Chu Lian waved his hand to indicate he was fine and his sharp gaze fixed on the gang members as he spoke, "Which one of you is the Boss?"
The gang members all lifted their heads in unison, signaling to him that the person who had initially denied it was their Boss.
Chu Lian approached and delivered a brutal kick to the Gang Leader’s stomach.
"Ah." The Gang Leader was kicked into the wall behind him and had barely lifted his head before Chu Lian’s second kick landed, "Ah."
The Gang Leader was kicked so violently it was unbearable, but this was nothing compared to what he had done to Xiangxiang. Chu Lian kept delivering kick after kick, causing the other gang members to grimace.
Eventually unable to withstand the beating, the Gang Leader began to beg for mercy, "Young hero, no, Boss, please spare me, I won’t dare to do it again."
Chu Lian stopped his assault, "Which hand did you touch her with?"
The terrified Gang Leader immediately replied, "This one." Then hurriedly shook his head, "No, Boss, I didn’t touch her, please spare me."
Chu Lian walked back to Acheng’s side, "Acheng, cripple his hand."
Upon receiving the order, Acheng stepped forward without a word. A sickening crack was followed by the Gang Leader’s scream, "Ah, my hand, my hand."
Seeing their Boss’s hand crippled, the gang members were scared half to death.
Chu Lian sat there as his icy voice came again, "Aren’t you going to speak? Who exactly put you up to this?"
Chu Lian didn’t believe a bunch of small-time thugs would target Xiangxiang without reason. Someone must have put them up to this, and since they had not yet revealed their backer after much talking, it was clear they feared that person.
The Gang Leader quickly knelt and begged for mercy, "Boss, no one put us up to this."
Chu Lian’s menacing eyes turned to the other gang members, who hastily knelt and pleaded, "Boss, we lowly ones don’t know who’s behind this, only the Boss knows about these things."
"Yes, only the Boss knows, we truly have no idea."
Seeing their demeanor, Chu Lian reckoned they indeed did not know and it must be that only one person knew. So, he continued, "Acheng, cripple his other hand too."
Upon hearing his other hand was also to be crippled, the Gang Leader cried out in terror, "Don’t, don’t cripple my other hand, I’ll talk."
Chu Lian gestured for Acheng to stop.
"It’s Dongfeng Restaurant’s owner, Li Fuyou."
This news shocked Chu Lian; why would Li Fuyou target Xiangxiang when they seemed to have no connection at all?
He said angrily, "Go back and tell that Li Fuyou that Chu Lian and he are irreconcilable."
Chu Lian did not wish to linger any longer and left with Acheng. He whispered to Acheng, "Leave them alive to carry the message to Li Fuyou. Blind all of them, and cripple their ’third leg’. If Li Fuyou doesn’t cripple them after they report, sell them off, and make sure they can’t cause more trouble."
"..." Acheng was somewhat shocked. In all the years he had followed the young master, this was the first time he had seen him this ruthless, clearly showing how much he cared for Miss Wang.
He returned to the room to carry out the orders, and a symphony of agonized howls echoed to Chu Lian’s ears.
Yet, this could not atone for their sins, because Xiangxiang’s heart had been hurt, and it would likely never heal completely. Because of these people, he and Xiangxiang were drifting further apart. He clenched his fists tightly and stepped out of the courtyard.