"Rebellious son! Who gave you the audacity to provoke Young Master Qin?!" Li Tianhu bellowed in fury, his actions not pausing for a moment as he continued to smash Li Jiayi's arm with a chair.
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, blood flowed profusely, and fragments of bone were flung out.
"AAAHHHH!!" Li Jiayi's features were twisted in agony, screaming as if he wished for death. "Dad! Dad! What are you doing! I was wrong! I was wrong!! I beg you! Dad! Stop hitting me, stop hitting... AAAHHHH!!"
The sound was piercing, like the wail of a tormented ghost. Several female students who witnessed this scene started trembling with fright.
It was too terrifying! Truly, too frightening! What had gotten into Li Tianhu, whose mere stomping could make Tianhai tremble? Had such a powerful figure gone mad!? Li Jiayi was his own flesh and blood!
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
The sound of the chair striking the arm kept on coming!
Li Jiayi convulsed from the intense pain. Before long, his head lolled to one side, and he passed out, completely unconscious.
That arm had been reduced to a mush of flesh, completely beyond saving.
BANG!
Li Tianhu kneeled before Qin Heng once again, bowing his head reverently. His voice trembled as he said, "Young Master Qin, I have now crippled my unworthy son's arm. Are you satisfied?"
Once these words were uttered, the entire private room fell into silence, a deadly quiet where one could hear a pin drop.
Meng Huihui, Liu Keyun, and the others wore expressions of disbelief, looking at Li Tianhu and almost thinking they were hallucinating.
The current situation was too surreal! It was like they were in a dream!! Li Tianhu had personally crippled his own son and was now kneeling and begging for mercy in front of this upstart!? It was inconceivable!! Who exactly was Qin Heng!? By now, even an idiot would realize that Qin Heng was not simply a skilled fighter, but must also possess a terrifyingly powerful identity!
"You certainly are ruthless." Qin Heng, looking down at the kneeling Li Tianhu, spoke indifferently. "You know when to yield and when to be firm, and you act with severity. Indeed, you are formidable. To be honest, I am quite tempted to kill you right now."
Upon hearing this, Li Tianhu's body trembled slightly. His head bowed even lower, his whole manner akin to that of a dog, groveling extremely humbly in front of Qin Heng. He respectfully said, "Young Master Qin worries too much. I would never dare to have the slightest disloyalty!"
By now, Meng Huihui and the others were utterly stunned. Looking at Qin Heng, then at Li Tianhu kneeling on the ground, they almost wished to slap themselves.
Who the hell was this supposed country bumpkin upstart!? Clearly, he was someone with a mysterious identity and an incredibly profound background—a terrifying figure! They had just scoffed and mocked him!
At that thought, they immediately felt a chill, fear spreading through their limbs. They quickly lowered their heads, fearing Qin Heng's anger would be directed at them.
"Relax, I will not kill you," Qin Heng said with a light smile.
For him, the life or death of an ant was utterly insignificant. If it dared to resist, he would crush it with a flick of his hand. After all, Song Ningran was also here; it would be best not to expose her to bloodshed. Besides, Qin Heng could tell that Li Tianhu's heart was completely subdued, and he wouldn't dare resist any further.
Of course, Qin Heng didn't plan just to let him off the hook.
"However, though the death penalty may be pardoned, punishment cannot be escaped. Within three days, I want to see 30,000,000 for emotional distress deposited into my account."
Just as Li Tianhu was feeling relieved that he had escaped with his life, he heard Qin Heng's demand. Thirty... thirty million!?
Upon hearing this sum, Meng Huihui and the others nearly fainted, their minds reeling with disbelief and doubt. What an enormous amount of money that was—something ordinary people couldn't earn in several lifetimes! And what on earth was this 'emotional distress' fee? It was obvious you weren't injured in the slightest! On the other hand, Li Jiayi had been beaten to the point of disfigurement and had his arm crippled, even resorting to kneeling and begging... Who was the real victim here!? Yet, 30,000,000, even for Li Tianhu, must be a huge sum. Would he really agree?
Song Ningran was also somewhat worried. Would Qin Heng demand too much and ultimately exacerbate the conflict, leading to a direct fallout?
"Alright, no problem," Li Tianhu agreed without a second thought, his quickness startling, showing not the slightest hesitation.
HISS!
Everyone drew in a sharp breath, their eyes filled with shock.
Li Tianhu had agreed too quickly, leaving them dumbfounded.
Obviously, this was about spending money to avoid disaster, paying for peace! Damn! This was the Lis we're talking about!! The rulers of Tianlong Group, second only to the four major families in the entire Tianhai! Some even quietly referred to the Lis as the fifth major family in Tianhai! To the common people, the Lis were incredibly powerful! But what was going on now!? Who in the world was Qin Heng!? How could he have pushed the Lis to this point!? Incredible! Too incredible!
"Good, then I'll be waiting," Qin Heng nodded slightly. His gaze swept over, taking a look at Liu Keyun before he said to Li Tianhu, "Mr. Li, I don't think this Liu Keyun is suitable for staying in the Imperial Hao anymore."
As soon as these words came out, Liu Keyun's entire body stiffened. His face turned pale with fright, and he fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing to Xie Cheng and crying out, "Young Master Qin! Young Master Qin! I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Please, please spare me!"
While shouting, he crawled forward and soon arrived at Qin Heng's feet, attempting to cling to Qin Heng's legs.
BANG!
Qin Heng kicked him straight in the face, sending him flying with blood smeared across it. His nose collapsed, he lost half his teeth, and ultimately, he landed on the ground, rolling around in agony while crying out.
"You're just an ant," Qin Heng sneered, then said to Li Tianhu, "Remember well what I just said."
Then, he took Song Ningran's hand, smiling. "Ran Ran, it's time for us to go back."
Song Ningran was still in a dazed state.
Just like that, she was led away by Qin Heng, leaving the Imperial Hao.
Meng Huihui and a few other girls, sensing that things were not going well, quickly slipped on their clothes and sneaked away.
At last, only Li Tianhu, the unconscious Li Jiayi, and the suffering Liu Keyun were left in the private room.
Li Tianhu knelt on the ground for a long time without getting up.
After a while, he slowly raised his head. He seemed to have suddenly aged ten years and said dejectedly, "I'm old now, not as daring in my struggles as I was when I was young."
Sitting in the passenger seat of the Lexus, Qin Heng looked curiously at Song Ningran who was driving beside him.
Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, her delicate features appeared even more beautiful, like a fairy from the Heavenly Realm, the most perfect work of art.
Originally, Qin Heng had thought that after what had just happened, Song Ningran would have many questions and would surely ask. To his surprise, however, this girl didn't say a word and just drove normally.
"I say, don't you have anything you want to ask?" Qin Heng couldn't hold back and spoke first. "Aren't you curious about my identity? Curious why Li Tianhu is so afraid of me?"
Song Ningran was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to Qin Heng with a warm and beautiful smile, reminiscent of sunshine. "I know who you are," she said. "You're my friend."
She was easygoing, taking life as it came. To her, Qin Heng was her friend, her most treasured friend in Tianhai. This had nothing to do with status. As long as Qin Heng remained Qin Heng, that was all that mattered. Nothing else was important.
Qin Heng was taken aback, then also smiled. "That's right, we are friends. Nothing else matters, haha! For that answer, we must celebrate tonight! Ran Ran, stop the car up ahead. I'm going to get out and buy some things. We'll have a party at home tonight. Hmm... Little Yun will be getting out of school soon. You go pick her up first, and I'll walk back home later."
"Alright," Song Ningran nodded gently, pulling the car over to the side of the road. Watching Qin Heng get out, she smiled. "Then be careful on your way."