That night, despite mobilizing all their connections, the Zhang Family still failed to find Xu Shuyin.
By morning, just as the members of the Xu Family were consumed by panic and despair, a family guard brought back the latest news.
"Head of the family, Miss Shuyin and a young man have returned. They are holding hands."
Everyone was slightly startled, their eyes filled with excitement and agitation.
"This shameless bitch, she actually dares to bring that bastard here. Second son, immediately arrange for some men to break that bastard's legs and send him along with Xu Shuyin to Zhang Shihao so he can vent his anger."
Matriarch Xu's eyes were dark and malicious.
"Goodness, Xu Shuyin! Just because of your selfishness, you almost ruined the Xu Family. Mom even had to personally humble herself before Zhang Shihao to apologize. Do you have any idea?"
When Xu Shuyin and Bai Feng appeared, Xu Shushan was the first to rush out the door. He had previously been wary of Bai Feng, but seeing his second uncle approach with a large group of men gave him immense confidence.
Looking at her furious younger brother, Xu Shuyin's expression shifted. She wanted to speak, but ultimately kept her mouth shut.
"You good-for-nothing, ungrateful wretch! All these years we spent money on your medical treatments, raised you, and educated you. Now that we've arranged for you to be engaged to Zhang Shihao, you run off with this wild bastard instead. Have we been spoiling you too much?" Xiao Nan rushed forward, raising her hand to strike Xu Shuyin across the face.
Xu Shuyin's expression grew even more distressed. Tears flashed in her eyes, yet she made no move to dodge.
Slap!
Just as the slap was about to land on Xu Shuyin's cheek, Bai Feng caught it with one hand.
"From now on, no one is allowed to touch a single hair on her head. Do you understand?" Bai Feng said solemnly, his tone ice-cold.
"Who do you think you are? What kind of piece of trash are you? I'm hitting this shameless, ungrateful wretch, and it has nothing to do with you. Get the hell out of my way!"
Xiao Nan shook her stinging palm, acting completely overbearing and like a termagant.
"My name is Bai Feng, and I am Shuyin's fiancé. This is our betrothal agreement, signed by Elder Xu himself. Back then, my master even presented a jade pendant as a token of engagement."
Bai Feng said unhurriedly, pulling the engagement letter from his inner pocket to display it.
Hearing that the arriving man was their daughter Xu Shuyin's fiancé, Xiao Nan was momentarily at a loss.
The late elder had mentioned this matter during a family meeting, stating that the other party could allow the Xu Family to soar to unprecedented heights and elevate them into the ranks of Fengcheng's top elite families. Although the elder had passed away about a year ago, his lingering influence remained.
"Do you acknowledge this engagement?" Bai Feng asked, looking straight at Matriarch Xu.
Matriarch Xu's expression flickered slightly. She had not expected the newcomer to be her granddaughter Xu Shuyin's fiancé, and her mind raced as she weighed her options.
If she denied it now, the authority she had worked so hard to establish since taking power would undoubtedly be shaken.
Yet Xu Shuyin was now supposed to be engaged to Zhang Shihao, a connection vital to whether the Xu Family could break into Fengcheng's upper crust of elite families.
"Do you take us for fools? A marriage decided by one's parents and arranged by matchmakers—Xu Shuyin is supposed to marry Zhang Shihao! You some-wild-bastard coming out of nowhere, daring to talk nonsense with a worthless piece of paper—have you forgotten whose territory this is?"
Seeing her grandmother's expression shift between light and dark, Xu Shushan stepped forward and pointed at Bai Feng's nose, hurling loud insults.
Slap!
Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Feng lashed out with a vicious slap.
Thud!
Caught completely off guard, Xu Shushan was sent flying through the air, crashing heavily to the ground where he passed out cold.
"Audacious! To dare commit malicious assault right here in the Xu Family—break his legs!"
Xu Yuxian, Xu Shuyin's second uncle, wore an ice-cold expression as he ordered the group of guards to move in.
Watching the scene, a trace of a smile flickered deep within Matriarch Xu's eyes as she chose to sit back and watch the show.
There was no need to lower her status and speak up herself against someone who was about to be crippled.
"Brother Feng..."
Watching the menacing crowd of guards, Xu Shuyin instinctively stepped in front of Bai Feng, her eyes filled with worry.
"It's fine, don't be afraid." As Bai Feng spoke, he glided forward with a sliding step.
In less than two minutes, the entire group of guards lay flat on the ground, each one twisting in agony and groaning incessantly.
For a moment, everyone present—including Matriarch Xu—was utterly dumbfounded. More than a dozen formidable guards had been crippled in just a brief moment.
"The elder asked me to take good care of Shuyin. Now that the elder is gone, does the Xu Family intend to disown the engagement he set? If that's the case, then I will take Shuyin and leave. Should the elder hold anyone accountable, the blame will fall on you."
Bai Feng took Xu Shuyin's hand, swept his gaze once more over Matriarch Xu and the others, and turned as if to leave.
"It's not that we don't acknowledge it, but you've caused a catastrophe that could ruin the Xu Family. The Xu Family is merely a third-rate clan; we are simply no match for a top-tier elite family like the Zhang Family. Now that I am the head of the household, I naturally cannot treat the family's fate as a child's game."
With her expression shifting constantly, Matriarch Xu spoke in a deep, serious tone.
At this, the expressions of the other Xu family members changed as well, their gazes toward Xu Shuyin and Bai Feng filling with resentment and displeasure.
"Of course, it's not entirely out of the question for you to become my Xu Family's son-in-law. This afternoon, Xianyun Group will announce its chosen business partner at the Fengyan Pavilion by Yuehai. You must step forward and make the Xu Group and Xianyun Group reach a partnership."
"You have no room for negotiation on this point. If you fail, the engagement between you and Shuyin will be null and void. Otherwise, let old lady here go meet the old man first, so at least I'll have an explanation when I get down there."
"Besides, the old man cherished Shuyin the most before he passed. Surely she isn't an ingrate who would simply stand by and watch the Xu Family meet its ruin."
Matriarch Xu's expression was earnest, her attitude exceptionally resolute.
She knew all too well how powerful this emotional card would be against Xu Shuyin!
"Brother Feng..."
Standing beside him with tear-filled eyes, Xu Shuyin bit her lower lip, her expression both aggrieved and conflicted.
She knew Brother Feng possessed extraordinary martial prowess and ability, but the condition her grandmother proposed was completely asking the impossible.
Yet before her grandfather passed away, she had promised him with her own lips that she would never abandon the Xu Family.
Even though no one in the Xu Family genuinely cared about her now, the effort and devotion her grandfather had poured into the family still remained.
She understood the value of gratitude; without her grandfather's encouragement, support, and care, she—afflicted with a severe illness—would never have survived to this day.
And aside from her grandfather, Brother Feng was the first man who made her yearning heart feel that her life was full of light and joy. Therefore, she believed Brother Feng must have a way.
"Be a good girl and trust me. I said once I take care of the rest, I will definitely handle it." Bai Feng stroked Xu Shuyin's head, his tone brimming with absolute confidence.
"As long as you stop making things difficult for Shuyin, I agree to this condition." Bai Feng accepted without a moment's hesitation.
Swish!
Liu Fengying, Matriarch Xu, thought she had misheard, a flash of astonishment crossing her eyes.
Witnessing this, Bai Feng said nothing more.
In the eyes of the Xu Family members, the condition Matriarch Xu proposed was utterly impossible to accomplish.
Yet to him, it was merely a matter of a single word.