Chapter 168: Troops at the City Gates

The Lu Family.

Within a span of just five minutes, Elder Lu and Lu Kun, the eldest son of the Lu family, received phone calls from Jiang Yidong and Gao Tianxiong respectively.

In his call to Elder Lu, Jiang Yidong maintained a polite tone, but his words were exceedingly direct. He briefly recounted how Lin Yuxin had gone missing at the Golden Sands Club, and then stated, "Elder Lu, Lin Yuxin's husband, Hong Chen, saved the lives of my eldest nephew and my daughter. The Jiang family owes him two immense favors. If any harm comes to Lin Yuxin and Hong Chen refuses to let the matter rest, the Jiang family will stake one-fifth of our entire estate to accompany him in his madness. The Golden Sands Club is a property of the Lu family, and the Lu family cannot shirk responsibility."

Upon hearing this, Elder Lu's aged face clouded over completely. The pair of health balls in his hands spun at twice their usual speed. Anyone familiar with him would instantly recognize this as a sign that he had encountered a monumental problem.

The Jiang family was the premier family in Qing City, boasting assets exceeding ten billion. One-fifth of that meant at least two billion, if not more. Elder Lu was well aware of the terrifying power represented by such a colossal sum. If they were to attack the Lu family with the determination to inflict a thousand casualties on the enemy while suffering eight hundred themselves, the Lu family's businesses would inevitably suffer a devastating blow. Even if they managed not to collapse, they would be critically wounded.

On the other side, Gao Tianxiong's call to Lu Kun was even more direct, carrying thinly veiled threats and intimidation. After outlining the situation, he stated bluntly, "Lin Yuxin is a core talent nurtured by the group. Whoever touches her, the Hongcheng Group will fight to the bitter end, at all costs, even if it means mutual destruction! The Golden Sands Club is a Lu family property. If any harm comes to Lin Yuxin, the Lu family will bear the brunt!"

When the call ended, Lu Kun's expression was hideously dark. The hand holding his phone was trembling—half from anger, half from apprehension.

For so many years, the Lu family had never faced such a threat. Yet, he had to admit that against the Hongcheng Group—a rising star established just two months ago that had advanced like a hot knife through butter and soared like a rocket—no family in Qing City dared to look down upon them, naturally including the Lu family.

Otherwise, the three top-tier families of Wang, Liu, and Lu would never have forged a tripartite alliance solely to deal with the Hongcheng Group!

However, the current incident was not part of the plan; it was a completely unexpected complication. It had nothing to do with the interests of the Wang and Liu families, and getting those two families to step forward and offer staunch support was absolute wishful thinking.

Fifteen minutes later, summoned by phone, Lu Ming hurried over from his young mistress's bed. As soon as he stepped into the main hall, he saw Elder Lu sitting rigidly with a tight expression in a single-sofa seat. Core members of the Lu family, including Lu Kun, stood in a circle around the edge of the sofa.

The heavy atmosphere was suffocating enough to make it hard to breathe.

"Dad, Big Brother, I swear to heaven, I absolutely did not instruct anyone to do this!" Lu Ming hurriedly spoke out to clear his name. On his way over, he had already heard the butler explain the situation over the phone. Truly, calamity had fallen from the skies while he was immersed in a bed of tenderness.

"The Golden Sands Club is a property under your management, and you are the person in charge. When something goes wrong, you bear primary responsibility!" Elder Lu declared with stern majesty. "You need to mentally prepare yourself. If the situation evolves to the worst possible outcome, don't blame me for handing you over and pretending I never had a son like you."

Lu Ming was shaken to his core. His wife and children also turned as pale as paper. Elder Lu had only two sons, who were currently the pillars of the Lu family. For the old man to utter words about handing over his son showed just how severe the situation had become.

Lu Kun furrowed his brows, his gaze cold as he looked at Lu Ming, and said in a deep voice, "Second Brother, I've already had people search the club inside and out. A quarter of an hour has passed, and no news has come back. It looks like something really has happened to Lin Yuxin."

He paused, then added, "Furthermore, I called Ni Biao, the general manager of Golden Sands, directly. He staked the lives of his entire family to guarantee that this matter has nothing to do with him. Right now, he is summoning all deputy managers and higher-level middle and senior executives for individual interrogations. Without the cooperation of management at the deputy manager level or above, it would be absolutely impossible to spirit a living person away unnoticed right past the club's surveillance system."

Lu Ming nodded in agreement, scratching his head irritably. "Everything that should be done has been done. Now we can only wait for news..."

"Great-grandfather!" A panicked shout rang out. The butler ran in from outside with a heavy expression. Nearly sixty years old, he was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

Swish!

Everyone's gazes turned instantly, making the butler the focal point. The overwhelming pressure made his body tremble involuntarily. He swallowed hard before trembling out the words, "Outside... outside, the Jiang family has brought over a hundred people, and the Hongcheng Group has brought no fewer than five hundred. The entire estate is surrounded."

An army at the gates!

The members of the Lu family were utterly shocked.

Elder Lu's face sank abruptly, turning gravely serious. To be honest, the harsh warnings in Jiang Yidong and Gao Tianxiong's phone calls earlier could make him take notice, but he hadn't taken them literally. Powerful families put interests first; for a woman from a second-tier family, no matter how much the Jiang family owed a favor, they wouldn't do something as foolish as throwing away two billion to go to war with the Lu family and end up reduced to ashes. As for the Hongcheng Group, forget it—destroying themselves along with the Lu family for the sake of a so-called talent? Who were they trying to bluff?

Yet now, he had no choice but to believe it.

It was just like a conflict between two countries: no matter how fiercely they barked threats, it was merely posturing. Once the army started moving, it was the prelude to the real deal. Throughout history, without exception, this had always been the case!

With six or seven hundred people surrounding the Lu family, the moment news of Lin Yuxin's misfortune arrived, they would inevitably storm into the Lu estate to demand accountability. The Lu family's internal security would also put up a fierce resistance. Being outnumbered meant martial artists would have to step in. Once that happened, the battle would escalate, and when first-rank martial artists clashed, it would mean the decisive showdown had begun!

Facing such an unprepared, passive defense—and taking on two opponents at once—was definitely something the Lu family was unwilling to face, and the consequences were simply unbearable!

"How is this possible!" Lu Kun had lost his usual composure, becoming violently irritable. He simply could not accept this reality; it completely violated the code of conduct where elite families placed interests above all else!

Had the Hongcheng Group and the Jiang family both lost their minds?

"Who on earth is it? Confess now and you might still salvage things. If you keep hiding it and I find out, whoever it is, get the hell out of the Lu family immediately!" Lu Kun's gaze was ferocious, darting back and forth among the younger generation. Lin Yuxin was only a little over twenty; she was most likely to have conflicts with these juniors. Accustomed to throwing their weight around under the protection of the Lu family, these juniors dared to do anything and never considered the consequences.

Those juniors lowered their heads one by one, keeping silent.

As if suddenly jolted awake, Lu Ming anxiously asked, "Big Brother, what about Huarong? Have you asked him?"

Lu Kun frowned. "He went to Luo City and won't be back until the day after tomorrow."

Lu Ming said, "You forgot, he lost a hundred million to that Jiang brat. That jockey was Hong Chen, the useless son-in-law of the Lin family."

Lu Kun's expression flickered rapidly. He strode off toward his room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Hundreds of miles away in Luo City, inside a KTV private room where he was flanked by women on both sides, Lu Huarong saw a notification that his father was calling. Annoyed, he shook his head, unclasped his arms, and stood up to enter the soundproof alcove attached to the room.

"Was Lin Yuxin's abduction at the Golden Sands Club related to you?" The moment the call connected, Lu Kun asked bluntly. "Let me tell you, right now..."

Listening to his father's rapid, somewhat frantic voice, horror washed over Lu Huarong's face. The hand holding the phone trembled, and his heart hammered wildly against his ribs, as if it wanted to leap out of his chest.

He had never dreamed in his wildest nightmares that things would evolve into this situation—an army at the gates, the Lu family surrounded!

If something truly happened to Lin Yuxin, when he returned to Qing City the day after tomorrow, would there be anything left of the Lu family except broken walls and ruins?

"Dad, this was Qi Junyuan's idea. The mastermind is his manager, Liao Tingrui. I... I only... I only helped out a little," stammered Lu Huarong, realizing the severity of the consequences and knowing he could no longer conceal the truth.

"How did you help? Speak! If you hide even the slightest bit, don't ever come back."

With a sudden roar from his father on the other end, Lu Huarong shuddered violently. Swallowing hard, he said, "I lent Pan Lihua to Liao Tingrui to take care of knocking Lin Yuxin out. I also gave a heads-up to Dong Min from the concierge department and Xiao Ke from the engineering department, asking them to cooperate with Liao Tingrui. For the specific execution, the three of them followed Liao Tingrui's instructions."

"Scoundrel! If any harm comes to Lin Yuxin, you are a sinner of the Lu family, unforgivable!" After a furious curse from the other end, the phone was hung up directly. Lu Huarong's face turned ashen grey. Drained of all energy, he stared blankly at the phone screen, completely at a loss as to what to do!

Having finished the call, Lu Kun returned to the main hall with a dark expression. Summoning only Elder Lu and Lu Ming back to the room, he quickly laid out the situation.

Hearing this, Lu Ming's eyes flickered slightly. "Qi Junyuan has deep backing. Why don't we have Huarong contact him and have him deal with both the Jiang family and the Hongcheng Group?"

Elder Lu, however, raised a hand. "Whores are heartless, and actors are unprincipled; they are the least reliable at critical moments. What we need to do now is make this matter have absolutely nothing to do with the Lu family."

With that, he instructed Lu Kun, "Confirm with Huarong again. Aside from Pan Lihua, Dong Min, and Xiao Ke, were there any others of our people involved, or even aware of it?"

Lu Kun immediately went to make the call. Elder Lu then said to Lu Ming, "Call Dong Min immediately. Under no circumstances should Lin Yuxin be handed over to Qi Junyuan. Send that Liao Tingrui back. Figure out an explanation yourself and push all the responsibility onto the Hongcheng Group. Remember, do not drag the Jiang family into this. At this critical moment in the tripartite alliance's plans, we cannot make enemies needlessly."

Pausing, a murderous glint flashed in Elder Lu's eyes. "Furthermore, and most importantly, you are responsible for shutting the mouths of those three—Pan Lihua and the others."

...

Outside the northern outskirts of Qing City, a three-row Lincoln was about to make a turn into an estate when the ringtone of a cell phone suddenly chimed. Dong Min, in the driver's seat, glanced at the caller ID—it was the big boss. She had no choice but to apply the brakes and pull over. Because of this, Liao Tingrui in the back seat grew extremely displeased and barked a few unceremonious reprimands. Wearing a submissive smile, Dong Min apologized repeatedly before finally answering the call.

In less than a minute, Dong Min spent the entire duration simply listening, finally uttering a firm "Understood" at the end. After hanging up, she did not make the turn, but instead drove the Lincoln straight ahead and parked it by the roadside.

Liao Tingrui angrily demanded, "Didn't I tell you to turn and drive in? Are you deaf or what?"

The smile faded from Dong Min's face. Looking into the rearview mirror, she said, "Miss Liao, the Hongcheng Group has already sent people to surround the Golden Sands Club. We cannot bear the consequences of this matter. President Lu asked me to apologize to you. Please get out of the car."

Liao Tingrui's expression turned instantly ugly. Having come ninety steps of a hundred-step journey, how was she supposed to account for this to her master? She said in a cold voice, "I will handle the Hongcheng Group. I take responsibility for whatever happens."

Dong Min's tone left no room for negotiation. "Miss Liao, please get out of the car. Miss Pan, open the door for Miss Liao."

Liao Tingrui was so angry her nose was crooked. Gritting her teeth, she pointed toward the third row at Lin Yuxin—who was blindfolded, gagged, bound hand and foot, and lying flat on the seat—and said, "I'm taking her with me!"

Dong Min's attitude was resolute. "We are taking her back. Miss Liao, please get out of the car!"

Pan Lihua directly pulled the door open. "Miss Liao, please."

"I'll call Young Master Lu—" Liao Tingrui was still unwilling to give up, but Pan Lihua picked her up and gently placed her outside the car. The door slammed shut, and Dong Min floored the accelerator, the Lincoln roaring away and leaving Liao Tingrui choking on exhaust fumes, her face twisted in utter fury!