"Take care of yourself, I'll call the police as soon as I get out." Jiang Yan whispered a reminder to him before calling her father into the car.
"Jiarong, be careful."
Unexpectedly, even her father-in-law, who had rarely given Lin Yu a second glance before, couldn't help but voice his concern before leaving.
"Hand it over."
After Jiang Yan and the others left, Scarface eagerly surrounded Lin Yu with his men, reaching out to snatch the calligraphy scroll from his hands.
A playful smile curled at the corner of Lin Yu's lips. In a flash, he grabbed Scarface's wrist and twisted it sharply. A crisp *snap* echoed as the wrist bones shattered. Before Scarface could even cry out in pain, Lin Yu kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying five meters away. He rolled twice before finally coming to a stop.
"Sorry, I might have used a bit too much force," Lin Yu said apologetically. He had tried to hold back, but his strength was still overwhelming.
Scarface groaned in agony, spat out a mouthful of blood, and rasped, "Kill him!"
The thugs, momentarily stunned by Lin Yu's move, snapped back to reality at Scarface's command and charged at Lin Yu with knives and clubs raised.
But by the time they reached him, Lin Yu had vanished.
"Over here."
Lin Yu tapped one of the thugs on the shoulder. As the man turned around, Lin Yu slapped him on the head, sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious.
The remaining thugs, terrified by Lin Yu's terrifying skills, let out panicked shouts to mask their fear and rushed at him again.
Lin Yu had no patience for this. With a swift chop to the neck for each, it took less than ten seconds for all of them to collapse to the ground.
"W-who the hell are you?"
Scarface's jaw dropped as he clutched his chest, staring at Lin Yu in shock. In the blink of an eye, all his men had been taken down.
"Bruce Lee?"
No, impossible! Even Bruce Lee in his prime couldn't have done it this fast!
Scarface's heart filled with dread.
"Who I am doesn't matter. Just remember this—I'm someone you can't afford to mess with." Lin Yu walked up to Scarface, his expression cold and imposing.
"Tell that shop owner to forget about coming after this calligraphy again. And next time you see my wife, show some respect. If I catch you ogling her again, I'll gouge your eyes out. Understood?" Lin Yu's voice was icy, dripping with menace.
"U-understood."
Sweat poured down Scarface's forehead. Lin Yu's tone alone sent chills down his spine.
As Lin Yu walked away, Scarface gritted his teeth, his face twisting into a vicious expression. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
Lin Yu headed straight home with the calligraphy. When Jiang Yan and her father saw him return unharmed with the scroll intact, their faces filled with astonishment.
"How did you get back?" they asked urgently.
"The police showed up right after you left and scared them off," Lin Yu lied casually.
Jiang Yan let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I called the police. They arrived just in time."
Lin Yu handed the calligraphy to Jiang Jingren, who was overjoyed. He poured Lin Yu a cup of tea and said warmly, "Son-in-law, you've worked hard. Sit down and have some tea."
Jiang Jingren now looked at Lin Yu with nothing but fondness. This son-in-law had brought him immense pride today—not only securing a priceless treasure but also earning the favor of Tang Zongyun, a heavyweight in the antique world. In his fifty-plus years of life, he had never been this happy.
Jiang Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes at her father. Just hours ago, he had been desperate to make her divorce Lin Yu, and now he was calling him "son-in-law" with such affection.
"Jiang Yan, stay home with Dad. I have something to take care of—I need to go out."
Lin Yu still couldn't bring himself to call her "wife" to her face, so he addressed her by name instead.
Without further delay, Lin Yu left, heading straight for Wei Gongxun's house. It was almost time for their scheduled appointment.
But just as he neared the entrance of the neighborhood, two police cars pulled up beside him. Four or five officers stepped out and blocked his path.
"He Jiarong? You're suspected of assault. Come with us," a square-faced middle-aged man said coldly, flashing his badge.
As he spoke, the other officers tensed, their hands hovering over their holsters as if ready to shoot Lin Yu at the slightest provocation.
Lin Yu sighed inwardly. This had to be Scarface's doing. For a thug to call the police after getting beaten up—how pathetic.
Since they were the ones who had tried to rob him first, Lin Yu wasn't worried. He got into the car, planning to explain everything at the station.
What Lin Yu didn't know was that the square-faced man was actually Scarface and the shop owner's older brother. After getting beaten, Scarface had called him to arrest Lin Yu, hoping to extort the calligraphy from him.
At the station, Lin Yu's phone was confiscated, and he was taken to a cramped interrogation room, where he was locked into a restraint chair.
Before long, the square-faced man and a young officer entered and sat across from him.
"You're He Jiarong. This afternoon on Shimen Road, you assaulted eleven people, correct?"
"Yes, but they tried to rob me first—"
"Answer the question: yes or no?"
The square-faced man cut him off coldly.
"Yes," Lin Yu conceded.
"Of those eleven, five suffered minor injuries, four serious injuries, and two remain unconscious, possibly in critical condition."
"Impossible. I held back—they'd be unconscious for a while at most, not in critical condition," Lin Yu frowned.
"You think you know better than the hospital? Want me to show you the medical reports?" The square-faced man's voice was laced with anger and intimidation.
Lin Yu studied the man's eager expression and suddenly realized something was off.
"Listen, kid, they're pressing charges. If the court convicts you, you're looking at ten to twenty years behind bars," the square-faced man said darkly, trying to pressure Lin Yu.
Then his tone softened. "But they've also said that if you hand over that calligraphy, they'll drop the case."
"Then let them sue me," Lin Yu replied with a careless smile. It was clear now—this man was in cahoots with Scarface.
The square-faced man shot a look at the young officer, signaling him to teach Lin Yu a lesson.
Over the years, the square-faced man had arrested countless people. Many started off as defiant as Lin Yu, but after half an hour under his "care," they'd all be begging for mercy.
The young officer stood up and walked over to Lin Yu, twirling a stun baton that crackled with blue electricity.
"Kid, some things are too much for you to handle. Keeping them will only bring you trouble," he said.
He was the square-faced man's trusted subordinate and had been briefed on the situation. He was eager to help, hoping to get a cut of the profits.
Lin Yu ignored him.
"Stubborn fool!"
Enraged, the young officer cranked the stun baton to its highest setting and jabbed it toward Lin Yu.
What he didn't notice was Lin Yu simultaneously kicking his ankle.
The young officer felt a sharp pain in his foot, lost his balance, and crashed to the floor. As his elbow hit the ground, the stun baton in his hand pressed against his own neck.
His body convulsed violently, and without so much as a whimper, he passed out.
"Tsk tsk, that thing's no joke," Lin Yu mused, impressed. It was his first time seeing one up close.
"You assaulted an officer!" The square-faced man slammed the table, furious. "I warn you—I could shoot you right now and get away with it!"
He pointed at Lin Yu with one hand while resting the other on his holster.
"And I warn you—if you don't let me go now, once Wei Gongxun gets here, that uniform of yours won't be yours much longer," Lin Yu shot back, unflinching.
At the mention of Wei Gongxun, the square-faced man's expression changed instantly.
"You know Director Wei?" he asked, scrutinizing Lin Yu's face for any sign of deception.
"Yes, and we're quite close," Lin Yu said with a smile.
"Bullshit! A country bumpkin like you knows our director?"
The square-faced man had done his homework before arresting Lin Yu. Aside from being somewhat skilled in combat, Lin Yu was a nobody—a useless freeloader with no money or connections. His in-laws were low-ranking civil servants with no real power.
"Believe what you want. He'll probably be here in less than five minutes."
Lin Yu glanced at the unconscious officer's watch. It had already been twenty minutes past his scheduled appointment with Wei Gongxun.
He deduced that Wei Gongxun, unable to reach him by phone (since his phone had been confiscated and turned off), would quickly realize something was wrong. As a seasoned investigator, Wei Gongxun would order his team to check surveillance footage.
Twenty minutes was more than enough time for the police to track him down.
"You think I'm some naive kid?"
The square-faced man refused to believe Lin Yu. He grabbed a rubber baton, ready to teach Lin Yu a lesson himself.
But just as he raised the baton, the door burst open with a *bang*.
Eight fully armed SWAT officers stormed in—real SWAT, armed to the teeth.
Before the square-faced man could react, two officers pinned him to the ground.
"Brother He, are you alright?"
Wei Gongxun hurried in, his face full of apology. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's fine," Lin Yu said calmly, though inwardly, he was stunned.
He had expected Wei Gongxun to come, but not with such a heavily armed force. Aside from the officers in the room, at least a dozen more stood outside. It looked like a full-scale hostage rescue operation.
This was one of Wei Gongxun's own precincts—was this level of force really necessary against his own subordinates?
For Wei Gongxun, it absolutely was.
Lin Yu was his wife's savior, his father-in-law's honored guest. He couldn't afford to let anything happen to him.
He hadn't dared take any chances—the surveillance footage showed four or five men forcibly taking Lin Yu away.
Given the circumstances, he had to assume the worst.
The person sitting in that chair must be someone extraordinary.
*Idiot! Moron! Imbecile!*
The square-faced man wanted to cry. He couldn't help but curse himself inwardly.
"Abuse of power, unlawful detention—cuff him!" Wei Gongxun barked at the square-faced man.
Still dazed by the sudden turn of events, the square-faced man was handcuffed and dragged away before he could even process what was happening.
Meanwhile, back at Baoyuan Pavilion Antiques, the shop owner lounged in his armchair, sipping tea from a red clay teapot, patiently waiting for good news from his older brother.
He had been surprised by his younger brother's failure earlier, but he trusted his eldest brother's competence. In all these years, his eldest brother had never failed him. This time would be no exception.
He could already picture the *Mingqie Tie*—possibly a genuine masterpiece—falling into his hands. Visions of money raining from the sky filled his mind, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Just then, his phone rang. He eagerly picked it up. "Third Brother, did it work?"
"Work? Do you have any idea who you've pissed off this time?!" Scarface's voice trembled with suppressed panic.
"What's wrong?" The shop owner sat up straight, sensing trouble.
"The boss personally led a team to rescue him. Eldest Brother's been arrested! And just now, they issued an A-level warrant for me! Brother, I'm finished!"
Scarface finally broke down, bursting into tears.