CHAPTER 461: CHAPTER 458 [BROTHERS]

Chapter Four Hundred Fifty-Eight: Brothers

Boss Luo had already been taken to a major hospital in the center of Jinling City.

He suffered from internal bleeding, multiple fractures throughout his body, and the most severe injuries were two penetrating wounds, resulting in organ damage and extensive bleeding.

The cause of the injuries was a car accident.

When Chen Nuo arrived at the hospital following Luo Qing’s phone call, Boss Luo’s surgery had already been completed, and he was lying in the ICU.

Luo Qing was sitting outside the ICU, holding his head in his hands, his body trembling slightly, not even noticing Chen Nuo’s approach.

It was only when Chen Nuo placed a hand on Luo Qing’s shoulder that Luo Qing slowly lifted his head and looked at Chen Nuo.

That look in his eyes made Chen Nuo sigh deeply twice.

In Luo Qing’s eyes were nervousness and sadness.

But more than that, there was fear.

Yes, it was fear.

Chen Nuo sighed, then sat down beside Luo Qing. In the silence, a wave of spiritual power entered Luo Qing’s body, slowly helping to bring Luo Qing’s mental consciousness back to a normal operational frequency.

A minute later, Luo Qing’s emotions had somewhat stabilized.

"Now, tell me what happened," Chen Nuo said, looking into Luo Qing’s eyes.

***

In the outdoor green space beneath the hospital, the two young men finished a cigarette after Luo Qing roughly explained the situation.

It looked to be indeed just a car accident.

***

Tonight, Boss Luo went out for drinks.

It was a private affair, not business entertainment.

Boss Luo, being a middle-aged man with wealth and power, and with a son already, never even thought about remarrying.

For a brusque man like him, his thoughts were simple and crude: Women, well, they’re just like that.

If he wanted one, he could find one at any time. If he felt good about her, he would keep her around for a while. Once that feeling was gone, he would split up and move on to the next one.

You couldn’t say he was scum—at least Boss Luo never swindled money, never fooled around for sex, and never cheated emotionally.

And he never forced anything upon anyone.

After all, there are plenty of gold-diggers in this world, and plenty of good-looking, hot-bodied ones at that.

The situation tonight was that Boss Luo had a meeting with an art school girl he had just met recently. For this kind of thing, Boss Luo asked his driver and bodyguard to return ahead of him.

The plan was to stay over at the young lady’s place that evening.

However, after receiving a phone call late at night, Boss Luo dashed out in a rush.

He drove from the city center to the JN district, and halfway there, the accident occurred.

The cause of the accident, according to the preliminary investigation at the scene, was the car going out of control while driving and crashing head-first into the road’s divider.

What caused the most damage to Boss Luo wasn’t the crash itself, but rather that the car smashed into the median barrier, ripping a metal railing tube apart, which then pierced through the windshield and pinned Boss Luo inside the car!

It was sheer luck that Boss Luo survived!

The accident site was less than eight hundred meters away from the nearby fire station and just two streets away from the hospital!

The firefighters arrived swiftly, quickly cut him out of the mangled car, and then the ambulance rushed Boss Luo to the hospital, where timely emergency treatment saved his life!

Furthermore, the hospital’s top surgeon happened to be on duty that night, right at the hospital, and immediately performed an emergency life-saving operation on Boss Luo.

If not for all these factors combined, Boss Luo might have truly met his end tonight.

While recounting this, Luo Qing’s fingers were trembling so badly they could hardly hold onto the cigarette.

"Chen Nuo, do you know? I’m truly scared! Really scared!" Luo Qing took a deep breath, threw away his cigarette butt, rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, and said in a low voice, "I’m just afraid that if my dad suddenly passed away, I wouldn’t even know if I would go crazy..."

Chen Nuo nodded, offering a few words of comfort, "Don’t overthink it. He’s in the hospital, and he’s been rescued. Wasn’t the surgery quite successful? If he pulls through these next couple of days, he’ll be fine."

Luo Qing nodded, "Yeah, the doctor said that, for now, the situation seems to have stabilized. It’s just that he’s in the ICU, and we can’t say he’s out of the woods for these two days. We still have to wait a few days, wait a few days..."

As he spoke, the young man’s eyes reddened.

At this time, a few people came out from the hospital; they were all from Boss Luo’s company.

One of them, a middle-aged man, was short and thin, wearing a jacket and slippers. He was accompanied by three or four young, strong men.

"Uncle Lu." Luo Qing immediately went over to greet him.

"Hmm, Xiao Qing, I went upstairs to look for you but you weren’t there. They told me your friend had come and you went out for a smoke. I came down to check on you." This man, known as Uncle Lu, nodded at Luo Qing. Impatience flickered in his eyes, but he seemed quite composed.

"Uncle Lu, this is my brother Chen Nuo—my dad knows him too. After what happened tonight, I was very anxious, so I called him over," said Luo Qing, and then introduced Chen Nuo to the man.

After a few words, Chen Nuo roughly understood the situation.

This Uncle Lu was Boss Luo’s right-hand man, the deputy in the company, and an old brother who had built their success together.

Unlike Boss Luo, who came from humble beginnings and used to be a sand-casting worker, Uncle Lu had a bit of education.

He had a high school education. For people born in the 1950s, this was quite an accomplishment in those times! To ordinary people, he was a genuine scholar. Boss Luo, for instance, only had an elementary school education.

This Uncle Lu, whose full name was Lu Xiaojun, was named in the fashion of that era, where many boys were given names with strong, often patriotic or military, connotations, such as ’Great Army,’ ’Small Army,’ ’Iron Army,’ or names signifying ’Nation Building’ or ’China Prosperity.’

Lu Xiaojun was a few years younger than Boss Luo, and they were neighbors as kids. His family was very poor; he was short and skinny and often bullied as a youngster, which often prompted Boss Luo, his neighborhood big brother, to look out for him.

Looking after him turned the two into the best of friends.

Boss Luo later became a sand-casting worker, while Lu Xiaojun, being more intelligent, finished high school and then worked as a technician in a factory—he had actually wanted to join the military but didn’t pass the physical examination.

As time passed, their circumstances reversed. It used to be Boss Luo who took care of the younger Lu Xiaojun, but once Lu Xiaojun became a technician, with his high school degree making him a man of culture in the factory and earning a higher salary, he would frequently help out Boss Luo financially.

Back then, Boss Luo was still a wild young chap, working inconsistently as a sand-casting worker and often getting into street fights. Lu Xiaojun frequently had to bail him out of the police station, to the point where he was almost on a first-name basis with the local cops.

Just how close were the two men?

When Boss Luo married Luo Qing’s mother, Lu Xiaojun was the best man.

When Boss Luo’s own father passed away, Lu Xiaojun accompanied him in wearing mourning clothes.

In ancient times, the two of them would have been considered brothers who, though not born on the same day, would wish to die on the same day.

In his youth, Lu Xiaojun had a romantic relationship—thin and weak as he was, he didn’t have much luck with blind dates. However, he had a promising future as a technician in a state-owned factory.

Later on, a colleague in the factory introduced him to a girl from a relative’s family. After meeting, they seemed to be a good match.

They dated for half a year, and then trouble arose.

In those times, social order was somewhat chaotic.

Two local punks set their sights on Lu Xiaojun’s girlfriend, harassing her a couple of times. Once, after a night shift, Lu Xiaojun went to pick her up, and they were ambushed by the same two troublemakers.

Of course, Lu Xiaojun had to protect his girlfriend. A fight broke out, and with Lu Xiaojun being small and thin, he got the worst of it.

Luckily, this took place close to the factory area, so the assailants didn’t dare to do anything too outrageous. They left after hurling some intimidating threats.

When Boss Luo heard about this, he didn’t hesitate. Taking Lu Xiaojun with him, he guarded the road outside his girlfriend’s factory each night.

After two days of vigilance, they caught the two troublemakers.

Boss Luo, armed with a shovel, chased one away and then cornered the other in a dead-end alley, hitting him on the head with the shovel.

The man collapsed on the spot without a sound, blood pouring everywhere!

Believing he had killed someone, the young Boss Luo was in shock, but the nearby Lu Xiaojun kept his cool, grabbed the shovel, and pulled Boss Luo to flee!

Later that night, they turned themselves in to the authorities, with Lu Xiaojun telling the police that he was the one who had hit the man with the shovel!

Originally, Boss Luo refused to accept it—he had clearly been the one to strike the blow!

But Lu Xiaojun convinced Boss Luo:

"What is our relationship? We’re brothers! Brothers closer than blood relatives! I was the best man at your wedding! You grieved with me when my father died!

"Now, facing this trouble, who should go to prison? It makes more sense for me!"

Lu Xiaojun’s reasoning convinced Boss Luo: if Boss Luo went to prison, it would be up to Lu Xiaojun alone to take care of both families.

What if those two thugs retaliated afterwards? How could Lu Xiaojun, slender and short, handle it?

Boss Luo was already married at the time; what would happen if his wife was bullied? Could Lu Xiaojun fight anyone off?

Only with Boss Luo outside could he take good care of both families!

Boss Luo, with red eyes and clenched teeth, nodded his agreement.

Fortunately, the person who got hit with a shovel didn’t die; he was just injured. And in the pitch-dark dead-end alley, it wasn’t clear who had struck the blow.

As a result, Lu Xiaojun was clanged into prison and served several years.

During his imprisonment, Boss Luo wasn’t idle either. He took Lu Xiaojun’s mother directly into his own home and cared for her as if she were his own mother.

Meanwhile, Boss Luo managed something that, in the eyes of Luo Qing and Chen Nuo, was quite miraculous.

He used various channels to find out information about the other inmates who were locked up with Lu Xiaojun.

Then, Boss Luo personally visited the families of everyone who shared a cell with Lu Xiaojun!

Don’t get it wrong; he wasn’t there for threatening or intimidating shenanigans.

Boss Luo went to deliver gifts directly!

In those years, supplies weren’t abundant.

The things Boss Luo brought were premium goods of the time.

High-quality dried noodles, bag after bag delivered to their homes.

Bright white flour, pack after pack sent to people’s homes.

Cigarettes, liquor—during festivals and holidays, none were overlooked!

As a result, when those inmates heard that their own families were being visited and given gifts by Lu Xiaojun’s friend...

Lu Xiaojun’s life in prison over those years became much easier—at least, no one bullied him! The people around him were quite willing to look after him.

As Boss Luo put it:

"I thought about going to threaten them, to give them a scare—but that wouldn’t work! Out of ten people, even if I intimidated eight or nine, if there was just one holding a grudge, they might take it out on my brother with a sudden attack in there.

"Wouldn’t that be the end of him then?

"He is my only brother! I cannot take that risk!

"Giving gifts is much safer!

"Even if among those ten people, half were ungrateful, taking my gifts and not doing anything—at least they were harmless!

"If only half of them remembered the favor, my brother’s days inside would be a bit easier!"

Luckily, in those years, Boss Luo was no longer a sand-caster but had started his own business and made some money. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to afford such gift-giving.

Boss Luo did as he promised. For the several years that Lu Xiaojun was inside, Boss Luo kept sending gifts to the inmates’ families!

Lu Xiaojun’s time inside became much more comfortable—how could it not?

With the families of his fellow inmates—those locked up in front, behind, to his left and right—all eating the white flour Boss Luo sent and smoking the cigarettes he provided, how could they bully Lu Xiaojun? Could they bring themselves to harm him? Even if one person was an ingrate, could all of them be?

Years later, Lu Xiaojun, having behaved well, was released upon completing his sentence.

When he was released, Boss Luo came with a car to pick him up, and they went home in style.

Back home, Lu Xiaojun saw his mother, well cared for and plump in Boss Luo’s home.

He then inquired about the latest business Boss Luo was managing.

Without a second word, he grabbed Boss Luo and rushed to the company.

At the company, Lu Xiaojun had Boss Luo pull out the company’s accounts. After looking them over for half an hour, he spotted the problems.

Boss Luo was a rough man, lacking in education. Although he had some natural wit and intellect, and the bravery and aggression from his underworld background, that very air of the streets made it difficult for him to expand his business significantly.

Put simply, he lacked a sense of the bigger picture.

He spent as much as he earned.

Although the business seemed to be making a good profit, the reckless spending and throwing money around made it look prosperous from all sides. In reality, there were significant risks, and the cash flow was always stretched thin.

After looking at the accounts, Lu Xiaojun didn’t waste any words. He sighed and said directly, "From now on, I’ll manage the business for you."

Boss Luo didn’t hesitate at all. "Okay!"

Hence, the two brothers joined forces to make their way in the world, which led to Luo Dachanzi becoming the renowned Boss Luo of today.

***

Actually, the first one to arrive when Boss Luo had his accident tonight was Lu Xiaojun. Luo Qing was out, staying overnight at an internet cafe playing games with friends, and only hurried over after getting the call.

Luo Qing was completely panicked at the time, while Lu Xiaojun calmly took over and dealt with the hospital and all matters related to the police on Luo Qing’s behalf.

One detail revealed Lu Xiaojun’s style: when he received the call in the middle of the night that Boss Luo had been in a car accident and was being rushed to the hospital, he only put on a jacket when he ran out of the house.

He didn’t even change shoes, arriving in a pair of slippers!

But, he didn’t forget one thing: he brought all the cash from his home safe!

Over two hundred thousand in cash! Packed in a backpack!

In the hospital, major surgeries required immediate payment. Lu Xiaojun understood clearly: he had to bring enough money! Otherwise, if the operation was delayed over money issues, even a minute’s delay would be a tragedy!

After the surgery, Boss Luo was moved to the ICU. Luo Qing was outside, worried, scared, and anxious, while Lu Xiaojun went to find a doctor and had a half-hour talk, asking about everything meticulously.

Lu Xiaojun politely acknowledged Chen Nuo, his demeanor neither particularly warm nor distant. He did, however, offer a few words of thanks and asked Chen Nuo to help keep an eye on Luo Qing.

Then, after leaving a couple of his men behind, Lu Xiaojun departed.

With such a major incident happening to Boss Luo, Lu Xiaojun still had much to attend to!

Chen Nuo stayed with Luo Qing in the hospital until after midnight. Seeing Luo Qing’s emotions sinking lower and lower, he discreetly used his spiritual power. A few waves emanated, causing Luo Qing and Boss Luo’s two men to slump over in their chairs and fall asleep.

Having done all this, Chen Nuo stood up and walked to the entrance of the ICU area.

In the late hours, the duty nurse was still there, and the door to the doctor’s office was closed.

Chen Nuo paced back and forth outside for a while before finding a spot to sit down. Then, he slowly extended a strand of spiritual power into the ICU.

Inside the ICU, Boss Luo was connected to tubes, with various medical devices quietly operating around him.

This strand of spiritual power slowly seeped into Boss Luo’s body.

Chen Nuo first did a cursory check and then raised an eyebrow.

Boss Luo’s injuries were indeed severe.

But fortunately, all vital signs were relatively stable.

Although Chen Nuo was a Controller—if he had sustained such serious injuries, he could manipulate his own body to heal.

But he couldn’t do the same for others.

A Controller can manage their own body but cannot control someone else’s.

At this moment, Chen Nuo thought of Seed—that fellow’s abilities were truly divine.

Putting other abilities aside, just the power to withdraw Life Element at will and revive the dead, making new flesh grow on white bones, was incredible.

That was something Chen Nuo still couldn’t do.

However, in theory, Chen Nuo felt that he should be able to grasp some direction.

He had come into contact with Mother and had exchanged spiritual power. In terms of the magnitude of spiritual power, he might have only reached the pinnacle for humans.

But Chen Nuo was clear about what made him truly powerful—the purity of his spiritual power!

This degree of purity was where Chen Nuo surpassed other human Controllers the most.

In fact, Chen Nuo didn’t believe he was far behind Seed in terms of purity.

If Seed could do it, even if he couldn’t do it yet... at the very least, Chen Nuo should be able to find the right approach.

After a moment of thought, Chen Nuo simply turned around, descended the stairs, and left the hospital building, finding a spot in the green belt to slip into.

Inside the green belt, amidst a cluster of greenery, Chen Nuo casually broke off a branch. He slowly rubbed the broken surface with his fingers, simultaneously pushing his sensory perception of spiritual power to its extreme!

He could faintly sense the feeling of Life Element leaking away!

If he could sense and capture it, then... he should be able to control and manipulate it!

After several minutes of calming his mind, Chen Nuo gathered his spiritual power and attempted to coax out just a tiny bit of the Life Element from the broken part of the branch...

He poked his hand into the dirt!

He made a hole and quickly pinched out a worm, squeezing off one of its legs with his fingers.

Guiding that tiny bit of Life Element flowing from the broken branch, he slowly infused it into the worm...

Having done all this, Chen Nuo let out a sigh of relief, then frowned once again.

Successful... it was successful, in a way.

But the efficiency was too low.

He had put in so much effort to guide a trace of Life Element into the worm’s body, and yet the worm’s leg still hadn’t grown back...

It merely seemed a tad more lively.

Effective.

But essentially, it was useless.

And Chen Nuo himself was utterly exhausted!

Clearly, trying to control Life Element and playing the role of a deity...

Chen Nuo had grasped the method.

But he lacked the power to achieve it.

Put it this way, for Seed, it was like giving him a lever with which he could move the Earth.

Chen Nuo understood the principle. The problem was, what he held wasn’t a lever, but a strand of hair!

After thinking for a while, Chen Nuo slapped his forehead.

Damn! I’m being foolish! To save someone, do I really need to play God?

He took out his phone and dialed Lu Xixi.

"Luo Qing’s father has been in a car accident and is seriously injured. I need Self-Healing Serum now!"

Half an hour later, a taxi screeched to a stop at the hospital entrance.

Inside the car, a sleepy Yu Naitang crawled out and handed a package to Chen Nuo.

"Here you go, two doses of Level B Self-Healing Serum. It’s the stock I kept on me when we were on the run with Teacher before."

Chen Nuo smiled and accepted it. "Okay, I’ll pay you according to the black market rate when I get back."

Yu Naitang blinked. "I could let it go without charging you, if you do me a favor in return?"

"...Tell me first, what is it?"

Yu Naitang pursed her lips. "I don’t want to go to elementary school!"

Chen Nuo sighed. "Go back. I’ll transfer the money to you."

Little Candy grumbled and left.

***

With the Self-Healing Serum, things were a lot easier.

Unable to enter the ICU, Chen Nuo used his spiritual power to remotely inject a small amount into Boss Luo.

Yes, he couldn’t inject too much.

The Self-Healing Serum, especially the Level B one, was too potent for ordinary people.

What if... Boss Luo woke up tomorrow, full of energy and leaping out of bed, scaring all the doctors and nurses in the hospital? That would cause quite a stir!

After injecting just a tiny bit, Chen Nuo estimated the outcome based on his experience using this stuff in his past life.

This would probably speed up Boss Luo’s recovery by three to four times, which should be about right.

The rest could be used a few days later when Boss Luo was out of the ICU and, preferably, in a regular ward.

***

Whew... Fortunately, Little Candy still had some in stock.

Otherwise... in Jinling City, it wasn’t like he could just find a Self-Healing Ability User.

Hmm... He couldn’t very well call Brother Lei back from his honeymoon to draw his blood, could he?

***

When daylight came, Chen Nuo made another call home to ease Ou Xiuhua’s worries.

Then, when he returned to the ward, he saw Luo Qing was already awake, talking on the phone.

Chen Nuo, carrying breakfast he had just bought from the hospital entrance—a large bag of fried dough sticks, soy milk, and such—shared it with Boss Luo’s two subordinates.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Uncle Lu. He told me to stay at the hospital and to tell him immediately if my dad wakes up."

Chen Nuo nodded, then a thought struck him. "There’s nothing wrong with your dad’s company, is there?"

"Uncle Lu didn’t say. It should be fine." Luo Qing thought for a moment and said, "My dad’s sudden car accident and serious injuries definitely caused panic at the company today. Uncle Lu said he needs to hold down the fort there. He mentioned something about a big project that’s halfway done, and he has to take care of reassuring the partners and such."

Chen Nuo nodded; he wasn’t interested in asking more about business matters.

In the morning, the chief surgeon who had performed the operation on Boss Luo came by for a visit. After checking and assuring Luo Qing that the situation looked quite promising, with several indicators showing signs of recovery, Luo Qing’s face finally relaxed a bit.

Chen Nuo then pulled Luo Qing aside and said in a low voice, "Stay put in the hospital. I’m going out for a bit."

Luo Qing was startled, then said, "Sure, you go ahead with your things. I’m fine. My dad’s condition is stable now, so I won’t be blindly worrying or scared anymore.

"Thank you so much for last night! I was panicked and didn’t know what to do. The first thing that came to my mind was to find someone I trust, so..."

Chen Nuo waved his hand dismissively. "What are you talking about! You’re my good friend. When you encounter something like this in the middle of the night, who else would you turn to if not me? What’s with all these formalities?

"I’m going to clear up some matters. When I’m done, I’ll come back, so don’t overthink it! Eat some breakfast; have some fried dough sticks and soy milk. Even if you don’t have much appetite, force yourself to eat a little!"

After giving his instructions, Chen Nuo waved his hand and left.

***

First, he made his way to the scene of the car accident.

The destroyed barrier nearby was already cordoned off, blocking one lane of the road.

The municipal traffic department hadn’t gotten around to replacing the barrier yet—but they were likely to do it in the morning, so Chen Nuo had to hurry to take a look now.

Actually, Chen Nuo wasn’t really suspecting anything; he just felt that he needed to see for himself to be at ease.

It’s better to be a bit more cautious, after all.

From what Luo Qing described of the accident, it didn’t seem to have any suspicious points.

No other cars were involved, no hit-and-run drivers.

It was Boss Luo’s own driving that led to him losing control and crashing into the barrier.

Moreover, Boss Luo had been drinking last night.

So, for the most part, the possibility of someone else plotting the accident could be ruled out.

But Chen Nuo still felt a vague unease.

The key point was that Boss Luo had received a phone call in the middle of the night, which had prompted him to leave the house hastily.

What on earth could have been so urgent to make Boss Luo rush out like that in the middle of the night?

Boss Luo’s phone was damaged in the accident, so to learn about that late-night call, Chen Nuo had to either contact the police or have Luo Qing go to the mobile service provider to check.

***

The segment of the destroyed barrier, the metal fence, was already badly mangled and twisted.

Since half of the road was closed, the morning traffic was a bit congested—it was right at the morning rush hour.

Chen Nuo couldn’t just run over to observe closely under the watchful eyes of the public, so he stood on the side of the road, extending his spiritual power to inspect the fence from afar.

Especially the twisted and broken parts, he examined every inch of it.

Hmm?

Chen Nuo’s expression suddenly changed!

His demeanor instantly became stern!

He took a deep breath, re-examined it once more, then narrowed his eyes, hands in his pockets, and slowly walked away from the street corner.

***

There was something not quite right about the place where the fence was broken.

Logically, if it had been broken by a vehicle collision, the broken parts should have been uneven and irregular.

But one section of the break, the cut surface... was too smooth.

Perhaps he was being overly suspicious... but Chen Nuo still decided he needed to figure it out.

Now, there was another possibility to rule out...

Was it cut by firefighters during the rescue operation, to extricate someone? If so, then there was no issue.

But if not... that would indeed be a suspicious point.

And then there was... that phone call!

***

The story about Boss Luo receiving a phone call and rushing out in the middle of the night came from Luo Qing.

Luo Qing learned about this from Lu Xiaojun.

Lu Xiaojun heard it from the police.

The source of the police’s information... was Boss Luo’s mistress.

The phone was destroyed, so now the only one who might know what was said during that phone call would be Boss Luo’s mistress.

After all, last night, she was the only one by Boss Luo’s side.

***

Luo Qing had casually mentioned the address of Boss Luo’s mistress last night.

He only knew the name of the apartment complex, not the specifics.

But for Chen Yanluo... that was enough!

He took a ride directly to the entrance of the complex.

In 2002, this was considered a high-end apartment complex. Boss Luo reportedly owned three apartments in this complex.

Chen Nuo released his spiritual power, numerous strands of it spreading out, swiftly enveloping the entire complex.

After sweeping the area twice with his spiritual sense, Chen Nuo had silently scanned nearly every household.

Then, with ease, he pinpointed the location.

He located her in Building 6, Room 402.

***

As Chen Nuo stepped towards the complex, he had just entered the gate when a shout came from behind him.

"Wait a second!"

Turning around, he saw Lu Xiaojun quickly getting out of a car parked by the roadside.

Lu Xiaojun looked stern, and two powerfully built men quickly flanked him.

"You’re Chen Nuo, right? Luo Qing’s friend, we met at the hospital last night," Lu Xiaojun said with a grim expression. "What are you doing here?!"

Chen Nuo’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Lu Xiaojun, a flicker in his own eyes. "Uncle Lu, is it? Hmm... I came here to investigate something. I know what you might be suspecting... But why are you here too?"

Lu Xiaojun didn’t speak, making a covert hand gesture. The two burly men quickly came forward, flanking Chen Nuo on each side.

Chen Nuo chuckled. With a casual shove, the two strong men instantly groaned in pain and buckled to their knees.

Lu Xiaojun’s face changed!

Chen Nuo took two steps forward, not making any significant moves, just reaching out and grabbing Lu Xiaojun’s arm. "Uncle Lu, perhaps you should answer my question first!

"Why have you come here? I heard from Luo Qing that you went to the office!"

Lu Xiaojun stared at Chen Nuo silently. Chen Nuo slightly tightened his grip, and Lu Xiaojun’s face immediately paled, but he clenched his teeth tightly.

Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then let go of his hand. Lu Xiaojun immediately took a deep breath and glared at Chen Nuo bitterly. "Young man, such impressive skills!

"Humph... Luo Qing treats you like a brother, and Boss Luo knows you too...

"Do you even deserve Luo Qing’s trust?!

"It seems they were truly blind to bring a wolf into their own house!"

Hmm?

Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow.

This was getting interesting.

His facial expression relaxed, though he frowned slightly. "Uncle Lu, I think I understand... It seems there’s been some kind of misunderstanding between us.

"Let me clarify.

"I believe there’s something suspicious about Boss Luo’s accident. I went to the scene and found some questionable points, so I came here to ask Boss Luo’s mistress about the phone call that made him rush out in the middle of the night."

Lu Xiaojun was startled. "You... you’re not?"

"I know what you were suspecting," Chen Nuo nodded. "Anyone who saw me here would likely suspect me of ill intent.

"But Uncle Lu, the same goes for you. I also doubted you just now.

"Because, arguably, neither of us should be here.

"Let’s not waste time on misunderstandings; they’re the most tedious things.

"I’ll be blunt with you: Luo Qing is my brother! Our relationship... well, it’s much like the brotherhood you share with Boss Luo.

"So, whoever messes with Luo Qing, I’ll deal with them.

"Have I made myself clear enough?"

Lu Xiaojun stared hard into Chen Nuo’s eyes, trying to discern something from the young man’s gaze.

After a few seconds, Lu Xiaojun exhaled and nodded. "...Let’s talk in the car."

Pausing, Lu Xiaojun added, "I’ve also been thinking more and more that something was off about last night. I went to the company and asked; everyone said they didn’t call Boss Luo last night!

"So I wanted to find that woman and ask her in person.

"But no matter how many times I called, her phone went unanswered.

"That’s why I had to come here myself.

"And, I’ve just arrived. If you don’t believe me, go feel the hood of the car; it’s still warm."

Chen Nuo nodded. "I believe you. Let’s not get in the car. Let’s go straight up and clear things up with that woman."

"Yeah, I’ve called, but no one answered. I’m worried something might have happened."

Chen Nuo smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s at home."

Yeah, I’m not going to tell him, but when I was scanning with my spiritual power just now, I "saw" Boss Luo’s mistress at home taking a shower.