Chapter 2306 - Voluntary
Chapter 2306, Voluntary
Chai Hu placed one hand against Luo Bing’s slender throat, and the other on her back. Saint Qi surged out from his body, as though he was prepared to take action at any moment.
The City Lord Mansion guards looked at one another, looks of indignation and frustration on their faces. Their Eldest Young Lady was now being held hostage, leaving them wary of making any reckless moves that might provoke Chai Hu into injuring Luo Bing. If that were to happen, they wouldn’t be far from their deathbeds.
Brimming with anxiety, they looked towards Luo Jin, waiting for his instructions to proceed.
What greeted them were Luo Jin’s narrowed eyes, as he inconspicuously shot them a look. Understanding his intentions intuitively, the guards silently spread out, surrounding Chai Hu on all sides to prevent him from escaping.
The guests that were seated at the same dining table as Chai Hu and Luo Bing had long scattered the instant Chai Hu had stood up to seize Luo Bing.
“Old Dog Luo Jin! If you still care about your daughter’s life, let them know their place!” Chai Hu’s sole eye gleamed with a malevolent lustre as he shot a vigilant look at his surroundings while growling towards Luo Jin.
Luo Jing snorted coldly in response. He raised a clenched fist to signal to the guards to calm down before looking towards Chai Hu, “This King seems to have seen you somewhere!”
With a sneer, Chai Hu replied in a ridiculing tone, “This one is just a nameless member of the younger generation, so Sir City Lord naturally wouldn’t remember me.”
Luo Jin continued, “Regardless of any grudge or grievances between this King and you, my daughter is completely unrelated to them. Let her go, and this King will promise to have a good talk with you.”
Chai Hu burst into a hearty chuckle, “Talk? What’s there to talk with a despicable and shameless person like you? Do you think I’m a three-year-old child?”
Luo Jin responded, “From the looks of it, you’ve been holding a grudge against this King for a long time. Those words that Bing’er was saying earlier, was it all a result of your coercion?”
Hearing his words, looks of understanding flashed across the faces of the surrounding guests. So, this was why Luo Bing would set her father up in such an embarrassing situation! She was being threatened by someone! If that was the case, it would explain why Luo Bing seemed to be incapable of grasping the larger picture here.
“Think what you want!” Chai Hu snorted coldly, showing no intention to provide an explanation.
“I’m not being forced by him…” Right at that moment, Luo Bing suddenly spoke out, “Father, I meant what I said. Please let that lady go! What wrong did she do?”
Luo Jin’s face sank abruptly upon those words ringing out.
Spectacular expressions also appeared on the faces of the surrounding guests, as they were utterly confused about exactly what was happening right before their eyes! Luo Bing had been seized by that one-eyed man, with her life resting in his hands, and yet, she was siding with him?
Luo Jin took a deep breath and quickly assured, “Bing’er, don’t be afraid. Your father will rescue you.” After saying those words, he looked back at Chai Hu. “Your Excellency, you truly don’t fear the Heavens, to dare to intrude upon this marriage ceremony and capture this King’s beloved daughter. Exactly what do you want?”
Chai Hu sneered, “Why do you need to ask this when you know the answer, Sir City Lord? Although other people might not understand why I’ve come here, how could you not know?”
Luo Jin frowned and narrowed his eyes, “Why not just state it clearly, Your Excellency? If it’s possible, why would this King not accept? As long as my daughter is safe and sound, this King is willing to give anything in return!”
He replied in a righteous and solemn manner, causing the surrounding guests to applaud and praise his character.
Someone immediately said to Chai Hu, “Friend, aren’t you being too impulsive and reckless with your actions? Sir City Lord has always loved the common people as his own children, has been diligent in his civic duties, and is praised by the public. Young Lady Luo Bing is innocent, pure, and kind-hearted. Can’t you just talk this out? Do you really have to embarrass everyone like this? Just hear me out. Let Young Lady Luo Bing go, and City Lord Sir will not be difficult with you.”
“That’s right, just let Young Lady Luo go. Everything can be discussed.”
“Hurry up and let her go! If Sir City Lord doesn’t want to punish you, all of us will give you a good beating instead!”
A ruckus surged up in the surroundings, as some people proceeded to give advice with kind words, while others used malicious tones towards Chai Hu. In an instant, Chai Hu seemed to grow anxious, causing him to grip Luo Bing with slightly more force, making Luo Bing’s face to turn pale as her breathing became more difficult.
“All of you shut up!” Chai Hu let out a furious roar. At this moment, it was as if he was in a prison, enemies surrounding him on all sides, his already taut state of mind grew increasingly distraught with anxiety from all the shouting directed at him.
“If anyone says another word, I’ll immediately choke her to death! I mean what I say!” Chai Hu opened his sole eye wide as he let out a violent roar.
Seeing this, how would any of the guests dare to continue speaking? All of them proceeded to shut their mouths, afraid that they might provoke this fellow who had lost his mind to injure Luo Bing.
Luo Jin’s face sank even further as he growled, “Speak! Exactly what do you want this King to do!”
Turning his head, Chai Hu shot a furious glare at Luo Jin, “Release the person beside you!”
“Who are you talking about?” Luo Jin asked despite perfectly knowing the answer.
Chai Hu roared in reply, “If you dare to act so shamelessly again, I’ll immediately take your daughter’s life!”
Luo Jin’s expression changed slightly, “Is your Excellency doing this… to steal my bride?”
Chai Hu sneered, “She isn’t marrying you out of her own will, so how could I be stealing her? I’m just here to save her life!”
Luo Jin replied, “How would you know if she’s willing or not when you didn’t even ask her?”
Chai Hu shot back, “How would she be willing to marry you? Stop daydreaming!”
Luo Jin laughed out before replying, “Are you misunderstanding something? Although this King doesn’t recognise you, I can tell that you and my humble wife… should be friends, right? This King really admires how far you would stick your neck out for your friend. How about this… you can ask my humble wife if she is willingly marrying this King or not. If she isn’t, this King will immediately release her, and not force her against her will. How about that?”
Chai Hu’s expression flickered and changed. He seemed as if he didn’t dare to believe his own ears, causing him to ask in a suspicious tone, “Is that true?”
Luo Jin smiled, “With all of the guests present, how would this King dare to lie before everyone’s eyes?” After a slight pause, he continued, “Or, are you saying that you’ve come here to disrupt and stain this King’s reputation? If that’s the case… this King will definitely not let you off lightly.”
Someone added, “That’s right! We’re willing to bear witness for the City Lord!”
“Little brat, you aren’t here purely for the sake of causing trouble, right? If that’s the case, you really are too despicable.”
Chai Hu’s face turned gloomy as he no longer responded to the shouts coming from his surroundings. After remaining silent for a while, he nodded his head, “Fine, I’ll believe you this once.”
After saying those words, he turned his head towards the new bride and quickly shouted, “Fifth Sister, you should have heard what the City Lord had just said. Tell me, are you doing this on your own will or… did he threaten you! Rest assured, if he really forced you into this, your Fourth Brother will make sure to rescue you, even if he must risk his life to do so!”
“This King can’t thank Your Excellency for the effort you’re putting in for my humble wife!” Luo Jin gave a faint smile, appearing calm and undisturbed.
“Shut your mouth!” Chai Hu growled.
Luo Jin smiled but did not reply.
The new bride, who had not moved an inch as she stood by Luo Jin’s side, even staying still throughout Chai Hu’s disturbance, had now become the focal point of everyone’s eyes. Everyone turned to look at her, wanting to know what kind of answer she would give.
Right in front of everyone’s eyes, the body of the new bride shook slightly for a while, before a pleasant-sounding voice rang out from beneath the red veil, “I… am willing!”
“What!” Chai Hu’s body shook as he was instantly dumbstruck, utterly not expecting that he would receive such an answer from her.
However, that voice was without a doubt his Fifth Sister, and it was not something just anyone could imitate.
For a moment, he was somewhat incapable of accepting this result.
Luo Jin looked at him, “Your Excellency should understand by now, right? This King and my humble wife felt like kindred souls since we met, and we fell in love at our first meeting. If not, this King would not marry her.”
“Big Brother Chai…” Luo Bing turned her head around and looked blankly at Chai Hu, somewhat unable to understand why the series of events were not like what Chai Hu had described them to be. After all, Chai Hu had told her that the new bride had been forced to marry her father. However, the new bride had just told her a completely different answer to his words.
“Impossible! That’s absolutely impossible!” Chai Hu shouted out loudly.
Luo Jin’s expression turned dark before roaring out, “This King has already given face to Your Excellency. For the sake of Your Excellency’s friendship with my humble wife, I won’t cause difficulties for you. I hope that you’ll do what’s best for yourself!”
“That’s right. Don’t continue being an annoying troublemaker, friend. If not, you’ll not be giving everyone face.”
“That’s right. Let Young Lady Luo Bing off. I believe in City Lord Sir’s magnanimity. He will not cause difficulties for you. Let everyone sit down and celebrate with wine. Won’t that be better?”
“Stop before you go too far, little brat! If you wish to die, this old master doesn’t mind granting your wish!”
A noisy cacophony of voices rang out from the surrounding guests, with their impression of Chai Hu dropping to the very bottom.
“That’s impossible.” Chai Hi continued to mumble. “It’s impossible for Fifth Sister to be willing to get married to you. She’s definitely being forced by you to do so!” Saying that, he seemed to have thought of something, causing him to roar out, “It’s definitely because of Big Brother and Second Brother right!?”
“Exactly what the hell are you talking about, you brat!” Blank looks appeared on the faces of the surrounding people.
Chuckling heartily towards the sky, Chai Hu’s laughter rumbled out like thunder, sounding exceedingly carefree, as though he had managed to come to a realisation and untied the knot in his heart. After quite a while, he snapped his head towards Luo Jin and growled, “You really are sinister, you old dog, to actually use Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother as hostages to force Fifth Sister to marry you! If you don’t want the blood of your daughter to flow in this place, you better listen obediently to what I say!”
Luo Jin growled deeply in anger, “You dare to go back on your word?”
Chai Hu sneered, “What’s the point of talking about trustworthiness when talking with a despicably vile person like you? Regardless of anything, I’ll take Fifth Sister away today! If anyone dares to obstruct me, I’ll kill her!” Saying those words, he increased his grip on her throat by a fair bit.
Luo Bing gasped in shock.
Luo Jin’s face lost colour in shock as he hastily said, “Wait!”
“Are you going to let her go!?” Chai Hu shouted.
A deeply profound look appeared on Luo Jin’s face, as though an imminent storm was coming, with the atmosphere within the inner hall growing exceedingly stifling. After gritting his teeth for quite a while, he said, “Since you’re that overly suspicious, I’ll let my humble wife give you a clear reply!”
After saying that, he looked at the new bride beside him.
Upon hearing that, Chai Hu’s face lit up and he shouted, “Come over here, Fifth Sister.”
After hesitating for an instant, the new bride took step after step towards Chai Hu.
“That little brat’s is about to be out of luck!” All of a sudden, Yang Kai, who had been watching from the side with a detached point of view, suddenly mumbled out softly.
Everyone from the Thousand Leaves Sect was having a blast of a time watching the good show unfold before their eyes, being filled with jubilation regardless of the outcome from the disturbance Chai Hu had caused today. After all, no matter the outcome, it had already done damage to Luo Jin’s reputation. After today, this matter would be widely talked about in teahouses and restaurants, and people who were unclear about the inside story would still come to know that Luo Jin was someone vile enough to oppress men and seize women.