Zhang Wu

The shattered glass rained down like shrapnel, cutting faces and hands. Huo Xuan glimpsed a fist morphing into claw-like fingers that struck each thug's chest with viper speed. Through his vision, he saw the strikes disrupt their blood flow and nerve signals—veins spasming, muscles seizing.

Zhang Wu wrenched the driver's door open, cold-cocking the man with a single punch to the brainstem. The van swerved before he yanked Huo Xuan onto the asphalt.

"Stupid kid," Zhang Wu growled, sliding into the driver's seat. "Watch your back next time."

The van screeched away at green light. Huo Xuan stood frozen, blood drying on his chin. Who was that? Why save me?

A shadow trailed him to the hotel entrance—Buzzcut Youth whispering into his phone: "Brother Wu, target's inside."

"Don't lose him," Zhang Wu barked over the engine roar.

Buzzcut scoffed. "Why bother? You're Jiangzhou's underworld king. This brat's not worth—"

"Bullshit!" Zhang Wu's snarl made the phone vibrate. "Boss's orders are ​absolute. Lose him, and I'll skin you alive!"

Hanging up, Zhang Wu dialed again, tone reverent now: "Boss, captives secured. Dispose?"

A calm voice chided: "Interrogate first. And Zhang Wu—when will you curb that bloodlust?"

"Understood."

Huo Xuan slammed onto the sofa, its springs shrieking. Storm clouds brewed across his face. The day's events replayed in jagged fragments—Xu Bo's goons lunging from the van, garlic-stinking breath against his neck, that split second before the glass exploded. That snake Xu Bo actually dared send killers into broad daylight!

He traced the split in his lip. Without that tracksuit-wearing madman's intervention, he'd be sinking in concrete boots at the bottom of Jiangzhou River by now.

"Fucking amateur!" He smashed a fist into the armrest, leather splitting like rotten fruit. "Should've known sharks like the Xus don't take losses lying down."

Outside, neon signs blinked like mocking eyes. Billionaire dynasties like the Xus owned cities—judges in their pockets, gangsters on speed dial. They could make bodies vanish before brunch and still make the charity gala by sunset.

His mind flickered to the two anomalies:

The Mao-suited doctor with his eight-finger death touch,the human wrecking ball who'd turned kidnappers into whimpering puppets

"Connected?" Cold dread slithered down his spine. Is the doctor having me tailed? What game are these freaks playing?

In a Jiangzhou safehouse, Zhang Wu finished interrogating the four thugs. After receiving new orders from his boss, he knocked them unconscious and had them dumped on the street.

Huo Xuan was considering fleeing Jiangzhou to avoid Xu Bo's schemes when the hotel phone rang. A male voice warned:

"Xu Bo sent those men. The Xu family dominates the jade trade. You're in grave danger."

"Who are you?"

"The man who saved you is my boss. We're protecting you now. Carry on your business—Xu won't touch you again."

The line went dead. Huo Xuan frowned. Why protect a stranger?

After long contemplation, he straightened. If that man can defeat four thugs instantly, his protection is reliable. And I can't let fear stop my jewelry store plans!

He inhaled deeply. Given time, I'll surpass trash like Xu Bo. Then no one can threaten me.

Near midnight, Lin Yue returned reeking of alcohol, her face flushed. Seeing Huo Xuan sitting blankly on the sofa, she assumed he'd waited for her and settled beside him.

Her jade-white arms draped over his shoulders as she breathed wine-scented words: "Junior, why aren't you asleep?"

Li Hu stood in the living room, watching Huo Xuan vigilantly like a guard dog.

"Couldn't sleep," Huo Xuan replied flatly. His sidelong glance caught her plunging cleavage. "Enjoy the banquet, senior?"

Lin Yue giggled. "Xu Bo helped secure deals. Quite productive."

Huo Xuan frowned. "Since when does Xu Bo help freely? He's scheming something."

"You think I'm blind?" She snorted. "But the Lin family needs the Jade Syndicate's channels. The Xus control that realm."

Staggering upright, she grasped his hand. "My legs are numb from standing. Massage them for me?"

Huo Xuan glanced at Li Hu's stony face. "Certainly. But let's move to your bedroom."

Lin Yue pinched his cheek playfully. "Naughty boy—trying to take advantage?"

Huo Xuan chuckled. "Even if I had ideas, I lack the guts. Rest easy, sis."

Lin Yue rolled her eyes but linked arms with him, steering toward the bedroom.

Li Hu's jaw tightened in the living room. Helpless against his mistress' whims, he seared holes into Huo Xuan's back with his glare.

"SLAM."

The bedroom door shut. Lin Yue belly-flopped onto the mattress, legs kicking like a bratty teen.

Spread-eagled on the bed, she grinned sideways. Huo Xuan's pulse spiked as his gaze locked onto her plump buttocks.

Her curves held hypnotic precision—the kind that vaporizes men's reason.

Swallowing hard, he forced calm. "Where hurts, sis? Let me knead it."

She flexed polished calves, making the mattress thump. "Here, junior."

Perching on the mattress edge, his fingers glided over her calves. Golden light seeped from his left eye into her legs—an instinctive act of care.

Lin Yue moaned. "Hired masseurs for years. None compare."

"Maybe I'm just better." No false modesty tinted his smirk.

"Since you're so skilled, become my personal masseur," Lin Yue teased.

To her surprise, Huo Xuan agreed: "Deal. But my price is steep—maybe too steep for you."

"Name it," she retorted with a tycoon's swagger.

"I want a wife as stunning as you. Can you provide that?" His words dripped with implication.

Lin Yue froze, then kicked his thigh with her satin-smooth foot. "In your dreams!" The subtext wasn't lost on her.

Huo Xuan forced a laugh, kneading her flawless legs as heat coiled in his gut.

Lin Yue exhaled deeply. "Know why tonight's banquet pleased me?"

Xu Bo? Jealousy snuffed his desire, replacing it with venom.

"Why?"

"You," she smiled.

"Me?"

"My return to Jiangzhou was meant to secure jade through the Xu family," she explained. "But that requires marrying Xu Bo—a business transaction disguised as a wedding."

Huo Xuan's chest tightened. "Will you?"

"In families like ours, daughters are bargaining chips," she sighed. "I fled to the mountains to avoid him."

"Yet you returned," he said bleakly.

"Resigned to fate—until you appeared." Her eyes sparked. "Our partnership rewrites the script."

Huo Xuan caught her meaning instantly. "Our jewelry venture—that's the hope?"