Chapter Twenty-Three: The Turbulent Aftermath and Underlying Currents

The mountain wind swept by, stirring a few fallen leaves and carrying with it a hint of chill. The groans on the ground and the scar-faced man frozen in place became bizarre footnotes to the tranquil woods.

Lin Qinghan's gaze shifted between my face and the motionless thugs, her mind—usually proud of its rigorous logic—now a tangled mess. Martial arts? Acupoint strikes? These were things she believed existed only in movies and novels, yet they had just played out before her eyes, shattering her worldview.

“Daddy, you were so fast just now!” A crisp voice broke the silence. The little girl's face showed not a trace of fear; instead, it brimmed with admiration. In her heart, her father was always capable of anything.

I withdrew my gaze as if I had done nothing of significance and said to Lin Qinghan, “Call the police. Tell them these men are robbers, that you acted in self-defense, and the shock left them temporarily paralyzed.”

With a casual motion, I brushed my hand over the scar-faced man's body, releasing him from his immobilized state. He immediately collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud, gasping for air, and looked at me as if he had seen a ghost or a god.

Lin Qinghan took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain composure. She asked no further questions, simply nodded, took out her phone, and with trembling fingers dialed the number. She understood that some things could not be asked, nor did she have the words to ask them.

We did not wait at the scene but continued deeper into the mountains. The hope primary school was just ahead.

The rest of the visit took on a strange atmosphere. Lin Qinghan still distributed stationery and candy to the children with gentle kindness, and Yi Yi quickly blended in with the mountain kids. Yet I could sense that Lin Qinghan's gaze would often, almost unconsciously, fall upon me—three parts awe, three parts curiosity, and four parts an unfathomable confusion.

On the way back, the mood in the car was heavy.

In the end, it was Lin Qinghan who spoke first, her voice tinged with fatigue: “Mr. Jiang, I’m sorry. Today… I dragged you and Yi Yi into this.”

“They weren't ordinary robbers,” I said, watching the scenery recede past the window, my tone calm and factual.

Lin Qinghan’s shoulders trembled slightly as she gave a bitter smile. “You saw through it. They were after me. Or rather, after the Lin family.”

She did not conceal anything and recounted everything from the beginning.

It turned out that the Lin Corporation was currently competing with another business giant, the Tianlong Group, for a major project that would determine the energy landscape of Haishi for the next decade. The Lin family advocated steady development alongside environmental protection, while Zhao Tianlong, the head of Tianlong Group, was notorious for his ruthless and unscrupulous methods.

What began as business competition had gradually devolved into underhanded tactics. Today’s so-called “kidnapping” was clearly orchestrated by Zhao Tianlong, aiming to throw the Lin family into chaos at a critical moment in the bidding process.

“Zhao Tianlong has no bottom line,” Lin Qinghan said, her voice full of deep worry. “I just never thought he’d stoop so low as to come after a woman like me.”

I listened quietly, offering no opinion. These schemes and deceptions in business were, to me, no different from the political machinations of two thousand years ago—transient as clouds.

There was only one thing that truly concerned me.

When the car stopped in front of Anhe Hall, I prepared to get out with Yi Yi.

“Miss Lin,” I paused, turning back to look at her, my eyes calm and untroubled. “I have no interest in your business struggles. But what happened today—I don’t want it to happen again. What Yi Yi needs is a quiet and safe environment.”

The implication was clear: do not bring your troubles to my door again.

Lin Qinghan’s face paled. She saw the resolute distance in my eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end, it became a soft, “I understand. I’m sorry.”

Today’s act of rescuing the damsel in distress had not brought her closer to this man; on the contrary, it had pushed him even further away. He was like a true crane among mortals—occasionally touching the earth and gathering a little dust, but at the first hint of danger, he would spread his wings and soar back to the clouds, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.