Chapter 43: The Little Bird is Injured

“A dead dog?” Jiang Yuan frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure creeping into her eyes. “The life of a small animal is still a life.”

The middle-aged man gave a mocking laugh. “Can a dog's life even be called a life?”

“Who are you talking to?” a woman's voice drifted from inside the house.

The middle-aged man turned back and said, "A lunatic."

Blueberry meowed angrily, "You're the lunatic! Your whole family is a bunch of lunatics!"

Xixi tapped the cat's head forcefully. "Exactly, exactly!"

Xiao Bai was also gnashing its teeth in anger.

Jin Jin apologized self-reproachfully, "Yuan Yuan, I'm sorry."

A woman with permed, curly hair walked to the doorway, asking while eating a banana, "Who is this?"

"How should I know?" the middle-aged man said expressionlessly. "She came with this dead dog."

With that, he turned and left.

The woman sized Jiang Yuan up with an unfriendly gaze. "What do you want?"

Jiang Yuan smiled politely. "Hello, I would like to adopt your little Golden Retriever. Your husband asked me to seek your opinion."

"If you want to raise it, go ahead." The woman glanced at Jin Jin with a look of disgust.

She had long found the dog an eyesore; this was perfect, it saved her the trouble of sending it elsewhere to be discarded.

"So, you are willing to give up custody of the little Golden Retriever, correct?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"Yes, yes, yes." The woman looked annoyed. "Stop asking. Just take it away."

With a "bang," she slammed the door shut.

Jiang Yuan led the four fluffballs downstairs.

Jin Jin was in low spirits.

"Jin Jin," Jiang Yuan asked the doubt in her heart, "didn't you say the male owner hasn't been home for many days?"

Jin Jin let out a muffled, sad woof, "Yes."

Jiang Yuan: "Then who was that man just now?"

Jin Jin: "The female owner's cousin. But one day, the male owner saw the cousin kissing the female owner. He was very angry, and they had a fight."

Jin Jin thought for a moment and added, "The female owner often kisses and hugs the cousin, but it's strange—sometimes they take off their clothes and 'fight' on the bed."

Jiang Yuan: "..."

Blueberry let out a mocking "meow."

Was that called fighting?

What a naive child.

Jiang Yuan took it as mere gossip and didn't take it to heart.

She took the four fluffballs back home.

When Deng Rui saw an unfamiliar little Golden Retriever in the group, her brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

Before she could lose her temper, Jiang Yuan quickly explained, "Xiaoxiao wants to raise it."

Deng Rui gave a cold snort. "That's more like it."

At 11:30 PM, Fu Xiaoxiao came to Fuze Garden to pick up Jin Jin.

The night was deep. Jiang Yuan stood under the streetlamp watching the car drive away, the dim yellow light stretching her shadow long.

The sudden sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence of the night.

Just as Jiang Yuan was about to turn around, a rough hand suddenly reached out and swiftly covered her mouth with a cloth.

Her heart jolted in terror, and she began to struggle violently.

After pushing the person away, Jiang Yuan gasped for fresh air. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone to call the police, only to suddenly remember that she had left it charging downstairs.

Jiang Yuan felt both frustrated and terrified.

She stared warily at the sharp dagger in the person's hand. "I have no grudge against you. Why are you doing this?"

"No grudge?" The person was wrapped tightly from head to toe, leaving only a pair of eyes filled with resentment visible. "You destroyed the most important person to me!"

As he spoke, he lunged at Jiang Yuan with the dagger.

She retreated and dodged repeatedly, but she felt as if her body was losing strength; her limbs felt increasingly limp.

The cloth had been drugged!

A strong sense of unease surged within Jiang Yuan.

She looked toward the nearby security booth and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Help—!"

"You deserve to die!" The masked man swung the dagger like a madman, the sharp blade glinting coldly in the dark night.

Jiang Yuan's heart raced wildly. She continued to dodge, but her footsteps grew heavier, and every movement became incredibly difficult.

She couldn't run anymore...

The masked man kept closing in, the sharp tip of the blade ready to slash her face at any moment.

"Yuan Yuan, the birds are coming to save you!"

A few birds nearby heard the commotion and flew over to help, pecking at the masked man with their sharp beaks.

"Where did these stinking birds come from? Get lost!" The masked man stabbed irritably at the birds.

Mary the sparrow and another small bird were unfortunately injured; they fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Mary looked toward Jiang Yuan and said weakly, "Yuan... Yuan... run... run fast..."

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan's heart nearly broke.

She hurriedly asked System 009: [What can I exchange points for?]

[System 009: It is suggested that you use 20 points to exchange for 1 hour of combat power.]

Jiang Yuan: [Exchange! Exchange it for me now!]

[System 009: Do you wish to use 20 points to exchange for 1 hour of combat power?]

Jiang Yuan: [Yes.]

[System 009: You have consumed 20 points. Remaining points: 230.]

The masked man stared at the injured Mary, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

He raised the dagger high, aiming the sharp tip directly at Mary to plunge it down.

"No!"

Jiang Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. Suddenly, she felt her body being filled by an invisible force, and her limp limbs were instantly imbued with strength.

She felt terrifyingly powerful.

*Bang—*

With the blade only 0.0001 meters away from Mary, Jiang Yuan delivered a kick that sent the masked man flying.

His body slammed into a tree trunk before crashing heavily to the ground, letting out a pained wail, "My waist is broken..."

Jiang Yuan carefully picked up Mary and the other small bird, saying heartachefully, "I'm sorry, I caused you to get hurt."

Mary opened her eyes slightly to look at her. "It... doesn't hurt..."

At that moment, Jiang Yuan could no longer hold back her tears.

But she knew now was not the time for sentimentality.

She took off her jacket to wrap them up, then turned toward the masked man.

He was rolling on the ground in pain.

Jiang Yuan stepped forward and ripped off the man's mask. After seeing his face, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's you!" She let out a cold laugh. "What do you mean I destroyed your most important person? It was your son who committed murder for profit; he destroyed himself!"

"You destroyed him!" Xu Decai stared at Jiang Yuan with resentment. "If you hadn't called the police that day, my son wouldn't have been caught! It's all your fault, all your fault!"

Jiang Yuan felt he was utterly beyond redemption.

Only a father like this could raise someone like Xu Li.

She dragged him up from the ground and slammed him heavily against the tree trunk again.

Xu Decai was in too much pain to stand; his body swayed a few times before he collapsed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Yuan Yuan!" Jiang Die's anxious voice drifted over.

Jiang Yuan looked back and shouted, "Wait for me there, don't come over!"

Hearing this, Jiang Die's footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Jiang Yuan looked back at Xu Decai, her gaze icy.

He lay on the ground, his breath faint.

Determined that he was in no condition to run, Jiang Yuan stood up and walked toward Jiang Die. "Sister, why did you come down?"

"You were upstairs for so long and didn't have your phone; I was worried." Jiang Die glanced at the person nearby and asked with concern, "What happened?"

"A little accident." Jiang Yuan asked, "Did you bring my phone down for me?"

"I did." Jiang Die took the phone from her pocket and handed it to her.

Jiang Yuan called the police and cradled Mary and the others in her arms, her eyes filled with heartache.