Chapter 1 Crying Thief to Catch a Thief?

Several mysterious figures in black clothing, all wearing masks, intruded into the home. What kind of experience would that be?

On the mahogany bed, Tang Xiaowan lay in a heavy stupor.

"Mommy, I'm hiding well, come find me! Mommy, Mommy, where are you?"

The voice was intermittent and extremely weak, so faint that others couldn't make out what she was saying.

As a piece of glass was removed, a scream suddenly pierced the stillness of the night.

Her jet-black hair, though silky smooth, only made Tang Xiaowan's palm-sized face look even paler, devoid of any hint of color.

Meanwhile, just on the other side of the wall in the living room,

a tall, angular man stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window.

Dressed simply but elegantly, his refined demeanor was undercut by an icy aura that wielded an intimidating, majestic pressure and a deterrent effect that said, "keep your distance."

Tang Xiaowan's scream caused him a piercing heartache.

He clenched his teeth, his bright phoenix eyes fierce like a wild beast, as if ready to tear everything in the room to shreds.

At the same time, in the bedroom, Fang Yun was holding tweezers in shock, looking at Lin Ping: "What happened, has the medicine worn off?"

"Give her another injection."

"Should we ask Brother Shen first?"

"No need, saving her is what's crucial."

"But Sister Ping, that medicine..."

Seeing Fang Yun hesitating, Lin Ping quickly took another deep blue vial and its corresponding micro-injector from a metal box.

Tang Xiaowan's consciousness suddenly grew clear.

Only then did she realize that her neckline had been cut open, exposing the skin on her shoulder.

A flood of complex emotions rushed in—fearfulness, shyness, and anger—but she couldn't lift her arms no matter how she tried, they were soft and limp.

Her almond eyes, filled with panic, stared steadily at Lin Ping.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Ping did not respond to her but, holding the tweezers with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball, bent down toward her again.

A trace of coolness passed by, followed by a sharp pain, and Tang Xiaowan let out a faint moan.

"What did you inject me with?"

After Lin Ping finished the injection, Fang Yun quickly took surgical scissors and cut Tang Xiaowan's gray dress further, making a larger opening.

Tang Xiaowan wanted to explode with anger, but her eyelids were so heavy that soon she fell back into unconsciousness.

Half an hour later, the bedroom door opened.

Lin Ping, carrying the bloodied gray dress, hurried to the floor-to-ceiling window, while Fang Yun, carrying two metal boxes, stopped solemnly at the door.

"Brother Shen, the examination is complete."

"Speak."

"Aside from five pieces of glass in her left shoulder, there are no other injuries on her body. The blood on the dress isn't Lady Tang's. From the handprints, we preliminarily deduced it likely belongs to a man, around 30 years old."

No sooner had the words fallen than Li Zishen suddenly turned around.

He stared intently at the gray dress, as if something had come to mind.

Lin Ping bit her lower lip and took two steps closer to him: "Brother Shen, there's something else. Lady Tang was very likely poisoned twice within 12 hours."

"What did you say, poisoned?"

A strange silence immediately enveloped the room. Li Zishen's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes flashing with a murderous and fierce light, as if he were about to devour someone.

Lin Ping, who was nearby, was startled and involuntarily took a step back.

"Don't worry, Brother Shen, Lady Tang seems to have taken... some kind of antidote that enabled a forced detoxification. However, what's strange is... that the medicine seems to have had a suppressive effect on our drugs."

Li Zishen exhaled a sigh of relief, his eyes sparkling slightly, his thick eyelashes drooping a little.

"Leave the dress, you may exit for now."

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Ping's eyes.

"Yes."

The examination results shocked Li Zishen.

He couldn't believe that the angelic girl he cared for could have been poisoned twice in one day, and right in his own home.

A few hours earlier, he had been in a transnational video negotiation meeting when his phone suddenly rang.

The note said "Little Angel," but what Lin Ping heard was a hoarse male voice, "Mr. Li, come quickly to save our lady, she's injured, at Mei Garden..."

The call thereupon came to an abrupt halt.

Like a thunderbolt, the news pierced through Li Zishen.

He quickly left the office, attempting to redial as he went, but his phone consistently indicated that the connection could not be made.

Without pausing to think, he immediately took a private jet to Nanshan, accompanied not only by well-trained bodyguards but also by a medical doctor.

Mei Garden was situated on the summit of Nanshan, with the main building located in the center of the courtyard, a four-story Chinese-style villa.

However, from bottom to top, all was normal except for the study room, which was a mess with broken glass and a variety of books, calligraphy, and paintings scattered about.

The bodyguards found a secret passage in the basement using a specialized detector.

With a pull on the ring, the stone door opened.

The sight of Tang Xiaowan, semi-recumbent in the cramped space, caused Li Zishen deep anguish.

Her face was haggard, her long gray dress stained with blood.

Tears blurred Li Zishen's eyes.

In that moment, he felt as though the sky were collapsing, fearing he might lose his beloved forever.

His lion-like roar reverberated, intimidating everyone present.

Afterward, Mei Garden went into complete lockdown, not allowing random entry or exit, and specifically prohibiting any use of communication devices to contact the outside world.

At six in the morning, Tang Xiaowan awoke.

Looking at the man before her in panic, she tried to extricate her hand but couldn't manage it at all.

Li Zishen's grip was tight, his eyes dim.

"Who are you? Let go of me!"

Her words left Li Zishen dumbfounded.

He released her, staring at her foolishly.

Once playful and charming, now her eyes were full of terror.

He couldn't imagine how horrific last night at Mei Garden was. Butler, maids, driver, and bodyguards—all had disappeared without a trace.

Tang Xiaowan was the only one left in the entire Mei Garden.

The more Li Zishen thought about it, the more frightened he became. In a panic, he scooped her up and tightly embraced her.

"Ah... it hurts!"

Large beads of sweat instantly appeared, and Tang Xiaowan moaned in pain.

Li Zishen was filled with self-reproach and quickly set her down gently, his dark eyes full of worry and guilt.

"I'm sorry, let me check your wounds, I hope there's nothing..."

"Get away, don't touch me!"

"I just want to check your injuries."

Tang Xiaowan glanced at Li Zishen and said with a surge of anger, "Stop pretending, you just tried to kill me, and now you pull this act, is it because you didn't find what you were looking for?"

Tang Xiaowan's counter-question drove Li Zishen mad.

Every word invisibly stabbed at his nerves, causing him to lose his usual composure, his eyes bloodshot like those of a ferocious beast.

"Tell me, who are they? Who wants to kill you? And what's this poison inside you about?"

Tang Xiaowan took a deep breath and laughed coldly, "Look at you playing the thief shouting 'catch the thief,' acting ignorant. What exactly do you want? What are you looking for?"

"What are you talking about?"

The two bodyguards outside had faces full of question marks.

Could there be a mistake, are we the bad guys?

They hadn't closed their eyes all night, and outside, several brothers were starving, helping check for hazards.

Inside the bedroom, Li Zishen was like a madman.

"Speak up, what exactly happened?"

"Look at me, look at me right now! Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Tang Xiaowan looked coldly at Li Zishen, sighed, and then slowly raised her left hand, "The bracelet... if you want it, take it."

Her soft voice carried a trace of mockery.