Chapter 19: Chapter 19: The Prince’s Mansion’s Ancestral Hall
"Oh, right, Manni, which way did Huaiyi Hall take Mr. Qin?"
The thought suddenly struck Chen Wenxiong, and he immediately asked.
Chen Man Ni stifled her sobs and tried to recall.
"They seemed to be heading toward the city center. I couldn’t keep up, so I don’t know the exact location..."
As she spoke, a wave of deep regret washed over her.
’If I hadn’t panicked, would things have turned out this way?’
’I should have at least followed them to see where they were taking Mr. Qin!’
"Sweetheart, don’t blame yourself. Go home right now. Leave this to me."
Chen Wenxiong said in a heavy voice, trying to comfort Chen Man Ni.
But Chen Man Ni shook her head vigorously.
"No! I’m also responsible for this. If you’re going to rescue Mr. Qin, I’m going with you!"
Chen Wenxiong let out a bitter laugh.
"Manni, who do you think we’re dealing with? Let me tell you, nine times out of ten, Master Long himself is involved... He’s the boss of Huaiyi Hall, the Southwest Underground Emperor!"
’Master Long?’
A jolt went through Chen Man Ni.
Of course, she had heard the name Master Long before. The man was a truly ruthless character!
"Yes, Master Long. If he’s involved, he won’t let this go easily. At this point, the only thing I can do is go myself and see if Master Long will show our Chen Family some respect."
Chen Wenxiong shook his head, feeling utterly helpless.
’If there were any other way, who would willingly face a terrifying figure like Master Long?’
"Dad, what if we call the police...?"
Chen Man Ni suddenly found herself clutching at straws.
At the mention of the police, Chen Wenxiong shook his head decisively, a cautious look in his eyes.
"You don’t understand, Manni. With someone like Master Long, calling the police would only backfire. It would just put Mr. Qin in even more danger."
"But Dad..."
Chen Man Ni tried to argue.
"Listen to me, sweetheart. Go home now. I’ll let you know the moment I have any news!"
Chen Wenxiong offered a few more words of comfort and hung up.
Chen Man Ni stood on the main road, watching the traffic come and go, her mind a tangled mess.
「...」
Meanwhile, the seven-seater minivan deliberately circled the city center a few times before slowly heading toward a certain location.
Qin Tuo sat in the vehicle with a calm expression, even sizing up the burly men in black with great interest.
"Kid, keep looking and I’ll gouge your eyes out!"
One of the burly men was clearly unnerved by Qin Tuo’s gaze and flew into a rage out of embarrassment.
"Heh, they’re my eyes. I’ll look however I want."
Qin Tuo sneered dismissively.
"You little brat..."
The burly man was instantly furious, pulling out a pistol and pressing it hard against Qin Tuo’s chest.
In that moment, he was angry enough to pull the trigger, but he didn’t dare!
"Alright, stop trading barbs with him. The kid doesn’t have much time left anyway."
The leader of the men in black said slowly, his eyes closed as if resting.
Qin Tuo’s hands were bound tightly with hemp rope, making it difficult to move, but he seemed completely unconcerned.
If Qin Tuo wanted to, he knew at least five ways to break free from the thick hemp rope.
Back in prison, the old lunatic had taught him plenty of such tricks.
Qin Tuo was more interested in the identities and motives behind these men in black.
The minivan turned into an alley and stopped at the gate of an ancient courtyard.
’It’s actually this place?’
Qin Tuo was slightly surprised.
This courtyard was known as a century-old mansion, said to have once been the residence of a certain Prince. Later, it was auctioned off multiple times, eventually being bought for an exorbitant price by some big shot as a collector’s item.
But as for the identity of this big shot, no one knew.
"Get in there, kid!"
The burly man behind him gave Qin Tuo a hard shove.
Escorted by the group of burly men, Qin Tuo walked slowly into the courtyard and over to the ancestral hall on the east side.
The moment he stepped into the ancestral hall, Qin Tuo felt the atmosphere turn incredibly grim.
The group of burly men immediately split to the left and right, standing at attention with their heads up and chests out, their discipline strict and severe.
CLICK!
Suddenly, a lamp lit up the dim ancestral hall, revealing a familiar face directly ahead, contorted with intense hatred.
It was Zhao Tiancheng!
Qin Tuo ignored Zhao Tiancheng, however. His attention was drawn to the side, where a middle-aged man sat on a grand master’s chair. The man’s expression was fierce and somber, and a scar that ran across nearly half his face made him look exceptionally sinister and terrifying.
’What’s this guy’s deal? Even Zhao Tiancheng has to stand next to him while he gets to sit?’
Qin Tuo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he wondered to himself.
As Qin Tuo sized up the Southwest Underground Emperor, Master Long, Master Long was also observing him.
Master Long’s real name was Long Wu, but very, very few people knew this.
And even those who knew would never dare to address him by his name, only calling him "Master Long" with the utmost respect.
Seeing Long Wu in person, Qin Tuo also grew a little more cautious.
Just then, Zhao Tiancheng spoke up.
He began with a sinister chuckle.
"Qin Tuo, now that you’re on Master Long’s turf, you’re dead even if you have ten lives!"
However, before he could finish, Long Wu, who was sitting beside him, cut him off with a cold, displeased tone.
"Zhao Tiancheng, you useless piece of trash. You used the favor I owed your family just to deal with a worthless brat like this? Has my favor become so cheap?"
His tone was cold, tinged with a thick layer of annoyance.
Zhao Tiancheng trembled in fear and quickly bowed his head apologetically.
"That’s not it! The Zhao Family could have dealt with this brat ourselves, but strangely enough, the Chen Family is dead set on protecting him. Our Zhao Family is no match for the Chen Family!"
He said with a bitter laugh, putting on a fawning expression.
"Oh? Dead set on protecting him, you say? Tell me, how exactly has Chen Wenxiong been protecting the boy?"
Long Wu was in complete control, not looking the least bit hurried.
But Zhao Tiancheng was anxious, wishing he could see Qin Tuo drop dead on the spot.
So, Zhao Tiancheng recounted the several times the Chen Family had intervened to save Qin Tuo.
’Long Wu was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected the Chen Family to value this kid so highly?’
"Not bad, kid. To be backed so strongly by the Chen Family, you must have some outstanding, hidden qualities!"
Long Wu’s words were clearly directed at Qin Tuo.
Zhao Tiancheng, standing nearby, quickly tried to ride on his coattails.
"You little bastard, Master Long is asking you a question! Answer him honestly, and hurry up!"
But Qin Tuo just sneered, not answering and instead asking a question of his own.
"You went to all this trouble to kidnap me just to get back at me for yesterday?"
As he spoke, he shot Zhao Tiancheng a contemptuous glance.
Zhao Tiancheng was about to explode with rage. He jumped up and shouted:
"You little bastard, how dare you speak like that in front of Master Long? When Master Long asks you something, you answer! Show some respect, you hear me!"
"Heh. Useless trash."
Qin Tuo sneered.
Those three words were enough to make Zhao Tiancheng nearly pass out from fury.
He never would have imagined that the kid would still dare to be so arrogant on Master Long’s turf.
’Is he really not afraid to die?’
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