Within the boundless mountain range, flourishing with sparse human activity, a solitary van drove along the bumpy mountain road.
"Pier Two is back!"
Before the mountain path, there was a simple small house, the route divided by a fence. Seeing the van in the distance, a man ran out from the house, moved the fence aside, and laughed while addressing the person inside the van.
“Pier Two, what kind of good stuff did you get this time?”
“This time I've got a prime catch, and, from the look of her, she seems to be a rich girl.”
Pier Two, though skinny and frail within the vehicle, had a face lined with hardened muscles, with his alarmingly glaring triangular eyes revealing a ferocity.
“Guard this road well, and make sure we don’t get spotted by the cops!”
Pier Two gave an instruction to the man in the little house, started the engine, drove uphill, and eventually halted halfway up the slope, in front of an unfinished house.
Pier Two jumped down from the van, walked to the rear, and opened the back door.
“Sobbing..."
A very beautiful woman was with her hands and feet bound and gagged. She could only sob without making any other sound.
Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders, with a fair oval-shaped face, willow-leaf brows, and big, sparkling eyes full of fear.
Her designer outfit was smeared all over with dirt and no longer recognizable.
Yu Shuangshuang, the young lady of the prosperous Yu Corporation, could never have imagined that one day she'd end up like this.
She knew nothing about what had happened before, just remembering that she'd just left her friend's party when this man walked by her, then she passed out. She woke up to find herself tied up and thrown into a van.
"Woo, woo, woo!"
Seeing Pi Lao Er approaching, Yu Shuangshuang's body continuously shrank backward, shaking her head.
"So fragrant! Such a beautiful beauty, I guess we could sell her for a good price!"
Pi Lao Er Gum stretched out his hand and grabbed Yu Shuangshuang's hair, putting it to his nose for a deep sniff, a hint of lasciviousness shining in his eyes.
Yu Shuangshuang was instantly stunned!
She had always thought that she had become like this because of her father's business rivals, but it turned out that she had fallen into the hands of human traffickers, who were planning to sell her.
Confronted with the prospect of being sold to some unknown, dirty, and ugly man, who would beat and scold her, restricting her freedom, Yu Shuangshuang felt as if her heart was dead, for a moment she even held a fleeting thought of wishing for death.
"By selling you, I don't know which man will get lucky," Pi Lao Er Gum stroked Yu Shuangshuang's face with his hand. She tried her best to avoid him, but there was nowhere to hide.
"Before that, however, I want to taste you to my heart's content. I really don't know what it feels like to sleep with a rich girl, and how is it different from other women!"
Pi Lao Er Gum, looking at the delicate and charming Yu Shuangshuang, couldn't help but react, wishing he could take her right then and there.
Pi Lao Er Gum stood up and walked a few steps towards Yu Shuangshuang again.
"Woo, woo, woo!"
Yu Shuangshuang shook her head frantically, not daring to imagine her upcoming fate.
Pi Lao Er Gum strode forward, grabbed Yu Shuangshuang, pulled her off the cart, and carried her on his shoulder towards the abandoned building.
Pi Lao Er Gum may look thin, but he was quite strong. No matter how hard Yu Shuangshuang twisted her body, he didn't even sway.
"Where the hell is everyone?!"
Old Second Dog came into the unfinished building, unable to find his guys, and started cursing loudly, "Better show yourselves soon! Getting drunk in broad daylight, aren't you afraid of drinking yourself to death?"
"They won't be coming out anymore!"
A faint voice came from the side, not loud but carrying an oppressive aura, full of tension.
"Who's there?"
Like a startled rabbit, Old Second Dog spun around instantaneously, pulling out a gun from behind his waist. Even before he had fully turned, the gun was already pointed in the direction of the voice.
What met Old Second Dog's eyes was a somewhat excessive face, not particularly handsome, yet bearing a determination and masculinity that modern young boys lack.
The buzz-cut made him look spirited; his eyes weren't big but exuded great self-confidence and command.
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to you!" The young man glanced at the gun in Old Second Dog's hand, completely unfazed as if Old Second Dog was holding a mere piece of firewood.
"At least not right now!"
The young man added a sentence after some thought.
Old Second Dog, now with a gun in his hand, looked decidedly more confident, his gaze swept across the area, noticing his own men sprawled haphazardly around the place, unsure whether they were dead or alive.
And right below the young man's ass was Old Second Dog's own nephew. He was conscious, but appeared to have no strength left in him. There were frantic clawing marks around him – he appeared to have straggled.
"Uncle, save me!"
The nephew, sitting under the young man’s ass, called out for help from Old Second Dog with a voice close to tears.
"No matter who you are, you are doomed!"
Baldy, the short man with squinty eyes, was immediately filled with murderous intent.
He didn’t care who the young man before him was, this place was their secret base, no outsiders were allowed to know.
With that said, Baldy raised the muzzle of his gun, aiming at the young man.
"I didn't want to rough it up with you, but it seems that you don’t appreciate kindness!"
The young man, not scared in the least, shook his head, giving a dismissive look to Baldy.
"Prepare to die!"
How could Baldy, who had seen such disdain? In his line of work, he had done countless bad deeds and how could he not have taken a few lives? He pulled at the trigger towards the young man.
"Ah!"
Before Baldy could even pull the trigger, a flash of light streaked across from the air. His hand instantly felt a stab of pain; his pistol shattered into pieces in an instant, its components falling and clattering on the ground.
Baldy lowered his head to see a dagger piercing through his palm, blood flowing freely, staining the ground beneath him.
A look of shock flashed in Baldy's eyes. No wonder all the men he left behind had been taken down; this young man's skills were overwhelmingly good.
"What do you want from me?"
Despite the intense pain that made his forehead slick with sweat, Baldy remained strong-headed and silent, retaliating with a question to the young man.
Baldy’s mind was racing. Seeing that the young man didn’t kill him on the spot, he probably wasn’t one of his sworn enemies. It seemed things might take a turn.
"Do you remember her?"
The young man took out a pocket watch from his bosom, once opened, he placed it in front of Old Paddy Dog.
Inside the pocket watch there was a yellowed image, it seemed as though time had aged it well. In the photo was a girl, pure in looks, seeming to be about ten or so.
Such a girl, Old Paddy Dog had trafficked several like her, how could he remember so clearly.
"I don't remember! I've never seen this girl before!"
Old Paddy Dog was very clear, if he were to admit having seen the girl, he would certainly be done for, so he shook his head, refusing to admit it.
"You're not being honest, huh. I'll give you another chance, here's a hint. Seven years ago in winter, you kidnapped a boy and a girl from somewhere else. That boy got away!"
With a sigh, the young man dropped this line casually. However, it left Old Paddy Dog feeling as if he'd plunged into winter's chill, a shiver shooting straight up his spine from his tailbone.
"Are you the boy from back then?" Old Paddy Dog looked at the young man suspiciously, his memory of that little boy was still vivid.
That year, the little boy had taken a hard bite at Old Paddy Dog and escaped his grip, running off into the deep mountains.
To this day, Old Paddy Dog still had a scar left by it on his hand.
"You are... You're Yang Huaiyun?!"
Old Paddy Dog, with a shocked expression, stared at the young man in front of him, shouting the young man's name.
Because of that bite, Old Paddy Dog remembered his name.
Old Paddy Dog had thought the boy from back then was dead, he couldn't believe he'd appear in front of him today.
"See, I knew you would remember!"
Yang Huaiyun grinned, showing his teeth.
In the past, Yang Huaiyun escaped from Old Second Dog, enduring many hardships and several brushes with death. After detours and threading needles, he managed to escape abroad and was taken in by a group of mercenaries.
Over seven years, Yang Huaiyun grew from an ordinary lad into a legend among the mercenaries.
The Night King!
A symbol of royalty in the darkness, was what the mercenaries called Yang Huaiyun.
"I only have one question for you now, where is my sister?"
Standing in front of Old Second Dog, Yang Huaiyun stared into his eyes, asking word-by-word.
Throughout these seven years, there wasn’t a moment that Yang Huaiyun wasn't imagining the life his sister was leading.
Yang Huaiyun was even slightly hesitant to come back looking for his sister, fearful of bad news.
"I...I don't know!"
Old Second Dog clenched his teeth and responded loudly.
Faced with Yang Huaiyun's question, he couldn't answer, even more so didn't dare to answer.
"Your answer is unacceptable."
Yang Huaiyun seemed to bear no sign of anger, simply nodding slightly.
Just when Pi Laoer’s dog breathed a sigh of relief, Yang Huaiyun seemed to have a blade the length of his arm in his hand, unseen to present.
“Swoosh!”
The moment Yang Huaiyun brandished his blade, a streak of lightning cut through the air. Pi Laoer's dog felt a cold sensation in his palm, then noticed several fingers stained with blood on the ground.
“Ah!”
Pi Laoer's dog only then realized those were his fingers. He lifted his hand and saw the bare palm where fingers used to be, instantly letting out a loud shriek.
“Ah!”
Meanwhile, Yu Shuang had been watching this scene unfold.
Seeing the conflict arose between Pi Laoer’s dog and Yang Huaiyun, and finding Yang Huaiyun doesn’t appear to be a bad guy, she began to hope.
Then, she saw Yang Huaiyun’s swift blade fell, slicing off Pi Laoer's dog's fingers.
Never having witnessed such a sight, Yu Shuang instantly closed her eyes and screamed.
Yang Huaiyun furrowed his brows slightly, casting a glance towards Yu Shuang. She took his breath away and he thought his sister should be as grown up as her by now.
“Every time I ask, if your answer does not satisfy me, you’re going to miss yet another part on your body!”
“You can choose to endure if you wish. My blade may not be capable of the ancient technique that slices the flesh off a criminal bit by bit while keeping them alive for three days, but I can certainly keep you alive for a few hours.”
Manipulating his blade into a whirl of steel, Yang Huaiyun turned his head to look at Pi Laoer's dog.