18: Yuan Shu, a remarkable woman

Ning Yang held his head high, full of himself, "This is just the beginning. It won't be long before this young master becomes the number one weapon refiner in the Divine Dragon Country!"

Lin Du nodded and chimed in with a smile, "To be able to refine weapons of this level at such a young age—give it another two years of experience, and who knows what you'll achieve?"

"As the saying goes, 'a tiger father has no cowardly son.' The title of the number one weapon refiner in the Divine Dragon Country will surely belong to you, Ning Yang, in the future!"

Ning Yang was very happy with Lin Du's praise, and gradually started to get carried away.

He glanced at the empty bowl in Lin Du's hand and said generously, "Stick with me, I'll look after you in the Ning Family. From now on, leave my sister's daily care to the servants; you don't need to do it!"

"There's no reason for a real man to be serving a woman all day long."

The more Ning Yang talked, the more excited he became. He put his arm around Lin Du's shoulder and started to show off his abilities.

"Lin Du, let me tell you, not only am I skilled at weapon refining, but I also have a knack for dealing with women."

"You know that pretty little servant girl at home, Bai Jie? She doesn't even dare to look up when she sees me now."

"And what about Xiao Mei and Xiao Lingdang? Which one of them hasn't fallen for my prowess?"

Lin Du stood to the side, his eye twitching as he listened. This young master really didn't filter anything he said.

Ning Yang acted like an experienced veteran, lecturing Lin Du.

"Listen to your brother's advice: you can't spoil women. If they need a beating, you beat them!"

"You and my sister are married now, what are you afraid of? You're a full-grown man, surely handling a woman is as easy as pie for you?"

Just as Ning Yang was getting carried away, Lin Du suddenly felt a chill behind him.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure in purple pajamas, who had appeared at the bedroom door at some point.

Lin Du's heart sank, and he hurriedly tried to signal Ning Yang with his eyes, but Ning Yang was in the middle of his rant and didn't notice the subtle expressions on Lin Du's face.

Ning Yang was used to being bullied by Ning Fengya on a daily basis.

In his excitement, he was gesturing wildly and holding court, unable to stop himself.

"A cold, aloof woman like my sister needs to be beaten whenever there's nothing else to do—beat her three times a day! If that doesn't work, then beat her six times a day!"

"Once you've beaten her into submission, you'll be the one calling the shots in this house!"

"Women won't be obedient unless you beat them; that's an eternal truth!"

At this point, Ning Yang's voice suddenly trailed off.

Based on past experience, this was when Lin Du should be offering words of heartfelt admiration.

But now... why was it so quiet?

"Are you finished?"

Just as Ning Yang was feeling confused, a cold voice suddenly exploded in his ear.

Before Ning Yang could react, his ear was grabbed by a slender hand.

"Ning Yang, please, continue!"

"Tell me, should I beat you three times today, or six times?"

Without another word, Ning Fengya grabbed Ning Yang's ear and twisted it hard twice.

Ning Yang's ear instantly deformed, and a pig-like cry for help escaped his mouth.

"Ah—"

"Sister! Sister! I was just joking, let go!"

"My ear is going to fall off!!"

In this house, if there was one person Ning Yang feared the most, it was definitely Ning Fengya.

Just a moment ago, Ning Yang had been running his mouth, completely forgetting that they were at the door of Ning Fengya's bedroom...

Lin Du stood to the side, pursing his lips and suppressing the urge to laugh.

Watching Ning Yang's face turn pale from the intense pain, Lin Du pretended to intercede, "Wife, let go, don't hurt him!"

Hearing Lin Du interceding for him, Ning Yang's heart was filled with gratitude.

"Lin Du is truly the one in the Ning Family who understands me best; he's so reliable when it counts!"

Unexpectedly, Ning Fengya didn't give Lin Du any face at all.

Ning Fengya shot a cold look at Lin Du, "You seemed to be enjoying yourself just now? Do you want to help Ning Yang share his pain?"

Lin Du shook his head decisively.

"Hmph!" Ning Fengya snorted coldly. "There's a meeting in a while; go tidy up the conference room. I'll deal with you later!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Du cast an apologetic glance at Ning Yang and then slunk away from this place of trouble.

Watching Lin Du's retreating back, Ning Yang felt both desperate and guilty.

He was desperate because now that Lin Du was gone, no one could save him, and he was guilty because his words earlier had caused trouble for Lin Du.

Surely, those words just now would make Lin Du's already low status in the family even more difficult...

...

A day later, the senior members of the Ning Family gathered in the conference room again.

Just like yesterday, Lin Du stood at the door with tea, eavesdropping on the news.

The atmosphere of today's meeting was very serious, and the Ning Family executives in the conference room all wore worried expressions.

Ning Tianxiong sat at the head of the table with an expressionless face, holding a cigar, with wisps of smoke curling around the conference room.

"Fengya, how has the matter with the Shadow Killer Group been handled?"

"Dad, there were 175 players from the Shadow Killer Group in the game yesterday. We killed all of them, and in the end, their leader paid a large amount of 'lifespan value' to settle with us."

The Shadow Killer Group was clearly the victim, yet in the end, they had to pay money to beg for forgiveness. This was the overbearing power of a top financial conglomerate family.

After briefly mentioning the Shadow Killer Group, Ning Tianxiong brought up the main purpose of this meeting.

"You all know about Fallen Star being killed yesterday, right?"

The Ning Family executives in the conference room looked at each other and nodded.

Ning Tianxiong took a puff of his cigar and said, "Since you all understand the situation, let's hear your respective opinions!"

After Ning Tianxiong finished speaking, the conference room was silent.

The implications of this matter were too significant; no one was willing to be the first to step forward and express an opinion.

Ning Tianxiong smiled and looked at the white-haired elder sitting at his side, "Great Elder, it seems everyone is unwilling to wade into these muddy waters. Why don't you take the lead?"

The white-haired elder sighed, "Sigh! Since no one is willing to speak, I will."

"According to my understanding, Shameless Cao Thief did not attack Fallen Star without reason. Fallen Star has been obsessed with gambling in recent years and secretly borrowed a lot of 'lifespan value' from Yuan Shu. Shameless Cao Thief was just collecting the debt according to the rules."

"Although Fallen Star is a minor city lord under the Ning Family, in this situation, it's not appropriate for us to shield him."

After the Great Elder finished speaking, the Second Elder of the pro-war faction was clearly unwilling to accept this.

"Great Elder, that is incorrect!"

"Regardless of anything else, Fallen Star is a subordinate of our Ning Family. If we ignore this matter, the brothers below will be disheartened."

"In my opinion, a life for a life is only right! We should help Fallen Star pay back the 'lifespan value' he owes, and then kill Shameless Cao Thief once. That way, both sides will be even."

Hearing this, the Great Elder shook his head without hesitation.

"Second Elder, I know Fallen Star is your man, but you can't be this biased!"

"In recent years, Fallen Star has done many shady things, and we've been turning a blind eye to it. By rights, someone like him should have been kicked out of the Ning Family long ago; keeping him only tarnishes the Ning Family's reputation."

"Besides! That woman Yuan Shu is not someone to be trifled with..."

Mentioning the name Yuan Shu caused the conference room to fall silent once again.

The main reason the Ning Family executives dared not step forward to express their opinions was actually because of Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu was a woman, a very legendary woman.

The faction "Three Kingdoms" that she created with her own hands had, in a mere ten years, domineeringly ascended into the ranks of the top factions in the Divine Dragon Country.

She was only in her thirties now, yet she had accomplished things that many financial conglomerate families with thousands of years of heritage could not.

Many major factions in the Divine Dragon Country had tried to block the rise of "Three Kingdoms," but "Three Kingdoms" had crushed all those who stood in its way with overwhelming force.

Yuan Shu's charisma had attracted many high-sequence players, and the power of "Three Kingdoms" was growing rapidly at every moment. Today, "Three Kingdoms" was already one of the hegemons of the Divine Dragon Country, the strongest rising star in recent years, and its strength had long reached an unfathomable level.

There were not many major factions in the Divine Dragon Country that could go toe-to-toe with "Three Kingdoms," and unfortunately, the Ning Family was not one of them.

The Ning Family was very strong and was also one of the hegemons of the Divine Dragon Country, but compared to "Three Kingdoms," it was still a notch inferior.

This was also the main reason why the Ning Family's senior members were wary of Yuan Shu!