In a dilapidated, dark old house, a gaunt, sallow middle-aged man squatted on the ground, clutching his right hand and wailing in agony.
A pool of blood stained the ground. The man's right hand had two fingers severed.
Four fierce-looking burly men stood inside the room. One of them held a cleaver, still faintly stained with a few drops of blood.
A young man and woman, their faces ashen, cowered in a corner, trembling.
Luo Liping rushed in, shouting, "Dad, how are you? Are you alright?"
"Dad, how are you? Don't scare us!"
Luo's mother burst into tears and yelled, "Is there no law? You've gone too far!"
"Too far?"
The burly man with a long scar on his face, holding the cleaver, grinned mockingly. "Debt must be repaid. I warned you three days ago to prepare the money. You dared to ignore my words. Chopping off two of his fingers today is light. If you don't pay, I'll take his life!"
Luo's mother quickly fumbled in her pocket and pulled out three stacks of red bills. "We'll pay. Here's thirty thousand yuan. Is that enough to settle everything?"
The scar-faced man took the money, glanced at it, and sneered, "Settle everything? Thirty thousand yuan to settle everything? This amount isn't even enough for the interest. This old man borrowed a total of 160,000 from our gambling house. With interest, it's a total of 500,000!"
"Five hundred thousand? Dad only borrowed 160,000 principal, and you're asking for 500,000 with interest? That's extortion! You're clearly robbing us!" Luo Liping bravely gritted her teeth and shouted.
The scar-faced man's eyes lit up. He chuckled, "I didn't realize you were such a pure young lady. You look like a college student. It's been a while since my brothers and I had some fun. How about this: if you entertain my brothers, I'll give you a few more days!"
"You... you are shameless!" Luo Liping trembled with anger.
Honestly, Luo Liping wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she was pure and lovely, which was why the thugs' eyes lit up.
"Big brother, let me go first. As the saying goes, a child pays the parents' debt. Today, let's use this young lady to settle it!"
A thug with a pockmarked face rubbed his hands, grinning lewdly, and reached out his claw-like hand towards Luo Liping.
Luo Liping tried to retreat, but her legs had gone weak. Luo's mother and father were also terrified and helpless. As for the young couple in the corner, they were already trembling so much they didn't dare to step forward to help.
Just as the pockmarked thug's hand was about to grab Luo Liping, Xiao Yunlong moved. He darted forward and kicked the man away.
"It's true that a child pays the parents' debt, but to forcefully lay hands on an innocent young girl is too despicable and shameless!" Xiao Yunlong said sternly.
The scar-faced man was stunned at first. Upon seeing that the newcomer was just a young man with a buzz cut, he became enraged. "What little punk is this, daring to lecture me? I think you're tired of living!"
"Brothers, go get him! Take him down!"
As he finished speaking, the other three thugs charged forward.
Xiao Yunlong kicked out twice, sending two of them flying.
Finally, Xiao Yunlong's hand moved like lightning. He instantly snatched the cleaver from the scar-faced man and then slashed it.
With a shrill scream, the scar-faced man's right hand was severed, and blood gushed out.
"If you don't want to die, get out immediately!" Xiao Yunlong shouted.
The scar-faced man, nearly fainting from the pain, gritted his teeth, picked up his severed hand, and fled in a panic.
"Bastards! How dare you lay hands on us? Do you know who we are? We are Buddha Lord's men! Attacking us is disrespecting Buddha Lord! In Sucheng, no one has ever dared to disrespect Buddha Lord!"
"You kid are dead! Just you wait! And the Luo family, none of you will escape. You will all die!"
After shouting threats at the doorway, the thugs quickly helped their boss and fled.
Xiao Yunlong, unconcerned with any "Buddha Lord," looked at the stunned Luo Liping and the others. "Stop staring, quickly take the severed fingers and get him to the hospital. If you go fast, maybe they can be reattached!"
"Go, quickly come with me to the hospital!"
Luo's mother was the first to react. She quickly picked up the severed fingers from the ground, and without forgetting to gather the thirty thousand yuan, she helped her husband to the hospital.
The room suddenly became quiet. Luo Liping, having regained some composure, said, "Thank you again, Mr. Xiao."
Liu Ruyan stepped forward and said, "If we hadn't encountered this, it would be one thing. But since we did, how could we stand by and do nothing? Let's not talk about this for now. There's blood all over the room, let's clean it up first."
Luo Liping shook her head. "No rush for that. Ruyan, you and Mr. Xiao should leave quickly while you can. Otherwise, if they bring more people for revenge later, it will be troublesome. They will never let you go."
Saying this, Luo Liping pushed Liu Ruyan and the others out.
"No, they can't leave! They can't just leave like this!"
The young man in the corner shouted coldly and rushed out to block the doorway.
Luo Liping exclaimed, "Brother, what are you doing? Why aren't you letting them leave?"
Luo Chunhua snorted, "This guy not only beat people just now, but he also chopped off Scarface's hand. Didn't you hear them say they wouldn't let this go? If this guy leaves now, what will we do when they bring people to our door later?"
Luo Liping could hardly believe her ears. She reprimanded, "Brother, are you even speaking human words? Mr. Xiao just helped us. Not only did you not thank him, but you're also stopping them from leaving!"
"What help? If you ask me, he's harming us!" The woman in the corner also stepped forward.
"You're saying Mr. Xiao is harming us? Sister-in-law, do you really think so?" Luo Liping's face was filled with disbelief.
"Isn't that true? If this guy hadn't acted rashly, at most we would just owe money, and we could still find a way. But now they've threatened to kill us, and we might even lose our lives!" Luo Liping's sister-in-law, Zhu Fangchen, yelled loudly.
"In short, he caused this trouble, so he can't leave!" Luo Chunhua said solemnly.
"You... I really can't believe you could say such things. When Dad's fingers were cut off just now, where were you two? If I'm not mistaken, you were probably hiding in the corner, scared to pee your pants! And now you have the nerve to jump out? If I were you, I'd find a hole to crawl into!" Luo Liping cursed angrily, her neck turning red.
"You scoundrel!" Luo Chunhua raised his hand to slap Luo Liping.
However, before Luo Chunhua's hand could land, Xiao Yunlong slapped him to the ground.
"You only dare to act tough against your own people, but you're subservient to outsiders. What kind of man are you!" Xiao Yunlong shouted coldly.
"You dare to hit me? You're so bold..." Luo Chunhua scrambled up, clenching his fists, ready to fight.
Xiao Yunlong looked at him coldly and said mockingly, "Have you forgotten what happened to Scarface just now? Dare to fight me? Try it!"
Faced with Xiao Yunlong's sharp gaze, Luo Chunhua was immediately intimidated and didn't dare to step forward.
Luo Liping then said, "Mr. Xiao, you and Ruyan should leave quickly while you can. Otherwise, it will be too late."
Xiao Yunlong waved his hand and said indifferently, "Although your brother is useless, he's not entirely wrong. I caused this trouble. If I leave now, your whole family might lose their lives!"
"But..." Luo Liping wanted to say more, as she really didn't want to implicate Liu Ruyan and the other.
"Stop the nonsense. It's almost noon. Ruyan and I will stay for lunch at your place today. By the way, can you cook?" Xiao Yunlong said, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"I can cook, but... never mind. I'll clean up first. Why don't you go sit in my room, and I'll call you when it's ready!" Luo Liping said.
Xiao Yunlong and Liu Ruyan nodded, and the two of them went into the dark, damp, and smallest bedroom.
"By the way, Chunhua, I wonder how Dad is at the hospital. Shall we go see him?" Zhu Fangchen suddenly called out.
"Yes, yes, we can't be unconcerned about Dad, lest some people say we are heartless. We'll leave now, right away!" Luo Chunhua said, quickly pulling his wife and leaving in a hurry. Judging by their demeanor, they weren't going to the hospital to visit, but clearly to escape.
Liu Ruyan shook her head and sighed, "Liping is stuck with such a family, having such a brother and father, her life is truly unfortunate."
Xiao Yunlong just smiled faintly and said nothing more.
The meal was soon ready. Although the house was in a mess, Luo Liping still managed to prepare a relatively sumptuous lunch as best she could.
As they were eating, Luo's father and mother returned from the hospital. However, Luo Chunhua and Zhu Fangchen were nowhere to be seen.
Luo's father glanced at Xiao Yunlong and said sternly, "You still have the appetite to eat? Do you know that disaster is imminent? Go, quickly go, escape while you can!"
Luo's mother retorted, "This is our home, where do you want us to go?"
"It's better than dying here, isn't it? You don't know, that Buddha Lord is not someone to be trifled with. He's the overlord, the emperor of Sucheng's underworld! If you provoke him, can you still live?" Luo's father said frantically.
Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan's expression became serious.
Xiao Yunlong, however, ignored them, picked up his chopsticks, and ate heartily.
"Ruyan, why aren't you eating? The food is quite good!" Xiao Yunlong looked at her and said.
Liu Ruyan shook her head. "I have no appetite. By the way, Brother Xiao, why don't you call Hong Shisan or Pan Wuzong? Both of them are involved in Sucheng's underworld. Maybe they know this 'Buddha Lord'!"
Xiao Yunlong nodded upon hearing this. "That's right. For this kind of character, letting Hong Shisan and the others handle it would be enough."