With a single slash of Ning Chen’s knife, a bloody gash appeared across Chen Yanran’s pretty face. Blood gushed uncontrollably from the wound, quickly staining half her cheek red.
At first, Chen Yanran only felt something cool brush against her left cheek, not feeling much of anything.
It was only when the warm blood spilled over and dyed her cheek crimson that she belatedly began to feel the pain.
"Blood?"
Touching her cheek and finding her hand covered in blood, Chen Yanran was instantly seized with panic.
With wide eyes and holding her cheek, she cried out in disbelief, "You... you slashed my face?"
Without wasting words on her, Ning Chen reversed his grip and struck with another slash.
*Rip!*
Flesh tore open!
Another deep, bloody gash appeared across Chen Yanran’s other cheek, laying bare the flesh and dripping with blood.
"Ah!"
"Aaaah!"
Chen Yanran clutched her face and shrieked in agony.
Her piercing cries sounded like those of an evil ghost!
At that moment, she was utterly consumed by panic.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that one day, the pretty face she took such immense pride in would be slashed open by someone with a knife.
Now, the one whose face was ruined wasn't Ning Qingxue—it was her.
How could she possibly accept this?
"Kill him!"
"Somebody kill him! Ahhh!"
After the initial shock wore in, Chen Yanran went nearly mad, screaming frantically at her remaining bodyguards.
Yet, at that very moment, those bodyguards stood rooted to the spot, their faces filled with terror, completely unable to move.
They were all former mercenaries who had once lived by the blade, only stepping down in their later years to seek a stable income.
In terms of combat skill and reaction speed, they were absolute masters.
Otherwise, they never would have caught the eye of the Chuzhou Chen Family—one of the Four Great Families of Chuzhou—and been hired at a hefty price.
Normally, the moment Ning Chen made his move and knocked away their blade-wielding companion, they would have reacted instantly—either attacking Ning Chen or rushing to protect Chen Yanran.
In reality, however, they simply could not move.
It was as if some terrifying force had pinned them in place, making them feel as though they were carrying an entire mountain on their backs, their bodies heavy to the absolute extreme.
This was the first time they had ever encountered such a situation.
It was too bizarre!
They couldn't help the terror rising in their hearts!
Especially when Ning Chen’s gaze swept over them; it felt as though they were being stared down by a primordial beast, and any rash move on their part would have them torn to shreds.
"Sis, you protected me when we were little. Now, it's my turn to protect you!"
Ning Chen turned around, looked at Ning Qingxue, and smiled.
Ning Qingxue was still somewhat dumbfounded. She hadn't expected Ning Chen to be so ruthless in his methods.
Yet, deep within her heart, an unprecedented sense of security welled up.
"Mm," Ning Qingxue nodded.
"Look, I didn't lie to you, your face really has recovered completely." Ning Chen then took out his phone, opened the front camera, and held it up for Ning Qingxue to see.
Through the phone's camera, Ning Qingxue could finally see directly that her cheek had indeed returned to its original state.
A smile blossomed uncontrollably across her tear-stained face.
A smile still on his face, Ning Chen pulled Jiang Li over. "Brother-in-law, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just... I'm so useless, I couldn't protect your sister," Jiang Li said, self-reproachfully.
"You protected her well," Ning Chen smiled.
This was also what made him deeply grateful to Jiang Li. If not for Jiang Li, his elder sister would have drowned in the river seven years ago. Back then, when the Ning Family was destroyed, who dared to rescue them? Only Jiang Li.
It was Jiang Li who saved his sister.
For the past seven years, it was also Jiang Li who took care of her. Without Jiang Li, even if his sister had survived that day, she wouldn't have made it through these past seven years.
"What are you standing around for? Go wipe the tears off my sister's face."
With that, he pushed Jiang Li forward.
At the same time, he pulled Lin Luoxuan back. "Leave this moment to my sister and brother-in-law."
Lin Luoxuan gave him an eye roll, holding up a tissue. "See that? I was just going to wipe your sister's tears, not intentionally play third wheel."
Even after rolling her eyes, however, Lin Luoxuan looked at Ning Chen with a gaze shimmering with fascination.
She couldn't help recalling yesterday at the Ning Family Old Mansion, when Ning Chen had single-handedly beaten down so many men from the Chuzhou Auction House.
Today, at the most critical juncture, he had stepped forward in the nick of time once again. He was so undeniably manly, and his aura of safety was simply off the charts.
Immediately afterward, though, worry crept over her, and she lowered her voice urgently: "You've blown things up, you're in big trouble now. That woman is the apple of the Chen Family's eye. You need to leave right now; otherwise, once the Chen Family finds you, they'll surely discover you're Ning Chen, and by then, no one will be able to protect you."
"And take your sister and brother-in-law with you, leave Chuzhou altogether. Otherwise, even if you run away, the Chen Family will definitely take it out on them."
"Here's my card. There isn't much money on it, but there's still twenty thousand, enough for you to use temporarily. The PIN is your sister's birthday."
Seeing the worried expression on Lin Luoxuan's face, Ning Chen couldn't help reaching out to gently flick the bridge of her pert, delicate nose. With a smile, he said, "Don't worry. Even if the Chen Family doesn't come looking for me, I'm going to go looking for them."
Lin Luoxuan froze.
Her beautiful eyes widened instantly, and she stared at Ning Chen in disbelief.
Th-this guy... was he actually flirting with her?
She had only ever seen couples act that intimately on television, using a finger to flick each other's nose bridges.
Yet Ning Chen had actually done that to her?
While she was in shock, a rosy blush inevitably crept across Lin Luoxuan's cheeks.
"What... what are you doing?"
She glared at Ning Chen.
However, Ning Chen had already turned around and walked away.
Because the commotion here was simply too massive, it had already attracted the attention of many onlookers, and the hospital security guards, armed with riot gear, were rushing over one after another.
Meanwhile, in a corner, the female nurse with the melon-seed face was trembling all over.
If she had harbored resentment and anger toward Ning Chen and Ye Hongli before, ever since Ning Chen destroyed Chen Yanran's face with two slashes, all her anger had completely vanished.
She even felt a trace of fortune.
Good thing she hadn't gone too far... Otherwise—she touched her own face, a chill running through her heart.
Back in the open area.
Chen Yanran had previously been forced to swallow her fury and dared not act arrogant because her bodyguards were standing frozen like statues under a binding spell, ignoring her commands and unable to move. But seeing the hospital staff rush over, she finally shrieked with rage once more.
Her voice had turned shrill and desperate: "I am from the Chuzhou Chen Family! Kill him, you must kill him!"
Yet those charging security guards, just like her bodyguards, seemed to have been struck by a binding spell, pinned in place by a powerful pressure and unable to move a muscle.
Step by step, Ning Chen walked toward Chen Yanran. "It seems the lesson I gave you today is still not enough!"
Chen Yanran instantly cowered again.
Especially since, right at that moment, her entire face was completely drenched in blood, and even the clothes across her chest were heavily stained red, looking both gruesome and pathetic.
"What... what are you going to do?"
Chen Yanran was so scared she peed herself right then and there.
Yes!
A large wet patch spread directly between her legs, even trickling down her thighs and onto the ground.
"Audacious!"
Right at that instant, however, a cold shout resounded. Accompanied by an overwhelming, storm-like aura, a middle-aged man leaped through the air, his palm striking straight toward Ning Chen.
"A martial artist from the Chen Family?"
Lin Luoxuan and Ning Qingxue cried out in alarm at the sight of the middle-aged man suddenly bursting into the fight.