Everyone was stunned.
"Xiao Li..."
Wen Xiuxian looked worriedly at his daughter as she stepped forward.
"Don't worry. If Mr. Fu had wanted to kill me, I'd have died more than once already."
She gave a weak smile and bowed solemnly.
"Thank you for saving my life just now. Please forgive my father if he did anything to offend you."
"If possible, I'll have to keep counting on you from here on..."
Not bad. Even after everything I'd done, she'd kept her head. At least this NPC had some sense.
Fu Qian nodded, feeling rather pleased.
"Of course. The situation is still tense, so from now on, everyone will do as I say."
"What do you think you—"
Young Master Ye's words were cut short.
Hmph. Fu had read plenty of books. Did they think he didn't know the classic routine of slapping a spoiled rich kid to boost his reputation?
He delivered a slap, then turned and took a punch and a kick from the middle-aged man surnamed Ji before drifting back as lightly as a feather, his image as a master now firmly established.
Old Brother Ji, however, had clearly come off worse in the exchange.
He'd noticed what was happening, but his opponent was too fast. He'd still been too late to protect his charge.
But he definitely couldn't afford to be late again.
He stared this way, his face tense with wariness.
"Old Ji—"
Unfortunately, Young Master Ye stubbornly insisted that he still had value as a target for another slap. As soon as he'd steadied himself, he let out a roar.
But his call didn't work. Old Brother Ji not only stayed put, but hurried to the front and blocked the hot-blooded young man.
The farce didn't matter. The guy did seem to be putting on an act, but what if he really was insane?
What if he decided on a whim that the consequences didn't matter and just killed someone?
Ahem!
Fortunately, there was still someone with a clear head. Seeing that the situation was about to get out of hand, Wen Xiuxian coughed and stepped forward.
He first soothed Young Master Ye, then invited him to go rest. By then, Young Master Ye had calmed down a little. He gave them the legendary venomous glare and declared that he wouldn't let this go, then finally left surrounded by his entourage.
The butler was already organizing people to clean up the mess. The entire estate was in a pitiful state, its former splendor gone.
There was a gaping hole in the house, and several of the grand pillars in the plaza had been broken after taking a beating from both Fu Qian and the giant.
The whole place looked utterly bleak and miserable.
As one of the chief culprits behind the current state of affairs, Fu Qian had a moment of understanding for the fabled beauty of impermanence.
Just a few days ago, he'd been a shut-in. He hadn't been frail, but his physical fitness had been perfectly average.
Who would've thought that in the blink of an eye, he'd become a walking weapon?
Even after that string of fights, he didn't feel particularly tired.
The minor injuries he'd gotten from trading blows with the middle-aged man surnamed Ji had already stopped bothering him.
Thug Form had given him more than just speed and excitement. It had also given him a recovery ability far beyond what was normal.
He really wasn't within the realm of ordinary humans anymore.
By then, Wen Xiuxian had finished arranging everything and came over with a smile.
"Mr. Fu, Captain Gu, please come with me."
As expected of a businessman, his ability to control his emotions was nothing short of astounding.
Captain Gu was still in a daze. At Wen Xiuxian's invitation, he followed along, still confused.
The place where Wen Li had been staying was now a wreck, crushed by a stone pillar, and had been sealed off.
Fortunately, the estate was spacious, and they quickly cleared out another room.
"Please, have a seat, Mr. Fu."
Wen Xiuxian first helped Wen Li settle down to rest, then made a point of inviting Fu Qian to sit.
"We've been through a lot lately, so we've been rather on edge. After what happened just now, I was a little rude. Please don't take it to heart."
"I'll have to rely on you to keep Xiao Li safe from now on."
"Don't worry. It's my duty, and I'll do everything I can."
Fu Qian straightened his uniform and continued making small talk.
"Then I'll have to count on you, Captain Gu."
After probing for a while and getting nothing out of Fu Qian, Wen Xiuxian had no choice but to switch targets, speaking with complete sincerity.
"You're too kind."
Captain Gu was flattered.
Everything had happened so fast that even with his usual knack for handling people, he felt like his mind couldn't keep up.
He'd also been staring at Fu Qian ever since the incident, feeling that this teammate was more unfamiliar than ever.
They'd been discussing how to slack off just moments ago, and then Fu Qian had suddenly transformed into a transcendent, even saving their employer several times in a row.
"Mr. Fu, what do you think attacked us today?"
Clearly satisfied with his response, Wen Xiuxian turned and asked Fu Qian.
Now that was a question for the right person.
"I don't know!"
Fu Qian shook his head.
"But it shouldn't be hard to find out. Have you encountered that giant before?"
Answering a question with another question was always a good approach.
"Never."
"We've been attacked twice before, but there was never anyone like that."
Wen Xiuxian's attention was indeed diverted. He slowly shook his head.
"Today's attack tells us one thing: the other side is a highly professional team, not a bunch of scattered amateurs. Every one of them is an expert, and they work together exceptionally well. A team like that couldn't have been thrown together at the last minute."
It wasn't particularly useful, but showing off his professionalism couldn't hurt. Fu Qian continued to spout nonsense offhandedly.
"So even though there's little information to go on, it's not impossible to investigate. It shouldn't be too hard to track down a team whose members are all so distinctive."
"I'll make the arrangements."
Wen Xiuxian nodded, and his tone was sincere.
He was clearly just an ordinary person, but after being a rich man for so many years, he had a pride of his own.
"Actually, the big idiot isn't the hardest one to deal with."
Fu Qian continued to plan several moves ahead.
"The person who came to pick him up was clearly good at disguises. With so many people in your home, it'd be easy for them to infiltrate the place and turn it into a sieve."
That... was true!
Wen Xiuxian was sweating now.
"Then what do you think would make things safe, Mr. Fu?"
"Simple. You must have a safe room here, right?"
The standards might differ from one era to another, but safe rooms were practically a must for the powerful. After all, you only got one life.
"Uh, we do..."
"Have Wen Li hide in the safe room. That'll minimize the number of people who can get near her. Ideally, no one but me would be allowed inside."
"But Xiao Li still needs someone to look after her..."
Wen Xiuxian clearly couldn't accept the suggestion.
You're someone with an unknown background. Is it really wise to say that?
"Then there's nothing you can do. Just wait to die."
"Could I speak with Mr. Fu alone for a while?"
Seeing the tension in the room, Wen Li suddenly spoke up.
This...
"It's all right..."
Wen Li looked at her father and gently shook her head.
All right.
Wen Xiuxian hesitated briefly, then sighed and sent everyone out.
Once they were alone, Wen Li stared at Fu Qian for a long time.
"Thank you."
"You already thanked me."
"I'm not thanking you for saving my life this time."
"Thank you for slapping him. I've wanted to do that for a long time."
Before you continue