A dozen minutes later, Lin Feng walked out of the pharmacy after having his wounds treated.
The cuts weren't deep—just a few bloody gashes that needed disinfecting and bandaging.
He originally planned to make a quick escape.
After all, tonight’s experience had been way too intense. From being chased by thugs with knives to stumbling into the Wanlong Society gathering, his adrenaline still hadn’t calmed down. He urgently needed to get back to his hotel and digest everything.
But just as he was about to take a step, he saw a scene that would shock him for the rest of his life.
The usually lively street had somehow fallen silent.
The black-clad men who had been drinking and eating skewers were now all lined up neatly on both sides of the street, their eyes fixed on a simple makeshift stage in the center.
To call it a stage was generous—it was really just a few steps covered with a red carpet, looking a bit shabby. But that didn’t matter.
What mattered was the ceremony they were holding.
At that moment, Liu Yutong stood on the stage, followed by a squad of black-clad men holding clothes, red books, and badges.
Beside her, a fat man acting as the master of ceremonies called out names one by one, and each time, a young man stepped onto the stage and approached Liu Yutong.
Then they did something that sent chills down Lin Feng’s spine.
The young man, with a near-worshipful and excited expression, greeted her.
“Greetings, Miss!”
Liu Yutong smiled and nodded, then took the black suit and the book and handed them to him.
After he put on the suit jacket, she picked up a silver dragon badge and personally pinned it to the left chest of the young man.
The action was simple, yet it carried an indescribable solemnity.
The moment the dragon badge was fastened, the young man straightened up like a soldier receiving an inspection, clenched his right fist, and slammed it heavily against his left chest.
“I will follow Miss to the death!”
After shouting that, he turned and walked off the stage without hesitation.
Then came the third, fourth, fifth...
Each person who stepped onto the stage shouted a slogan that stirred the blood.
“Born a member of Wanlong, dead a spirit of Wanlong!”
“I dedicate my youth to build Wanlong’s glory!”
“Faith never fades, Wanlong endures forever!”
“Law as my sword, reason as my shield! Unity of knowledge and action!”
“Women are no less than men, Wanlong makes no distinction!”
“Girls of Wanlong can hold up half the sky!”
“Miss’s will is my direction!”
“...”
More than two hundred core members to be inducted stepped onto the stage one after another.
They punched their chests and made their vows before Liu Yutong.
Every vow was different.
Every vow came from the heart, filled with fervor.
Every vow was a pledge of total devotion to Miss, to the Wanlong Society.
When the last member’s induction was complete, Liu Yutong stepped forward. Her black trench coat fluttered in the wind.
She swept her gaze over the nearly three thousand black-clad men below, as well as those newly badged core members still brimming with excitement.
Then she spoke slowly.
“The Wanlong Society will never betray anyone loyal to it.”
“I, Liu Yutong, will never betray anyone who follows me!”
The crowd fell silent for two seconds.
Then...
“Long live Miss!” someone shouted first.
Instantly, the entire street erupted.
“Long live Miss!”
“Long live the Wanlong Society!”
“Long live Miss!”
“I would die for Miss!”
“...”
The waves of cheers grew louder and louder, making the glass on nearby storefronts buzz and rattle.
Lin Feng stood by the side of the street, watching it all unfold, completely frozen.
He finally understood one thing:
—The authorities really should crack down on this.
Just as Lin Feng was still reeling from the shock, a hand landed on his shoulder.
“Come on, Miss ordered us to escort you away.”
Lin Feng was about to say “wait a minute,” but when he saw the look in the black-clad man’s eyes, he wisely shut his mouth and followed them toward the road.
By the roadside, the black-clad man stopped.
“Alright, you’re safe now. Call yourself a cab and get out of here.”
Lin Feng nodded, thanked him, and raised his hand to hail a taxi.
But just as his hand went up, Aunt Jiang’s haggard face suddenly flashed through his mind.
For so many days, rain or shine, Aunt Jiang had been waiting outside the Wanlong Society building every day, just to see Liu Yutong once.
But they couldn’t even get through the front door.
Tomorrow, they were heading back to the capital.
If he missed this chance, he had no idea when—if ever—she’d get to meet her again. Maybe never in this lifetime.
Thinking of this, Lin Feng’s fists slowly tightened.
He knew he had no right.
He knew he was just an outsider.
But dammit... Screw it!
Lin Feng spun around and sprinted back toward the black-clad street!
“Hey!”
The black-clad man, who was about to turn back, froze, then his face changed drastically as he chased after him: “What are you doing? Stop!”
Lin Feng had already charged into the crowd’s outer edge.
The black-clad men on both sides stopped their cheering, turned their heads, and fixed their stares on this clueless idiot daring to barge in.
Lin Feng ran desperately, weaving past tables and black-clad men.
But he didn’t get far. Once the others snapped out of it, someone blocked his way.
“Stop right there!”
“Take one more step and see what happens!”
A group of men grabbed him immediately and pinned him down.
Cornered and frantic, Lin Feng jumped in desperation, fear forgotten. He screamed at the top of his lungs toward the center of the crowd, toward the woman surrounded by her followers.
“Liu Yutong! Liu Yutong! I need to talk to you!”
No one paid him any attention.
A few black-clad men stepped forward, grabbed his arms, and started dragging him away.
Lin Feng struggled wildly, his feet kicking at the ground, but his strength was nothing compared to these men. He could only watch helplessly as he was pulled farther and farther from her.
He panicked. He threw all caution to the wind and roared again.
“Aunt Jiang really misses you!”
The shout made the men dragging him pause.
“She dreams of you every night! She wants to find you, but she can never reach you!”
“She cries every time she wakes up, sometimes for half the night!”
“She hasn’t had a good life all these years! She regrets it every single day, regrets that she didn’t take you with her back then!”
“She didn’t abandon you on purpose! She was just too broken! She was sold to the countryside, and after she gave birth to you, her mind went. Sometimes she couldn’t even remember who she was!”
“She wanted to go back for you so many times, but she was scared... scared that gambler would catch her again!”
“She never stopped wanting to find you! She really had no choice!”
Lin Feng’s voice echoed through the street, growing louder and hoarser with each word.
The black-clad men holding him hesitated, unsure whether to keep dragging him or let go.
Seizing their moment of distraction, Lin Feng wrenched himself free with a sudden burst of energy, then dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
He raised his head, gazing at the aloof girl in black standing high above in the distance, and continued shouting loudly.
“I know I have no right to speak for Aunt Jiang!”
“I know you’re strong, and I know you don’t need anyone! You’re the heiress of the Wanlong Society!”
“But could you… could you possibly give her a chance?”
“Just one chance!”
“Let her see you, let her apologize to you in person! Is that too much to ask?!”
After shouting this, Lin Feng was completely drained, gasping heavily for air.
He had done everything he could. If she still refused to see Aunt Jiang, then he would have to go back and persuade Aunt Jiang to give up hope.
The entire street fell silent.
Thousands of black-clad figures stood in unison, staring at this young man kneeling on the ground, their gazes complex.
Some were surprised, some admired him, others were puzzled, but most looked at him as if he were already dead.
This kid had some nerve, daring to speak to the young mistress like that, at a time like this, in such a manner.
Liu Yutong stood on the high platform, separated by a sea of people, her eyes fixed on the kneeling figure, a hint of amusement in her gaze.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Lu to have such charisma—this reckless stepson of hers actually dared to risk his life to speak for her.
Just then, footsteps suddenly echoed from the direction of the street entrance.
“Move aside, move aside! Police!”
“Over here! Hurry up!”
“Nobody move! Hands on your heads, get down…”
A few figures in police uniforms rushed in impatiently, but when they saw the scene before them, they froze in shock.
