"Boss!" Dong Tianleng sprung up. "The three of them are talking behind your back! All three of these aren’t good people, they’re all two-faced! My lord, you have to be careful when making acquaintances with them. Don’t be deceived by these contemptible rats!"
"Dong Tianleng, you bastard! Boss! My lord!. I wasn’t talking about you earlier. I am Chun Wanfeng. Do you know me, my lord? It’s fine if you don’t, we’ll know each other well enough after today. You shall be my boss from now on!"
Chun Wanfeng wore the face of a sycophant, sliding over like a slug as he spewed flattering praise.
"Boss! My birth lord!" Xia Bingchuan looked agitated, tears coming from nowhere as if he was about to sob. "I’ve finally found you! From today onwards, I, Xia Bingchuan, shall serve you unto death!"
"Boss, my lord…" Qiu Yunsan stumbled forward with a limp. "My lord! I’ve finally met you. My boss, have pity on me that my legs were almost broken to meet you, they still haven’t recovered to this day. From now on, I’d never dare to oppose where my lord wants me to go! I shall never defy your instructions!"
It was a shocking scene for the three of them to rush forward simultaneously.
At least, Yun Yang himself was shocked.
What was going on?
He still heard these people talking about the person with Dong Tianleng just the other day.
How could they change in just a blink of an eye?
However, Yun Yang’s attention was attracted by something else.
"You’re Qiu Yunsan?" Yun Yang’s gaze scanned Qiu Yunsan from head to toe, his eyes hostile.
If it were not for this guy, would he be at such a passive spot?
"I’m Qiu Yunsan…" Qiu Yunsan was rather perplexed – why is the boss glaring at me? "My lord, you can call me Little Qiu or Little San. Your tone is scaring me…"
"I just got beaten up…" Qiu Yunsan rolled his pants up to complete his pitiful look, pointing and saying, "Look, boss, my feet are still swollen…"
"Serves you right!"
Yun Yang scoffed, "Well, you have eyes, don’t you? This is only the first time. Try me and say that you want to marry Yun Zuiyue as a concubine tonight. I dare you!"
Qiu Yunsan moaned, "I don't dare to anymore, boss. That Keeper Mi is to be blamed for all this, it has nothing to do with me!"
"Nothing to do with you? If you weren't so stupid, it wouldn't have been such a mess!" Yun Yang had already sat down as he continued to talk. "You jumped right into a trap they have dug for you. You have to thank your uncle, or else you’d be dead now!"
A hint of menace flashed across Qiu Yunsan’s face. "My uncle told me about this too… F*cking hell! Mi has stepped too far! This has not ended yet!"
"So…" Yun Yang felt that he had already provoked the man enough so he might as well add the last fuel to the fire. "Forget the fact that I’m qualified to be your lord but I won’t be willing to have such an easy catch as my follower."
Yun Yang smiled. "Who would have known that you would drag me into the rabbit hole. It’s better not to have such a subordinate."
Yun Yang’s gaze swept pass Dong Tianleng.
The man in question was immediately compelled by justice. "That's right! Look at the mess you’ve caused. Not only were you used by them, you involved the three of us too, being held in the Board of Justice’s prison for the night. It’s such an undeserved disaster… Do we have to give our all if it weren’t for you? We’ve been totally dragged into this by you, don’t you go pulling our boss into it!"
Chun Wanfeng and Xia Bingchuan might be bad at other things but they were exceptionally proficient when it came to adding fuel to the fire.
"Exactly. I’ve never heard anything so sensible from Dong Tianleng."
"Yes, Old Qiu, really, you’re just like an unlucky star of late."
"Look at how you’ve troubled Sister Yue!"
"Look at how you’ve troubled us!"
"Look at how you’ve made my face grow small pox!"
"Maybe he caused us to lose to Dong Tianleng earlier. Since when did we ever lose?"
All three of them stopped suddenly. Chun Wanfeng and Xia Bingchuan said at the same time, "F*cking hell… this f*cking makes sense!"
Qiu Yunsan was in despair as he heard them accuse him, retorting angrily, "Just you guys wait. If I… I can’t have a better payback at him within three months…"
Dong Tianleng commented nonchalantly, "Oh, a self-appointed duration of three months? It’s so short! It will pass soon enough. I see, let me make an oath too. If I don’t become peerless within three thousand years, I shall kill myself – clear-cut and direct, this I swear to god!"
Xia Bingchuan and Chun Wanfeng guffawed in support of his proclamation.
"If I don’t die within three thousand years, I’ll hang myself!"
"If I can’t urinate while riding the sun once within the next thirty thousand years, I’ll slit my own throat!"
Qiu Yunsan was trembling with anger, his face turning pale from the rage. "Just you wait! If I don’t make this bastard pay in three days, I won’t take my family name as Qiu!"
Yun Yang quickly saved the situation. "Everyone is just joking. Why are you being so serious? Come, come, drink, drink."
Seeing that the boss had stepped forth to make peace, all of them broke into smiles as they made continuous toasts. Yun Yang gulped them all down, the group calling each other brothers in familiarity once again. Only Qiu Yunsan still wore a long face, unable to put his pride aside. He was being ganged up on.
Although he forced a smile to drink with Yun Yang, he went back to sulking when he turned his head.
After some time, when everyone was feeling warm and fuzzy from the alcohol, a loud shattering crack rang out loudly.
Clang!
Qiu Yunsan threw the goblet on the floor abruptly, crushing the porcelain, as he said with red eyes, "How dare he set me up! I must kill that bastard!"
His sudden exclamation shocked everyone. They then watched Qiu Yunsan get up abruptly and charged out in an inexplicable rage.
Yun Yang frowned and gave Dong Tianleng a look. "Quickly, go talk to him."
Dong Tianleng ran out in reluctant pursuit.
The group stopped drinking then, hearing Dong Tianleng’s voice floating in from the outside. "Look at you, how can you be such a wet blanket? Everyone’s drinking and having a great time. What are you doing? Are you angry at being set up? It’s not your first or second time anyway, you have to get used to it! Look at your unfortunate face, who knows you might get set up again if you're going to find Mi this time!"
Yun Yang stared wide-eyed in surprise as he said, "Is this his idea of advice?"
Chun Wanfeng and Xia Bingchuan were both laughing, sharing a look that spoke volumes. ‘I knew it! Stupid as expected’.
Indeed, Dong Tianleng walked in with a puffed chest but said helplessly, "Boss, I’ve persuaded and advised him with much effort. I’ve put myself in his place and mulled over what he has said but he didn’t want to listen. I have no other way."
With so much effort, put yourself in his place! You f*cking know how to use those words!
Yun Yang was exasperated and warned the gathered men, "Don’t ever let him make a big fuss over this. Tiantang City is not at peace now, the military force from all the nations are coming over. It’s the calm before the storm, uncomparable to the usual days. If anything really happened to Qiu Yunsan here, you fellows know the aftermath. I won’t be pulled into this but you three will be held accountable. Be careful in whatever you do."
Dong Tianleng and the other two were moved to tears as they said, "We brothers will remember the boss’ reminder. Don’t worry, Qiu Yunsan is just ill-tempered. It will pass after a while, nothing big will happen."
"Don’t provoke him when you meet him again." Yun Yang reminded good-naturedly, "It’s just bickering, enough is enough. I realized all of you are really sharp-tongued!"
Three of them chortled jovially, "That’s because you haven’t witnessed Qiu Yunsan’s real personality, boss. If this had happened to us, that bastard’s even more sharp-tongued than we are! We’ve given him enough respect seeing as to how you’re here today."
"Yes, that’s right. If we give our all, we could have ganged up on him until he hangs himself!"
Yun Zuiyue sat aside, watching how Yun Yang easily instigated this matter and easily removed himself from it. He did everything so effortlessly, subtle throughout the process.
She was genuinely impressed.
This young brother’s tactics were really powerful in the sense that he could turn tables around as easily as a flip of palm; the opposing party had provoked Qiu Yunsan to kick up a fuss and he had instigated him to do the same right away.
His tactics were clean and straightforward.
No matter who he faced, he could adapt right away, adjusting what he should say, what tone he should use, what attitude he should sport. Everything was just right.
"A rare talent indeed!" Yun Zuiyue thought to herself.
This is an exceptional figure who could steady himself and take charge or mess up the situation whichever was called for, wherever and whatever environment he’s in!
Was there actually such a notable figure in the Nine Supremes?
Why didn’t Flame tell me about it if there was?
"I’ve been studying something in this period of time," Yun Yang said.
"What is it?" Dong Tianleng and gang asked simultaneously.
Dong Tianleng had long been loyal to Yun Yang while Chun Wanfeng and Xia Bingchuan felt that Yun Yang was someone great who could be befriended just shortly after coming into contact with him.
Honest, passionate, friendly, straightforward, loyal to the brotherhood, considerate, flawlessly gentlemanly, with an elegance that hinted at wealthy grace, traces of delinquency that us young masters like the most. This is someone who doesn’t mind fooling around with his own people but is absolutely unreasonable to outsiders – exactly like me!
Therefore, these two popinjays had turned from favor-seekers to sincerely wanting to be friends in a very short amount of time.
This was an extremely big change of heart.
Yun Yang said, "Is there a possibility for mystical beasts, beyond the established rationale or perhaps, extremely accustomed frame of thought, to break through… and advance to a higher… level?"
Yun Yang’s words seemed random, the three popinjays stared wide-eyed as they listened to his question.
All six eyes came close to popping and falling out of their sockets!