Chapter Seventy-Six: The Fierce Lily

Lin Qi stepped out of the secret passage and glanced back at the penthouse where Arthur was staying. Arthur, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, stood behind the floor-to-ceiling window gazing outside. The two brothers, unrelated by blood, stared at each other from afar.

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the Emerald Rose Hotel were specially crafted by the Vias Commercial Federation, imbued with magical properties. Those inside could see out, but nothing inside could be perceived from the outside.

Naturally, Lin Qi didn’t possess the ability to see through such enchanted glass, but he knew Arthur stood just behind it. Smiling, he raised his hand and waved at the window, then made a subtle throat-slitting gesture.

Arthur, standing behind the glass with his hands resting on the round table, suddenly gripped the solid oak hard, his fingers sinking deep into the wood.

“Lin Qi! You can’t stay so smug forever!” Arthur let out a strange laugh, then clapped his hands lightly. Several burly men in black fitted clothing emerged from a side door, bowing respectfully to Arthur—though their gazes couldn’t help but drift toward the platinum-blonde girl sprawled nearby.

“I don’t ever want to see her in Dunkirk again. Make her vanish from this world,” Arthur hissed, his single eye flashing with a vicious, murderous chill as he glanced at the girl sleeping soundly on the floor.

She had the noble beauty of a young lady of high birth, but her origins were humble. Her mother had been nothing more than a destitute old prostitute at the Dunkirk docks. Arthur had chanced upon her, purchased her, and kept her hidden in one of his secret lairs. For tonight’s dealings with Lin Qi, he’d summoned her to the Emerald Rose Hotel. But now, her usefulness had been exhausted.

She must not fall into Lin Qi’s or Blackbeard’s hands. If that wily old fox Blackbeard learned that the girl had been brought into the hotel shortly before Lin Qi arrived, he’d inevitably start suspecting Arthur’s involvement in tonight’s events.

Arthur couldn’t risk losing Blackbeard’s trust and favor. He had to maintain the image Blackbeard held of him. He absolutely couldn’t let Blackbeard discover his part in Ya and Ling’s attempt to test Lin Qi—every trace had to be wiped away.

“It’s a pity, you might actually have a father of noble blood! But that’s all there is to it.” Arthur looked at the face that had once so enchanted him and, as if tossing out garbage, waved his hand dismissively.

The black-clad men gathered up the scattered clothing, wrapped the girl in a white cloth, and packed her into an enormous suitcase.

A few minutes later, several men—now dressed in ostentatious business attire—strode out the hotel’s front entrance, each carrying large suitcases. Two carriages waited for them outside. Once the suitcases were loaded, the men climbed aboard. From that moment on, the world would never again see the beautiful platinum-haired girl. That very day, her mother disappeared without a trace as well.

A destitute old prostitute and her illegitimate daughter—who would care about their fate?

Lin Qi sat in his carriage, sneezing all the way back to the ancestral estate. Bal rode alongside on horseback, leading a squad of guards. Enzo sat across from Lin Qi, studying him with curiosity.

Lin Qi pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose vigorously, then asked in a weary tone, “Why are you staring at me? What’s so interesting?”

Enzo shifted, crossed his legs, and grinned. “I just find it strange—do you really believe Arthur spent the entire night at the hotel with that woman?”

Lin Qi let out a helpless laugh, tossed his handkerchief onto the floor, buried his head in his hands, and groaned, “Of course I don’t believe it. But what can I do? Interrogate him with torture right in front of Uncle Bal? Ugh, my old man would kill me! Uncle Bal doesn’t like that guy either, but he won’t let me mess with him. My father’s explicitly forbidden them from getting involved in my issues with that bastard!”

Enzo sighed as well; there was truly nothing to be done. If Blackbeard forbade Lin Qi from acting against Arthur, then no one in Dunkirk could help Lin Qi take action against him. Unless there was irrefutable proof that Ya and Ling were Arthur’s accomplices, or that those black-robed men were his subordinates, no one could lay a finger on Arthur.

As Blackbeard’s adopted son, and the only son of Red-Haired Devil—Blackbeard’s staunch ally—entrusted to him on his deathbed, Arthur was protected by an unbreakable shield. Even Lin Qi couldn’t breach it easily; it was a matter of Blackbeard’s prestige and credibility, a line not to be crossed lightly.

Lin Qi fell into deep thought, weighing what troubles might arise if he failed to capture those two women.

There would be trouble, no doubt—but Lin Qi was never afraid of trouble. If he could severely wound those two arrogant women this time, he could do it again if need be.

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Surrounded by guards, the carriage returned to the ancestral home. Lin Qi and Enzo, helped by the guards, carefully stepped down—their wounds had only just been bandaged and couldn’t withstand any sudden exertion. Only after the Black Tiger family’s potent elixirs were applied would they be back to full strength. As the most powerful leaders in the northern underworld, the Black Tiger family naturally possessed no shortage of miraculous medicines.

As Lin Qi approached the mansion gates, a terrifying roar suddenly erupted.

Hammer, with a wail, was kicked out of the door, nearly crashing into Lin Qi. What followed was an astonishing sight: Lin Qi’s old nurse, Aunt Lily, emerged in full armor, storming outside with a massive spiked mace in hand.

“Damn the gods above! Who dares bully my little Master Lin Qi? Lily will smash their heads in! Damn it, who dares try and stop me?”

Aunt Lily’s hair bristled with fury. Swinging her enormous mace, she frightened the household’s servants into cowering submission, none daring to get in her way.

Enzo glanced at the heavy, blue-grey armor Lily wore and involuntarily drew a sharp breath—that was the battle armor of a high-ranking officer among the Bearfolk, famed for their strength and tempers, ranking among the top three most powerful tribes across the Five Islets. The armor’s defensive power was formidable, but even more astonishing was its weight. Known as the “Wrath of the Bearfolk,” the suit weighed over eighteen hundred pounds. On the Western Continent, no human was rumored to be able to even move such armor!

Yet here it was, worn by Aunt Lily, who was not only wearing it but also brandishing a mace as thick as Hammer’s thigh and charging outside at a breakneck pace.

“Dear gods, could she have orc blood?” Enzo’s vision went black; he nearly fainted. He silently rescinded his earlier judgment upon arriving at Lin Qi’s ancestral home—armored and weapon-ready, Aunt Lily could not only wipe out a battalion of a thousand but might even be capable of holding her own against an army of ten thousand!

Utterly terrifying!

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