Chapter 178: The Sad End Of Head Ning, The Dragon!

Chapter 178: The Sad End Of Head Ning, The Dragon!

I walked out of Head Ning's home and stepped into the fresh summer air. After taking a deep breath to calm my chaotic emotions, I scanned the courtyard. Vincent and Jules had just dragged over the local Ning branch family Head, throwing him roughly onto the ground alongside his immediate family.

The Fire Birds elite had thoroughly raided the other estates dotting the massive family property, systematically rounding up the guilty and the innocent alike.

From a dense cluster of fire Birds, Tina, Jenifer, and Cat emerged. With serious work faces on, they marched straight toward our group. Tina stopped in front of me, her posture rigid as she asked. "Husband, what do you want me to do with these bugs? They severely offended sisters Nadia and Nichole, so whatever you want, your Fire Birds will do it."

I extended my hand, pointing directly toward the son of the twins' father, their abusive half-brother. "Ned Ning bullied my wives relentlessly growing up. Send him directly to Luke for his Dockside concrete shoes special. His wives will work off their debts for the Fire Birds, and his children will be raised by the next Head of Ning."

Ned glared up from the dirt, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he barked. "Fuck you, Rick Tang, you absolute bastard."

Thud! I lifted my heavy black boot and kicked his teeth right down his throat, letting the rest of his family and the gathering Ning clan witness my utter seriousness.

His family immediately erupted into frantic cries, loudly lamenting their awful fates. I turned away from the bleeding mess, walking over to the trembling local Head Ning to look down at him. "Daren Ning, congratulations, the Ning family main branch position is officially opening up for you tonight. I have researched your history and found you guilty of only minor crimes. But if I even smell a hint of retribution from your faction, or even hear a single curse word directed toward my Nadia and Nichole, the remaining Ning family will immediately join this father and son in their fate, do you understand? The Tang family will not be so kind to traitors in the future. The Ning clan had it incredibly easy under my Uncle, but I happen to love my cousin Helen deeply. Just sneeze wrongly and see exactly what I do to your family, get me?"

Daren nodded his head frantically against the gravel, his voice shaking with intense relief. "Thank you for sparing my family, Mr. Tang! I will personally make sure we change our ways instantly!"

I turned back to Tina, pulling her into a tight, appreciative hug. "Wife, make any operational decisions you want from here on out. We do need more manpower for Central's Africa Project anyway, so feel free to fill the slots with these useless people. I need to go home and tell the twins exactly what I have done, sigh."

Tina reached up, her warm palm touching my cheek to assure me. "Nadia and Nichole are incredibly smart and practical girls. They will understand the necessity, and they will probably be very happy that you chose to protect them so fiercely. Now go, we have everything completely under control here."

After a quick goodbye kiss, I walked Tom and Mike toward their waiting vehicles—or rather, their armored limousines.

Tom turned to me before stepping into the rear passenger compartment. "Getting to fight for real tonight was exceptionally good for this old man's heart, ha-ha. Anyway, go and give my daughter a massive hug for me, and make sure to tell her I didn't suffer a single scratch. She always worries about me in secret. Last thing, make sure you two come over for lunch very soon so I can see my grandson."

I offered a warm smile, shaking his hand. "Sure thing, father, but your grandson won't actually be out until the middle of October, ha-ha."

Tom laughed deeply, clapping my shoulder. "No worries at all, I will just make Mercy eat some extra cake to feed my little boy. Good night, Rick."

I watched as his vehicle pulled away into the darkness. Soon, Mike Hue stepped up to my side, looking out over the clearing compound. "Now that the Forest Temple's senior members are thoroughly defeated, they lack the strength to send any more representatives to our territory. Their remaining lower-level members will run in absolute fear of being hunted down by our forces. Come Monday, I will have Lan Chow send our official application directly to the Central Government. We will be fully official by the end of the summer."

"Thank you, Mr. Hue," I replied, exhaling a long breath. "Really, you have absolutely no idea how much of a relief it is to have your immense experience guiding us in this matter. And I am truly sorry for the past events that brought us to this point..."

He patted my shoulder gently, dismissively waving off my apology. "Bad things happen every single day in our line of work, Rick. It is exactly how we choose to move forward that matters. Actually, right after the very first bombing of the Mountain Temple, we had already moved all of our historic texts and core teachings deep into the countryside along with many of our nonessential members. Only Laura Long's most loyal followers remained behind for the final fall of the compound. Anyway, the new Temple will rise up to be even more prosperous and a worthy sanctuary. I will call you later with more updates. Bye, Rick."

With that final reassurance, he stepped into his car and departed. When I turned my gaze back toward my own limousine, I noticed both Mei and Lan talking rapidly in Mandarin. Jenifer was already sitting comfortably inside the vehicle, waiting patiently for my return.

I watched Mei carefully place the disassembled pieces of the high-end sniper rifle into the trunk. As I readied myself to climb into the cabin, Mei closed the lid and caught my eye. "Master, due to the recent revelations from Miss Chow, I will have her ride up front in the passenger seat with me so I can talk more with her. After that, I will give her my old vehicle to drive herself home. You and Miss Han should spend some quality time together with the privacy window rolled up."

She was speaking entirely in code to protect our security. The privacy window was meant to keep Jenifer from overhearing any sensitive talk regarding the identity of the Yellow Emperor. Both Mei and Lucy had clearly heard Lan call me her Emperor back in the office, so they wanted to discuss the political implications immediately. It wasn't entirely surprising that Lan had deduced the truth, given that the legend of the Yellow Emperor is common cultural knowledge across the China Empire.

I simply nodded to the black- and white-haired Chinese women, showing my agreement before sliding into the rear seat next to my secretary.

Hinata crawled into the cabin right behind me, settling down directly in front of the built-in mini-bar while cradling my now clean katana. She closed her eyes, instantly drifting into a state of quiet meditation to reflect on the martial techniques utilized during the fight earlier tonight.

Jenifer had already poured me a glass of whiskey over ice, immediately taking hold of my left hand with immense care.

Within moments, the heavy vehicle rolled forward, smoothly leaving the spectacular fall of Ning the Dragon far behind us in the dark.

I placed my drink down securely into the built-in cup holder, pulling out my smartphone to dial home.

[Hello, dear, are you alright?]

"Yeah," I answered, leaning back against the leather. "But I really need to talk with you and Nadia the second I get home. Do you mind staying up?"

[Is that miserable bastard finally out of our lives for good?]

"He lasted only five short minutes against me, but yes," I confirmed quietly. "For such a supposedly tough guy, he really was a bit pathetic at the very end."

[Good. He needs to face our mother's spirit for his crimes. Rick... please stay with us for the entire night.]

"I will," I promised, my voice softening. "He may have been a complete piece of shit, but he was still your biological father. I will do absolutely anything I can to make you happy tonight, Nichole."

[Really? Absolutely anything?]

I caught the sudden shift in her tone, chuckling weakly. "Wife, please keep your demands reasonable, please?"

[Fine, fine. I am in an exceptionally good mood, so I will let you off light this time. But you already know exactly what will make me happy, right?]

"Yes," I smiled, shaking my head. "I will handle all the diaper changes tonight so you can just relax with your favorite wine. Oh, and I will take care of your foot rubs too, right?"

[And who exactly said the villainous woman could not win the happily ever after in the end? Good husband. Now hurry home to consult my deeply sad heart. Love you.]

The line clicked shut. I hung up the device and smiled, because I hadn't detected a single ounce of genuine sadness in her voice. She was absolutely going to fake cry to secure extra attention the moment I walked through the front door, and Nadia would undoubtedly milk the situation for all it was worth. Thankfully, now that she had given birth, her baseline sex-drive had normalized instead of remaining completely insane.

Seeing my conversation conclude, Jenifer reached over and lifted the armrest before crawling directly into my arms. She took my right hand, placing my palm gently over the fabric covering her stomach. "Master, feel right here. Your daughter is moving around a bit."

I leaned over and kissed the cute Jenifer on the cheek, fully aware that her belly wasn't actually moving yet. She was simply trying to preoccupy my heavy thoughts to keep me from dwelling on the violence. "I am completely fine, dear," I murmured, tightening my grip around her. "I am just thinking about what other lingering messes must be thoroughly cleared out before we can finally live a quiet life. I think almost all of our current headaches are completely dealt with until I eventually travel to America. Once that's done, we can finally finish our business degrees in total peace. I am going to need you even more back in the office, Jenifer."

As she cuddled deeper into my embrace, Hinata suddenly opened her eyes and spoke up from across the cabin. "Sensei, you forgot about one minor bug left to deal with, I think?"

I looked over at her in surprise. Hinata was usually completely silent during these car rides, so I immediately questioned my oversight. "Did I really overlook a problem?"

"Yes, Sensei," Hinata nodded smoothly. "You previously wanted to deal with Sam Sun."

"Holy crap!" I blinked, slapping my forehead. "I really did completely overlook him. Yeah, I definitely need to execute something fitting for his past deeds."

Jenifer looked up from my chest, her brow furrowing. "What exactly were his past deeds?"

My mind instantly flashed through the histories of three specific women—Victoria, Kate, and Ana Zi. Lately, whenever I recalled how that sleazy producer had aggressively blackmailed Ana over her career, it made me significantly more pissed off than I normally would be.

"He is essentially a low-rate version of Chris Honda," I explained, my jaw tightening slightly. "And I find his current happy, successful smile to be incredibly irritating to look at. I can't exactly kill the guy or permanently cripple him under the current circumstances, so I am trying to figure out a punishment that perfectly fits his specific crimes. Unfortunately, my mental revenge toolbox is a bit dusty ever since Scott and I officially stopped fighting each other."

Hinata, lacking any real experience with underhanded maneuvers, simply closed her eyes and returned to her meditation, entirely unable to offer any deceptive ideas.

Jenifer knit her brows together, genuinely attempting to construct a dastardly plot, but she ultimately sighed in defeat. "I am so sorry, Master, I am just no good with these types of revenge plots. But if you need operational help executing something once you figure it out, you can absolutely count on me."

Jenifer's blue eyes looked sad, but I only smiled at her cute motherly appearance and shook my head to dismiss her worries.

"No, I will just come up with something minor enough to make this karma equal out," I reassured her, looking back out the window. "Perhaps I should consult his victims to decide on the proper punishment?"

After that final thought, the three of us stayed completely silent all the way home.

The moment I stepped through the front door, Mercy immediately whisked me away toward the master bathroom for a hot shower before I could even go and hug my wives and children.

She had already heard all the gritty details about the execution from her father, so she wanted to personally clean the scent of blood off me and dress me in fresh nightwear. We did absolutely nothing sexual under the steam, but I did hold her waist tightly against me for a few quiet moments while rubbing her pregnant tummy.

When our private time finally came to an end, I greeted the rest of the awake wives downstairs and immediately headed toward the back bedroom where Nadia and Nichole were tending to my double twins.

I stepped quietly into the bedroom, immediately greeting the sight of my six black-haired angels. I kept my movements completely silent because each of my wives was carefully laying a now-sleeping pair of twins down into their cribs to slumber.

Nichole, wearing her black silk nightwear, stepped away from the railing and pressed a soft kiss against my cheek the exact moment I stood next to her to look down at my four tots sleeping soundly in their pink baby pajamas.

"Now that I see you standing here, Rick, my heart is completely at ease," she whispered, smoothing down her sheets. "Go lay down on the bed while I cover them up a bit better."

Nadia turned around with half-closed eyes, looking incredibly sexy in her red silks. She took hold of my hand, leading me toward the mattress as she quietly murmured into my ear. "Ricky hubby... Nicky told me everything, so come over here right now so I can hold you close..."

At first, I honestly thought Nadia was trying to pull me down for a round of late-night sex. But the moment we crawled into the middle of the bed, she only wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, pulling my face directly against her bare breast while silently smelling my hair.

I wrapped my hands around her slender waist, remaining completely still because I could tell Nadia's internal emotions were a bit scattered tonight.

Within moments, I felt Nichole crawl up from behind me, wrapping her arms around my torso and laying her head directly against my back.

A sudden wet drop fell right onto my cheek, prompting me to look up into Nadia's eyes in surprise. This was the first time in my entire knowledge of my wife that she had ever shed a single real tear—well, except for the day she first saw her newborn babies, but that was it. I gently wiped the moisture from her face with my thumb.

"Baby, did I do something wrong tonight?"

Nadia leaned down and kissed me with her salty, wet lips, her voice trembling slightly. "Rick Lee... these are the exact tears I have held back deep inside my chest for ten long years. I can finally mourn for my mother in peace. Rick, I love you so much more than you will ever truly understand."

My entire body stiffened up against the pillows. This was the absolute first time Nadia had ever called me Rick in a while. She always calls me Ricky.

Looking straight into her eyes, I could see she was completely serious and wasn't being her normal, frivolous self.

At the same exact time, a distinct wet feeling soaked through the silk on my back, letting me know that Nichole was also silently crying into my spine while refusing to openly admit it. My heart just felt incredibly bad for the sheer weight they had carried through their youth.

As I leaned up to kiss Nadia again, I reached around with my left hand to gently pat Nichole's thigh under the blankets, letting her know without words that I loved her. Then, just as the heavy mood finally began to lighten, the three of us smirked simultaneously as a familiar sound pierced the quiet room.

[Whaaa... Whaaa...] A quiet, rhythmic cry from one of the cribs alerted me to get out of bed and handle my domestic duties. I offered a warm smile, patting my wives' legs as I slid out from between them.

"It seems Tiffany is needing a fresh diaper change," I murmured, stretching my arms. "I will be right back, girls."

Nichole looked up from the pillow, her expression completely amazed. "Dear, how could you possibly know it was my Tiffany just from that tiny sound?"

I walked over and carefully picked up my tear-filled little angel, carrying her over to the padded changing table before whispering back over my shoulder. "I can easily tell each of my babies apart simply by the pitch of their voices. I might confuse them by a first glance in the dark, but the exact moment they call out for me, I just know. It is the exact same method I use to tell you two apart after all."

After finishing Tiffany's diaper change, I cradled her securely back in my arms, humming a soft, rhythmic melody until her breathing evened out and she drifted back to sleep. My two lovers only hid deeper under the heavy sheets, thoroughly glad they didn't have to deal with a messy diaper. Within moments, I returned Tiffany right next to Tonya, pulling the pink blanket up to cover them safely.

I leaned over to check in on Brenda and Bella in the adjacent crib, making sure they were resting comfortably before crawling back into the waiting embraces of my girls.

And exactly as I expected, the three of us got thoroughly entangled beneath the sheets for quite a while before finally falling asleep—very quietly, though, so we wouldn't wake the children.

On Monday morning, the weekend respite concluded, and it was officially time for me to head out to the production set.

The studio had rented a luxury high-rise apartment for my scenes, while Kate was heading over to the mock classroom set built at Star University to film a fake lecture sequence. Mei and Hinata left early in a separate vehicle to protect Kate on campus for me.

I walked out to the driveway to begin my commute to the fake apartment for my heavy intimacy scenes with Ana Zi over the next three days. Once those are wrapped up, Thursday and Friday will consist of Kate and me filming our shared sequences at a completely separate rented estate used for Luna's vampire mansion.

Victoria climbed into the passenger seat of my Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, settling in for the ride. I was dropping her off at her Velvet Tower headquarters on my way, since my own work scheduled me right in the Downtown area.

Kim had walked the two of us out to the SUV, standing by the driver's side to see me off. I gave my blonde American beauty a warm hug and a deep kiss goodbye before Vicky and I finally pulled out of the driveway.

Victoria looked back in the rearview mirror, watching Kim frantically waving her hands like a complete fool at our departing exit. "Whenever my day feels exceptionally long and exhausting, she always manages to make me smile," Victoria noted with a soft chuckle. "She really is our family's dedicated cheerleader. Well... good luck today on set, Rick. Will you pick me up tonight when you wrap?"

"Yes, just wait in the old house with Lucy if I happen to be running behind schedule," I replied, clicking my seatbelt into place as I accelerated onto the main road. "I will drive straight there the second the Director calls a wrap. Try to delegate more of your paperwork to your assistants today, and do not over-stress our son with clan politics."

Victoria only smiled beautifully at my worried expression, her hand dropping over her stomach. "Yes, dear... your baby Gold Dragon will grow very healthy and strong right here, ufufu."

My heart warmed instantly hearing her use the title. Ever since she first stumbled upon the truth regarding my secret identity, she hadn't brought it up a single time during our private moments, treating me exactly as she always had—just the ordinary man she had fallen for from the start.

"I love you, Victoria Long," I murmured, reaching across the console to squeeze her hand. "Forever."