Chapter 234: Battered and Bruised

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Battered and Bruised

Ah Xue had been adopted by a kind, elderly couple from the Sun Family. They were chosen because the old couple was good-hearted and reasonably well-off, which would have allowed Ah Xue to live a peaceful life.

The old couple also had a son, so they simply had Ah Xue formally adopted as their granddaughter.

While the old couple was still alive, their son and daughter-in-law treated Ah Xue reasonably well, or at least didn’t openly mistreat her.

The old couple even spent money on Ah Xue’s upbringing and bought her a house.

Ah Xue was bright and clever, and always very likable.

But after the old couple passed away, the Sun Family’s eldest son inherited the family business, and the situation changed completely.

The Sun Family’s eldest son, after all, had his own daughter and son.

First, they forced Ah Xue to drop out of school. Then, they took back the house the old couple had given her and began ordering her around like a servant.

This continued until the present day, by which time Ah Xue was all grown up.

The Sun Family decided that since Ah Xue was of age, it was time to marry her off.

But after raising her for so many years, they weren’t about to take a loss. In the end, they actually chose a husband for her: the foolish son of the Ding Family, a well-known laughingstock in Jin City.

The Ding Family was in the livestock business—to put it bluntly, they were nouveau riche pig farmers. They took a liking to Ah Xue the moment they saw her, remarking that while she was skinny, she looked like she could bear sons. They offered a bride price of five million!

To a minor family like the Suns, this was a massive windfall.

This was what Ah Xue had been through!

Qin Tianxuan’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. He urged again, "Drive faster!"

Chen Haobei, also anxious, slammed on the accelerator and shot off like a madman.

Pushing the car to its limits, they reached the Sun Family’s villa in record time.

The villa looked tacky at a glance, a clear sign of the Sun Family’s minor status. Two dogs kept on the property began barking furiously as they approached.

"Sir, what are your orders?" Chen Haobei asked, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.

"Go back to the Celestial Brocade Group and wait for my orders!" Qin Tianxuan had forced himself to calm down. He then asked, "Do you have any cash on you?"

Chen Haobei was already prepared. He opened the trunk and lifted out a case full of cash.

Qin Tianxuan grabbed a stack, gave a dismissive wave, and got out of the car.

He strode straight for the villa’s main gate.

A man in a black security guard uniform appeared, his hat askew and his face flushed. "Who the hell are you? This is the Sun Family’s villa. Private property. Piss off."

"I’m Ah Xue’s brother," Qin Tianxuan stated flatly.

Ah Xue?

The guard picked at his teeth with a toothpick. "Ah Xue who?"

"Xia Xueqing!"

"Ha! And here I was wondering who you were talking about. You mean that little wench who does the cooking and laundry. ’Ah Xue’ my ass. Around here, we just call her Third Girl!"

The corner of Qin Tianxuan’s eye twitched. "I’m her brother!"

The guard spat on the ground. "I don’t give a damn who you are. Don’t come looking for relatives here. Scram!"

With that, he opened a small side gate and unchained two vicious dogs. "Get lost, or they’ll tear you to pieces!"

A glint flashed in Qin Tianxuan’s eyes as he stepped forward.

He exuded a terrifying aura. The guard couldn’t sense it, but the two fierce dogs dropped to the ground with a whimper.

They seemed to be terrified.

Qin Tianxuan had personally trained military dogs in the Battle Department. He now bent down, stroking the fierce dogs and issuing a soft command.

The two dogs immediately sprang up and lunged viciously at the guard.

Aargh!

The shameless guard shrieked and tried desperately to flee, but was tackled to the ground in seconds.

Qin Tianxuan dusted off his hands and walked right into the villa.

That bastard had said Ah Xue did the cooking and laundry, so she was probably in the kitchen area out back at this time of day.

Qin Tianxuan rounded a corner and saw a girl squatting by a stone ledge. Her breath fogged in the air as she washed a fish under a stream of ice-cold water from a spigot.

Her small hands were bright red and wrapped in bandages. She held the fish down, struggling to scale it with a knife.

Her movements were heartbreakingly practiced.

Qin Tianxuan’s gaze wavered as he strode over. "Excuse me..."

The girl jumped in surprise and looked up.

He could still vaguely see the child she once was, but her face was now etched with hardship. Most noticeably, there was an injury on the right side of her neck that looked like a burn.

She stared at Qin Tianxuan, her voice trembling. "Who are you? How did you get in? Y-You need to leave, quickly! This is the Sun Family’s villa, you can’t just come in here."

Qin Tianxuan’s voice trembled as well. "Are you Xia Xueqing?"

The girl stared blankly for a moment. "I am. How do you know my name?"

A shudder went through Qin Tianxuan’s body as he grasped her hand.

The knife fell from Ah Xue’s hand. Growing more alarmed, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Ah Xue! I... I’m your Brother Tianxuan!"

Xia Xueqing went rigid. "W-What did you say?"

Qin Tianxuan gritted his teeth, undid his jacket, and ripped open his shirt to reveal a spray of scars across his shoulder.

"Ah Xue, do you remember this? It’s from a shotgun blast!"

Xia Xueqing’s lips began to tremble. She quickly pulled a necklace out from under her collar. It was a necklace made from a shell casing.

The very same shell casing from the bullet Qin Tianxuan had taken for her all those years ago!

"Is it really... Is it really you, Brother Tianxuan? Am I... am I dreaming?"

Xia Xueqing touched the scars with a trembling hand, all doubt erased.

Back then, Brother Tianxuan had nearly been killed, and she herself had been stabbed. That life-or-death experience was seared into her memory.

With a great sob, Ah Xue burst into tears and threw her arms around Qin Tianxuan, hugging him tightly.

"Brother Tianxuan, I never thought I’d see you again... I dream about you, you know? But I can’t leave this place... I miss the mountains so much..."

Only with her Brother Tianxuan could she let her vulnerability show.

Qin Tianxuan’s own hands trembled as he held hers. They were covered in scars and worn with calluses.

"This... Did the Sun Family force you to do all this?"

"And these injuries... how did you get them?"

Qin Tianxuan’s eyes grew red as a monstrous rage surged within him.

He kicked the fish aside and snatched up the knife!