An Zhiwei hadn’t sent them after Su Qing, he wouldn’t have met this fate. He was actually hoping Su Qing would go after An Zhiwei for revenge. That way, it would be like getting his own revenge indirectly.

’As for getting revenge on Su Qing, he didn’t dare entertain the thought. I mean, how could he get back at a woman who could control plants? Become a ghost and haunt her?’

’What a joke!’

’He was sure that even if ghosts were real and he became one, he still wouldn’t be able to get revenge on Su Qing. He’d probably just get himself killed all over again.’

So, all the resentment in Brother Jian’s heart was now focused on An Zhiwei.

"Heh." Hearing Brother Jian’s words, Su Qing narrowed her eyes. ’That An Zhiwei really has it in for me.’

’The An Family!’

Recalling how Mr. Gong had turned his nose up at the An Family, Su Qing started to understand why he despised them. ’Their character... tsk, tsk.’

However, Su Qing’s thoughts quickly turned to An Zhihan, the man with the leg disability. ’If he’s really a member of the An Family, he’s certainly different from the rest of them.’

"Is there someone in your An Family named An Zhihan?" Su Qing asked.

"Ah, that’s our Third Young Master, but..." Brother Jian was stunned for a moment. He didn’t know how Su Qing knew of An Zhihan, but he still answered honestly.

"But what?" Su Qing asked, her curiosity piqued.

"But the Third Young Master has more or less cut all ties with the An Family," Brother Jian said. "He hasn’t been back to the An Family estate in several years. He’s been on the mainland this whole time."

"Why?" Su Qing couldn’t help but wonder. Why would a young master, accustomed to a life of luxury, give up the privileged lifestyle of Xiangcheng to come to the mainland?

Even if she’d never been to present-day Xiangcheng, from all the movies and TV shows she’d seen in her past life, she knew that the wealthy in Xiangcheng lived lives of incredible luxury and extravagance.

"It was because of our Third Master and Third Madam—oh, the Third Young Master’s parents. They died in a car crash a few years ago. The crash had something to do with our Old Master. The Third Young Master’s legs were crippled in that same crash," Brother Jian said hurriedly. "After that, in a fit of rage, the Third Young Master announced he was cutting ties with the family and left for the mainland."

’So that’s what happened.’

Su Qing thought back. An Zhihan looked to be only in his early twenties. A few years ago, he would have just been a teenager. ’A teenager whose parents died, and he couldn’t even get revenge on the person responsible for their deaths.’ Anyone would find it impossible to stay in a home like that. Besides, she had already gotten a glimpse of the An Family’s true colors, and they were definitely not good people.

Now that she knew everything she needed to, Su Qing smiled at Brother Jian and his men. "Since you’ve been so cooperative, I won’t make things difficult for you. I’ll give you a quick end."

One of the thugs quickly pleaded, "Ma’am, Brother Jian told you everything you wanted to know! Can’t you spare us? I don’t want to die!"

Su Qing sneered. "If I were an ordinary girl today with no way to protect myself, would you have let me go?"

Brother Jian and his men fell silent. Of course they wouldn’t have. They had even been planning how they would torture and kill Su Qing, but they couldn’t possibly say that out loud.

Seeing them at a loss for words, Su Qing gave a faint smile. With a mere thought, the vines near their necks instantly wrapped tight, strangling them. A moment later, four corpses lay on the ground.

Su Qing’s expression was impassive as she directed the vines to drag the four bodies deep underground. From that moment on, all traces of these men vanished from the world.

After handling everything, Su Qing tossed the large chest she had used as a decoy into her spatial storage, then turned and vanished into the forest.