Chapter 249: Ah Xue’s Cabin

Chapter 249: Chapter 249: Ah Xue’s Cabin

Sun Haodong’s entire family had been beaten, his two sons quite severely. In a state of shock and fear, he had called upon every connection the Sun Family possessed.

Most were legacy connections left by his parents.

The people who showed up were mostly doing so out of respect for the elder Suns of the past.

For instance, Young Master Chen, the heir to Chen’s Foreign Trade Company, was quite reluctant to be there.

After the incident involving Ling Ao Xue, this Young Master Chen had become far more subdued. He sat quietly outside.

As for the others inside, like the three brothers from Liu Daoban’s family, they were keeping their heads down, not daring to make a scene. They had come purely because of their friendship with the two Sun sons.

The highest-status individuals present were Vice President Yang of the Celestial Brocade Financial Group and a former follower of Liu Huaxia from the Martial Arts Arena.

This man from the Martial Arts Arena, Guard Zhang, was drinking tea with Vice President Yang of the Celestial Brocade Financial Group, chatting up a storm.

"The Celestial Brocade Financial Group has really made a splash. I heard you were acquired by a super-conglomerate and are now number one in Jin City."

Vice President Yang was very pleased. "But of course. Our boss, Chen Haobei, heh heh, has a very deep background. By the way, I heard there was some trouble at the Martial Arts Arena?"

Guard Zhang smacked his lips and lowered his voice. "I resigned and got out of there immediately. You wouldn’t know, but Liu Huaxia from the Martial Arts Arena—our Chief Instructor—was crippled. One of his arms was sent directly to Grand Commander Luo Qilin on a platter."

Recalling the scene, Guard Zhang’s face paled again. "It scared us half to death. Even Grand Commander Luo Qilin was terrified. He pretended everything was fine, but as soon as he was out the door, he hid himself away in a secret chamber."

The people around them all leaned in, listening with rapt attention. "Who did it?"

Guard Zhang took a sip of tea and chuckled. "Who else could it be? The invincible Night Emperor, of course!"

His eyes flashed. "Everyone on the outside is saying Luo Qilin is a shoo-in for the big Martial Arts Arena competition. Heh, what idiotic nonsense. I can tell you for a fact, Grand Commander Luo Qilin is the one who’s guaranteed to lose!"

Everyone listening was stunned.

"Going up against the Night Emperor? Luo Qilin isn’t strong enough! You can tell just from the events of the last few days."

A buzz of discussion filled the room.

Just then, Sun Haodong appeared.

As the master of the villa, his face was black and blue, and his head was wrapped in gauze.

After coming in, Sun Haodong cupped his fist in his palm to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, my good friends, for coming to show your support. Allow me to make some introductions. This is Young Master Chen, this is Vice President Yang, this is..."

After a full round of introductions, Sun Haodong’s two sons, his daughter, and his wife all emerged, covered in bandages.

Sun Haodong wiped at his tears, explaining that his family had been beaten because they had run into a very powerful thug.

He took out a medical injury report. "All of you are influential figures in Jin City. When that bastard surnamed Qin gets here, you don’t need to say a word. Just by standing here, you’ll be backing me up."

The guests were privately amused and asked what had actually happened.

Sun Haodong began to tell them about Ah Xue.

He even produced a tattered old bag. "My Sun Family raised that damn girl, and for what? An ungrateful wretch! Look, she even stole money!"

The tattered bag was full of small change, the very money Ah Xue had secretly saved by pinching every penny.

The guests frowned as they watched, but they were all thinking the same thing: ’That Xia Xueqing is really pitiful, ending up with such a bizarre family. They don’t even give her an allowance. This is obviously just spare change she got from selling trash. It can’t be more than a few hundred, can it?’

Outwardly, however, they all laughed and sided with Sun Haodong.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps heralded the arrival of the secretary to the chief executive of the Mountain and River District.

His appearance sent a shock through the crowd.

’I can’t believe a piece of trash like Sun Haodong actually knows the district’s chief executive!’

The secretary said nothing upon arriving, merely offering a brief greeting before taking a seat.

Sun Haodong, however, was suddenly energized. His entire family, nursing their injuries, bustled over to serve the secretary tea and water.

The Sun family members were beaming, feeling incredibly proud.

’The chief executive’s secretary is here in person! He’ll definitely see that we get justice!’

’That damn girl Ah Xue’s brother is finished!’

Sun Haodong presented the medical report and the tattered bag, accusing Xia Xueqing of stealing money and her brother of assault.

The secretary grew impatient. "When the man arrives, I’ll question him myself. Right now, this is just your side of the story. I need to conduct a proper investigation!"

Sun Haodong retreated in embarrassment.

Then, everyone waited in boredom.

The wait dragged on until evening, when someone rushed in from outside shouting, "Boss Sun, that guy’s here!"

Good!

Sun Haodong leaped to his feet. "Ouch!" he yelped, clutching his head, then roared with newfound confidence, "Open the main gate! We settle this tonight!"

Qin Tianxuan strolled calmly into the courtyard but didn’t enter the house. He stopped before the dimly lit doorway.

"Sun Haodong, you’ve certainly invited a lot of people."

Sun Haodong gave a savage grin. "What, scared to come in? Let me tell you, the chief executive’s secretary is here! You beat my entire family—we have the injury report—and we also discovered your sister has been stealing money!"

With that, he threw Ah Xue’s bag out, scattering small change all over the ground!

Qin Tianxuan watched in silence, then slowly bent down and began to pick up the coins and bills, one by one.

Ah Xue’s pitiful little face flashed before his eyes.

"Brother Tianxuan, I’ve been saving this money. I got it all from collecting scraps. I thought that when I finally saw you, I could use it to treat you to a meal."

Her young voice seemed to echo in his mind.

Every single coin and bill, no matter how small the denomination, represented countless bottles Ah Xue had to collect.

To anyone else, the total sum might not have been enough to pay for a single meal.

But to Ah Xue, it was her entire fortune.

It was the fortune she was saving for the day she would finally be reunited with Qin Tianxuan.

So Qin Tianxuan picked up every last piece, treasuring each one as he put it away.

Then, ignoring Sun Haodong’s taunts from inside the house, he turned and walked toward the dilapidated hut behind the dog kennel.

Behind the broken door, the room was a complete wreck.

The few belongings Ah Xue had left had all been smashed and stomped on.

Sun Haodong must have searched the room when he returned; that’s how he found Ah Xue’s secret savings.

Qin Tianxuan clenched his fists, his gaze falling upon the crushed toothbrush and mug, and on Ah Xue’s favorite set of stationery.

A dozen or so award certificates Ah Xue had earned in school had been torn to shreds.

Even the single group photo she had kept from her time in the mountains was marred by a dirty footprint.

Trembling, Qin Tianxuan picked up the photograph, then the shredded pieces of her awards.

He carefully gathered every last fragment, treating them like treasure.

By now, a crowd of people had gathered outside the dilapidated little hut.