Chapter Forty-Four: Restraint

“What? Someone actually has the audacity to barge into my house?” At this moment, Sun Wenguo was seething with rage.

Earlier today, his men had failed to run over Lu Hao as intended, and instead hit his own cousin—this alone was enough to vex him. Now, to make matters worse, some fool had the nerve to show up at his door looking for trouble.

“Let’s go. I’ll come with you and see for myself just what kind of extraordinary powers this man thinks he has to dare block the entrance to the Sun family estate.” With those words, Sun Wenguo casually grabbed a baseball bat from his room and strode outside.

He had often used this bat to teach lessons to underlings who couldn’t read the room, or to discipline the honest farmers in the village. He even joked that this was his “dog-beating stick,” reserved for those too blind to know their place.

He quickly made his way outside. When his eyes fell upon Lu Hao’s face, his pupils contracted sharply and his steps halted at once. The fierce and domineering air that had clung to him moments before instantly evaporated, as if the fire within him had been doused by a bucket of Lu Hao’s ice water.

After composing himself and collecting his thoughts, Sun Wenguo walked up to Lu Hao. In truth, he felt a pang of guilt. After all, he had just sent men to kill Lu Hao earlier that day, and now, not only was Lu Hao alive, he had come straight to their door.

“So it’s you! What brings you here?” Sun Wenguo’s tone was, for the moment, still polite.

“Are you here because of Xu Juan again? I’ve already told you, she’s engaged to me now. We’ll be married soon, so you’d best give up any hope.”

Lu Hao fixed him with a cold sneer. “You, the famous eldest son of the Sun family, notorious for your exploits—do you really intend to become a domesticated dog, tied down and married to Xu Juan?”

“I’d sooner believe a sow could climb a tree than trust a word from your mouth.”

Lu Hao knew Sun Wenguo’s character all too well: a man who relied on his family’s shelter, cunning, unscrupulous, capricious, a bully to both men and women. Such a person would never truly marry someone like Xu Juan—at best, he’d treat her as a plaything. For a girl from an ordinary family, marriage was a mere fantasy.

Sun Wenguo’s face darkened at Lu Hao’s words, a sullen anger building within him.

Glaring at Lu Hao, he said, “Lu Hao, don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Let me remind you: you’re on the Sun family’s turf now. If you don’t want a beating, watch your mouth.” As he spoke, he hefted the baseball bat in his hand, a clear warning.

Lu Hao let out a cold laugh. “It’s broad daylight and I’ve done nothing illegal—what should I be afraid of?”

“Sun Wenguo, I didn’t come here to cause you trouble. I came to tell you that Uncle Wang’s courtyard is no longer for sale. He’s renting it to me instead.”

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wang broke out in a nervous sweat, his gaze fixed on the floor at Sun Wenguo’s feet, afraid to utter a word. He had no idea how Sun Wenguo would respond to him and Lu Hao.

Sun Wenguo immediately reverted to the tactics he’d used to intimidate Wang De earlier.

“Wang De, are you sure you’ve rented your courtyard to this kid? Don’t forget, you’ve already accepted my deposit. What you’re doing now is a breach of commercial law, understand? If I take you to court, you’ll lose everything—you might even have to hand over your entire estate to me. Believe it or not!”

Wang De blanched, ready to plead for mercy, but Lu Hao reached out and stopped him.

“Sun Wenguo, there’s no need for threats. You haven’t signed any purchase contract with Uncle Wang. Even if you go to court, your baseless accusations won’t cost him a cent. Do you take him for a fool who doesn’t know the law?”

Sun Wenguo sneered, “The law? Listen well—in Peach Blossom Village, the Sun family is the law. We’re the sky here! Once we decide to buy land, has anyone ever dared take it back? You want to rent a house? You’re dreaming!”

Lu Hao simply gazed at him, then turned to Uncle Wang. “Uncle Wang, return the money you brought with you. I’ll record it as proof of the refund. Your agreement with him is void due to coercion and threats.”

Wang De hesitated, looking at Lu Hao, but after some thought, decided his ancestral home was worth far more. He pulled out the ten thousand yuan deposit Sun Wenguo had given him.

“Young Master Sun, I thought it over and realized my ancestral home, built over a century, is far too precious to sell cheaply. Please, I beg your forgiveness this time.” With a look of distress, Wang De handed the stack of cash back to Sun Wenguo.

Sun Wenguo didn’t take it, letting the money fall to the ground.

“Wang De, what do you take the Sun family for? You come and go as you please?” His face was as dark as a storm, fury threatening to explode at any moment.

Frightened, Wang De shrank behind Lu Hao, not daring to make a sound.

“No matter your opinion, the money’s been returned. The account is settled. Uncle Wang owes you nothing,” Lu Hao said. “Let’s go.”

As he turned to leave, Sun Wenguo bellowed, “You can return my money, but you owe me a hundredfold penalty! Otherwise, I’ll send a bulldozer to raze your ancestral home to the ground!”

With that, he swung the baseball bat at Lu Hao’s head.

Catching sight of Lu Hao’s back, he thought it the perfect opportunity.

With a resounding crack, the bat struck Lu Hao squarely on the head.

This was no ordinary bat; it was custom-made, solid alloy, meant for hurting people, not for playing ball. A blow to the arm would leave someone aching for months—let alone a strike to the back of the head, the most vulnerable spot on a human skull. Such a blow could easily cripple or kill.

Sun Wenguo had swung with murderous intent.

Nearby, the steward covered his mouth, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

“Arrogant brat, now that you’ve met our young master Sun and taken a beating, you’ll be lucky if all you have to do is crawl to the hospital.”