131: Chapter 131 Arriving Home

As they left Bageda Left Banner and got back onto the expressway, the sky began to grow dark.

The vast, grassy winds brought a hint of chill. Lin Ning took a deep breath, and felt the stuffy, oppressive sensation in his chest lighten considerably.

He gripped the steering wheel and suddenly let out a laugh.

"Refreshing!"

In Yanjing, he had to hold back, follow procedure, and rely on the power of the system.

But on this vast road, in that moment when the evidence of the crime was indisputable, he chose to act first and ask questions later.

It felt as if his shackles were being undone.

This wasn't a good sign, but Lin Ning felt great, because deep down, he believed human traffickers deserved to die. He had been very restrained, even controlling his strength when hitting them.

He turned on the stereo and found a song with a strong beat. The drums pounded against his eardrums, and his speed increased unconsciously.

The streetlights on both sides gradually lit up, forming golden lines pointing toward home.

Over an hour later, the navigation system prompted: "You have entered Sunite Right Banner."

Lin Ning's heartbeat skipped a beat for no reason.

After exiting the expressway and turning onto the national highway, it was only a short distance to Saihan Town.

He was far too familiar with this road; during his university years, he had returned and departed from here several times every year.

The outline of the small town in the night gradually became clear.

The lights of the residential buildings in the distance were scattered like stars, warm and familiar.

But Lin Ning's brow furrowed.

He slowed down; by the side of the road were the trunk line relay and rest station, along with temporary storage facilities.

This was the final place for centralized inspection, resupply, and rest before reaching Erenhot, the largest port to Mongolia.

Drivers were squatting by their trucks, checking the ropes securing their cargo, while a few people gathered to study the border crossing queue information on their phones...

A scene he had seen since childhood, but today, it looked different in Lin Ning's eyes—

Red.

Scattered halos of red light.

Dotted across every corner of the night.

Some deep red, some light red, some alone, others in groups of three or five.

Drivers, guards, idlers squatting by the trucks smoking...

Lin Ning had been taught since he was young to stay away from these people. In those days, long-haul truckers were never easygoing; they looked fierce, and children naturally stayed away.

As he grew older and understood more, he realized that the town and the truck distribution center outside were two different worlds.

That was a border world full of the smell of diesel, mixed accents, and a coexistence of rules and savagery; he was even less likely to interact with them.

He still remembered in college, when classmates talked about their reckless youth, imitating the gangsters from movies and acting tough.

Only Lin Ning smiled without saying a word.

Around here, no matter how rebellious an idiot was, they wouldn't dare act like a hoodlum in or outside the town, because they had seen what truly ruthless people and darkness looked like.

However.

Lin Ning hadn't expected that even in this day and age, it would still be like this, perhaps even darker than he had previously thought.

Such a dense sea of red stars—he thought he would only see that in prison.

No way! What have these guys done?! Why haven't they been arrested yet?!

Lin Ning pursed his lips, his excitement about returning home weighed down significantly.

The vehicle glided through the streets.

Once they entered the residential area of the town, it was much better, with only scattered red dots occasionally flickering past.

The phone rang then—it was Lin Jing.

"Lin Ning, where are you?"

"I'm by the Old Huai Restaurant, I'll be home soon."

"Oh, okay, drive slowly." Lin Jing casually instructed, hung up, and quickly put the vegetables into the pot. Freshly cooked food was delicious, and it would be perfect to serve it as soon as her brother walked through the door.

Several hearty dishes were already laid out on the table—boiled lamb chops, braised beef...

The vegetables were stir-fried just as the front door was knocked on. Lin Jing quickly wiped her hands and went to open it.

At the doorway, Lin Ning stood with large bags in both hands, a smile in his eyes.

The moment Lin Jing saw him, tears welled up instantly.

"Hey? Why are you crying?" Lin Ning quickly put the things down, pulling Lin Jing aside, feeling both amused and helpless.

For a moment, he felt like he wasn't returning home, but getting released from prison. The exaggerated heartache and tears in his sister's eyes seemed to be lamenting his miserable first half of life.

Lin Ning really didn't know how to comfort people; he could only clumsily wipe away Lin Jing's tears.

"What happened to your hand?" Lin Jing's eyes immediately caught the fresh wound on Lin Ning's knuckles.

That was from when he had hit Zhang Gou and got scraped by his clothes.

Lin Ning told the truth: "I got scratched by someone else's clothes. It's nothing."

Lin Jing stopped crying and pulled him into the house to find medicine to disinfect it. Lin Ning let her, as long as she stopped crying.

Wang Hui had heard the commotion and was waiting there. Seeing him enter, she wanted to stand up but held back, just hugging her granddaughter and keeping a straight face.

Wu Qingshan stood there silently, smiling at Lin Ning.

Lin Ning called out, "Mom! Brother-in-law..."

Before he could finish, Lin Jing pressed him onto the sofa, dipping a cotton swab in iodine and carefully applying it to the broken skin on his knuckles.

Lin Ning saw his mother out of the corner of his eye, keeping a straight face and not responding. He thought about how she hadn't been willing to answer his calls for the past few months. On a whim, he let out a sharp, painful hiss: "Sss."

Lin Jing lightened her touch even more, complaining in a pained voice.

Lin Ning didn't speak, just kept making sounds like a snake.

"Alright, alright, it's just a bit of broken skin, what are you howling for?" Wang Hui's tone was stiff, but her eyes kept darting toward Lin Ning's hand. "Have some dignity. Hurry up, the food is getting cold. We've been waiting for you; you're quite the big shot."

"Alright, Mom, coming!" Lin Ning, as if granted amnesty, quickly pulled his hand back and darted to the dining table.

Little Weiwei had already slipped out of her grandmother's arms and rushed to Lin Ning's leg, looking up with bright, shining eyes: "Uncle! What about me!"

"Haha, that's right! And our Weiwei!" Lin Ning picked her up with one arm and went to rummage through the largest bag he had brought, pulling out a green dinosaur plush toy that was almost as tall as Weiwei.

"Wow!!" Weiwei hugged it tightly, burying her little face in the dinosaur's belly, smiling so hard her eyes disappeared.

Lin Ning continued to rummage, taking out gifts for everyone. Finally, he grabbed an exquisitely packaged box. "Mom, I bought some Eucommia at Tongrentang. They said it's really good for the lower back when stewed with pork kidneys."

Wang Hui glanced at it but didn't move, though her tone softened a little: "Wasting money. My back is just fine."

Seeing the atmosphere soften, Lin Ning was just about to smile and flatter her, when little Weiwei suddenly started crying, holding up the large dinosaur she had been hugging tightly to return to her uncle.

"Wa wuwu... Sell it for money to pay back the money for Uncle, don't arrest Uncle! Wuwu..."

Lin Ning's expression darkened instantly, and his eyes narrowed. Who had been talking nonsense in front of the child? Otherwise, how would a child not even three years old know about "selling for money," "paying back money," or "arresting Uncle"?

A cold glint appeared in his eyes. "Sister, who has been coming to the house to 'care' about me lately?"

Lin Jing and Wang Hui's expressions were ugly, but they didn't answer.

Lin Ning didn't press further; he just reached out, lifted the little girl and the plush toy together, and looked at her seriously. "Uncle has money, lots of money. No one dares to arrest Uncle."

After coaxing the little girl, everyone sat back down at the dining table.

But the atmosphere was even colder and stiffer than before.

Lin Ning sighed in his heart. The drastic changes in their family had caused everyone to undergo massive shifts, leaving them living in a state of confusion.

Scars needed time and care to heal. What Lin Ning could do now was solve the most basic thing—money.

Money could bring peace of mind, a sense of security, and allow people to solve problems with ease.

A thousand words are not as good as directly demonstrating one's strength.

Lin Ning took the car keys out of his pocket. "I bought the car using my sister's ID. You all have a child and need to take care of you; it's more convenient with a car. It wasn't expensive, 150,000."

Then he directly pulled up his mobile banking page and showed it to them.