TLSMLMMM Chapter 17

Assistant Xu drove straight to the Yan family’s villa, only to find the area unusually fortified. Security guards surrounded the property, armed with batons and patrolling in shifts clearly on high alert.

There was no way to barge in by force. Xu’s eyes flicked with calculation as he stopped at the gate, pressed the doorbell, and flashed his credentials to the approaching guard. His tone was urgent:
“Hello, I’m the assistant in charge of today’s engagement banquet. Mr. Yan was accidentally bumped into at the event and got red wine all over his suit. He asked me to come fetch another outfit for him.”

The guard eyed him suspiciously, and Xu noticed another guard pulling out a phone likely to verify his claim.

Xu held his breath. Suddenly, two sharp barks broke through the air. A small white dog darted out from the villa, barking wildly while glancing back toward the house.

“That’s Young Master Yan An’s dog! Who let it out?” a few guards exclaimed, momentarily distracted as they headed back into the villa to check.

From where Xu stood, he caught sight of a figure swiftly climbing out from a first-floor window.

Chu Junlie’s lips were pressed into a thin line. Enduring the throbbing pain of his dislocated thumb, he had deliberately released Yan An’s pet dog to draw the guards’ attention. As soon as they went inside, he vaulted out the window, slammed the villa door shut, and looped a necktie around the handles, tying it into a tight, unbreakable knot.

The patrolling guards at the gate weren’t blind, they saw what he’d done. Pulling out their batons, they charged toward him at once.

Even the small white dog, its tiny body somehow filled with fury, barked madly and lunged at Chu Junlie.

Seeing the two gate guards about to join the fight, Xu quickly called out,
“Did you confirm yet? Mr. Yan is still waiting for his clothes!”

The guards exchanged a glance, apparently confident that the four or five men already rushing at Chu Junlie could handle him. They hesitated, then turned back to make another call.

Chu Junlie’s eyes locked on the oncoming guards, his gaze pitch-black and feral like a cornered beast. He barreled straight at them, slamming one man to the ground with brute force and punching another square in the face.

A baton cracked against his back; Chu Junlie spun and struck with his elbow. In less than a minute, three guards were down.

From outside, Xu watched anxiously, his brows furrowed tight.

The guards inside were now ramming at the villa’s main door. Chu Junlie had no professional combat training — his strength alone was carrying him, but he was badly outnumbered. If the fight dragged on, he’d be overwhelmed.

The remaining guards seemed to realize this too. Instead of attacking head-on, they moved to restrain him, preventing him from reaching the door.

The two gate guards finally sensed that something wasn’t right. Without hesitation, they grabbed their batons and ran toward Chu Junlie.

With a loud crash, the door burst open from inside, and a dozen more guards poured out. Xu could no longer bear to watch. His gaze turned aside and froze.

In the bushes outside the villa stood a large, shadowy creature wolf-like, but not quite a wolf its blue eyes fixed intently on the fight inside.

Sensing Xu’s gaze, the big wolf-dog flicked its eyes toward him, intelligent and disdainful.

Xu blinked, stunned. Before he could speak, the creature’s hind legs tensed, ready to leap into action but it hesitated, as if restrained by some unseen fear.

When Xu turned back, Chu Junlie was already surrounded. A heavyset guard grappled with him, while another aimed a vicious blow at the back of Chu Junlie’s head with a baton.

The strike landed Chu Junlie staggered, fell and in that instant, a flood of memories that shouldn’t have existed surged into his mind.

“Boss Chu, they outnumber us eight to one! What do we do?”

He turned and saw a woman clutching a child, crying in fear. Around him, his men were bloodied but resolute. His face was cold and hard as steel. Pulling a dagger strapped to his thigh, he handed it to the woman.

“If we all die here, and anyone comes for your child—use this. Aim for their eyes. Stab with all your strength.”

The woman gritted her teeth and nodded, clutching the knife.

Chu Junlie led his team out of a shipping container marked with foreign letters. Every face carried the calm of those who’d already accepted death. Facing the enemy, he drew two long blades from his belt, the black bandages around his wrists twisting as he spun the hilts steel glinting coldly in the air.

The standoff was suffocating. Against their small five-man squad, forty enemies stood frozen, not daring to advance until a chilling howl split the air.

From behind the enemy ranks, a massive gray-blue hound burst forth, charging like a storm.

Chu Junlie stared blankly at the blood on his blades, the reflection of his emotionless black eyes glinting in the polished steel.

The fight raged for a long time, the enemy’s formation crumbling from fierce resistance to total collapse. When the last man tried to flee, Chu Junlie hurled a blade that pinned him to a shipping container through the shoulder.

The man screamed in agony. Chu Junlie stepped through the blood pooling at his feet, his white shirt soaked scarlet, the cross-strapped black jacket on his back heavy with the smell of battle.

The gray-blue dog approached, standing loyally beside him. Chu Junlie looked down at himself at the man he once was and watched as that man reached out with a bandaged hand to pat the beast’s head.

“Lie Feng,” he said softly, “good job.”

Noise surged back into his ears — guards shouting, boots pounding, breath ragged. Chu Junlie blinked and returned to the present. In that instant, he knew exactly what to do.

Outside, Xu was fumbling for his phone to call for backup when he froze, the scene before him shifting in a blink.

The guards had Chu Junlie pinned. But suddenly, Chu Junlie twisted, grabbed one man’s wrist, and locked his elbow around the guard’s neck in a tight triangle choke. His legs snapped upward in a scissor motion, a wild-horse knee sweep, flipping the guard over and reversing their positions in one fluid motion.

Xu stared in disbelief, completely forgetting to move. In just seconds, Chu Junlie had gone from brawling like an amateur to fighting like a trained combat specialist.

Beside him, the big wolf-dog seemed even more excited than he was — throwing back its head and letting out a long, echoing howl.

Chu Junlie spun around with a swift, wind-swept kick that knocked two bodyguards to the ground. Hearing the howl of a large wolfdog, he turned toward the sound and saw a massive canine with a familiar build from his fragmented memories.

“Liefeng?”

He tried calling out. The wolfdog took two steps back, then leapt up, using Assistant Xu’s shoulder as a foothold to vault cleanly over the high wall surrounding the Yan family’s villa.

Assistant Xu stumbled from the impact, stunned for a few seconds. The wolfdog joined the fray inside the yard, and at its thunderous howl, Yan An’s little white pet dog who had been barking nonstop yelped in terror and bolted back into the villa with its tail between its legs. The other guards, seeing a wolf-like creature charging into battle, visibly faltered.

Chu Junlie’s combat movements grew sharper and more precise, each strike hitting vital points. He moved in perfect sync with the wolfdog, and within minutes, most of the guards were down.

Assistant Xu didn’t have time to say anything more. He glanced at his watch, then shouted toward the fight, “Hurry!” and dashed to the car, starting the engine.

Hearing the call, Chu Junlie’s eyes sharpened. Before his fists could even land, the two remaining guards collapsed one from a feint, the other dropping instinctively in surrender.

Chu Junlie sprinted out the villa gate, jumped into the passenger seat, and Liefeng leapt in through the rear window. Assistant Xu slammed on the accelerator, and the car shot off into the distance.

×××

Two performances had already finished, and the greeting-of-elders segment had been skipped entirely. The parents’ speech, the official host remarks was the final buffer of time before Chu Junlie’s arrival.

As the hosts of the engagement party, Mr. and Mrs. Yan stepped onto the stage, smiling as they took out their prepared speech and looked at the gathered guests.

“Today is a wonderful day—my son, Yan An, and Mr. Si Yunyi are getting engaged…”

The guests applauded politely. Old Master Chang, however, frowned and pulled out his invitation. It clearly said “Chu Junlie and Si Yunyi.”

Where was Little Chu?

Why was the groom suddenly someone else?

“We’re deeply grateful to everyone for coming to celebrate with us,” Mrs. Yan continued warmly. “We hope you’ll all share in this couple’s happiness and joy.”

Their speech lasted less than a minute. A few people noticed the odd brevity but couldn’t guess the reason.

Then came the Si family’s turn. Si Yunyi’s older brother exchanged a helpless look with him. Yunyi slightly tilted his head, signaling him to go ahead.

Taking a few deep breaths, the elder brother stepped on stage, clutching a freshly printed speech and forcing a polite smile.

“Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.”¹

The speech was painfully long, and combined with his slow, formal tone, it nearly lulled the audience to sleep.

As a few VIPs below began checking their watches impatiently, sweat trickled down the brother’s forehead. When he finally finished, his legs were shaking as he stepped down.

A few polite claps followed. The emcee went back on stage and announced the next segment—

“The exchange of engagement rings.”

Yan An, dressed in an immaculate suit, beamed as he walked up the stage, gazing at Si Yunyi standing opposite him.

Under everyone’s gaze, Si Yunyi stepped forward, his expression calm and emotionless.

Soft romantic music began to play. A little boy and girl carried flower baskets and brought forward the engagement rings. The emcee glanced nervously between the VIP section and Si Yunyi.

“What a pity, Brother Yunyi,” Yan An whispered with a smile, his voice hidden beneath the music. “You tried to stall for time, but it’s useless.”

“Is that so?” Si Yunyi’s tone was cool, his eyes calm behind his glasses.

“Of course.” Yan An picked up one of the rings from the children’s tray, his eyes glinting provocatively as he looked at Si Yunyi.

Si Yunyi didn’t reach out his hand—he just looked at him, silent and unyielding.

The guests sensed something was off and began murmuring quietly.

“Brother Yunyi, please cooperate a little,” Yan An said, stepping forward to grab his hand—

But before he could touch him, a loud “bang!” echoed from the banquet hall doors.

Someone had entered.

---

Author’s note:
¹ Standard engagement speech format.

Mao Tao adds a brief clarification in case anyone’s confused:

Before losing his memory, Chu Junlie owned his own company (mentioned in Chapter 4)—an international security consulting firm. The flashback he experienced was from a mission where he was protecting a client (not doing anything illegal—dog-head for safety 🐶).

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