After Lin Fan finished his meal, a white dove landed on his windowsill.
Before he could reach out, the dove flew over and perched directly in front of him.
"Coo, coo, coo..."
The dove let out a few cries, turned, and flew off, disappearing into the twilight.
"The junior sister... has she appeared?"
He had been searching for his junior sister for so long, scouring almost every night market and bar, yet he had never found the girl with the red birthmark between her brows. Logically, given her legendary capacity for alcohol, she should have been easy to spot in places like this. That red mark only appeared when she was drunk, stimulated by alcohol—a unique secret of the Lin Family.
Thirty minutes later, while Bai Aoxue was asleep, Lin Fan slipped out. He appeared on Tiger Street dressed in a white shirt and jeans. He parked his car near the Blue Sky Bar. This area had only recently opened; he had delivered food around here before and scouted every shop, yet he had never seen a bar this lively. Neon lights flickered at the entrance, and deafening music poured from within.
Lin Fan was unaccustomed to the noise. Just then, a livestock truck pulled over nearby.
Not far away, the sound of a child crying rang out. A ragged eight-year-old boy was shedding tears over a Golden Retriever lying on the ground, crushed and half-dead. The boy, who was in the middle of losing his front teeth, looked rather comical as he wept. One of his eyes glowed with a faint silver light, swirling with deep crimson—he looked like an outcast.
A middle-aged woman walked over, seething with rage. She was dressed in gaudy, expensive clothing, wearing large earrings and heavy makeup—a jarring contrast to the boy. She slapped the boy across the face the moment she reached him. He fell to the ground, two red palm prints instantly blooming on his cheeks.
"You little brat! I'm worked to the bone every day, and you're here mourning a dog! How did your dead-beat father produce a useless piece of trash like you? Is your work finished? And you're here wailing like a banshee!"
"Mom, the Golden Retriever is still alive! Please, save it! It's the only thing Dad left me!"
"You little wretch, get back there and wash the glasses! And don't you dare mention your dead father again! It’s just an animal—if it dies, it dies. At least we can sell it for meat!"
"Mom! Don't sell the Golden Retriever! I don't want it to end up in a hotpot!"
"Get lost! You little brat! Are you trying to annoy me to death?"
*Thump! Thump!* The woman kicked the boy twice. The boy didn't fight back; he just crawled up, clutching her hem, begging desperately. "Mom, I’m begging you. A-Zhao will eat less, work more, and make more money. I won't have anything to do with Dad again!"
"You're trying to bargain with me? Why did I even give birth to such a spineless thing?"
A drunken man emerged from a nearby corner and pulled the woman aside. "Damn it! Who’s ruining my mood?" The man left, hitching up his pants in annoyance.
The woman reached out and poked the boy’s head hard with her finger. "You little brat, we'll settle this tonight when we get home!"
"Brother Zhang... you haven't paid yet..."
Watching the woman's retreating back, the boy frantically turned his attention to the Golden Retriever, which was lying in a large pool of blood, trembling in agony. Whenever someone walked by, the boy would scramble over and kowtow, desperate for a savior.
"Uncle, Auntie, big brother, big sister—please, save it! Please, save the child!"
The boy was shoved aside by passersby, his forehead and arms scraped and bleeding. His face grew increasingly desperate.
Lin Fan frowned and began walking toward the street. Suddenly, the large truck nearby seemed to lose control and barreled toward him. Lin Fan was caught completely off guard. A flash of his past surged before his eyes—a memory of his father buying him a beloved puppy as a child, only for it to die mysteriously later. He had cried for days, eventually discovering that his own cousin had boiled the two-month-old puppy alive. That cousin, who had always acted kind and friendly, was the one who wanted him dead the most. From that moment on, he had become an outcast, loathed by his entire family, just like this lonely boy.
With a deafening crash nearby, the truck’s tires skidded, and Lin Fan’s body fell backward, out of control. A month-old piglet tumbled from the truck, squealing as it hit the ground. The boy, breathless, appeared by Lin Fan’s side.
"Big brother! Are you okay?"
Lin Fan looked at the boy with the strange eyes. "You saved me."
"Big brother, there are many bad people around here. You need to protect yourself."
"Thank you. Is that your dog?"
"But... it’s already dead." The Golden Retriever’s gaze had glazed over, and its breathing was fading.
Lin Fan walked over silently and used his internal energy to examine it. A bone had pierced the dog's trachea. Fortunately, it wasn't completely severed, just causing temporary suffocation. Lin Fan pressed his hand against the dog’s abdomen, using his energy to reset the displaced bones. He then used high pressure from his abdomen to seal the internal bleeding and used a handkerchief from his pocket to bind the wound. The Golden Retriever’s eyes regained their luster, and its breathing stabilized.
"It will recover after half a month of rest."
The boy watched, stunned, as the dog's heartbeat normalized. "Thank you, big brother."
Lin Fan picked up the unsteady piglet and turned to leave. "Don't ever do anything like this again."
The boy stiffened, frozen in place. "So, you knew all along."
Lin Fan clapped his hands together. "Of course I knew. You faked an argument with your mother, even going so far as to endanger your friend, all to get my attention. Your goal was to have that truck kill me. This is no place for a child. There is a free public welfare primary school three kilometers away; you should go there. When you grow up, become someone useful to society."
The boy seemed deeply moved. He hurried to grab the hem of Lin Fan’s shirt. "Big brother, I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Mom said your life is worth a truckload of hamburgers."
"Oh?"
"I'm sorry. This is the Dragon-Tiger Gang’s territory. My mom and I have to stick together to survive, and we had no other choice. Mom said you are a super-villain who kills and burns things and hurts innocent girls. She said you tainted Bai Aoxue. Your head is the most valuable bounty I’ve ever seen."
Lin Fan reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. "Haha. And do you think big brother is a bad guy?"
Wumingzi shook his head. "Big brother saved the dog and enlightened me. You aren't a bad person. My mom and I are the bad ones! Please, don't hurt my mom."
"Fine, I promise."
"Do you know who told you to wait for me here?"
"I heard Mom say it was someone with a dragon and tiger tattoo on their forehead."
"The Dragon-Tiger Gang..."
"Wait, isn't that Tang Li, the dancer who performed on stage the day before yesterday?"