Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

With the return of Lu Chao, Luo Wendeng, and the others, Wu Caicai also emerged from her room. She had barely steadied herself when a tremor ran through her body.

Lu Chao and the others looked over.

The next moment, the woman’s voice from outside the courtyard rang out again: ”Wu Caicai, I told you to get the hell out here.”

Wu Caicai took a deep breath and began to explain in a low voice...

”That’s my Second Mother, my father’s second wife.”

”I can’t believe she’s right here, near Beast Flame Academy. She must have orders from my father to drag me back for punishment.”

”I... I might not be able to face the third trial alongside you all.”

With that, Wu Caicai walked out, one step at a time.

Uncle Leng hesitated for a moment. Instead of following, he stopped beside Lu Chao...

”Hero Lu, Miss Caicai’s mother and I... we were originally guards for this Second Mother.”

”Back home, she despises the young miss and her mother more than anyone.”

”If my young miss is taken back, I’m afraid... by the time she gets home, she won’t be in one piece.”

As he said this, Uncle Leng’s voice trembled and his face grew pale. ”I’m begging you, Hero Lu, please think of something. I know this is a family matter for the Witch Family of the Hundred Flames Trading Company, but you must have a way to help, right?”

At Uncle Leng’s words, Yu Xiaoping and the others also turned to look at Lu Chao.

To be taken back, not even in one piece by the time she arrived home... That meant she would suffer inhuman abuse on the journey.

Lu Chao didn’t hesitate for a second. ”Don’t worry,” he said firmly. ”I’ll do everything I can.”

’He and Wu Caicai might have met through business, but she had helped him so much since. They’d fought side-by-side, and now they were both in Dragon Flame Academy. How could he possibly turn his back on her?’

’Besides, he couldn’t forget that Wu Caicai had gone out of her way to help him with the Life-taking Bone incident in Yangzhou City, turning the tables so it looked like a frame-up by Cheng Weishan and his cronies.’

With that, Lu Chao strode out of the courtyard gate. The others, of course, hurried to follow.

The moment they stepped outside...

They heard the same woman’s voice bark, ”Wu Caicai, you unfilial disgrace! You’ve brought shame upon our family! Kneel before me!”

This was the scene that greeted Lu Chao and the others:

A troop of several dozen people from the Hundred Flames Trading Company was gathered outside the courtyard. In their midst was a luxurious carriage, and standing before it was a middle-aged noblewoman dripping with jewels.

Wu Caicai stood frozen before her.

The noblewoman was, of course, Wu Caicai’s Second Mother, the one Uncle Leng had said was named Zhong Qiao.

At that moment, Second Mother Zhong Qiao’s face was a mask of fury. She was berating Wu Caicai, even demanding she kneel on the spot.

A crowd was already gathering, full of students from the various smaller institutes who had come to see what the commotion was about.

To be forced to kneel in public like that was utterly humiliating.

But Wu Caicai’s expression remained calm. She retorted, ”Second Mother, please tell me how I have been a disgrace? How have I brought shame upon our family?”

Three days had passed; she had long been prepared for this, knowing this day would eventually come.

But her words had barely faded when Zhong Qiao shrieked, ”You dare talk back to me? You’re asking for a beating!”

And with that, she swung a vicious slap right at Wu Caicai’s face.

But Wu Caicai, ever prepared, stepped back and dodged it. Clearly, she had experience with this sort of thing.

Her slap missing its mark, Zhong Qiao flew into a rage. ”Guards!” she screamed. ”Seize this unfilial little bitch!”

Instantly, two of her guards rushed forward, striding toward Wu Caicai.

Just as the guards were about to reach her, Uncle Leng prepared to charge out.

But someone else was faster. It wasn’t Lu Chao, but Luo Wendeng and the others, who all surged forward to shield Wu Caicai.

Lu Chao, however, held Uncle Leng back. ”It’s not your place to step out right now,” he said quietly. ”Let us handle this.”

With that, Lu Chao also strode forward.

Uncle Leng’s heart skipped a beat as he immediately understood Lu Chao’s meaning.

’To put it bluntly, he was just a minor guard of the Hundred Flames Trading Company. If he got too involved, he could be accused of striking his masters. Wu Caicai might end up being fine, but he would be the one made an example of.’

「At the same time...」

When Luo Wendeng and the others stepped forward, Zhong Qiao’s two guards immediately halted, turning their attention to the newcomers.

Seeing this, Zhong Qiao’s voice turned icy. ”Wu Caicai, and you still claim you haven’t been a disgraceful, unfilial daughter? Now you’re calling on outsiders to challenge me, your elder? Is that it?”

Before Wu Caicai could answer, Zhong Qiao turned her gaze to Luo Wendeng and his friends.

”You little pieces of trash from Dragon Flame Academy, get the hell out of my sight! This is our family’s business, and you have no right to interfere.”

She was the picture of arrogance, looking down on Luo Wendeng and the others with contempt.

It was then that Lu Chao stepped forward. He looked at Zhong Qiao and said, ”Lady Wu, I presume? Regarding Miss Caicai...”

But before he could finish, Zhong Qiao cut him off. ”You must be that Fake Lu Chao, right? You can get lost, too. It’s not your place to meddle in our family affairs, either.”

With that one phrase—”family affairs”—she could shut down everyone from Dragon Flame Academy.

Standing in the back, Uncle Leng was at a complete loss. The academy was just an academy, after all. How could it possibly interfere in a family’s private matters?

’No matter how capable Hero Lu is, this will be difficult.’

Beside him, Dean Jiang and Yu Fei were also frowning deeply. This situation was indeed a thorny one.

Lu Chao, however, remained perfectly composed. He spoke calmly...

”Lady Wu, when did I ever say I wanted to meddle in your family’s affairs?”

”What I was going to say is that Miss Caicai owes me something. She is unable to repay it, so she must remain here at Dragon Flame Academy.”

”She can leave when—and only when—she has repaid her debt.”

At these words, Uncle Leng’s head snapped up, his expression one of utter astonishment.

Wu Caicai, who had been bracing for the worst, was equally stunned. ’You can do that?’ she thought, dumbfounded.

Luo Wendeng and the others blinked a few times, then broke into smiles.

Across from them, Zhong Qiao was momentarily stunned as well. Then her face darkened. ”Bullshit! Don’t give me your pathetic excuses! Do you think I...”

Before she could finish, it was Lu Chao’s turn to interrupt. ”Lady Wu, is the great Hundred Flames Trading Company trying to welsh on a debt? Are you trying to drag Wu Caicai back so that what she owes me goes unpaid?”

His voice boomed, cutting her off. Before she could even react, Lu Chao waved a hand dismissively. ”Take Wu Caicai back into the courtyard. Until she has repaid her debt, she is not to take a single step outside without my permission.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yu Xiaoping was the first to leap into action.

She turned to Wu Caicai, blinked her big eyes, and called out with a grin, ”Wu Caicai, back to the courtyard with you!”

After a moment of stunned silence, Wu Caicai gave Lu Chao’s back a deep, meaningful look. Then, clenching her fists, she turned and headed back toward the courtyard.

Zhong Qiao, seeing this, erupted in fury.

”You little bitch! You dare put on this act for me? You dare to defy me?!”

”All of you, go! Seize that little bitch Wu Caicai and bring her to me! Anyone who gets in the way... crush them!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her dozens of guards charged out as one, moving to seize Wu Caicai.

To get to her, they would have to go through Lu Chao, Luo Wendeng, and the others, and the guards charged forward without the slightest hesitation.

But Lu Chao simply said, ”Old Yu, send them all back.”

Hearing this, Yu Fei shot forward without hesitation and unleashed a barrage of attacks on the guards.

He sent them all reeling back.

Once they were driven back, Lu Chao took another step forward. ”Lady Wu,” he said, ”all of you at the Hundred Flames Trading Company are business people. Wu Caicai owes me a debt, and a debt must be paid. If you can repay it on her behalf, I will release her immediately.”