Chapter 44: Lele's Mother

Xiao Ziguang took off his coat, draped it over Xue Wen, and then picked up Lele. He instructed Dafang, "Break their limbs, then throw them into the suburbs to feed the dogs."

Earlier today, while taking over Old Ghost's assets, Xiao Ziguang discovered that Old Ghost owned a dog farm in the suburbs. After a little thought, he realized it was the ideal place to dispose of bodies.

For targets that had to be eliminated without leaving a trace, the method was to strip the flesh first to feed the dogs, put the remaining skeleton into a pet incinerator to burn directly into ash, and finally scatter everything into the river so that not a single trace remained.

In the year 2000, when surveillance cameras were not yet ubiquitous and mobile phones were far from common, the reform and opening up had led to massive population mobility. Therefore, when many people vanished, everyone simply assumed they had smuggled themselves overseas or made a fortune somewhere else, making it hard to connect their disappearance to death or cremation.

Consequently, in certain cities, underground forces dared not only to commit murder but also to destroy the corpses. As long as there was no conclusive evidence, even if people knew someone had been killed, the victims could only be temporarily classified as missing persons.

This was especially true in regions with strong clan influences, where family rules superseded the law of the land. Some powerful clan heads were also local village or township chiefs, wielding authority greater than some mayors and even sitting on equal footing with less influential municipal leaders.

Dafang knew Xiao Ziguang had genuine anger in him. His expression grew slightly cold as he snapped his fingers, and the men who had been waiting outside swarmed into the storefront.

Some attempted to struggle, but they were pinned to the ground, rags stuffed into their mouths, and dragged outside like dead dogs.

Xiong Xin had originally expected a different outcome, never imagining Xiao Ziguang would be so ruthless as to prepare to silence them without even asking questions. She hurriedly shouted, "My surname is Xiong, and my uncle is Xiong Yaohui. You can't treat me like this!"

"To think you actually are a relative of Xiong Yaohui! No wonder you're so lawless and arrogant!" Xiao Ziguang gave a flippant whistle. "However, how can I know that everything you're saying is true, rather than you simply dropping a few names to go around swindling and bluffing? Is someone as important as Bureau Chief Xiong Yaohui someone you can casually drop as a shield?"

These words sounded remarkably familiar—they were almost identical to what Xiong Xin had just said to Xue Wen, now returned to her by Xiao Ziguang word for word.

Seeing an intense murderous intent on Xiao Ziguang's face, Xiong Xin realized he had no intention of letting her off easily. She hastily stammered, "My uncle really is Xiong Yaohui! If you don't believe me, I can call him right now..."

Instead of paying attention to Xiong Xin, Xiao Ziguang looked at Xue Wen. "Just now, did she let you make a phone call?"

Xue Wen shook her head, and Xiong Xin's expression shifted drastically. "It's a misunderstanding. There's a misunderstanding here."

Ignoring Xiong Xin completely, Xiao Ziguang said to Xue Wen, "Wenwen, you're an adult. You should know that everything has a cause and effect. If I had arrived later today, what might have happened to you and Lele?"

"Now, I only want to tell you one thing: in the adult world, if you don't bare your fangs, you will be devoured by others. If you don't want to be bullied by others, you have to try bullying others."

"In the adult world, if you aren't ruthless, you can never stand firm."

With those words, Xiao Ziguang shoved a baseball bat into Xue Wen's hands. "You are a daughter of the Xue family, and the blood of Xue Ao flows in your veins. If you don't want me to become a murderer because of you, then I hope you can be ruthless right now and break her leg!"

Xue Wen took the bat, but retreated half a step in terror, mumbling, "I wouldn't dare, I..."

Xiong Xin was still desperately trying to salvage the situation. "There's no need, truly no need. I can offer compensation, I can apologize. It was my eyes that failed to recognize Mount Tai. Sister Xue, just treat me like a fart..."

Xiao Ziguang finally looked directly at Xiong Xin, saying with utmost seriousness, "We do not accept your apology. Of course, I can also give you a choice: either you get dragged off to feed the dogs, or I tear your clothes off and find people to take turns raping you, or you let Xue Wen break your leg."

"So, which one do you want to choose? Or would you prefer to have your leg broken first, get raped by a group of men next, and finally be hauled off to feed the dogs?"

Xiao Ziguang made no effort to conceal the malice in his heart. Having possessed blood-stained hands in his past life, he directly unleashed the accumulated killing aura toward Xiong Xin. The shock caused Xiong Xin to lose her footing; she staggered backward and fell straight to the ground.

Terror gripped Xiong Xin, leaving only a single thought echoing in her mind: It's over! It's over! Everything is completely over!

Some people uttered harsh threats that they could never back up—empty words meant only to be heard and dismissed without taking seriously. But other people spoke the truth; what they said they would do, they were naturally capable of carrying out.

Therefore, Xiong Xin understood that Xiao Ziguang was not just making idle threats. He genuinely wanted to break her leg first, then have her violated by men, and finally feed her to the dogs!

Xiong Xin felt like crying tears of blood. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected that merely wanting to throw her weight around would lead her to offend Xue Wen and consequently provoke this fierce disaster of a man, Xiao Ziguang.

This kick had well and truly landed on an iron plate. Even if Xiong Yaohui himself were to come, this matter could no longer be resolved peacefully. Judging by the murderous aura she had just felt, Xiao Ziguang was clearly no good man.

Having offended him, if she failed to appease his anger and instead drew his lingering hostility, her future days would turn into an endless nightmare.

Helpless, Xiong Xin stretched out her leg and pointed to her calf. "Give me a quick end, and absolutely do not hit my knee!"

A broken calf could still be healed, and with a bit of luck, it wouldn't even affect one's walking, but a strike to the knee would leave someone permanently crippled!

Xiao Ziguang patted Xue Wen's shoulder comfortingly. "If you were only eighteen, I certainly wouldn't force you! But you are already an adult, and you must walk the path ahead of you on your own. If you don't want to be bullied ever again, then break her leg!"

Having said that, Xiao Ziguang picked up Lele and walked out of the Loving Bakery.

Lele wrapped her arms around Xiao Ziguang's neck and asked curiously, "Toad, why are you forcing Mommy?"

Xiao Ziguang pinched Lele's nose. "I'm not forcing her; I'm teaching her how to survive in this world! In the adult world, the kind-hearted are always preyed upon. You wouldn't want your mommy to keep getting bullied in the future, would you?"

Xue Wen was a good person, but her personality was far too soft. As a daughter of the Xue family and the wife of Xiao Ziguang—someone destined to step into the main arena of the Xue family's internal struggles—having a heart of Buddha was far from enough; she also needed thunderous methods.

Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out, followed by a series of agonizing cries!

Xue Wen had struck, and Xiong Xin emitted a succession of miserable shrieks. Then came a muffled thud, and the cries cut off abruptly. Dafang walked out silently and nodded to Xiao Ziguang.

Xiao Ziguang looked into Dafang's eyes. "Did you help?"

Dafang rubbed his nose. "The young lady smashed down three times and couldn't break the bone, so I gave her a hand with one final strike."

With a face as pale as snow, Xue Wen walked out holding the baseball bat. Her eyes were vacant. Upon seeing Lele, she hurriedly dropped the bat, pulled her daughter into her embrace, and began to tremble uncontrollably.

Xiao Ziguang stroked Xue Wen's head. "If you want to cry, then cry! The kind little girl Xue Wen is already dead; from now on, you are the formidable mother of Lele!"

Wua! Xue Wen broke down and cried, weeping loudly and bitterly. She cried for her lost kindness, she cried for her vanished youth, hoping that after crying everything out, she could truly transform into the mother who would protect Lele!