Chapter 7: No One Can Bully Huo Zong

Chapter 7: No One Can Bully Huo Zong

Beating the Deadbeat Dad and Slapping the Trash Brother

Huo Zong felt a sudden pang. The blinding sunlight hit him on the cheek, and his slightly lowered eyelids narrowed as if nothing had happened.

Yet, from his half-step hesitation, Jiang Fengmian vaguely caught a whiff of something unusual, but it disappeared in a flash.

The Jiang family's villa was much smaller than where Jiang Fengmian was currently living. He tightly held Huo Zong's hand, looking afraid that Huo Zong would realize he had no idea which way to go.

"Jiang Fengmian, which way should we go?"

Just his luck, Jiang Fengmian suspected Huo Zong could read his mind. The moment he thought about it, Huo Zong asked.

Jiang Fengmian shook his head, confused. All the townhouses looked exactly the same. How was he supposed to know which path led to the Jiang family's home?

"I haven't been out in ages."

"Huo Zong, let's go this way. Walking this way makes me feel uneasy and annoyed."

"Hmm."

Jiang Fengmian accidentally picked the right way. The Jiang family name appeared before his eyes. Jiang Fengmian heaved a deep sigh, his fingers trembling as he pressed the doorbell.

It took a long time for the villa's door to open just a crack.

It was the housekeeper.

"Who is it?"

It was Lv Minhui's voice. Jiang Fengmian straightened his slightly hunched back, his face expressionless.

"It's the eldest young master."

Bang! The villa door slammed shut with a bang. The loud noise hurt Jiang Fengmian's ears.

He lifted his hand to rub his earlobe, tiptoed up to Huo Zong's ear, and whispered, "Brother, am I looking too fierce? But she's pretty fierce too. When it's just the two of us, I don't even get to eat."

Fierce?

Huo Zong chuckled. The word didn't suit Jiang Fengmian in the slightest. They probably didn't realize he was with him.

Ding dong.

Huo Zong condescended to press the doorbell again, this time standing at the door himself.

Jiang Fengmian stood behind Huo Zong, his fingers tracing the outline of Huo Zong's broad back in the air. With Huo Zong there, it was a sense of full security.

"You stupid thing, are you sick? Pressing the doorbell again and again, why don't you just..."

Lv Minhui's scolding got stuck in her throat, her entire face turning red as she forced a smile while holding onto the doorframe.

"Huo, Huo Zong, why are you here?"

Huo Zong let out a meaningless cold snort. Under his icy gaze, Lv Minhui felt her breath catch, as if frozen by ice, and couldn't help but shiver.

"Huo Zong, please come in."

"Fengmian, why didn't you call Mom when you came back? We didn't prepare anything at home. Don't do this again, it's impolite." Lv Minhui stepped back, her eyes catching that Jiang Fengmian was still holding Huo Zong's hand. A chill ran down her spine. They probably came here to demand an explanation.

"Ah Jun, it's Huo Zong and Jiang Fengmian who have come back."

Lv Minhui's call was blocked by the soundproof room, and Huo Zong remained silent. Jiang Fengmian was a fool, and she couldn't understand the situation, so she could only anxiously wait in the living room.

"Go check your room."

"This way."

They followed Jiang Fengmian to the third floor, winding through the hallways, and just as they reached the door, they heard a series of loud noises from inside the room.

Jiang Fengmian was startled and quickly pushed the door open. His small room was torn to pieces, with only a few loose bed boards remaining.

Various items were discarded on the floor. Jiang Fengmian ran over and picked up his storybook, try as he might, he couldn't wipe the footprints clean.

This book was left by Lin Mei for Jiang Fengmian's enlightenment, a fairy tale to teach him. The broken branches, which he had carefully picked out and brought back to decorate his room, were all destroyed. They were neatly placed in his small box, but now, everything was ruined.

Jiang Fengmian squatted on the floor, his eyes filled with unstoppable hatred. How could they do this? How dare they.

He clenched his fists and stood up. The construction workers, bewildered, all stopped what they were doing.

"Fengmian, Huo Zong, what are you both doing here?"

"You demolished my room. I just left, and you tore it apart."

Huo Zong frowned. The room, which looked like it had been converted from a storage room, had only a tiny window in the corner. The room never saw sunlight and had an indescribable dampness.

The furnishings were extremely simple: an old bed, a shabby wardrobe, and a tiny bathroom.

Jiang Junling, under Huo Zong's piercing death stare, awkwardly laughed. His mind raced as he quickly stammered, "Fengmian, we'll renovate it for you. It wasn't very nice before."

"Dad, have we finished demolishing the fool's room? Once it's finished, throw out that junk. It's disgusting just to look at it. Actually, I could use a storage room, and this space of his is perfect for it."

Disgusted by the musty smell, Jiang Fengqiu didn't even want to step inside Jiang Fengmian's room. He stood at the door, shouting, his words dripping with disdain.

A burning tear rolled down Jiang Fengmian's cheek and landed on the storybook in his arms. His eyes bloodshot, he looked at the people in the room and, grabbing a broken chair, hurled it at them.

"Why did you demolish my room, why, why."

The workers, seeing things spiral out of control, quickly pushed their way out.

Outside the room, Jiang Fengqiu sensed something was wrong and poked his head in, only to see Jiang Fengmian flying into a rage.

Damn, when did this fool return.

"Dad, run quickly."

Run? No one was getting away today, not a chance.

Jiang Fengmian tightly gripped a piece of wood and swung it at Jiang Junling in the corner. The force of his blow was heavy and solidly hit Jiang Junling's back.

"Damn fool, I'm your father."

I'm hitting you because you're scum.

Jiang Fengmian's actions seemed chaotic, but each blow landed on Jiang Junling's most vulnerable spots. Jiang Junling was forced to retreat, unable to fight back against the enraged Jiang Fengmian.

Yes, it was precisely because he was a fool that he dared to hit you.

Jiang Fengmian's wooden stick snapped, and he rushed over and simply grabbed Jiang Junling's collar and shook him.

His fingers slowly tightened, tears already blurring his vision, collapsing in frustration as he demanded, "Why did you throw away my things? Why?"

Jiang Junling coughed, cough, cough.

Jiang Junling's entire face turned red, and a flicker of joy passed through Jiang Fengmian's eyes as he increased his strength, wishing Jiang Junling would disappear for good.

Suddenly, Jiang Fengmian felt a warmth on the back of his hand as Huo Zong applied a bit of force, pulling the collapsing Jiang Fengmian away.

"Jiang Fengmian."

The hoarse voice reached his ears, and Jiang Fengmian came to his senses as if from a dream. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, and he burst into tears.

"Huo Zong, it's gone, everything is gone."

"I know, I know, don't cry."

Jiang Fengmian threw himself into Huo Zong's arms, wrapping his arms around his waist and crying loudly.

Damn it, he should have hit harder. The guy ran away so fast, in an instant, he was gone.

Huo Zong's arm, which was hanging by his side, slowly lifted and tentatively patted Jiang Fengmian's back, gently soothing him.

After a while, Jiang Fengmian stopped crying and reluctantly withdrew from Huo Zong's embrace.

He seemed to have caught a whiff of Huo Zong's icy, refreshing scent.

"My little butterfly is dead."

The little butterfly was a mechanical butterfly, its surface oxidized over time, obscuring its original color.

Jiang Fengmian held the wings of the little butterfly, and the tears he had been holding back began to fall again.

Huo Zong took it from Jiang Fengmian's hands, said nothing, and silently crouched down to pick up all the parts he could find, placing them in his pocket.

"See if there's anything else important."

The bedroom was in a mess, and Jiang Fengmian couldn't find anything useful for a moment, so he just gathered all the books and held them in his arms, then shook his head.

"Nothing else."

As they went downstairs, Jiang Junling was lying on the sofa, moaning. Noticing Huo Zong from the corner of his eye, his moans grew louder.

"Brother, you're being a bit too much. Everyone knows you have mental issues, so they don't bother with you. But you can't hit Dad. What do you think you're up to?"

What am I doing? I want to tear Jiang Fengqiu's mouth apart. He ran away so fast; otherwise, I would have hit him as well.

The protagonist, who was favored by the author, when seen by Jiang Fengmian, thought: As expected.

Extremely selfish. The author used the most beautiful words in the world to describe Jiang Fengqiu, saying he was an immortal descended from heaven, whose every frown and smile could captivate hearts. But when Jiang Fengmian actually saw him, he could only think, "Is that it?"

Not worth a hair on Huo Zong's head, and even Huo Zong's assistant who appeared for a few minutes was more pleasing to the eye than Jiang Fengqiu. And the main protagonist too, not only harsh but also stupid, how dare he try to seize Huo Zong's property.

"Don't think that just because you've found the Huo family as a backer, everything will be fine. Do you really think Huo Zong likes you? Dream on. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror?"

"How dare you say these things when you're so ugly?"

Jiang Fengqiu hadn't expected that the person speaking would be Huo Zong. He opened his mouth, incredulously pointing at himself.

"You're calling me ugly? Huo Zong, don't joke about that. A talent scout wanted to recruit me for the entertainment industry, you know."

"Oh, there are plenty of blind people; they wanted someone as ugly as you. Go pee in a mirror and take a good look at yourself."

Jiang Fengmian suppressed a smile, proudly straightening his chest. His little one was impressive; he had been worried about how to respond. Well done.

"Don't think that just because you're Huo Zong, I won't dare to speak up. Even a fool, you want them. You're worse than a fool. Everyone knows that you, Huo Zong, have a mental illness. A fool and a mentally ill person, a perfect match, ah."

Smack.

As soon as Jiang Fengqiu finished speaking, a hard slap landed on his face. He tilted his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, his cheek going numb. Dazedly, he looked up and realized that it was Jiang Fengmian, the fool, who had hit him.

"Don't you dare say anything bad about Huo Zong."

"No one can bully Huo Zong."

Jiang Fengmian, like a little cannonball, stood in front of Huo Zong, spreading his arms wide, tightly protecting him.

The books in Jiang Fengmian's arms fell to the ground with a rustling sound. Huo Zong silently picked them up and set them on the coffee table.

In that moment, as Huo Zong looked at Jiang Fengmian's slim back standing in front of him, his tingling fingertips gently curled inward.

No matter how much Jiang Fengqiu cursed at Jiang Fengmian, it didn't affect him, as if he hadn't heard it. But just one insult was enough to enrage Jiang Fengmian.

"Damn it, you want to die?"

Jiang Fengqiu was completely enraged, clenching his fist and preparing to throw a punch at Jiang Fengmian. Huo Zong quickly pulled Jiang Fengmian behind him, caught Jiang Fengqiu's wrist, twisted it lightly, and kicked him in the shin.

Thud!

Jiang Fengqiu knelt solidly in front of Huo Zong and Jiang Fengmian. The pain hit him, and his face instantly turned pale.

The pain was so intense that he wondered if the bone in his shin had broken.

With two men now lying down, Lv Minhui, who had been smug just moments earlier, immediately changed her expression and helped Jiang Fengqiu up without daring to say another word.

"Mom, let me go. I refuse to believe in this evil today."

Jiang Fengqiu struggled, pushing Lv Minhui onto the sofa, where he accidentally hit Jiang Junling's wound. He heard a crack, possibly the sound of a breaking bone.

Everyone knew of Huo Zong's methods. Jiang Fengqiu must have been crazy today to dare challenge Huo Zong like that. They had only just climbed up to the Huo family; the 100 million hadn't even been transferred yet.

Thinking of this, Jiang Junling sat up abruptly, enduring the pain as he pulled Jiang Fengqiu. "Jiang Fengqiu, have you made enough of a scene?"

"Making a scene, you think it's me making a scene? Your foolish son hit me, and you still say I'm making a scene. I think he should hit you again. You can't even tell right from wrong."

Slap.

Jiang Junling was furious, trembling as he gave Jiang Fengqiu a slap.

"Shut up."

"Huo Zong, you are magnanimous. Please don't take it to heart, don't be angry at this junior."

Heh, in response to Jiang Junling, Huo Zong's cold laugh echoed.

Jiang Fengqiu, holding his symmetrically slapped face, was dragged away by Lv Minhui, muttering that this was crazy. In all his life, he had never been hit by Jiang Junling before, and it was because of a fool.

"Why doesn't Jiang Fengmian just die? Why didn't he fall and die? Things would be better if he were dead."

Huo Zong glanced at the time; they should be here any minute.

As his thoughts wandered, just a few seconds later, the doorbell was pressed again.

The police came in, followed by Dr. Li, who had reported the matter.

Jiang Junling looked confused. Who called the cops? And why? Wasn't it humiliating enough already?

"Who here is Jiang Fengmian?"

Jiang Fengmian weakly raised his wrist, his clothes sliding down, revealing just the bruised wound on his arm.

"So you're Jiang Junling, right?"

"Yes, Officer, Fengmian didn't mean to do it. His mental condition isn't great. This might be a false report. What he says can't be trusted."

The officer gave Jiang Junling a calm look but spoke with suppressed anger. "We'll know right away if it's a false report or not."

"Jiang Fengmian, come with us for a moment."

Jiang Fengmian, fearfully grabbed Huo Zong's wrist and muttered softly, "Huo Zong."

"Officer, I'll go with him."

"Alright."

Dr. Li had already mentioned in the report that Jiang Fengmian had developed intellectual disabilities and currently trusted only Huo Zong. Being in a suppressed environment for a long time caused him to be sensitive to any disturbances, leading to palpitations and severe stress reactions.

Huo Zong led the police to Jiang Fengmian's bedroom, briefly explaining the situation and handing over the iron chain that had been lying aside.

Jiang Fengmian instinctively burrowed further into Huo Zong's arms, leaving only his wide, round eyes visible.

"What's this?"

"Jiang Fengmian, tell the officers what this is."

"The chain they use to tie me up. It's tied there, I couldn't move."

Following Jiang Fengmian's gaze, there was a small slider in the bathroom that could just fit the chain Huo Zong was holding, obviously used to lock Jiang Fengmian there.

"Is this your room?"

"Well, it wasn't originally. They said I was disobedient. This room is good. Living here makes me obedient."

In a villa this big, they gave him a storage room to live in, which left the police speechless.

"Jiang Fengmian, could you show us your wounds?"

Huo Zong gently held Jiang Fengmian's fingertips and whispered, "It's okay to refuse if you don't want to."

"I can."

Jiang Fengmian slowly lifted his clothes, revealing overlapping bruises, a mix of new and old injuries. Especially the wound on his back, which clearly came from a belt.

"That's enough. Can you give us an approximate time? When did the abuse start?"

"After the headache."

Huo Zhong, fearing the police might not understand the situation, added, "Jiang Fengmian injured his head in a fall from the stairs three years ago; it wasn't congenital. The abuse may have started after he began experiencing discomfort. Also, he has no means to contact the outside world, so he couldn't call for help."

"Understood, we are aware of these details and will ensure justice is served. Where is Jiang Fengmian living now?"

"He lives with me."

Huo Zhong didn't elaborate on the complexities, but the police present knew him and the Huo family, allowing them to infer some of the circumstances.

"Jiang Junling, you are suspected of abusing your intellectually disabled son. Please come with us."

"Wait, officers, this is all a misunderstanding. Look at my injuries; they were all inflicted by Jiang Fengmian. He's my son; how could I abuse him? He's mentally impaired and can't control his actions."

"Take him away."

Lu Minhui came down the stairs, crying and calling out Jiang Fengmian's name.

"Fengmian, that's your father. How could he hurt you? Everything he does is for your own good. You're not well, and he even arranged for the Huo family to take care of you. How could he abuse you?"

No matter what was said, Jiang Junling was taken away.

Jiang Fengqiu stood at the top of the stairs, watching coldly.

"Fengmian, please, Mom is begging you. You must tell right from wrong. We are a family."

With Jiang Junling suddenly taken away, Lu Minhui was at a loss, placing her hopes on Jiang Fengmian.

Huo Zhong gave a mocking smile and spoke threateningly, "Ha, think carefully about whether one person or three people abused Jiang Fengmian. He's inside, while you're outside. Don't let the clay Buddha cross the river, unable to save itself."

Lv Minhui felt a chill all over and didn’t dare to look into Huo Zong's eyes. She could only force herself to calm down, not even allowing herself to shed a tear.

After a tense dozen seconds, Jiang Fengmian, clutching his belongings, gently tugged at Huo Zong's sleeve. He gave Huo Zong a sweet smile and whined, "Huo Zong, let's go home. I want to go home."

Jiang Fengmian sniffed. Day after day, he felt like he had cried all his tears. He couldn’t keep playing along with the Jiang family.

"Yeah."

Once the villa was left with only Lv Minhui and Jiang Fengqiu, he placed a hand on her shoulder and said calmly, "Mom, the Jiang family has to be ours. When two people fight, a third benefits. Think about it, is this not the truth?"

Lv Minhui understood Jiang Fengqiu's implication, but 90% of the Jiang family's assets were in Jiang Junling's hands. If he really went down, there would be nothing left for her and her son.

"Fengqiu, don't be impulsive. Sometimes you have to endure the small to achieve the big. We can't let Jiang Junling be taken away. Think carefully."

Jiang Fengqiu cursed inwardly. Jiang Junling was too shrewd, tightly holding onto the money and the company. He really couldn’t let Jiang Junling be taken away.

"Mom, I understand. I'll come up with something."