“Do you understand the consequences of doing this?”
Jiang Ran looked at Si Youlin, her tone calm and even.

“Are you threatening us?”
Si Zuochen slowly stepped out from behind the door.

The moment Jiang Ran saw Si Zuochen, her gaze froze.

A faint white glow surrounded him, and behind him, the vague phantom of a white tiger seemed to emerge.

This is… tiger aura!

And not just any—one of the Four Divine Beasts, the White Tiger.

Jiang Ran’s expression gradually grew solemn, shock surging through her heart.

As expected.

Children of the Imperial Fate—if not dragons, then tigers.

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
The Si family’s destiny was truly invaluable.

It seemed that if she wanted to continue cultivating, she had no choice but to cling tightly to the Si family for now.

Seeing Jiang Ran staring blankly at him without speaking, a trace of displeasure flashed across Si Zuochen’s face.

Had this woman been scared dumb?

“I asked you a question.”
The man behind her seized the moment and shoved her.

Jiang Ran snapped back to her senses, stumbling forward. She frowned, shot a glare over her shoulder, and sneered,
“Riding the tiger’s coattails.”

Then she looked back at Si Zuochen.
“So what if it’s a threat? Do you ever consider the consequences of your actions?”

“Consequences?”
Si Zuochen suddenly let out a cold laugh.
“From the moment we called you today, we never intended to leave ourselves a way back.”

“Do you really think that even if we stopped now, you’d kindly let us go?”

Hearing his sarcasm, Jiang Ran pressed her lips together.

He wasn’t wrong.
If this were the original owner, even a sincere apology wouldn’t spare them from brutal retaliation.

But she was different.

Still, Jiang Ran knew arguing was pointless—they wouldn’t believe her anyway.

A hint of caution entered her gaze.

Seeing this, Si Zuochen curled his lips into a half-smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“If you want someone to blame, blame yourself. You brought this on yourself—you deserve it.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Si Youlin, pity flickering in his eyes.

“Do it.”
Si Zuochen motioned to the internet café owner.

Watching the men approach, Jiang Ran deliberately let a trace of panic cross her face.

She wanted to see exactly what these two brats intended to do.

“What are you trying to do?” she demanded sharply.

A man rushed forward and yanked her arm hard. Jiang Ran fought back instinctively, kicking twice. The man grunted in pain.

At that moment, Si Zuochen’s cold voice rang out from behind her.

“Scared now? You know fear?”

“When you locked a six-year-old child in the basement, did you ever think about how scared he was?!”

“If I hadn’t risked everything to save him, he would’ve died—do you know that?!”

“Heh…”
Si Zuochen let out a self-mocking laugh.
“Then again, what’s the point of saying any of this to someone as vicious as you?”

Jiang Ran had been ready to fight back, but after hearing his words, her movements paused.

She tilted her head slightly and saw him watching everything with icy indifference.

So…
He did all this just to stand up for Si Youlin?

Before she could process the realization, the men had already seized her and thrown her into the internet café’s basement. Darkness swallowed her whole.

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow and calmly sat down on the floor.

Yes—this was intentional.

She had come out to do something, but she needed a legitimate reason.

That was why, even after calculating this confinement and calamity, she had still come to meet the brothers.

She closed her eyes slightly, carefully sorting through everything she had learned today.

The Si family’s fate was extraordinary. Of the Four Divine Beasts, two were already present—Azure Dragon and White Tiger.

Unfortunately, such overwhelming fortune often led to decline.
The ending might be glorious, but the journey would be brutal.

If she wanted to return to her peak, she had to absorb Di Shang’s spiritual energy—which meant she would have to remain by that man’s side.

But the original owner had wreaked havoc endlessly, earning a terrible reputation.
To stay with the Si family, she needed leverage.

And her leverage…
Was these two children.

Jiang Ran opened her eyes. A chill flashed through her gaze.

To seize control, she first had to guide these two boys back onto the right path.

But for now, she had more pressing matters to deal with.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Si Youlin watched as Jiang Ran was taken away, unease surfacing in his heart.

He walked over to Si Zuochen, hesitated, then said quietly,
“Brother… are we really doing the right thing?”

Si Zuochen lowered his gaze and looked at him meaningfully.
“What? Having second thoughts?”

Startled by the question, Si Youlin shook his head quickly.
“Of course not. I just… think leaving a woman alone in a basement—what if something happens?”

“Something happens?”
Si Zuochen let out a cold laugh and gently patted Si Youlin’s head.

“When she locked you in the villa basement, did she ever worry about something happening to you?”

Si Youlin froze.

Memories of that night surged back. His face turned pale.

He had been alone in a sealed space, pitch black, no light at all. Terrified, he had screamed himself hoarse.

But it was useless—the villa’s soundproofing was too good. No one heard him.

Then his asthma attack hit.

At that moment, he had even thought that maybe dying like that wouldn’t be so bad.

That was when Si Zuochen had smashed the door open from outside.

He had narrowly survived.

But ever since then, he had developed claustrophobia—unable to face darkness alone.

Seeing his reaction, Si Zuochen softened his tone.

“Youlin, you need to understand—there’s nothing more useless in this world than misplaced kindness.”

Especially when it came to that woman.

“Alright. Let’s go home. We’ve wasted enough time—you still need to review your lessons.”

With that, Si Zuochen grabbed Si Youlin’s hand and led him out.

Si Youlin glanced back toward the basement one last time, clenched his teeth, and turned away.

When they returned to the villa, the lights were bright.

The nanny who usually cared for them saw how late they had come back and hurried over anxiously.

“Young masters, why are you back so late? Thankfully Madam went out—otherwise you’d be punished again.”

She had waited in the hall for a long time, heart in her throat, afraid Jiang Ran might return before them.

Everyone knew that although Jiang Ran was their mother, she constantly nitpicked and punished them at the slightest excuse—so much so that even the servants couldn’t stand it.

Knowing she was genuinely concerned for them, Si Zuochen felt some gratitude.

After she finished speaking, he smiled faintly.
“It’s fine. If nothing unexpected happens, she probably won’t be back tonight.”

“Huh?”

Seeing the nanny’s confusion, Si Zuochen smoothly changed the subject.

“Thank you for waiting up so long. You should get some rest—we’ll head to our rooms.”

With that, the two brothers turned and went upstairs.

Watching their backs, pity flickered across the nanny’s face.

She had watched them grow up—such well-behaved, thoughtful children.

How did they end up with a mother like that?

How could Jiang Ran bring herself to do such things?

She sighed softly.

Pitiful…

After returning to their rooms, Si Youlin took out his books to study.

Si Zuochen turned on his computer and logged into a game.

He had a photographic memory and didn’t need to spend much time studying.

With the tournament approaching, he needed to prepare.

After all, as a professional player representing the country, failure was not an option.

The two brothers tacitly avoided mentioning anything that had happened that night.

Each went about their tasks methodically, without disruption.

At the same time, elsewhere—

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Ran sat cross-legged on the basement floor, boredom creeping in as spiritual energy completed one full circulation within her body.