"I remember once I went to investigate a place that was still in turmoil, and the people living there were suffering immensely, but they dared not resist, because those who did resist were already dead. Then, a strong young man came to this village, believing that righteousness would triumph over evil and meddling in other people's business. Do you know what his final outcome was?"
As the man finished speaking, Zhou Jinbai's voice unexpectedly came from behind them.
"That meddling man, while still conscious, watched helplessly as these thugs carved up his body, and after his death, his corpse was hung at the entrance of that place."
Zhou Jinbai's voice was deep and steady. It was a story that should have sent shivers down one's spine, but from his lips, it didn't seem so terrifying anymore.
All eyes turned to Zhou Jinbai. Even the foreign man who had intended to intimidate Lin Xingwan looked at Zhou Jinbai in surprise.
"Mr. Dongfang—"
"Mr. Mallory, long time no see."
Zhou Jinbai walked behind the man, a very friendly smile on his face.
Cen Zhiyuan affectionately linked her arm with Zhou Jinbai's. It seemed that wherever Zhou Jinbai was, Cen Zhiyuan would appear; they were inseparable.
"Indeed, it has been a long time," Mallory said, looking at the hypocritical smile on Zhou Jinbai's face and cursing the man inwardly for appearing at such an inconvenient time.
That damned Xu Qingdai had caused them not only to earn no money recently but also to lose so many elites.
He had planned to torment this woman tonight when he met his enemy.
But to have his harsh words interrupted halfway through felt truly unpleasant.
"Mr. Dongfang, have you heard this story too?" Mallory asked deliberately.
"Of course, I have. This incident caused quite a stir back then. After the person who brought justice to the people died tragically, it ignited the anger of countless others, and that group of dark forces was completely eradicated. This incident tells us that as long as one holds onto justice, evil will never triumph over darkness."
Helian Diejin: "..."
Mallory: "..."
Lin Xingwan felt her mood lift considerably watching the two of them being infuriated by Zhou Jinbai's words.
"We have other matters to attend to. Let's talk another day."
Duan Muxing spoke politely, but the impatience in his tone was evident.
The people in front of them were not good. In fact, they all had their own hidden motives.
Especially Zhou Jinbai. Duan Muxing was now certain that he knew Lin Xingwan's true identity, yet this man was so patient, not revealing himself to Lin Xingwan. Moreover, he seemed to be getting deeper involved with Cen Zhiyuan. Duan Muxing couldn't understand what Zhou Jinbai was up to.
Helian Diejin said nothing. Mallory remained silent. Only Zhou Jinbai spoke, "Alright."
As Lin Xingwan and Duan Muxing left, Helian Diejin and Mallory also lost the desire to converse with Zhou Jinbai, as they had no common ground.
After Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan also departed, Helian Diejin asked the man beside her, "Tonight, how confident are you that you can make Xu Qingdai die?"
Helian Diejin found Xu Qingdai to be incredibly annoying, her level of dislike comparable to that of Helian Lingruo.
"This is the Dongfang family's territory. If we cause trouble on their grounds, we will ultimately be in the wrong. However, I will find a way to make Xu Qingdai die."
Although Mallory knew the chances of success tonight were slim, he truly hated Xu Qingdai.
If it were in the past, Mallory would have directly killed Xu Qingdai. Countless people had died before him over the years, but none had made Mallory so anxious.
Duan Muxing and Lin Xingwan arrived at a less crowded area. Lin Xingwan, feeling hungry, picked up a plate and began to eat.
Duan Muxing looked at Lin Xingwan's carefree demeanor and couldn't help but ask, "Tonight, countless people are watching you with covetous eyes. You can still eat?"
"What else should I do? Should I cry? Since things have reached this point, no matter how timid or scared I am, it's useless. I might as well eat what I want. Even if something happens, being full will give me the strength to deal with enemies."
Lin Xingwan's seemingly heartless attitude left Duan Muxing helpless.
For a moment, Duan Muxing couldn't find any words to refute Lin Xingwan and could only sigh repeatedly.
"Stay in crowded areas and try not to go too far."
Duan Muxing finished speaking, and Lin Xingwan nodded obediently.
However, before she could eat much, screams erupted from the crowd.
"Quick, call a doctor, quickly..."
"Oh my god, so much blood, it's terrifying."
"Hurry and stop that woman! She's killing someone! Don't let her run towards me!"
...
Not far from Lin Xingwan and them, the crowd began to surge outwards.
Because of this, Lin Xingwan and Duan Muxing clearly saw what was happening in the crowd.
Liu Mengqin lay in a pool of blood, and a woman who looked somewhat familiar was stabbing Liu Mengqin's abdomen again with a fruit knife.
At this moment, Lin Xingwan even forgot that she was currently Xu Qingdai. Her body reacted before her brain, and she rushed towards where Liu Mengqin had fallen.
Lin Xingwan didn't know where she found the courage, but she directly blocked the woman's fruit knife with her hand. With a forceful pull, she wrenched the fruit knife from the woman's grasp.
Lin Xingwan quickly threw the fruit knife far away. The bodyguards, who had been standing by, unsure of what to do, immediately subdued the woman when they saw she no longer had a weapon.
Lin Xingwan then quickly ran to Liu Mengqin's side and asked anxiously, "Sister Qin, are you alright?"
The address "Sister Qin" stunned Liu Mengqin.
The woman in front of her looked and sounded different from Xingwan, but when she called her "Sister Qin," Liu Mengqin immediately felt a sense of familiarity.
In fact, the first person Liu Mengqin thought of was Lin Xingwan.
Lin Xingwan clearly didn't notice any issue with her address to Liu Mengqin. Seeing that Liu Mengqin hadn't answered her question, she became more anxious, "Sister Qin, it's okay. The doctor will be here soon. There are many doctors on standby here twenty-four hours a day."
Lin Xingwan continued to comfort Liu Mengqin. After a few seconds of surprise, Liu Mengqin's attention returned to the excruciating pain in her stomach.
"My child... save my child quickly."
Liu Mengqin clutched her bleeding wound. The woman who had wielded the fruit knife was her ex-husband's lover.
That woman, after stealing Liu Mengqin's man, had frequently flaunted her victory and mocked Liu Mengqin.
Later, after Liu Mengqin got together with Bai Xiao, she had imitated that woman's methods to deal with her. However, after a few rounds of this, Liu Mengqin lost interest.
Her life was with Bai Xiao, and her ex-husband and his lover were no longer part of their lives. So, Liu Mengqin had deleted all their contact information.
But who would have thought that this woman would appear at this place months later and try to kill her?
Liu Mengqin felt incredibly unlucky.
"It will be alright, believe me..."
Lin Xingwan tightly gripped Liu Mengqin's hand, but as soon as she finished speaking, a strong force pushed her shoulder, and she was shoved aside.
When Lin Xingwan recovered and looked, she saw that it was Bai Xiao who had pushed her.
"The wound is not deep. You can carry her to the hospital, but do not put pressure on the wound, to avoid affecting the development of the fetus."
Duan Muxing had also arrived in his wheelchair in front of Liu Mengqin. He took a rough look at Liu Mengqin's abdominal wound. It wasn't in a fatal location, but he was concerned if the fetus had been injured.
Hearing this, Bai Xiao immediately picked up Liu Mengqin, who had fallen to the ground, and rushed towards the hospital on the island.
The onlookers who had been standing around dispersed as Liu Mengqin was taken away.
As for Duan Muxing, he looked at Lin Xingwan helplessly and said, "How dangerous was that situation? You just rushed in like that? If something had happened, you would have been foolishly killed?"
Anger flashed in Duan Muxing's eyes. Just thinking about what had happened made his mood uncontrollably agitated and worried. Yet, in all these years, he had rarely cared so much about someone.
At this moment, Duan Muxing intensely disliked his own incomplete body, lacking even the qualification to protect this woman.
Lin Xingwan looked at Duan Muxing in surprise. This was the first time she had seen him so angry since she had known him.
Lin Xingwan couldn't help but recall the scene just now. It had indeed been perilous. If she had been even slightly careless, that knife would have cost her her life.
The hand that had held the knife now throbbed with pain.
Guiltily, she lowered her head to look at her bleeding hand and remained silent.
But her wronged expression made Duan Muxing want to slap himself hard.
Why was he so angry about this woman's affairs, and why couldn't he control his anger!
"Let me take you to get it bandaged."
Duan Muxing's tone finally softened. After speaking, without waiting for Qingluan to push him, he maneuvered his wheelchair away.
Lin Xingwan had no choice but to follow behind Duan Muxing.
Neither of them noticed Yun Qingqing standing in the crowd.
At this moment, Yun Qingqing was still immersed in the events that had just transpired, unable to recover.
Of course, what surprised Yun Qingqing was not Liu Mengqin's injury, but that Duan Muxing's fiancée, Xu Qingdai, called Liu Mengqin "Sister Qin."
The moment Xu Qingdai said "Sister Qin," Yun Qingqing felt as if she had been electrocuted.
Because, like Liu Mengqin, the first person she thought of was Lin Xingwan, who had been missing for so long.
Moreover, Yun Qingqing noticed that Xu Qingdai's back looked very, very similar to Lin Xingwan's.
Yun Qingqing was not a simple-minded person. In fact, she believed that a person's appearance could be changed, their voice could be changed, and everything that the eyes saw could be altered.
But the feeling a person gave off could not be changed. If Xu Qingdai was Lin Xingwan...
This woman, if she knew what she had done, would never let her continue to live freely. She had even seen it when she tried to seduce Zhou Jinbai last time.
At that time, she had no idea who she was. Now, the more Yun Qingqing thought about it, the more frightened she became.
No, she had to investigate thoroughly.
With this thought, Yun Qingqing couldn't help but follow behind Duan Muxing and the others.
After about five or six minutes, Duan Muxing led Lin Xingwan to a room provided for guests to rest in by the Dongfang family.
A medical kit was already placed on the table, containing medical supplies to treat Lin Xingwan's hand wound.
Just as Lin Xingwan was about to tend to it herself, Duan Muxing said, "Sit here, I'll help you."
"It's okay, I can handle it myself." Lin Xingwan, whenever she thought of Duan Muxing's serious and angry demeanor just now, felt that this person was quite intimidating.
"By the time you finish, the banquet will be over. Moreover, we are far from the main venue. The security here might be weak. The longer we delay here, the more opportunities we create for those bad guys."
Duan Muxing said this without blushing or skipping a beat. Lin Xingwan didn't know the actual situation, but Qingluan, standing by, cast another surprised glance at Duan Muxing.
As expected, the young master had become increasingly unfamiliar recently.
And Qingluan believed she had found the reason for the young master's unfamiliarity.
That was... the young master had fallen in love.
"If you don't want her, then be with me? What do you think of me?"
Duan Muxing said with a half-smile. After he finished speaking, Lin Xingwan didn't take it seriously and instead replied, "This joke isn't funny at all. I believe emotions cannot be trifled with. Duan Muxing, when you meet someone you truly like in the future, you'll understand that you wouldn't say such things."
Duan Muxing: "..."
He felt a knot in his heart, but he didn't want to explain anything.
Duan Muxing and Lin Xingwan were still chatting in the room, while Qingluan, standing by, was reminiscing about the moments she had spent with the young master. She was even wondering when the young master had started to like the young madam.
No wonder the young master had sent Qu Nanzhi away for the young madam. No wonder that woman looked at her as if she wanted to devour her every time she saw her.
None of the three of them knew that Yun Qingqing was hiding outside, eavesdropping.
In fact, due to her disbelief, Yun Qingqing kept her hand over her mouth.
Initially, she was just curious about Xu Qingdai's identity, as she had done too many things she felt guilty about.
Liu Mengqin might not be able to do anything to her, as her current backing was Lu Shiyan.
But for Yun Qingqing, Lu Shiyan was not a lifelong support. Lu Shiyan couldn't wait to get rid of her as a burden.
If she wanted to integrate into higher circles, she needed to find a more powerful backer!
With this thought... Yun Qingqing's mind immediately flashed to the figures of two people she had seen at the banquet tonight.
The recent sensational news was about them.
Moreover, they had been looking for Xu Qingdai, but they hadn't had the opportunity to act against her.
If she told them this secret, what reward would she receive?
Although Yun Qingqing knew that those people were terrifying, like demons who devoured people without spitting out bones.
But now, Yun Qingqing no longer cared. Life was about taking risks!
And if she could bet correctly the first time, she could bet correctly the second and third time!
With this thought, Yun Qingqing quickly left the dangerous place.
At the same time, at the banquet, a scene was unfolding.
Cen Zhiyuan, arm in arm with Zhou Jinbai, was skillfully navigating the various factions.