Blood spilled out from the wound, a huge gaping hole in the middle of Brother Long's palm. Despite the agony he must be feeling, Brother Long did not cry out. He simply trembled, extremely pale, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
The Yan family trio were stunned by the grisly sight, and Yan Wan and Ru Feng staggered back, trying their best not to scream. Their minds were clouded by shock, particularly when they recalled that Brother Long was a big figure in the underground parts of Jiang Nan City.
Yet, in front of me, he was willing to mutilate himself as an apology.
Swallowing, Brother Long pulled the knife out of his hand and stabbed again. In the corner, the Yan family shuddered, blankly falling to their rumps and watching the horrifying scene. They nearly wet themselves from fright.
Brother Long glanced at me and I nodded, satisfied.
"This is the price to pay for touching my wife…for even daring to hurt her."
Gasping, Brother Long yanked the knife out and almost collapsed. "I understand. This is the fate of offending Brother Zhao. I, Yao Long, will definitely remember this lesson."
Yan Wan's mouth opened and closed soundlessly. Earlier, she thought I was bluffing and sneered that I didn't have the guts to kill her. But now that she saw that I had no qualms intimidating Brother Long into mutilating his own hand, she realized that her words earlier were nothing but a joke.
Trash?
Useless?
Freeloading son-in-law?
Too late Yan Wan realized that these insults were false. That she had blindly believed false rumors for no reason other than plot…and so that I could slap her face later.
"Cousin Zhao Huan Shi, I'm your cousin. I'm so sorry. Surely you won't be so ruthless toward a cousin, right?" Yan Wan was kneeling on the floor and kowtowing profusely. She was so scared out of her mind that she was babbling incoherently.
Her father and mother didn't dare to say anything. Even if I killed Yan Wan here and there, they couldn't blame me, because she literally wanted my wife, Mu Rong Shu, to be raped and murdered. Even her parents couldn't accept Yan Wan's viciousness.
The only thing they could do now is pray that I simply dispense justice on Yan Wan alone, and spare Yan Yang and Ru Feng's lives. They no longer cared about their daughter's life.
"As long as you learn your lesson, it's fine," I told Brother Long while pointedly ignoring Yan Wan. Brother Long nodded profusely.
"Thank you, Brother Zhao, for being so merciful."
When I finally turned to the Yan family, they all trembled. I simply smiled.
"Don't worry. I will not be the one dealing with you. I'm sure my wife will want to handle you three herself."
Then I stepped back and allowed Mu Rong Shu to take center stage. She had been quiet the entire time, observing Brother Long's maiming of himself dispassionately. She then turned her ominous gaze on the three.
Ru Feng cried out in fear and dropped to her knees. "My dear niece, we didn't know about this! Your uncle and I weren't involved in this at all! We only knew of this today! We came here to stop Wan Er from doing anything stupid…from crossing the line! We didn't know she had ordered Brother Long to kidnap you! She was the one who wanted to give you to Brother Long! We were against it from the start! You heard everything. This was all her idea!"
"Mom, what are you saying?!" Yan Wan shrieked. "I'm your daughter! Your blood and flesh daughter!"
Unfortunately, what Ru Feng said was the truth. The parents really weren't involved, and they had futilely advised Yan Wan to reconsider and not go too far. It was a pity that their daughter didn't heed their advice.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you." Mu Rong Shu smiled. Yan Wan relaxed, only to tense when Mu Rong Shu continued. "At least I have no intention of dirtying my own hands."
"Eh…?" Yan Wan understood what Mu Rong Shu meant. She glanced at Brother Long, who was standing aside, clutching his right hand in a desperate attempt to stem the bleeding. Mu Rong Shu's smile grew.
"No, I won't ask Brother Long to kill you too. He's in no condition to do anything right now."
Yan Wan slumped down in relief, only for Mu Rong Shu to continue.
"But I wonder what grandpa will do?"
Less than thirty minutes later, Yan Yue rushed into the basement of the dilapidated house, having received the call. When he caught sight of Brother Long's bloodstained right hand, he shuddered. Brother Long, after all, was a very powerful figure in the underground of Jiang Nan City, yet he was subservient before me.
"Yan Yue, is Mu Rong Shu part of the Yan family?" I asked, taking over from my wife. He nodded.
"Yes."
After all, Mu Rong Shu was his granddaughter. Even though she didn't have much interaction with the Yan family, she was still a member by blood and lineage.
"Then she should be treated fairly, as a member of the Yan family, right?" I asked. Yan Yue didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
"Yan Wan hired Brother Long here to kidnap Mu Rong Shu. Not only that, she wanted him to rape and then murder her. What do you think should be done, if you wish to be fair to my wife?"
"What did you say?"
Yan Yue's jaw dropped when he heard what had happened. Rape? Murder? Yan Wan actually wanted to commit such atrocities to her own cousin? Although Yan Yue was aware of his granddaughter's animosity toward his other granddaughter, he never imagined that she would be so cruel as to order the rape and murder of her own flesh and blood cousin.
"Yan Wan, is this true?" Yan Yue asked through gritted teeth.
Yan Wan swallowed, unable to answer. She knew it was impossible to deny the truth right now. Brother Long and his subordinates had heard it. Tang Li had also heard it. And they were all present right now. It was one thing if Mu Rong Shu and I were the only ones who claimed that such a thing happened, but there was no way Yan Yue would question Tang Li's integrity or dare to refute Brother Long's statement.
In the end, she lowered her head regretfully and began sobbing.
"Grandpa, I was confused for a moment. I regret what I did. I'm sorry!"
Yan Yue was so furious that smoke practically burst out of his ears. He strode over and slapped Yan Wan a few times.
"You monster! She is your own cousin! How can you do such a thing? Are you even human?" He then turned to Yan Yang. "Do you remember what I said yesterday? Anyone who dares provoke Zhao Huan Shi and Mu Rong Shu will leave the Yan family."
"I remember," Yan Yang mumbled, his head lowered. He couldn't speak a single word in defense of his daughter.
"Grandpa, is this fair?" Mu Rong Shu asked coldly. Yan Yue looked at her, his face white.
"What do you mean?"
I was the one who answered. "If Shu didn't defend herself and defeat Brother Long and his subordinates, she would have been raped and murdered. Do you think it's enough for Yan Wan to be simply exiled from the Yan family?"
As an outsider, I was able to provide a more…objective perspective. Which was why I was helping Mu Rong Shu with this, even though she was the one behind everything. If it were up to me, I would just kill Yan Wan straight, but I guess ladies love their scheming.
Yan Yue looked from me to Mu Rong Shu. He took a deep breath and balled his fists. "What do you want me to do then?"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," I replied. "You are the patriarch of the Yan family, so you have to take responsibility for the actions of your family members. It's only fair to trade a life for a life."
At my words, Yan Yue staggered back. He understood what I meant. In other words, I was telling him to kill Yan Wan. However, the taking of a human's life was illegal. He couldn't possibly kill his own granddaughter.
"Zhao Huan Shi, I understand your anger, but isn't it too much to kill Yan Wan for what she did?" Yan Yue asked.
"Too much?" I snorted. "So it's too much to kill Yan Wan, but it's not too much for Yan Wan to order someone to rape and kill my wife? Yan Yue, is this your idea of fairness in the Yan family?"
"No, that's…"
Yan Wan had turned as pale as a ghost and she was turning to her parents desperately. "Dad, Mom, what are you doing!? Think of a way to save me! This useless trash is going to kill me! Didn't you hear what he said?!"
Neither Yan Yang nor Ru Feng dared to move. Although they had pampered and raised their daughter for so many years, they knew that they would die along with her if they stepped in to intervene. Even parents valued their own lives sometimes. Moreover, they were aware that Yan Wan deserved her punishment. They had been aghast by the inhuman actions of their daughter.
"Brother Long, as long as Yan Wan isn't dead, then the Yan family will have to perish together with her." I turned to the gang leader. He nodded. Satisfied, I took Mu Rong Shu's hand and left the basement.
Yan Wan desperately crawled to Yan Yue's feet and begged him. "Grandpa, I was wrong. I know I was wrong."
Yan Yue kicked her away in a fit of anger. If it wasn't for her, how could this whole thing have happened?
She had repeatedly humiliated Mu Rong Shu in order to assuage her overly inflated ego, but she didn't know that her arrogance and behavior would not only cost her her life, but also drag the entire Yan family down to hell with her.
"This is the price to pay for your arrogance," Yan Yue said coldly.
Yan Wan simply sobbed and nodded. If she could reverse time, she would never have made things difficult for Mu Rong Shu and suppress her in order to make herself look superior to her cousin. If she had restrained hrself, Liu Zhang Feng wouldn't have broken up with her.
But everything was too late.
"Old man, I have to go to the hospital. You can tell me whether Yan Wan is dead or the whole Yan family chooses to die." Brother Long twirled the switchblade around with his left hand and offered it, hilt first, to Yan Yue.
"Of course Yan Yue has to suffer the consequences of her own actions," Yan Yue replied calmly. "The whole Yan family cannot die just for her alone."
Part of the reason was because Yan Yue knew that if someone like Yao Long was to personally deal with the Yan family, then there would be no way for them to survive.
Yan Yue accepted the knife from Brother Long, and then he approached the kneeling Yan Wan.
"My dear granddaughter, please don't blame your grandpa for this. You have to pay the price for your own transgressions. If you had been a bit more humane and valued your relationship with your cousin more, then things would not come to this."
The knife flashed down, and the sobs turned into screams.