Chapter 8
“Aaaaaah—” A shrill scream echoed from downstairs, jolting Wen Linyu from his meditation. It seemed his room needed a soundproofing barrier.
Checking the time, it was dinner time. Wen Linyu opened his door and went downstairs.
“Look what you’ve done!” Lin Wanshow’s face was contorted as she glared at Wen Linyu descending the stairs. It was the first time this elegant lady had displayed such an unseemly expression.
“What did I do?” Wen Linyu looked down at her, his face impassive, his posture condescendingly arrogant.
Lin Wanshow’s anger flared at his demeanor: “How dare you ask? Didn’t you throw out everything in my room? You’re so unruly!”
Wen Cheng, also in the hall, looked up at Wen Linyu, inwardly stunned. What had gotten into his brother these past two days? Had he awakened? This wasn’t just a change, it was a complete transformation!
“I did. So what?” Wen Linyu continued towards the dining room without pausing or even glancing at his mother.
“What’s with that tone? Get back to your basement! I don’t want your stench contaminating my room!” Lin Wanshow’s voice dripped with venom.
Hearing the word “basement,” Wen Linyu narrowed his eyes, stopping to look back at his enraged mother. A faint smile touched his lips.
Then, without warning, he swiftly approached Lin Wanshow. Although he walked, his speed was startling. Lin Wanshow gasped, about to scream, but Wen Linyu grabbed her collar, dragging her towards the basement.
Her screams intensified, her eyes wide with terror.
Wen Hongbo, who had been sitting at the head of the dining table to prevent Wen Linyu from taking his seat, couldn’t remain seated any longer. He slammed his hand on the table: “Stop! Let your mother go! You beast, what are you doing?!”
“Holy shit!” Wen Cheng didn’t dare continue watching. He pleaded, “Brother, let’s talk this through. Let Mom go first.”
Wen Linyu ignored him, continuing to drag Lin Wanshow by her collar. Her screams were choked off, her throat constricted. She instinctively kicked and clawed at her neck, her hair and clothes disheveled, shoes lost, her image completely ruined.
Wen Linyu, dragging her towards the basement, looked like a deranged killer.
“What are you all standing around for? Restrain that unfilial son!” Wen Hongbo, both shocked and furious, remembered the master’s words and didn’t dare approach himself, only yelling, “This is outrageous!”
The butler, the servants, and the alerted security guards all chased after Wen Linyu.
But he was too fast. By the time they tried to intercept him, he had already entered the elevator. Inside, Lin Wanshow continued to struggle, but Wen Linyu’s grip was unyielding.
The second basement level required taking the stairs from the first.
Dragging Lin Wanshow, listening to her screams, Wen Linyu thought, for the first time, that it was a good thing there was no elevator to this floor.
Even better, he felt no guilt or pity hearing his mother’s cries of pain.
He couldn’t help but think: Teacher, I’m learning well, aren’t I?
A faint smile appeared on his face as he approached the room.
Lin Wanshow was now terrified and numb with pain.
Reaching the door, Wen Linyu opened it, threw her inside, and said: “Since you think the basement is so wonderful, you can live here from now on.”
“Y-you… you…” Lin Wanshow was in too much pain to speak. She had never suffered such humiliation. She glared at him with a mixture of resentment and fear. This jinx was too terrifying. They couldn’t let him stay!
But her glare only prompted Wen Linyu’s next action.
“Almost forgot,” he said.
He took out the paper money from the bearded ghost, approached Lin Wanshow, grabbed her wrist, and placed the bills in her hand: “I’m not as stingy as you. This is your allowance. Keep it safe.”
Lin Wanshow’s blurry vision focused on her palm. Seeing the hell money, she screamed and threw it away.
Wen Linyu looked at her, then at the discarded money, his expression disapproving: “I worked hard for this money. How can you be so wasteful? Since you don’t want it, then—”
He picked up the paper money, grabbed her chin, and forced it into her mouth, making her swallow.
In the dim light of the basement, Wen Linyu truly resembled a demon from hell.
This was the scene that greeted Wen Cheng and the others when they arrived.
Having “successfully” delivered the money, Wen Linyu stood up, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and walked towards the door, kicking aside anyone who tried to stop him.
He slammed the door shut.
Inside, the security guards lay groaning on the floor, while Lin Wanshow, covered in tears and snot, vomited.
Outside, Wen Hongbo pointed a trembling finger at Wen Linyu, stuttering incoherently, just like his wife.
Wen Cheng gulped, stepping aside as Wen Linyu headed upstairs. He wouldn’t dare stop him. In this state, anyone who tried would be dead!
Good heavens, the Wen family is about to be turned upside down!
Back in the dining room, Wen Linyu took a random seat. The kitchen staff exchanged glances, unsure whether to serve him dinner.
“Where’s the food?” Wen Linyu asked calmly. “I don’t want to ask again.”
The same staff member who had taken his plate away yesterday now carefully placed his portion before him. They had witnessed the usually invisible, insignificant young master drag the mistress into the basement and emerge unscathed.
He seemed to have gone mad.
They dared to look down on and bully the invisible young master, but a madman? They were just employees, they couldn’t afford to offend him. They still lived in the Wen residence. Imagine him standing over their beds in the middle of the night with a knife… terrifying!
Dinner was a feast, a variety of dishes, colorful and fragrant. Wen Linyu, the only one at the table, ate contentedly.
As for the others, they were still in the basement, trying to open the door.
The door Wen Linyu had locked, like the door to his room, couldn’t be opened without his permission. He had lived in that room for over three years. Surely his dear mother couldn’t endure it for even three minutes?
He remembered when he first returned, how they had assigned him that room. He had found it strange but hadn’t dared to question it. Their coldness and his own anxiety, his attempts to please only met with disgust. In the end, even breathing felt like a mistake. How could he have dared to voice any objections?
Wen Linyu leisurely finished his dinner, strolled through the garden, fed the fish in the pond, and returned to his new room.
He immediately added a soundproofing barrier. No more disturbances from downstairs.
Downstairs, after three hours, they finally had to break down the wall to rescue Lin Wanshow. Her appearance was horrifying.
Her face was covered in scratches, blood streaming down, her hair and clothes a mess, her eyes vacant, and she kept muttering pleas for mercy.
Wen Hongbo glared at the trapped security guards: “What did you do?! I won’t let you get away with this!”
“Boss, it wasn’t us! Madam did this to herself!”
“Yes! Look, we have scratches from her too!”
“Mr. Wen, we should take Madam to the hospital. Does she have claustrophobia? She kept scratching herself, saying there were bugs under her skin.”
They left unsaid the horrifying state of the basement room. No wonder the young master had gone mad. Any normal person would go crazy living in such a place!
Dark, airless, and windowless. Although they weren’t as affected as Lin Wanshow, those three hours had been suffocating, their bodies heavy, their energy drained.
A chill ran down Wen Hongbo’s spine. He knew exactly what that room was for. He didn’t say anything more, asking his adopted son to help him carry Lin Wanshow upstairs.
He didn’t want to stay down there any longer.
Upstairs, they learned that the little bastard had already eaten and gone to his room. Wen Hongbo was furious, but also slightly relieved. He was now somewhat afraid of confronting Wen Linyu directly.
However, he would never let this go!
Just wait!
In the middle of the night, Wen Linyu, cultivating under the moonlight, sensed movement in the villa. Without opening his eyes, he scanned the area with his divine sense and found several burly security guards picking the lock on his door.
His parents weren’t there, so it was obvious they had sent them. They probably assumed he would be unguarded at night, planning to drag him back to the basement.
Wen Linyu remained still, continuing his cultivation. Later, he opened his eyes and opened the door that the guards had been struggling with for hours.
They were gone, likely devising another plan.
Unfazed, Wen Linyu took the other paper bill and went to his parents’ room. He didn’t knock, simply walking in.
Lin Wanshow was hospitalized, so only Wen Hongbo was there, sound asleep.
Wen Linyu placed the paper money in Wen Hongbo’s hand, adding a bit of glue to prevent him from throwing it away. Then he returned to his room.
Fifteen minutes later, the white-bearded ghost entered Wen Hongbo’s room with a sinister chuckle, invading his dreams, chanting “I want your legs.” Wen Linyu didn’t care.
The next morning, Wen Linyu woke up early.
It was Monday, time for school.
Only he and Wen Cheng were in the dining room. Wen Cheng had dark circles under his eyes. Seeing Wen Linyu, he chuckled nervously: “…Morning, Brother.”
Wen Linyu glanced at him in acknowledgment.
Wen Cheng, unable to find a topic of conversation, sat down to eat his breakfast. After finishing, they went to school together.
Wen Linyu was still in high school, his final year, at a prestigious private academy. It was somewhat similar to Gu Chi’s Cultivation University, similar in its lack of discipline and chaotic management.
For example, the day before he transmigrated, teachers had been within ten meters of him being assaulted, yet they had turned a blind eye.
Today, as soon as he arrived, someone blocked his path.
Wen Cheng, following closely behind, watched the scene unfold: …Why do people insist on seeking death so early in the morning?
“Wen Linyu?” The person sneered, looking at him like a novelty. “Oh, what a special day! The eternal loser actually bothered to dress up! Hahaha…”
“What’s the point of dressing up, trash like you?” He raised his hand, his eyes filled with malice.
He struck, and Wen Linyu retaliated.
“Thud—Thud—” Two sounds echoed.
The sneering bully was first sent flying backwards, crashing into a wall several meters away, then falling heavily to the ground.
Wen Linyu stepped on his back, grabbing his hair and forcing him to lift his bloody face, reciting the bully’s prepared apology in a monotone: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Can you forgive me?”
