Chapter Sixty-nine: Stirring Up Great Trouble?

It hurts, it hurts so much! You little bastard, how dare you lay a hand on me!” Jiang Yao cried out in agony.

She had been pampered since childhood, rarely even suffering a scratch, let alone having her hand bones crushed in Qin Mu’s iron grip.

Tan Song, witnessing his girlfriend being struck, muttered a few words under his breath but dared not act recklessly.

Qin Mu’s face remained impassive. If not for the fact that she was Jiang Zheng’s cousin, it would not have ended with merely a crushed wrist.

She had the gall to use his beloved Jiang girl as payment, offering her as collateral to Zhao Yinghao?

Ignorant of life and death!

Seeing Qin Mu, Jiang Zheng was overjoyed and seized the opportunity to slip behind him for protection.

The security guards saw it all, but the sudden aura Qin Mu exuded left them frozen in place, none daring to stop Jiang Zheng.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know who this is? This is Brother Hao!” Tan Song called out resentfully.

If you had this kind of skill, why didn’t you show up earlier? Because of you, I’ve taken a brutal beating. He must have done it on purpose!

“Zhao Yinghao, of course I know him. In fact, we’re old acquaintances,” Qin Mu replied with a cold smile, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Yinghao.

But upon seeing Qin Mu, Zhao Yinghao’s face clouded with unease.

“If you know, then don’t cause trouble! Brother Hao has taken a liking to Jiang Zheng. It’s an honor for your branch of the Jiang family, the most insignificant one!” Jiang Yao retorted, forcing herself to sound bold.

“If you think it’s such an honor, why don’t you offer yourself up instead?” Qin Mu countered.

Jiang Yao was immediately silenced.

Sensing that things were not going well, Jiang Tao hurried to intervene.

“Jiang Yao only suggested Jiang Zheng stay behind. Once we get back, we’ll raise the money to rescue her. There’s nothing more to it—don’t make things worse here!” he pleaded.

He, too, had his eye on Jiang Zheng, but with Zhao Yinghao present, he dared not make a move and only wished to present Jiang Zheng to Zhao Yinghao as quickly as possible.

If he could curry favor with Zhao Yinghao, the most influential gangster in the area, it would be a source of pride even among the older generation.

As for raising the money? He was only saying that—ten million was no small sum! Even if they had it, they would never use it to ransom Jiang Zheng.

Seeing Qin Mu remain silent, Jiang Tao continued, “Let me be fair—if something happens to Jiang Yao, how will we explain ourselves to Third Uncle?”

He tried to play the elder, hoping to pressure Qin Mu into submission. Offending a figure like Zhao Yinghao would bring nothing but trouble to the Jiang family.

“Do you think that by leaving my Jiang girl behind, you’ll resolve everything?” Qin Mu’s voice thundered, resonating like a great bell and making everyone’s eardrums ache.

Without waiting for a reply, Wu Mu—who stood by his side—stepped forward, swept past the stunned security guards, and with a powerful kick, sent Jiang Tao flying.

It wasn’t just Jiang Tao’s shameless words that angered him; more importantly, Wu Mu sensed something deeply repulsive—a stench all too familiar to soldiers: the reek of a drug addict, a kind of person he despised most.

“You wretched brat, don’t push your luck!” Jiang Tao spat a mouthful of blood, his hatred for Qin Mu surpassing even Jiang Yao’s.

As a child, Jiang Tao considered himself merely mischievous—he’d tossed firecrackers into Jiang Zheng’s bedding to wake her, resulting in a few bleeding wounds but nothing serious.

Such a trivial matter! Yet Qin Mu, that bastard, had pinned both him and Jiang Yao to the ground, pummeling them before their fathers and the elders.

His family was wealthy; he was meant to be the one dealing out beatings, not enduring them in humiliation.

Now, after ten years, this bastard had returned and laid hands on him once more!

“Brother Hao, this useless scum isn’t even a real member of the Jiang family—just some stray picked up from the trash! You should have your men deal with him—break his arms and legs if you want!” Jiang Tao screamed in rage and shame.

But Qin Mu, hearing this, couldn’t help but laugh. “Why don’t you ask Zhao Yinghao if he dares?”

Jiang Tao was stunned. Seeing Qin Mu’s smile, he began to wonder—could it be that even Brother Hao was afraid of this man?

Utterly bewildered, he hurried forward and asked cautiously, “Brother Hao, what’s going on…”

“Get out of my way!” Zhao Yinghao, his nerves fraying, kicked Jiang Tao aside.

“When did you come back?” Zhao Yinghao’s voice trembled, betraying his fear as he looked at Qin Mu.

“What, haven’t I beaten you enough before? You dare show your face here again?” Qin Mu’s words made Zhao Yinghao’s face turn ashen.

Qin Mu had always cast a deep shadow over Zhao Yinghao’s heart.

As a boy, Zhao Yinghao had already built up muscle and bullied his way through several neighboring villages, soon becoming the local tyrant among his peers.

At that time, Jiang Zheng was already a beautiful young girl, pigtails adorned with bright ribbons, her lovely face the object of every boy’s admiration.

When Zhao Yinghao learned of this local beauty, he immediately tried to flirt with her, but Jiang Zheng ignored him, humiliating him in front of everyone.

Enraged, Zhao Yinghao waited until Jiang Zheng was distracted, then knocked the small cake from her hands, making her cry.

This incident provoked Qin Mu.

That very night, the burly Zhao Yinghao was chased through three villages by the scrawny Qin Mu, beaten black and blue, forced to apologize to Jiang Zheng and buy her another cake as compensation before Qin Mu would relent.

Since then, though Zhao Yinghao still thought of Jiang Zheng, he never dared make further moves because of Qin Mu’s presence.

“Your people smashed a porcelain piece I bought at great expense from Hong Kong island. I expect an explanation. If you want to walk out with your people, what do you mean by that?” Zhao Yinghao’s tone was now grave.

Were it anyone else, he would have ordered a beating and thrown them out without a second thought.

But this was Qin Mu—especially after that display just now, in which he crushed someone’s bones with his bare hands. That alone made Zhao Yinghao uneasy.

This man had real strength, not the empty bravado of someone like Tan Song.