Chapter 50: The Grand Entrance and a Daring Rescue

Gu Qing completely ignored the murmurs, his gaze sweeping swiftly across the entire hall until it locked onto his target.

In the deepest part of the banquet hall, a heavy wooden door stood firmly closed. At its entrance, four burly bodyguards in black suits stood rigidly at attention.

That, he surmised, was likely the cage where Xia Xingyan was held.

Gu Qing lifted his foot and began walking toward it.

“Stop.”

As he reached the door, the leading bodyguard captain extended an arm, blocking his path. A scar ran across the man’s face, stretching from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, giving him an exceptionally fierce appearance.

“This is a private banquet. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted,” he stated, his eyes like a hawk’s, his voice icy.

This man was a confidant of the Xia family, obeying only Xia Hongde’s commands, and the arrogance emanating from him was more than ten times thicker than that of the hotel’s service staff.

Gu Qing, too lazy for pleasantries, directly presented his GSA identification badge.

The bodyguard captain took it, merely glanced, then tossed it to the ground, a sneer twisting his lips.

“What if it’s the GSA? This is the Xia family’s private banquet, not a place for you to run wild. Without Mr. Xia’s explicit command, even the King of Heaven (TL Note: A Chinese idiom referring to an extremely powerful or important person) himself wouldn’t be allowed in.”

Upon hearing these words, many of the surrounding guests displayed expressions of anticipation, eager for a show.

The Xia family was paramount in Linhai City.

What did the GSA matter? A mighty dragon, after all, couldn’t suppress a local snake (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning an outsider, no matter how powerful, cannot easily overcome a deeply entrenched local power).

“Are you implying this is a private matter?”

Gu Qing was so infuriated he laughed.

He bent down, unhurriedly picked up the identification badge from the ground, and flicked away non-existent dust with his finger.

“But my person is inside,” he stated, raising his head. “In that case, it’s no longer a private matter.”

Before his words had fully faded, he made his move.

The bodyguard captain felt a sudden gust of wind assault his face!

His battle-hardened instincts made him instinctively throw a punch to block, but his fist met only empty air.

The next second, immense force erupted from his wrist, followed immediately by the excruciating pain of dislocated bone.

“Crack!”

“Ah!”

Before the scream could fully escape, Gu Qing’s other hand transformed into a hand-blade, striking precisely at the back of his neck, instantly rendering the man unconscious.

The other three bodyguards reacted, roaring as they lunged forward simultaneously.

However, before Gu Qing, these so-called elites were no different from three-year-old children.

Gu Qing barely moved his feet, his form flickering like a phantom within that small space.

He sidestepped a heavy punch, his elbow naturally thrusting upward to meet the opponent’s jaw squarely.

The bodyguard flew back two meters, his teeth, mixed with bloody foam, splattering across the floor.

At the same time, he delivered a kick to another bodyguard’s knee; the sound of bone fracturing echoed, and the man screamed in pain, instantly losing his ability to fight.

The last bodyguard, who had just grabbed him from behind, hadn’t even had time to exert force before Gu Qing seized his arm, executing a clean, decisive over-the-shoulder throw that slammed him violently onto the marble floor!

“Bang!”

With a muffled thud, the world fell silent.

Less than ten seconds had passed.

All four bodyguards, robust as oxen, lay incapacitated on the ground.

The surrounding guests were utterly dumbfounded.

Their mouths gaped open, their faces displaying a myriad of captivating expressions.

‘Was this a movie shoot?’

‘How could such a petite girl be so ferocious when fighting?!’

Gu Qing, indifferent to their thoughts, merely reached up to straighten the collar of his skewed T-shirt, then raised his foot and kicked the heavy wooden door.

“Thud!”

The thick wooden door was forcibly kicked open by him.

The world within the door instantly fell silent.

Everyone’s movements froze, their gazes uniformly fixed on the doorway.

Gu Qing stood there, his eyes piercing through the astonished crowd, immediately spotting Xia Xingyan, who was surrounded in the center.

She wore a pristine white evening gown, her makeup exquisite, her hair meticulously styled into an updo, resembling a beautiful princess.

Yet, her eyes were hollow.

Like a stagnant pool, devoid of any light.

However, the moment she noticed that the one who had kicked open the door and entered was Gu Qing, her eyes instantly blazed with an incredible radiance.

“Who are you? How dare you cause trouble here!”

A furious roar erupted.

Xia Hongde stood up, trembling with rage.

A confidant beside him swiftly stepped forward, whispering a few words into his ear.

“Master, everyone outside is down. She’s likely a Magical Girl (TL Note: A common trope in Japanese anime and manga, referring to a girl with magical powers), having used Starlight power.”

“I don’t care what kind of Magical Girl you are!” Xia Hongde, his mind clouded by fury, pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Dare to cause trouble at my Xia family’s engagement banquet? Even the King of Heaven (TL Note: A Chinese idiom referring to an extremely powerful or important person) himself would have to bow down to me!”

The call connected quickly, and Xia Hongde roared into the phone, “Hurry and bring men up here, and make sure they’re all armed!”

Gu Qing completely ignored Xia Hongde.

His gaze, from beginning to end, remained solely on Xia Xingyan.

He slowly walked over.

Guests blocking his path instinctively recoiled, all clearing a way for him.

And so, under the astonished and enraged gaze of her fiancé, Zhao Lingtian, he walked up to Xia Xingyan, then extended a hand to the girl who was on the verge of tears.

“It was agreed, you can’t miss today, you know.”

Xia Xingyan’s eyes immediately reddened.

The tears she had been desperately holding back could no longer be contained, cascading down in large drops, washing away her exquisite makeup.

‘So, Tian Lanxing hadn’t abandoned me after all.’

‘Her light had truly arrived.’

Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Xia Xingyan lifted her somewhat heavy skirt, and without the slightest hesitation, stepped out of the opulent cage that had confined her for eighteen years.

Then, she placed her cold, trembling hand into his warm, dry palm.

Witnessing this scene, Xia Hongde’s phone was nearly crushed in his grip.

“Xia Xingyan! If you dare to take another step with her today, from this moment on, you will no longer be a daughter of my Xia family!”

“Everything the Xia family has given you, I will take back. At that point, let’s see how you survive!”

This was his final ultimatum.

If his daughter dared to defy his command, he would drag her down from the clouds, make her fall into the mud with nothing, and ensure she understood the consequences of disobeying him!

Zhao Lingtian, standing nearby, was even more exasperated, his face, hollowed by indulgence, filled with humiliation and rage.

“What the hell are you?! How dare you steal my woman! Guards! Kill her!”

As he roared, he lunged forward, ready to strike.

Gu Qing merely found him irritatingly noisy.

He casually lifted his foot and kicked.

Zhao Lingtian screamed as he flew backward, colliding with and toppling a tall, stacked champagne tower nearby.

The sound of shattering glass, mixed with his pig-like squeals, instantly plunged the scene into chaos.

Xia Xingyan’s pupils quivered slightly as she gazed at Gu Qing. Her past life had been rife with hypocrisy, and no one had ever dared to shatter such sordid things in such a direct manner.

Simultaneously, a dozen or so bodyguards summoned by Xia Hongde stormed in from the doorway, wielding various weapons; some even clutched buzzing tasers that emitted a dangerous blue light.

Gu Qing swiftly pulled Xia Xingyan behind him, shielding her securely.

He could clearly feel the girl’s slender shoulders trembling behind him.

“Do you trust me?” he suddenly asked.