Rebirth from the Ashes

Fu Qingli was found, albeit heavily wounded and unconscious. Fortunately, Shen Xi was there to perform first aid with a medical kit she brought. She had medical supplies and needles ready just in case.

Once at the boat, Fu Qingye and Li Yuan changed Fu Qingli into some clean clothes before Shen Xi did another thorough examination.

He was badly hurt. The most severe injury was physical but it was not looking good internally as well. Compared to his other injuries, the stab wound from Fu Hannian was nothing.

With teary eyes, Lu Guoguo stood at the foot of the bed as she sobbed and held Fu Qingli's hand tightly.

Standing on one side, Lu Li carried her daughter to sit on the bed. She tenderly soothed the little girl. "Guoguo, your dad is okay. He'll wake up soon. Don't worry."

Lu Guoguo bobbed her head while keeping her eye on the man in bed. She was too upset for words.

Fu Hannian's body was retrieved too.

Shen Xi refused to look, nor touch that dirty body. She told the attending doctor to do a quick autopsy.

Fu Hannian suffered a fatal wound to the head. The preliminary assessment showed a sharp force trauma, likely from a reef, resulting in a deadly concussion.

Of course, the injuries on the corpse were no less than what Fu Qingli had sustained. Nevertheless, the resources at hand limited the post-mortem examination. They needed to get on land to be better equipped for a proper autopsy.

Fu Qingli was seriously injured and unconscious while Fu Hannian was dead. The Fu family was bound to find out, so there was no point hiding it from them.

It was three o'clock in the morning by the time they returned home.

The family was up.

Fu Handing and Shangguan Yanqiu could not sleep a wink all night, feeling an unexplained uneasiness as though something was about to happen.

Sure enough, something happened. Something terrible had happened.

The moment Shangguan Yanqiu saw the heavily injured Fu Qingli carried into the house, she could have passed out if Fu Qingxuan had not been there to hold her.

After Shen Xi, Li Yuan, and Fu Qingye gave a brief account of the situation, Fu Handing called them all into the study.

"Dad, Fu Hannian is the culprit who took Xixi away and tried to kill you." Fu Qingye could not hide the anger and pain in his eyes.

Xu Xu had already told them about the incident.

The conversation between Qingli and Fu Hannian was recorded.

He whipped out his phone and played the voice recording. Although the winds were strong at sea, Fu Qingli and Fu Hannian's voices came through clear enough.

Having listened to the recording, Fu Qingxuan wished nothing more than to slaughter Fu Hannian himself. Fu Hannian was no human but a madman and an animal.

The Fu family had not once done wrong by Fu Hannian to deserve such vile deeds. Dad saw him as a brother, not an enemy!

Fu Qingxuan was livid to learn the truth because he trusted Fu Hannian was family.

Fu Handing remained silent the whole time, albeit he did not seem surprised. It was as if he had known it for a while. In the end, Fu Handing sighed and said, "Call your great-uncle and tell them to come."

Great-uncle had the right to know about Fu Hannian's malicious act. He had reasons to believe that Great-uncle was kept in the dark.

"Dad, did you remember something?" Shen Xi asked him.

Fu Handing nodded and let out a deep sigh. "I recalled a lot of things. It's just as he said. I found a huge gap in his finances before what happened to me."

He gave Fu Hannian a warning and seized his authority when he discovered the embezzlement of public funds. This must be the reason Fu Hannian attacked him.

Still, the reason Fu Hannian went after his daughter was completely unexpected. Fu Handing could not believe that Xixi would be dragged into this.

Fu Handing misjudged Fu Hannian and had no clue that the latter would be so wicked to lay a hand on a newborn.

"Dad, I think we should wait for Qingli to wake up before calling Great-uncle over." Fu Qingye was concerned.

Great-uncle was Fu Hannian's father after all. Now that Fu Hannian was dead, the voice recording was all they had to prove his criminal history.

Fu Hannian's cause of death would be known once Qingli came around.

Fu Qingye was regretting it now. They should have tossed Fu Hannian's body into the sea instead of bringing him back. At least then, they would not be in this predicament.

"Your Great-uncle is an understanding man." Fu Handing smiled bitterly. "He had seen a lot in his lifetime. Nothing can crush him. Let's not give the public something to talk about."

People would think the Fu family was up to no good if they were to keep quiet about bringing Fu Hannian's body back.

Great-uncle had been out and about lately visiting old friends and family to bond with.

Fu Qingye gave Fu Hanji a call to explain a little and told them to make a trip over.

Half an hour later, Fu Hanji arrived together with Great-uncle.

Great-uncle was detached when he saw the corpse. After quietly staring at the body for a while, he lifted his head to look at Fu Handing. "Was this animal behind Xixi's disappearance and your mishap?"

Fu Handing nodded. "Yes."

"Great-uncle, Uncle, this is the exchange between him and my big brother." Fu Qingye took out his phone and tapped on the recording.

The voice recording was played once more.

Great-uncle and Fu Hanji was thrown into a whirlwind of emotions – upset, anger, disappointment, and anguish. They did not know what to say or how to face the Fu family.

It was just horrific what Fu Hannian did. Even those closest to him had to call him a monster.

Besides, Great-uncle and Fu Hanji genuinely had the Fu family's best interest at heart. They worked for the Fu family with the purpose of making the family stronger.

They believed that their success was tied to the Fu family's success. Although they were distant relatives of the Fu family, they held the perception of rising and falling together.

Shen Xi and Li Yuan exchanged glances and held each other's hands tightly.

There was complete silence in the study.

A while later.

Great-uncle suddenly got up and fell to his knees.

Fu Handing quickly helped him up.

"Don't help me up." Great-uncle hoarsely yelled. With bloodshot eyes, he turned to Fu Handing and Shen Xi. "Handing, Xixi, I didn't raise my son well and ended up with a monster. I've wronged you. Please accept my apologies."

He then kowtowed.

The gesture was too huge for Fu Handing and Shen Xi to accept. The pair helped Great-uncle up by holding each of his arms.