Love Charm: A Runaway Bride

The dim, yellow light from the lamp overhead swung around, casting ominous shadows inside the cold basement.

A young man was lying on the ground, covered in blood. If it hadn't been for the subtle rise and fall of his chest, it would have been easy to assume that he was already good as dead.

The crisp sound of high heels clacking on the ground rang in the air. After which, a heavy iron door opened, making a harsh, creaking sound.

A man and a woman came in. The man was wearing a sharp and decent looking suit, his physique tall and rigid. The deep features in his face made him quite handsome. There was, however, a particular cruelty in his eyes. As he looked down on the nearly lifeless body on the ground, he sneered in disgust.

The woman, on the other hand, was wearing a white, strapless dress, paired with silver stilettos. Her clothes hugged her curvy figure nicely. Her delicate face was enhanced by the exquisite makeup she had on. However, the malice in her eyes inevitably reduced her beauty.

From the looks of it, the pair had just came in from a formal banquet.

"Mr. Darren, Miss Ashley," the doorman greeted with the utmost respect, following closely behind them.

"Has he said anything yet?" Darren Gu asked coldly.

The man shook his head. "No, sir. Wouldn't utter a single word."

"Do whatever it takes! There's no way he would be able to endure any more pain," Darren Gu ordered, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

Raising her head to look at Darren Gu, Ashley Rong smiled gently. The malice in her eyes earlier had all vanished.

"Darren, I want to have a few words with my brother," she crooned sweetly. "Can I have a minute alone with him?"

Darren Gu looked down at her and gently stroked her head. There was nothing Ashley Rong asked for that he would refuse.

"Okay, I'll wait for you outside. Be careful."

As soon as Darren Gu walked out of the room, Ashley Rong gave a quick wink to the other man. Immediately, he understood and followed Darren out.

There were only the two of them in the basement.

Slowly, the gentleness on her face faded away. As she looked down on the man on the ground, a sneer appeared on the corners of her mouth.

"My dearest brother," she said in a singsong voice. Coming closer to him, she deliberately stepped ruthlessly on his hand. "I'm here to see you and yet you can't even bring it upon yourself to greet me?"

A grunt softly erupted from the man's chest. His arm twitched in pain as Ashley pressed her heel harder against the back of his hand.

His long and thick eyelashes trembled slightly. Struggling to open his eyes, he saw his sister's face through his hazy sight.

After regaining consciousness, Albert Rong coughed heavily, fresh blood splattering against the concrete floor. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Ashley through his heavy eyelids.

It was obvious that Albert Rong was badly beaten up, but there was a still a strong will written all over his face. His eyes were piercing and sharp, as if he could easily see right through other people. Every time Ashley fell under his gaze, she couldn't help but feel that all her thoughts and emotions were impossible to hide.

With her lips curling up, she twisted her heel on his hand. However, Albert Rong kept his gaze as steady as ever, as if he wasn't feeling any pain.

"Brother?" "You're nothing but the daughter of your whore mother and her shameful client. I don't want anything to do with someone like you." Although Albert Rong's voice was hoarse and weak, his words hit Ashley with so much force.

He was still the head of the Rong family -- even though he was in such a horrible situation right now, there was no way he was going to give in.

Anger rose up in Ashley's face. All of this wouldn't have happened in the first place if he hadn't found out about her background. He had threatened to kick her out of the Rong family, and so she had no choice but to resort to violence.

It was all true. Her mother was a prostitute and she had no idea who her father was. There was no way she could be able to escape that fact. Albert now knew about her identity, and it was as if her pleasant disguise had been ripped off away from her, constantly reminding her that she was nothing more than a bastard child.

Clap!

All of a sudden, Ashley drew back her hand and slapped him right across the face, the sound reverberating across the cold room.

Albert took it without a single word or sound of complaint.

No one would dare to think of doing such a thing to him, and yet there Ashley was.

The corners of his lips curled up, and soon a low and hoarse laugh erupted from his chest.

"Are you angry because you're embarrassed? I have so many dirty photos of your mother with a lot of her clients. Do you think Darren will still marry you once he sees them?"

Ashley gritted her teeth, her beautiful face distorted with anger.

"Fuck you! Do you really think you're any better than I am? Look at you, all beaten up and locked up like a prisoner. How can you still be so arrogant?"

An evil smile appeared on his bloody face as Albert leaned against the wall, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well... That's because I have something you want."

Hearing this, Ashley's eyes widened in shock, her hands balling up into fists. "Where is it?"

The dark basement couldn't hide his haughty aura as he smile bemusedly at her.

There were a number of reasons why the Rong family had been around the Imperial City for over a century now. For one, all of the members of the family were undeniably talented. But, more importantly, they also possessed a mysterious rune manipulating skill.

As the head of the Rong family, Albert naturally inherited the rune manipulating skill. Even though he was truly a great and talented man, he did not expect that his younger sister wasn't actually the daughter of the Rong family. All those years, he had spoiled and doted on her wholeheartedly.

To add insult to the injury, Ashley betrayed him with his best friend, Darren.

All this was just for the rune manipulating skill.

"Just let it go, Ashley," Albert said hoarsely. "You will never get the rune manipulating skill. That black box you have is pointless. You can't open it if you don't have the key."

Ashley gritted her teeth and glared at him.

In the past few days, no matter how much they tortured him, Albert never told them anything. They searched everywhere, but could not find the legendary key to open the black box.

At this point, it was already useless to keep Albert alive.

Squinting her eyes at him, Ashley glowered at him coldly. Then, a sarcastic smile soon appeared on her lips.

"The Rong family is really something! That old bastard Jonathan and your short-lived parents all died because of the rune manipulating skill... But don't worry. It will be your turn soon."

Shock and anger washed over Albert's face, and Ashley couldn't help but smile wider with satisfaction.

"Did you...kill my grandfather and my parents?"

Albert clenched his fists, his nostrils flaring with anger.

Seeing him like an infuriated trapped beast, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Do you really not know anything, stupid? Well, you won't live long anyway. I'll just tell you everything! Your grandfather and your parents didn't die in a car accident at all. On your birthday, they rushed back from abroad. Luckily, I was able to tamper with their car." Ashley paused, sighed dramatically as she shook her head. "It's really too bad you weren't able to see how beautifully that car exploded..."

"You bitch!" By now, Albert was trembling with anger.

Was it true?

Did his family really die because of this woman in front of him?

For ten years, he had foolishly treated her like his own sister. And now...

"Don't worry, brother," Ashley snorted. "You'll meet them soon..."

Then she turned around and walked out.

If she couldn't get the secret of the rune manipulating skill, there was no way she could let Albert survive.

As soon as Ashley came out of the basement, the anger on her face had been replaced with a pitiful and sad look.

Seeing this, Darren hurriedly walked over to her with concern. "What's wrong?"

Ashley shook her head and leaned in his arms with a trembling sigh.

"My brother refused to tell me where it was. And he said... He said that I didn't deserve to be the daughter of the Rong family! That he wanted to kick me out and leave me with nothing!"

There were even tears in her eyes as she said this, making Darren feel incredibly sympathetic towards her. "That's nonsense!" he said, gently holding her chin in his hand. "The Rong family doesn't deserve to have such a beautiful and kind-hearted daughter like you, Ash. Don't worry. We'll get married as soon as this matter is over."

With a gleam shining in her eyes, Ashley tentatively bit her lower lip. "But my brother--"

"Your brother is nothing but an ungrateful pest," Darren interrupted, his eyes as cold as ice. "We don't have to keep him alive."

Ashley leaned against Darren's chest. "But even after everything, he's still my brother," she mumbled weakly.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to handle it in the best possible way. Albert will disappear from the face of this world forever, and you will rightfully take over the Rong family."

Hearing this, she lowered her head to cover the flash of contentment in her eyes. With his arm around her shoulder, he led her out of there.

Ashley then turned her head around to glance at the dark, iron door one last time. The corners of her mouth subtly raised up.

'Goodbye, my dear brother...'

Meanwhile, Albert stared at the dim light above his head. There was no more luster in his eyes.

For the past few minutes, he had been angrily punching his fists against the concrete. Blood seeped from his knuckles. Now, he just quietly sat in the dark, as if he was embracing his incredibly depressing state.

It felt like his life was slowly slipping away. His past two decades of existences flashed before his eyes. All the achievements he had made and the happy moment he had were nothing as compared to what Ashley had just revealed to him.

Because of the rune manipulating skill, the Rong family became one of the strongest households in all of Imperial City. All of Albert's relatives had paid the price for holding such a great power. Now, he was about to pay the price with his life as well.

The more Albert thought about his family, the more his heart ached.

There was nothing else he could do but close his tired eyes, tears steadily streaming down his face.

If there was an afterlife, he would definitely make sure that Darren and Ashley pay for what they had done!

Later that night, a huge fire engulfed the entire house. There was nothing left. Albert Rong, the head of such a powerful family, drew his last breath.

- - - - - -

"Hurry up! Catch that brat!"

In a dim alley, a chase pursued. A lanky teenager ran as quickly as he could. As he neared the end of the alley, a dozen people were suddenly there, blocking his way.

"You brat, you're pretty fast!" snarled a hooligan with bright yellow hair as he grabbed the boy's collar.

The teenager trembled, his teeth chattering. "You... What do you want?"

"What do we want?" The hooligan snorted coldly. After staring at the boy for a while longer, he loosened his grip. The teenager fell directly to the ground. His frail appearance made the other people around laugh out loud.

"Can't you try and figure it out, punk? How dare you harass Valerie Shen!"

The teenager shouted stubbornly, "I didn't!"

Blam! The hooligan punched the handsome boy's face, making him fall down hard on the ground. The corners of the boy's eyes immediately turned red and swollen.

"Tch! You are such a weak boy. How dare you approach Valerie? She is Mr. Jason's girlfriend. Do you think you deserve her?"

As they barked harsh words at the boy, the group of people punched and kicked him mercilessly.

After a long minutes, they finally stopped. The boy was shaking with pain. With a sneer, the leading hooligan, Hogan, gave him another kick directly on his stomach.

"Stay away from Valerie or next time you won't be so lucky anymore!"

The group laughed among themselves as they hurriedly left. Meanwhile, the boy panted heavily, his eyes filled with fury and hatred. After taking a few deep breaths, his body couldn't handle the severity of his injuries anymore. There, in the dark and dirty alley, he died alone.

The night wind blew through the alley, bringing upon a clear and crisp voice that seemed to come from afar.

"Master! Wake up, master!"

Albert opened his eyes in a daze. The pain all over his body made him gasp.

"Aaah..."

Enduring the pain all over his body, he tried to get up into a sitting position as he looked around in confusion.

"Where... Where am I?"

The last thing he could remember was being locked up in the basement before burning to death. Why was he here in this dark alley?

All of a sudden, he felt a severe pain in his head, and fragments of memory hit his mind. After a long time, Albert finally came to his senses.

He looked at his hands in disbelief. What was going on?

A small ball floated around him, the light fluctuating like a firefly in the night.

Albert stared at the orb in awe. Raising his hand, he reached up to touch it.

The light ball shook and made a faint sound.

"Master..."

The corners of Albert's mouth twitched. "Who... What the hell are you?"

The light ball rubbed against his face. "I'm the amulet that follows the master of the Rong family for the past century. Only the true and current master of the Rong family can wake me up," it explained in a soothing tone.

Amulet?

All of this sounded familiar to Albert.

When he took over the position as head of the Rong family, his grandfather had told him everything he needed to know -- how their family was powerful, how they were famous for the rune manipulating skill, and so forth.

From what he could remember, his grandfather also told him that the rune manipulating skill could be used to bring forth an amulet. A lot of generations of Rongs did all they could to bring it forth. None of them prevailed, until now...

Staring at the light ball, Albert suddenly remembered how he saw a light in the basement before he passed out.

"It was you ...who saved me?"

"Master, don't you know that the highest level of the rune manipulating skill is immortality?" The small light ball circled around him and said in a brisk voice, "Strictly speaking, it is the rebirth of the soul, or the rebirth of the consciousness. Master's body has died, and now your consciousness exists in this new body so master can survive."

Albert rubbed the corners of his eyes with his fingertips.

What the hell was this?

It was hard to wrap his head around everything that was happening right now. And that was not all...

As it turned out, Albert was really actually a woman! Apparently the rune manipulating skill of the Rong family could only be inherited by men.

In order not to lose the power, Albert's grandfather came to the decision to make Albert only appear to be a man.

Aside from her grandfather and parents, no one knew that the head of the Rong family in the Imperial City was actually a woman.

Not even her favorite sister Ashley nor her best friend Darren knew...

Thinking of the two of them, a murderous look flashed in her eyes.

Now that she had escaped from death, the two of them would go down to hell!

The small light ball trembled and rubbed her face, almost like a doting kitten. "Master, what should we do now?"

Taking a deep breath, she straightened out the broken bones in her hand. She didn't even flinch as it snapped back with a crack.

"Well, I'm glad you asked," she said, a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. An evil look flashed across her dangerously sharp eyes.

"I need to get my revenge for everything that bitch has done."

The steady heartbeat was an indication that she was still alive -- it just so happened that she was in someone else's body.

The teenager had also died alone like she did.

With a sneer, Albert tore off a part of her shirt and wrapped it around her injured hand. "Don't worry. Since I've taken over your body, I'll be sure to avenge you!"

"Master, the power of this body is insufficient." The small light ball laid on her head and said in a gentle voice, "I'm afraid you can't use the rune manipulating skill for the time being."

Albert's eyes darkened.

The rune manipulating skill...

It brought honor to the Rong family for a century. However, it was a blessing as it was also a curse.

After lightly dusting off her clothes, Albert was about to leave when she suddenly heard a rush of footstep at the end of the alley.

Judging from the teenager's lingering memories, Albert could tell it wasn't the gangsters who had mercilessly beaten her earlier. From the way they moved and looked, it appeared as if they were professional killers

Why were there such people in this decrepit place?

It seemed like the teenager had offended someone she shouldn't have crossed paths with in the first place.

Not wanting to head for more trouble, Albert turned and left in the other direction. When she passed the corner, a strong wind suddenly struck her face.

"Master, watch out!" the small light ball shouted in fear. Before Albert got up, the ball had incorporated itself with Albert's state of mind. No one could hear and feel it other than Albert.

Apparently, there was another person who had snuck up on here. Reacting quickly, Albert reached out and grabbed the person's fist before he could pack a punch. Since she was still pretty weak, she couldn't help but skid a few steps backwards.

Albert wasn't going down without a fight. The two fought with their bare hands with great ferocity.

The man seemed to have been injured as the faint smell of blood invaded Albert's senses. At the same time, there was a clear cold fragrance mixed with the faint smell of tobacco. It was a surprisingly pleasant smell.

And so, the fight endured. Albert's brows furrowed deeper as she gritted her teeth. Other than the fact that her opponent was undeniably powerful, she was still injured and took weak to withstand his blows. All of a sudden, her hands were pinned behind her back, and she was dragged into the darkness.

Anger flashed in Albert's eyes. Just when she was about to fight back some more, a hard, cold object pressed against her waist.

In an instant, her body stiffened.

She knew well enough that the man had pointed a gun at her.

"Don't move!" A hoarse and lazy voice came to her ears. It was so alluring -- like a deterrent force that was impossible to resist.

When Albert heard the sound of the professional killers getting closer and closer, she suddenly understood.

"Are those people chasing you?" she asked in a low voice.

Apparently, the man was trying to get her out of the way of those assassins.

Hearing this, Charles Gu squinted his eyes at the teenager in his arms. He could barely see her face in the darkness of the night. What was more, the way she spoke arrogantly proved that she wasn't afraid of the gun in his hand at all.

Charles Gu smiled slightly.

This was interesting.

"Don't worry. As long as you keep quiet, I won't hurt you."

Hearing that, the corners of Albert's mouth twitched. "Fine," she said through her teeth.

Charles Gu frowned, not sure whether or not he was satisfied with her snarky reply.

The footsteps became louder and louder. Charles Gu held his breath and pressed the gun harder on Albert's back, indicating her to stay quiet.

However, Albert wasn't in the mood to follow this unknown man's orders.

As the group of people neared, Albert stepped hard on Charles foot, making his groan loudly in pain.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Albert quickly grabbed his wrist. In one quick movement, she twisted his arm around, making him loosen his grip on the gun. Without a moment's hesitation, she quickly grabbed the gun.

Charles Gu's face darkened, not expecting that this scrawny-looking teenager would go against him so easily.

'Damn it! Are teenagers really this stupid nowadays?!'

The black gun circled around in Albert's hand. She smiled proudly at him before glancing back at the killers who had stopped to inspect the noise.

"Thank you for your gun," she said to him with a cheeky grin.

As soon as she turned around, she nimbly jumped up the high wall and was about to run away. However, Charles Gu was able to think quickly and grabbed onto her feet.

"Do you want to die, you brat?" The cold and cruel voice with a murderous tone made the small light ball tremble fearfully.

"Of course not!" Albert snorted. "But I can't do anything if you're about to."

With her hands on the wall, Albert kicked at Charles's chest with all her might. And then she climbed up and disappeared without a trace.

Across the high wall, as Albert listened to the noise of the fight on the other side, a mischievous smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Meanwhile, in one of the most prestigious private bars in the country, Jason Rong leisurely leaned back on the couch. There were a handful of women drinking with him. The women were wearing coquettish clothes, all of them doing whatever they could to get his attention.

He was handsome and rich, and so it was inevitable that these women were deeply attracted to him.

At that moment, the door to the private room swung open, and Hogan stepped inside.

"Mr. Jason," he greeted. Hogan, who had been tough and arrogant towards the teenager earlier, now looked like an obedient dog in front of Jason Rong.

Jason Rong waved his hand, gesturing for the scanty girls to get out. Then, he squinted his eyes at Hogan, lightly gnawing the cigar in his mouth.

"Have you finished your work?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Jason." Hogan nodded. "I've asked my men to teach him a lesson. I promise he won't harass your girlfriend again."

Jason Rong narrowed his eyes and seemed a little dissatisfied.

"Teach him a lesson? So what? Did you just beat him up?"

Hogan was stunned for a moment before shaking his head in embarrassment. "Mr. Jason, I... After all, it's a human life. It's difficult for us to kill him..."

Jason picked up a pile of cash on the table and threw it at Hogan. Hogan's eyes lit up at the sight of all that money.

With a scoff, Jason raised his foot and kicked the table. "Kill him. And all that money is yours."

Hogan stared at the pile of bills with his eyes wide open, his hands trembling with excitement.

Despite this, he still couldn't help but think twice about doing it. Although it was true that they weren't exactly good people, murder wasn't something to be taken lightly.

What was the point of having that much money if he got sent to jail for manslaughter?

Seeing the hesitation on Hogan's face, Jason clicked his tongue impatiently. "Just do as I ask. I'll take care of the rest."

Hearing this, Hogan grinned and nodded. "Yes! Of course! We will take care of that pesky little brat, Mr. Jason."

Just when Hogan turned around to leave, Jason called out after him. "Hold up."

He raised his hand and threw the cigar into the glass. "You'd better not get me involved in this matter. Understood?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Jason," Hogan replied with a sinister smile. "We know the rules."