Redemption from the Abyss: The School Beauty Insists on Pulling Me Out of the Mire

Since the start of the school year, exams have been relentlessly bombarding the heads of every senior high school student, while the sycamore trees outside the window are gradually sprouting their first tender green buds under the caress of the spring breeze.

These days, filled with exam papers, were tedious and boring, yet they also had a sense of fulfillment.

One weekend evening.

Xie Wang sat alone in room 1602 of the Cloud Top Piano Room, enjoying his hard-won rest time.

The phone screen rang, displaying a call from Kang Ping.

Xie Wang picked up his phone and pressed the answer button:

"Uncle Kang, is there any new progress?"

Kang Ping's voice came over:

"We were so focused on catching Gu Tianlong that we didn't pay attention to Gu Nan."

"I never expected him to have fled abroad. According to his flight information, he is in Vancouver, Canada."

Xie Wang sat up, somewhat surprised.

"He got away? Wow, he's faster than a rabbit."

Xie Wang did not show much disappointment.

"It's alright, Uncle Kang. You and Tianqi have already helped me a lot. I'll settle things with him myself."

After hanging up the phone, Xie Wang put the glass back on the table.

He turned to face the computer.

Following the general area provided by Kang Ping, they began a comprehensive network sniffing operation.

After more than two hours of investigation and comparison, Xie Wang finally captured the characteristics left by Gu Nan in a virtual private network channel.

Xie Wang wrote a forced injection script and implanted it directly into the personal computer that Gu Nan was currently using through the firewall's backdoor.

Vancouver, on the other side of the world.

Gu Nan was sitting in the boss's chair in the study, holding a glass of red wine.

A pure white dialog box suddenly appeared on his computer.

Gu Nan was shocked. He instinctively tried to unplug the computer, but the other person was typing faster than him.

"You run pretty fast."

Gu Nan's hand holding the mouse trembled slightly.

Thank you!

Gu Nan forced himself to calm down, typed a line of text on the keyboard, and sent it out.

"Xie Wang, stop bluffing. Do you think you can do anything to me just because you can control my screen online?"

Xie Wang looked at the message that popped up on the screen and chuckled.

"I just wanted to see which sewer you, you stray dog, were hiding in, barely clinging to life, Mr. Gu."

Gu Nan was enraged by these words, and he reacted with a desperate madness.

"I'm currently abroad, and your country's laws have no jurisdiction over me. You can't possibly catch me!"

He then sent a second message.

"You didn't expect that, did you? I had already escaped before your Apocalypse people could catch me. What else can you do besides hiding behind the screen and spouting threats?"

Xie Wang looked at the text that seemed to be leaping off the screen to proclaim how amazing he was, and he was truly amused by this guy's logic.

He simply couldn't understand how Gu Nan could utter such cowardly and shameless words in the most domineering and arrogant tone.

"You'd better stay there and be a coward, and don't let me catch you one day."

After sending that message, Xie Wang ignored Gu Nan.

……

As the days went by, the cold, rainy weather lasted for more than a week.

As temperatures gradually rise, the high school holiday for the Qingming Festival will soon be approaching.

The atmosphere in Class 1 of Senior Three became unusually restless.

Even after Old Li slammed two pieces of chalk on the podium, he couldn't completely quell the restless emotions in people's hearts.

In this chaotic environment, only Su Qinghe in the corner was still focused on doing his English reading comprehension exercises.

However, when she finished reading this passage and went to get her water bottle, she glanced at the empty seat next to her.

Xie Wang has asked for leave.

Su Qinghe's thoughts returned to last night.

"I need to take a few days off from school so I can finish Gu Tianlong's trial before the Qingming Festival."

"Because the jurisdiction of the case was transferred to the Supreme Court in Beijing, I had to fly to Beijing to attend the trial in person."

Xie Wang told her after he got home.

Su Qinghe immediately stepped forward and grabbed the sleeve of his school uniform jacket.

I'll go with you.

Xie Wang reached out and gently rubbed her head twice.

"Honey, my dad will come with me this time. You can stay in Jiangcheng and study hard."

Su Qinghe rarely showed such stubbornness; she didn't want to let go.

"But……."

Xie Wangdao:

"Teacher Su, please listen to me. Uncle Kang will be there to oversee all the procedures, so there won't be any unexpected situations."

Su Qing ultimately couldn't go against Xie Wang's decision.

"When you go to the capital, you must let me know you're safe every day. Don't keep any of your feelings to yourself."

She could only express her worries through these fragmented instructions.

Let's switch our focus back to the present.

In the first-class cabin of a flight to Beijing.

Xie Wang pulled the blindfold up to his forehead, looking at the clouds outside the porthole with a somewhat weary gaze.

Having just finished the intense study at school, I immediately took a plane to another battlefield. This kind of non-stop pace is really exhausting.

Xie Zhengyang sat next to him, holding a cup of hot tea that the flight attendant had just brought him.

Since he laid everything out in the open, Xie Zhengyang has undergone a complete transformation.

He looks much better now, and there's no trace of the down-on-his-luck gambler he once was.

Xie Zhengyang looked at his son lying beside him:

"Xiao Wang, why don't you lean back and sleep for a while? It'll be a long drive from the airport to where we're going."

Xie Wang turned his gaze away from the window; he did not reject his father's concern.

"Okay, wake me up after the plane lands."

Three hours later.

Xie Wang and Xie Zhengyang walked out of the station exit together.

The airport arrival hall was teeming with people.

Kang Ping stood in the crowd waiting to greet people at the station.

Seeing the father and son come out, Kang Ping took a step forward and patted Xie Wang on the shoulder.

"You definitely look like you've lost a lot of weight. Senior year of high school must be stressful, right?"

Xie Wangdao:

"Without Uncle Kang, it would definitely have been even more difficult for you to help my mother with her case."

Xie Zhengyang quickly stepped forward and grasped Kang Ping's outstretched hand, which was about to greet him.

"Comrade Kang, thank you so much. If it weren't for you helping Xiao Wang through the troubles, our Xie family's blood feud would never have had a chance to see the light of day again."

He even wanted to bow to Kang Ping.

Seeing this, Kang Ping quickly reached out and supported Xie Zhengyang's arm, preventing him from performing the grand ceremony.

He sighed with some emotion.

"Brother Xie, please don't be so formal. I have always respected Junior Sister Xie Wan for many years."

Kang Ping glanced at Xie Wang standing beside him and continued speaking.

"In addition, your son is indeed an exceptionally talented individual, and the higher-ups value him highly. Helping you is also paving the way for the future of our country."

The three of them didn't continue exchanging pleasantries at the airport. Kang Ping led them directly to the Supreme People's Court in Beijing.

……

First Trial Chamber.

Xie Wang and Xie Zhengyang were seated in the private audience section reserved for the plaintiff's family members, while Kang Ping sat in an inconspicuous corner not far behind them.

As the court clerk finished reading the court rules, the crisp sound of the gavel echoed in the empty hall.

"Bring the defendant, Gu Tianlong, to court."

The judge's authoritative voice resonated throughout every corner via microphone.

The small steel door on the side of the courtroom opened, and two fully armed bailiffs escorted Gu Tianlong, who was wearing a yellow detention center vest, out.

At this moment, Gu Tianlong no longer possessed the imposing manner he once had.

His hair was mostly white and piled up messily, but his sunken eyes still revealed a sinister look.

The moment Gu Tianlong was led to the defendant's dock, his gaze, like a venomous snake, pierced through most of the courtroom and landed on Xie Wang in the audience.

Their gazes locked in a fierce, head-on confrontation in mid-air, as if invisible sparks were colliding intensely.

Sitting to the side, Xie Zhengyang clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, struggling with all his might to restrain the urge to rush up and tear the other person to pieces.

The court hearing officially began.

The prosecutor's lawyer presented one irrefutable piece of evidence after another.

From the fabricated car accident video twelve years ago, to the money transfer records used to bribe driver Chen Jianping, and the massive money laundering records involved in organized crime in Jiangcheng later on.

These chains of evidence have firmly nailed Gu Tianlong to the pillar of shame.

Although Gu Tianlong's chief defense lawyer, whom he had hired at great expense from Beijing, was eloquent in court, his defense arguments to exonerate him seemed pale, weak, and laughable in the face of such overwhelming evidence.

The trial, which lasted for more than three hours, finally entered the final sentencing phase.

The judge and the jury members all stood up, and everyone else followed suit.

The judge took the verdict and began reading the final judgment.

"The defendant, Gu Tianlong, was convicted of multiple crimes, including intentional homicide, organized crime, and money laundering, and was punished under a combined sentence, which had an extremely negative social impact."

The judge paused for a moment.

"The defendant Gu Tianlong is hereby sentenced to death with immediate execution and deprived of his political rights for life."

When the words "immediate execution" were uttered in the courtroom, Gu Tianlong's body swayed violently.

The defiant glint in his eyes turned into despair.

It seemed that only at this moment did he truly realize that his vast business empire had completely collapsed, and... he couldn't even save his own life.

Gu Tianlong suddenly burst into tears.

"Waaaaah..."

After a while, his crying gradually stopped.

He suddenly began to struggle violently in the dock like a mad dog, and two bailiffs immediately stepped forward and held him down.

With his neck stiff and eyes red, Gu Tianlong unleashed a torrent of heart-wrenching curses towards the audience.

"That bitch Xie Wan should have died long ago. I should have killed you two bastards and that useless father and son back then."

His curses were full of vulgar language.

Hearing his deceased mother being insulted in this way.

Xie Wang and Xie Zhengyang couldn't hold back any longer.

They stood up angrily.

The entire courtroom was thrown into turmoil by Gu Tianlong's insults, and spectators in other sections of the courtroom also voiced their angry condemnation of this scoundrel.

The judge pounded the gavel forcefully on it.

"Defendant, please be quiet. This is a courtroom. Your actions will not change the outcome."

But Gu Tianlong wouldn't listen at all and continued to hurl vicious words at him.

Kang Ping, who had been sitting in the corner, watched this scene coldly, and decided that he could no longer bear it.

He stood up and walked to the courtroom's control area, showing the bailiff in charge his identification.

His voice, though not angry, carried an unquestionable command.

"Turn off all the surveillance cameras in this courtroom and the recording equipment as well. No one is allowed to turn them on without my permission."

The supervisor gestured to the technician next to him.

One by one, the red surveillance lights in the four corners above the courtroom went out.

Upon witnessing this scene, Gu Tianlong's face showed genuine fear for the first time.

He turned to look at his lead defense attorney, his lips trembling as he let out a hoarse shout.

"Attorney Han, they've turned off the surveillance cameras. They're going to torture me. You need to find a way, you need to—"

Attorney Han, sitting at the defense table, slowly capped his pen, neatly stacked the case files, placed his hands on the table, raised his head, and calmly glanced at Gu Tianlong.

"Mr. Gu, the judgment has been read aloud, and the court proceedings are now concluded."

"My team and I are only authorized to provide services during the court hearing stage."

He stood up, fastened his briefcase, and looked in Gu Tianlong's direction one last time.

"If you have any further needs, your family can re-engage with the firm to renew your contract."

He paused.

"However, given the current asset freeze on Tianlong Group and the existing situation of your family..."

Attorney Han did not continue speaking. He simply nodded politely, put away his briefcase, and walked around the defense table to leave.

Gu Tianlong stood frozen in the dock, watching his defense lawyer, who had taken millions of dollars in legal fees from him, walk out of the courtroom without looking back.

The two bailiffs still held his arms tightly, standing there expressionless.

An eerie silence prevailed among the other spectators and staff in the courtroom; no one left, but no one spoke either.

Xie Zhengyang stood up and pushed the chair aside.

He flexed his wrists, slowly straightened his body, and looked towards the defendant's dock with a gaze Xie Wang had never seen on his face before.

Xie Wang stood up beside him.

The father and son walked side by side to the dock.

Gu Tianlong struggled against the bailiffs on both sides.

"What are you doing? This is a courtroom! This is a courtroom! You can't..."

The two bailiffs exchanged a glance and slowly released their grip.

They stepped back two paces, their backs to the defendant's dock, and very professionally looked towards the courtroom entrance.

Gu Tianlong panicked completely.

His legs went weak, and his back pressed against the railing of the defendant's dock, his hands grabbing at the air haphazardly at his sides.

"Xie Wang, you...you fucking have guts, if you have guts, then do it openly and honestly..."

Xie Zhengyang had already walked up to him.

Without saying a word, he raised his hand, clenched his fist, and with all the breath he had suffocated in his throat for twelve years, slammed his elbow down hard on Gu Tianlong's side.

The dull sound echoed crisply in the empty courtroom.

Gu Tianlong's head was suddenly knocked to one side by the blow. He staggered two steps to the right, knelt on one knee, and let out a muffled cry of pain.

Xie Wang stood to the side, looking down at Gu Tianlong kneeling on the ground.

He bent down, grabbed Gu Tianlong by the collar, and pulled him up from the ground.

The moment Gu Tianlong's foot touched the ground, Xie Wang's fist was already in place.

The first punch landed on Gu Tianlong's abdomen.

Don't let him pass out; let him feel the pain of being awake.

Gu Tianlong bent over and let out a hoarse groan. Xie Wang raised his hand and pressed down on the back of his neck, shoving his still-howling mouth towards the ground.

Xie Wang was furious:

"Gu Tianlong, I'll fuck your mother!"

"What's your name?"

"Is it fun to shout it out?"

Xie Zhengyang walked over, squatted down on the other side of Gu Tianlong, grabbed his collar and pulled him back, making him look up.

Blood was already trickling down Gu Tianlong's nose. He met Xie Zhengyang's gloomy face and let out a low growl.

Xie Zhengyang looked at him and began to throw punches with all his might.

"You motherfucker, fuck! I'll fucking beat you to death."

Xie Wang kicked Gu Tianlong in the back of the knee, forcing him to kneel back down on the ground.

He leaned closer:

"My mother's surname is Xie, not those two characters you're using."

"This is the last time, remember that."

After he finished speaking, he straightened up, brushed the wrinkles from his clothes off his hands, turned around, and walked back towards the audience seats.

Xie Zhengyang followed behind him.

The two bailiffs turned around again and walked back to their seats next to the defendant's dock without making a sound, as if nothing had happened.

Gu Tianlong lay prone on the ground.

Nobody was watching him.

Kang Ping stopped beside Xie Wang and Xie Zhengyang.

The three of them walked out of the courthouse together.

When Xie Wang pushed open the door, the sunlight in the corridor outside was very bright, and he squinted.

"Uncle Kang, thank you."

He stopped in the corridor, turned around, and spoke earnestly to Kangping.

Xie Zhengyang stood beside him, lowered his head, and didn't say much, but his posture conveyed everything.

Kang Ping waved his hand and stood in the corridor with his hands in his pockets.

"Don't thank me, go back and study hard."

Xie Wang turned his head to look at the avenue stretching into the distance outside the corridor. It was a sunny day with a breeze, and the leaves of the sycamore trees reflected the white light.

He turned his head to look at Kang Ping.

"Uncle Kang, wait until I finish the college entrance exam and go to university."

"I'm willing to be your slave or servant in Tianqi."

Kang Ping looked at him and laughed:

"OK."

He said.

"We'll prepare a workstation for you when you arrive."

Xie Wang nodded and said nothing more.

Xie Zhengyang stood to the side, glanced at his son, then at Kang Ping, but said nothing.

The three of them stood in the corridor for a while, the sunlight casting long shadows that overlapped on the smooth floor.

Kang Ping took the lead and walked outside.

"The car is outside, let's go."