Chapter 68: Getting to the Mastermind

When Tang Li and I rushed to the scene, I saw that Mu Rong Shu was already done with her assailants. They were all tightly trussed up and entirely at her mercy.

What? Did you think this was the cliché son-in-law story where my wife would always be the damsel in distress, whose sole role in the story was for me to always rescue her so that I would look good and like a "real man" or some nonsense like that? Come on, don't be ridiculous. My wife was brought up in an assassin clan and trained in killing arts. Why the fuck would she lose to street thugs? Because the plot magically made her weak so that I could rescue her?

Damn, I was suddenly reminded of a terrible story called "My Super-Hot Mom is an Assassin" or some BS title like that. Despite the author claiming in the story that the female protagonist was a "top-level assassin," she lost to practically every single character in the story. She was never shown killing a single character, she constantly got raped by the male lead despite supposedly being an assassin (whatever happened to her combat skills and killing arts?), she couldn't defeat a random gunman and needed the male lead to rescue her, she was so awful at infiltrating that the male lead and his right hand man saw through her disguise almost immediately when she pretended to be a driver, she couldn't even sneak around the male lead's house steathily and was caught, only to be defeated by a group of armed maids. She didn't even lock the door to her own apartment (where she lives with her son), so the male lead could waltz right into her home without a key. Hell, she didn't even lock the door to the bathroom when she showered, and when the male lead walked right in on her while she was completely naked, she screamed like a little girl instead of reflexively attacking him and defending herself (so she didn't learn seduction techniques when she was an assassin?). Oh, and the male lead could sneak into her room without her noticing, and when he tried to rape her (not the last time), she succeeded in knocking him out with a sleeping drug spray…only for her to knock herself out along with him. And most of his other rape attempts succeeded.

Top-level assassin, my ass. The author ought to research on what a top-level assassin could do instead of pretending that her protagonist was one, only to have her bumble around like a complete idiot and incompetent "assassin" incapable of defeating anyone, never mind assassinating. Good thing my wife wasn't as incompetent. She would be embarrassed to associate with someone like that, claming that she was an assassin when she clearly wasn't one.

"I can take care of them for you," Tang Li said dangerously, already taking his smartphone out to call his subordinates over. Mu Rong Shu shook her head.

"No, wait. I still need them for something."

"Are you not going to send them to the police?" I asked, surprised. Mu Rong Shu shook her head, smiling mischievously.

"No, I have a better idea."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I want the mastermind to come." She then turned to Brother Long, Hei She Hui and the rest of the thugs. "I'll free you all, but on one condition. You must cooperate with me."

The gangsters exchanged glances with each other, but none of them protested. They knew that they were entirely at her mercy and in no position to bargain. So Brother Long nodded, representing all of them as their leader.

And thus Mu Rong Shu's schemes unfolded.

*

"What? You have her? Good! Let me go over immediately!"

Yan Wan was eager. The moment she had heard that Brother Long had succeeded, she was delighted. She called her parents over and told them to follow her.

"You…!" Yan Yang was exasperated. "Didn't you hear what your grandfather said?! If he finds out, you'll be exiled from the Yan family!"

"Why should we care what that old man says?" Yan Wan sneered. "He's gone all senile if he really is afraid of that trash. Without Mu Rong Shu, that trash is nothing. I want my revenge! How dare she embarrass me in front of everyone? How dare she cause me to lose my boyfriend?"

"Now that it's done, there is no going back," Ru Feng told her husband solemnly. "There's no point complaining or protesting. We should just go along for now."

"We'll be in trouble!" Yan Yang protested.

"No, we won't," Yan Wan replied with a sneer. "What can that trash do? He'll beg us for his wife back. Then I'll trample over him and regain my pride! And have my revenge!"

"That's your cousin, you know?" Yan Yang threw his hands up. "You actually ordered your cousin kidnapped?! Are you…sane?"

"I've never thought of her as a cousin, just a stepping stone and a foil for me to look good. She overstepped her boundaries, now she must pay! She must always remain beneath me!"

Yan Yang turned to glare at Ru Feng. "Look at the good daughter you've raised! You've spoiled her too much!"

"I…" Ru Feng swallowed. She didn't completely agree with her daughter's actions, but she couldn't abandon her either. "We're all in this together. Let's…let's just go and see what we can do. Maybe we can stop the underground people from going too far."

Yan Yang shook his head with a sigh. "Yeah, that's the only thing we can do now."

The trio went to the place where Brother Long called them to, a derelict shack at the border of Jiang Nan City. As expected, Brother Long was waiting there, along with his thugs. Mu Rong Shu was sitting there, blindfolded and tied up, her ears plugged.

"She can't see or hear anything," Brother Long explained. The three exchanged apprehensive looks, Yan Wan in particular worrying that she would be outed as the mastermind. So she called out to her cousin hesitantly.

"Mu Rong Shu."

When Mu Rong Shu didn't reply, she relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. She then smiled sweetly at Brother Long.

"Brother Long, we gave you 50,000 yuan. I hope you will make it worth the price."

"Of course," Brother Long responded menacingly. "All you people care about is money. But I have my own honor and pride. Of course I'll keep my end of the deal."

"I'll give you some bonus, in return," Yan Wan assured him with a grin. She didn't just want Mu Rong Shu to suffer. She wanted me to suffer as well. "Brother Long, what do you think of Mu Rong Shu's appearance? Do you find her attractive?"

Her plan was to taint Mu Rong Shu, and to give me a green hat (or make me a cuckold). That way, she would kill two birds with one stone.

"Huh? I guess she's beautiful."

"Then you can have your way with her. Your men too – all of you should make full use of this chance and enjoy her body."

"Yan Wan, what are you talking about?!" Yan Yang demanded, taken aback by his daughter's viciousness. How could she ask Brother Long to do such things? Did she really want her own cousin to be raped?

Yan Wan glared at her father. "If it weren't for her and her husband, would Liu Zhang Feng have broken up with me? How could I be humiliated to such an extent? Mu Rong Shu, you're dead. Only when you're dead and tainted will the hatred in my heart be appeased."

"Yan Wan, Mu Rong Shu is your cousin, how can you be so cruel?" Yan Yang gritted his teeth.

"Shut up, dad. What cousin? Has she ever treated me like a cousin? Why should I sympathize with her? For so many years, everyone compares me to her and always says she's better, more beautiful and talented. Even when she married that trash, people still think she's better off than me. How can I not resent her? No! I want my revenge! No matter what, she must suffer…be raped and die!"

Yan Yang glared back at her. "Mu Rong Shu has always treated you as a cousin. You're the one who always one-sidedly competed against her. Don't you think you're going too far?"

"Yes, Wan Er, stop this. This is a line you cannot cross. Reconsider." Even Ru Feng was begging her daughter not to go too far.

But Yan Wan ignored both of her parents.

"I'm ashamed of being her cousin." She didn't bother to argue with her parents and turned to Brother Long. "Brother Long, how about it? This is a rare chance, and I'm sure you seldom meet such beautiful girls."

Brother Long was unnaturally pale and perspiring profusely, surreptitiously glancing at the two people in the corner. So caught up in her hatred was Yan Wan that she didn't notice his behavior. Instead, she waited for the gang leader to respond. He swallowed uneasily.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Don't blame me for being ruthless, Mu Rong Shu can only blame herself and her husband for being so hateful." Yan Wan snarled through gritted teeth.

At this moment, I rose from my position in the corner and approached the Yan family trio. They had thought I was one of Brother Long's subordinates, but the moment I came closer, they clearly saw that it was me, Zhao Huan Shi!

"Zhao Huan Shi!" Yan Wan gasped, astonished. "How could you be here?!"

"Cousin Wan, I didn't expect you to hate me so much." Mu Rong Shu also rose from her place, freeing herself of her restraints and pulling out the blindfold and rags plugged into her ears. She approached Yan Wan, who was incredibly pale.

Yan Wan swiftly turned toward Brother Long, demanding to know what was going on, only to see that he had already dropped to his knees and was kneeling before me.

"Brother Zhao, Sister Mu Rong, I have already fulfilled the conditions you set for me, please spare me later." He struck the ground with his forehead.

"Zhao Huan Shi, Mu Rong Shu, you set me up?!" Yan Wan finally understood what was going on. Brother Long hadn't kidnapped Mu Rong Shu at all. This whole thing was arranged so that she would show her true colors.

"Not me. I didn't do anything." I feigned innocence. Instead, it was Mu Rong Shu who deserved the credit for everything.

"Cousin Wan, I might have provided the setting, but I didn't asked you to say any of those words earlier. In fact, I never imagined you would go this far. To think you never regarded me as your cousin at all, and even wanted to do such an awful thing to me…"

Even though Yan Wan didn't know what Mu Rong Shu would do to her, she realized that she wouldn't simply let her off.

"So what if I said all that? Do you have the guts to kill me?" Yan Wan sneered. Mu Rong Shu raised an eyebrow at that, while I burst out laughing. Everyone turned to stare at me and I shrugged. To be fair, they didn't know that Mu Rong Shu was an assassin.

"If I say I do, would you believe me?"

"Hah!" Yan Wan snapped. "You're bluffing! You're just trash!"

I didn't say anything to her. Mu Rong Shu would take care of her, and I knew she would want to handle her cousin's affair personally. As for me, I approached Brother Long, who was shaking fearfully. Dropping down to him, I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Which hand did you use to touch my wife?"

The trembling Brother Long didn't dare to look up, but he stretched out his right hand.

"Brother Zhao, it was this hand."

"All right. From now on, you're left-handed. Is that acceptable?"

"Understood." Brother Long gulped and took a deep breath. "I won't trouble Brother Zhao, I'll do it myself."

He took a huge switchblade from his pocket and flipped it open. Spreading his right hand across the floor, he raised the blade with his left hand and stabbed it down, piercing the center of his palm!