Chapter 172
Chapter 172: A Guardian with Twisted Control Issues—Making Children Slap Each Other
Sui Xuan Chu didn’t just keep his uncle on a private video call—he shared the live monitoring audio too.
What he didn’t expect was that the moment the call ended, his uncle sent a message: “Keep your skin tight. If you botch the mission, come back and I’ll break your legs.”
Sui Xuan Chu stared at it for a long time before sending back a baffled, “????”
Chong Ming didn’t respond. He tapped twice and destroyed their message history to avoid any chance of exposure.
In the flyer’s passenger seat, Mo Jing Chun couldn’t help twisting around to speak—but Cheng Mian caught her wrist.
Her mouth opened, then closed again. She looked at Cheng Mian.
Cheng Mian shook his head.
Mo Jing Chun swallowed what she’d wanted to say and fell silent.
On the flyer, none of them discussed anything. Everything that needed monitoring was already in place. They relied entirely on tacit understanding—an exchange of glances.
From Barley Star’s Central City, the Lang family flyer tore through the sky for forty-five minutes before arriving at the White Wolf Clan settlement.
The settlement sprawled wide, built against the mountains. A lake glimmered out front, plains stretched beyond, and every facility for daily life was present.
Each household sat more than a kilometer apart. As dusk deepened, lights blinked on one after another, making the houses look like a long string of fireflies.
In the settlement’s safe zone, on the plaza, White Wolf Clan cubs ran and played.
As the White Wolf Clan chief, Lang Yin Feng lived in the largest house—castle-like, dominating the settlement’s center. A huge courtyard spread out before it; aside from the straight road leading in, it was all lawn.
The eight climbed out of the flyer, followed behind Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun, and entered the Lang family estate with Lang Yin Feng.
From the outside, the house looked old and ordinary. Inside, it was lavish beyond reason.
Cheng Xiao Ting leaned close and whispered to Jiang Tea Tea and the others, sounding awed. “Those pillars in the Lang family hall are carved from single blocks of rare crystal stone. One pillar costs at least ten million.”
“And that table, that sofa—those are made from rare tree species that are protected now. You can’t even cut them. They’re antiques. One set is at least a hundred million.”
“The tea set looks plain, but every cup handle is inlaid with rare minerals. Snap off one and it could cover our eight people’s living expenses for a year—and still have money left.”
Sui Xuan Chu added, “Look at the floor. Fossils. The whole floor is cut from fossils tens of thousands of years old.”
“And those patterns? They formed naturally over tens of thousands of years. Purely natural.”
“The paintings, the wallpaper, all those display pieces—everything is expensive. Just based on what we can see, the Lang family is living way beyond what their annual revenue should support.”
Huang Da Zhuang, Ju Que, and Jiang Tea Tea nodded quickly, wearing obedient faces like country bumpkins being taught a lesson.
More than ten Lang family children were waiting in the first-floor hall—all except Lang Xin Rui and Lang Xin Ping. Male and female alike were dressed formally, as if they were about to attend a ballroom banquet.
Compared to them, Jiang Tea Tea’s group looked like wild people in rough clothes.
Lang Yin Feng took about ten minutes to introduce his children to the eight of them.
Then he invited everyone to dinner. The round dining table was so large it felt like it could span miles.
Wolf clan members loved meat, so the meal was mostly meat.
Among the dozen-plus Lang family siblings, some watched Jiang Tea Tea with veiled assessment, while others didn’t even bother hiding their disdain.
Under their gaze, Jiang Tea Tea ate and drank as she pleased. Unlike them—taking one tiny bite of each dish with tight restraint—she ate a little more when something tasted good, and still sampled the rest to judge the flavor.
Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun liked her easy, natural attitude. Some of the Lang family siblings clearly didn’t.
After dinner and a short rest, Jiang Tea Tea’s team and Mo Jing Chun’s couple were led to guest rooms.
Ten people, nine rooms—on the same floor. The first thing they did after entering was sweep the rooms.
Cheng Xiao Ting checked Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun’s room. Only after confirming there were no cameras or listening devices did he leave.
Cheng Mian asked his wife with a faint smile, “Otherwise, why do you think our son kept warning us to come pick him up, not to bring too many bodyguards, and to avoid being too forceful?”
Mo Jing Chun’s expression softened with pride. “Husband… our son has really grown up. He hasn’t even finished a full year of military academy, and he’s already different.”
Cheng Mian reminded her quietly, “As long as you understand. Cooperate with son.”
Mo Jing Chun nodded hard. “I do, I do. But that Lang Yin Feng couple is still as petty as ever.”
“Tea Tea is their daughter, their only pure human daughter. She should’ve been pampered from birth, yet they ‘lost’ her and didn’t find her for eighteen years.”
“Do you believe that?”
Cheng Mian’s gaze turned thoughtful. “Words are easy. When people complain, they emphasize their own suffering and highlight others’ faults. Get used to it.”
“Get used to it?” Mo Jing Chun spat. “I can’t get used to it at all.”
“If it weren’t for our son and those seven youths, I would’ve cursed that couple out already.”
“Spending money on Tea Tea hurts them like pulling teeth, yet they called back a dozen-plus children who were studying and working outside.”
“Those children hadn’t seen Tea Tea for eighteen years. Today was the first time they met her, and not a single one brought a gift. Not even a greeting gift.”
“And they still claim Tea Tea was taken away? Please. I bet they thought she was a pure human who wouldn’t awaken abilities, so they threw her away on purpose.”
“Now they see that Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming values her, and she’s a 3S-grade mutant plant-type healer. They see her worth, so they rushed to ‘acknowledge’ her!”
Cheng Mian pressed a hand gently to her back, soothing. “Don’t get angry. Don’t panic. We’ll watch. We’ll see who’s the prey and who’s the hunter.”
Mo Jing Chun nodded so hard she looked like a pecking chick. “Okay, okay. I’ll listen to you. We’ll stay here like it’s a vacation.”
Cheng Mian smiled at her. This vacation was going to be unforgettable.
A loud bang echoed through the Lang family basement—the sound of ore smashing onto stone.
More than a dozen Lang family children were down there. Even the ones who’d been adults for years, with cubs of their own, flinched so hard their bodies shook on reflex.
“Smack. Smack. Smack…”
Before the echo even faded, Lang Yin Feng swung his arm. In front of fourteen children, from oldest to youngest, he slapped each one across the face.
The force was brutal. The motion was practiced.
Not a single child dared dodge. Their faces jerked to the side. Red, swollen handprints bloomed instantly.
“Lang Xin Yi. Lang Xin Wei.” Lang Yin Feng pointed at his eldest son and eldest daughter as he barked. “Old One and Old Two—how did you lead your brothers and sisters?”
He jabbed his finger, rage tight in his posture. “I told you already—Tea Tea, Jiang Tea Tea, is a 3S-grade mutant plant-type healer valued by Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming.”
“I called you back so you could meet her, get close to her, make her feel family warmth. So later she can help you with ability stabilization, comb your mental power, and raise everyone’s ability level.”
“But what did you do? One after another, sour faces, contempt in your eyes. Who exactly are you looking down on?”
Lang Xin Yi, half his face swollen, lowered his head. As the eldest son and big brother among the siblings, he spoke hoarsely. “I’m sorry, Dad. As the older brother, I didn’t remind them. If you want to blame someone, blame me. If you want to hit someone, hit me. It has nothing to do with them.”
Lang Yin Feng backhanded him, using paternal authority to grind his dignity into the floor—even though he was a grown male with cubs of his own. “Lang Xin Yi, do you think that makes you noble?”
“I’m telling you—no one takes the fall alone. Same old rule.” His arms folded, his posture cold. “Pair up. Everyone slaps the other ten times.”
Jiang Tea Tea watched in invisibility, arms crossed, her gaze pinned on Lang Yin Feng’s face.
What was wrong with him?
He was really making fourteen biological children slap each other?
She barely finished the thought before it happened.
Fourteen children formed pairs, standing face-to-face. One slapped, then the other slapped back.
Every slap left a fresh handprint. Every person used full force.
Some had tears clinging to their lashes. Some shook so hard their hands trembled. But not one dared hold back.
The sound of palms cracking against faces rang through the basement again and again. Lang Yin Feng stared like a hawk, making sure no one softened the blows.
When each person finished ten slaps, they obediently pulled out medical spray from their storage buttons and sprayed their own faces.
The spray was effective. The swelling and redness began fading almost instantly.
When all fourteen finished spraying, they lined up with heads lowered, docile and quiet—like dolls with their souls scooped out.
Lang Yin Feng lifted his hand and pointed at two fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds. “Old Ten One. Old Ten Two. At dinner, you deliberately showed disdain toward Jiang Tea Tea. Were you trying to make her feel like she doesn’t belong in this home?”
He flicked his finger to two others. “Old Ten, Old Four—you’re the children I favor most. Yet you stared at her and acted fierce on purpose. What were you trying to do?”
The four named Lang family children dropped to their knees with four heavy thuds. Foreheads pressed to the floor, their voices trembling. “Dad, you misunderstood. We weren’t disdaining Jiang Tea Tea. We were just looking at her normally. We wanted her to join this family.”
“Yes, Dad. We weren’t scrutinizing her. We were hoping. We were looking forward to her coming home, listening to Dad, and using her mutant 3S-rank healing department ability to create more value for Dad!”