Cao Fu Lie placed all the food on the table and then began to invite Yue Heng Yi and Lin Yue to eat. Looking at the delicacies on the table, Cao Fu Lie’s appetite was whetted.
“Come, come, let’s eat. I’ve always heard that Zhajiangmian in Yanjing is delicious, and now I finally get to try it. There are quite a few side dishes, and there’s roast duck here too. Try it, don’t just stand there!” Cao Fu Lie called out to the two people in the living room.
Meanwhile, Yue Heng Yi was reclining on the sofa, holding a piece of paper with information about He Kan Wen. This paper even marked the shops He Kan Wen frequented, indicating that the information was very thorough.
As for Lin Yue, he stood by the window, lost in thought. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He hadn’t seen that girl in the black market today, yet he still found out her whereabouts through Zhao Ying. He specifically went to tell her to stay away from her original family, and then he was caught by Cao Fu Lie.
At this moment, Lin Yue was still thinking about the girl.
“Zhan Jin Su? What a nice name. Where did she go?” Lin Yue thought to himself.
After Cao Fu Lie called out several times, Yue Heng Yi and Lin Yue finally sat down at the dining table, but they had no appetite. Each of them ate two bowls of noodles and stopped. At this point, Cao Fu Lie was no longer worried about not having enough to eat for lunch.
“You two have something on your minds. You don’t even want to eat such good food in front of you. It’s all for me! In my opinion, worrying like this is useless. Just do what you need to do. There’s no need to fret here. What’s the point?” Cao Fu Lie said to the two of them while eating braised pork intestines.
There were many delicacies on the table, with Zhajiangmian and roast duck being the most famous, and what Cao Fu Lie had always wanted to try. He hadn’t tasted these two delicacies before in Yanjing.
He placed the roast duck meat on a pancake, spread it with sweet bean sauce, wrapped it with shredded scallions and cucumber shreds, rolled it up, and savored it in his mouth. The taste was indeed very good. Next to the Zhajiangmian were many side dishes. If one only ate the noodles, the taste of Zhajiangmian would not be particularly good. Eating Zhajiangmian requires eating it with side dishes. Seven or eight kinds of side dishes were placed on the side, and one could add them freely. Cao Fu Lie ate with great relish.
Cao Fu Lie also wanted to try Douzhijiu, as even Lu Xun said that true Yanjing people know how to drink Douzhijiu.
However, after Cao Fu Lie took a sip, he really couldn’t drink anymore. The taste was too strange. For Cao Fu Lie, this taste was unacceptable.
At this very moment, Yue Heng Yi finally made up his mind and said, “If He Kan Wen is truly a scumbag, then I will definitely kill him. I cannot stand by and watch Qin Ke Wei fall into a fiery pit.”
After speaking, Yue Heng Yi went out and said, “I’ll go and find out where He Kan Wen often appears. If I investigate clearly, I’ll act directly.”
Lin Yue also made up his mind at this time and said, “I’ll go out and see. I need to confirm if Zhan Jin Su has really left her home.”
Seeing that the two of them had finally made up their minds, Cao Fu Lie couldn’t help but say, “How about I help you?”
Lin Yue and Yue Heng Yi both quickly refused, stating that they didn’t need Cao Fu Lie’s help at the moment.
Cao Fu Lie, having eaten his fill, lay on the sofa to rest. He said to the two who were leaving, “Don’t forget to order when you come back. Don’t stay out too long, and hurry back when it’s about time.”
Afterward, Cao Fu Lie began to rest in his residence, while Yue Heng Yi went to investigate matters related to He Kan Wen. He wanted to know one thing: whether He Kan Wen was still as debauched as before. Qin Ke Wei was originally angry because of his debauchery. If He Kan Wen didn’t mend his ways, then he couldn’t blame himself.
“I am doing this to give Qin Ke Wei a happy life,” Yue Heng Yi thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Lin Yue headed to Zhan Jin Su’s home. When he went in the morning, Zhan Jin Su’s father was not at home. This time, Lin Yue wanted to experience what Zhan Jin Su’s gambler father was like, and also to confirm if Zhan Jin Su had really left.
When Lin Yue arrived in an old district, he quickly saw a father and daughter on the street. The father was holding a clothes hanger and fiercely beating his crying daughter. The daughter being beaten was naturally the fourteen-year-old Zhan Jin Su, who was crying and begging for mercy.
“Dad, I won’t dare again. Please spare me.” Zhan Jin Su cried sadly, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Zhan Jin Su’s father was a drunkard. He was drunk at the moment and was hitting her without restraint. He was holding a wire clothes hanger. This hanger was of good quality. Although it didn’t seem powerful, it left a mark with every hit. He was also cursing as he hit her.
“I’ll let you run! I’ve raised you for over ten years, and you’re quite bold to run away. Where did you get so much money? And you’re not telling the truth. Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death today!” the drunkard shouted fiercely.
Zhan Jin Su curled up on the ground, trembling. She didn’t dare to resist at all and could only beg repeatedly.
This pair of parents were beating and scolding each other unilaterally in the alley of the old district. Many onlookers had gathered around, pointing fingers at what was happening, but no one stepped forward to intervene because they all knew that the drunkard was not to be reasoned with. Many men, after drinking a couple of ounces of cat urine, immediately become unrecognizable.
Lin Yue couldn’t bear to watch and then asked someone beside him, “Excuse me, what’s going on here?”
The bystander heard the question and didn’t hide anything. He directly shook his head and sighed, “It’s truly pitiful. This little girl is too unfortunate. Her scumbag father gambles all day, and when he loses money, he sells things from home to pay his debts. As a result, this little girl has to work outside from a young age, but she can’t do heavy work. Looking at her small frame, she can only sew and mend for others, earning a meager living.
“It’s a pity that even so, her scumbag father is still so hateful. After owing money, he simply sold his daughter. A kind person bought her and let her come back. However, she somehow got some money and wanted to leave home with her mother’s portrait, but she was caught on the spot and is now being beaten to death.”
The people around could only sigh helplessly. It was truly unlucky to be born into such a family. Not only did she have to work to support her father, but she also had to face domestic violence at any time, and could be beaten to death if she wasn’t careful.
Hearing this answer, Lin Yue couldn’t help himself. He rushed forward and grabbed the drunkard’s wrist, preventing the clothes hanger from falling.
“That’s enough. Are you really going to beat your daughter to death?” Lin Yue asked coldly.
The drunkard felt his wrist being firmly gripped and couldn’t move. He turned his head and saw that it was a young man. He couldn’t help but scold, “Let go of me. Even if I beat my daughter to death, it has nothing to do with you. I’m telling you, you’d better not meddle, or I won’t be polite!”
“Won’t be polite? I’d like to see how you’re not going to be polite?” Lin Yue asked coldly.
The drunkard’s right hand was already held, unable to move. The strength of an ordinary person was as insignificant as an ant in front of an ability user.
However, the drunkard immediately took out a spring-loaded knife from his body. With a press of the mechanism, the bright blade immediately sprang out. Then, he stabbed towards Lin Yue’s abdomen with a fierce and ruthless move, which truly surprised Lin Yue.
Lin Yue never expected that someone in Yanjing would dare to commit a crime on the street. He immediately reached out and grabbed the drunkard’s left wrist. With a squeeze, he heard a “crack” sound, and his wrist was broken on the spot.
If Lin Yue wanted to, he could have killed the opponent instantly. From the outside, nothing would be visible. Only after dissection would one know that the heart had been directly turned into mush.
However, Lin Yue still felt that killing someone in public was inappropriate, so he chose to administer a slight punishment.
“Ah… my hand, you scoundrel, you have to pay my medical expenses, otherwise, I’ll call the police right now and have you arrested!” The drunkard had sobered up a lot. Under the severe pain, it was impossible for him to pretend to be drunk anymore.
Seeing Lin Yue appear before her again, Zhan Jin Su quickly got up from the ground and hid behind Lin Yue.
“Call the police? You can try, but it’s bound to be useless,” Lin Yue said calmly.
Hiding behind Lin Yue, Zhan Jin Su said while crying, “Mr. Lin, take me away. My father snatched all the money you gave me. The only portrait of my mother was also torn to shreds. I don’t want to stay at home anymore.”
As she spoke, Zhan Jin Su hugged Lin Yue from behind. Lin Yue could feel the immense fear within the girl’s frail body behind him. She was trembling all over and covered in injuries. If she hadn’t suffered such inhumane treatment for too long, how could she have become like this?
Seeing his daughter like this, Zhan Hao cursed even more, “You little slut, you’re truly a wild thing. I thought you would honestly go to work, but instead, you’ve hooked up with a lover behind my back. I shouldn’t have sold you to a human trafficker back then. I think it would have been more appropriate to sell you to a brothel!”
Lin Yue couldn’t stand it anymore and said directly, “You’d better clean up your mouth, or I won’t be polite.”
Unexpectedly, Lin Yue’s words made Zhan Hao even angrier. He pointed at Lin Yue and said to the neighbors, “Look everyone, what kind of daughter have I raised? Not only did she find a wild man, but now this man is threatening me directly. Is there any filial piety left in this world?”
Seeing this, the surrounding people did not support Zhan Hao. They were all neighbors and naturally knew what kind of person Zhan Hao was. He never worked hard and only thought about gambling. A good home was already empty. He had a daughter, but he constantly beat and scolded her. How dare such a person ask the neighbors for justice?
“Young man, I think you should take this little girl and run away. As for this scoundrel, you don’t need to bother with him.”
“Yes, this is also considered an act of kindness. If you ignore this little girl, she will either be sold or beaten to death. It’s better for you to take her away.”
“That’s right. If this guy dares to call the police, we will try our best to cover for you.”
The neighbors immediately began to persuade him, and they supported not Zhan Hao, but the young man who had just appeared. Although he was a stranger, Zhan Hao’s usual behavior had incurred the wrath of the public, so they chose to help outsiders rather than relatives.
Amidst the persuasion of the crowd, Lin Yue gradually had this idea. Instead of seeing Fu Ya only in dreams, it was better to take her back. Seeing her was like seeing Fu Ya with his own eyes!
“Little Sister Zhan, are you willing to come with me?” Lin Yue then asked Zhan Jin Su.
Zhan Jin Su quickly nodded and said seriously, “I am willing!”
Now, after receiving her affirmative answer, Lin Yue took a deep breath, pointed at Zhan Hao’s nose, and said, “Breaking your left hand this time is just a slight punishment. If you dare to trouble Zhan Jin Su again, I will kill you directly. Let me tell you, I know many methods of destroying corpses and covering up evidence. After killing you, I will directly tie a stone to you and throw you into the Yongding River to feed the fish. Let’s see who will avenge you! Think carefully!”
After speaking, Lin Yue took Zhan Jin Su’s hand and left the old district.