Volume Two: The Anbei Consortium Chapter Twenty-Six: Fifty Thousand Is Quite a Lot

Lian Churou stared at the man before her in terror. He had once seemed so cultured and well-mannered, yet now he appeared utterly twisted and grotesque. She never would have imagined that this man, who professed his fondness for her and claimed he had come to teach alongside her for her sake, would use the excuse of a night run to exercise, all the while harboring such sinister intentions.

He, He Honglang, wore the confident look of a man certain of victory. In truth, he had prepared meticulously beforehand; he was keenly aware of when this path would be crowded and when it would be deserted. At this hour, most people were gathered in the square to eat and drink, and soon enough, they would disperse. This would leave the path nearly empty. He had even brought some men with him to prevent any do-gooders from interfering.

So he was in no rush. He recounted every step he had taken prior, solely to watch despair and resignation gradually overtake this beautiful girl's eyes.

“What did you say? You already targeted my best friend?” Lian Churou was stunned, unable to believe her ears.

“Of course. Toss her a little money and she climbs right into bed. The day I called in sick, didn’t your friend also take a leave? She wasn’t sick at all—we went to a hotel together!”

“Impossible. She told me her grandfather was gravely ill. You must have done something behind her back!” Lian Churou quickly pieced it together and said firmly, “You’re despicable! You threatened her with money!”

He Honglang’s face twitched; in truth, Lian Churou had guessed exactly what had happened.

“You’d better worry about yourself now!” He Honglang snarled, his rage flaring as he reached out to tear at the woman’s clothes.

In the next instant, his hand was caught in a vice-like grip.

“Who’s there?” He Honglang turned, only to see a handsome young man holding onto him. He exhaled in relief and barked arrogantly, “Let go!”

He struggled with all his might, but his face soon turned a deep purple, and he remained firmly in the boy’s grasp.

“Where is everyone? Where the hell have they gone?” He Honglang shouted. He had stationed quite a few men nearby to keep watch—so why was there no sign of any of them?

“Are you talking about them?”

Li Yu smiled, shifting slightly to the side. Behind him, six or seven men lay sprawled across the ground.

Seeing this, He Honglang was genuinely shaken, and his tone softened.

“Brother, what do you want?”

“How about this: I’ll give you fifty thousand. Just let me go. We have no feud, no grudge.”

He Honglang watched Li Yu closely, trying to gauge his reaction. The only thing he was sure of was that this person wasn’t familiar with anyone here; if he were a friend of Lian Churou, they’d surely have exchanged words by now.

But the young man just looked at him with a genial smile, saying nothing, doing nothing.

He Honglang was at a loss.

“Fifty thousand, that’s a considerable sum,” Li Yu finally nodded after a while. “But is your life really worth so little?”

His presence was overwhelming.

He Honglang’s heart quivered at that icy tone; the young man must have been disgusted by his actions and wanted to teach him a lesson. Besides, a few of the men he’d brought along were trained fighters—yet they’d been taken out without a sound.

Just who was this person?

“Fine, five hundred thousand!” He Honglang gritted his teeth. “That’s all the money I have! It’s yours!”

“I’ll give you a million if you cripple him for me!” Lian Churou, regaining her composure, screamed.

She knew this was her only chance at revenge. Today, He Honglang had failed only because she was lucky someone had intervened. If she missed this opportunity, her family would never risk offending the He family for her sake.

Li Yu regarded the girl with a curious look.

Lian Churou was indeed beautiful—no wonder she attracted so much unwanted attention. But he was not helping her out of attraction; he was simply doing the right thing. If not for what Huang Xiu had suffered under the Anbei Group, he wouldn’t have intervened at all.

Li Yu tightened his grip, then abruptly released He Honglang’s hand. He turned to leave the small grove. “Come with me. I’ll take you out of here.”

“Aaah!” He Honglang wailed in agony.

Only one hand was ruined—he’d gotten off easy.

Lian Churou shot He Honglang a fierce glare, then hurried after her rescuer.

She eyed Li Yu curiously. This boy, who was a few years younger than her, was he one of those legendary martial artists?

“You just struck someone from the He family,” she said anxiously. “Thank you for saving me, but the He family cares a lot about that scumbag. You… maybe you’d better come to my house for now?”

The implication was clear: the He family would seek revenge.

And she wasn’t sure if her own family could even protect Li Yu.

“You don’t need to worry about him. I’ve already crippled him,” Li Yu shook his head. “As for the He family… they’re nothing to me.”

He’d just had a sudden idea: while grappling with He Honglang, he’d channeled his inner energy into the man and found success. He had controlled the energy, damaging a few critical acupuncture points.

This was his first time projecting his energy outside his body. Before, it would have been impossible, but ever since he had reached the seventh rank, his energy had liquefied, and thanks to his special constitution, he could just barely manage to project it.

A chosen one’s privileges, perhaps—others had to reach the sixth rank before they could project energy at all. In fact, energy projection was a hallmark of advancing to the sixth rank, and yet he had managed it at the seventh.

“I understand,” Lian Churou thought he was only referring to He Honglang’s arm. She nodded and added, “But the He family is truly formidable. They have several experts skilled in hidden force. Don’t take them lightly; the men you just defeated were only ordinary bodyguards.”

“Hidden force experts…” Li Yu gave her an odd glance. “How formidable are they, compared to Chen Chengde?”

“Oh, the Chen family is far more powerful, and they have a patriarch as well,” Lian Churou replied. Then it hit her.

This young man must be a member of the Chen family. Only then would he have no fear of the He family.

Chen Chengde was more than capable of taking on several of the He family’s hidden force experts at once. While there wasn’t much difference among hidden force users, inner energy varied greatly—the older, the stronger. Even among those of the same rank, there were vast differences.

Chen Chengde ranked in the top ten in the province, skilled in a myriad of martial arts. Rumor had it he was already at the threshold of becoming a grandmaster. If true, the Chen family’s status would rise even higher.

“But… why does he address the old master of the Chen family by name?” Lian Churou wondered.

“All right, time for everyone to go their separate ways,” Li Yu said.

Only then did Lian Churou notice they had already reached the square.

Watching Li Yu walk farther and farther away, she quickly called out, “Thank you for tonight! I teach at No. 1 High School—if you ever need anything, you can come find me!”

“….”

“Could it really be such a coincidence?” Li Yu scratched his head. No. 1 High was the top school in S City, and it was where Huang Xiu was teaching now.

But No. 1 High had a strong faculty and many teachers—the girl he’d just rescued might not even teach the senior year. Shrugging off the thought, Li Yu hailed a cab and returned to his apartment.