The remaining three kidnappers stood up in unison, looking at Old Wu—who had already reached the third floor—with a mixture of anger and astonishment.
Old Seven roared, "Old Wu, what are you doing?!"
Bang!
Old Wu fired another shot. The man who fell was the questioning Old Seven.
Old Three and Old Four shrank back in terror, trembling continuously. There were only two guns in total: one in the boss's hand and one in Old Wu's. The two of them only had large machetes in their hands. In front of Old Wu, who had a pistol, they stood no chance at all.
Shivering with rage, Old Three demanded, "Old Wu, what on earth are you trying to do?!"
Old Wu sneered, "What am I doing? Dividing the money, of course. With one less person, there's a bigger share for the rest of us. So, there's no share for the two of you—go to hell!"
Bang!
Bang!
Following two gunshots in rapid succession, Old Three and Old Four collapsed in pools of blood, dead on the spot.
Xiao Yang watched Old Wu with keen interest. Not a single shot missed; every bullet hit a vital organ. It did not look like someone handling a gun for the first time.
Old Wu's ruthlessness caused the two women's eyes to widen as they began to struggle against the ropes binding them.
Coldly, Old Wu said, "Stop struggling. The two of you are destined to become my playthings."
With that, he looked downstairs in puzzlement. "Why are they taking so long just to use the bathroom?"
Currently, only Old Wu and Xiao Yang had gone up to the third floor; the other two kidnappers had taken Lin Zhengrong and Steward Gong to the restroom.
He was puzzled for only a moment before dismissing it. Since Xiao Yang was still carrying the two cases of cash, even if Old Six and Old Eight ran off, he would still get his hands on the money.
Xiao Yang said indifferently, "Is there a possibility that they've already been taken care of?"
Old Wu immediately pressed the muzzle of his gun against Xiao Yang's forehead. "Then that really is a double blessing! I can swallow everything all by myself—the money and the women will all be mine!"
"You can't take them with you," Xiao Yang said, swiftly raising his hand to grab the wrist of the gun-wielding hand and pushing it sideways.
Bang!
Instinctively, Old Wu pulled the trigger, but Xiao Yang had already shifted the barrel to the right, and the shot missed completely.
Following instantly was Xiao Yang's left elbow, which struck horizontally across the bridge of Old Wu's nose. The impact left Old Wu's mind blank, causing his pistol to slip from his grip as he staggered back two steps.
Seeing this, the mother and daughter widened their eyes in excitement, making muffled sounds in their throats as if cheering and applauding.
Old Wu was stunned for a long time. *How can someone holding a gun still lose?!*
The pistol landed right at Xiao Yang's feet. With a slight lift of his foot, the gun bounced up; catching it with a backhand grip, Xiao Yang pressed the muzzle against Old Wu's temple.
The roles were reversed. Whatever Old Wu had just done to Xiao Yang, Xiao Yang now did right back to Old Wu.
Terrified, Old Wu collapsed weakly to his knees, his lips trembling as he begged, "Hero, do—don't kill me! I can trade a piece of insider information for my life..."
Xiao Yang said indifferently, "Go ahead, let me hear it. Let's see if this information is worth your life."
"This insider information is..." Without finishing his sentence, a flash of cold light suddenly erupted in Old Wu's eyes. Tilting his head sideways, he spat out a tiny silver needle whose trajectory was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye.
Xiao Yang's eyes narrowed as he slightly cocked his head, and the silver needle grazed past the tip of his nose.
"What?!" Old Wu was deeply shocked, never expecting that his infallible fatal move would be so easily dodged by Xiao Yang.
"Tricks of a petty crook!" Xiao Yang kicked Old Wu squarely on the side of the face, sending him flying a full five or six meters.
He sprawled face-down on the ground and stopped moving.
Knowing it was due to using too much force—he had snapped Old Wu's neck—Xiao Yang hadn't expected the man to be so fragile.
While untying the ropes binding the mother and daughter, Xiao Yang said, "I'm here to save you. Don't scream, don't run around. There are still two kidnappers downstairs; I don't know if they've been dealt with yet."
The mother and daughter nodded repeatedly, their faces pale with fear written all over them.
Once untied, they stretched their numb hands and feet while forcing themselves not to look at the dead bodies on the floor.
Neither corpses nor kidnapping were things the mother and daughter had ever witnessed outside of television; they had never imagined such a thing would happen to them one day.
"Is—is my dad here?" Lin Yufei asked in a trembling voice, keeping her tone as low as possible.
"He and Steward Gong are on the second floor," Xiao Yang said, signaling for the mother and daughter to follow behind him.
Just as the three of them reached the second floor, they happened to see Steward Gong knocking out the last remaining kidnapper.
Lin Zhengrong looked disheveled, his clothes and trousers covered in dust.
Judging by his appearance, he must have taken quite a beating during the fight.
"Xiuxin, Yufei, are you all right?" Seeing the three of them come down, Lin Zhengrong hurried over, showering the mother and daughter with expressions of care and concern.
Qing Xiuxin shook her head slightly. "We're fine. Thank goodness for this young man."
"Thank you, my good son-in-law!" Lin Zhengrong said gratefully to Xiao Yang.
"Son-in-law?" Hearing this, the mother and daughter were both greatly startled.
Lin Zhengrong said, "This isn't the place to talk. We'll discuss it back home."
The mother and daughter did not press further. This truly was not the place to talk; people had just been killed here, and staying made the two of them feel a chilling sensation down their spines, making them extremely uneasy.
On the way back, everyone remained silent, though Lin Yufei kept stealing glances at Xiao Yang. Since ancient times, beauties have admired heroes, and the sight of Xiao Yang saving her just moments ago had left a deep impression on her.
Upon learning that Xiao Yang was the marriage candidate designated for her by the old Daoist priest a year ago, she felt mostly overwhelmed and at a loss, yet also secretly joyful inside.
When they returned to the villa, Steward Gong did not get out of the car, turning the vehicle around instead to head back to the abandoned factory to handle the cleanup work.
The Protectors had already arrived at the scene, loading the two unconscious kidnappers into an ambulance while treating the dead kidnappers as a case of internal strife due to a dispute over the spoils.
Xiao Yang sat in a single-sofa armchair, and Qing Xiuxin went to the kitchen to warm a glass of milk, bringing it over to him.
"Thank you."
Lin Zhengrong smiled and said, "Son-in-law, this is my daughter, Lin Yufei, and this is my wife, Qing Xiuxin. From now on, we're one big family."
Xiao Yang nodded slightly to the mother and daughter. "My name is Xiao Yang. I already understand the situation in general, but we won't hold a wedding—we'll just register the marriage."
Every woman hopes to see herself wearing a wedding dress; hearing Xiao Yang say this, Lin Yufei couldn't help drifting into a daze for a moment.
Qing Xiuxin asked in bewilderment, "Why?"
Xiao Yang explained, "My situation is somewhat complicated. Once the right time comes, I'll explain it slowly."
Noticing the trace of disappointment on Lin Yufei's face, Xiao Yang softened, unable to bear it, and added, "Consider it a debt; I'll make it up to you later with an even better and grander wedding."
Hearing him say that, the mother and daughter stopped agonizing over the matter.
Still feeling somewhat reserved, Lin Yufei raised her head to glance at Xiao Yang, then quickly lowered it again, fidgeting with her clothes as she shyly asked, "Then—then shouldn't we go meet your family and friends..."
"Not for now. I still have other matters to attend to. Once I'm done, I'll take you to meet them," Xiao Yang said with a faint smile.
"Oh." For some reason, while Lin Yufei felt a sense of relief, she also felt a tinge of gloom.
Since ancient times, there has been the saying about the bride meeting her parents-in-law; the relief came from fearing that Xiao Yang's family might look down on her, or that she would make a fool of herself and leave a bad impression when meeting his relatives.
The gloom came from the mistaken belief that Xiao Yang was looking down on her.
"Uncle Lin, there's more to this kidnapping case than meets the eye," Xiao Yang said, recounting what Old Wu had pleaded before his death.