Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Patriarch of the Zhao Family
The guests’ eyes were filled with disgust as they stared at Qin Tuo, as if he were nothing more than an annoying fly.
Seeing that Qin Tuo had become a pariah everyone wanted a piece of, Chen Xiaohui and Li Jian exchanged a look and burst into smug, wild laughter.
’Qin Tuo, oh, Qin Tuo, this is what you get for crossing me back in the day. You see what happens now, don’t you!’
Li Jian thought, his heart swelling with glee.
Suddenly, Qin Tuo looked up, his gaze icy.
"Are you finished? If so, shut your mouth and get away from me. Don’t ruin my good mood."
What?
Li Jian and Chen Xiaohui thought they had misheard.
"Qin Tuo, you piece of low-life scum! What gives you the right to talk to me like that?!"
Li Jian furiously jabbed a finger toward Qin Tuo’s nose as he cursed.
"Qin Tuo, your family even had to sell their house! Your dad’s a scrap picker, and your mom is nothing but a sick bitch!"
"And you! You’re an ex-con who can’t even find a job. What makes you think you’re on the same level as us?"
Chen Xiaohui chimed in, piling on the insults, each word deliberately chosen to twist the knife in Qin Tuo’s wounds.
"Today is the engagement party for Young Master Zhao and Xu Min. And Xu Min was your girlfriend, wasn’t she? Now she’s dumped you and made the wise choice to be with Young Master Zhao. That’s got to sting, doesn’t it?"
"Hahaha..."
As one taunt followed another, the surrounding crowd played along perfectly, erupting in waves of derisive laughter.
"Wow, Qin Tuo, I’ve really got to hand it to you. How can you stand there and take it after being cuckolded?"
"The most impressive part is how you can show up to their engagement party without even batting an eye. With that kind of composure, you’re destined for great things!"
Li Jian grew more and more animated, his voice ringing through the entire banquet hall.
In the distance, many other guests pointed in their direction, their faces etched with scorn.
Qin Tuo had become a piece of dog shit in the middle of the banquet hall—a target for a thousand pointing fingers, an object of ten thousand curses.
Li Jian grew increasingly agitated, his finger getting so close it almost touched the tip of Qin Tuo’s nose.
"Get the fuck off me!"
Qin Tuo had finally snapped. Even a saint has his limits.
He reached out and slapped Li Jian’s hand away with a sharp smack.
"Ow!"
Li Jian cried out in pain. The back of his hand was bright red and stinging.
But a triumphant glint was hidden in his eyes.
Provoking Qin Tuo had been Zhao Peng’s idea all along.
Once Qin Tuo was provoked, bodyguards would immediately appear and cripple him!
Then, he could ride Young Master Zhao’s coattails to fame and fortune!
With a triumphant sneer, Li Jian charged right up to Qin Tuo.
Like a brawling rooster, he cursed nonstop as he tried to shove Qin Tuo.
"You piece of trash, Qin Tuo! You dare to lay a hand on me?! I’m gonna teach you a lesson you won’t forget!"
Beside them, Chen Xiaohui and the others started jeering, egging Li Jian on.
Suddenly, before anyone could react, Qin Tuo swung his arm and landed a heavy slap across Li Jian’s face.
SLAP!
The slap was so crisp and loud that the entire banquet hall fell silent.
The slap was so powerful it sent Li Jian flying backward.
CRASH!
He crashed through a table and collapsed on the floor, howling in pain.
Chen Xiaohui and the others were dumbfounded. Who would have thought Qin Tuo would strike without warning, and so viciously?
"You bastard, you dare hit me?! You’re finished! Your whole family is finished!"
Li Jian clutched his face, which was already swelling up like a balloon, and continued to mutter curses, his eyes filled with venom.
"Oh? Still have the energy to curse?"
Qin Tuo’s brow furrowed. He rolled up his sleeves and started walking straight toward Li Jian.
This terrified Li Jian into silence, his eyes wide with panic.
But just then, a dozen or so bodyguards rushed out from the side. All of them wore black tank tops, their faces grim as they brandished clubs.
They had clearly been prepared and positioned in advance!
The group of bodyguards surrounded Qin Tuo, and the crowd knew a good show was about to start.
Li Jian, who had been terrified just a moment ago, now stood at a distance, posturing victoriously.
"Qin Tuo, weren’t you so tough a second ago? Keep it up! Now that you’ve pissed off Young Master Zhao, I want to see just how you’re going to die!"
In a distant corner, Zhao Peng held a champagne flute, his other hand resting on Xu Min’s neck. His expression was calm and triumphant.
Everything was well within his control.
The lead bodyguard gave a cruel smile and brandished his club.
This was the signal. The other bodyguards immediately brandished their clubs and charged.
"Time to eat dirt, kid!"
Facing the charging mob of bodyguards, Qin Tuo remained motionless, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Chen Xiaohui, Li Jian, and all the other guests in the hall looked on with cold sneers.
They were certain that in the next moment, Qin Tuo would be on the ground, beaten and begging for mercy.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The bodyguards swung their clubs with astonishing speed.
Yet Qin Tuo didn’t dodge or even flinch. It was as if he were offering himself up for the slaughter.
"Look at him! He’s scared stiff!" someone jeered.
But in the next instant, Qin Tuo moved.
He took a deep breath, and an immense power gathered in his arms.
"Break!"
The word was a low growl that rumbled from deep in Qin Tuo’s throat.
He slammed both palms heavily onto the shoulders of the two bodyguards in front of him.
"Argh..."
The two bodyguards collapsed as if they’d been struck by a charging bull.
Then, in a chain reaction, that immense force tore through the rest, knocking every single bodyguard to the ground.
Silence.
The entire banquet hall was plunged into a deathly silence, so profound that the sharp gasp of every single person could be heard with perfect clarity.
The sneer on Li Jian’s face froze solid.
Chen Xiaohui and her group of high school friends stared as if they had just seen a ghost, their faces slack with disbelief.
"Qin Tuo, you bastard! This is my engagement party, a joyous occasion! How dare you come here and hurt people?!"
Zhao Peng stalked forward, his face a mask of fury and humiliation.
Qin Tuo turned and gave a cold smirk.
"You’re the one who insisted I come. Who else is there to blame?"
"I told you before. If you made me come, this engagement party wouldn’t happen."
"You..."
The simple retort made Zhao Peng so furious he could have coughed up blood.
Zhao Peng had planned to humiliate Qin Tuo in front of everyone, but he never imagined that a dozen bodyguards would be no match for him.
’What’s with this guy? Is he on something? How is he so strong?!’
"Hmph! And where did this arrogant brat come from?"
Just then, a middle-aged man in a Tang suit approached from a distance, walking with a powerful and commanding stride.
The moment he appeared, Zhao Peng’s face lit up.
"Father, you’re here!"
The Zhao Family Patriarch, Zhao Tiancheng, came forward with a frosty expression and stared intently into Qin Tuo’s eyes.
"Young man, today is my son’s engagement party. I suggest you stop causing trouble. Otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences."
His tone was laced with a heavy authority that could make a man’s heart tremble.
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