Suppressing the Protagonist at the Start to Seize the Heroine

Standing at the entrance of the Li family manor, Su Lin hesitated slightly. This manor was really too large, much bigger than the so-called villas.

“The Li family is just a first-rate family in Donghai, so how big must the estates of the major families in Jingzhou, Modu, and the Imperial Capital be? Wouldn’t they occupy several hills?”

When Su Lin previously visited the Qin family, he only saw the main gate and didn’t notice how large it was inside.

Now at the entrance of the Li family, he had no idea in which room Li Ziyu was.

After thinking for a moment, Su Lin released a hint of a Grandmaster’s aura. He knew if those people from that day were in the Li family, they would definitely come out to meet him.

Sure enough, a minute later, Su Lin saw the old man in the late stage of the Master level. He noticed a flicker of apprehension in the old man’s eyes, but thinking about the possibly complicated relationship between Su Lin and Li Ziyu, his wariness eased a lot.

“Su… Su… Su…”

Li Wendao was somewhat troubled. Normally, calling Su Lin by his name wouldn’t be an issue since Su Lin was such an influential figure, but Su Lin was a Grandmaster. It felt inappropriate to just call him by his name.

Other Grandmasters were simply addressed with their surname followed by ‘old,’ but Su Lin was only eighteen. It couldn’t be “Old Su.”

Seeing the old man’s conflicted expression, Su Lin sighed and said, “Just call me Su Lin.”

Hearing this, Li Wendao breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Are you here to see the young miss?”

Su Lin nodded. “I heard she was confined, and no one answered her phone or messages. I was a bit worried, so I came to check on her. There are too many rooms in the Li family’s estate. Do you know which one Li Ziyu is in?”

Li Wendao hesitated, unsure if he should tell Su Lin. Seeing his hesitation, Su Lin smiled and asked, “How should I address you?”

“Li Wendao, just call me by my name.”

“Li Wendao, if you’re unwilling to tell me which room Ziyu is in, I’ll have to search one by one. If it causes a disturbance, it’ll be troublesome. The Li family’s Grandmaster probably isn’t in the manor right now.”

“Do you think those good-for-nothings can stop me? It’s better to just tell me directly. I’ll go have a chat with Ziyu and then leave. I won’t involve myself in other affairs of the Li family.”

Hearing Su Lin’s words, Li Wendao felt more at ease. He knew Su Lin’s words were just a verbal assurance, essentially meaningless, but it gave him some peace of mind.

Otherwise, Su Lin could truly ignore them and search on his own, causing a real mess. He was aware that Su Lin could defeat a Grandmaster in a few moves.

“The young miss is on the third floor of the inner courtyard, the last room. That’s the family’s confinement room. She’s there now.”

Su Lin nodded. “Alright, I’ll go find her. Keep an eye out for me~~.”

Li Wendao’s expression turned strained. In the middle of the night, Su Lin came for a secret meeting with their family’s young miss, and he was asked to keep watch. What was this situation?

Without waiting for Li Wendao to reply, Su Lin lightly tapped his foot and flew to the rooftop, then disappeared in a blink.

Li Wendao’s pupils shrank. This was definitely ancient martial arts. National arts could achieve this too, but like a fired cannonball, it would leave a crater at the origin.

“This must be the legendary lightness skill. No wonder he could defeat a Grandmaster at such a young age. He practices ancient martial arts,” Li Wendao muttered to himself before looking around to make sure no one was nearby, then returned to the manor.

Inside the Li family’s confinement room, Li Ziyu was playing chess against herself. She had been there for a day. She had already prepared for the company’s affairs, so she wasn’t worried at all.

Unintentionally, she thought of Su Lin.

Thinking back to the initial encounters where Su Lin had outmaneuvered her several times, and later, when he displayed astonishing martial prowess, Li Ziyu realized Su Lin was truly an enigma. The information they had on him was just the tip of the iceberg. No one knew how formidable the real Su Lin was.

“Why am I thinking of Su Lin?” she pondered.

“Ziyu… were you just saying you missed me?”

Hearing the familiar voice of Su Lin, Li Ziyu was startled, then quickly turned around. She hadn’t expected Su Lin to be standing behind her.

Seeing Li Ziyu’s incredulous look, Su Lin smiled, “Surprised?”

Li Ziyu quickly recovered, shaking her head, “Not exactly surprised, but it’s unexpected. Yet, it does fit your style.”

Su Lin smiled. “I heard you were confined, so I came to check on you. I didn’t expect to hear someone mentioning they missed me.”

Li Ziyu’s face flushed slightly, not very noticeable. She looked at Su Lin and said, “I was just wondering if you would continue to pursue Xiao Chen. He left in the afternoon, and I don’t know where he went.”

Su Lin smiled. “Being confined, yet still managing to keep a grip on family affairs, Ziyu, you’re indeed not simple.”

Li Ziyu smiled softly and looked at Su Lin. “Compared to you, what am I? You are the truly remarkable one. A Grandmaster at eighteen, even in the Imperial Capital, that would be extremely rare.”

Su Lin shook his head seriously and said, “You’re wrong about that. The scarcity of Grandmasters in Donghai only shows the lack of resources here. I can guarantee you, once we go to the Imperial Capital, you’ll see Grandmasters everywhere.”

“Us?”

Faced with Li Ziyu’s puzzled look, Su Lin smiled and said, “Of course, ‘us.’ Don’t forget, we’re partners.”

After saying this, he sat down next to Li Ziyu, very close to her. Su Lin smiled and asked, “When do you plan to make your move? Do you need help?”

Li Ziyu thought for a moment and shook her head, “I haven’t decided on any action yet. If everything goes as planned, I won’t need help. But I’m worried Xiao Chen might get involved. If it comes to seizing power, Xiao Chen will definitely side with my grandfather, and then there will be a violent struggle.”

“Do you want me to help you then?”

Li Ziyu shook her head, “Although I’ve decided to break with my grandfather, I don’t want to kill him. After all, he’s still my grandfather.”

“Hehe, Ziyu, you might not want to kill him, but he might not hesitate to kill you. I’ve heard that the daughters of the Li family are all pretty, and your father is quite prolific. If your grandfather really marries someone off to Xiao Chen, he’s likely to discard you.”

“I’d be happy if he decided to marry off someone else other than me.”

Su Lin scoffed, “Ziyu, you still don’t understand your grandfather. If you can’t be of use to him or bring him benefits, but instead pose a great threat, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill even his own son or daughter.”

“The power you’ve shown in the Li family has already exceeded his expectations by far. I think your grandfather is already wary of you.”

Hearing Su Lin’s words, Li Ziyu felt a jolt in her heart and then fell silent.

“You’ve thought about the possibility of what I said, right? If he really intends to arrange a marriage alliance with someone else other than you, then he will definitely make a move against you.”

“From the moment you chose to resist, you were already on a path with no other options.”

Su Lin’s words were harsh but realistic, and Li Ziyu knew he was right. “Do we really have to go that far?”

Su Lin nodded, “Before you showed your strength, there was room for negotiation. Now, your grandfather will not negotiate with you. You can only move forward.”

Li Ziyu looked at Su Lin helplessly, then hugged his arm and leaned on him, “If it comes to that, I won’t be happy, Su Lin. Please don’t intervene unless it’s absolutely necessary, okay?”

Su Lin, following her gaze to her flawless neck and thin dress, reined in his wandering thoughts and nodded, “Okay! I won’t intervene unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Su Lin… Thank you.”

Su Lin smiled, “Why thank me? When you take control of the family, you’ll have to repay me. Xiao Chen might bring more major families into the fray; you’ll have to stand in front for me.”

“Sure! We’ll take him down together.”

Hearing Li Ziyu’s emotionless words, Su Lin laughed, “Alright! Let’s take him down together.”

After a while, Su Lin heard some commotion downstairs. Li Wendao arrived, leaping up the stairs and said anxiously, “Su Lin, you should leave quickly. The family head has suddenly returned with two Grandmasters.”

“Two Grandmasters? Were they out fighting?” Su Lin was surprised.

“It’s unclear, but it’s definitely not safe to stay in the Li family’s manor any longer.”

Su Lin nodded, bid farewell to Li Ziyu, and then effortlessly flew away.

Watching Su Lin’s skillful departure, Li Wendao envied him.

After Su Lin disappeared, Li Ziyu turned to Li Wendao and asked, “What exactly happened?”

“Xiao Chen and some unidentified individuals started fighting in the morgue. The family head has gone to rescue them, and they’re heading back now.”

Li Ziyu frowned, “Fighting again, truly a harbinger of trouble. Wherever he goes, trouble follows.”

“Do you know which faction those people belonged to?”

Li Wendao shook his head, “It’s hard to say. They are all ruthless independents wanted by the authorities.”

“Who’s behind this? What’s going on with Xiao Chen? Why does Su Lin want him dead, and why are assassins and the Qin family also after him? What did he do?”

Li Wendao was clueless, thinking, “If you don’t know, how would I? We martial artists spend our days thinking about cultivation and breakthroughs, not these matters.”

Realizing she was speaking to the wrong person, Li Ziyu let him go.