Chapter Twenty-Two: Crisis!

“…How terrifying!” The two young women, seeing that Nangong Yuchen had no intention of stopping, hurriedly circled around him and rushed to Nangong Kexin’s side.

With a crunching sound as he stepped on the shards of glass, Nangong Yuchen seized Zhou Haoran again and slammed him hard onto the floor. Judging by the murderous glint in his eyes, even if Zhou Haoran survived, he would be left in pieces!

In truth, Nangong Yuchen himself didn’t understand what had come over him. There was only one thought haunting his mind: “Kill the enemy who hurt my sister!”

For Nangong Kexin meant everything to him. She was, at this moment, the only family he had—his elder sister! He valued Nangong Kexin more than his own life. Otherwise, for the past several months, he wouldn’t have persistently endured the label of ‘useless’ and refused to quit his job, giving her nearly all his earnings every month without complaint or regret.

Yet Nangong Kexin still hadn’t forgiven him.

“Kexin, hurry and make your brother stop! Zhou Haoran’s father is the warden of District A prison, you know! If he really beats Zhou Haoran to death, we…” The two young women were genuinely frightened by Nangong Yuchen’s ferocity, so they urged Nangong Kexin, who sat with her head bowed in silence, to intervene and stop him.

With a dull thud, Zhou Haoran’s body was hurled once more onto the hard floor, and the sound of bones snapping was chillingly clear to their ears.

Just as Nangong Yuchen bent down, preparing to grab Zhou Haoran again, Nangong Kexin abruptly stood from the sofa. Without caring that her blouse had slipped and revealed her skin, she walked straight to Nangong Yuchen and slapped him hard across the right cheek!

The sound of the slap echoed in the room, stunning not only Nangong Yuchen but also the girls named Lily and Huiyan.

“…Kexin!”

“Kexin, what are you doing? He’s your brother!”

Her friends’ confusion and reproachful questions hung in the air, but Nangong Kexin, still with head lowered, spoke coldly to Nangong Yuchen, “Do you want our parents to die because of you?”

“Anyone who hurts you must die!” Nangong Yuchen’s eyes reddened as he prepared to finish off the battered Zhou Haoran.

“I told you to stop! Do you want our parents to die in prison? Is that what you want?” Nangong Kexin suddenly looked up, her beautiful eyes bloodshot, her voice rising to a shout.

Her roar was laden with deep hatred and agony, leaving the two girls beside her once more dumbfounded.

Were they really siblings? The two of them felt that Nangong Kexin harbored nothing but resentment toward Nangong Yuchen—this was nothing like a normal brother and sister.

“But he… he hurt you!” Nangong Yuchen replied, pain etched across his face.

“All of this was my choice. It was my decision to give myself to him—it has nothing to do with you!” Nangong Kexin’s tear-reddened eyes locked onto Nangong Yuchen’s. She continued, “He can take me to see our parents! So please, leave. I never want to see you again!”

Nangong Yuchen could hardly believe these words had come from his sister’s lips. Yet the sight of her tear-filled eyes made his whole body tremble violently, a searing pain choking his heart.

As the entire private room fell into silence and Nangong Yuchen was weighed down by unbearable anguish, black-and-white patterns once again appeared at his temples—left black, right white—clearer than they had been at the abandoned building two nights before.

Yet, because he had bowed his head, none of the three women present, nor Nangong Yuchen himself, noticed.

“Who dares cause trouble in Star Emperor Tavern?”

At that moment, a furious roar came from downstairs.

“This is bad! Members of Zhou Haoran’s family are here. Kexin, we need to go!” The anxious cry shattered the silence in the room. Nangong Yuchen, forcing down his pain, strode forward, grabbed Nangong Kexin’s arm, and ran for the exit.

“Let go of me!” But this time, Nangong Yuchen refused to release her, dragging his sister out of the room by force.

Behind them, Lily and Huiyan hurried to follow.

As the four reached the bottom of the stairs, they found the entire first floor cleared of patrons and replaced by dozens of men in black suits—hired muscle.

“So you’re the ones causing trouble?” The leader, a bald, burly man brimming with muscle, swept a cold gaze over the four of them, then demanded of his men, “Where’s Young Master Haoran?”

“Second-floor private room!” The black-suited men rushed upstairs.

Ten seconds later, a cry came from above. “It’s bad! The young master is dying!”

“What?” The bald leader’s expression turned icy. He roared, “Kill them all!”

At his command, the dozens of thugs surged forward.

“This is the end… what do we do?” The slightly plump girl on the left, Huiyan, trembled with fear.

“We fight our way out!” Nangong Yuchen’s face darkened. The bald man exuded a dangerous aura. Not daring to hesitate, Nangong Yuchen rushed forward, channeling all his strength into his right arm, and threw a punch at the first thug who came at him.

With a resounding thud, he seemed to pour all his inner agony into his fist, sending the first attacker flying several meters and knocking down several more in the process.

“You three, stay close and follow me with Kexin!” Nangong Yuchen moved swiftly, his physical abilities fully unleashed. With each punch and kick, the thugs were sent flying, unable to resist. In no time, the four of them had charged out of the lobby and reached the main entrance.

At this moment, the bald leader himself could no longer stand by.

He rammed aside his own men with brute force and lunged at Nangong Yuchen, aiming a vicious blow at his head.

Sensing the deadly threat behind him, Nangong Yuchen dodged with all the speed he could muster. He knew this man would be difficult to handle, and with his sister and her friends to protect, he couldn’t risk a direct confrontation.

Spotting an opening, Nangong Yuchen called out, “Take Kexin and go! I’ll hold them off!”

At critical moments, the two girls didn’t hesitate. Grabbing Nangong Kexin, they fled outside.

Nangong Yuchen, meanwhile, squared off against the bald brute.

Flesh met flesh with a heavy impact, and Nangong Yuchen staggered back several steps, wincing from the pain in his fist. His opponent was also a physical cultivator, and his strength was easily over 350 kilograms!

He took a deep breath. “Looks like all I can do is buy them more time,” he thought. Steeling himself, Nangong Yuchen launched another attack. This time, he fought more cleverly, relying on speed and reflexes to evade direct confrontation, stalling the brute while picking off the surrounding thugs one by one.

Yet, strangely, the brute and his men seemed unconcerned as the three women escaped, making no effort to give chase.

After several minutes, Nangong Yuchen’s body ached in every muscle from the blows he had taken. Sensing that enough time had passed, he prepared to make his escape using his speed—when suddenly, the sound of marching footsteps came from behind him.

Puzzled, he turned to look—and his heart seized in terror.

In his field of vision were Nangong Kexin, Lily, and Huiyan, who had escaped minutes before, now escorted back by squads of soldiers in military uniform.

What chilled him even more was that each soldier carried a real, pitch-black rifle.

This was the genuine military.

At that moment, the bald brute seized the opportunity and landed a heavy punch on Nangong Yuchen’s head.

A wave of pain and ringing filled Nangong Yuchen’s skull as he collapsed at the feet of the three women.

As he struggled to rise, a middle-aged man strode to the front of the squad and shouted angrily, “Where is Haoran? Where is my son?”