Chapter 2565 — Zhu the Leader Takes Action

She had definitely been tricked. The person who had summoned her out was absolutely not Wei Zhao, and the only person she had crossed recently was Chen Xiaoba. The answer was staring her in the face.

Ying Ziyu slipped noiselessly out of bed and crept to the side of the bathroom. The door was unlocked—Chen Xiaoba had not even thought to lock it while he bathed. Peering through the crack, Ying Ziyu could vaguely make out the figure inside.

It really was Chen Xiaoba! A ruthless glint flashed through Ying Ziyu's eyes. She had always been a ruthless one—back when she used to hack at people with a cleaver, she never so much as blinked. She had mended her ways now, entirely because of Wei Zhao, but she could never change the cruelty buried in her bones.

Chen Xiaoba had dared to abduct her even after Li Cihua's warning—the man had nerve! Ying Ziyu had never feared heaven or earth, and with Wei Zhao at her back she was all the more reckless. Since Chen Xiaoba had shown her no mercy, he could hardly blame her for showing him none.

Ying Ziyu returned to the room, collapsed onto the bed once more, feigned unconsciousness, and waited for Chen Xiaoba to come to her.

Chen Xiaoba hummed a little tune as he soaked in a bubble bath, utterly delighted. He was about to enjoy a beauty. So what if Li Cihua had warned him? What was so remarkable about Li Cihua? Daring to ruin this young master's good business—if he could not do it openly, he would do it in the dark. They were all in the underworld anyway; let Li Cihua swallow a bitter pill and have no one to complain to.

After his bath, Chen Xiaoba threw on a bathrobe and stepped out of the bathroom. Catching sight of Ying Ziyu lying on the big bed, her fine figure wrapped in tight leather, he drooled at once, grinned, and walked toward her.

"Heh heh heh heh, little lady, in the end you still couldn't escape this young master's palm, could you? Li Cihua, so impressive? This young master plays dirty—what are you going to do about it?" Chen Xiaoba muttered smugly to himself. He was just about to pounce and tear Ying Ziyu's clothes to shreds when, all at once, everything changed!

Ying Ziyu, who had seemed unconscious on the bed, suddenly sprang up and drove a kick straight into the towering pillar between Chen Xiaoba's legs! She put every ounce of strength into that kick—a blow to shake heaven and earth and make ghosts and gods weep—and Chen Xiaoba, caught completely off guard, took it square!

With a crisp "crack," Chen Xiaoba let out a miserable howl, a sound more chilling than the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing dynasty, a wail of utter, utter agony…

Eggs shattered, bird broken. Chen Xiaoba's eyes bulged wide, his mouth gaped wide, and he dropped to his knees, face ashen, bawling and shrieking, crying for his father and mother…

Zhu the Leader had in fact been crouched the whole time on the air-conditioning unit outside the hotel window, like Spider-Man. He was a dark-hearted old man, and he wanted to see how Ying Ziyu would deal with Chen Xiaoba. If she were in danger, he would strike at once; if she were not, he would let her give free rein to her fury and vent her grievance!

Zhu the Leader had thrown in his lot with Wei Zhao now, so Ying Ziyu's happiness was his true happiness! Seeing Chen Xiaoba's wretched state, the corners of Zhu the Leader's mouth twitched twice. Had he struck, one palm would have crippled the man—worse than this, perhaps, leaving him a vegetable for the rest of his life—but it would not have hurt like this…

"Chen Xiaoba, you've got some nerve! Didn't you bother to find out who I am? My brother is Wei Zhao!" Ying Ziyu jabbed a finger at Chen Xiaoba and shouted, chin held high.

"…" Chen Xiaoba actually had no idea who Wei Zhao was. Otherwise Li Cihua would not have had to hint so laboriously back then—he could simply have named Wei Zhao outright. The truth was that Chen Xiaoba moved in circles far too low to have heard of Wei Zhao's illustrious name.

Zhu the Leader's expression, however, changed. He suffered from a case of Wei Zhao phobia now, and he reckoned that if Ying Ziyu shouted those words before the scions—or even the heads—of the hidden families, not a one of them would dare cross her!

Chen Bawang had come along this time as well; he had personally driven over to receive Chen Xiaoba just now. But he was rather glum. He had meant to use this opportunity to cultivate his ties with the two Zhuang brothers, to treat those two formidable men to a meal and warm up their relations—but to his surprise, the two Zhuang brothers had simply driven off, leaving Chen Bawang with a wasted trip.

Still, since he had come, Chen Bawang was in no hurry to head back. He waited in the adjoining room for Chen Xiaoba to finish with Chen Xi, so that father and son could return together.

Chen Bawang was resting when a heart-rending scream suddenly came from the next room, giving him a violent start. Was that not his son Chen Xiaoba's voice? Chen Bawang panicked at once, scrambled up from the bed, and rushed out of the room. Without a second thought he kicked open the door of the adjoining room—and there was his son, clutching his crotch and rolling on the floor…

"Xiaoba, what's happened to you?" Chen Bawang was frantic at the sight of his son's miserable state.

"Dad… I'm ruined… aoooh…" Chen Xiaoba could not even finish a sentence, writhing on the floor in agony. Perhaps at the sight of his rescuer, his eyes rolled back and he passed out cold.

"You little bitch, what have you done to my son? I'll kill you!" Chen Bawang did not need to guess what had happened—his son had tried to force himself on Ying Ziyu, she had fought back, and a kick to Chen Xiaoba's crotch had brought about this tragedy.

So Chen Bawang did not bother asking for the cause of it all. He drew his pistol outright, leveled it at Ying Ziyu, and was about to fire! He was no Essence Cultivator—a gun was the mightiest weapon in his hands!

Zhu the Leader had been enjoying the show, letting Ying Ziyu have her fun and vent her feelings, but when he saw Chen Bawang draw his gun, he panicked at once. Ying Ziyu was no Essence Cultivator either—how could she dodge a bullet?

Zhu the Leader burst straight through the window, one palm slamming into Chen Bawang's gun arm and shattering it into a comminuted fracture. The pistol clattered to the floor!

"You… who are you?" Chen Bawang had not expected anyone to come in through the window. His arm was in agony, but he still asked in shock. He was a formidable figure; though his arm throbbed, he was not about to thrash about like Chen Xiaoba, half dead with pain.

"I was sent by her brother," Zhu the Leader said, pointing at Ying Ziyu.

"Grandpa Zhu?" Ying Ziyu knew Zhu the Leader too—she was close with Chen Xi, so naturally she had seen him often enough. Hearing that Zhu the Leader had been sent by Wei Zhao to save her, she was first overjoyed, then alarmed. "Xiaoxi was taken too—how is she?"

"Rest easy, Miss Ying. Master Lin has gone personally to rescue Xiaoxi." Zhu the Leader usually called Ying Ziyu "Ziyu," but now that his identity was out in the open, it would hardly do to address her so familiarly.

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