"You reckless little bastard—you'll get your old man killed one of these days!" The Deputy City Master was absolutely livid at his son's refusal to learn from past beatings.
The subordinates rushed forward to hold him back. "City Master, stop, stop! If you keep going, someone's really going to get hurt."
Restrained by his men, the Deputy City Master sank into a chair, still fuming. He fixed his son with bulging, bell-sized eyes and barked, "You little scoundrel—how much did Dong Sheng pay you off for the Flying Horse Inn business?"
"I… Father… the Flying Horse Inn business has nothing to do with me." The young dandy tried to wriggle his way out.
"Still lying?" The Deputy City Master thrust out a leg to kick him. If the subordinates hadn't caught him in time, that kick would have put the young man in bed for a good three months.
"You little bastard, if you don't tell me the truth right now, just wait for the Crown Prince to deal with you. When that happens, forget about you—I'll go down too! No one will be able to protect you!"
The young dandy finally seemed to realize his father wasn't bluffing. He stammered, "The… the Flying Horse Inn matter caught the attention of the Crown Prince?"
"Of course it did! You had the audacity to make moves against the Crown Prince's people—unbelievable. You little bastard… you're going to get me killed sooner or later!"
"Niu Wu… he… he's the Crown Prince's man?" The dandy's face was a picture of incomprehension. "That's impossible. If he were the Crown Prince's man, would he have let Dong Sheng push him around?"
"Push him around?" The Deputy City Master's voice went cold. "Does it look to you like he was being pushed around? Dong Sheng… he's nothing! Let me tell you—Dong Sheng is finished! If you're too stupid to see that, you'll go down with him, guaranteed!"
Seeing his father's expression, the young dandy finally understood that this was no joke. His face went pale, and he muttered, "That's so unfair—I never took any money from Dong Sheng. I just propped him up a bit out of brotherhood. How was I supposed to know Niu Wu's connections went all the way up to the Crown Prince?"
Smack!
"I don't care about whatever shady dealings you two had in the past. Starting today, you cut all ties with Dong Sheng. If you have any evidence of his crimes, hand over every last bit of it. Make amends now while you still can, or don't blame me when the fire burns you too." The Deputy City Master's tone was ice-cold.
The young dandy flinched at the thought of betraying a friend. His expression grew awkward.
"What? Can't bear to part with him?" The Deputy City Master sneered. "Don't blame me for not warning you. If you miss this chance to atone now, you'll go down with him when the time comes."
……
Dong Sheng had not expected things to unravel so quickly.
That very afternoon, Dong Sheng was taken into custody by the Golden Bell City authorities. A flood of reports detailing his various misdeeds poured in, one after another.
The entire Dong family was placed under control.
Meanwhile, good news kept rolling in for Niu Wu.
Dong Sheng arrested. Dong Sheng's properties seized. The Dong family completely finished.
All manner of triumphant tidings arrived in rapid succession.
Within three days, every bit of Dong Sheng's business shares had passed into Niu Wu's hands—at a price so low he could barely believe it.
As for the thugs Dong Sheng had planted at the Flying Horse Inn, they scattered like monkeys from a falling tree. Some were arrested, some fled, and some simply slipped away.
Dong Sheng's brother-in-law was thrown behind bars as well.
The dramatic upheaval at the Flying Horse Inn left all of Golden Bell City stunned. Everyone had assumed Dong Sheng would crush Niu Wu in their contest.
No one had predicted such a reversal.
Overnight, speculation about Niu Wu ran rampant. Countless versions of the story circulated through every street and alley of Golden Bell City.
Some said Niu Wu had reached the ears of the throne and maintained deep ties with the Crown Prince.
Others whispered that Niu Wu's connections extended even further—that he had links to the emperor-level powers of Liuli Royal City's main city.
In the span of a single night, Niu Wu—previously regarded as nothing more than a second- or third-rate figure in Golden Bell City—was suddenly elevated to the first rank.
This meteoric rise was something even Niu Wu himself had not foreseen.
He knew, of course, that it was all thanks to "Young Master Ji San." What he hadn't expected was that Young Master Ji San's influence would prove this formidable.
Niu Wu couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Everything had changed so fast it felt like a dream, something he still could not quite believe. Happiness had arrived far too suddenly.
……
And Jiang Chen, the mastermind behind the whole affair, was already thousands of miles away from the Great Cangyun Kingdom.
What happened in Golden Bell City had been nothing more than a small episode—a way for Jiang Chen to repay Niu Wu for his intelligence. Niu Wu's information was invaluable to him.
The cost of repaying Niu Wu was trivial from Jiang Chen's perspective, but for Niu Wu, it was a life-altering stroke of fortune.
Of course, Jiang Chen had his own reasons as well. As the Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain, he would one day need to command the loyalty of all the great kingdoms and cities under Liuli Royal City's dominion. Cultivating goodwill among them was only prudent.