Chapter 275: I Advise You to Stop Now
Li Zhu moved toward the door, reaching behind her back to twist the knob.
"Don't bother. The door was locked from the outside the moment you came in. You're not getting out."
Xiao Ye looked at her. "You were well hidden. It took me a great deal of effort to find you."
"Just tell me who's behind you and why you're doing this, and I promise I'll let you go."
Li Zhu looked at him coldly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Xiao Ye was about to say more when, suddenly, his vision blurred.
Li Zhu's hand shot out. She moved so fast she was almost a blur.
Xiao Ye grabbed her wrist, and she immediately attacked with her legs.
Her kick was powerful and aimed for a vital spot.
'She's clearly been professionally trained!'
Xiao Ye released her wrist and grabbed her shoulder instead.
'Just as I thought, she's a trained fighter. Her muscle and bone structure are different from a normal person's.'
Li Zhu launched a series of attacks, but none of them could touch Xiao Ye. Growing desperate, she bit her tongue hard, spitting a spray of blood.
Xiao Ye only had time to turn his head aside to dodge, giving her an opening to attack again.
But as soon as she struck, Xiao Ye blocked her move as if he had anticipated it all along.
"You can't beat me. I advise you to stop now!"
Li Zhu ignored him completely, grabbing a nearby vase and smashing it down toward Xiao Ye's shoulder.
It missed, but the force of the blow shattered it anyway.
She grabbed one of the shards and swung it at Xiao Ye's face.
Xiao Ye's brow tightened. He didn't counterattack, choosing only to dodge.
'This woman is insane. It's a move that'll hurt me, but it'll hurt her even more!'
Seeing him back away, Li Zhu swiftly kicked the doorknob. The old lock cylinder instantly gave way.
She took the opportunity to open the door and ran out.
A trail of blood dripped from her hand as she ran.
Xiao Ye didn't give chase. Instead, he spoke calmly, "Stop her. Be careful, but don't kill her. I want her alive."
A voice replied from his earpiece, "Yes!"
Li Zhu was very fast. She ran out of the office and straight for the main entrance.
Just then, two people flashed out and blocked her path.
Li Zhu gritted her teeth in fury. She'd never imagined Xiao Ye would use the orphanage to get to her, let alone that her identity would be exposed!
She had no choice but to change direction, but as soon as she turned, a pungent odor hit her.
The next second, the world spun before her eyes, and she fell completely into darkness.
Xiao Ye slowly walked up to her. "Take her away."
Four of his men answered in unison, "Yes!"
「Night fell.」
Lying on the bed, Li Zhu slowly opened her eyes.
She quickly assessed her situation and scanned her surroundings.
Xiao Ye entered the room. "Don't bother looking. No one has ever escaped from my grasp."
He grabbed Li Zhu's chin and forced a pill into her mouth. "Swallow it. Unless you want to lose that hand."
Li Zhu then noticed that while her legs were bound, the wound on her hand had been treated and bandaged.
But she was not grateful. "Don't even think about getting anything out of me, because I don't know anything."
"I did take the Golden Saber, that's correct, but it's already been sent away."
"From start to finish, I only knew the mission was to get the Golden Saber. As for why, or who ordered me to do it, I have no idea."
"Mission?" Xiao Ye keenly noticed her choice of words.
'Professionally trained, an orphan, and now she mentions a mission.'
"You're from an organization? Which one?"
'Li Zhu was furious with herself. How could I have made such a fatal slip-up!'
'She'd never made a mistake like that before, but facing Xiao Ye had left her flustered and afraid.'
'After all, the man standing before her wasn't some ordinary target, but the incredibly powerful Patriarch of a major family!'
Seeing the fury on her face, Xiao Ye remained calm.
He took out a first-aid kit and sat on the edge of the bed. "Your hand injury is severe. The dressing needs to be changed daily."
"I don't need your fake kindness!"
Xiao Ye wasted no more words on her. He activated a mechanism on the bed, and a cuff snapped shut around her wrist.
Then, he began to methodically unwrap the bandage on Li Zhu's hand. "The children in the orphanage, the director included, are all under my control."
"If you don't want anything to happen to them, you'd better answer my questions obediently. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what I might do."
"Those children have suffered enough, haven't they?"
"They were born with disabilities, abandoned by their parents because of it, and have never known the warmth of a family."
"An orphanage finally took them in, and then you came along."
Li Zhu seethed, her teeth clenched. If looks could kill, Xiao Ye would have died a thousand times over. "That's because of you!"
"No." Xiao Ye took out new topical medicine and sprinkled it on the gruesome wound. "If you hadn't gone to the orphanage, I would never have been able to trace you here."
"It was your arrival that brought disaster to the orphanage. By the way, do you know about the many children from the orphanage who get adopted?"
Xiao Ye didn't mind letting her know a little more. "Every three or four months, a foreign couple comes to adopt a child."
"Sound familiar? Because you were one of them."
Li Zhu was in disbelief. "That's impossible."
Xiao Ye took out a new bandage and wrapped it around her hand. "If you don't believe me, you can go ask the director yourself."
"But whether you get to see her depends on your performance. If you don't cooperate, I'll have no choice but to send those children out to beg."
"Since they're all born with disabilities, they're perfect for begging. From now on, if they don't beg for at least a hundred yuan each day, I'll have my men beat them."
"And they won't be allowed to eat, either. Only those who manage to get a hundred yuan will earn a single steamed bun."
Li Zhu's voice trembled. "You... you're shameless!"
"How can you be so vicious? How could you do something like this to those children!"
"They're just children! They've never done anything to you! Your life is so much better than theirs!"
"You animal! You Lang Xin-hearted, dog-lunged creature!"
Xiao Ye stood up. "Now I'll give you time to think. Remember, the fate of all those children is in your hands."
"You should know that I always do what I say."
With that, he walked straight out of the room.
Li Zhu wanted nothing more than to kill Xiao Ye right then and there, but she was powerless!
"You animal! Xiao Ye, I hope you die a horrible death!"
「In the adjacent room.」
Yuan Tiancheng was watching the surveillance feed. When Xiao Ye came in, he couldn't help but remark, "Master Xiao, it's a real shame for a good man like you to have to play the villain."
"It's fine. I'm sure she'll talk." Xiao Ye pulled out a chair, sat, and looked at the screen. "I can see the kindness in her eyes."
"I may not know what organization she belongs to, but judging from her skills and methods, it's clearly a sophisticated one."
"To be raised in such an organization from childhood and still retain that kind of heart... there are only two possibilities."