Chapter 670 - 669: Rescued (Part 1)

It all happened so fast that neither Mrs. Tang nor Ye Xilan had time to react.

She collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud as a bone-deep agony shot through her. Only then, as Ye Xilan screamed her lungs out with a face covered in tears and snot, did it feel real.

Everything was real, just like that day more than twenty years ago.

Back then, she had lost control and snatched Wu Sheng away. At that time, Wu Sheng was just a fragile child, completely at her mercy.

She became trapped in the dream she had woven for herself, unable to break free.

That is, until Wu Qihua found her. The raw, agonizing pain of having her flesh bitten away gave Ye Xilan her first taste of bone-deep pain and terror.

They say giving birth is the most painful thing in the world, but she had never experienced it. The greatest pain she had ever known in her life was what Wu Qihua had inflicted upon her.

Because of that bloody, mangled piece of flesh Wu Qihua had torn away, she could never again bear the sight of raw pork, chicken, or any other meat. Seeing it would instantly remind her of the chunk bitten from her own body.

It was painful and terrifying; she would vomit every single time she saw it.

Eventually, she started eating very little meat. While most people love meat, she alone came to prefer vegetables.

She used to be a normal person who enjoyed meat, but that incident brutally conditioned her to fear it.

Ye Xilan was terrified of Wu Qihua. She wanted to avoid her at all costs and never directly confront her.

But... but when it came to Wu Sheng, Ye Xilan simply couldn’t hold back.

’A man as outstanding as Wu Sheng finally found a bride; she had to be a respectable, decent girl, definitely not someone like Su Li.’

Ye Xilan would rather die than accept a daughter-in-law like Su Li.

She couldn’t accept it from the very beginning, and she never would. All her efforts had been focused on getting rid of Su Li, but she had never succeeded.

She had given her all for Wu Sheng, exhausting her mind and energy, but her schemes—from Bai Xinyue to Li Anna—had all failed.

Bai Xinyue had been heartless, doing what she did, and Ye Xilan had just written it off as bad luck. But Li Anna had done nothing wrong; she was leagues better than Su Li.

But despite Ye Xilan’s exhaustive arrangements, she ultimately failed. Wu Sheng was utterly bewitched, with eyes only for Su Li.

The news that Wu Sheng and Su Li’s wedding date had been set made Ye Xilan increasingly anxious. The Wu Family’s bustling preparations and the sight of the groom-to-be, Wu Sheng, looking absolutely radiant, left Ye Xilan feeling more and more helpless.

The thought of Wu Sheng and Su Li getting married made Ye Xilan lose her appetite and her sleep; she felt like she was going to go crazy.

Day and night, her mind was consumed with thoughts of sabotaging the wedding, but unfortunately, even her husband, Li Xian, wouldn’t support her.

It was either erupt in the silence or perish in it. Ye Xilan didn’t want to perish, so she finally took action.

’She truly couldn’t bear it. If even Li Kai Xuan could marry a wife from such a good family, Wu Sheng couldn’t be ruined like this.’

Ye Xilan couldn’t just stand by and watch Wu Sheng be ruined.

A month before the wedding day, she decided to take a desperate risk.

’Since normal methods won’t stop them, I’ll have to use a more extreme one—and one that’s guaranteed to work on the first try.’

’Nothing could happen to the groom, so the bride would have to be the one to have a problem.’

’No bride, no wedding. It was that simple.’

Ye Xilan spent days deliberating on how to make Su Li disappear plausibly, in a way that would leave her completely above suspicion.

She poured every ounce of cleverness she had into this, and in the end, executed the plan perfectly.

Su Li had vanished perfectly, and no one connected her disappearance to Ye Xilan.

Ye Xilan was practically delirious with joy.

In the two days since Su Li’s disappearance, she had finally slept soundly. A genuine sense of relief washed over her; for the first time, her mind and body were at ease.

Seeing that not even Wu Sheng could find her, Ye Xilan’s confidence surged. She imagined Wu Qihua’s furious face and spent her days listening to the local gossip about Su Li’s disappearance, all while spreading the rumor that Su Li had vanished out of shame, feeling she wasn’t worthy of Wu Sheng.

One day passed, then two. The closer the wedding date loomed, the happier and more confident Ye Xilan became.

Finally, her confidence grew to the point that she started wanting more.

People are never satisfied. At first, Ye Xilan had only wanted Su Li to disappear. But now that Su Li was truly gone and Wu Sheng was at a complete loss, she wanted more.

That "more" was the power to personally arrange Wu Sheng’s wedding—and to choose his wife.

That was why she had said all that to Li Xian about swapping the bride. It wasn’t a passing thought; she had truly given it that much consideration.

If this were ancient times, if she were the one presiding over the wedding, she could have controlled everything perfectly.

Ye Xilan thought excitedly, and when Wu Sheng actually came to her door, she grew even more smug and delighted.

Just as Ye Xilan’s confidence swelled to its peak, she turned around and heard the news that Su Li had been found.

’How could she believe it? It was impossible for Su Li to be found.’

Upon hearing the news, Ye Xilan’s first instinct was to call the person who had handled things for her.

’How could it have failed? How?!’ Having already tasted victory, Ye Xilan couldn’t accept this new reality. She lost control, forgetting all pretense of secrecy as she hurriedly contacted her man.

The man on the other end insisted it was impossible. "No one could have rescued her from there. It’s absolutely impossible."

"Are you sure? How can you be so sure?"

Ye Xilan demanded as soon as she heard his reply.

But the man on the other end couldn’t be certain. "I... I followed your instructions. I didn’t stay to keep watch, but it should have been impossible for her to be found."

"Forget it. There’s no point in talking anymore. We need to go confirm this immediately. I’m going with you. I have to see it with my own eyes!"

Having made her decision, Ye Xilan hastily made an excuse and went along.

As a security precaution, Ye Xilan hadn’t even known the address where Su Li was being held.

This was her first time going there as well.

Looking at the location, Ye Xilan initially felt the place had been cleverly chosen. But upon arriving, she was startled to see a horrifying, skeletal, disabled old woman there.

The sight of the old woman startled not only the burly man who had tied Su Li up, but Ye Xilan as well.

Ye Xilan assumed Su Li had been found because of this old woman and hastily told the burly man to check if Su Li was still there.

But then the old woman, Mrs. Tang, opened her mouth and shouted, "You’re the one who kidnapped Su Li and brought her here!"

Ye Xilan was stunned—truly and utterly stunned. But an even greater shock was still to come.

Wu Sheng suddenly appeared on the scene as if from out of nowhere.

The strange old woman was sent flying by a single kick from the newly arrived Wu Sheng.

The old woman was sent sprawling to the ground, but this was only the beginning. What followed happened in the blink of an eye.

All four of the old woman’s limbs were snapped.

Literally snapped in two.

Not severed with a blade, but with his bare hands and feet.

Ye Xilan heard the sickening, crisp CRACK of breaking bone as the old woman’s knees were stomped on and shattered.

The next second, both of her arms were simultaneously snapped and twisted, left connected to her body at grotesque angles.

The old woman let out a scream like a stuck pig.

Amidst those blood-curdling screams, Wu Sheng abruptly lifted his head to look at Ye Xilan.

His gaze shot toward Ye Xilan, piercing her like a sharp sword.