Li Wei stood in place opposite her, making no move, his eyes fixed on Li Mengyao.
After Li Wei took his stance, Li Mengyao didn't hesitate. With lightning speed, she lunged forward. A leg, previously suspended in the air, slammed towards Li Wei's face. The movement was swift and fierce, embodying the inherent ferocity of Muay Thai.
A muscular thigh, carrying a gust of wind, swept towards him. Li Wei's expression remained unchanged as he quickly raised an arm.
"Bang."
The two met with a dull thud. Witnessing this, Lin Yan instinctively pulled Su Mojin back a step.
Having blocked the attack, Li Wei seized the opportunity to counter. The two quickly engaged.
Lin Yan watched quietly from the side.
Muay Thai was renowned for its ferocity among all martial arts, and Li Mengyao's offensive perfectly embodied this. It was less a fight and more Li Mengyao delivering blows while Li Wei defended.
"What do you think of her strength?"
After watching for a while, Lin Yan turned to Yang Tianming beside him and whispered. They hadn't separated yet, or rather, Li Mengyao hadn't forced Li Wei to reveal his true strength.
"Young Master, it's hard to tell at this point, but she's definitely not as strong as Brother Li."
Hearing Yang Tianming's words, Lin Yan rolled his eyes. Wasn't that stating the obvious?
"Alright, have Li Wei step down. You go up."
"Huh?"
Li Wei had been continuously probing Li Mengyao's strength. Preliminarily, Li Mengyao's power was higher than he'd estimated. However, to compare her directly with Yang Tianming, he needed further testing.
"Brother Li, you can come down. The Young Master wants me to take over."
Mid-fight, Yang Tianming stepped in to pause the exchange.
Li Mengyao looked at the two of them, panting. It was one thing to be strong, but to switch opponents like this?
If Li Wei had been pressing Li Mengyao, then Yang Tianming and Li Mengyao could be considered evenly matched.
As a key talent cultivated by the organization back then, Li Mengyao was among the top fighters within it.
Of course, "evenly matched" referred to sparring. In a real fight, Yang Tianming would be significantly stronger than Li Mengyao, as real combat is aimed at taking a life.
Li Wei calmly walked off, a stark contrast to Li Mengyao's labored breathing.
With Yang Tianming entering the fray, the defensive posture was abandoned, and the two immediately went all out. Li Mengyao, eager to showcase her worth, even increased her attack speed.
They fought for nearly a hundred rounds.
"Young Master, Li Mengyao is tiring."
With their alternating turns, Li Mengyao's stamina was beginning to falter.
Despite her rigorous training, a woman's stamina, even for someone as formidable as Li Mengyao, still lagged behind that of an average man.
"Alright, stop."
Feeling it was enough, Lin Yan called a halt. He let Li Mengyao rest. He couldn't glean much from her fight with Li Wei due to the significant disparity in strength, but her bout with Yang Tianming was much more revealing. Li Mengyao's martial arts were only slightly inferior to Yang Tianming's, and with further training, closing that gap might not be a major issue.
Upon hearing Lin Yan's command to stop, both Li Mengyao and Yang Tianming ceased their movements and stood facing Lin Yan.
"Mengyao, you will stay by Xiao Jin's side from now on, responsible for her safety."
This was a decision Lin Yan had made long ago; he was merely announcing it now.
Xiao Jin?
Li Mengyao was initially stunned, then seemed to comprehend, her gaze shifting towards Su Mojin with disbelief.
This...
It wasn't that Li Mengyao was dissatisfied with the position; quite the opposite, she was extremely pleased, perhaps excessively so. The promotion felt too rapid.
Who was Su Mojin? She knew very well these past few days. Su Mojin had visited several times while she was hospitalized.
She was the young madam of the Lin family. What kind of treatment was it to be by the young madam's side? A meteoric rise?
While both were bodyguards, at the same level, was there any comparison between someone by the young madam's side and a guard standing at the gate?
It was a bit of an exaggeration, but not entirely so.
"Yes, Young Master."
Without hesitation, Li Mengyao cupped her hands in agreement. She had already made up her mind these past few days. This place was far better than where she used to operate; at least she didn't have to live in constant fear.
Seeing her sister's meteoric rise, Li Tielong, who had been watching from the side, was also overjoyed.
With the Lin family's current influence, investigating someone's background, even within the underworld, was a simple matter. If Lin Yan dared to place Li Mengyao by his wife's side, it meant he had absolute confidence. Within a month, the so-called underground organization of Thailand had ceased to exist. All of Li Mengyao's personal history, from childhood, had been transmitted to Lin Yan without omission.
As for the remnants of her former organization, even if any survived, they were insignificant.
Li Mengyao's entire background was now thoroughly understood by Lin Yan.
Upon receiving the order, Li Mengyao obediently stood beside Su Mojin. Seeing this, Lin Yan took two dark red booklets from his subordinate and handed one to Li Mengyao and tossed the other to Li Tielong.
"As promised, these are your household registrations. From now on, you are legitimate Chinese citizens."
Household Registration?
Taking the booklets blankly, Li Mengyao opened hers and saw it was indeed the household registration she had longed for.
"Thank you, Young Master, thank you so much, Young Master!"
Upon seeing their household registrations, both siblings were overcome with emotion. The feeling of going from being undocumented to having an identity was something only those who had experienced it could truly understand.
"You don't need to thank me. Just do your jobs well. The Lin family will not mistreat you."
"Yes! Young Master!"
"Get up, Mengyao."
Su Mojin also helped Li Mengyao, who was kneeling beside her, to her feet.
Over these past few days, they had gotten to know each other better. They weren't best friends, but they were much more familiar than when they first met. This was also something Lin Yan had deliberately arranged. In his approach to managing people, Lin Yan had specifically arranged for Su Mojin to be trained.
In the following days, Li Mengyao went with Li Wei for training. Li Mengyao no longer needed to practice combat; her existing skills were already comparable to Yang Tianming's. Her training would focus on reconnaissance, firearms usage, security, and most importantly, killing techniques.
Even the ruthless and fierce Muay Thai was considered a formal martial art, but for true life-and-death combat, these alone were not enough. One crucial element was missing: dirty tricks.
When truly facing an enemy, any trick was permissible. The enemy wouldn't play by the rules. Gouging eyes, kicking the groin – whatever was fastest, whatever could end the opponent in one move, was to be used.
With Li Mengyao taken for training, Lin Yan and Su Mojin strolled around the racetrack.
"I heard that young Su Chen has a new girlfriend again?"
As they walked, Lin Yan brought up a new topic. He had heard about it just a few days prior at the Shanghai leg of the competition. Su Chen had apparently gotten a new girlfriend.
"Yes, but you should know this new sister-in-law."
Su Mojin smiled, looking down at her feet as she spoke.
"I know her?"
Lin Yan was slightly puzzled, then a realization dawned on him. Could it be...
Lin Yan guessed correctly. Su Chen's new girlfriend was indeed Chen Qianqian. After he had mentioned her briefly last time, Su Chen, despite feeling a bit down, had tried to learn more about her. The more he learned, the more he became infatuated.
There was a fundamental difference between a genuine socialite from the upper echelons and someone who merely pretended to be.