A Professional Avenger - Chapter 22

After getting the green light from Consort Lin, Lin Yuetian spent some more time elaborating on the details of their future plan.

Consort Lin kept responding with, “Oh My, Bengong doesn’t understand what you’re talking about,”—But Lin Yuetian understood she had been listening and would do as they agreed to.

In the first place, General Lin’s family in the Original Body’s memory were not the kind of people with deep faith and rigid loyalty to the Emperor. Zheng Hongxuan was wary of them because they didn’t wholly obey the Royal Family. Just like how the situation today had been, if Consort Lin didn’t have the slightest idea to rebel, she would have driven him away or even taken him down after just hearing the first sentence containing even the tiniest intent of disloyalty to the Monarch.

People had always been willing to listen to the words they were interested in. This was the undeniable case, in any world, including Consort Lin.

However, the previous sentence was quite unfitting when it came to Zheng Hongxuan’s behavior, something that Lin Yuetian felt perplexed about.

Saying Zheng Hongxuan was sentimental, but he was so cold-blooded and cruel to even harm his lover who was fully devoted and infatuated with him.

Saying he was being rational, but it was not long since Zheng Hongxuan had taken the throne and become the young Emperor. This period should have been used to balance the situation at the Court, rationally speaking. Even in the situation where he had to liquidate the old Ministers and eliminate dissidents, clearly, he should not have started it with Prime Minister Lin[1], who had been nothing but loyal and supportive to him. In case he quickly had to assert dominance, it should have been done by, first, starting to weaken General Lin’s influence in the Court.

In this way, Lin Yuetian absolutely had nothing to say other than admitting this person’s thinking was way too incomprehensible. It’s even more likely that this Emperor’s IQ was not online. As a Pro in his field of job, Lin Yuetian directly judged it’s useless to apply normal logic to evaluate the intention of Zheng Hongxuan’s series of actions.

[“In my opinion, Zheng Hongxuan may really have an affection for the Original Body. It’s even a deep love, to the point of causing him to be irrational.”] The System put forward his own views.

[“A lot of his actions seem to be contradictory, and his regards toward the Original Body are complicated.”]

Lin Yuetian wondered, “Really?? If Zheng Hongxuan truly likes the Original Body, shouldn’t he love and cherish him, or pamper and dote on him? Why did he treat the Original Body in this way instead? Frankly speaking, it’s even more believable to say that he has a deep hatred of the Original Body, I guess?”

The System who had received training before being appointed as a System, and had also read countless guidebooks regarding his Task[2], began to explain,

[“You don’t understand, human feelings are exceptionally complex. Sometimes hatred can be masked with affection, and sometimes love can be manifested into acrimony instead. Some people saved the people they hate with ulterior motives, and some people torture the ones they love for some inexplicable reason.”]

It was the first time the System was able to gain the upper position by telling Lin Yuetian, “You don’t understand~”. He couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

Lin Yuetian shook his head, honestly admitting, “I still am unable to discern.”

[“Actually, I don’t think it’s necessary for you to understand it either. I’m serious.”] The System said with a sincere tone. [“If you regard no one in your heart, you will have no qualms to draw your sword. I also don’t think you can understand such feelings no matter how you try. If you insist on understanding it while not entirely able to comprehend…I think, there would be terrible consequences instead.”]

***

After leaving Ganquan Palace[3], Lin Yuetian didn’t waste time and directly went to find the aforementioned Male Lover, YueJun.

Lin Yuetian felt dealing with this man was not an easy matter. Of course, it was not due to jealousy or something. It’s because this man was the only person other than Zheng Hongxuan who knew Lin Yuetian’s true identity as the supposed dead man-Prime Minister Lin, and the secret that he was actually left alive as a eunuch in the harem.

He didn’t know what YueJun’s real name was, he just knew that he was originally a small Waiter in some village in Jiangnan. Because his look was slightly similar to the Original Body, he was taken to the palace by Zheng Hongxuan and was later entitled YueJun.

The character Yue in his name was not given intended to refer to the Moon, but was deliberately given to copy the character of the Yue(月) in Lin Yuetian(林月天)’s name. The intention of such action was self-evident. After Prime Minister Lin was sterilized[4] and thrown as a eunuch in the harem, Zheng Hongxuan once appeared in front of him while holding YueJun in his arms to mock his sorry state.

For the Original Body, having his own name being used to call a Male Lover, and being ridiculed while in an embarrassed state lower than the said promiscuous man—at least that Male Lover was still a dignified man, unlike him who was deprived of his masculinity—such a disgrace and humiliation was simply unbearable. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he later resorted to suicide.

Of course, none of that matters now.

Lin Yuetian didn’t do any special action in this plan of his. He simply visited YueJun’s residence in the palace and asked YueJun to follow him quietly.

Naturally, YueJun didn’t immediately agree and asked for the reason first. Taking advantage of the circumstance between the Original Body and YueJun, Lin Yuetian put on an expression of indignance and despair, gritting his teeth as he said, “His Majesty has summoned the two of us to come together.”

It looked like YueJun was quick to imagine indescribable scenes in his head with the previous sentence. Although this deposed Prime Minister Lin had never been appointed to this kind of order before, but life had always been impermanent. Who knew if Zheng Hongxuan truly did have a sudden whim right now? If it were the case, he couldn’t bear to face the wrath of an Emperor by declining his command. Therefore, YueJun obediently followed Lin Yuetian without any suspicion.

The System let out a wry sigh and remarked in Lin Yuetian’s mind, [“This is why you shouldn’t follow unfamiliar people stupidly…”]

Lin Yuetian actually thought what the System said was quite funny. After all, the Original Body and YueJun were not strangers. Besides, in his experience, there were actually a lot of crimes committed by acquaintances. It’s not only strangers who might harbor hidden danger.

In this way, Lin Yuetian led YueJun to follow him until they arrived at the Imperial Garden. They continued to walk to a secluded place where a well was located for the garden.

“When will His Majesty come?” YueJun impatiently asked, his tone having a trace of arrogance and self-conceited, due to the favor His Majesty had been showering him with these days.

“Soon.” Lin Yuetian replied softly. “I promise…it won’t be long.”

He picked up a stone on the ground. It was a bit heavy, and he couldn’t steadily grasp it in his hand.

Lin Yuetian didn’t lie. Soon, everything happened in a flash. To sum it up, what happened that day was: Seize the right momentum to carry a surprise attack.

The System silently witnessed a series of events happening in a flash of seconds; Lin Yuetian slammed the stone into the back of YueJun’s head from the man’s blind spot, afterward, YueJun could only let out a grunt before falling softly to the ground like a weathered leaf.

There was a trace of numbness in the System’s inquiry, [“Did you kill him?”]

“Not yet, he just fainted.” Lin Yuetian put down the stone back on the ground and wiped any trace on it with a handkerchief. “Well, at least he’s still alive, for now.”

The System was keen enough to guess, [“Does this mean he will have to die shortly?”]

Lin Yuetian happily complimented him, “You seem like you’ve grown up and learned well from me!”

Then, the System watched how Lin Yuetian applied the disguise technique[5] to change YueJun’s appearance into that of his, while also transforming his own appearance into YueJun’s. Taking out a piece of white silk from his sleeve, the cloth originally used by the Original Body to hang himself with, he bit his finger and wordlessly wrote a suicide note on it.

Speaking of which, the words for the note indeed had been left by the Original Body before his death.

Prime Minister Lin’s literary talent was brilliant, even his suicide note was written to convey the love and hatred of a lifetime. The sentences ignited anyone’s emotions like wildfire and every word felt like needles. He said,

“The past has long gone. When I look back, there is nothing left.”

The pain between loving and hating at the same time was excruciating. Saying his last choice was out of self-esteem, but there’s also deep remorse mixed within.

In the end, the note was concluded with:

“Your Majesty, may you and I live separately even in the next world.”

Lin Yuetian, on the other hand, didn’t want to let things off so easily. He changed the last sentence into:

“Your Majesty, even when I die I will become a Ghost, in this world, I shall never let you go!”

After skimming on the finished suicide note once again, Lin Yuetian untied his belt, folded the white silk, and carefully stored it in the innermost layer of the belt. Next, he swapped his own attire with the still unconscious YueJun, and bought a 50-points-worth potion from the System Mall to heal the wound on YueJun’s head[6].

Finally, he pushed YueJun into the Well.

Lin Yuetian stood calmly by the rim, listening to the splashing sound of a heavy object being thrown into the water. After some time, there was no other sound that could be heard. He took a peek into the well, the bottom of the well was dark, and he couldn’t see anything clearly, just like staring into a dark abyss.

“It’s almost done.” Lin Yuetian showed a smile on his face.

[“Just what are you going to do? Didn’t you promise to tell me anything before?!”] The System felt angry at him but was powerless.

“Don’t worry,” Lin Yuetian unhurriedly replied, “You will know very soon.”

He now had the appearance of YueJun, so he walked back leisurely, returning to YueJun’s private chamber. There’s only one thing left to wait, for Consort Lin to do her own part of the deal.

***

Half a month later.

Consort Lin reported to Zheng Hongxuan that the new eunuch sent by him previously had been missing for days.

***