Liu Yutong pondered for a moment before finally shaking her head, rejecting Zhao Tianyi’s proposed plan for handling Hua Muying.
"It’s fine. He won’t get away."
Zhao Tianyi: "Then I have no further concerns. By the way, Young Mistress, I’ve hired two intern lawyers as assistants. Would you like to meet them?"
"Rest assured, I’ve thoroughly instilled in them the principles of our Wanlong Society, and the training results have been excellent. When I mentioned signing them to a ten-year contract, they were practically moved to tears!"
"The law firm is under your full authority," Liu Yutong waved her hand dismissively, her gaze returning to Hua Muying.
"Understood." Zhao Tianyi bowed respectfully before turning to Ma Da to arrange a series of follow-up evidence collection procedures.
Once everyone had dispersed to their tasks, Liu Yutong approached Hua Muying again.
Though she had reviewed Hua Muying’s case files in her past life, some details remained unclear.
However, based on his behavior, she could tell he was the type who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals—two-faced, adaptable, and utterly shameless.
A man who would strip naked and run through the streets would never submit so easily.
The likelihood of Hua Muying keeping his promise to never touch her again was slim.
If she simply let him go, he would undoubtedly disappear and resume his old ways, never bending to her will.
Yet, Hua Muying had one fatal weakness, no matter how well he concealed it.
"You can leave," Liu Yutong suddenly said.
A flash of wild joy crossed Hua Muying’s eyes, but he quickly replaced it with a tearful expression of gratitude.
Then, he handed over his beloved jade Buddha pendant as collateral, declaring his loyalty to Liu Yutong.
"Miss Liu, this is my family heirloom, worth six figures... I’ll leave it with you as proof of my sincerity!"
Liu Yutong knew he was trying to win her trust to prevent her from changing her mind.
For a man as greedy as him, willingly parting with a six-figure jade pendant seemed like undeniable proof of his surrender.
Liu Yutong allowed a faint smile of satisfaction to surface, assuring Hua Muying he could reclaim it anytime.
Hua Muying, of course, played the part of the moved penitent, leaving with tears streaming down his face.
But those tears weren’t from gratitude—they were from relief at escaping her clutches, avoiding being forced into servitude, and evading that damned lawyer’s schemes.
At the same time, his heart ached. That jade Buddha pendant was his treasure!
The moment Hua Muying left the Wanlong Society and confirmed no one was tailing him, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"The price just went up. Without 200,000, you’re getting nothing!" After slamming the phone down, he kicked a nearby trash can with a loud clang.
This was his second failure.
The first time, he’d barely escaped with his life.
He’d thought fleeing to Bright Pearl City would give him a fresh start, only to be outmaneuvered by a woman.
Hua Muying fished out a crumpled pack of Marlboros from his pocket, shook one loose, and lit it with a flick of his lighter.
As smoke curled around him, the sting of loss slowly faded.
"One last job, then I’m disappearing," Hua Muying muttered, exhaling a smoke ring as he narrowed his eyes in calculation.
That woman’s instincts were terrifying. Playing the long game with her would be suicide.
From the start, he’d never considered working under her. A man like him trusted no one—especially not a woman with preternatural intuition. If he stayed too long, she’d see straight through him.
——————
Back in the Wanlong Society’s meeting room, only Liu Yutong and Yun Cheng remained.
Ma Da had already left with a team to gather incriminating evidence on several school gang leaders, preparing to dismantle them all at once.
Liu Yutong held a freshly printed photograph, studying it carefully before passing it to Yun Cheng.
Yun Cheng took it absentmindedly at first, but his pupils constricted the moment he saw it clearly.
Hurriedly, he pulled a yellowed old photo from his wallet and placed the two side by side—the resemblance was nearly 95%.
"She should be the true Young Mistress of the Yilian Society. What do you think, Yun Cheng?" Liu Yutong’s tone was calm, though a flicker of something unreadable passed through her eyes.
Yun Cheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
Truthfully, his loyalty leaned toward the strategist before him.
But the girl in the photo, with features so reminiscent of the old boss...
"Let me make the choice for you." Liu Yutong suddenly stood, her skirt swaying gracefully as she met his gaze. "From now on, I am your true Young Mistress. She is not."
"But..." Yun Cheng’s voice caught in his throat.
Liu Yutong turned toward the window, sunlight tracing the delicate lines of her profile. "Such a good girl shouldn’t be burdened with filth. Don’t you agree?"
"Young Mistress, this isn’t fair to you!"
Yun Cheng admitted that if it were his choice, he wouldn’t want the old boss’s daughter dragged into the Yilian Society’s corrupt world either.
But this decision placed an unbearable weight on Liu Yutong’s shoulders.
The Yilian Society had already learned of the Young Mistress attending school in Bright Pearl City and had begun making moves—information gleaned from Hua Muying.
As potential rivals, they’d always been wary of the Yilian Society.
Yet now, they’d stumbled upon the real Young Mistress’s identity by accident.
Hua Muying had possessed a photo of the girl as well. Though older, her resemblance to the child in Yun Cheng’s photo was undeniable.
He could’ve kept it hidden, but he’d offered it as proof of his allegiance, assuring Liu Yutong the Yilian Society wouldn’t target her.
But Hua Muying never anticipated Liu Yutong wouldn’t just accept the identity—she’d claimed it outright.
She knew it brought no advantages, only danger.
Yet she chose this path—for Yun Cheng and the others, and to spare the girl from reliving a tragic fate.
Because that girl was now a rookie cop fresh out of the police academy.
Who could’ve imagined the daughter of the Yilian Society’s former boss would become an officer?
And the badge number on her chest? One that had been retired and reactivated three times before being sealed away forever.
"Yun Cheng," Liu Yutong gently traced the girl’s smiling face in the photo, "Let us carry the darkness instead."
Her fingers lingered over the badge number before she resolutely locked the photo away in the deepest drawer.
Yun Cheng was too moved to speak.
After a long pause, he took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Young Mistress, I once swore to repay the old boss’s kindness no matter what."
"Now I want to tell you—as long as I'm here, no one will lay a finger on you!"
With that, he took a folding knife and drew a crimson line across his palm. Blood trailed down his lifeline, dripping onto the marble floor.
"This oath stands unbroken, so long as I draw breath."
