novel-books Chapter 25 The powerful families of the capital are all ants
Chapter 25 The powerful families of the capital are all ants
At four in the morning, the corridor of the First People's Hospital of Jiangnan City was so quiet you could hear a heartbeat.
The incandescent bulb emitted a dim, yellowish light, its current crackling, casting a long shadow over the intensive care unit at the end of the corridor, exuding an indescribable sense of oppression. Inside the intensive care unit, Lu Qingxue lay quietly on the bed, her face almost translucent with paleness, her long eyelashes drooping. Because of the sedative injection, she slept soundly and peacefully, her breathing as light as a feather, as if she would shatter at the slightest touch.
Outside the ward, two bodyguards in black suits stood ramrod straight on either side, like two immovable wooden stakes. They were tall and straight, with sharp eyes like eagles, exuding the vigilance unique to soldiers—these were personnel sent by the Jiangnan branch of the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals. Long Yuan's evacuation orders had not yet arrived, but they remained steadfast in their duties, guarding the safety of the ward with all their might.
Just then, the elevator doors at the end of the corridor slid open silently, without making a sound, as if they had never moved. A gaunt old man in a gray Tang suit slowly walked out. He was hunched over, his back slightly bent, and his steps were extremely slow. His feet made no sound as they stepped on the smooth tiles, moving silently toward the ward like a ghost.
Both bodyguards were retired special forces soldiers, with a level of alertness far exceeding that of ordinary people. Almost the instant the old man appeared, their bodies tensed up simultaneously, their right hands instinctively reaching for the holsters at their waists, their knuckles turning white, and their eyes instantly turning cold and sharp as they locked onto the strange old man.
"Who goes there?" the bodyguard on the left spoke first, his voice low but carrying an undeniable chill. "This is a private intensive care unit. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from approaching, and family members are not permitted to visit!"
The gaunt old man stopped and slowly raised his head. A strange smile appeared on his wrinkled face, his lips parted to reveal a set of yellowed and blackened teeth, and his eyes gleamed with a sinister light. His voice was hoarse and dry, like rusty iron scraping against each other: "I've come to take that little girl inside away. Brothers, please do me a favor, and I will repay you handsomely in the future."
"Get lost!" The bodyguard on the right, unable to bear it any longer, drew his pistol, the dark muzzle pointed directly at the old man's head. His tone was icy and deadly, carrying a fatal threat, "Take one more step forward, and I'll blow your head off. Don't blame us for being impolite!"
The old man slowly shook his head, his smile growing increasingly eerie, his tone laced with mockery and disdain: "Young people these days are just too hot-tempered. So impatient, they'll never amount to anything."
Before he could finish speaking, a bizarre scene unfolded—the old man's figure vanished from the spot without leaving a trace, faster than the limits of human vision.
The two bodyguards' pupils contracted sharply, their bodies stiffened, and they didn't even see how he moved. They only felt a blur before their eyes, and a strong, pungent, earthy smell instantly hit them, choking them. The next second, two dry, calloused hands, like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, precisely gripped their wrists holding guns.
"Snap—!"
The crisp sound of bones breaking was particularly jarring in the silent corridor, like a thunderclap. The two bodyguards felt a piercing pain in their wrists, all their strength instantly drained away. Before they could even scream, the old man's hands slid upwards, his fingertips precisely slicing into their throats with ruthless force, a fatal blow.
Two strong bodies lay limply on the ground, as if their bones had been removed. Their eyes were wide open, and extreme terror lingered on their faces. They were completely lifeless, and blood slowly seeped from their throats, staining the tiles beneath their feet. Under the dim yellow light, the scene looked particularly gruesome.
The old man pulled a crumpled white handkerchief from his pocket, slowly wiping the blood from his hands. A contemptuous smile curled at the corner of his lips as he chuckled softly, "Just a bunch of brutes who rely on external martial arts. They have all the strength but haven't even mastered internal energy. They're just punching bags destined to be beaten. How dare they act arrogantly in front of an old man like me?"
He wiped his hands clean, casually tossed the handkerchief onto the corpse, walked to the ward door, stretched out his withered fingers, gently grasped the doorknob, and slowly turned it open—the movement was gentle, yet carried an irresistible ruthlessness, as if he were about to capture his prey.
The ward was dark, save for the streetlights streaming in through the curtains, casting a faint glow on the thin, frail figure on the bed. The old man tiptoed to the bedside, looking down at the sleeping Lu Qingxue. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes, and he muttered coldly, "Little girl, don't blame me for being ruthless. Blame your arrogant brother for daring to provoke the Wang family of Beijing. Did he really think he could live a peaceful life? The Wang family wants you as a bargaining chip, so you have no choice but to obey."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man slowly extended two withered fingers, the tips of which emitted a faint black aura. He quickly pointed towards Lu Qingxue's neck—he wanted to seal several of Lu Qingxue's major acupoints, turning her into a mindless living dead. This way, he could take her away smoothly without causing too much of a commotion, perfectly completing the task assigned by the Wang family.
His fingertips drew ever closer, less than an inch from Lu Qingxue's fair skin. Just one more centimeter and he would have sealed her vital point completely. But at this critical moment, a calm, unwavering voice, yet piercingly cold, exploded unexpectedly in the old man's ear, like an ice pick, straight to his soul: "You don't want this hand anymore?"
The old man shuddered, the hairs on his back standing on end. A deadly chill shot from his feet to the top of his head, and his blood seemed to freeze! He was a martial arts grandmaster at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm, a figure who could roam freely in the entire martial arts world of Jiangnan Province. His Eagle Claw Kung Fu was so masterful that ordinary martial artists could hardly even get within three meters of him. How could someone have silently approached within half a meter of him without him noticing?!
Driven by the instinct for survival, the old man didn't hesitate. His finger, which was pointing at Lu Qingxue, suddenly changed its move, growing rapidly into a ruthless and sharp eagle claw. With a whistling sound, it lashed out in the direction from which the sound came—this claw was imbued with all his inner strength, its power terrifying. Even a steel plate several centimeters thick could be torn into five deep holes by him, enough to instantly rip open an ordinary person's throat!
"Bang!"
A dull thud, not a deafening roar, but carrying an absolute sense of crushing force. The old man's wrist was firmly grasped by a slender, fair, and seemingly delicate hand, effortlessly and casually, as if catching a fly flying through the air. His powerful claw instantly rendered him immobile, unable to exert even the slightest strength.
The old man suddenly turned his head and, by the dim light of the street lamp outside the window, finally saw the person standing by the bed—a boy dressed in ordinary casual clothes, with delicate features and a tall, upright figure. He looked no different from an ordinary high school student, but his eyes were as cold as a block of ice that had never melted, devoid of any emotion, only endless indifference and contempt, as if he were looking at an insignificant ant.
"You...you are Lu Yuan?!" The old man's voice trembled instantly, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror, his heart pounding wildly—the intelligence clearly stated that this kid was still in the capital, how could he have appeared in Jiangnan City so quickly?! Moreover, he was able to catch his full-force attack so easily; this strength was not just "somewhat capable" as the intelligence stated, but terrifying to the extreme!
"Mid-stage Transformation Realm." Lu Yuan lowered his eyes, glanced at the old man's wrist that he was holding, his tone filled with deep disappointment, even a hint of mockery, "The Wang family sent such a piece of trash as you to die? I thought they could make something of themselves, but in the end, you didn't even qualify to warm me up."
"Arrogant!!" The old man was thoroughly enraged by Lu Yuan's contempt. He roared, his internal energy surging wildly like a raging flood, rushing towards his gripped wrist in an attempt to break free. "You're just a greenhorn, you've got some skill by chance, yet you dare to be arrogant in front of an old man like me? I am the vice president of the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association. If you dare to lay a finger on me, the entire Jiangnan martial arts world will hunt you down!"
"Shut up." Lu Yuan was too lazy to listen to him fussing about the backstage. His tone remained calm, but it carried an undeniable authority. As soon as he finished speaking, the five fingers of his right hand suddenly clenched!
"Pfft—!"
A sickeningly painful sound of flesh tearing rang out as Lu Yuan crushed the old man's wrist into a mangled mess, exposing the white bone fragments that pierced through the skin. Blood gushed out, splattering onto the ground and staining Lu Yuan's fingertips red.
"ah--!!"
A heart-wrenching scream erupted from the old man's mouth, an extreme pain that made his whole body convulse, cold sweat instantly soaking through his Tang suit. But before he could utter even half a scream, Lu Yuan's left hand shot out with lightning speed, gripping his neck tightly, forcefully silencing the rest of his scream, leaving him only able to let out a series of gasping "hoarse" sounds.
Lu Yuan lifted the old man by the neck with one hand, as if he were a dead dog, suspending him in mid-air. The old man's legs kicked wildly in mid-air, his hands gripping Lu Yuan's arm tightly, his nails digging deep into Lu Yuan's sleeve, but he couldn't budge him an inch. His eyes were filled with extreme despair and fear, his face turned purplish-red from lack of oxygen, his lips turned purple, and even breathing became difficult.
"Where are the Wang family members?" Lu Yuan's gaze was fixed on the old man, his tone calm yet carrying a deadly pressure. Every word was like an ice pick, striking the old man's heart.
The old man shook his head frantically, his eyes filled with fear, and mumbled incoherently, "I...I don't know...I really don't know...They just gave me fifty million...and told me to take this girl away...to a designated location...I really don't know where they are..."
He finally understood why the Wang family had spent fifty million to capture an ordinary high school student. This wasn't some high school student at all; he was clearly a monster in human skin! A Grandmaster at the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm was as fragile as an infant before him, without even a chance to resist!
"I don't know." Lu Yuan nodded slowly, his tone still calm, but the coldness in his eyes grew stronger. "Since you don't know, then you're useless."
"Click."
With a crisp cracking sound, Lu Yuan's fingers tightened slightly, and the old man's neck bones were instantly crushed. His body lost all strength, his head slumped limply to the side, his eyes wide open, his face filled with extreme fear and resentment, before he breathed his last.
Lu Yuan casually tossed the old man's corpse to the ground with a dull thud. The body rolled a few times before coming to rest in the corner. Blood spread along the corpse, mingling with the bloodstains of the two bodyguards, making it look particularly gruesome.
He didn't glance at the corpse on the ground again, slowly turning to look at his sleeping sister on the hospital bed. The coldness and ruthlessness in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a barely perceptible tenderness and affection. All the commotion from before had been completely shut out of the room by his true energy. Lu Qingxue slept soundly, undisturbed, her long eyelashes occasionally fluttering slightly, making her look incredibly endearing.
Lu Yuan walked to the bedside, gently tucking the blanket around his sister's neck. His fingertips brushed against her pale cheek, his movements tender, as if touching a rare treasure. Then, he turned back to the three corpses on the ground. The tenderness in his eyes faded, replaced by deep impatience and coldness. He thought to himself: These worldly warriors never learn. One batch is killed, and another batch comes. They're like weeds in a field, impossible to eradicate completely.
He originally didn't want to kill in front of his sister, didn't want her to be tainted by blood, but these people insisted on coming to his door, touching his sore spot, and hurting his sister.
Lu Yuan's gaze gradually sharpened, and an aura of power emanated from him, causing the temperature in the entire ward to plummet instantly. It seemed that unless these local bullies in Jiangnan City and that reckless Wang family were taught a lesson, they would never learn who they couldn't mess with and what bottom lines they couldn't cross.
It's time to thoroughly plow through all these monsters and scoundrels in Jiangnan City. Anyone who dares to touch Lu Yuan's sister should be prepared to pay a heavy price—whether it's the Wang family or the Jiangnan martial arts world, everyone involved will be punished!