As the words left Zhang Yang’s mouth, the young master known as Brother Hu felt his legs instantly weaken. Before he could utter a sound, with a soft thud, he was kneeling before Zhang Yang’s table.

This sight instantly drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant!

No one had anticipated that the arrogant young master who had been provoking them moments before would suddenly kneel before his opponents.

Even those seated farthest from Zhang Yang and the group of young masters couldn't help but crane their necks to watch. They were the most ordinary local residents of Gaocheng County, intimately familiar with the reputation of those young men. If it weren't for a family gathering today, they wouldn't have chosen to dine at this particular hotel.

Thus, upon entering, they had deliberately seated themselves far away from that group of young elites.

Their child, clutching a plush toy, had become fascinated when the conflict erupted between Zhang Yang and the other group, eager to get a closer look.

The child’s mother immediately pulled him back to his seat, never needing to urge him to move.

Over at Zhang Yang’s table, the situation was far too dangerous. They had never witnessed anyone in Gaocheng County cause such a significant humiliation to Wei Lehu.

Wei Lehu, the one called Brother Hu, was the son of Wei Letian, the richest man in Gaocheng County and its undisputed underworld boss. Wei Letian, leveraging his cousin’s position as the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee in Xizhou City, ran rampant in Gaocheng County, controlling both the legitimate and illicit worlds. Consequently, his son wielded even greater influence than Wei Bo, the son of Gaocheng County’s magistrate.

Normally, Wei Bo deferred to Wei Lehu’s leadership. Seeing Wei Lehu suffer such a silent, humiliating defeat, even without clearly seeing who was responsible, Wei Bo knew the people at Zhang Yang’s table were inextricably involved.

Immediately, he stood up, pointed fiercely at Zhang Yang and his companions, and began shouting insults.

“Brother Qiao, tell these people to shut their mouths. Otherwise, we won’t have any appetite left for our meal.”

The one who had inflicted such a stinging blow upon Wei Lehu was, of course, Zhang Yang. However, he genuinely had no desire to stoop to the level of these arrogant brutes. He simply let Qiao Yihong handle delivering a lesson.

After all, once dinner was over, they would be leaving Gaocheng County; these few men meant nothing to them.

“Roger that!”

Qiao Yihong had long found these young masters irritating and was eager to teach them a lesson. Now that Zhang Yang had given the order, it was like being handed the Imperial Sword to begin a righteous slaughter.

Seeing that only Qiao Yihong stood up from Zhang Yang’s side, Wei Bo, who was helping lift Wei Lehu, burst into loud laughter. Their group had more than a dozen men; they could bury the opposition through sheer numbers.

Wei Bo paid no mind to Qiao Yihong stepping forward, but in the next second, he found himself speechless.

“You bunch of bastards!”

Wei Lehu, now back on his feet, quickly regained his composure. Having been publicly forced to kneel and suffer such a massive loss of face, he could not simply swallow the insult. Without waiting for anyone else to move, he snatched a wine bottle from the side and hurled it violently toward Zhang Yang, who sat calmly at the head of the table.

Zhang Yang remained motionless, quietly eating his meal, not even glancing at the incoming bottle.

Crash!

The bottle was suddenly caught mid-air by a large hand and then violently flung back towards Wei Lehu.

The one who seized the bottle was naturally Qiao Yihong. Without the slightest effort, he gripped it firmly and hurled it back at Wei Lehu.

The bottle sliced through the air with a gust of wind, rocketing toward Wei Lehu, who was frozen stiff by the sight. Facing the missile head-on, he had nowhere to evade.

Whizz!

The bottle abruptly stopped less than a tenth of a centimeter from Wei Lehu’s face, almost touching his nose. However, the powerful gust of wind generated by its trajectory lashed across his face, stinging like a knife!

Retreating violently a step, Wei Lehu slammed into Wei Bo directly behind him, and the two tumbled to the ground.

Only then did Wei Lehu realize the bottle hadn't struck his face but had halted mid-flight.

This single act was proof enough that the people opposite them were masters of skill, making short work of a few pampered young masters whose bodies had been depleted by wine and women.

Qiao Yihong cast a disdainful glance at the group of young men. Wei Lehu’s crotch was soaked dark, though he hadn't noticed yet.

Dealing with such people, Qiao Yihong felt profoundly bored. He suddenly crushed the bottle in his hand, glared coldly at Wei Lehu, Wei Bo, and the others, and demanded, “Get lost, now?”

At this point, Wei Bo completely understood the chasm between the two groups. He scrambled up from the ground, staring at Qiao Yihong with absolute terror, backing away several paces before spinning around and fleeing.

The large entourage of young masters who had followed Wei Lehu was terrified stiff. They abandoned Wei Lehu, retreating in disarray to their own table, shivering occasionally to steal glances at Zhang Yang’s group, only calming down once they were sure Zhang Yang had no intention of seeking further revenge.

“And you, aren’t you leaving?”

Qiao Yihong glared at Wei Lehu, who was still on the ground having soiled himself, and let out a cold snort.

Wei Lehu felt as if struck by a thunderbolt. He snapped back to reality, scrambling and crawling his way back to Wei Bo.

This entire group of young masters fell silent, cowed into submission, sitting in their seats as obediently as primary school students during a lecture.

This scene provoked peels of laughter from Mi Xue, Qu Meilan, and Li Juan.

The almost frozen, cold atmosphere in the restaurant was shattered by their bright, melodious giggles.

“Brother Hu, those people… they are experts!”

Wei Bo swallowed hard and whispered to Wei Lehu. In truth, he had wanted to leave the restaurant long ago. Even if it meant braving the rain outside, he didn't want to share a building with that group—it felt far too unsafe.

It wasn't just Wei Bo; in fact, everyone except Wei Lehu wished to leave, but no one dared to move while Wei Lehu remained seated.

“I’m calling my dad. Wei Bo, you call yours too and tell him to send the police!”

Wei Lehu muttered through clenched teeth for a long moment before pulling a phone from his pocket and dialing a number. He then told Wei Bo, “I refuse to believe they dare defy the police!” He had suffered such a great indignity; how could he not seek retribution?

“What should I tell my dad? Without a reason, how can the police arrest them…” Wei Bo hesitated, clearly intimidated, reluctant to provoke Zhang Yang’s group again. From their dismissive attitude moments ago, Wei Bo vaguely sensed that the others clearly knew their identities but dared to act anyway, implying they possessed a backing far superior to their own.

“No reason? Then what am I calling my dad for? I’m calling your dad to summon the police, and I guarantee your dad will find a reason to arrest them!”

Wei Lehu glared fiercely at Wei Bo, who immediately lowered his head and called his magistrate father.

“Those kids have called for reinforcements,” Qiao Yihong murmured quietly to Zhang Yang after sitting down.

Zhang Yang chuckled, replying casually, “Don’t worry about them; they’re just clowns. We just focus on eating. When the rain lessens, we’ll continue our journey. That way, we can reach Xizhou City tonight, and we’ll stay over there.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

Hearing Zhang Yang say this, Qiao Yihong let the matter drop and resumed his cheerful banter with Yan Yefei.

Watching Zhang Yang and his companions talking and laughing freely, a venomous glint flashed in Wei Lehu’s eyes. He had already called his father, Wei Letian, the underworld boss of Gaocheng County, and knew reinforcements would arrive shortly. Meanwhile, Wei Bo had also contacted his father, and the police were en route.

Wei Lehu was convinced that soon they could manufacture some incident to give the police pretext to haul everyone into the station. Once they were locked up, he wouldn't have to worry about how to deal with them!

What Wei Lehu didn't realize, however, was that the ferret and the mouse that had been playing near Zhang Yang’s table earlier had vanished.

Wuying and Shandian had naturally slipped outside. In the heavy downpour, two vans finally pulled up. From them emerged more than a dozen young men with dyed hair of various colors and bizarre clothing. They clearly looked like troublemakers—local thugs, each gripping a steel rod reinforced with rebar, advancing aggressively toward the restaurant entrance.

These men were undoubtedly the thugs sent by Wei Lehu’s father, Wei Letian. On the other side, two or three police cars had also pulled up outside the restaurant.

However, no one stepped out of the police vehicles. After pulling up, the doors of the restaurant remained tightly shut, clearly indicating they were waiting for something.

The little thugs jumped out of the vans, brandishing their iron bars. Their task was simple: storm the restaurant, rough up the group at that one table, leave a few men behind pretending to be injured, and then wait for the police outside to storm in and take Zhang Yang and the remaining individuals away. No matter what they said, they would have to report to the police station.

Once there, Zhang Yang and his group would find it impossible to explain themselves; all the charges would naturally stick to them.

This plot had been coordinated between Wei Lehu and his father, Wei Letian, over the phone. Wei Bo had also clearly briefed his father, which was why the arriving police officers were waiting quietly outside.

The restaurant owner noticed the activity outside and immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, watching as the thugs were about to charge in.

Just then, the thugs who hadn't even reached the restaurant suddenly changed color, then collapsed face-first into the rainwater, utterly unable to rise.

Before the thugs behind them could see what happened up front, they smelled a strange odor permeating the air. Then, every single one of them lost consciousness, falling into the puddles, drenched by the pouring rain.

The ones who acted were, of course, Shandian and Wuying, the two little creatures. Wei Lehu and Wei Bo’s scheme was completely transparent to Zhang Yang, who had simply sent the two out to resolve the problem effortlessly.

Watching the thugs collapse one by one in the rain, the people inside the police cars outside were equally stunned, utterly bewildered by what had transpired.