Chapter Sixty-Seven: Neijiang Restaurant

When Lu Hao rushed up to the second floor, he was instantly assaulted by a furious sound from inside the private room. It was the sound of his younger sister struggling and fighting within, her voice filled with desperation. It was abundantly clear that she was under attack.

“Damn it!” Lu Hao charged forward and kicked the door open with a single, forceful blow.

The waiter, who had been about to intervene, was so intimidated by Lu Hao’s ferocity that he dared not step in, only able to watch helplessly.

Inside the room, Lu Hao’s sister, Lu Han, was being grabbed by a man clutching her coat. She was frantically fighting back, but her strength was no match for his. Her tears streamed down like rain, her face flushed, her whole body drenched in sweat.

The man reeked of alcohol, clearly drunk, and wore a lecherous, infuriating smile.

“Little girl! You should stick with me from now on! I’m well-endowed and know how to please a woman. In Peach Blossom Village, who doesn’t know my name, Zhang Shuilong? I’m a dragon descended from the heavens!”

“If you follow me, I’ll make sure you live well.”

“Heh, just look at you. I bet you’re still a virgin. Breaking in virgins is my favorite.”

Completely drunk, he didn’t even notice Lu Hao had burst in behind him.

In the next instant, Lu Hao was upon him. He materialized before Zhang Shuilong and knocked him to the ground with a single punch, stars bursting in Zhang’s vision.

Zhang Shuilong was left stupefied, unable to react, let alone get up.

Lu Hao seized the opportunity, clambered on top of Zhang Shuilong, and unleashed a flurry of punches.

The blows rang in Zhang’s ears like a chaotic ritual: bowls clanging, gongs, firecrackers, and all manner of piercing suona horns, swirling in his mind.

Lu Hao, nurtured daily by the energy of the Azure Dragon, now possessed strength far surpassing that of ordinary men. His fists landed with devastating power, leaving Zhang Shuilong so battered he couldn’t utter a word, reduced to utter misery.

“I’ll kill you, you bastard! How dare you touch my sister! Are you tired of living?”

“Speak! Who sent you? Was it that scum Sun Wenguo?”

Lu Hao grabbed Zhang Shuilong by the throat. Seeing his face covered in blood, with barely any breath left in him, he realized the man was hanging by a thread—there was no way he’d be able to answer.

Lu Han rushed over, grabbing Lu Hao’s arm, tears streaming down her face, too distraught to wipe them away.

“Brother! What are you doing? Stop it!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“If you keep hitting him, you’ll kill someone!”

Lu Hao barked back deliberately, “Whoever dares bully my sister, I’ll take their life!”

He did this to send a message to the local thugs, so his reputation for ruthlessness would spread, ensuring better protection for his sister in the future.

“Brother, you really have to stop! If you keep going, when the police come you won’t be able to explain yourself! Please stop, don’t let this end with a death!” Lu Han, at least, saw the bigger picture.

She knew her own suffering was minor compared to the consequences if Lu Hao ended up in prison for murder—their whole family would be destroyed.

“Stop! Let him go, let go of Brother Long!” At that moment, the waiters who’d previously been too afraid to intervene now rushed in.

They surrounded Lu Hao, grabbing at him, trying to pull him off.

Especially the restaurant’s manager, Zhang, who stormed up and shoved Lu Hao.

“Are you causing trouble in my restaurant? I’m calling the police! I’m calling the police!” he shouted heatedly.

At his words, Lu Hao released Zhang Shuilong and fixed the manager with a deep, penetrating look.

So that’s why everyone had stood by and watched—these people, the staff of the Neijiang Restaurant, were complicit all along.

They dared conspire to harm his sister? He’d make sure they paid dearly for it.

Furious, Lu Hao grabbed a table and sat down on it, declaring, “I want to know—my sister was nearly raped just now.”

“All of you, employees and managers, are you saying none of you could protect a seventeen-year-old girl?”

Manager Zhang was momentarily stunned, then quickly found a retort. “What do you mean?”

“She’s an adult, why would she need protecting? We thought her boyfriend showed up. What could I do?”

“This is her private life! It’s hurting our business.”

He turned to the other staff and said, “Tell me, isn’t it her private life disrupting your work?”

“Yes, yes,” the others chorused, many of them women in their thirties, forties, and fifties, who knew how hard it was to find a job in the countryside and could only submit to Manager Zhang’s bullying.

Lu Hao saw through the manager’s poison tactics—shifting the blame for their inaction onto Lu Han, so if word got out, it would be her reputation that was destroyed.

Lu Hao let out a cold laugh, no longer bothering with courtesies. “You really are a snake.”

“I want to ask you—whose dog’s eyes saw my sister was involved with Zhang Shuilong? Hm?”

“I’m her brother. Why didn’t I know?”

Manager Zhang’s eyes flashed coldly. “How would I know what goes on in your family?”

“And anyway, girls that age are bound to have their first crushes, dating in secret, hiding things from their families.”

Lu Hao clapped his hands, sneering, “Well, well. You really have a glib tongue. Impressive.”

“But I’m not here to argue with you. I only believe what I saw with my own eyes.”

“I’m telling you now—apologize to my sister this instant and give her an explanation, or I’ll send every last one of you to the hospital.”

Manager Zhang stepped forward. “Who the hell do you think you are? You dare to make trouble in my Neijiang Restaurant?”

Years ago, the Neijiang Restaurant had been started by a couple from Sichuan. Their food was excellent, business thrived. But then a gang began harassing them—smashing, stealing, even tearing down walls in the night. After a year or two, the couple gave in and sold the place. The sign never changed, but now the people running it were surely the same bastards who’d forced that family out.

“In all these years, no one’s ever dared threaten us,” Manager Zhang said coldly.

“You’re seeing it today,” Lu Hao replied, suddenly standing and grabbing the manager by the collar.