Chapter Eighty-One: Facing Death Yet Oblivious

Liu Qiye held a high position in the military, and their methods were nothing short of terrifying. Even those Black Net operatives under Sister Tao, trained to withstand interrogation, would eventually spill everything under such pressure.

Qin Mu perused the documents in his hand.

Amid the confessions was a personal dossier.

In the top-left corner of the file was a photograph of a young man with dyed blond hair, radiating a sunny, handsome charm, his skin fair and his lips curled in a faintly roguish smile.

This single photograph alone was enough to drive many inexperienced young girls wild with infatuation.

“So it was you after all,” Qin Mu murmured, his expression unchanged.

He had already guessed as much when the incident occurred.

Luoshui had always been cautious and upright, keeping her distance from trouble, her only reputation in her circle being a certain coldness toward others, never outright offense.

That night’s events could only have been orchestrated by Han Ziyu.

Han Ziyu had coveted Luoshui for a long time. If not for Qin Mu’s appearance, with Han Ziyu’s tactics, Luoshui would have long since fallen into his hands.

“According to the confession, this man spent several million to hire them through the Black Net.”

“What is the Black Net?” Qin Mu asked absentmindedly as he flipped through the papers.

“It’s an underground organization in Jiangcheng, employing a group of highly capable individuals who handle unsavory tasks for the powerful and influential,” Liu Qiye explained. “The city has wanted to eradicate the Black Net for years, but the connections run too deep. In the end, nothing came of it.”

Liu Qiye’s military district and the Black Net had always kept to their own spheres. The Black Net, for its part, knew better than to overstep by meddling with the military, so there had never been sufficient reason to take action against them.

Qin Mu returned the documents to Liu Qiye.

“General Qin, it’s been years since we last met,” Liu Qiye said, relaxing his shoulders and shedding the solemnity from his face.

With business concluded, it was time to reminisce.

Five or six years ago, Qin Mu had spent a stint in the Southern War Zone, where he met Liu Qiye, then a lieutenant colonel.

A single encounter, and then years had passed.

Now both had risen to the rank of general, though Qin Mu, stationed in a war zone, had distinguished himself with extraordinary military exploits, wearing three stars on his shoulder and holding the rank of full general.

“There are several old generals in the district who, upon hearing of your return, have been grumbling daily, eager for a chance to drink with you again,” Liu Qiye said with a gentle laugh.

“I’ll join them once I’ve dealt with some things here,” Qin Mu replied with a nod.

Liu Qiye understood at once that Qin Mu referred to Han Ziyu.

Better than anyone, he knew that the man before him, a peerless general of the nation, was fiercely protective of his own.

Back when Qin Mu led troops in the southern district, another unit had come to provoke him, injuring some of his soldiers. Qin Mu had suppressed them single-handedly, forcing their instructor to subject them to thirty hours of grueling training, with no meals until it was complete.

Let alone this Han Ziyu, who had the audacity to lay a hand on the woman dear to Qin Mu’s heart.

If not him, then who should face retribution?

“General Qin, I’ll come pick you up again in a few days.”

Liu Qiye snapped to attention, saluting with fingers tight to his temple, his bearing solemn and respectful.

Qin Mu returned the salute in kind.

…

With the meeting finished, Qin Mu returned to the ancestral home.

Jiang Hongzhi and the others were still pleading for mercy. Realizing that Qin Mu was unmoved, they turned their supplications to Jiang Haishan and Qiu Shuxia.

But Jiang Haishan was not one to be easily placated; this branch of the family had shown no bottom line, abusing both Qin Mu and Jiang Zheng without restraint.

To think that a few words of apology could settle the matter now was pure wishful thinking.

If not for the sake of Grandma Jiang, Qin Mu might have crushed them all with a single blow for their previous transgressions.

“Let’s go,” Qin Mu said to his family.

With the farce over, there was no reason to linger.

Jiang Haishan harbored no nostalgia either; taking Qiu Shuxia by the hand, he bid farewell and returned to the car.

Luoshui sat in the front passenger seat, her head tilted, sneaking glances at Qin Mu from time to time.

“You idiot, just how much have you been hiding from me?”

A major general with real power had arrived with armed men just to support Qin Mu. It would be hard to believe there wasn’t something unusual going on.

“Liu Qiye is my friend,” Qin Mu replied helplessly.

At this, Luoshui merely responded with an “oh.”

Since they were friends, it made sense that Liu Qiye would step in to help when Qin Mu was in trouble, given prior warning.

Luoshui had asked Wumu about Qin Mu before, learning that he was a soldier who had served in the northwest and was now back in Jiangcheng on business.

As for whether Qin Mu held a military rank—well, it wasn’t that she doubted him, but Qin Mu simply seemed too young.

Liu Qiye, in his thirties, born and raised in a military district, had earned countless merits and become a major general, which was only to be expected.

But for Qin Mu, even if he had joined the army in his teens and was extraordinarily gifted, the highest he could reasonably be was a major.

She had underestimated her own man, being too inexperienced in the ways of the world.

After several hours on the road, Qin Mu brought his family back to Yan Gui Garden.

Luoshui stretched her waist and sprawled out directly on Qin Mu’s sofa.

But she had barely rested for a few minutes when her phone rang.

“Luoshui!” came a somewhat harsh female voice, tinged with impatience.

Luoshui’s mood soured immediately upon hearing it.

The caller was her agent, Zhang Hong.

Luoshui and her agent had never gotten along, as Zhang Hong often scheduled her for jobs she disliked.

For example, most of the gigs arranged previously—at least nine out of ten—involved Han Ziyu, to the extent that even a concert appearance required Han Ziyu to be slotted in as a guest.