“Qi Tianxiang, if you still refuse to speak, you won’t have any need to speak ever again.” Qi Huan’s voice was cold and indifferent, like the judgment of an executioner from hell, utterly devoid of emotion.
Qi Tianxiang had always firmly believed that his son would never dare lay a hand on him. Yet now, fear had completely overwhelmed him. He suddenly realized that the son who had once tolerated him time and time again had become so utterly unfamiliar—and so merciless.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Qi Tianxiang cried out in pain, his voice filled with despair and pleading. “But promise me this: if I tell you, you won’t hurt me anymore…”
Qi Huan’s expression did not change in the slightest. His gaze remained as cold as the stars of winter, fixed directly on Qi Tianxiang and sending chills down one’s spine.
“Do you really think you’re still in a position to bargain with me?” Qi Huan’s words were like a sharp blade, ruthlessly piercing through the last sliver of Qi Tianxiang’s hope.
Qi Tianxiang’s face turned deathly pale. He knew he had nowhere left to run. Trembling, he said, “I’m not bargaining with you. I’m begging you, Huan’er. I’m only asking you to spare my life for the sake of being your biological father!”
At that moment, Qi Tianxiang had finally seen his situation clearly. He no longer hoped to preserve his position or fortune. All he wanted was to stay alive in peace.
Qi Huan was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “Talk.”
Qi Tianxiang did not dare delay any longer. Enduring the pain, he said, “Back then, I handed your younger brother over to a woman who specialized in trafficking children. I specifically instructed her to sell him as far away as possible—preferably to some remote village in the south.”
“You know how badly those impoverished villages want a boy to carry on the family line. So your younger brother’s life there certainly wouldn’t have been too bad.”
“Wouldn’t have been too bad… Qi Tianxiang, you actually have the nerve to say that? He could have grown up living in luxury, yet you claim his life wouldn’t have been too bad!” As Qi Huan said this, he was practically grinding his teeth to pieces.
Cheng Jing then pulled the knife away from Qi Tianxiang’s mouth and drove it viciously into the back of his right hand.
“How does it feel? I was going to cut out your tongue, but instead I merely pierced your palm. Don’t you think this outcome isn’t too bad either?” Qi Huan looked down at Qi Tianxiang with icy contempt.
Qi Tianxiang could do nothing but scream in agony. He no longer had the strength to argue.
Only after his screams had weakened somewhat did Qi Huan continue asking, “Which village did you sell my younger brother to?”
Qi Tianxiang shook his head as tears and mucus streamed down his face. “As for which village the trafficker sold your younger brother to, I truly don’t know. Traffickers are afraid that the seller might regret the deal and take the child back, so they never tell the buyer who sold the child.”
Qi Tianxiang did not dare lie.
He genuinely had no idea which village the child had been sold to.
At that moment, Qi Huan looked at his own biological father as if he were looking at an enemy. There was not the slightest trace of affection in his eyes—only a hatred vast enough to swallow the heavens.
“Tell me everything you know about the trafficker.”
“I only know this much… People called her Madam Ya. One reason was that she worked as a human trafficker, and the other was that two of her front teeth were gold-capped dentures. She never had a fixed place of business. She was already in her forties or fifties back then, and more than twenty years have passed since. I don’t know whether she’s still in the trade.” Qi Tianxiang finished speaking with a shudder, then pleaded desperately, “Huan'er, I’ve told you everything I know. Can you let me out now? I promise I’ll never do anything to wrong you again. I’ll fulfill my responsibilities as your father.”
He had asked everything that needed asking.
Qi Huan didn’t think there was any more useful information he could get from Qi Tianxiang, so he stopped interrogating him and merely looked at him coldly. “If I can find my younger brother and he’s safe and sound, I’ll let you keep all four limbs intact and spend your twilight years in a sanatorium. But if I can’t find him, you can look forward to having your limbs crippled, becoming deaf and mute, and being sent somewhere else where you’ll suffer a fate worse than death, waiting for the end in eternal darkness.”
With that, Qi Huan ignored Qi Tianxiang’s pleas and simply instructed Cheng Jing, “Have the nurses reattach the tendons in his hands and feet first.”
“All right.” Cheng Jing nodded.
Qi Tianxiang burst into tears. “You can’t treat me like this! No matter how badly I’ve wronged you, I’m still your biological father. How can you kill your own father? People will point fingers at you and condemn you for it. Your grandfather certainly won’t agree either…”
“Let me go this once. I swear I’ll be a good father from now on and make up for all the paternal love you’ve been missing these years…”
But the only response he received was the sound of the door closing.
Jiang Youli, who had been waiting outside, was leaning against the wall and looking somewhat bored. Her gaze drifted idly around the room before finally settling on her bag.
She crouched down, opened it, and pulled out a collection of oddly shaped objects, laying them out on the floor one by one. They were the torture instruments she had prepared in advance.
Jiang Youli fiddled with the instruments with great interest, examining each one carefully as though she were admiring a collection of precious works of art.
It wasn’t until she heard the door open that she looked up toward the entrance.
“That was quick. All done already?” Jiang Youli raised an eyebrow.
The sanatorium room had fairly good soundproofing, but Jiang Youli had still faintly heard the screams coming from inside.
It seemed Qi Huan hadn’t held back.
Qi Huan casually closed the door. There was little emotion on his face as he merely replied with a faint, “Mm.”
“He believed me when I told him I really would cripple him. After that, he confessed everything.”
Jiang Youli put the torture instruments back into her bag one by one, her movements brisk and efficient. “You should’ve done this sooner. Qi Tianxiang was never a father worthy of your mercy.”
Qi Huan gave a bitter smile. “Yes. My mercy only left my younger brother in danger for that much longer.”
Jiang Youli zipped up the bag and fixed her gaze on Qi Huan, asking seriously, “So, do we have any leads on your brother’s whereabouts now?”
Qi Huan told her the clues he had obtained from Qi Tianxiang.
“Madam Ya… and she’s already quite old,” Jiang Youli said after a moment’s thought. “I’ll help you investigate her. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to find clues about your younger brother soon.”
Qi Huan took her hand and gently stroked the back of it with his fingers. He sighed, “Little Li’er, ever since I met you, you’ve always been the one helping me, while I haven’t really been able to do much for you.”
Jiang Youli said unconcernedly, “If you feel bad about it, then after we find your younger brother and get married, you can make it up to me in person.”
Understanding what she meant, Qi Huan’s heart stirred. He couldn’t help smiling. “All right. I’ll make sure Little Li’er has something to look forward to.”
……
Jiang Yonghe had just undergone facial restoration surgery. The bandages around her face had not yet been removed, leaving only her eyes and nose exposed.
The two bodyguards arranged by Long Yuan brought her to a prestigious finishing school for socialites in Jing City.
The training institute was located in the most prosperous part of Jing City. Its décor was luxurious, and its surroundings were elegant.
“Auntie Ya, we’ve brought the person Young Master Long instructed us to bring,” one of the bodyguards said after entering a spacious, brightly lit office. He was speaking to a middle-aged woman seated on the sofa.
