Time continued to pass. Sometimes a day feels short, while other times it stretches on endlessly. Today was another rainy Saturday in Qianjiang City, with the rain pouring harder and harder. The streets, already sparsely populated, were now almost deserted, and the actions of the Zhou family, the Shen family, and the Xuntian Division only deepened the sense of desolation in the city. It felt as if a black cloud was pressing down, threatening to crush the city. Anyone with influence in Qianjiang could feel an overwhelming pressure.

The Zhou family was the first to gather all their forces in Qianjiang. Every casino and club they controlled was tightly shut, and the people inside quietly assembled. The Shen family followed suit a bit later, but by noon, they too had begun to rally their forces.

Gao Weiwei felt somewhat reassured but remained deeply worried about Xiao Tiance. After all, she had been in Qianjiang for two or three years and understood that the Shen family was not as powerful as the Zhou family. She had little hope that the Shen family could offer much help, especially after Xiao Tiance had crippled Zhou Jie the previous night. She had done all she could for him, but her expectations were low.

When Tianyi returned after finishing his tasks and saw Gao Weiwei put down the phone, he couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, were you talking to Miss Shen?"

Gao Weiwei nodded, her worry evident. "Yes, Yu Xuan said her father would help, but I'm not holding out much hope. After all, it's the Zhou family we're dealing with. I don't even know how Xiao Tiance is doing right now. Mr. Tianyi, if Xiao Tiance can escape this time, please help him leave the country as soon as possible and tell him not to return for a while."

Hearing this, Tianyi glanced at Xiao Xiao, who was still crouching silently by the hotel entrance, watching the rain outside. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and earnestly said to Gao Weiwei, "Sister-in-law, please trust my brother. He will return safely."

Gao Weiwei forced a sorrowful smile but said nothing more. Deep down, she didn't believe it. Five years ago, Xiao Tiance had been forced to flee abroad. How much could he have changed in five years? How could five short years prepare him to confront the Zhou family, which had been entrenched for decades?

Tianyi shifted slightly, hiding the bloodstain on his sleeve. He had been out handling matters earlier, and no one knew that by this morning, the largest underground force in Beijiang City had already changed hands. But these were things he couldn't let Gao Weiwei know.

At this moment, Tianyi could only try to comfort her. "Sister-in-law, on behalf of my brother, I apologize to you. He really didn’t know that you had given birth to a daughter for him. I swear, he didn’t know. My brother is a good man. If he had known you and Xiao Xiao were suffering here, he would have come back much sooner."

Gao Weiwei took a deep breath, looking at Xiao Xiao crouching by the door, and said, "It’s okay. I believe he didn’t know. It was my choice not to tell him."

After a moment of silence, she looked up again and said, "Actually, I don’t blame him. Five years ago, that night when he had his episode, I could have left if I wanted to. It was my choice to stay. And after that, I didn’t know I was pregnant. When I found out two months later and wanted to terminate the pregnancy, I suddenly felt the baby move. You know, no woman can remain unmoved when she feels her baby kick. So, I decided to have Xiao Xiao."

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As Gao Weiwei spoke, her eyes welled up with tears. Yes, she had never regretted her choice, not even when she was cast out by her family, not even when her parents refused to see her again. She bore it all alone, working and caring for Xiao Xiao in Qianjiang City without complaint.

Hearing this, Tianyi trembled violently and fell silent. After a long while, he clenched his fist and said to Gao Weiwei, "Sister-in-law, rest assured, my brother will return safely and take care of you and Xiao Xiao. Please have faith in him."

Gao Weiwei nodded in response, but in truth, she didn’t take Tianyi’s words to heart.

The rain outside in Qianjiang City continued to pour, and time continued to pass. At three in the afternoon, Xiao Tiance was still sitting quietly in the courtyard of the villa. He had received a message from Tianyi, which included a video of Xiao Xiao waiting for him at the hotel entrance. His heart, long scarred and broken, was warmed and filled with deep longing.

"Xiao Xiao, don’t worry. Daddy will come back to you tonight. After I drive away the bad guys who bullied your mom, I’ll come back for you. Daddy will never leave you again," Xiao Tiance murmured to himself as he watched the video of Xiao Xiao on his phone.

For a moment, he even considered giving up everything—the Temple of Heaven, the vengeance he had carried for the past six years—and just living quietly with Xiao Xiao. What a beautiful life that would be.

But he couldn’t. Having no sword in hand and not using it are two different things. If he gave up now, he wouldn’t be able to protect his wife and daughter. And Gao Weiwei had sacrificed so much for him, raising their child alone through hardship. He owed her too much. After finishing the matter at hand, he was determined to give her the most lavish wedding and a lifetime of honor.

"How are the preparations going at the Zhou family?" Xiao Tiance asked Tianqi, who was standing behind him.

"They’re almost ready. At most, in two or three hours, their people will reach the mountain. They’ve even hired two five-star experts from Tianhai," Tianqi replied respectfully, his tone filled with contempt and ridicule for the Zhou family. "Two five-star experts? Please. Even if they had five or ten, I could slaughter them all myself. The Zhou family really has no idea what they’re up against."

"Let’s finish this quickly. I don’t want to waste time with this trash," Xiao Tiance said, nodding. Just as Tianqi was about to say something, a message came through on his phone. After reading it, his expression became strange as he reported to Xiao Tiance, "Temple Master, Shen Qingtian of the Shen family in Qianjiang has arrived, saying she wants to help you against the Zhou family. It seems that your wife asked her friend for help."

Xiao Tiance’s expression also turned a bit odd, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. "It seems your sister-in-law really doesn’t trust me. It’s just the Zhou family—an insignificant bunch that I could wipe out with a flick of my hand. But since Shen Qingtian is here, let’s meet with her."

With that, Xiao Tiance slowly stood up, looking out at the Qian River, which was surging wildly at the foot of the mountain. He took a deep breath, and a powerful aura radiated from him. "Those who should come and those who shouldn’t, they’ll all be here tonight. Since that’s the case, let’s finish this in one go."

Indeed, the forces of the Zhou family and Shen family were rapidly gathering in the area, and the Xuntian Division was also preparing in the shadows. The two experts the Zhou family had hired from Tianhai, along with powerful warriors from the Dragon Nation’s military, were also converging on the scene.

Qianjiang City, usually a quiet and unremarkable place, had become the focal point where all these forces would clash at sunset tonight.