Chapter 78: This Attitude—Like Raising a Little Lover
Li Chen stared coolly at the man who was continuously begging for mercy and said in an unhurried tone, “Your father did indeed follow the Old Master for many years. But didn’t he ever tell you that what I, Li Chen, hate most is people doing shady things under the Li family’s name? The Li family’s businesses were cleaned up long ago. Now that the Li family is under my control, you pull something like this—aren’t you slapping me in the face?”
The voice was calm and steady, yet it was more terrifying than if he had flown into a thunderous rage.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The man begged while knocking his head against the ground. Before long, his forehead was split open and bleeding.
Li Chen suddenly stood up. He placed the girl in his arms onto the chair and had her sit properly, then strolled over to the man at an unhurried pace, looking down at him from above.
Seeing him extend his hand, the middle-aged man who had led the way immediately handed him a two-inch-long knife.
Young Master Li tested the blade with his fingertip. With just a light graze, blood welled up.
Very sharp.
When the man on the ground saw the knife in his hand, he shrank back in terror.
Li Chen slowly approached him, squatted down, and stopped in front of him. His custom-made leather shoes gleamed brightly under the lights.
Looking at him, Li Chen said flatly, “For your father’s sake, I’ll do it myself—so others won’t be clumsy and hurt you.”
After a pause, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Rest assured, I won’t take your life.”
His arm swung, a flash of silver cutting through the air.
“Ah—!” The man screamed in agony.
The knife plunged straight into the man’s palm, piercing it clean through, then twisted back and forth several times.
The sound of flesh being ground and cut was chillingly clear.
With a wet thud, Li Chen pulled the knife out again. Blood splattered across his face.
He didn’t care in the least. With practiced ease, he severed the man’s hand tendons, then tossed the knife to the ground.
Clang. The blood-soaked knife bounced once as it hit the floor.
Someone immediately handed him a clean brocade handkerchief.
Li Chen took it and slowly wiped away the blood splashed on his face, then carefully cleaned his hands as well, not missing even the spaces between his fingers.
He casually tossed the dirty handkerchief onto the ground, where it happened to cover the bloodied knife.
Li Chen turned to look at the girl sitting on the soft leather chair, staring at him in a daze. He walked over and gently rubbed her head, asking softly, “Sweetheart, did that scare you?”
Nan Xun swallowed lightly. “I-It was… okay.”
She wasn’t exactly frightened—after all, she’d seen demon kings devour people and fierce ghosts slaughter before. She was just surprised. In her eyes, Li Chen had always been a father who was cold on the outside but gentle at heart. That swift, precise, ruthless scene just now completely overturned her impression of him.
The big hand affectionately rubbing her head—yes, that very hand—had pierced someone’s palm and severed their tendons just moments ago.
Nan Xun suddenly felt that what she’d seen was only the tip of the iceberg. Thinking that way, even the gentle touch on her head made her scalp prickle.
She abruptly hugged Li Chen and said in a muffled voice, “Dad, let’s go home. I want to go home.”
“Alright. Whatever my sweetheart wants,” Li Chen said after a brief pause, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
He was a little surprised—under these circumstances, his sweetheart’s first reaction hadn’t been to push him away, but to hug him instead.
Though her small body was trembling slightly—perhaps she really had been frightened.
Li Chen hoisted her onto his shoulder and walked out.
Nan Xun yelped and quickly said, “Dad, I’m not a little kid anymore! Why do you keep carrying or shouldering me like this? If you keep spoiling me, I’ll get so lazy I won’t even want to walk.”
Li Chen chuckled softly. “Dad thought your legs had gone weak. If my sweetheart doesn’t want to walk in the future, Dad can carry you or shoulder you for a lifetime.”
“You’ve got it backwards,” Nan Xun immediately said. “When Dad gets old, I’ll be the one carrying Dad.”
She thought she was being quite thoughtful, but the moment Li Chen heard that, his handsome face darkened instantly.
In a very gentle tone, Li Chen asked, “Sweetheart, do you think Dad is very old?”
Nan Xun felt he was being especially childish, but he was the big boss—whatever he said had to be right. So she quickly replied, “Dad, of course you’re not old! You’re only twenty-eight—you’re still a young hottie! And you’re the golden bachelor every woman wants to marry. Dad is so handsome—I’ve never seen a man more handsome than you. Those popular actors and supermodels don’t even come close to Dad…”
Li Chen’s expression eased a little, though he was still hung up on the earlier question. “Then do you think Dad is older than you?”
Nan Xun looked at him as if he were an idiot. Was Li Chen running a fever? How could he ask such a brain-dead question?
Could it be that her earlier remark had hit a nerve—he didn’t want to grow old?
After thinking for a moment, Nan Xun said, “Dad, everyone grows old eventually. You’re only thirteen years older than me. When you get old, I’ll be almost old too…”
Li Chen stuffed her into the car, and the two of them soon drove away.
The middle-aged man who had led the way remained bent over the entire time. Only after the car had driven far away did he straighten up and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
Today, Young Master Li had only taken one of that man’s hands—this was completely unlike his usual style. In the past, it would never have been just a single hand.
The man frowned slightly. He’d only realized the girl’s identity after hearing her call him “Dad.” So this was Young Master Li’s treasured daughter, the one he doted on to the extreme. But—
With that kind of attitude, it didn’t look like he was raising a daughter at all. It was more like he was raising a… little lover.
In the car, Nan Xun and Li Chen playfully teased each other in a picture of perfect father-daughter harmony for quite a while. Then something suddenly occurred to her. She quickly grabbed Li Chen’s hand and found the finger that was still oozing a bead of blood.
“Sweetheart, it’s fine—just a small cut—” Li Chen stopped mid-sentence, because his sweetheart suddenly put his finger into her mouth.
The warm, moist sensation immediately deepened Li Chen’s gaze.
Nan Xun sucked lightly, then pulled his finger out and smiled. “All better, Dad. It’s not bleeding anymore.”
Li Chen stared at her. The look in his eyes made Nan Xun feel uneasy.
She quickly asked Little Eight in her mind, “Did I overdo it just now? Was I being too sycophantic, and he realized I was deliberately trying to please him, so he’s unhappy?”
The Void Beast yawned. “You’re overthinking it. I can feel your dad Li Chen’s blood boiling—he should be happy.”
Nan Xun was surprised. “Little Eight, you can even sense other people’s emotions?”
