Chapter 22: A Sudden Turn of Events!

"Brother..."

The woman who had blocked Duan Lingxiao, Zhao Mengru, felt a wave of dread wash over her the moment she saw the young man in the suit.

"Brother, I just took a fancy to a man, is it really worth getting this angry over? It’s so hard to come across guys with this kind of style; I just couldn't help myself when I saw him..." Zhao Mengru squirmed, her legs entwining, her eyes filled with a hazy, infatuated look.

"Have you no shame left? How am I supposed to explain this to our uncle? He promised to find you a good marriage, so hurry up and come home with me!" Zhao Guofeng looked absolutely disgusted. Ever since his sister’s divorce, she had lost all sense of propriety, becoming addicted to keeping boy toys and indulging in debauchery. It had reached the point where she would lose all self-respect just because she saw a man while out for a meal, acting as if she were starving for attention.

"No! Stop pestering me. I’m just living life the way I want to. Is that a crime?" Zhao Mengru retorted stubbornly.

"You’ve lost your mind! Keep acting out and I will have the family cut off all your credit cards! Get out of here now—I’m busy and don't have time to waste on you!" Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, Zhao Guofeng’s face darkened, feeling utterly humiliated.

"I don't care. You do your thing, I’ll do mine. Leave me alone!" Rebellious and obstinate, Zhao Mengru refused to budge.

"Brother Lingxiao, I didn't realize you were so charming that you’d drive her this crazy," Xiao Mengxue whispered into Duan Lingxiao's ear with a giggle.

"You little girl, even you’re teasing your brother? Do you want me to deal with you?" Duan Lingxiao pinched her nose playfully.

"How would you deal with me? Like before—a spanking?" Xiao Mengxue deliberately puffed out her chest, looking at him with a proud, coquettish glint in her eyes.

"Goodness... they say girls change so much as they grow!" Duan Lingxiao rubbed his nose. He had truly always seen her as a younger sister, but five years had passed, and the transformation was profound; she was a young woman now. Things couldn't be as they once were.

Meanwhile, Zhao Guofeng stared coldly at his sister. Taking a deep breath, he realized there was no reasoning with her. Since she was his own flesh and blood, he couldn't unleash his full fury on her, so he redirected his entire wrath toward Duan Lingxiao.

"Where did a piece of trash like you crawl out from? Didn't your mother teach you to keep to yourself? Are you so desperate for money that you’d sell yourself like a gigolo despite having a decent face? Damn it, what bad luck! Get the hell out of my sight right now, or I’ll break your legs!"

Zhao Guofeng felt no restraint in attacking Duan Lingxiao. Given the influence of the Zhao family, killing a man like him wouldn't be much of a problem.

At that moment, Duan Lingxiao’s expression turned icy. If the hardened criminals locked away in Prison Zero were to see that look in his eyes, they would be terrified. It meant Duan Lingxiao was angry, and the consequences of his anger were severe.

Duan Lingxiao felt he had done nothing wrong; from start to finish, this pair of siblings had been the ones stirring up trouble.

"Huh?" Zhao Guofeng roared, seeing that Duan Lingxiao hadn't moved an inch. "Did you not hear me? I told you to get lost! If you don't leave, I’ll kill you!"

Behind him, two thugs in suits stood ready, their gazes menacing and their postures aggressive.

"Brother, you're so fierce!" Zhao Mengru huffed, then blew a kiss to Duan Lingxiao. "Handsome, if it’s not working out, why don't you head out first? Come find me at the Mengdie Club another day, *muah*! I’ll be waiting for you!"

"Your mouth is filthy. Slap yourself ten times," Duan Lingxiao said, ignoring Zhao Mengru and speaking flatly to Zhao Guofeng.

"What did you say?" Zhao Guofeng was stunned. A moment later, he sneered, "My name is Zhao Guofeng, and my uncle is Zhao Heihu!"

*Zhao Heihu!*

At the mention of the name, the onlookers' expressions shifted instantly—fear, dread, and schadenfreude all mixed together. Zhao Heihu had fought his way up from nothing in Jiangnan City to establish the Black Tiger Hall, holding an unshakable position in the local underworld. There was even a saying in the streets: "When the Black Tiger emerges, all tremble in fear."

To think that Zhao Guofeng was his nephew! This was big trouble. The crowd looked at Duan Lingxiao with mocking pity. The Zhao family was deep in the underworld; they wouldn't let this go. They didn't care about right or wrong—they only used their fists to solve problems, or to silence the people who raised them.

"Zhao Heihu?" Duan Lingxiao smiled faintly. What a coincidence. The man who had brought an excavator to force a demolition that afternoon, Gao Deyao, had claimed to be from the Black Tiger Hall as well. To run into them again while out for dinner—what a small world.

"Kid, now that you know who I am, you should be terrified, right? That’s the brutal reality. You provoked someone you shouldn't have, and now you have to pay the price!" Zhao Guofeng gloated, hearing the hushed whispers of the crowd. He stood with his hands in his pockets, nose in the air, looking utterly arrogant. "You want me to slap myself? Hilarious! I order you to kneel and kowtow to me in apology!"

"This young man is truly unlucky. He just wanted a meal, and he gets mistaken for a gigolo and offends Zhao Heihu’s nephew," someone murmured.

"That's just bad luck for you. In this situation, there’s no other way out besides kowtowing."

"But a man’s knees are worth their weight in gold!"

"There’s an old saying: those who know the times are heroes. In this situation, posturing will only make things worse."

Zhao Guofeng heard the advice whispered to the young man and felt emboldened. He knew he had misunderstood the situation, but so what? He could misunderstand the world, but the world was never allowed to defy him. To the common folk, he didn't need to give any consideration; in the face of power, they were destined to bow.

He stared at Duan Lingxiao like a viper, waiting to see his knees buckle, waiting to see him crawl like a dog so he could stomp on his head in front of everyone.

"It seems being lenient and asking you to slap yourself was a mistake," Duan Lingxiao said calmly, his voice carrying an unquestionable weight. "Break one of your own arms."

The crowd was stunned.

"What kind of bullshit are you spouting?" Zhao Guofeng cupped his ear, thinking he had misheard.

*Whoosh!*

The answer was a blur of motion. Using the Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens footwork, Duan Lingxiao was in front of Zhao Guofeng in an instant. He reached out and gave a sharp tug.

*Crack!*

Zhao Guofeng’s arm was ripped from its socket, hanging limply at his side like a withered vine.

"Aaaahhh!" Zhao Guofeng collapsed to the ground, letting out a blood-curdling scream. He convulsed in agony, cold sweat pouring down his face as he writhed in pain, his expression twisted into a mask of pure terror.

"Zhao Heihu—what is he, exactly?" Duan Lingxiao looked down at him coldly.

"You... you actually dared to use violence?" Zhao Mengru’s face went pale, her heavy makeup making her look grotesque with fear. Her omnipotent brother had just had his arm ripped off! This was beyond her comprehension.

"Oh, and I almost forgot about you, you rotten woman." Duan Lingxiao slapped her across the face, sending her flying. Her face swelled up instantly, turning into a bruised, puffy mess. In his eyes, equality was paramount—if she hadn't insisted on causing trouble, none of this would have happened. To avoid gender bias, he decided to beat them both.

"Break his legs! Kill him!" Zhao Guofeng shrieked through gritted teeth. The two bodyguards behind him, wearing shirts that revealed their tattooed chests and thick gold chains, rushed forward. They didn't dare hold back, launching a joint attack.

Duan Lingxiao didn't even look up; he kicked out twice, striking both men in the gut. They flew backward, crashing through tables and chairs with a thunderous clatter.

"Let's go," Duan Lingxiao said, taking Xiao Mengxue’s hand to leave.

"Boy, you think you can just walk away after hurting my nephew? And what was that you said—'what is Zhao Heihu'?"

A deep, cold voice boomed through the room. A group of men emerged from the stairwell. The leader was a man with a dark complexion, thick brows, and a massive, burly frame—he looked like a black tiger himself. He walked forward slowly, radiating an aura of natural authority and killing intent.

"Uncle!" Zhao Guofeng and Zhao Mengru cried out in unison. They hadn't expected their luck to turn—Zhao Heihu was here.