Chapter 18: There’s Always a Price to Pay, Isn’t There?

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: There’s Always a Price to Pay, Isn’t There?

Zhou Guodong looked wickedly at Hua Buwan, creeping toward her step by step. He rubbed his hands together, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

Reaching the bed, he gently pulled back the blanket covering her. Hua Buwan was sleeping on her side, and her exquisite curves were fully exposed to his gaze. Given the heat of summer, she was dressed lightly in just a tank top and shorts. Her slender arms and pale legs immediately caught his eye.

Zhou Guodong’s eyes grew even more feverish. His hand reached toward Hua Buwan’s face instinctively, longing to stroke her skin.

However, before his fingers could even make contact, a dark shadow suddenly loomed behind him. A freezing chill pierced straight through his spine and into his heart as he realized someone else was in the room.

"Keep your filthy hands off her!" An icy voice rang out right beside his ear. The unquestionable authority in those words made Zhou Guodong shudder.

"Who is it?" Zhou Guodong started to turn his head, but the intruder ruthlessly kicked him to the floor. The man moved with lightning-fast agility. In the blink of an eye, he had pinned Zhou Guodong’s hands behind his back and pressed down heavily on him.

Zhou Guodong couldn’t move an inch. With his face smashed against the ground, his vision was restricted to the floorboards; he couldn’t see his attacker at all. His eyes darted around frantically. He had scouted out Hua Buwan beforehand and knew she lived here alone. It was impossible for anyone else to be here. Not to mention, he had thoroughly checked the first floor on his way up. There was no one!

That could only mean this man had sneaked in after him. At this hour, a man with such impressive martial arts skills? Zhou Guodong immediately formulated a theory.

Forcing an obsequious smile, Zhou Guodong said, "Brother, you and I are in the same business, right? Are you after money, or the girl? If you want the girl, I’ll yield her to you. I’ll just take the cash and leave. How about it?" Knowing he was no match for this opponent, Zhou Guodong realized he needed to show weakness and find a graceful exit at this critical juncture.

Hearing this, Ling Qianjun knitted his sharp brows together. "Money? The girl?" he thought furiously. "How dare this bastard target Buwan! Damn him!"

Murderous intent chilled Ling Qianjun’s eyes. He viciously wrenched Zhou Guodong’s right arm upward!

SNAP!

A crisp sound of breaking bone echoed. Zhou Guodong’s face turned deathly pale, and he nearly shattered his molars from gritting his teeth so hard. He desperately wanted to scream, but for some inexplicable reason, the man holding him down had rendered him completely mute.

"Go ahead and scream. You could scream your lungs out and no one would hear you." Ling Qianjun had struck his acupressure points, ensuring the intruder couldn’t make a sound. Leaning in slightly closer, Ling Qianjun let out a cold scoff. "Besides, do you really want to cry out and draw attention to yourself?"

Zhou Guodong stiffened. In that moment, he felt as though an invisible hand was wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air supply. This man was truly ruthless! His panic intensified tenfold now that he couldn’t even speak.

"MMPH! MMMPH!" Zhou Guodong banged his forehead against the floorboards, letting out muffled grunts in a desperate attempt to beg for mercy.

Ling Qianjun stared menacingly at the back of Zhou Guodong’s head. In a dangerously casual tone, he delivered the cruelest verdict: "Since you had the guts to break in, you have to pay the price, don’t you?"

"Mmph?!" Zhou Guodong stared at the ground in absolute terror.

"You’ll find out tomorrow. Heh." With a dark sneer, Ling Qianjun brought the edge of his hand down in a vicious chop against the back of Zhou Guodong’s neck.

Zhou Guodong’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he instantly blacked out.

Ling Qianjun scanned the room and located a coil of hemp rope. He stripped off Zhou Guodong’s shirt and pants, leaving him in nothing but his underwear. Then, he bound the unconscious man tightly with the rope, dragged him to the second-floor side window, and slowly lowered him all the way to the ground.

He positioned him so he hung right in front of the entrance to the shop.