A pig-slaughtering howl tore through the Jianghe Grain Warehouse. No one outside the water curtain dared to move without Chen Xiao's permission. Faces went white as they imagined the scene within: the once-proud Young Master Xu reduced to the shrieking, helpless thing of a slaughtered hog. His screams cut the air—high, pathetic, impossibly wretched.
"Dad—I'm really going to die! If you don't speak—Aaaaaah!""Enough!" Xu Yun bellowed, and for a moment Xu Baichuan clung to the hope in his father's voice. Then Xu Yun added, hurried and hollow: "I really can't tell you. If I speak it'll bring disaster. Trust me—this is for your own good!"
Jiang YunHan was speechless. After all this time, the man still used the same excuse? He raised his hands and began to heal Xu Baichuan again, but Chen Xiao shoved him aside. He approached Xu Yun with slow, unhurried steps.
"You're pretty tough," Chen Xiao said. He lifted his foot as if to end the farce.
At that instant Xu Yun blurted out, "I'll talk!"Xu Baichuan blinked. Even Chen Xiao paused—what sort of nonsense was this? You can endure a dozen rounds of punishment, but the moment a kick threatens you, you suddenly "talk"?
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Stop torturing me!" Xu Yun trembled, voice cracking. Xu Baichuan, fed up, spat: "Dad, screw you! You old bastard—no better than an animal!""You little bastard—you've caused your father so much trouble!" Xu Yun snapped back."I think you're the little bastard!" Jiang Chu Xue tugged the Little Monk's hand and laughed—what a display of filial devotion.
"Stop. Get serious," Chen Xiao cut in. Xu Yun forced himself quiet, though Xu Baichuan kept cursing. Chen Xiao gave the familiar kick—hard—and Xu Baichuan went limp. The crowd fell silent.[Evolution Points +20]Chen Xiao hadn't expected that kick to knock him out cold; the boy's endurance was lower than he'd thought.
Xu Yun pretended to be distraught. "I don't want to say… but there's a reason," he wheezed. "That Tang family woman is no ordinary person—how dare we imprison her?" He looked at Jiang Chu Xue, eyes darting like a cornered animal.
Jiang Chu Xue placed her hands on her hips and waited.
Xu Yun hurried on: "Lin Lao Da chased that woman into my territory. My five S-rank fighters fought him—he withdrew. He told me the woman's identity. I was shocked—she's Tang Xiangui's biological granddaughter. I… I informed the Tang family."
"'Informed' the Tang family?" Chen Xiao asked flatly.Xu Yun flushed. "Well…'informed' isn't quite right. I… I told them to ransom her."
"That's extortion," the Little Monk piped up. Xu Yun bowed his head and said, "Yes. It's extortion."
"You actually extorted the Tang family?" Jiang YunHan gaped. Xu Yun swallowed and admitted, "I was blinded by money. It's the Tang family—we couldn't resist. They sent two capable people. In front of my five S-rank fighters they simply walked in and took her away. Those two were brutal—worse than anyone here. Nobody dared stop them. They warned us: keep quiet or there'll be a catastrophe."
Chen Xiao frowned. He hadn't expected the Tang family to respond so quickly.
Xu Yun lowered his voice. "I heard those two mention a marriage—might be nonsense, take it with a grain of salt." He glanced around nervously.
Chen Xiao's expression turned hard. Jiang YunHan explained quietly, "The Tang and Yang families did marry before the apocalypse. They still honor it—there's a lot of inside business here. The water runs deep."
Xu Yun tried to stand taller. Chen Xiao asked bluntly, "What did those two look like?" Xu Yun thought, then said, "Both in black. One wore a black veil-like hat—like a beekeeper. The other…I don't remember."
Chen Xiao's eyes narrowed. The man in the black veil—Ouyang Tu, the Jiangnan Beekeeper, SS-rank talent Bee King—had once been the Tang family's executioner. He'd likely been the one sent to collect Tang Shirou, to avoid complications.
"Don't act rashly," Jiang YunHan warned. "The Tang family's power dwarfs whatever petty scraps are in Jiangbei."
Chen Xiao didn't reply. He asked, "Where's Dashan?"Xu Yun answered, "You mean that big fool—the tall one? Our five S-rank men couldn't catch him, so we let him go. Later he insisted on fighting those two black-clad men. I heard he nearly died."
Chen Xiao's face went stone. Dashan—always reckless, always loyal—would risk everything to complete his task. In a previous life he'd died covering Chen Xiao's retreat. The thought of history repeating pained Chen Xiao.
"Brother Chen Xiao, Dashan is tough—he'll be fine," Jiang Chu Xue said softly, stepping close.
The Little Monk was blunt: "If you're going, I'll go with you." Jiang YunHan clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him back. This was no time for foolish bravery—the Tang family's reach could wipe a person out like dust.
Chen Xiao had what he needed. He turned his cold gaze to Xu Yun.
"Please, boss—I was led astray by my unfilial son… Aaaaaah!" Xu Yun wailed.
Chen Xiao didn't want excuses. He kicked the same spot again, then dismantled the sky-spanning water curtain and reshaped it into a long, glinting blade aimed at Xu Yun's throat.
Heathed now, Chen Xiao sheathed his sword, voice sharp as a knife. "Doctor Jiang, I plan to found the Jiangbei Triangle Force. What do you think?"
Silence answered him—an order, a plan, and a promise all wrapped in one.