Dealing with ruthless individuals breeds fear of death.
But confronting a demon soul, death becomes a luxury, the most desired outcome.
"You don't want to speak now!"
"But wait a moment longer, and you'll beg me for a chance to speak!"
As the words fell, the room's temperature plummeted, frost rapidly forming on the floor.
Feng Tianhe's scalp tingled as he watched the blood he spat onto the ground visibly condense into ice.
He didn't understand the strange phenomenon, but a primal sense of impending horror washed over him.
This invisible fear sparked a desperate urge to speak.
Yet, Feng Tianhe held back, choosing to gamble.
Just then, Chu Fan's toe flicked out, tapping Feng Tianhe's throat.
Feng Tianhe's eyes widened; his throat felt as if something was lodged there, preventing him from uttering a sound.
Chu Fan turned, rolling up his sleeves as he walked towards Feng Gu, who was cowering in the corner of the sofa, too terrified to make a sound.
"What... what are you going to do?"
Feng Gu panicked.
Though there was no more space in the corner, he instinctively tried to shrink further into it, wishing he could melt into the wall.
Bang...
The sofa, crafted from premium wood and requiring several men to move, was kicked into rubble by Chu Fan.
This...
The father and son were utterly petrified.
Chu Fan grabbed Feng Gu by the hair and dragged him before Feng Tianhe.
He still had the acupuncture needles he used to treat Chen Tao, and with a flick of his finger, the needles pierced Feng Gu's clothes, embedding themselves precisely into his acupoints.
"If you can't hold back, beg your father."
"Don't beg me; begging me is useless!"
With that, Chu Fan walked to the doorway and stood silently.
Feng Gu's expression gradually contorted with pain, then became grotesque.
At that moment, he felt as if countless ants were gnawing at him from within, devouring his very organs.
"Ah, it hurts so much, it's so unbearable..."
"Dad, I'm in so much pain..."
Feng Gu clawed and tore at his own body, rolling on the ground.
Feng Tianhe's eyes widened in distress, his mouth agape, but no sound emerged.
After tearing off his clothes, Feng Gu began to claw at his skin with his hands.
Each strike left bloody marks.
His skin split, blood gushed out, and his fingernails dug deep into the flesh.
At this point, Feng Gu seemed to feel no pain; instead, a look of relief crossed his face.
The scene was brutally violent.
Within a minute, Feng Gu was a bloody mess, his upper body a ruin of torn flesh.
Despite this, his hands continued to scratch at his body, as if trying to reach inside himself.
"Dad, I... I'm going to die."
"He wants... to know... something, quickly... tell him..."
Feng Gu's voice was hoarse and trembling.
The torment was worse than death.
Although he realized his son would surely die if this continued, Feng Tianhe's eyes still flickered with hesitation.
"Dad, please..."
Overwhelmed by the pain, Feng Gu began to slam his head against the ground, trying to knock himself unconscious to escape the agony.
However, he had underestimated Chu Fan's methods.
With repeated blows, Feng Gu's forehead cracked, exposing bone, yet he remained conscious.
"Dad, kill me!"
"I'm in so much pain, I don't want to live anymore!"
Tormented to the point of breakdown, Feng Gu believed only death could end his suffering.
Facing his son's pleading gaze, Feng Tianhe crawled on his knees behind Chu Fan.
"Brother, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything, please don't torment my son anymore."
Chu Fan, his back to Feng Tianhe, remained impassive.
As he had said before, if they didn't seize the opportunity when offered, the desire to speak would no longer be Feng Tianhe's to control, but dependent on whether Chu Fan wished to listen.
"Ahhh..."
"It's so painful..."
Feng Gu's roars grew more intense.
"Brother, I was wrong, please spare my son, I'll tell you whatever you want!"
Feng Tianhe was truly regretful now.
Had he known Chu Fan's methods were so brutal, he wouldn't have been so stubborn earlier.
Chu Fan turned slowly, walked to Feng Gu's side, and placed a foot on his chest. The needles that had penetrated his body flew out automatically.
Feng Gu gasped for air, his eyes glazed as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
At that moment, he felt truly alive.
"Speak!"
Chu Fan pulled over a chair and sat down with imposing authority in front of Feng Tianhe.
Feng Tianhe began to recount.
As he had initially suspected, his mother's sudden departure was because she realized their hiding place had been discovered and feared implicating Chen Tao and his wife.
By the time the mastermind found Chen Tao's home, his mother had already vanished.
Enraged, the mastermind redirected his wrath onto Chen Tao. He found Feng Tianhe, paid him a sum of money, and offered him a construction project, instructing him to kill Chen Tao.
Feng Tianhe hadn't expected Chen Tao to survive the initial attack, and when he prepared to act again, the mastermind indicated it wasn't necessary.
"Death is too simple a way to torment and exact revenge on someone."
"Conversely, making them wish they were dead is the most fitting end."
The revenge wasn't merely crippling Chen Tao.
The mastermind also targeted his family from all sides. Firstly, they obstructed the investigation into the assailant, employing delays and stonewalling any attempts to trace the perpetrator back to Feng Tianhe.
Secondly, they targeted Du Haixia and Chen Yicheng.
After the family's money ran out treating Chen Tao, Du Haixia sought work elsewhere.
However, within three days of starting any new job, she would be fired, wasting her time and earning no money.
Chen Yicheng faced a similar fate, enduring constant ridicule and setbacks during interviews, which was a primary reason for his current state.
Throughout the account, Chu Fan's expression remained calm, but a silent fury surged within him.
Certain individuals had been added to his death list.
"Brother, this is all I know, I know I was wrong, please, spare my family!"
"I was the one who did this, I'm willing to take responsibility, send me to prison!"
"Prison?"
Chu Fan let out a light laugh.
"Old man, do you think I would allow you to enjoy a life of peace?"
"You've lived quite comfortably for the past three years."
"Do you know the life Chen Tao's family has endured?"
"For three years, you've enjoyed your fill. Now, you shall repay it for a lifetime!"
Another scream echoed from within the house.
Chu Fan's method was simple: an eye for an eye.
Feng Tianhe had paralyzed Chen Tao for three years; now, Chu Fan would paralyze Feng Tianhe for life.
Unless someone from the Eternal Hall intervened, even the Imperial Physicians of the Dragon God Kingdom would be powerless to restore him.
Furthermore, all assets currently held by the Feng family were to be frozen and investigated.
Whatever hardships the Chen Tao family had endured over the past three years, the Feng family would repay with their entire lives.
When Chu Fan left the Feng residence, Feng Tianhe, unable to move, lay on the ground, weeping uncontrollably like a child.
He was filled with regret.
Upon entering the car, Chu Fan, his face cold, looked out the window and said, "Head to the Huang family in the south of the city."
Ji Ningyue immediately hit the accelerator, heading straight for the southern district.
At the Huang family residence in the south of the city, calls were made one after another, and vehicles rapidly converged on the Huangs' estate.
The vehicles were filled with fully armed security personnel.