Back Then, I Adored You

Lu Bancheng struck a pose that indicated he was fully prepared to take on the two armed men, all the while plotting on how he was going to get Xu Wennuan out of there safely.

The man he had punched and kicked was leaning against the wall holding his abdomen, but Lu Bancheng was aware that he was gradually returning to his senses. The man then lifted his head and glanced at all three men in front of him.

This situation is only going to get worse once Wu Hao arrives…

At that thought, the man bent down, grabbed an iron rod, and then stood up straight and pounced on Lu Bancheng. His two partners joined him, and Lu Bancheng struggled to fight them. After some time had passed, he was still fending them off, but he knew that he didn’t have enough physical strength to fight them indefinitely, thus he decided the best way to keep his advantage was to eliminate one of the three.

Lu Bancheng analyzed the men by cryptically observing their movements as they fought. The man he had kicked and punched appeared to still feel pain in his abdomen. At one point, he grimaced while bending over and picking up his rod. Lu Bancheng took the opportunity to slam his shoulder with his rod, eliciting a pitiful wail from the man as the rod in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. He then clutched his shoulder and kneeled on the ground.

With one less opponent, Lu Bancheng felt his abilities restored, whereas his two remaining opponents appeared to be weakening. Lu Bancheng, again observing for weak spots in their movements, suddenly slammed his iron rod on the left thigh of one of the men, causing him to fall helplessly on the ground. When the remaining man saw that both of his companions had fallen, the iron rod that he had been wielding at Lu Bancheng suddenly was swung backward toward the unconscious Xu Wennuan on the ground.

Lu Bancheng hurriedly reached out and grabbed the iron rod. The man whose left thigh had been hit saw his partner attacking Xu Wennuan and instantly reacted. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure the pain in his leg as he crawled to Xu Wennuan. Then, he grabbed her hair and pulled her body toward him before pulling out a switchblade from his pocket and holding it above Xu Wennuan’s face. “Stop!” he commanded.

The iron rod Lu Bancheng was about to smash down into the man’s head stopped instantly in midair.

“Drop the iron rod!” the man with the switchblade added.

If I drop this rod, I lose my ability to protect Xu Wennuan…

Lu Bancheng hesitated but did not let go.

“Drop it! Or else you can’t hold me responsible for how nasty I am!” As he spoke, he lowered the switchblade from Xu Wennuan’s face to her neck, holding the blade directly over her carotid artery.

Lu Bancheng instantly released his grip to stop the man from exerting force on her skin. As his iron rod hit the ground, he raised both his arms in a gesture of surrender and asked, “How did Wu Hao offend you?”

For Lu Bancheng to have faced off the three men alone even with an iron rod had been difficult, but now that he had lost his weapon, it was surely impossible. His desire to protect Xu Wennuan seemed hopeless now.

I just have to stall for time and wait for Wu Hao to arrive. Maybe the two of us can fight them off…

At this thought, Lu Bancheng opened his mouth again. “What’s your motive behind kidnapping her? For money? How much do you want? As long as you let her go, you can name your price, and I’ll give you however much you want…”