1340 Putting the Blame on Others (2/2)
”I'm sorry, the words just slipped out of my mouth,” the young woman apologized immediately.
”Tell the others that I'll be busy for the next two days. Tell them to report to the Elder if there's anything important.”
”Sure, but aunt, where are you going?”
”You're asking too many questions. I didn't take you from your mum so you can annoy me with your questions. Just do as you're told! By the way, Leng Qing sent us an encoded message asking for backup. Don't tell anyone that I asked you to relay the message to the Kunming Enforcement Union, because she specified Kunming as the destination. Now that Leng Qing is dead, the higher-ups will be pointing their fingers around. You must keep it a secret if you don't want to take the blame!” Cheng Ying warned her.
”Ah? Why would they blame me for it? I was just following protocol!” Su Qingqing asked.
”An Elder has died, so someone must pay for it. If they can't find the culprit, they won't be able to explain themselves to the superiors or the Lingyin Enforcement Union. They will surely find a scapegoat, and the scapegoat is usually someone that has made the smallest mistake, even though that wouldn't even lift their brows normally. A tiny mistake might become deadly, even if you have nothing to do with it!” Cheng Ying said.
”I...I'll make sure to keep it a secret. Aunt, you're so nice to me. If you hadn't been telling me what to do over the past few years, I'd just be a nobody at the bottom. My mother didn't teach me anything apart from drinking and beating me up. But now, even those that mistreated me before are being respectful to me after they learn I'm an Enforcer now,” Su Qingqing said.
”You're grateful to me?” Cheng Ying raised her brows and asked the naive young woman.
”Of course!”
”Then I have a favor to ask you, and don't tell anyone else. I don't really trust them, especially after learning there's a traitor among us. I wouldn't want them to mess with my plan,” Cheng Ying said.
”Not a problem.”
---
---
To the west of Mount Jueguai was the Flying Cliff Bridge between two mountains. A tragedy once took place on the second mountain, so it had been abandoned since. The Flying Cliff Bridge ended up as a decoration.
A young woman was hanging on the side of the bridge. Her legs were dangling above a canyon creek.
”Aunt...” the girl struggled, kicking her legs. Her body was restrained by a special force, preventing her from using any magic. She was no different from an ordinary human.
The rope was tied firmly around her pale throat. Her face was turning blue as her eyes were rolling upward. Her twisted face showed she was suffocating painfully!
”Didn't I tell you that your soul will live forever if you give up your life? Those with great contributions will rule in the afterworld. You will no longer have to take orders from the others, nor will you suffer or feel inferior. Go, as a Blue Deacon, I present to you the Kingdom of Death!” Cheng Ying said expressionlessly.
Su Qinging was overwhelmed with fear. She did not understand a single word the woman said. She was in great pain and terrified. She did not understand why the aunt who had been kind to her would do something like this to her.
She was born poor and lowly. Her mother would scold and beat her every day, and force her to do never-ending chores. It was her aunt that saved her from her mother after she awakened the Plant Element and enrolled in a magic high school. Her aunt, Cheng Ying, was a splendid Mage. She worked in the Enforcement Union, first as an Enforcer, and now a Supervisor. She had always worked hard. She was perfect, a role model for Su Qingqing, and the person that Su Qingqing respected the most. Su Qingqing always thought of Cheng Ying as her mother, while her biological mother was nothing but a scum!
Why would the woman she treated as her mother do this? What was happening before her was worse than a nightmare. The woman who had given her a new life had suddenly turned into a devil who tied the rope around her neck mercilessly. The grip on her neck gradually tightened. The mother-and-daughter relationship between them over the past ten years did not cause the woman any hesitation, even if she could soften the grip a little, even if she could explain to her why she was doing it...
Su Qingqing tried her best to raise her head. She knew she did not have long to live, but she did not show any hatred. The woman had given her everything, so she did not complain when the woman wanted to kill her. She just wanted to see if Cheng Ying was forced to do it. She wanted to see if the woman was in pain just like she was, to see a hint of unwillingness from her...
But there was none!
None at all!
The woman was like a stranger!
---
A cold wind blew heavily on the corpse like a merciless whip; it gradually lost its temperature.
The corpse hanging from the Flying Cliff Bridge was exposed under the sun swayed as the wind blew. Su Qingqing's tender skin began to crack from being too dry...
”There's a plank hanging beside the bridge. It looks like it's going to fall...” a patrolling officer suddenly yelled.
Another officer took a closer look. ”A plank? It...it looks like a body!”
”It...it really is, my Heavens, call for backup!”