"I, Xiao Yang, acknowledge heaven and earth, my parents, and my friends, but I have no idea what it means to 'admit fault.' Why don't you teach me?" Xiao Yang looked at Old Master Lin with an amused expression.
They had tried to intimidate him the moment he stepped inside, demanding he kneel. What a joke. Xiao Yang was the one who made others kneel; there was no logic that would ever force him to kneel before someone else. Furthermore, the Lin family couldn't afford to accept such a gesture from him. If word of this were to get out, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger; the Xiao Family would immediately send people over. To say it would result in a "river of blood" might be an exaggeration, but the methods they would employ would undoubtedly be far more brutal than that. Do not mistake this for mere alarmism; Xiao Yang’s background was far more formidable than anyone could imagine.
"Insolent!" Old Madame Lin pointed at Xiao Yang, her fingers and lips trembling with rage. "You—you’ve completely lost your mind!"
"Mother, please, don’t be so angry. Take care of your health!" Lin Jiang and his brothers rushed over, rubbing her back to help her calm down.
Lin He seized the opportunity to attack Lin Zhengrong. "Third brother, do you really want to be the death of Mother?!"
Xiao Yang couldn't help but look toward Lin Zhengrong, waiting to see what he would say or do.
Lin Zhengrong countered with a question: "Has she ever treated me like her son?"
The room fell into a dead silence. Lin Zhengrong continued, "If she had ever looked at me as her son, she wouldn't have stood by while you all plotted such wicked deeds behind my back."
"Lin Zhengrong! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Lin Jiang pointed a finger at Lin Zhengrong’s face, roaring, "Did you not come from Mother's womb?!"
"Enough!" Old Master Lin barked, cutting off their argument. He said with a stern face, "Do not let outsiders make a spectacle of our family. Lin Zhengrong, I will ask you only one thing: how do you intend to give an account to the Ye family and the Pang family for this?"
"There is no account to give," Lin Zhengrong replied flatly.
Old Master Lin was slightly taken aback. "What did you say?"
Qing Xiuxin answered for her husband: "My husband said, there is no account!"
"Qing Xiuxin, this is not your place to speak!" Lin Hai scolded.
"Then we're leaving." Qing Xiuxin, who also possessed a stubborn streak, grabbed Lin Zhengrong's hand, ready to depart.
"Stop right there!" Pang Qing called out, his voice cold. "Zizhu has suffered such great humiliation; you must give our Pang family an answer, or don't even think about leaving!"
The Ye family stood to the side, watching the fire from the other shore. Their pretense of coming to hold someone accountable was fake; their true motive was to secretly help Ye Shaocheng win over Lin Yufei. Their script was simple: intervene at the critical moment and use Lin Yufei as a bargaining chip to resolve the feud between the Lin and Pang families. But the current turn of events seemed to have veered off track.
Xiao Yang said indifferently, "The world is vast, but there is nowhere that I, Xiao Yang, cannot leave if I choose to. If you don't believe me, feel free to try and stop me."
"Fine! You said it yourself!" Pang Qing, naturally unable to stomach Xiao Yang's arrogant tone, decided to oblige him. He snapped his fingers. "Hu Er, teach him a lesson in manners!"
"Yes, Third Master!" The burly man standing to the right walked out immediately. He slowly removed his jacket, revealing rock-hard muscles beneath a small black undershirt. As he clenched his fist, his muscles bulged, exuding an imposing aura.
Seeing this, Lin Yufei feared Xiao Yang would get hurt and hurriedly said, "Xiao Yang, don't..."
"Don't worry." Xiao Yang gave her a smile, nodded slightly to Lin Zhengrong and Qing Xiuxin, then stood up and walked to a spot five paces away from Hu Er.
Xiao Yang could tell at a glance that this guy was a trained fighter; the most obvious sign was his bulging temples. Those massive muscles weren't just for show. Gym-honed muscles were no match for Hu Er's; gym muscles were merely for aesthetics, whereas Hu Er’s were filled with explosive power.
Hu Er's eyes flashed, and he suddenly struck, a gust of wind trailing his sandbag-sized fist as he smashed it directly at Xiao Yang.
Xiao Yang neither dodged nor retreated, standing right where he was as if paralyzed by fear. Lin Yufei even closed her eyes instinctively, unable to watch what was about to happen.
Just as everyone thought Xiao Yang was about to be struck in the face, a single finger blocked Hu Er's fist. The entire force of the punch was neutralized, as if the two had agreed upon it beforehand: I throw the punch, you block it.
"What?!" Hu Er's eyes widened in shock. He swore he hadn't made any such arrangement with Xiao Yang; he had used his full strength.
Xiao Yang sneered, "This is what you call a punch? Too slow."
With that, Hu Er only felt a blur strike his face.
*Bang!*
Hu Er was knocked backward, his head snapping back as blood gushed from his nostrils. Xiao Yang didn't stop there; he pressed his hand down on the man's head and slammed him hard against the floor.
*Bang!*
The floor tiles shattered, sending debris flying. Hu Er groaned, his eyes rolling back in his head as if his brains were about to spill out.
"How is this possible!" Pang Qing stared in disbelief at the scene before him. He knew Hu Er’s capabilities better than anyone; the man could easily defeat top-tier special forces soldiers. How could he have lost to a nobody?
Even the Ye family was moved by this display. Ye Dongyan eyed Xiao Yang with great interest, a sudden impulse rising within him to recruit this man. He clapped his hands to grab everyone's attention and stared at Xiao Yang. "Not bad, not bad at all. To be able to defeat Hu Er proves you have some skill. Are you interested in coming to work for me? I guarantee an annual salary of no less than one million, plus other benefits later on."
Xiao Yang scoffed. "People only ever end up being *my* subordinates; no one has ever been able to make *me* theirs. You're offering me a million, right? I'll give you two million—double what you offered. As for the 'benefits' you mentioned, I can give you those, too. How about it? Do you want to come and be my subordinate?"
These words made Ye Dongyan laugh, his laughter filled with arrogance. "Do you think you can provide what my Ye family can offer?"
"Just say it—what do you want?" Xiao Yang asked calmly.
Ye Dongyan’s expression turned vicious. "I want to become the number one in Jing City!"
"Fine," Xiao Yang replied calmly.
"Fine?" Ye Dongyan paused. Upon seeing the amused glint in Xiao Yang's eyes, he realized he had been played. He said in a deep voice, "Are you mocking me?!"
"And if I am? If you're not happy, why not call the dogs behind you to come and take a bite out of me?" Xiao Yang sneered.
Ye Dongyan clenched his fists tightly. He glanced at the sorry state of Hu Er and ultimately decided not to let his subordinates engage Xiao Yang.
Seeing that he had gone silent, Xiao Yang snorted. "A bunch of spineless, brainless losers. No wonder you all flock together."
This comment insulted everyone in the room except for Lin Zhengrong and his group.
"You! You!" Old Madame Lin was so consumed by fury that her eyes rolled back, and she actually fainted.
The Lin family fell into a state of panic, losing all interest in holding Lin Zhengrong accountable.
Xiao Yang, however, shook his head and clicked his tongue, as if still unsatisfied. "Can't handle a few words? You're truly fragile. An old person who only knows how to bully others but can't take any heat isn't even worth saving; keeping you alive is just a waste of medicine."