Chapter Sixty-Five: Live and Die Together

“Boss, these are the phone and video recordings found in the underground garage.” A man respectfully presented the items before Huo Lingtian.

At a glance, Huo Lingtian recognized the familiar black phone. His eyes blazed with fury. In the shadow of his movement, his fist clenched tight, veins bulging as he summoned all his strength and pain merely to hold the shattered phone shell, his fingers carefully tracing its battered edges.

His subordinate efficiently extracted the video files. The vast parking lot was silent, save for the click of high heels echoing in the stillness. As time passed, Rong Qing’s figure appeared in the gloomy garage. Huo Lingtian’s gaze was fixed on the small figure on the screen. Sensing something amiss, she pinched her fingers until they turned white, her eyes brimming with fear and helplessness that tugged at the heart.

Watching her, so like a frightened little rabbit, Huo Lingtian’s heart ached bitterly, as though a fine, sharp needle had pierced its very tip.

Just as he was absorbed in the scene, a shadow dressed in black entered the frame. Clad head-to-toe in dark clothes, the figure stood like a silent statue awaiting its prey, and Rong Qing, in that instant, wandered straight into the trap.

Huo Lingtian calmly and rationally watched as Rong Qing was kidnapped. The man carried her into the car, and in a gesture of provocation, removed his hood and grinned menacingly at the camera. Huo Lingtian steadied his breath; he had endured far worse pain and suffering, and such petty taunts scarcely registered in his mind.

Closing his eyes, he replayed the moment Rong Qing collapsed, her face etched with helplessness. His heart twisted. There were few in this world who could cause agony to a man as feared in the underworld as himself. Wang Chenhao, you’ve truly succeeded.

When he opened his eyes again, Huo Lingtian had regained his decisive strength. He forced himself to remain calm, to not dwell on his beloved’s suffering, for only then could he make the coldest, clearest judgments. Only then could he remain fearless and strong.

“Activate the tracking device. Narrow their location.” Huo Lingtian had installed a global precision tracker in Rong Qing’s watch a month ago. He had foreseen this day.

A sudden scream drew the attention of the group of men in black.

A dark-clad crowd, fully armed, surged in. Meng Lin, seeing her door destroyed and so many strangers, searched around in panic until she spotted a familiar figure. She ran to Huo Lingtian, seeking his protection.

“Brother-in-law, what’s going on?” Surely this wasn’t a vendetta from the underworld? She couldn’t recall ever offending any big shot.

“Rong Qing’s in trouble. I’m taking my men to rescue her.” Huo Lingtian briefly explained. Meng Lin’s face grew increasingly furious and anxious. He reassured her to stay home and ordered the damaged security door repaired.

Huo Lingtian took his seat in a military Land Rover. The red dot on the dashboard, representing the tracker, was moving steadily north. As the route formed in his mind, his expression grew grave. If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a state fire prevention forest to the north—a harsh, untamed wilderness. Wang Chenhao’s motives surely went beyond simple kidnapping.

“Boss, Yan Dong and the Dragon Squad are en route to our location. Should we wait for them to join up?” The vehicle was filled with professionally trained soldiers, the Huo clan’s secret force, whose first priority was the safety of their master.

“No need,” Huo Lingtian refused immediately. He was burning with anxiety, yearning to reach Rong Qing as soon as possible. Too many men would only alert the enemy and put her in greater danger. “Step on it.”

The soldier at the wheel glanced at the speedometer, his mouth twitching before pressing the accelerator harder. Only now did the Land Rover’s high specs truly come into play.

At that moment, the red dot on Huo Lingtian’s tracking device suddenly stopped moving. Zooming in, he saw it had halted in the depths of the Linhai Plain forest. Huo Lingtian glared at the screen, wishing his gaze could burn a hole through it.

They traveled day and night, their focus unwavering, until at last they reached the Linhai Plain. In September, the mountain air was already cool. Morning dew dampened their clothes as they tramped over soft branches, their leather boots creaking. Huo Lingtian moved through the forest like a lion patrolling his territory—confident, agile, and composed. The closer they drew to their destination, the more anxious they became.

Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, slanting across the earth. Half a kilometer from their target, Huo Lingtian dispersed his men and went on alone.

Emerging from the undergrowth, he was met with the sight of Rong Qing, bound hand and foot, and a man in black—igniting a surge of fury within him. He approached silently, a dangerous calm in his every step, his eyes fixed on the woman whose mouth was sealed with tape. The look in his eyes was enough to unsettle anyone.

“Let her go,” Huo Lingtian commanded in a cold, steady voice, exuding such authority that the man in black trembled with fear.

The tall figure wrapped in darkness removed his black hat and mask, revealing a handsome yet leering face. A scruffy beard circled his mouth, making him look unkempt and disheveled, with a disturbing, feverish glint in his eyes that radiated menace.

Wang Chenhao’s gaze was full of malice and twisted excitement as he looked at the tall man before him, though a flicker of regret and apprehension passed through his eyes. He held Rong Qing tightly by the waist, possessively pulling her close, inhaling the scent of her neck with a lascivious air, while keeping his eyes locked on Huo Lingtian.

But to his disappointment, the man before him showed no reaction, not a flicker of emotion.

Wang Chenhao gripped Rong Qing’s delicate chin, leaving red marks with his strength. His wild arrogance and feigned tenderness made Rong Qing nauseous. Her defiant eyes shone with a clear, piercing light that seemed to pierce Wang Chenhao’s soul.

“Look at him—he doesn’t care about you at all. He’s deceived you, toyed with you. But I love you! I brought you here so we could live together in seclusion, just the two of us,” Wang Chenhao pleaded, his voice full of hope and anxious longing. His once fierce expression softened, and his touch grew gentler.

“You love only yourself. Have you thought about your parents? They gave everything for you, and now you’re destroying them. What right do you have to speak of love? It’s pathetic!” Exhausted from her ordeal, Rong Qing’s face was pale, lips tinged with purple, but her words struck Wang Chenhao to the core.

As expected, the reckless man hesitated. Once a wealthy young heir in his twenties, now ruined, betrayed by his lover, and subjected to the coldness of the world—without experience or resolve, he was nothing but a paper tiger, already broken. The disarray of his beard marked his despair and desolation.

Huo Lingtian quietly edged closer, his movements blending seamlessly with nature. Behind Rong Qing yawned a sheer cliff, with a torrent crashing below.

“If you let her go, I’ll guarantee your parents a life of comfort and security,” Huo Lingtian’s voice jolted Wang Chenhao from his remorseful daze. He tossed over a new, high-end smartphone.

A video played on the phone. Wang Chenhao watched in horror as armed men stormed his home, and his elderly mother and stern father—helpless—were easily taken. Their hands were tied, just as he had done to Rong Qing.

“Let... let them go...” Wang Chenhao’s fear mounted. His selfish recklessness had clearly angered this formidable man. His mother, who had always doted on him, and his strict father—now their fates rested in Huo Lingtian’s hands.

“I told you, release her and I’ll release your parents,” Huo Lingtian’s voice was gentle, almost hypnotic. “One call from me, and my men will let them go. They won’t be harmed.”

Wang Chenhao stared dumbly at Huo Lingtian, shaken. On the video, the old man remained composed, but his mother was already sobbing uncontrollably.

“Do you mean it?” Wang Chenhao still clutched Rong Qing’s arm, but it was clear he had agreed.

Huo Lingtian moved closer to Rong Qing, his heart brimming with longing for her safety. Just as he was about to pull her into his arms, Wang Chenhao’s muddled mind suddenly snapped back. Fury twisted his features as he realized he had been deceived. With reckless abandon, he shoved Rong Qing toward the edge of the cliff.

“You’re all playing me! You’ll never let me go—I might as well die!” Wang Chenhao roared in rage.

But it was too late. Bound and helpless, Rong Qing toppled backward off the cliff. In the next instant, a powerful figure leapt after her without hesitation, his strong arms locking around her waist. The two fell together into the churning river below, clinging tightly to each other, vanishing in the torrent as if in a tragic embrace.

Wang Chenhao stared, stupefied by the sudden turn of events. Then, finally, he laughed—wild, hysterical laughter. They were dead... both dead. To think there were such fools in this world, willing to risk everything for each other. How absurd, how laughable.

But his triumph was short-lived. A cold gun barrel pressed against his temple as the fallen phone continued to play the video. Gunshots rang out—blood blooming across the screen. He watched in numb horror as his parents collapsed in pools of crimson.

“Deploy helicopters to search downstream for the master and Miss Rong. The global tracking device in her watch must lead us to them before nightfall,” a trained officer commanded.

“As for this heartless man who cared nothing for even his own parents, let the master deal with him. Take him away!”

Wang Chenhao slumped to the ground like a dead dog, his eyes vacant, spirit shattered, as he was dragged away by the disciplined soldiers.

——— Extra Note ———

Why does Lanlan feel her chapter titles never seem to fit... Oh well...