Chapter 323: Yurong’s Mother’s Lover

The old man said ’one of our own,’ but Li Yan didn’t think of it in the sense of ’one of our own.’ He just assumed it referred to their shared profession and wanted to see if the old man would unwittingly reveal a bit about the current situation, which is why he gave him the chance to speak.

He didn’t expect the old man to claim that he was Zhang Yurong’s biological father!

This almost made Li Yan spit blood. Claiming to be Yurong’s biological father, do you think this is an eight o’clock family ethics drama?

Of course, he found it even less believable. As for the old man knowing the name ’Zhang Yurong,’ it wasn’t surprising. If he was an enemy of Zhang Tianyi, he would inevitably pay attention to and learn about the Paradise Group. Knowing Zhang Yurong was as normal as it gets.

Just as Li Yan was about to strangle the old man unconscious, the old man reacted. That statement was hard to believe, but it was enough to shock Li Yan. And for a fellow top-tier assassin, that’s precisely the kind of opportunity needed.

In the moment Li Yan was too shocked to speak, the old man had already produced a knife, pressing it against Li Yan’s rib from below.

It’s just an ordinary fruit knife, but in the hands of an S-level top assassin, it would undoubtedly become a lethal weapon!

Li Yan smirked slightly and confidently said, "Do you believe that before you can even make a move, I can crush you to death?"

At this moment, the old man withdrew the knife, "I mean no harm. As for the current situation, I believe you are aware. If you want to save Zhang Tianyi and the others, cooperate with me!"

His earlier act of drawing the knife was merely to demonstrate his capability for counterattack and to prove that he had the strength to kill Li Yan.

Li Yan stared intently at the old man, trying to figure out exactly who he was and what his intentions were. One thing was clear; he could sense that the old man indeed bore him no murderous intent!

Seeing that he didn’t continue, the old man didn’t stay silent for long and continued, "Your skills are impressive, somewhat surprising me, nearly matching my younger days. But those targeting Zhang Tianyi now are beyond your capability. You have no other options; these are professional assassins. Even calling the police won’t help. You can only assist me!"

"Why?" Li Yan coldly asked.

"Because I’ve already saved Zhang Tianyi once, and if it weren’t for me stalling them here, they would have killed and left!" The old man spoke with a trace of pride.

"..."

A stalemate? Li Yan thought to himself, could it be that this old man harbors hatred for the Zhang Family and his target isn’t Zhang Tianyi and the others, but the assassins who have already infiltrated the Zhang Family?

"I don’t have time to explain everything to you, but without clarifying, you won’t believe me or stop entangling with me. Seeing as you’re... her son-in-law, I’ll give you a brief explanation. What I said earlier was merely to shock you; I am not Zhang Yurong’s biological father, but my relationship with her mother..."

...

In this brief and fast explanation from the self-proclaimed Lao Ding, Li Yan began to understand what had happened earlier. After dinner, Zhang Tianyi, accompanied by Yang Yun, was taking a walk outside. At this time, several assassins had already arrived. There was a Zhang Family private security guard maintaining a distance, following them, but that guard was only equipped to handle ordinary people, having no vigilance against these assassins.

It wasn’t until they finished their walk and were heading home that someone preemptively attempted to assassinate Zhang Tianyi. Perhaps they wanted to avoid alerting others, or for other reasons, they didn’t use a gun for a long-range kill but opted for direct close-range stabbing. This gave the security guard a chance to act, but within just a glance, that guard was knocked down. Just as they were about to kill Zhang Tianyi, they were injured by a nail to the hand!

The one who acted was Lao Ding!

Lao Ding is a retired veteran assassin who loves using nails, which can be found at any hardware store, as hidden weapons. Thirty years ago, he had a deeply beloved woman... yes, a very pure kind of relationship, which was with Yang Yun, Zhang Tianyi’s wife, and Yurong’s mother!

There were some things Lao Ding didn’t say, but Li Yan could guess. Just like in his situation, because Lao Ding was an assassin, living a life of licking blood off the blade, he didn’t want anything to happen to his woman, nor did he want anything to happen to himself, resulting in dragging the woman he loved into grief. So he left early, bottling that affection at the bottom of his heart.

Perhaps Yang Yun, in that heartbroken time, met Zhang Tianyi, and maybe it was out of despair or stepping out of shadows and finding new love, leading to marriage and later giving birth to Yurong. As for whether mother-in-law Yang Yun had already forgotten Lao Ding and fully loved father-in-law Zhang Tianyi, Li Yan couldn’t know, nor would it be appropriate to inquire. However, guessing from human nature, even after twenty or thirty years, it would be hard to forget. But she should have long been accustomed to the current family.

In his youth, out of concern for his profession and for the sake of an assassin’s dream, Lao Ding chose career over love. After many years, having survived, saved enough, burnt out his enthusiasm, he retired. During his assassin days, he was never short of beauties, but they were either fleeting joys or short-term mutual agreements, never a stable relationship, let alone marriage.

When he regretted it and wanted to win back the girl he loved back then, his youth was no longer there, and much time had already passed.

Old Ding found Yang Yun again, but everything had changed. The girl he loved back then was now middle-aged. However, she was well-maintained and still had a graceful charm, with a touch of maternal glow and a hint of nobility. All these made him hesitate!

His body wasn’t old, but his heart was!

In comparison, he felt unworthy of Yang Yun—not unworthy of being with her, but even unworthy of meeting her! He pondered for a long time and still felt it was better not to show up, leave the impression he gave her to remain in the past.

Besides this bit of inferiority, he also understood that Yang Yun already had a husband and a daughter, a beautiful family. If he appeared and intervened, it would only cause her great pain and difficulty!

Whether she had forgotten him or not, even if she recalled him, so what? Knowing that she can’t forget him, so what? Could Yang Yun possibly abandon her husband and daughter to elope with him?

They’re not young anymore!

So Old Ding decided to keep this love that had settled in his heart for many years hidden. He wouldn’t reveal it in front of Yang Yun, but he also lost his passion for life. All the luxury, indulgence, and pleasures were already tired for him. What he wanted was a simple life and... to see her from a distance!

Thus, he chose to stay near Yang Yun, occasionally catching a glimpse of her, satisfied knowing she was living well. In this way, he would grow old with her slowly—in a corner where she didn’t know...

...

As for Zhang Tianyi, Old Ding’s feelings were, of course, complicated, with unavoidable jealousy and envy. And as for Zhang Yurong, he’d developed an affection for her by association with Yang Yun. Because she was her daughter, he subconsciously tended to regard her as his own daughter. Over the years, seeing Zhang Yurong grow up to be even more beautiful than her mother brought him great comfort, and he envied Zhang Tianyi all the more.

But he kept all this very well, never letting the Zhang Family see or notice a bit.

When Zhang Tianyi was seriously ill, Old Ding knew about it too. He even secretly rejoiced, with the other side of human nature making him hope Zhang Tianyi would just die! With the husband dead and the daughter grown, Yang Yun would have fewer concerns, and he might have a chance to rekindle their past relationship...

He even thought about hastening Zhang Tianyi’s death!

With his abilities, killing a seriously ill Zhang Tianyi was a piece of cake, even doing it without anyone noticing was not difficult. But seeing Yang Yun’s sorrowful face, seeing Zhang Yurong’s sadness, Old Ding gave up. He understood that even if Zhang Tianyi died, Yang Yun wouldn’t become his wife, nor would Zhang Yurong become his daughter—they would only suffer more!

Although he hadn’t appeared, Old Ding had always been observing and paying attention to the Zhang Family’s matters. Regarding Li Yan’s presence, he had investigated somewhat, but he cared more about Yang Yun, so he didn’t spend too much time getting to know Li Yan.

Tonight, it was the first time in many years that he took action after stepping back!

Zhang Tianyi’s health had improved, and Yang Yun had become happier. So even if tonight’s assassin was only targeting Zhang Tianyi, Old Ding wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.

However, he didn’t want to frighten Yang Yun, nor did he want to blow things up. Otherwise, with the police investigation, he’d either have to leave, or Yang Yun might become aware of his existence. Therefore, he only used a nail to injure the assassin’s hand, without taking their life.

This was a warning, to make them retreat in the face of difficulties.

But he didn’t expect an unintended consequence—since it was inconvenient for him to show up and he only launched a distant covert attack with a nail, the assassins, realizing the danger, ended up taking the Zhang Tianyi couple hostage, along with the fallen security guards, and brought them all into the Zhang home.

In doing so, they formed a defensive position. They could keep Old Ding at bay, and if he approached, they had the upper hand. They could also use Zhang Tianyi and his wife’s lives to make him cautious. Moreover, they could exploit the situation to lure Zhang Yurong and Li Yan back and capture them all!

Old Ding also realized this, feeling a bit regretful, but the fact had already been established. He was indeed wielding caution, maintaining a standoff nearby. Through his murderous aura, he manifested his presence.

When Zhang Yurong and Yue Yao arrived and entered the Zhang home, Old Ding grew more worried, understanding the other side wasn’t killing anyone, not out of fear of him but waiting for everyone to be present. So he waited too, for an opportunity—Li Yan’s arrival!

Old Ding intended to follow Zhang Yurong, hiding his murderous intent, allowing Li Yan to lead him inside. That way, he’d have a chance to rescue them. If he could only save one person, he would, of course, choose to save Yang Yun. (To be continued, for more details, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author, support legitimate reading!)