Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 143 Debt Collection and Unexpected Events
Stepping out of the house, Lu Ze found his new landlady, Emily, standing on the street in front of the door, confronting a group of people.

Her eyes widened fiercely, her small body trembling, looking both frightened and angry. Opposite her stood several men who were clearly not good people. The thin man at the front smiled menacingly at Emily.

"This is my house!"

"Emily shouted."

"Now it should belong to me."

The gaunt man chuckled, "Of course, if you can repay the debt, I'll leave right now."

Residents and passersby peeked out, hoping to see what was going on, but after seeing the menacing-looking gangsters, they obediently kept their distance.

Is this... collecting a debt?
Lu Ze overheard their conversation briefly; it seemed that Emily owed the other party money and had mortgaged her house. Now that she couldn't repay the money, the creditor was coming to take the house away.

Good grief, I've only been renting it for a few days and the house is already changing owners?

His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on his sister Cecilia, who was hidden in the shadows of the building behind them, secretly observing the situation. The shadows obscured her presence, making her appear very inconspicuous.

She noticed Lu Ze's gaze, turned to look at him, her beautiful eyes gleaming blue in the darkness.

Cecilia, what's going on?

Lu Ze communicated with his sister through his eyes.

I'm not sure either, I'll see.

The girl in the shadows shook her head and replied with her eyes.

"But I only borrowed 5 pounds! I was already planning to pay you back!"

Emily argued, clutching the banknotes tightly in her hand, "I don't owe you that much money at all, this is robbery!"

I regret your choice of words.

The gaunt man smiled smugly and took a piece of paper out of his pocket. "This is the loan agreement we signed back then. It clearly states that you need to pay interest."

“Mr. John! When you lent me the money, you didn’t mention that the interest would be this high!”

"Perhaps I forgot to mention that, but you're also at fault for not reading the contract carefully, aren't you?"

John, the gaunt man, said, "I've generously lent you money so you could treat your parents and give them a proper burial, and you accuse me of robbery. It's truly disheartening."

Hearing this, Lu Ze roughly understood.

It turned out that their new landlord's parents had died from illness, having spent all their savings, leaving behind only a house in the East End. A lender from the East End took the opportunity to offer his help, promising to lend money to help with her parents' funeral. Emily, grieving her parents' death and lacking social experience, foolishly signed the contract, mortgaging the house.

She had initially thought that renting out the house would allow her to quickly pay off the debt. However, she had no idea that the contract contained hidden tricks. The monthly interest rate seemed low, but in reality, the interest was converted into principal. Within a few months, the interest exceeded the principal, and the debt grew increasingly large.

"Alright, you now owe me fifty pounds. If you can't come up with that money, don't blame me for being impolite."

"I'm calling the police! You can't take my house away!"

Emily screamed hysterically.

"With this contract, the police won't say anything even if they come."

John, the loan shark, pointed behind him, "Stop resisting. My friends will help you move."

He turned around, looked at one of the thugs—a scarred man—and smiled obsequiously, “Mr. Charles, thank you for your trouble.”

The scarred man at the head of the group looked impatient and ignored the loan shark, instead exchanging a glance with his men. They immediately understood, headed towards the house, and began dismantling the doors and changing the locks—they were going to rob the house outright.

"Don't touch my house!"

Emily screamed, trying to stop them. The thugs ignored her, shoving the little girl to the ground. She stared blankly as they broke into her house, intending to take it for themselves.

Until John the moneylender came along.

“Your house is worth at most thirty or forty pounds. After I take it, you'll still owe me ten pounds, and next month, you'll owe me thirteen pounds.” He calculated carefully, then laughed disgustingly. “Want me to help you find a job at a bar? I know some customers like younger girls.”

He didn't finish his sentence because Emily pulled out a pair of scissors from behind her back and stabbed him in the stomach. "Die!"

She gritted her teeth and said with utter hatred.

"Ahhhh!"

John's smile was quickly replaced by terror and pain. He clutched his stomach and screamed. Blood soaked through his shirt and flowed onto the floor.

The crowd erupted in commotion as several thugs rushed forward, pulled Emily away, and snatched the scissors from her hands.

"Boss!"

They shouted at the scarred man who was leading the group. The scarred man walked over, frowned, and examined the other man's injuries. John was lying on the ground with a two-inch wound on his upper left abdomen, from which bright red blood was gushing out in large gushes.

The scarred man looked up at Emily.

"The wound is deep, and the bleeding won't stop."

He simply said, "He's going to die because of you. You'll not only lose the house, but you'll also go to jail."

Emily trembled, looking at her blood-stained hands, her face pale.

I just want to leave the East District, why did it turn out like this?
Despair enveloped her, casting a shadow over her.

shadow?

Emily then realized that someone was standing behind her. Looking up, she saw that it was her tenant, the man with mental illness.

She saw the handsome man walk up to the badly wounded and bleeding John, squat down and examine the wound on his upper left abdomen.

"Your spleen has ruptured. If the bleeding doesn't stop, you'll die in a dozen seconds."

He said to John with a smile.

"I...I don't want to die."

John said with difficulty that the massive bleeding in his abdominal cavity had made him extremely weak in a very short time.

“I have a way to save you, but as compensation, you must settle the debt she owes you.”

Lu Ze said, "You have ten seconds to think it over, after which you'll go into shock from bleeding. Ten, nine, eight."

"I promise, save me! Save me!"

John cried out for help, “Mr. Charles! Help me!”

Lu Ze looked up and glanced at the gang leader.

"Can you really cure it?"

he asks.

"sure."

Lu Ze said frankly, "If you want to treat him, carry him inside quickly. I don't want anyone else to see the treatment process."

Charles stared into Luzer's eyes, as if to ascertain his credibility. After a moment, he told his subordinate, "Do as he says."

The thugs hoisted John up, moved him into the apartment, and laid him on the porch floor. They were then chased away by Luzer, except for the gang leader named Charles, who stayed behind to keep an eye on Luzer.

Luze ignored him and plunged his finger directly into John's bleeding wound.

"Ahhhh!"

He immediately screamed in agony.

　In 1854, Britain abolished the Usury Act, removing restrictions on any form of credit. Courts generally considered the maximum usury rate to be 48%, and they would not enforce repayment above that rate.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)