Chapter 385: Demons and Devils

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Lu Zhiyuan watched the stubborn and resolute figure walking away, feeling as if a thousand arrows had pierced his heart. As she moved farther from him, the physical pain began to subside, but his emotional agony only intensified. In his chest, his heart was metaphorically being torn apart.

Once upon a time, they were like a pair of moths, willing to embrace the flame even though they knew it would consume them. They flew towards the light, towards the fire, and if they couldn’t love each other, they chose to die together.

Lifetime after lifetime, it always ended in tragedy.

Even if they loved each other again, they couldn’t resist the gears of fate, and on the Three Lives Stone, they had no karmic ties.

Lu Zhiyuan covered his face in pain. “Cici, I’m sorry!”

If he hadn’t been entangled in the worldly desires of the seven emotions and six desires from the beginning, he wouldn’t have brought pain and despair to Gu Ci throughout eternity. He had tried every possible way and made countless changes, but none could alter the outcome.

Even if he resolved to avoid Gu Ci forever, fate would still bring her to him.

Third Young Master’s letter was his love letter to Gu Ci.

Even that love letter had been burnt to ashes. From the very beginning, they had no hope.

Qin Wan looked at Gu Ci, tears streaming down her face, and was taken aback, interrupting her game. “What’s wrong? Did Third Master bully you?”

Gu Ci shook her head. “No, it’s just that I feel upset. Let’s go!”

Qin Wan glanced back and, puzzled, followed Gu Ci. Fortunately, when Gu Ci entered the elevator, her emotions had calmed down. She wiped away her tears and stopped speaking.

Just as the two of them stepped out of the elevator, they ran into Rong Li, who was waiting for the elevator with two men, one old and one young.

Rong Li was momentarily surprised but nodded politely to Gu Ci without saying anything. Qin Wan, who was two steps behind Gu Ci, turned to Rong Li and made a throat-slitting gesture. Rong Li sneered, a hint of disdain in his eyebrows.

The young man, Chen Yang, asked, “Rong, who is this?”

Rong Li replied indifferently, “An enemy!”

These were Chen Liangdong’s older brother, Chen Liangyou, and his son, Chen Yang. Lu Zhiyuan was recuperating and originally didn’t want to meet them, but they were persistent, so Rong Li had no choice but to bring them here.

After Gu Ci left, Li Jiang escorted Lu Zhiyuan downstairs. He had no intention of meeting the Chen family father and son on the top floor. Chen Liangyou and Chen Yang had brought a fruit basket and a box of sea cucumbers. After Li Jiang put them away, he invited them into the living room. Lu Zhiyuan, appearing genuinely weak, didn’t need to pretend. He looked extremely frail, as if he might collapse with a gust of wind. After Gu Ci left Global, his physical pain had disappeared.

However, the curse that Gu Ci had placed on her wish had started to come true. Already suffering from severe pain, the car accident had caused his body to deteriorate rapidly. He was as fragile as a thread of air, and there was no need for acting.

“Mr. Chen, Young Master Chen, I’m truly not feeling well. Please forgive me.” Lu Zhiyuan sat on the main single sofa, with Rong Li standing by his side. Li Jiang prepared tea and served it to everyone.

“Third Master, you’re recuperating, and we’ve disturbed you.” Chen Liangyou had a kind and gentle demeanor. His appearance was much more ordinary compared to Chen Liangdong, but he seemed to be about ten years younger, leading one to believe he was Chen Liangdong’s younger brother, considering how laborious Chen Liangdong’s work was.

After all, Chen Liangdong was quite overworked.

Chen Yang, around twenty-eight years old, was still young but very capable. He was the pillar of the Chen family’s younger generation. “Third Master, these are all wild sea cucumbers, quite rare. Since you’re working on improving your health, you can have more. If you ever want more, we can source them for you.” Li Jiang secretly thought, “What kind of gourmet dishes does our Third Master not eat? He asked you to source them; who knows if they might be poisoned?”

Lu Zhiyuan chuckled lightly, composed and unruffled. “Sure.”

Chen Yang was momentarily surprised. He had only meant to be polite and hadn’t expected Lu Zhiyuan to be so indifferent. Chen Liangyou recalled the person they had nearly lost their lives to while delivering to the Chen family’s doorstep and felt a bit uneasy. Lu Zhiyuan’s actions resembled Jiang Junlin’s in many ways.

“Third Master, someone left a person at our doorstep today…” Chen Liangyou smiled and continued, “Do you know who did it?”

“It’s quite obvious. I did it,” Lu Zhiyuan replied calmly, though he lacked color in his face. Yet, his presence remained unyielding.

“What is the meaning behind this, Third Master?” Chen Liangyou furrowed his brow.

Lu Zhiyuan casually explained, “I had a car accident last night, and my life was hanging by a thread. After escaping from the valley, I was pursued, and I happened to capture a living witness. This person confessed that you were the one who orchestrated it.”

“This is baseless slander. Third Master and I have always had a close relationship in our cooperation. Why would I do such things that would damage our rapport?”

Chen Liangyou had been collaborating with Lu Zhiyuan for two years. Right from the start, he had the upper hand because he had control over resources and connections. Lu Zhiyuan’s focus had always been in Europe and America, and to establish a presence in China, he needed connections. Even as the heir to the Lu family conglomerate, he couldn’t make much progress without these connections. At that time, his choices were between Chen Liangyou and the Zhang family.

The Zhang family had a longstanding relationship with the Jiang family, and that wasn’t a reason for Lu Zhiyuan to dismiss them. Mr. Zhang was more challenging to work with than Chen Liangyou and was known for his integrity. While he had personal interests, he prioritized his family’s honor and didn’t tolerate many things.

Money and power were not an issue, but Chen Liangyou lacked significant resources to maintain his connections. Lu Zhiyuan could provide what he needed, and the two of them found common ground.

Initially, Chen Liangyou didn’t hold Lu Zhiyuan in high regard. Firstly, Lu Zhiyuan was too young, having come of age just three years ago. He seemed like a kid, even younger than his own son, and in his eyes, that made him vulnerable to manipulation. Secondly, their respective statuses and positions created an imbalance. This inequality made Chen Liangyou feel superior, which was somewhat inevitable.

However, after two years of cooperation, he had come to understand Lu Zhiyuan’s character. If Lu Zhiyuan wanted something, he would get it, and it would be an equal exchange. Trying to take advantage of him was nearly impossible.

Moreover, Lu Zhiyuan was incredibly arrogant and not subservient. He never looked up to Chen Liangyou’s power and status, nor did he seek to ingratiate himself. He remained calm to the extreme, strictly adhering to the rules of their transactions. Whenever Chen Liangyou attempted to push his boundaries, Lu Zhiyuan firmly rejected it.

Thinking they had the upper hand in the deal, Chen Liangyou was surprised to find himself on the losing end. As a result, he dared not underestimate Lu Zhiyuan any longer.

“I’m also curious, Mr. Chen, why did you do this and damage our relationship?” Lu Zhiyuan looked at him. “We have always had a good partnership. Just because we had an unpleasant discussion on the Lantern Festival, you took such drastic measures. 1 didn’t expect it at all. So when this person implicated you, I looked into his financial records. Within the past week, he received a transfer of 300,000 yuan, and the sender is from an independent company. The legal representative of this company seems to have no connection to you. However, I also examined the transaction records of this company and found several suspicious transfers, with the recipients being members of the mercenary group you often hire.”

Chen Yang’s face turned extremely ugly. Lu Zhiyuan calmly presented the evidence and reasoned with him. However, Chen Yang felt irritated by Lu Zhiyuan’s composed demeanor. When doing business with the Chen family, it was because the Chen family regarded them highly. There was a vast difference in status and position between the Chen family and the Lu family. When it came to dealing with officials, without the Chen family’s support, whether it was Lu Zhiyuan’s Global Center or the Black Hawk’s market in Asia, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly..