Chapter 205: The Sacrificed Pawn

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: The Sacrificed Pawn

Longhai Road in Jinling, the district with the city’s highest concentration of luxury mansions.

It was situated next to Jinling’s Qixia Mountain, with the Qinhuai River flowing directly across from it. A place of mountains and rivers, its feng shui was superb.

The surrounding area was also home to bustling commercial centers and prestigious schools.

As a result, the property prices here were astronomical.

The Luo Family had purchased four villas in the largest complex on Longhai Road long ago.

Inside the grand, central villa, people were now rushing about in a panic.

They were gathering all sorts of documents and records pertaining to the Luo Family’s assets in Jinling.

A plume of thick smoke billowed up from the backyard as all the records and documents were burned to ash.

Ye Tian and Ye Land, Jinling’s two highest-ranking officials, were kneeling by the trash bins, trembling uncontrollably.

A middle-aged man stood before them.

This was Luo Zhonghai, a rising power in the Luo Family’s new generation and the Patriarch’s most trusted steward.

Luo Zhonghai was relatively young, but his status had rocketed straight to the family’s upper echelons.

The Patriarch had taken him in as an adopted son when he was just a boy and sent him away to be cultivated. Upon his return from overseas, he was assigned directly to the Battle Department under Luo Qilin, where he served as an aide to Young Master Qilin.

Thus, Luo Zhonghai was not just a senior figure in the Luo Family, but also a high-ranking officer in the Southern Domain’s Qilin Battle Department.

"Do you two have any idea what you’ve done wrong?" Luo Zhonghai asked, staring coldly at the two Ye Family elders.

Tears streamed down the two old men’s faces. To be honest, they had no idea what they had done wrong.

’Isn’t the Luo Family’s current predicament entirely the fault of the eldest young master, Luo Tianying?’

’We were just following orders!’

Luo Zhonghai snorted. "The Divine Doctor Ye Family has canceled the marriage alliance. News of what happened in Jinling has spread throughout the Imperial Capital. Now, the Luo Family’s prestige in the capital has been completely shattered. No one even bothers to visit anymore. Even our Young Master Qilin was reprimanded by his superiors!"

The two Ye elders trembled violently, able to do nothing but plead for mercy.

A glint appeared in Luo Zhonghai’s eyes. "Truthfully, I know that you two have worked hard here in Jinling, even if you don’t have great achievements to show for it. This whole mess was created by Luo Tianying. You were merely following orders."

The two Ye elders looked up in unison, their faces etched with disbelief.

’Luo Zhonghai, the man known as the Eagle of the Family, is being this reasonable? He even seems sympathetic.’

But the mockery in Luo Zhonghai’s eyes was unmistakable. "However, when a family faces a crisis like this, it must be accountable to everyone, from top to bottom. So, I’m afraid the two of you are the pawns destined for sacrifice!"

What?!

Luo Zhonghai had stated the reason so bluntly, and a deathly chill crept into the hearts of the two Ye elders.

"Take them out and deal with them. No need to report back to me. They’re just small-timers." Luo Zhonghai glanced at his watch and gave a light wave of his hand.

The ferocious Qilin Guards swarmed forward, shoved sacks over the Ye elders’ heads, and unceremoniously dragged them away.

Luo Zhonghai stroked his designer watch, gently polishing it with his sleeve. His lip curled in disdain. "Old fools like them are the worst. The moment there’s trouble, all they know is how to beg. They have no backbone whatsoever!"

In Luo Zhonghai’s mind, there was only one person who could restore the Luo Family to its former glory.

And that person was Young Master Qilin of the Southern Domain Battle Department!

He was the family’s true rising star!

"Come. Let’s go see our dear Young Master Luo Tianying."

Luo Tianying was locked away on the villa’s third floor. It was a small room with only two windows and not so much as a chair. The plaster was peeling from the walls; it was nothing more than an abandoned storage closet.

Luo Tianying was both shocked and enraged by this treatment.

Just then, the door opened, and Luo Zhonghai walked in.

Luo Tianying’s gaze faltered. "You?!"

Luo Zhonghai dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief and chuckled drily. "The eldest young master seems surprised. Heh. I recall a time when you couldn’t stand the sight of me. I was suppressed within the family for five years, unable to secure even a minor managerial role. That was on your orders, was it not?"

Luo Tianying’s heart turned to ice.

Five years ago, the new generation of the Luo Family had split into two factions.

The question was, who would be the heir?

Luo Tianying was the Patriarch’s eldest son, his biological son.

But in terms of achievements and status, Luo Qilin was a clear step ahead.

The two factions had been vying for power ever since, both openly and in the shadows.

And Luo Zhonghai was nothing but Luo Qilin’s attack dog—a ruthless, vicious man. Luo Tianying still remembered the scheme Luo Zhonghai had pulled, finding a woman of ill repute from god-knows-where and introducing her to his father.

The Luo Patriarch became utterly infatuated with the woman. As a result, Luo Tianying’s own mother sank into a deep depression and was eventually committed to a mental hospital.

The sordid affairs of great families, when stripped bare, were always about the inheritance.

By the time Luo Tianying finally gained a sliver of power and stormed into the mental hospital—deceptively called a "sanatorium"—his mother was already wasted away to skin and bones.

Her son had finally grown powerful enough to save her, but she had already lost the strength to hold on.

And it was all the doing of Luo Qilin and Luo Zhonghai.

It was because of this devastating blow that Luo Tianying had given up on himself, throwing his life away on wine and women to become one of the Imperial Capital’s most notorious playboys.

Old sorrows and fresh hatreds now surged through him. Luo Tianying rose to his feet, grief-stricken. "Since you’re the one they sent, I know what the family has decided. Cut the crap. I, Luo Tianying, may have done many bad things and achieved nothing, but there are some things I will never forget! You and Luo Qilin... you killed my mother!"

At this, Luo Tianying erupted.

He snatched a nearby wooden club and bellowed, "Mom, your son is going to avenge you!"

For a split second, Luo Zhonghai was actually taken aback.

’Is this the same useless, foolish, arrogant Luo Tianying?’

’He’s actually showing some backbone?’

As the club swung toward him, Luo Zhonghai sneered, sidestepped the blow, and delivered a swift kick to Luo Tianying’s ankle.

Fueled by boundless rage though he was, how could Luo Tianying possibly be a match for someone trained in the Battle Department like Luo Zhonghai?

He crashed to the ground, his forearm broken.

Luo Zhonghai disdainfully dusted off his hands and leaned over the eldest young master. "Is that all the fight you have in you? Let me tell you the truth. The plan to get rid of your mother? Young Master Qilin and I planned it together. With your mother out of the picture, the Patriarch was finally determined to cultivate Young Master Qilin!"

Shameless!

Luo Tianying roared.

His only answer was two more kicks from Luo Zhonghai that left his mouth full of blood.

It seemed no one was aware of what was transpiring inside the villa. In reality, however, a stealth drone was monitoring the entire scene.

A device from the Night Emperor Intelligence Hall—so stealthy that not even Luo Zhonghai of the Qilin Battle Department had detected it.

At that very moment, in the garden of a luxury residential complex directly opposite the villa, Qin Tianxuan was casually sipping tea and eating his lunch.

Wang Hou and the others stood to one side, their eyes fixed on the surveillance monitor in front of them.