Jiang Long tremblingly took the dagger.
Zhou Wei gave him a sinister glance and said, "Didn't you say it was one life for another? What, are you scared?"
*Plink!*
A trace of determination flashed in Jiang Long's eyes, and he instantly plunged the dagger into his own abdomen.
Blood gushed out, and Jiang Long said with difficulty, "Young Master Zhou, can you let Chen Jie go now?"
"Yes!" Zhou Wei smiled.
"Thank you, Young Master Zhou, for sparing my life!" Jiang Long forced himself to stand, intending to leave.
"My brother agreed, but I haven't!"
Zhou Tongtong said with a cold laugh, "You old dog, you're quite resilient. Come, stab yourself again! Only then will you pass my test!"
Jiang Long paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, I hope Miss Zhou keeps her word!"
*Plink!*
Without hesitation, he plunged the dagger into himself again.
This time, two wounds bled profusely.
"Young Master Zhou, Miss Zhou, can you let Chen Jie go now?" Jiang Long said, taking a deep breath.
"No!"
Zhou Wei said sinisterly, "You must endure three stabs and six holes. Only then will our Zhou family reluctantly let Chen Jie go. That dagger is too short. Get a longer one and start over!"
He signaled to his subordinate.
Immediately, one of the subordinates mockingly threw over a long saber.
"Three stabs and six holes is the most severe punishment, the very punishment we prepared for Chen Jie. If you endure it for him, we will let Chen Jie go," Zhou Wei sneered.
Jiang Long looked utterly despairing, but in the end, he shakily picked up the long saber.
*Stab, stab, stab...*
Three consecutive stabs opened six holes in his body.
*Thud!*
Jiang Long collapsed to the ground, on the verge of death, "I beg the Zhou family to spare Chen Jie's life!"
"Damn, what a tough guy!" Zhou Wei controlled his wheelchair, backing away a few steps, his face filled with dread.
Zhou Tongtong crossed her arms, her face devoid of any sympathy. Instead, she sneered, "Fine. As long as you go back and tell Chen Jie to personally apologize to our Zhou family tomorrow, we will let him go!"
Jiang Long clearly wouldn't live long. With his injuries, he wouldn't be able to go home to inform Chen Jie.
Tomorrow, their Zhou family would still settle accounts with Chen Jie!
The siblings exchanged a glance and returned to the villa.
With a bang, the door was closed.
Only Jiang Long was left outside.
At this moment, despite his severe injuries, a smile appeared on Jiang Long's face. "Brother Chen, I've protected Chen Jie for you! From now on, you won't have to worry about Chen Jie's life being in danger!"
Saying that, he took out his phone from his pocket, intending to notify Chen Jie.
But as if due to excessive blood loss, his vision blurred.
"No! I can't collapse. I must tell Chen Jie this news!"
"No! I can't! I can't die!"
Finally, as he pressed the last number, Jiang Long completely lost consciousness.
In the night, a heavy rain washed away the bloodstains. Jiang Long lay still in the rain, utterly lifeless.
After an unknown amount of time, as dawn began to break,
A taxi stopped beside Jiang Long. The driver, startled, got out, "Brother, what happened?"
Jiang Long's body trembled.
The driver quickly said, "You're alive! Don't move. I'll take you to the hospital right away."
"No, take me home! Home, I can't go to the hospital!" Jiang Long murmured.
"You're still alive with such severe injuries? If you don't go to the hospital now, you really won't make it!" the driver said in alarm.
"I don't want to go to the hospital. Hurry and take me home, ah..."
"Brother, don't get agitated. I'll take you back!" The driver finally decided to take Jiang Long home.
Half an hour later, the doorbell of Jiang Long's villa rang.
"Could it be my dad is back?" Jiang Xue woke up groggily upstairs. Jiang Long had gone out in the afternoon and hadn't returned all night, and she was quite worried.
She immediately went downstairs and ran out.
A moment later, Jiang Xue finally saw Jiang Long lying prone on the ground and immediately screamed, "Dad! Dad! What's wrong? Don't scare me!"
Jiang Long's lips were as pale as paper. Seeing his daughter's worried face, he couldn't help but give a weak smile.
"Little Xue, Dad has already pleaded with the Zhou family on Chen Jie's behalf and asked them to spare him. Can you promise Dad one thing?" Jiang Long said in a faint voice.
"Dad, don't talk. I'll take you to the hospital right away!" Jiang Xue cried.
"Dad is fine. There's no time! Listen to me, cough cough..."
Jiang Long coughed and continued, "Chen Jie is a stubborn child. You must persuade him for me. As long as, as long as he personally goes to the Zhou family to apologize, the Zhou family will let him go. This is what Dad exchanged with his life. Don't disappoint Dad!"
Jiang Xue's heart felt like it was being cut, and tears streamed down her face. "Dad, aren't you silly? He's an outsider, why are you doing this for him? I don't agree!"
"Silly child, Chen Jie saved my life. Without Chen Jie, you would have been harmed by that Young Master Zhou two days ago! Chen Jie's family has shown us great kindness. We cannot repay it!"
"In short, you must promise me. If you don't agree, I will die with regret!" Jiang Long spat out a large mouthful of blood again.
Finally, Jiang Xue said, "Wuwuwu... Dad, I promise. I will personally bring Chen Jie to apologize to the Zhou family..."
...
"Finally broke through!"
In the room, Chen Jie woke up from his cultivation.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, then subsided, returning to its ordinary appearance.
Chen Jie was overjoyed. His cultivation over the past three days had greatly increased his strength, allowing him to directly break through to the Qi Cultivator realm.
Before this, he could only use the spiritual energy from immortal cultivation secret methods to temper his body, making his already peak physique even stronger.
But now it was different.
The spiritual energy in his body had not only increased severalfold, but he could also cast some simple spells, and his senses were far beyond ordinary.
"I didn't expect such a place to have such dense spiritual energy, directly helping me break through! However, the spiritual energy here has already been drained by me. Further cultivation here might not be very effective."
Chen Jie murmured.
Just then, Chen Jie frowned. Although he was indoors, he could still hear Jiang Xue's sobs outside the villa.
"What's going on?"
Chen Jie immediately went downstairs and walked outside.
He saw the unconscious Jiang Long at a glance.
"What happened? Who did this?" Chen Jie's face immediately turned grim.
Jiang Xue gave Chen Jie a cold look. "Besides the Zhou family, who else could it be?"
"The Zhou family, they deserve to die!"
A terrifying killing intent emanated from Chen Jie, soaring into the sky.
A gust of cold wind suddenly arose, and even Jiang Xue shivered involuntarily.
"Let me check on Uncle Jiang!" Chen Jie then regained his composure and quickly crouched beside Jiang Long to check his injuries.
"No need to check. My dad is already dead, sacrificing himself to save you!" Jiang Xue said hatefully.
Jiang Xue said so, but Chen Jie didn't care. He quickly examined Jiang Long's body.
Indeed, Jiang Long now had no vital signs. With current medical technology, he was likely beyond saving.
But Chen Jie was different!