Chapter 1: The Lin Family's Sudden Change

  In the early spring of 1935, in the central China city of Longcheng, the snow on the ground had already disappeared, and the thin ice on the river's surface had been melted by the sun's rays, revealing the flowing water beneath. A group of mischievous children stood on the riverbank, tentatively testing the thin ice with their feet, and hearing the sound of cracking ice, they danced with joy.

  Longcheng Railway Station Square, a young man in a suit and tie finally squeezed out of the crowd with great effort. He put down his suitcase, straightened his slightly wrinkled suit, bent over to pick up the box and got on a rickshaw.

  His name is Lin Fei, 24 years old. He has just returned to China after graduating from the Military Academy in Munich, Germany. Prior to that, he studied at the Royal Military Academy in the UK for a year. Due to various reasons, with the help of his father's friend, Lin Han Zhi, a high-ranking official in the government, he transferred from the UK to Germany.

  Lin Fei closed his eyes and carefully recalled the contents of the letter his father had given him a month ago. In the letter, his father said that Lin Fei's studies were already complete, and he had arranged for a job for him at the Ministry of National Defense through a friend. He also urged Lin Fei to return home after the new year, saying that he had already spoken with Wu Xueju, a relative, and they would arrange his marriage to Wu Mei as soon as he returned.

  At the mention of Wu Mei, a faint smile appeared on Lin Fei's lips. He seemed to see that petite figure again in front of him, occasionally turning around him and asking him some brain-twisting questions. Every time she saw Lin Fei looking puzzled, Wu Mei would giggle with delight.

  "Master! We've arrived at Lin Gongguan!" The low cry of the rickshaw boy broke into Lin Fei's reverie, and he looked at the unnatural expression of the rickshaw boy with some dissatisfaction. He shook his head and then nodded again, took out two copper coins from his pocket and got off the rickshaw.

  Lin Fei stood happily in front of the door, it had been five years since he left. The Lin Mansion as a whole hadn't changed much, but to Lin Fei, it seemed especially familiar at this moment. He calmed his excited emotions and reached out to grab the copper ring on the large gate.

  "Clang!" With a sound, Lin Fei's hand had just touched the copper ring, and to his surprise, the gate opened a crack. Lin Fei was taken aback, what was going on? He remembered it wasn't like this before.

  Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Lin Fei gently pushed open the door. As he turned back to close it, he found that both sides of the street were crowded with people, all pointing and talking about something.

  As he walked to the center of the courtyard, Lin Fei caught a whiff of a long-forgotten scent, which made his heart skip a beat. It had been a long time since he'd smelled it last, and suddenly a sense of foreboding rose up in his chest.

  That's right! It's the smell of blood! How strange! Why is my home filled with the smell of blood everywhere? What's even stranger is that Liang Bo, who would normally rush out of the house as soon as he heard the door creak, hasn't been seen for such a long time.

  "Old Liang! Old Liang!..." Lin Fei called out several times, but no one responded. By now, he had already reached the door of the upper house, and that bloody aura was growing thicker. Lin Fei didn't dare think about anything else, he quickly took a few steps forward and pushed open the door to the upper house.

  The scene in the room made Lin Fei almost faint, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He tried to calm himself down, hoping it was an illusion, rubbed his eyes and looked again, but his joyful mood suddenly plummeted to the bottom. Everywhere his gaze fell was that piercing crimson.

  Lin Fei's eyes landed on his parents, who were lying in a pool of blood, their bodies covered in gore. Next to them were several other corpses that Lin Fei vaguely recognized as the family's former servants.

  Lin Fei hastily threw down the box and rushed forward, he grasped Lin Han Zhi who was about to solidify in blood, and tried his neck with his hand. He then turned around and tried Wen Shi's neck as well. Lin Fei's eyes suddenly blurred.

  After a while, Lin Fei slowly got up and looked at the few people in the room. Without exception, they were all stabbed to death by someone. Looking at the bloodstains on their bodies that had already started to congeal, Lin Fei determined that they hadn't been killed for too long.

  Lin Fei sat down in the chair beside him, he didn't know what had happened, in his impression, Lin Han Zhi seemed to have no enemies outside, and usually didn't have any grudges with anyone, but today's events at home were really puzzling.

  Lin Fei slowly got up, and only then did he realize that his home had been looted. The authentic Zheng Banqiao painting that his father Lin Hanqi was so proud of, which hung in the living room, was gone. Some things in his parents' bedroom were also missing. Every box and cabinet in the house was in disarray, with all the valuable items taken away.

  Lin Fei circled the courtyard, but didn't find anyone else alive. A green aura rose between his eyebrows, a sign that those who had been with him knew was a precursor to his furious outburst.

  Lin Fei moved the coffins that Lin Han Zhi had made for himself and Wen Shi to the backyard, carefully placing Lin Han Zhi's body inside. He covered his head with a white cloth and knelt down, bursting into silent sobs.

  "Dad! Mom! You go well! I will definitely avenge you! May the two elders bless me under the nine springs to take revenge early!"

  This night, Lin Fei didn't blink an eye, he knelt motionless in front of the spirits of Lin Han Zhi and Wen Shi, his eyes had no more tears, replaced by a belly full of hatred.

  The next day, Lin Fei arranged for someone to bury Lin Han Zhi and the others in the Lin family tomb at Xiguan. Lin Fei heavily kowtowed several times, tore off his mourning clothes, and suppressed the pain in his heart as he returned to the city.

  Lin Fei wandered aimlessly on the streets for half a day, finally arriving at a wine house not far from home, ordering two vegetarian dishes and a pot of tea, slowly picking up his chopsticks.

  "Big brother! Do you know? Something happened at Lin's mansion the day before yesterday! I heard that not a single person in the family was left alive, who do you think did this?"

  The words of several young people next to him caught Lin Fei's attention, and when he looked over, he saw that the one asking the question was a robust man in his late twenties. Although it was still early spring, the man was only wearing a single layer of clothing, and his chest was exposed with a thick layer of chest hair.

  "Third son! Is there even a need to guess? It must be that guy who did it!" The man called Big Brother took a sip of wine and said slowly.

  Lin Fei's spirit was involuntarily shaken, he had asked all the neighbors around about this matter, but no one could say clearly, because the tragic event occurred at night, no one saw those people, so Lin Fei still didn't know who did it until now, unexpectedly heard some news here today.

  "Haha! Third son! Don't listen to Qingzi's nonsense! If he knew who did it, I'd twist my head off and use it as a chamber pot for you!" A lewd-looking man beside him said with a loud laugh.

  Qingzi gave him a discontented look: "Hmph! Liangzi! Are you jealous? Let me tell you, today... I'm still going to use this chamber pot! Do you dare bet on it?"

  Liangzi was shocked, looking at Qingzi with a disbelieving face, and carefully asked: "Qingzi! Isn't it true? They said it was the night before last, how did you know? Could it be... could it be that you also got a share?"

  "Damn it, Liangzi! What the hell do you think I am? You think I'm like you?! Let me tell you, I've never done business at my own doorstep!" Qingzi's neck muscles were all tensed up.

  "Hey! Qingzi! Brother was just joking with you, why did you take it seriously? Alright! I'll punish myself with a cup, that's my apology to you!"

  Qingzi's face looked slightly better: "Hmph! I'll tell you, Liangzi! This matter, I really do know a thing or two about it. You've forgotten, haven't you? Yesterday... right, yesterday! Do you know what I did yesterday?"

  "Big brother! Yesterday? Hmm...! That's right! Didn't you go out of town yesterday? Did you see something?" Sanzi looked at Qingzi with some uncertainty, while Lin Fei on the side also perked up his ears.

  "Good! Yesterday I did go out of town! But on my way back after finishing my business, when I was walking to Huo Long Shan, I suddenly had an emergency and found a place to relieve myself. Who would have thought that I overheard something earth-shattering?"