Chapter 38 Asking for the Moon

"You crippled bastard, weren’t you begging to see our boss?"
"This is our boss, Mr. Wei! Let me tell you, our Mr. Wei’s brother-in-law is none other than Mr. Liang, head of the Liang family!"
"If you dare lay a finger on me, you’d better prepare to kneel and beg for mercy!"
Zhang Yan shouted at Ye Tianshi, then turned tearfully to the bald man with her complaint.
"Mr. Wei, look at this! This crippled bastard hit me so hard my mouth is bleeding! You have to stand up for me!"
She began to sob, her pitiful act tugging at the heartstrings of any man with the slightest sympathy; she was not without charm, and playing the victim always stirred a certain impulse to protect.
The bald man looked at Zhang Yan with tender concern—were it not for the onlookers, he might have embraced her right then and there. His gaze grew cold and menacing as he fixed his eyes on Ye Tianshi.
"Start a fight in my establishment and you’re slapping me, Wei Hailiang, in the face!"
"Boy, you’ve got two choices—pay up, or apologize!"
Ye Tianshi’s expression remained calm as he asked, "Aren’t you going to ask why I did it? Or why she got hit in the first place?"
Wei Hailiang’s eyebrow arched, his tone imperious. "What’s there to ask?"
"Zhang Yan is my woman. If she hits you or curses you, you probably deserved it!"
"But if you dare to strike her, that’s another matter entirely—you’ll pay for it!"
A faint, mocking smile played at Ye Tianshi’s lips. "If that’s how it is, there’s nothing more to say. You should apologize."
"What? You want me to apologize?"
Wei Hailiang stared at Ye Tianshi in disbelief, thinking his ears must have deceived him.
He rolled his neck with a savage air, then held up two fingers with cold arrogance. "Kid, I’ll give you two options."
"First, kneel here in public and apologize to Zhang Yan, slap yourself ten times, and crawl out of here!"
"Second, have someone bring half a million."
Zhang Yan pouted and grumbled, "Mr. Wei, he hit me so hard—half a million is too little, even if he pays!"
"Sweetheart, how much do you want?" Wei Hailiang coaxed with a smile.
"Five million! Not a penny less!"
Zhang Yan rolled her eyes, making an outrageous demand.
Wei Hailiang nodded, his gaze dark and cold as he looked at Ye Tianshi. "You heard her, kid. Get someone to bring five million!"
"As long as you pay up, I won’t make things difficult for you."
"If you can’t pay, you’ll crawl out of here on your belly!"
Ye Tianshi’s lips curled with a trace of ridicule. "You’re sure five million is enough?"
"What, you think I’m asking for too little, judging by your tone?"

"Are you provoking me, kid, or just trying to act tough?"
Wei Hailiang’s eyes grew vicious as he glared at Ye Tianshi.
"The mighty boss of Purple Qi Palace, brother-in-law to the head of the Liang family, and this is all the nerve you’ve got? Just five million? I thought you’d try to extort fifty million from me."
"Kid, if I asked for fifty million, could you pay it?"
"If you can ask, I can pay."
Ye Tianshi looked at Wei Hailiang calmly, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
To Wei Hailiang, this was nothing less than a provocation.
Wei Hailiang’s narrow eyes narrowed even further, their gleam sinister. "You dare to provoke me, Wei Hailiang? Since you’ve got such a big mouth, I’ll take fifty million!"
"Short a single cent, and I’ll break your legs!"
"Go ahead and call anyone you like. I’m telling you now—it won’t help you one bit!"
Ye Tianshi chuckled. "Now that’s more like the boss of Purple Qi Palace. Fine, I’ll pay you."
Wei Hailiang was momentarily stunned, thinking his ears must have failed him again.
"Is this guy crazy? He thinks five million is too little and offers up fifty million himself?"
"No one’s that dumb, no matter how rich they are."
"What a joke! Fifty million for a slap? Even the most pampered pet in the East Island isn’t worth that much!"
"I’d love to see how this idiot produces fifty million."
…
The onlookers all stared at Ye Tianshi as if he were a fool, pointing, sneering, and whispering among themselves.
Ye Tianshi pulled out his phone and dialed Liang Xianrong.
"I’m at Purple Qi Palace. The boss here, Wei Hailiang, wants to extort fifty million from me. Why don’t you come over and deliver the money?"
On the other end, Liang Xianrong’s hand shook so hard that his phone nearly fell into his lap.
"Master Ye, please don’t be angry. I’ll be right there!"
"Give me two minutes."
As soon as the call ended, Liang Xianrong barked at his driver, "Get us to Purple Qi Palace in two minutes—fly if you have to!"
The driver slammed his foot on the accelerator, the car running red lights as it tore toward Purple Qi Palace like a streak of lightning!
Ye Tianshi had previously helped Liang Xianrong dismantle a deadly Feng Shui trap and cured his ailments. Liang Xianrong had respected Ye Tianshi before, but his gratitude outweighed all else.
Now, things were completely different.
Liang Xianrong had witnessed firsthand the reverence shown to Ye Tianshi by Old Master Tang Zhenguo of the Tang family!
He had also seen with his own eyes how General Tang Qiong—one of the ten great marshals of Daxia—had knelt before Ye Tianshi at the ceremony to become his disciple!
Liang Xianrong knew that Ye Tianshi’s true identity must be extraordinary and terrifying!

Now, his feelings for Ye Tianshi were not just gratitude, but a mix of awe and dread.
When he rushed out of the Longxiang Grand Hotel in pursuit, Liang Xianrong had resolved that even if he offended everyone else, he would make every effort to curry favor with Ye Tianshi.
"Faster! Hurry up!"
Liang Xianrong kept urging, unable to sit still.
The driver weaved crazily through traffic and ran every red light.
In just ninety seconds, the car screeched to a halt in front of Purple Qi Palace.
As soon as it stopped, Liang Xianrong and his steward, Feng Hai, jumped out.
The two of them dashed inside, breathless and flustered.
Wei Hailiang was a little surprised, stepping forward in confusion. "Brother-in-law, what brings you here?"
Smack!
Without a word, Liang Xianrong swung his arm and slapped him hard across the face, the blow echoing loudly.
Wei Hailiang was left dazed, clutching his cheek. "Brother-in-law, why did you hit me?"
Liang Xianrong jabbed a finger at his nose, his face livid with fury. "Answer me—did you just try to extort fifty million from Master Ye?"
"Brother-in-law, it wasn’t extortion. I was just asking," Wei Hailiang tried to explain.
Smack!
Liang Xianrong delivered another ringing slap. "Ask, my ass!"
Zhang Yan stepped up, pointing at Ye Tianshi as she tried to defend Wei Hailiang. "Mr. Liang, this cripple came here to cause trouble on purpose. He even hit me. Mr. Wei was just trying to stand up for me."
"It wasn’t extortion—he’s just a fool with more money than sense, and he offered to pay us fifty million himself."
Liang Xianrong’s gaze turned icy as he fixed his eyes on Zhang Yan. "Master Ye is gentle and reserved by nature. Why would he hit you for no reason?"
Zhang Yan, still relying on Wei Hailiang for support, replied nonchalantly, "He wanted a private room, and I wouldn’t give him one. I told him to find a seat in the main hall, and he went wild and slapped me."
"Mr. Liang, I even warned him—told him Mr. Wei’s brother-in-law was you—but he still hit me. He clearly doesn’t respect you at all."
"You should put him in his place. Otherwise, any customer will think they can make trouble here in the future."
As she whined and fanned the flames, Zhang Yan failed to notice that Liang Xianrong’s face had turned to stone, his expression so dark it seemed the cold of winter had settled upon him.