Elder Hong leaped toward Uncle Gu and joined the fight.
Gu Wanqing also ended her domineering kiss.
She released Lin Ao's mouth, a few glistening strands still stretching from her red lips.
Lin Ao was exhausted. Finally, it's over, he thought.
He looked up. After Elder Hong joined in, Uncle Gu had fallen onto the back foot and was struggling to hold on.
"Young Master Lin, Miss, go on ahead!"
Uncle Gu knew he would be defeated before long, so he wanted them to escape while they still could.
Seeing this, Xiao Fan withdrew from the fight, leaving Uncle Gu for Elder Hong to hold off. Then he walked toward Lin Ao, Gu Wanqing, and the others.
Liu Nian was frantic. She was too weak to help at all. Where was the backup she'd called?
The moment she saw Xiao Fan appear, she had a bad feeling. Using the smartwatch Li Wanyu had given her, she messaged Li Wanyu to say that someone was trying to kill Lin Ao and Gu Wanqing.
At the same time, she messaged her aunt, telling a lie that Xiao Fan had kidnapped her and that she was at the amusement park.
The instant Li Wanyu received Liu Nian's message, she set off for the scene. Lin Dong's face was gloomy, and a powerful aura filled the car. Li Wanyu was the same. Neither of them spoke; they were like volcanoes on the verge of erupting.
Meanwhile, Liu Nian's aunt, Liu Menghan, looked puzzled. She had received a message from an unfamiliar number claiming to be Liu Nian, saying she had been kidnapped by someone named Xiao Fan and was now at the amusement park.
During the two days Liu Nian had been missing, the Liu Family had mobilized everyone to search for her. Liu Menghan had been afraid to involve the police, worried that if word got out about Liu Nian's disappearance, she would be in even greater danger.
It had only been a year since what happened to her elder brother and sister-in-law. Those people still hadn't all been found, so she could only keep Liu Nian's disappearance under wraps.
No wonder the amusement park manager had gone to the police station to ask around and found no leads.
But was this message real or fake? Even if it was fake, she had to go check. She immediately told someone to get a car ready and set off for the amusement park.
"Wanqing, you can still leave this man."
Xiao Fan strolled over to Gu Wanqing and Lin Ao. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was completely unaware of how drastically his behavior had changed from before.
No matter what he thought, he had never shown it. He had always kept up the appearance of a gentleman. This time, he was completely different, revealing his dark side in full.
Gu Wanqing tried to shield Lin Ao behind her again, but this time Lin Ao yanked her behind him.
Gu Wanqing stared blankly at the figure before her.
"So you're Xiao Fan. What right do you have to stand here and talk to us?"
When Lin Ao faced Xiao Fan at close range, the anger he'd long kept bottled up slowly flooded his body. The images of being killed again and again made him tremble despite himself.
"I am the Dragon Gate's sect master. You're nothing but a clown sheltered by the Lin Family. You—"
Xiao Fan was still invoking his status as the Dragon Gate's sect master when Lin Ao cut him off.
"I asked what you are to us. Wanqing and I grew up together, and we've been engaged since we were children. What right do you have to come between us? You're not even her friend. What gives you the right to stand there getting angry all by yourself? Don't you think... you're the clown here?"
Lin Ao's expression was cold. This was what he had always wanted to say. They were all far too full of themselves.
At worst, I'll die. Why should I put up with this humiliation from you?
Lin Ao's words stabbed into Xiao Fan's heart like a knife. That last jab about him being a clown enraged him even more.
"Shut up! Wanqing is my woman—the woman I, the Dragon Gate's sect master, have set my sights on! She has to obey me. No one but me can have her! You—you threatened her, didn't you? That's got to be it!"
Xiao Fan looked mad as he glared viciously at Lin Ao, spouting words that sounded utterly ridiculous.
Gu Wanqing and Liu Nian also noticed that Xiao Fan was acting differently from before. He had become even more arrogant and narcissistic—almost deranged.
Wisps of golden energy once again dispersed from his body and entered Lin Ao's.
"Xiao Fan, don't project your own thoughts onto me. Do I have to prove it to you again?"
Gu Wanqing looked at Xiao Fan in disgust. Her words got under both their skin.
[Current character status/thought: Reliving the moment, but the circumstances won't allow it!]
Xiao Fan's eyes turned red, and he charged forward. His target wasn't Lin Ao—it was Gu Wanqing.
"I'll kill you! No one but me gets to have you!"
In Xiao Fan's eyes, Gu Wanqing had betrayed him. He thought she had cheated on him, and his heart was full of hatred for her. He felt that she had been playing him all along.
Gu Wanqing was startled. Xiao Fan was too fast. She closed her eyes.
At least this time, she could finally stand by Lin Ao's side.
She was already more than satisfied to finally act on her feelings, and she'd even kissed him so many times. It was worth it.
She felt herself get knocked through the air and hit the ground, but the pain she'd expected never came.
A warm, solid body pressed down over her.
"I'm telling you women, when you're in danger, can you not close your eyes? Can't you dodge? Is waiting to die fun?"
She immediately opened her eyes wide and saw a thin trace of blood at the corner of Lin Ao's mouth.
A surge of fury rose within her. Images of Lin Ao's many deaths flashed through her mind. Her eyes went red, and she struggled like a madwoman to get up and fight Xiao Fan.
"Just stay right here. This is between him and me."
Lin Ao held her down firmly, trying to calm Gu Wanqing. I, Lin Ao, hadn't fallen so low that I needed a woman to protect me.
Just as Xiao Fan was about to hit Gu Wanqing, Lin Ao pulled her into his arms and took Xiao Fan's furious punch on his back.
He realized that Xiao Fan's attack was much weaker than before.
Lin Ao had practiced ancient martial arts in different timelines, but no matter what level he reached, those people would always somehow be just a little stronger than him.
But this punch from Xiao Fan made him feel a clear difference.
Compared to the Xiao Fan he'd faced before, this one felt weak—far too weak!
Even if Xiao Fan hadn't yet advanced to the Grandmaster Realm, his strength shouldn't have been this low.
If that was the case, things were getting interesting. Lin Ao sensed a chance to live to ninety-nine.
He helped Gu Wanqing up from the ground, then stood.
"Xiao Fan, you hit my woman. Have you thought about the consequences?"
Lin Ao looked coldly at the enraged Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan was also deeply surprised. Why hadn't one punch killed him?
He was a Pre-Natal Realm Martial Artist, one who could fight Grandmasters across a higher realm.
And he couldn't kill a pampered young master from a family?
"Now let me have some fun with you. Wanqing, take care of Liu Nian."
When Gu Wanqing heard Lin Ao call her his woman, her heart raced uncontrollably. It felt much better than kissing him. A flush spread across her cheeks as she picked up Liu Nian and retreated to the side.
"Lin Ao!!! Go to hell!"
Xiao Fan charged forward again.
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