Lin Luoxuan’s face was deathly pale.
Ten million?
She couldn’t pay that!
Become a mistress for three years?
She would rather die.
"Little girl, if you want me to let them go, just be my mistress for three years. It’s not a bad deal for you..." The scar-faced man’s eyes grew increasingly greedy. He walked over, reaching out to touch Lin Luoxuan’s face.
Just as Lin Luoxuan dodged, a loud "bang" echoed through the air.
Hmm?
Where did he go?
She suddenly realized the scar-faced man had vanished from right in front of her.
"Boss!"
The many men in black hurriedly looked behind them.
They saw the scar-faced man flying more than ten meters through the air, crashing onto the ground, his life hanging in the balance.
"You little brat, you’re looking for death."
The men in black pulled out telescopic batons and charged toward Ning Chen.
Lin Luoxuan had never seen such a scene; her face turned ghostly pale, but she still managed to scream, "Run!"
Then, she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Ning Chen stood right beside her, merely waving his hand. All the charging men in black were sent flying backward, dropping dead on the spot.
Only one was left with a single breath remaining.
"Auctioning off the Ning Family Old Mansion? Who gave Zhou Shihao the nerve?"
Ning Chen let out a cold snort.
He spoke to the man who still had a breath left: "Take a message to Zhou Shihao: whoever dares to lay a finger on the Ning Family Old Mansion will be killed without mercy!"
After saying this, Ning Chen caught his sister off guard and knocked her unconscious. He swept her up in his arms and, taking a shocked and dazed Lin Luoxuan with him, left the Ning Family Old Mansion.
...
Yijia Apartment.
Unit 806.
This was Lin Luoxuan’s home. She brought Ning Chen and Ning Qingxue back here.
"Ning Chen, you rest here for a moment. I will find a car immediately to get you out of Chuzhou," Lin Luoxuan said hurriedly after Ning Chen placed his sister on the bed.
"I’m not leaving," Ning Chen shook his head.
"Not leaving? Are you waiting to die?" Lin Luoxuan was truly anxious. Even though she didn't know how Ning Chen had become so powerful—taking down over a dozen men in black as if it were nothing—she was certain that every extra day Ning Chen stayed in Chuzhou, the more danger he would be in.
Zhou Shihao would definitely investigate what happened at the Ning Family Old Mansion today.
Once he discovered Ning Chen’s identity and learned he hadn't died seven years ago, it would be all over.
At that point, Zhou Shihao would never let Ning Chen go.
"I’m not leaving, but I’m not waiting to die either. I am going to uncover the truth and seek revenge."
Ning Chen had three goals for this return. He had already accomplished the first—finding his sister—leaving two more.
However, he had to save his sister first before talking about anything else.
"Do you even know who those people were who wiped out the Ning family? You want to seek revenge on your own? Are you trying to kill yourself?" Lin Luoxuan was frantic, deeply worried for his safety.
"Sister Luoxuan, do you know who was involved back then?" Ning Chen asked.
Lin Luoxuan spoke quickly: "I only know of two. One is Zhou Shihao, and the other is the Chen family, one of the Four Great Families of Chuzhou. Whether it’s Zhou Shihao or the Chen family, they are behemoths. Either one of them alone could destroy you completely. Do you understand?"
"If your sister knew you were still alive, she would be so happy. But if she knew you were alive only to end up in trouble again, she could never bear such a blow."
Even without mentioning Zhou Shihao and the Chuzhou Chen family, Ning Chen didn't care about them, nor did he care if Zhou Shihao joined forces with all of the Four Great Families of Chuzhou.
But to keep Sister Luoxuan from worrying too much, he could only say, "Don’t worry, I won’t do anything reckless."
"You say you won't be reckless, but Zhou Shihao will track you down," Lin Luoxuan said, truly anxious.
Just then, Ning Chen frowned: "Why is my sister pregnant?"
Pregnant?!
Lin Luoxuan widened her beautiful eyes. "You mean... Qingxue is pregnant?"
"Yes," Ning Chen nodded. He had just checked his sister’s pulse; it was indeed the pulse of a pregnant woman. He could feel a new life budding within her.
But this discovery caused a surge of killing intent to erupt in Ning Chen’s eyes.
Could she have been violated?
"Ning Chen, don’t get excited. Your sister was not violated..."
Lin Luoxuan sensed Ning Chen’s fury and spoke up quickly.
It was only then that Ning Chen learned the truth. Back then, after he and his sister escaped their home, they were still hunted. To keep him alive, his sister had pushed him into the river, hoping for a sliver of survival. She had stayed behind to lure the enemies away and, as a result, had nearly been violated. She used a sharp object to slash her own cheeks, and it was her own scarred, bloody, and terrifying face that had saved her from that fate.
In the end, his sister had been thrown into the river to feed the fish.
It was a boy named Jiang Li who had saved her.
Even after she was disfigured and driven mad by the enormous trauma, Jiang Li never left her side, caring for her devotedly. A few years later, she had gradually returned to normal.
But she would still have occasional episodes.
Even so, Jiang Li had remained steadfast.
Ultimately, his sister married Jiang Li, but half a month ago, Jiang Li was arrested for stabbing a rich second-generation heir while trying to protect her.
Triggered by that, his sister’s mental state had deteriorated once more.
After Jiang Li was arrested, Lin Luoxuan had been the one taking care of her.
Today, the reason they had gone to the Ning Family Old Mansion was because his sister had finally had a moment of clarity and wanted to return to see the old home, so Lin Luoxuan had accompanied her, sneaking inside.
"Jiang Li... I remember him. He was my sister’s college classmate. Back then, when he was at his wit's end, it was my sister who asked the family for 500,000 to pay for his mother's medical treatment."
Ning Chen remembered the man.
His sister’s kindness back then had been repaid.
Ning Chen felt nothing but gratitude toward the brother-in-law he had never met.
If it weren’t for him, he probably would never have seen his sister again.
"Ning Chen, now that you know your sister’s situation, you can rest easy knowing I’m looking after her. Be good, listen to me—leave Chuzhou now. I will take her to the hospital. I will definitely protect your sister and her baby," Lin Luoxuan pleaded again.
Ning Chen had already taken out his silver needles and begun performing acupuncture on his sister. "No need. I will treat her myself."
"You know medicine?" Lin Luoxuan asked, startled.
"A little," Ning Chen said.
"Ning Chen, couldn't we just take her to the hospital?" Lin Luoxuan was skeptical of his self-proclaimed medical skills.
"No need," Ning Chen shook his head.
Lin Luoxuan couldn't force him to stop; she could only hope that Ning Chen wouldn't hurt his own sister.
She just hoped that after he finished the acupuncture, he would take the opportunity to flee Chuzhou before Zhou Shihao’s retaliation began.
A few minutes later, Ning Chen retracted the needles.
"How is it?" Seeing how solemn Ning Chen had been and how natural his acupuncture technique looked, Lin Luoxuan asked with a flicker of hope.
"Of her three souls and seven spirits, one spirit has gone missing. I just need to retrieve the spirit that fled in terror, and my sister will return to normal," Ning Chen said.
Lin Luoxuan: "..."
To be honest, she had held onto a sliver of hope. She felt that Ning Chen wouldn't play games with his own sister.
But now???
"Do you think you’re some street-corner con artist? 'Three souls and seven spirits,' and one is missing?" Lin Luoxuan snapped, angry that he was spouting nonsense about his sister at a time like this.
Ning Chen: "..."
"In any case, let my sister have a good sleep. When my brother-in-law returns, that is when she will return to normal," Ning Chen said, maintaining his patience.
"Jiang Li was sentenced to three years," Lin Luoxuan sighed. Her means were limited; she could only care for Ning Qingxue; she had no power to save Jiang Li.
"He will be back before dark," Ning Chen said.
Lin Luoxuan really couldn't take it anymore: "Ning Chen, you weren't like this before. Why are you full of empty boasts now? Do you really think these things are fun to say?"
"Trust me," Ning Chen said. "Sister Luoxuan, please help me watch over her. I will be back before tonight."
...
SPACE Bar.
Ning Chen pushed the door open and walked in.
A waiter quickly approached: "Sir, I’m sorry, but we don't open until seven in the evening."
"I want to see your boss, Sun Yize." Ning Chen walked straight in and found a seat.
"Sir, our boss isn't someone you can see just because you want to," the waiter reminded him.
Ning Chen pulled out a black card—one given to him by the gatekeeper at the entrance of his village: "Lafite, vodka, brandy, Rémy Martin, Louis XIII, Hennessy Richard... red, white, beer... as long as you have the wine here, I’m paying for it all."
The waiter’s eyes lit up. If this were true, his commission for one night would be more than what he earned in a whole year of hard work. But he still looked at Ning Chen skeptically: "Paying for all the wine here would cost at least ten million."
"Swipe the card," Ning Chen pushed the black card toward him.
The waiter, half-doubting, took the card to swipe it.
A moment later, the waiter ran back, excited and incredibly enthusiastic: "Sir, you can have the whole bar to yourself tonight! We’ve already contacted the boss; he’ll be here soon."
Half an hour later, a group of people pushed through the doors.
The leader was a young man wearing sunglasses, led to Ning Chen’s side by the waiter.
"Sir, this is our boss, Mr. Sun Yize," the waiter said respectfully.
Sun Yize took off his sunglasses and smiled: "Brother, I heard you spent ten million on drinks just to see me. That’s generous. I, Sun Yize, will be your friend. From now on, not only this SPACE Bar, but everywhere in this entertainment complex under my name, you will be a VIP."
"Sit," Ning Chen said.
"Brother, tell me, why did you spend ten million just to see me?" Sun Yize sat down, thinking that someone who could throw away millions so casually was worth befriending.
"Do you remember them?" Ning Chen handed over his phone, which showed a piece of surveillance footage.
In the video, Sun Yize was kicking a woman, while beside her, a man was being pressed firmly to the ground by his subordinates, his eyes burning with rage.
Sun Yize cursed: "How could I forget? That ugly bitch, a scar on her face, scared the hell out of me. I cursed her a couple of times, and her loser husband dared to talk back. He scratched my arm, such bad luck. Fortunately, I got her loser husband thrown into prison, and that ugly bitch went mad too. It was a good vent for my anger."
"But how do you have this video?"
Sun Yize looked up, looking at Ning Chen with curiosity.
"The 'ugly bitch' you speak of is named Ning Qingxue!"
"My name is Ning Chen!"
"She is my sister!"
Ning Chen said slowly.
Sister?
"Bang!"
Before Sun Yize could react, Ning Chen had already grabbed a bottle of wine and smashed it against his head. Wine, broken glass, and blood flowed all over Sun Yize’s face and body.
In an instant, everyone was stunned.
"Bang!"
In the blink of an eye, another bottle of wine shattered against Sun Yize’s head.
Before Sun Yize could figure out what was happening, he was seeing stars, his body swaying before he collapsed to the floor.
"Fuck your mother, you dare touch our boss?"
Sun Yize’s bodyguards, seeing this, were incensed and charged toward Ning Chen.
But the next moment, Sun Yize’s bodyguards, along with the bar counter and tables, were all sent flying, slamming into the wall with such force that the wall buckled and cracked. All the bodyguards were left lifeless, their fates unknown.
Ning Chen stood up, grabbed Sun Yize by the hair, and lifted him up. Pointing at Jiang Li in the surveillance footage, he said word for word: "No matter what method you use, if he isn't released unconditionally within one hour, I will take your pathetic life!"