CHAPTER 593: SELFISH GREED

Old Master Nian stopped crying out of shock. He blinked his eyes and looked at Luo Huian before asking in a trembling voice, "You...you believe me?"

"Well, of course I do," Luo Huian said to the old mer. She arched her brow and then said to him, "What’s the matter? Don’t you want me to believe you?"

Upon hearing her question, Old Master Nian shook his head. He said to Luo Huian, "It’s not that, Miss..."

"Luo Huian. You can call me anything you want."

"Miss Huian." Old Master Nian pursed his lips and spoke in a calm voice, "It’s not that. I just. It’s just that no one had believed a word that I said to them; they all believed that mer, even accusing me of trying to cause trouble and snatching the kids, all because I am bitter because of the death of my daughter."

He wiped his tears and sobbed incessantly. "They said that I was being too much, but I know... I just know that the mer is not a good person and he could never take care of the children well without me... I am afraid that they will be killed."

When Old Master Nian thought about his grandchildren who were under Ye Jinglan’s care, he couldn’t help but worry about how they were and what they were doing. He was certain that with Ye Jinglan taking care of them, they would most certainly not even get a decent meal.

"You are certain that they will be killed?" Luo Huian questioned, and Old Master Nian nodded with a hint of worry. He said to Luo Huian, "I am not lying; I know that it will sound like I am lying, but I am not. That mer is really not taking care of the kids, I assure you."

Luo Huian looked at the old mer who was looking at her with a gaze which was almost begging him to trust him. She pursed her lips and then said to him, "I understand. Can you tell me more about this mer that you speak of? Where does he live and what does he do?"

Old Master Nian now trusted Luo Huian more or less. In his eyes, Luo Huian was the first person who had trusted him and even fed him food. A simple villager like him had simple thoughts. Since Luo Huian was willing to feed him and even take care of him, she must be a good person.

He sniffled and then said to her, "He does nothing; currently, he is surviving on the pension and the compensation that he got after the death of my daughter. As for the rest, I don’t know what he does or how he gets by. But as far as I know, he does not work at all."

When Luo Huian heard that the mer did nothing, her suspicions indeed intensified. How could a mer who had no job and was just relying on the compensation that he received from the death of his wife raise two kids? And what was he even thinking by keeping them with him when he had no job and didn’t plan on having any either?

"Nothing good for sure," said Xiao Hei with a scoff.

Luo Huian agreed with him. She took a look at Old Master Nian and said to him, "How about this? I will arrange an inn for you to stay at. You can live there and tell me about the place where your son-in-law lives. I am not sure if I can find something, but we can at least try. Maybe if we hold on a little longer, then your son-in-law might slip?"

When Old Master Nian heard her suggestion, he hesitated but then nodded. He had nothing to lose, after all; if he returned tonight, then he would end up losing his grandchildren. But if he stayed in the city, then he might be able to get custody of his grandchildren.

"Then I will thank you," Old Master Nian nodded as he thanked Luo Huian, who hummed in response before turning to look at the waiter. She raised her hand and asked the waiter to bring the bill.

Once she was done paying the bill, Luo Huian brought Old Master Nian to the inn, where she asked him to wait for her. She even paid for the room so that the old mer could stay without any worries, including lunch and dinner. In the middle of the journey, she asked Old Master Nian almost everything that she could regarding Ye Jinglan.

From what the old mer told her, Ye Jinglan was really good at pretending. No one had ever seen him lose his temper, nor had he ever yelled or fought with his neighbour. Even the deaths of his wives were mysterious, and they happened when Ye Jinglan was nowhere near them when they died. Thus, the suspicion that he killed his wives never came into question.

How could a mer kill his wife if he was not even present where they were at that moment? Thus, he was never accused of killing anyone.

Only the families of those women whom he married accused him of killing their daughters, but just like how no one believed Old Master Nian, no one believed them either. Everyone thought that these families were simply grieving too hard and couldn’t see things clearly.

’But I know the truth. There is something wrong with that mer, there is no such thing as a triple coincidence. His first wife’s death, I could accept it. I can also accept the death of his second wife but there is no way I can accept that my daughter died because she was hungover at work and made a mistake. Hell, she never drank alcohol!’

"What are you going to do now?" Xiao Hei asked. He knew that Luo Huian would definitely try to get some evidence against Ye Jinglan, but just as Old Master Nian said, the mer had a really perfect persona of being kind and understanding. There was no way they would be able to get any evidence against that mer.

Luo Huian curled her lips. She smirked and then said in a calm voice with a tilt of her chin, "Why are you so worried? We are going to take a look at this charming and kind mer first. If he is really a killer, as Old Master Nian said, then there is no need for us to drag him to court."

Her eyes started glowing with a hint of ferociousness. "I will be the one who will provide justice."

**

"Achoo!" Ye Jinglan sneezed as he walked out of the gambling house. He looked at the little money that was left in his hands and clicked his tongue. This was the money that he had received from Qi Yongrui. When he first received the money, he thought that it was too much.

But now that he had used all of it, he realised that it was nowhere near enough. He couldn’t even play three rounds with it before he was asked to leave.

Ye Jinglan pursed his lips and put away the little money that he had in his hands into his pockets. He rubbed his hands together and muttered angrily, "If he was going to give me money, then he could have at least given me a million or two. Look at this, he gave me such a small sum of money."

Ye Jinglan didn’t believe that there was anything wrong with him wanting more money. Unlike him, who had nothing, Qi Yongrui had a lot of money; he could have easily taken out a million if he wanted, but he didn’t. He was truly too much!

"Maybe I will ask him for money?" Before leaving, Qi Yongrui had left his number with him, and he even told him that as long as he needed it in an emergency, he could call him. But the thing was —what kind of emergency should he call that mer for?

The kid caught a fever? Nah. The kid was unconscious? Nah.

Even if he told such excuses to Qi Yongrui, he would at most give him a few hundred thousand yuan. What he needed was a million!

Then that meant that he needed to do something big. Something that would make Qi Yongrui take the money out in a jiffy.

Ye Jinglan returned home; his thoughts were buzzing with millions of thoughts. And when he returned home, he saw Nian Zhi cooking in the kitchen. The little brat was standing on the stool and working the spatula to stir-fry the vegetables that she had brought with the little money that Ye Jinglan had given to her.

Ye Jinglan clicked his tongue when he saw the rotten vegetables that were being fried. It was a good thing that he ate outside, or else he would have had to eat these dry vegetables. However, as he was about to walk to his room, he paused and looked at the little girl. His eyes glittered, and the smile on his lips widened.

"Aha."

That night, a mournful scream echoed in the entire apartment complex, bringing even the dead out of their graves.