Chapter 348 Scared?
"Wang Tiezhu."
These three words were like a thunderclap, and the smile on the man's face froze instantly.
Lu Yiran approached step by step, his leather shoes tapping out a cold rhythm on the marble floor:
"Your black market codename is 'Butcher,' and you specialize in hiring killers for dirty work. The car accident on Binhai Road last March and the arson at the western suburbs warehouse last month were both your doing."
Wang Tiezhu was completely stunned. He didn't expect that these people actually knew his identity.
Wang Tiezhu's face turned pale in an instant, and fine beads of cold sweat oozed out of his forehead.
He stared at Lu Yiran, his voice hoarse:
"That black market bounty...was it a setup by you? Just to lure me out?"
Qi Fengyao played with the lighter in his hand, the metal shell glowing coldly under the light:
"It seems that I'm not that stupid after all. I finally figured it out."
There was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were as cold as ice.
Wang Tiezhu suddenly struggled violently. The rope cut deeply into his thick wrists. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva:
"Damn it! So what if you know it's me? I've been in the underworld for twenty years, and I value credibility! Even if you kill me, you can't pry a single word out of me!"
Mu Nanyan unconsciously took half a step back.
The fierceness in the man's eyes sent chills down her spine; it was the look of a desperate criminal.
Lu Yiran walked forward slowly, and his shiny leather shoes stopped in front of Wang Tiezhu.
He leaned forward and spoke softly, so that only the three of them could hear:
"How much benefit did that person give you? Is it worth sacrificing your life?"
Lu Yiran's slender fingers gently brushed across the cuffs, his movements as elegant as if he was adjusting an evening gown.
The only response he got was silence.
Wang Tiezhu simply closed his eyes, looking like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.
Seeing this, Lu Yiran curled up the corner of his mouth with a sneer:
"Don't want to tell me? Then let's talk about it in a different way."
Lu Yiran stood up straight, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and raised his hand to signal the bodyguard:
"Take him to the basement and let him reminisce."
"How dare you!"
Wang Tiezhu suddenly jumped up and was pinned to the ground by the bodyguards:
"You are illegally detaining me! I'm calling the police!"
Lu Yiran chuckled softly, and that laugh made Mu Nanyan's heart tremble.
He slowly squatted down, looking Wang Tiezhu in the eye, and lightly stroked the man's neck with his fingertips:
"Compared to hiring a killer, our little tricks...are not even an appetizer."
When the bodyguard dragged the cursing Wang Tiezhu away, Mu Nanyan realized that her palms were covered in cold sweat.
She turned to look at Lu Yiran, only to see him standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his silhouette in the backlight as sharp as a knife.
At that moment, she seemed to see another completely unfamiliar Lu Yiran.
"Scared?"
He turned and walked over, his voice returning to its usual gentle tone, as if the harshness just now had never existed.
"Don't be afraid, I'll make him talk."
Mu Nanyan opened her mouth but said nothing.
She suddenly realized that this man who was usually gentle and considerate to her was still the ruthless and decisive leader of the Lu family in the business world.
"Are you tired today? Do you want to go upstairs and rest for a while?"
Lu Yiran's voice was gentle and tender, completely different from the cold and ruthless man just now.
Mu Nanyan looked up at him. The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting fine shadows on his well-defined face.
She finally nodded slightly.
"I'll carry you up."
Lu Yiran raised the corners of his lips slightly, leaned over and picked her up sideways.
Mu Nanyan subconsciously put her arms around his neck and smelled the faint scent of cedar on him.
An Jiajun and Qi Fengyao stood behind the two of them and watched this scene. They looked at each other, both with expressions of enjoying the show.
Mu Nanyan also noticed their expressions, but she had no time to care at this moment.
The guest rooms on the second floor are warmly decorated.
Lu Yiran carefully placed her on the bed with gentle movements.
He tucked in the quilt for her and said softly:
"Sleep for a while. When you wake up, everything will fall into place."
Mu Nanyan obediently closed her eyes and listened to his light footsteps gradually fading away.
She didn't open her eyes again until she heard the door click shut.
The crystal chandelier on the ceiling reflects fine light.
She was not tired at all, but she suddenly didn't know how to face the unfamiliar Lu Yiran, the man who could switch between gentleness and consideration and ruthlessness and decisiveness with ease.
Is she afraid of him? Mu Nanyan thought about it, and finally shook her head gently, burying her face in the soft goose down pillow.
How could she be afraid of him? The man who hadn't hesitated to use his limited-edition sports car to block a collision for her in a critical moment, the man who had spared no effort to track down the real culprit for her. She was so grateful to him that she couldn't even express it, so how could she be afraid of him?
But there is a small voice in my heart asking: What if one day, this protection turns into harm?
Lu Yiran was able to show his ruthless side for her today. If their feelings for each other fade in the future, would he also use this same determination on her?
After all, it’s really obvious whether a man loves you or not.
Mu Nanyan's fingertips unconsciously twisted the corner of the quilt, and the expensive silk fabric wrinkled into a ball in her hands.
Five years ago, after that ridiculous night, Lu Yiran could have just turned around and left. At that time, Mu Nanyan knew that Lu Yiran was a cold-blooded person.
The sunlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting tiny shadows on her trembling eyelashes.
Mu Nanyan suddenly realized that what she was afraid of was not Lu Yiran's ruthlessness, but that one day she would become an option that he could easily abandon after weighing the pros and cons.
On the other side, Lu Yiran just walked down the stairs. An Jiajun and Qi Fengyao heard the sound and both looked towards the stairs.
When he saw Lu Yiran coming down, An Jiajun couldn't help but teased:
"You can't do this. How long have you been up there and you're already coming down? Is it over so soon?"
An Jiajun thought that the two of them were going to fight for three hundred rounds, but he didn't expect them to come down so soon. It was really boring.
Qi Fengyao picked up the coffee cup and rolled his eyes at An Jiajun:
"You think everyone is like you, with their heads full of dirty shit all the time."
An Jiajun was immediately unhappy when he heard this:
"Your head is full of pornographic garbage. Haven't you heard the saying? Food and sex are human nature. It's a man's nature to be lustful. You're talking as if you are not lustful."
However, Lu Yiran ignored him. He looked at Qi Fengyao and asked:
"Have you checked Wang Tiezhu's bank statements?"
Qi Fengyao put down his coffee cup, his expression stern:
"I've checked, and there haven't been any large amounts of money coming into their accounts in the last three months. They must be doing it in cash, and they just don't want to leave any evidence."
Lu Yiran said thoughtfully:
"It seems that person is quite cautious."
An Jiajun scratched his hair irritably:
"So what should we do now? Wang Tiezhu won't talk, and all the clues are gone. How can we investigate this?"
"Then I won't check."
Lu Yiran's voice was very soft, but it suddenly lowered the temperature in the entire living room.
Qi Fengyao frowned slightly:
"You mean... just let it go?"
Lu Yiran walked slowly back to the sofa, tapping lightly on the leather armrest with his slender fingers:
"Since the clues are broken, let Wang Tiezhu speak for himself."
What An Jiajun heard was not entirely clear. How could he get a man who was not even afraid of death to speak?
He raised his eyes to look at Qi Fengyao, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes:
"How's his family situation?"
Qi Fengyao immediately understood, thought for a moment and said:
"He still has a 70-year-old mother at home, but she seems to have been hospitalized recently in the city center hospital. His wife is a teacher at the 'Little Swan' dance academy, and they have a three-year-old daughter."
Lu Yiran's fingers suddenly stopped.
The sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a shadow on his chiseled profile.
Lu Yiran frowned subconsciously. He had previously assumed Wang Tiezhu was alone, so he wasn't afraid of death and wouldn't say anything. But now...how could a man with a family risk his life for a stranger? His mother, wife, and daughter all depended on him for support. Could he really be so reckless?
"Interesting. Let's go meet this 'filial son'."
He stood up slowly, his muscular lines faintly visible under his black shirt.
An Jiajun and Qi Fengyao looked at each other and followed tacitly.
As the heavy iron door slowly opened, a cold air mixed with the smell of rust and mildew blew in.
The light in the basement was pale and dazzling, shining on the mottled concrete wall, casting several suspicious dark red marks.
In stark contrast to the luxurious warmth of the villa upstairs, this place feels more like a medieval dungeon.
Rusty iron chains hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in the draft, making a teeth-grinding creaking sound.
Various metal instruments with a cold glow were neatly placed in the corners of the wall, some of which still had suspicious dark stains on them.
Wang Tiezhu was tied to a rusty steel pillar with a thick iron chain, and the sweat on his forehead gleamed in the cold light.
In front of him was a metal dissection table, the surface of which was polished to a shine, reflecting his distorted face.
"Mr. Wang, are you used to living here?"
Yiran's voice echoed in the basement, and the sound of leather shoes stepping on the concrete floor was as clear as a countdown.
Qi Fengyao casually picked up a scalpel, and the blade shone coldly under the light:
"I spent a lot of money renovating this place. Even the ventilation system is specially designed. I guarantee that no matter how loud you scream, the people upstairs won't hear you."
Wang Tiezhu's Adam's apple rolled violently, and his eyes unconsciously glanced at an electrified iron cage in the corner.
Qi Fengyao noticed his gaze and slowly put on his white gloves:
"That's for uncooperative guests. I hope we don't need it."
Lu Yiran sat down in front of the dissection table, tapping the surface lightly with his slender fingers.
Every sound was like a death-beating drum, and was particularly clear in the confined space of the basement.
The pale light poured down from above his head, dividing his angular profile into alternating shadows of light and dark.
He slowly raised his eyes, his voice so low that it seemed to come from the depths of hell:
"Mr. Wang, after thinking about this for so long, you should have remembered something, right? For example... the real murderer?"
Wang Tiezhu's sweat slid down his temples:
"I...I've already said...even if you kill me...I won't tell."
"Yeah?"
Lu Yiran suddenly chuckled, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
He stood up slowly, his muscles faintly visible under his black shirt.
He turned to Qi Fengyao beside him, and spoke in a nonchalant tone as if he was discussing the weather:
"Feng Yao, his daughter... is she attending Sunshine Kindergarten? Is she cute?"
"Bang!"
Wang Tiezhu struggled violently, the chains rattling.
"You dare to touch my daughter!"
His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse:
"Don't let your family suffer any harm! That's the rule of the underworld!"
Lu Yiran's slender fingers stroked the scalpels on the dissecting table, and finally selected a scalpel that was shining with a cold light.
The blade reflected a dazzling light under the cold light, illuminating his angular profile.
He walked slowly towards Wang Tiezhu, and the sound of his leather shoes stepping on the concrete floor was particularly clear in the enclosed space.
Every step seemed to step on Wang Tiezhu's tense nerves.
Lu Yiran gently lifted Wang Tiezhu's chin with the tip of the knife, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible:
"Rules? Do you think I care about your ridiculous rules?"
In the backlight, a chilling darkness surged in his deep eyes.
The cold touch of the scalpel made Wang Tiezhu tremble unconsciously. The blade slowly moved down, leaving a long blood mark on his rough skin.
Lu Yiran leaned over, his warm breath spraying on Wang Tiezhu's ear, but his voice was as cold as ice:
"Here, I am the rule. If you dare to touch my people, I will bury your entire family with you."
As Lu Yiran spoke, the scalpel had already cut Wang Tiezhu's chin, and blood slowly seeped out.
Blood slowly slid down the blade and dripped onto the concrete floor, making a slight "tapping" sound.
Lu Yiran's eyes were sharper than a knife, as if they could directly pierce through Wang Tiezhu's last psychological defense line.
Qi Fengyao handed over a white handkerchief at the right time. Lu Yiran slowly and methodically wiped the blood off the blade, his movements so graceful as if he was wiping a piece of art.
The air in the basement seemed to freeze.
Wang Tiezhu could clearly hear his own rapid breathing echoing in the enclosed space. Sweat mixed with blood slid down his face, gathering into dark red droplets on his chin.
"I...I said...you...can you really...let my family go?"
His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sandpapered.
Lu Yiran's slender fingers suddenly tightened, and the scalpel drew a cold silver light between his fingers and turned a beautiful arc.
A faint sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth:
"certainly."
Wang Tiezhu's bloodshot eyes stared intently at the scalpel, which gleamed coldly under the light. His dry, cracked lips trembled. He swallowed and gurgled in his throat.
"Then...then if he wants to hurt my family, can you...can you protect them?"
This is the last card he can play.
Thinking of his wife's gentle smile and his daughter's tender call, Wang Tiezhu felt a heart-wrenching pain.
He must fight for this guarantee.
Lu Yiran's eyes suddenly turned cold, the scalpel stopped between his fingers, and the tip of the knife was facing Wang Tiezhu's trembling pupils.
"Are you negotiating with me?"
His voice was terribly soft, like the tongue of a poisonous snake.
"no!"
Wang Tiezhu shook his head violently, the iron chain rattling, and cold sweat rolled down his temples.
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