Chapter 85: Why Is This Happening?

A cry of agony echoed as Wang Shuang clutched his severed arm and rolled to the floor.

"Wang Shuang, you are expelled from the Zhengjiang Martial Hall!"

"Weren't you eager to go to the Lingjiang Martial Hall? Now you're free to go there," Li Chong said with a cold snort.

"You and I are severing our master-disciple relationship. From this day on, you are never again to claim you are my disciple. If you dare, I will not spare you."

Fan Xiong also spoke in a frosty voice.

Wang Shuang glared at the two men, grinding out, "Despicable! Shameless! You are cruel and vicious!"

"You bully the weak with your power!"

At that moment, the private room door opened again, and Tang Ying walked in.

"Young Master Tang!"

Wang Shuang crawled to Tang Ying on his knees, crying out his grievance: "Young Master Tang, please help me. Li Chong and Fan Xiong are in cahoots, abusing their power and bullying the helpless. They broke my arm."

"It hurts so much! Please stand up for me!"

In truth, Tang Ying had arrived with Li Chong and had remained outside without coming in.

"You want me to stand up for you?" Tang Ying looked at Wang Shuang with amusement.

Wang Shuang nodded mechanically.

"Very well."

Tang Ying gave a cold smile and waved a hand. "You dog-eyed wretch, one arm broken is not enough."

"Head Instructor Fan, break the other one too."

"Right away!"

Fan Xiong moved at once, without even a second of hesitation.

Crack.

Wang Shuang's other arm was broken as well.

"Aaah!"

"Why? Why is this happening?"

Wang Shuang knelt on the ground, wailing in despair.

Tang Ying ignored him and clapped his hands. "Bring out the dishes!"

Several servers entered in succession, each carrying the signature dishes of Riverside Pavilion.

Tang Ying said to Ye Tianci, "Brother, you came to Riverside Pavilion for a meal and didn't even tell me. The owner here, Manager Cai, is an old brother of my father's."

"I had Manager Cai bring out every specialty dish in the house. As for the dishes you already ordered, I'll have them taken away first."

The servers cleared the table and replaced everything with a spread that filled it to the brim.

Ye Tianci said helplessly, "I was only planning to have a simple meal with Qingqian. Isn't setting out such a feast a bit wasteful?"

"I didn't know what you and Sister-in-law liked to eat, so I could only order the best things on the menu. No other meaning to it, really. I just wanted to treat you and Sister-in-law to a proper feast."

Tang Ying was very skilled with words.

Watching him beam ingratiatingly at Ye Tianci, Wang Shuang finally came to his senses.

For the Tang family young master to flatter him so obsequiously, one did not need much imagination to know how terrifying Ye Tianci's background must be.

He had truly kicked against an iron wall.

Wang Shuang regretted it so much he could have died.

He no longer cried out, but endured the pain in his broken arm and knelt before Ye Tianci. "Mr. Ye, Wang Shuang knows he was wrong. I am here to apologize to you."

"Truly know you're wrong now?"

Ye Tianci asked coolly.

Wang Shuang nodded frantically.

"No longer want the money?"

"How dare I? Mr. Ye, I was just talking nonsense. Please don't take it seriously."

"No longer want me to kneel and kowtow to you?"

"No, no, no. The one who should kneel and kowtow is me." Wang Shuang shook his head so hard it seemed it might fall off.

A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Ye Tianci's lips. "Then what about your uncle? Not going to avenge him anymore?"

Those words awakened a dreamer.

Wang Shuang shot an angry look at his uncle, Song Gaonian. If not for him, he would never have ended up in such a miserable state.

"Song Gaonian, come kneel before Mr. Ye!"

Wang Shuang roared.

Song Gaonian immediately snapped back in fury. "I am your uncle! How dare you shout at me like that?"

"I don't care who you are. Since you offended Mr. Ye, you must apologize!"

"Hurry up and kowtow, or don't blame me for no longer recognizing you as my uncle!"

Wang Shuang barked as he hurried to grovel before Ye Tianci.

Tang Ying spoke coldly then: "Song Gaonian, you really should kneel and apologize to Mr. Ye!"

"If everything had gone your way, all the guests at my family's Longxiang Grand Hotel would have died! Thankfully, Mr. Ye stepped in and saved them!"

"If those people had all died, you would already be in Sheriff Shen's hands, peeling garlic!"

"Kneel and apologize to Mr. Ye. Otherwise, you won't get out of this room. If you don't believe me, feel free to try."

His gaze was sharp as a blade, stabbing fiercely into Song Gaonian.

"Kneel!"

Fan Xiong stepped forward, his presence rising like a flood tide.

"Song Gaonian, why are you still standing? What are you waiting for!"

Li Chong's voice was deep and muffled like distant thunder, shaking the eardrums.

Song Gaonian had never seen such a scene before. His legs instantly went weak.

Terrified, he dropped to his knees and said humbly to Ye Tianci, "Mr. Ye, I was blind and failed to recognize your greatness. I have offended you greatly, please be magnanimous."

Seeing him kneel, Wang Shuang forced a flattering smile and said to Ye Tianci, "Mr. Ye, I made my uncle kneel for you. You can forgive me now, can't you?"

Ye Tianci rose to his feet. "You were originally from the Zhengjiang Martial Hall, yet your loyalty was divided, and you kept thinking of going to the Lingjiang Martial Hall. Fan Xiong taught you for more than ten years, and you turned on him the moment you wished. You showed your master utter disrespect. That is disloyalty and unrighteousness."

"Song Gaonian is your uncle, and yet you overstepped all bounds, forcing him to kneel before me. That is unkindness and unfilial conduct."

"For a wretch without righteousness, without loyalty, without filial piety, what path is left to walk? Being able to breathe is punishment enough."

"Head Instructor Fan, break both his legs. Since he refuses to vent his anger, let us vent it for Vice-Principal Song."

Ye Tianci waved with a teasing smile.

"Right away!"

Fan Xiong answered excitedly and charged forward, breaking both of Wang Shuang's legs in one go.

Crack. Crack.

Wang Shuang could no longer even keep kneeling and collapsed to the floor.

"Didn't we agree on only one broken arm? Why did you break both my arms and then cripple my legs too?"

"Why? Sob..."

Wang Shuang did not dare curse anymore. He could only lie there, wailing miserably.

No one paid him any mind.

Ye Tianci looked at Song Gaonian and asked with a faint smile, "Vice-Principal Song, your nephew didn't help avenge you. I did that for you, didn't I?"

"Your nephew has had all four limbs ruined. Are you satisfied?"

Song Gaonian stared at Ye Tianci, his expression blank.

Ye Tianci was clearly smiling, harmless as could be, yet Song Gaonian felt a chill crawl up his spine and dread seize his heart.

He had never been this afraid of anyone.

Swallowing hard with difficulty, Song Gaonian did not dare speak.

"No answer means you agree, then. You may go."

Song Gaonian remained where he was, too terrified to move.

"You don't want to go? Or do you want me to send people to escort you out?"

Meeting Ye Tianci's deep eyes, Song Gaonian shuddered and shook his head repeatedly. "I'll go. No, I'll roll!"

He dragged the crippled Wang Shuang away in a sorry state and fled.

Li Chong and Fan Xiong also left, while Tang Ying busied himself beside them, pouring tea and serving water.

Looking at the table overflowing with delicacies, Lin Qingqian said awkwardly, "There are so many dishes here. Even if we ate all day, we couldn't finish them."

Just then, faint cries of children could be heard rising from downstairs.

Lin Qingqian walked to the window and looked out, frowning. "It seems to be a group of children begging for food."

Ye Tianci immediately told Tang Ying to go downstairs.

A moment later, Tang Ying brought up seven or eight children. Each one was thinner than the last, and their clothes were in tatters, making them look like a gang of little beggars.

Leading them was a boy of twelve or thirteen. His face was dirty, but his eyes were bright.