Chapter 208: Not Worthy

Li Xian, who had ingested a stomachful of water, was utterly exhausted. His fighting strength couldn't even match a goose, let alone a dog. After chasing for a while without catching up, he was left breathless by the dog.

At this moment, two muffled gunshots rang out from the mountain.

It then occurred to him that Yang Shuzhen was still up there!

Without further thought about his bed-warming plan, he quickly pulled Su Ya, who was also worried about Yang Shuzhen's safety, and together they rushed towards Mianwan Mountain.

As the saying goes, even a horse would die from exhaustion if it ran up a mountain. Led by the big wolfdog, they staggered through the rain-soaked terrain for over half an hour before finally reaching the base of the mountain. They had not yet started climbing when they saw Xiao Ji helping Yang Shuzhen down the mountain.

"Aunt Yang!"

At this time, Yang Shuzhen had a head injury, blood staining the front of her clothes a bright red, and her leg seemed to be injured as well. She was practically hanging onto Xiao Ji, looking almost unconscious.

Seeing this, Li Xian shook off Su Ya's support and ran over.

"How is she?"

Seeing Yang Shuzhen's eyes half-closed, Li Xian immediately asked.

Xiao Ji waved his hand, "Don't ask, the situation isn't good. We need to get her to the hospital quickly."

Su Ya, glancing up at the mountain, stepped forward and gestured to Xiao Ji.

"Yes, I know there's another person." Xiao Ji nodded, "When we got to the top of the mountain, we saw that kid running down. Xiao Zhang and Xiao Liu have gone after him. I saw that President Yang's condition was bad, so we brought her down first."

Hearing that the kid had run away, Li Xian frowned.

But with Yang Shuzhen's condition in front of him and after a near-death ordeal, he was very nervous. Fearing it was unsafe to stay here, he immediately took Su Ya and, together with Xiao Ji, helped Yang Shuzhen down the mountain.

---

On the way back, due to the jolting, Yang Shuzhen, who was in a semi-conscious state, woke up.

Seeing Li Xian anxiously supporting her and Su Ya continuously wiping the sweat from her face with a towel, she instantly burst into tears.

After crying and venting her fear, she immediately spoke about the matter involving Gao Sannian she had planned to discuss with Li Xian that morning.

Upon hearing that this entire incident stemmed from Gao Sannian's interest in the black pottery of Jiaoshan, Li Xian was enraged.

"Aunt Yang! Are you stupid? How could you not tell me such a big thing? It's so dangerous! What if something happened to you? Isn't it unfair?"

After venting his anger, seeing Yang Shuzhen's remorseful expression, Li Xian sighed deeply. Relieved that she was alright, he comforted her not to think too much about it.

After spending time at the hospital, giving instructions to Old Zhu and others who arrived upon hearing the news, and bandaging Su Ya's wounds, Li Xian was finally unable to hold on any longer.

This day had been exhausting.

After explaining the situation to the visiting Public Security Bureau Chief Hu Weiqing, Li Xian took Su Ya back to the house.

Planning to rest, but just as they were about to enter the house with the support of Zhou Yong and Su Ya, they saw someone standing in the courtyard.

With the light from the adjacent room illuminating the area, Li Xian took a closer look and his pupils immediately narrowed. He lightly patted Zhou Yong's back, signaling him silently, then slowly walked forward.

"Didn't expect you'd still dare to come."

In the courtyard, the person with a shining bald head under the moonlight, with a golden chain around his neck sparkling in the light, was Gao Sannian!

Seeing Li Xian, Gao Sannian hurriedly approached, "Hi, Little Li, why talk like this? I've got my own troubles, you know! After hearing that Zhao Er's kid did such a vile thing, I specially came over to explain!"

Hehe,

Li Xian gave a cold smile, walking towards the hall while glancing at Gao Sannian. Noticing his partially genuine, partially fake urgency, he asked, "What is there to explain?"

Gao Sannian was genuinely angry.

According to his plan, he wanted to use Zhao Er, who was not far from Old Zhu's place, to force Yang Shuzhen to comply and make black pottery for him.

Although his intentions were malicious, the unexpected situation of Zhao Er kidnapping Yang Shuzhen and Su Ya was not part of his plan.

As soon as he learned that Zhao Er had kidnapped Yang Shuzhen after escaping from him, he was furious. But seeing the big commotion after Yang Shuzhen's kidnapping, he couldn't help but worry.

After all, he still had to keep a foothold in the business.

Others might not know the situation in the business, but Gao Sannian knew very well. He knew that although the winery and the black pottery factory were run by Zhu's family, the real boss behind everything was Li Xian. And the new county chief seemed to be very close to Li Xian.

Thinking that Yang Shuzhen and Li Xian were not related, if he took the initiative in this matter, there was a good chance he could smooth things over. So Gao Sannian came to the house in the afternoon.

After waiting for over four hours without anyone paying attention to him, he finally saw Li Xian enter the hall.

Gao Sannian took out a package he had been holding and placed it in front of Li Xian.

"Little Li, the idea of digging up Yang's master was a moment of foolishness for me. I didn't handle things well. I hope you'll be lenient. But I swear, the kidnapping was not instructed by me; it was entirely Zhao Er's doing! If I'm lying, may heaven strike me with thunder!"

Seeing Li Xian pick up a cup of water without even lifting his eyelids, Gao Sannian pushed the package forward. "I know Little Li likes these old items, so I specially brought one for you today. It's something I went through great effort to obtain, said to be from the Ming Dynasty, a scholar's ornament. Little Li… take a look…"

Putting down the cup, Li Xian examined the item on the table.

It was a square penholder, larger than a cigarette box, with a color resembling mutton fat jade. The material didn't seem like jade but appeared to be hollowed-out ivory. Three sides were exquisitely carved with scenes similar to the "Stream and Mountain Retreat," featuring elegant pines and perfectly detailed houses.

It looked quite interesting.

After picking it up and examining it closely, he handed it to Su Ya.

Seeing that Li Xian had accepted the item, Su Ya's eyes widened in anger. She snorted and turned her head away.

Seeing this young girl showing her temper, Li Xian glared at her and shoved the penholder into her hand.

Su Ya, holding the penholder, glanced at it and gave Gao Sannian a hateful look before turning and leaving the hall.

Li Xian took the item and Gao Sannian breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, Little Li, we've now met without fighting. It's getting late, so tomorrow I'll arrange for drinks and apologize to you." Gao Sannian said with an awkward smile.

Li Xian chuckled, "No need for that. Regardless of whether you ordered the kidnapping or not, it almost cost three lives. Gao Sannian, do you think a penholder can settle this matter?"

As he spoke, he forced himself up from the chair, glanced at Gao Sannian with disdain, and said, "Also, stop with the 'Little Li' and 'brother.' You're not worthy."

Gao Sannian was stunned.

Watching Li Xian's retreating back, he grabbed the package and angrily threw it on the ground.

"Damn it! Li, don't think just because you have some money and know a few people you're so great! I don't need these things!"

As he cursed Li Xian internally, the sound of a car outside interrupted him.

Zhou Yong, who had previously been sent by Li Xian to call for help, rushed in with Xiao Ji and others. Seeing Gao Sannian, who was furious in the hall, they pounced on him directly!