Guard Against Fire, Theft, and Wanqing

"M-Master, please calm your anger. We have plenty of opportunities to finish off that Lin Ao."

Monkey offered a nervous word of comfort to Xiao Fan. If things kept going like this, he would have smashed everything in the room—would he start smashing him next?

Xiao Fan whipped his head around to glare at Monkey, who shuddered in terror. That gaze was far too frightening.

"Heh, I'm just venting. Sooner or later, I will crush that ant into the soil of Jianghai."

Xiao Fan suppressed his rage. His foundation was unstable right now; he couldn't afford to take his frustrations out on the subordinates who remained loyal to him.

After this incident, he suspected some people within the organization would surely start getting restless. He couldn't let those around him abandon him.

If he were to become isolated and helpless, his position as Master would be impossible to maintain.

Therefore, he still needed to speak to Monkey with a measure of courtesy.

"Monkey, have the people of Dragon Gate lie low for a while. Both the Lin Family and the Liu Family are searching for us in Jianghai. Once the heat dies down, that will be the moment Lin Ao meets his end!"

"I'm going to the Qin Family to recuperate for a while. Notify me if anything comes up! You may leave now."

Monkey let out a sigh of relief and hurried out of the room.

The influence of the Lin Family and the Liu Family in Jianghai was immense, and since the forces of Dragon Gate were scattered across the country, now was not the time to clash with them.

Xiao Fan sat on the sofa, his expression gloomy, a cold sneer curling his lips.

"Lin Ao! Gu Wanqing! You and the Lin Family and Gu Family just wait. And Gu Wanqing, did you think that without you, I wouldn't have other women?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan narcissistically reached up to run a hand through his hair, only to find his head covered in bandages.

His eyes turned vicious once more.

"I am the Master of Dragon Gate! How could I be limited to just one woman? Qin Yun of the Qin Family is no less impressive than you!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

Xiao Fan laughed maniacally on the sofa!

Dragon Gate headquarters, Capital City.

An old man watched Xiao Fan on the screen while speaking on the phone with Elder Hong.

"Elder Hong, just observe for now. As the Dragon King, he must reclaim his own face."

The old man hung up on Elder Hong after speaking.

He leaned on his cane with both hands, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"If he fails again..."

He glanced at the young man behind him.

"Aotian, you will go to take over Jianghai."

The old man walked out slowly after saying this.

"Xiao Fan, I never expected you to end up like this. It seems I'm the one who has to step in!"

The young man known as Aotian stared at Xiao Fan on the screen, a mocking smirk playing on his lips.

At the entrance of the VIP room in the First People's Hospital of Jianghai City.

A charming and sexy woman had just been kicked out of the room.

"You were clearly moved to the point of no return—your status bar showed your H-value was off the charts—yet you still put on an act and chased me away! You little brat, I'll devour you sooner or later!"

Gu Wanqing glanced at the tightly shut door, shot a charming yet annoyed glare at the Lin Ao inside, and turned to leave in a huff.

"My god, who could handle an offensive like that! My pants were almost pulled off just now. It's a good thing my muscles spasmed from the injury, or I really would have lost my virginity right there."

Lin Ao lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling of the hospital room.

He kept patting his heart, which was still pounding erratically.

Gu Wanqing's change was just too drastic. Why hadn't he noticed before that she was so good at poking at a man's weak spots? He couldn't quite accept it; it felt like living in a dream.

This time, when he returned, it was the first time she had proposed breaking off the engagement. If things had followed the previous trajectory, he would have refused.

Due to the power of the Lin Family in Jianghai, the Gu Family would never have agreed to Gu Wanqing breaking off the engagement.

In the end, they would have held a wedding in six months, and that was when Xiao Fan would have burst onto the scene.

"Let go of that woman! You dare touch the woman of the Dragon Gate Master? I declare that the Lin Family will be wiped out of Jianghai before long!"

Tsk, tsk, tsk—what an arrogant entrance line! And that infatuated fool, though it also left Lin Ao speechless.

"Brother Xiao Fan, I knew you would come! Only you are willing to fight the whole world for me!"

Gu Wanqing had looked at Xiao Fan with such infatuation, saying things that were completely out of character.

"Ugh—"

Recalling this, Lin Ao almost threw up. Who wrote that dialogue!

But regardless, that was how things were supposed to progress normally.

And now?

Lin Ao lowered his head and gave a bitter smile.

Call off the engagement? Gu Wanqing would rather die than agree to that now; instead, she had talked to him about marriage while inside the Ferris Wheel.

She had even nearly jumped him right there; it was terrifying.

He figured that was exactly why he had encountered Xiao Fan so much earlier than expected, leaving him no time to prepare and nearly costing him his life again.

He had promised himself to stay away, to keep his distance, but now she was hounding him relentlessly, like a beautiful grim reaper—gorgeous, but lethal.

Lin Ao gritted his teeth, his resolve hardening.

From now on, he wouldn't let himself get anywhere near them, not even for a second.

"No, the hospital is too dangerous. I need to get home immediately and not step outside for the next few days. I have to properly prepare for how to handle what's coming next."

The more Lin Ao thought about it, the more something felt off.

He wanted to go home right now; he wasn't just guarding against Xiao Fan, but also Gu Wanqing, fearing she might launch a midnight raid and turn his life into a Night Ward scenario.

His fragile body couldn't handle that kind of strain right now.

Lin Ao packed up his things briefly and had his family send him back to Lin Family Manor.

Liu Menghan picked up Liu Nian and left the hospital.

They sat in the car, staring at each other with wide eyes.

[Departed from the Destiny Path]

This information appeared clearly before both of them.

They both tacitly chose to remain silent.

Upon returning to the Liu Family, Liu Menghan took Liu Nian to see the two elders of the Liu Family, Liu Zongyuan and Chen Yulian.

Liu Nian didn't have much of an impression of these two elders.

Because back when she was sent back to the Liu Family by Ye Chen, these two elders had already passed away.

Although she had interacted with them as a child, her memories were extremely blurry.

She watched as the two elders tremblingly pulled Liu Nian into their arms, tears streaming from their cloudy eyes.

They had been worried to death over the few days she had been missing.

What Liu Nian didn't know was that the two elders had lost their beloved son a year ago, and a year later, their granddaughter Liu Nian had also gone missing; under this double blow, they had only managed to hang on for another year before passing away.

With Liu Nian back this time, the two elders would likely live much longer.

The Liu Family wouldn't fall into Ye Chen's hands so easily either.

The two elders held Liu Nian and cherished the moment for a long while before letting her go, telling her to go get some rest while simultaneously instructing Liu Menghan to make sure she properly thanked Lin Ao.

Liu Nian felt a whirlwind of emotions; how long had it been since she felt this warmth of blood-related connection?

This only made her hate Ye Chen even more.

He was the one who had stripped her of the love she was supposed to have.

Liu Menghan held Liu Nian as they left.

"Niannian, we can finally have a proper talk!"

Liu Menghan had finally found the right opportunity to speak with Liu Nian; her mind was currently filled with questions.

Liu Nian nodded; she also wanted to have a good talk with her aunt.

They arrived at Liu Nian's room.

"About that..."

"I wanted to ask..."

Both of them tried to speak at the same time.

"You go first, Auntie. Your head must be full of questions right now."

Liu Menghan nodded slightly with a smile.