A nature park not far from the Qin Family.
"Miss Qin, let's have a toast~ After we meet tonight, I'll be leaving the Qin Family. Surely you won't refuse me?"
Xiao Fan noticed that Qin Yun had received a call. She was still holding her phone, which only made him even more irritated.
Qin Yun furrowed her brow but still took the wineglass.
But she didn't drink. She set the glass down and continued typing a message.
She tapped send~ and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Xiao Fan saw red. He had to admit, Qin Yun's faint smile stirred his lust.
But that damn woman would smile at her phone rather than at him. She hadn't even given him a polite smile—not once. She'd been cold as ice from the moment they arrived!
Let's see if you can still keep that icy expression in a little while!
At the thought, Xiao Fan's lust surged. To make sure nothing went wrong, he needed to hurry things along.
Only after replying to the message did Qin Yun look at Xiao Fan. If he hadn't promised to stop bothering her after this meeting, she wouldn't have given him the time of day.
She wasn't afraid something might happen, since Qin Family people were watching from the shadows. What she didn't know was that Xiao Fan had already dealt with them in secret.
"Xiao Fan, we really aren't right for each other. After we finish this drink, I hope you'll keep your word and stop bothering me."
She'd planned to humor him for a bit and then leave, so she could be rid of this annoying man for good.
Xiao Fan nodded, kindly clinking his glass against Qin Yun's.
He watched as Qin Yun parted her alluring lips and drained the wine in one go.
After tonight, let's see how you can keep putting on that act.
Long Aotian walked up to Lin Ao and shook his head. Monkey had called Long Aotian over and asked him directly.
But he didn't know exactly where Xiao Fan had arranged to meet Qin Yun. It shouldn't be too far away; otherwise, Qin Yun wouldn't have agreed to go out.
Lin Ao anxiously stared at his phone, ignoring Long Aotian.
"Ding—!"
After waiting a while, he finally received a message from Qin Yun.
"Sorry, darling~ You called me for the first time and I actually hung up on you. I can't really take a call right now~ I'll make it up to you when I get back later~"
"I'm getting away from that annoying guy I told you about. It'll be over soon!~"
Where did you say you were? Tell me! Come on, tell me!!!
"Ding—!"
Lin Ao immediately looked at his phone.
"Let's go, Aotian! Jianghai City Nature Park."
Long Aotian immediately told Monkey to get the car ready, and they sped off at full throttle.
"Aotian, how strong are you now? Has Xiao Fan reached Grandmaster?"
Lin Ao and Long Aotian sat in the back, discussing their plan.
"Xiao Fan was already at the peak of the Pre-Natal Realm. After Mr. Lin Ao defeated him once, he broke through to Grandmaster when he came to the Qin Family."
Monkey casually shared what he knew about Xiao Fan from the driver's seat. It seemed he had completely switched sides to Long Aotian.
"I'm still at the peak of the Pre-Natal Realm, but give me a month and I can reach Grandmaster too."
Aotian spoke sheepishly. When it came to martial strength, he really had always lagged behind Xiao Fan.
Lin Ao was puzzled. Why hadn't Monkey stayed with Xiao Fan, now a Grandmaster, and instead chosen to follow Long Aotian, who was only at the peak of the Pre-Natal Realm? Unable to help himself, he asked.
Monkey fell silent for a moment, then replied.
"Because he's not the Xiao Fan he used to be. He's become irritable and extreme. He used to resort to underhanded methods now and then, but lately he's been getting more and more unhinged. I'm no good person myself, but I can't stand his extreme behavior, so I joined Special Envoy Long."
There was one thing Monkey left out. Once, after Qin Yun had turned Xiao Fan away, Monkey had tried to comfort him out of kindness. In return, Xiao Fan had beaten him so badly he'd nearly lost his life.
That was the main reason Monkey, who had always been loyal to Xiao Fan, had switched sides as soon as Long Aotian came to Jianghai.
When your life's on the line, who cares about loyalty? You think Monkey suddenly grew a conscience? A man who threatened to kill people at the drop of a hat—what kind of decent person could he be?
Lin Ao didn't fully believe Monkey. He knew Monkey was no good, and he'd be wary of anyone who'd once been at Xiao Fan's side.
Lin Ao nodded and began checking the map of Jianghai City Nature Park. There wouldn't be many people in the park at night, and given Xiao Fan's personality, he'd surely choose somewhere romantic. Most likely, that meant the area around Central Lake.
They soon arrived at the park entrance. Lin Ao immediately got out of the car and sprinted toward Central Lake.
Lin Ao hadn't notified Uncle Zhang or the others. He felt that with his current strength, he had nothing to fear from Xiao Fan—especially with Long Aotian there, whose head had been turned by the prospect of becoming sect master.
He'd planned to come provoke Xiao Fan tonight, then lure him to the Lin Family Manor and test how well the fortress held up.
Since you're in such a hurry to get yourself killed tonight, I'll just finish you off.
Lin Ao increased his speed again. Long Aotian barely kept up, while Monkey was left in the dust. He stared at Lin Ao in disbelief. Back at the amusement park, he hadn't sensed Lin Ao was this strong. When Lin Ao had beaten Xiao Fan senseless, Monkey had thought he'd taken some kind of drug. But now he realized Lin Ao was actually a Grandmaster?
Lin Ao and Long Aotian soon reached the area around Central Lake. They spotted several people collapsed on the ground. From their clothes, they looked like Lin Family bodyguards, all low-level Martial Artists.
Lin Ao grew even more anxious. This was bad—my Fierce One!
They hurried closer and made out two figures in a pavilion by the lake: Qin Yun and Xiao Fan.
Candles and flower petals were scattered all around them.
Lace curtains hung from the pavilion, creating a cozy, romantic atmosphere.
Lin Ao clicked his tongue. That bastard had stopped just short of hauling in a bed.
But so what? Qin Yun wasn't taken in by this kind of thing. She only went for the kind that made her howl.
Lin Ao looked at Qin Yun and saw that something seemed off about her. She'd never smile at Xiao Fan, so Xiao Fan had probably succeeded in drugging her.
Lin Ao let out a long breath.
Good. I still made it in time.
"Go out and distract Xiao Fan. Keep his attention on you as much as you can. I'll look for a chance to get her out first."
Lin Ao spoke quickly to Long Aotian. He was worried that appearing in front of Xiao Fan himself would provoke him, since he'd already provoked him once tonight—even though Xiao Fan didn't know Lin Ao was the one secretly messaging Qin Yun.
It was better for Long Aotian, a fellow sect member, to show himself first. Xiao Fan would be less wary of him. They could keep Xiao Fan occupied while Lin Ao took the chance to rescue Qin Yun.
Long Aotian didn't ask any questions. He simply went up from the opposite direction.
Lin Ao had already worked out what to say to persuade him. He'd planned to tell him that, once this was done, the Lin Family and Qin Family would be his staunch allies and so on. But Aotian didn't say a word. He just nodded and followed Lin Ao's plan.
He thought, this Dragon Gate Crouching Dragon is a real one! When something comes up, he doesn't hesitate—he just jumps right in.
Maybe I should get to know him better?
Lin Ao quickly pulled his thoughts back. Now that Aotian was making his move—
He needed to hurry up and get started too.
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