“Get away!”
Unexpectedly, the man had underestimated Lu Chiwan’s agility.
As he reached out, Lu Chiwan had already picked up the vase from the bedside table without him noticing.
Without hesitation, she struck him with it, hitting him squarely on the back of the head.
The man immediately fell unconscious, blood pooling on the floor.
The few men following behind stared at each other in stunned silence.
After taking down one of them, Lu Chiwan seized the opportunity to rush out the door and frantically ran downstairs.
In her panic, she hadn’t even put on her shoes.
“Help! Help!”
“Is anyone there?”
“Husband!”
“A Yan!”
To her dismay, when Lu Chiwan reached the bottom of the stairs, she found the vast living room completely empty.
There was no sign of the butler, Aunt Jiang, or A Xia.
Had they all hidden because intruders had broken in?
Amid her panic, Lu Chiwan remembered the gunshots outside and recalled that Brocade Creek Bay had many bodyguards.
With no other choice, she desperately ran toward the courtyard.
As she fled, she spotted a pair of scissors on the small square table in the corner of the living room.
She grabbed them as a weapon for self-defense before running out.
What Lu Chiwan didn’t know was that every corner of the manor, from the bedroom to the living room, was under surveillance.
Li Yanxing hadn’t actually left Brocade Creek Bay.
He was in a bamboo grove just outside the manor.
His car was hidden among the bamboo, and he was watching the surveillance feed, his face icy cold.
“Yan Ge, sister-in-law… she’s run out, and she’s carrying a pair of scissors. What if something happens?”
Lin Mu was also in the car.
The scene they had just witnessed had left him terrified.
They had received intelligence earlier that Chen Yang’s men were coming and had been waiting.
Late into the night, the men had indeed arrived—a large group of them, all top-tier assassins. But they weren’t there to kill; they were there specifically to rescue someone.
This confirmed just how important the person they were trying to save was to Chen Yang, Second Master Chen.
Li Yanxing’s reason for bringing Lu Chiwan back was to lure out Chen Yang’s men and locate Chen Yang’s hideout.
He had been searching for this man for years.
It was only this year that he had gotten some leads.
He couldn’t trust leaving Lu Chiwan with anyone else. To ensure absolute success in finding this man, he had to take no chances.
His plan was to deliberately let Chen Yang’s men take Lu Chiwan away, then track them.
But he couldn’t make it too obvious. Chen Yang knew his capabilities; if he made it too easy, the other side would recognize it as a trap and wouldn’t take Lu Chiwan to Chen Yang.
Therefore, his men had already taken out many of the intruders, leaving only three or four.
Li Yanxing’s final strategy was to leave just one man alive, severely injured, but to create a perfect accident that would allow that last survivor to take Lu Chiwan away.
But now… something had gone wrong.
He had miscalculated the girl he was using as a pawn.
“Not good, Yan Ge! Sister-in-law might jump into the lake!”
While Li Yanxing was deep in thought, the situation escalated.
The seemingly frail girl, desperate to avoid being taken, stumbled and staggered all the way to the artificial lake specially constructed in the back garden.
This artificial lake spanned most of the manor, its waters deep, with boats floating on the surface.
On the occasions when Li Yanxing stayed here, he would sometimes sleep on one of the boats.
By now, only one of the men sent to rescue Lu Chiwan remained.
Clutching his wound, the man urgently said to Lu Chiwan, “Little Madam, don’t you remember Second Master?”
“Why are you with Li Yanxing? He’ll kill you.”
“Before their people catch up, come with me quickly, it’ll be too late if we delay any longer.”
“Wh-what Second Master? Stay away from me!”
The scissors in Lu Chiwan’s hand were still dripping with blood.
She had stabbed her pursuer while escaping earlier.
“Don’t slander my husband, I won’t believe you!”
Clutching the scissors, Lu Chiwan slowly backed away, her eyes filled with vigilance and terror.
She couldn’t run anymore. Having fled barefoot, she had cut her feet and twisted an ankle along the way.
Excruciating pain continuously shot up from her ankle.
She had nowhere left to retreat.
The man anxiously continued explaining, seeing that Li Yanxing’s men were about to catch up.
He quickly closed in on Lu Chiwan and shouted, “Come with me!”
Gritting her teeth, Lu Chiwan turned and plunged into the lake with a splash.
To capture her, the man also jumped into the artificial lake.
However…
Neither Lu Chiwan nor the man who followed her in showed any movement.
The bodyguards who had caught up stood by the lakeside, staring at the calm water, unsure what to do.
Their orders were to let these two escape, which was why they had pursued so slowly.
But had they escaped now?
Logically speaking… they shouldn’t have.
Just as the bodyguards prepared to request instructions from Li Yanxing, they heard Lin Mu call out, “Yan Ge!”
Before the bodyguards could use their walkie-talkies, they saw a tall figure charge into the water, sending countless splashes flying.
Lin Mu stood by the artificial lake, his expression complicated.
What exactly did Yan Ge feel about this young girl?
If she were just a pawn, there’d be no need for him to personally rescue her.
Though the lake was deep, it posed no challenge to the highly skilled swimmer Li Yanxing.
Soon, Li Yanxing fished Lu Chiwan out of the water.
Lin Mu quickly helped pull her up with a bodyguard.
The bodyguard then reentered the water to search for the assassin who had jumped in after Lu Chiwan.
Holding the pale, unconscious girl in his arms, Li Yanxing’s expression turned terrifyingly cold.
The girl was very light, seeming like just a small bundle.
The same girl who had playfully kissed and teased him with lively laughter during the day now lay completely lifeless, fragile like a torn doll.
Carrying Lu Chiwan to the lawn, Li Yanxing laid her down and began pressing on her chest.
His technique was very professional.
But Lu Chiwan seemed to have been in the water too long and showed no response.
Li Yanxing had no choice but to continue chest compressions while periodically bending down to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Lin Mu: “…”
The others: “…”
Even Butler Du, Aunt Jiang, and A Xia had rushed out, standing helplessly by watching.
Why was the young master putting himself through this?
First reducing the girl to this near-death state, then anxiously trying to save her—was he torturing her or himself?
It would be fine if she revived, but if she didn’t…
“Get lost!”
Li Yanxing glared irritably at the people standing nearby and roared like an out-of-control leopard.
Butler Du and the others immediately scurried away in fear.
Even Lin Mu retreated far away, afraid that Yan Ge would blame him for not stopping things earlier and throw him into the lake to drink water too.
Cough, cough, cough.
Finally, Lu Chiwan responded, vomiting water all over Li Yanxing’s face.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Li Yanxing stared at her, not daring to move.
“Hus… husband… why did you only come back now?”
“I… I think I’m going to die.”
“I feel so terrible, my whole body hurts, my head hurts too.”
“Husband, I… I don’t want to die, I can’t bear to leave you…”
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Chiwan fainted again, yet her hand stubbornly clutched Li Yanxing’s sleeve, refusing to let go.
Li Yanxing bent down to lift her into his arms and rushed out like a madman.