Volume 1, Chapter 5: To Kill

"Don't come begging me for mercy later!" Before the words even faded, the man bared his teeth, gripped his knife, and lunged forward, hoping to catch his opponent off guard.

Unfortunately for him, he miscalculated.

It was unclear exactly how Ling Dongyan moved, but with lightning speed, he side-stepped, leaving the attacker lunging at empty air. Ling Dongyan then lifted his right leg, his toe driving straight into the center of the man's back—a flying kick he frequently practiced during his boxing sessions.

The situation turned in an instant. The man, who had been so arrogant just moments before, was sent flying several meters away in the very posture he had used to attack.

When an amateur goes up against a professional, the result of being knocked out is inevitably brutal. The man slammed onto the floor; with a sickening crunch, his chin hit the ground hard and dislocated. Had the carpet not been thick enough to absorb some of the impact, he might well have lost his front teeth.

As he opened his mouth, a metallic taste flooded his palate, and a mouthful of blood surged up his throat, spraying outward.

"You son of a... Argh!" Even as he lay unable to crawl away, he couldn't stop running his mouth. In response, Ling Dongyan pressed his foot down onto the same bruised spot on his back, grinding his heel into the injury with force. The man broke into a cold sweat.

Ling Dongyan looked down at the man, who was writhing on the floor like a worm. "How can you use such foul language? Did your mother never teach you any manners?"

Just as the man tried to speak, Ling Dongyan delivered another flying kick. Half the man’s face slammed into the floor, hitting the edge of the baseboard with precision. The flesh of his nose and the corners of his mouth were torn away, leaving a gruesome, bloody mess of gore and skin.

Before he could attempt to rise, Ling Dongyan stepped on his face as if crushing trash, talking to himself, "Oh, I forgot. Perhaps you don't have a mother." With every word, he ground his heel into the man’s head. The man beneath his foot was barely breathing, yet Ling Dongyan did not stop.

As Ling Dongyan’s longtime friend, Mu Yuan had never seen him like this.

When he arrived after receiving the call, the man on the floor was already on the brink of death, the blood he spat out staining the silver-gray carpet a deep, dark red. The large, congealed pools of blood were a chilling sight.

"Stop, or you'll kill him. See if she’s alright first." It wasn't that Mu Yuan didn't want to help Nie Xingyan, but Ling Dongyan had long since abandoned his usual restraint and composure; anyone who dared to touch her would face his lethal rage.

When he lost control, no one could stop him.

The name "Nie Xingyan" acted like a switch, pulling Ling Dongyan back from the fog of his fury.

Still, unsatisfied, he gave the man—who lay sprawled like a dead dog—one last kick. He ordered his bodyguards, who had arrived to clean up the mess, "Watch him closely. Don't let him die."

***

The presidential suite on the 68th floor of the Kindis Hotel had been booked by Ling Dongyan, and his private physician, Liu Hong, had been waiting for some time.

When she arrived by the CEO’s private helicopter, this was the scene that greeted her.

Ling Dongyan, his clothes stained with blood and disheveled, was clutching a young woman tightly. No matter how she twisted, he held her as if he had lost his soul, refusing to let go.

Nie Xingyan felt as though she were being scorched by a blistering heat. It was as if she were walking through a vast, endless desert under a fierce sun, parched and desperate for water. The clothes she wore felt like an obstruction.

Hot—too hot. Take them off, take them all off!

The pillar she was clinging to seemed cool and sleek to the touch. She pressed her small head against it, whimpering as she did so.

Ling Dongyan, who usually kept his shirt buttoned to the very top, had already had three buttons undone by the woman in his arms. She pressed her chest tightly against his, arching toward him, desperate for more.

The sight, to put it mildly, was quite striking.

Liu Hong, maintaining her professional integrity, looked only where she needed to.

"Mr. Ling, this young lady has been drugged with 'obedience water'."

"'Obedience water'?"

Ling Dongyan didn't care that his own clothes were being torn open. As he asked, he instinctively pulled the base layer Nie Xingyan had lifted back down to prevent her from being exposed.

"It is what the public commonly knows as... an aphrodisiac."

As if to prove her point, Nie Xingyan’s hands kept wandering over Ling Dongyan, tugging at his clothes and fumbling with his buttons, busy and restless.

Dr. Liu, having seen it all, kept her gaze steady. "This substance only became popular in Southeast Asia a few months ago. It started as a drug for intimacy, but it was soon repurposed for darker uses. In the red-light districts there, if a girl refuses to cooperate, they force this upon her. Within ten minutes of consumption, she becomes completely submissive."

The implication was clear.

Ling Dongyan’s eyes turned cold, his tongue pressing against his lower jaw. His voice, strained and taut, carried a hint of regret. "Is it harmful to her body? I don't know how much she ingested."

If one listened closely, one could hear the lingering fear in Ling Dongyan's words.

In just the short time he had taken his eyes off her, this had happened.

Over the years, Liu Hong had served as Ling Dongyan’s private doctor and had often dealt with emergency cases involving blood and violence.

Ling Dongyan had achieved so much at such a young age; he was certainly no pushover. Ruthlessness was perhaps his least visible trait. Many rumors about him were false, and he never bothered to defend himself, only adding to his mysterious aura.

He was young but possessed a profound, impenetrable mind. He rarely revealed his emotions, making it difficult for anyone to gauge his true intentions.

Aside from her, Ling Dongyan was surrounded entirely by men. Over the years, let alone women, he had barely encountered any female creatures. Having spent most of his time abroad, his private life remained largely hidden. With such vast wealth and influence, he had remained free of scandal, leading many to speculate about his sexual orientation.

After all, at his age, a man is usually at the peak of his vitality and desires...

To see him call her out late at night to treat a young woman, and to see him ask with such visible anxiety, was something she had never witnessed before.

"Hot... so hot..." The drug’s effects had taken hold. Nie Xingyan clung to Ling Dongyan like an octopus; his body was cool, easing the discomfort of the heatwave consuming her.

Not content with pressing against his chest, her hands moved lower, tracing his abdomen.

This time, Ling Dongyan acted quickly, pinning her hands down to stop her from moving.

Yet, his own breathing hitched.

Liu Hong glanced at the person in his arms. She was slender and tall, a great beauty, but not of the delicate, fragile variety; she had the air of a self-assured woman. She wore plain clothes and no excess jewelry, appearing remarkably minimalist.

Not daring to stare too openly, she answered whatever he asked. "You can rest assured, Mr. Ling. As long as the antidote is administered in time, there will be no lasting side effects."

Seeing the unusual way the CEO treated this young woman, she hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. "However, this 'obedience water' is mixed with high-purity deer antler extract, which causes it to act very quickly. Before the antidote takes full effect, this young lady may have to endure some discomfort for a while."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Nie Xingyan began to struggle again. Her body felt hollow to the point of agony, as if thousands of ants were gnawing at her, a burning, itching pain drilling into her very bones. No matter how she scratched, it was like trying to soothe an itch through a boot.