Du Niancheng paced back and forth in the room, glancing at the time from time to time.
As time passed, he became increasingly restless, checking the clock more and more frequently.
It was already close to one in the morning.
Du Niancheng was on pins and needles, with a creeping feeling that Wu Gong and Hong Lian would not be returning.
"Impossible, Lord Wu and Hong Lian are both at the peak of Dark Strength Ninth Grade!" Du Niancheng shook his head, dispelling the dreadful thought from his mind.
"Only an hour, no need to rush," Du Niancheng consoled himself, then sent a text message to Wu Gong.
He waited silently.
Five minutes, ten minutes, no reply.
*Knock knock—*
At that moment, the door was knocked. Du Niancheng shivered, instinctively thinking Wu Gong and Hong Lian had returned, and hurried towards the door.
But as he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and asked in a low voice, "Who?"
There was silence outside the door, no one answered him.
Du Niancheng looked through the peephole and saw Wu Gong's face, his eyes wide open in terror, never to close again!!
Ah!!
Du Niancheng staggered back in fright, a deep fear etched on his face.
"No, no, impossible!" Du Niancheng shook his head desperately, "Dark Strength Ninth Grade, that's Dark Strength Ninth Grade..."
*Bang—*
Ye Wudao kicked the door open.
The bodies of Wu Gong and Hong Lian were thrown directly at Du Niancheng.
Du Niancheng cried out in pain, then saw Hong Lian's ugly face, her eyes wide open, less than a palm's distance from him.
Du Niancheng immediately wet himself.
Ye Wudao stood at the doorway, looking down at Du Niancheng, and said coldly, "The Qi family truly has courage, provoking the Great Leader twice! Go back and tell Qi Jinsheng that the Great Leader will settle this score with him in person!"
Du Niancheng looked utterly desperate.
At this moment, he was no longer afraid, only filled with endless despair.
He knew he had no chance!
Stumbling to his feet, Du Niancheng let out a tragic laugh, "No matter who you are, offending the Qi family means you are doomed!"
Ye Wudao sneered and rebuked, "The Son of Heaven's Judge, second only to the Emperor, the mere Qi family is not even worthy of being called an ant in the Great Leader's eyes!"
"The Son of Heaven's Judge..." Du Niancheng started, looking at Ye Wudao in disbelief.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face, "Good, hahaha... truly good, the Qi family deserves to die, haha... the Qi family deserves to die!!"
Saying this, Du Niancheng walked to the window, a look of relief on his face, and leaped out.
Even if he had to die, he wouldn't die at the hands of the Qi family, or his remains would be scattered to the wind!
—
The morning sun streamed through the window into the bedroom.
Mo Ziyan slowly woke up, looking at the unfamiliar yet familiar surroundings, fragments of the previous night flashing through her mind.
She only remembered falling unconscious after a drink, and had no idea what happened afterward.
*Creak—*
Lu Pan pushed the door open and entered, holding a bowl of freshly brewed snow fungus and lotus seed soup.
"Brother Pan..." Mo Ziyan came back to her senses, looked at Lu Pan walking towards her, and her eyes immediately welled up.
As she spoke, she got out of bed and, barefoot, rushed into Lu Pan's arms.
"Brother Pan, Ziyan misses you so much, I don't want to be separated from you, please don't leave me, Brother Pan?"
Although they had only been apart for two or three days, Mo Ziyan felt as if years had passed.
She didn't want to be separated from Lu Pan; as long as Lu Pan cared for her and didn't abandon her, she wouldn't mind how many other women were by his side.
"Silly girl, when did Brother Pan ever say he would leave you?" Lu Pan gently patted Mo Ziyan's back. "Alright, have some food first."
Mo Ziyan, blushing, reluctantly moved away from Lu Pan's chest.
"You don't remember what happened last night?" Lu Pan fed Mo Ziyan spoonful by spoonful.
Mo Ziyan pouted, then gently stuck out her tongue, "I was a bit unhappy thinking about you yesterday, so I had a drink, and I don't remember anything after that."
"If you can't drink, drink less in the future, especially when you're out. It's too dangerous!" Lu Pan's expression became stern, a warning in his tone.
Mo Ziyan nodded obediently, "Ziyan knows she was wrong."
Lu Pan's expression softened. Recalling something Mo Shiyao had told him, he asked, "Ziyan, your sister told me that during that big fire years ago, you and Grandpa Mo went to the Lu family?"
Upon hearing this, Mo Ziyan's hand, which was reaching for the bowl, paused, and confusion flickered in her eyes, "Brother Pan, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
"When I was ten, there was a big fire at the Lu family..." Lu Pan tried to remind Mo Ziyan, to see if she could recall anything.
"Big fire..." Mo Ziyan frowned, as if trying to recall what Lu Pan was talking about.
Lu Pan looked expectant, hoping Mo Ziyan would remember something.
"Brother Pan, I really don't remember any big fire. Did you perhaps misremember?" Mo Ziyan shook her head, still unable to recall anything.
Lu Pan was not disappointed; Mo Ziyan's reaction was precisely what proved she had seen that fire years ago, or perhaps witnessed something else that had left a trauma in her heart.
"Alright, alright, don't think about it. It was Brother Pan who misremembered." Lu Pan smiled and didn't press further.
With his medical skills, it wouldn't be difficult to make Mo Ziyan remember what happened back then.
However, that was a pain buried deep in her heart, and forcing her to remember would be unfair to Mo Ziyan.
It would take time and a gradual unburdening of her heart for Mo Ziyan to recall what she had seen in that fire.
Mo Ziyan responded with an "oh," then remembered something and happily said to Lu Ming, "Oh right, Brother Pan, I've enrolled in the Business Management advanced course at Qingcheng University."
"Is that so? Ziyan, you're truly amazing," Lu Pan smiled. "Then Ziyan must study hard and manage the Mo family's enterprises well."
*Beep beep—*
Several news alerts popped up on Mo Ziyan's phone.
She picked up her phone and looked, her face turning pale, "Brother Pan, the Mo family factory caught fire, and my parents and sister are trapped."
"Don't worry, they are all in the hospital now, and they are fine," Lu Pan quickly reassured Mo Ziyan.
"Really?" Mo Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief, but still looked worried. "Such a big incident, I need to go to the hospital to see them."
Mo Ziyan got up, took Lu Pan's hand, and looked at him expectantly, "Brother Pan, will you accompany me? Please?"
"Okay."
Qingshan Hospital.
As Lu Pan and Mo Ziyan arrived at the ward area, they overheard Mo Yun's conversation with a doctor.
"I'm truly sorry, but Grandpa Mo is advanced in age, and due to the inhalation of a large amount of smoke and dust leading to oxygen deprivation in the brain, the hospital is helpless."
The doctor speaking was none other than Xiao Nan, who had previously threatened Lu Pan over Yun Chuxue.
Mo Ziyan, hearing this from a distance, almost fainted.
"Doctor, please, you must save my grandfather," Mo Ziyan rushed forward.
Xiao Nan's eyes lit up when he saw the captivating Mo Ziyan.