Chapter 49: The Tiger Comes Down The Mountain!

Chapter 49: The Tiger Comes Down The Mountain!

"Rick Lee, on behalf of the Tang family corporation, I wish to offer a formal apology for the past unacceptable behavior of my immature son. Please accept my sincere apology."

Practically everyone inside the packed room who understood just how incredibly proud of a man Anthony Tang truly was sat completely stunned to hear those specific words escape his lips. Scott and his mother, Debby Tang, however, looked as though they had just been forced to eat absolute shit out in the open, visibly losing massive face for their Head to lower his positioning to a piece of commoner trash.

My basic acting skills quickly kicked in to help mask my intense internal surprise, because I knew full well it was completely inappropriate for the Head of a legendary dynasty to issue a personal apology over a kid's rivalry. Well, the reality of what he had done to me was vastly worse than a simple fight, but this public declaration put me in an incredibly awkward place with the man.

"Please, Head Tang, you truly do not need to issue an apology to me, because you are not at fault in this matter," I replied across the room, keeping my tone perfectly respectful but centered. "I do, however, fully accept the absolute sincerity of your words."

"He is completely right, Father! Do not lower your head to a guy like him!" Scott barked, his face flushing crimson as he leaned forward off the leather cushions.

Anthony Tang merely squinted his eyes at his idiotic son, his expression darkening as Scott proved once again that he possessed absolutely zero understanding of how to back down from a bad position.

"Scott, the two of you are no longer children," Anthony stated, his heavy voice cutting through his son's outburst with a sharp edge. "As grown adults, you need to learn to leave the past in the past before you completely lose your way." He turned his sharp gaze back onto my position, demanding, "Can the two of you officially bring this feud to a definitive end?"

"If it wasn't for Scott relentlessly bullying me for five consecutive years and constantly telling me it was because I was nothing but a bastard Tang, I probably wouldn't be the incredibly forgiving man I am today," I remarked casually, leaning back against the couch cushions as I let the words hang in the silent room. "I only almost died a total of two times due to his actions, so yes, I will happily forgive him."

Even Scott was left entirely speechless, his mouth dropping open alongside the rest of the gathered guests. A massive emotional bomb had just been dropped directly into the center of the living room, and the damage could not be undone. Scott was going to take the full, unadulterated credit for this public exposure, and the revelation served as an exceptionally good, metaphorical slap straight across his mother’s arrogant face to boot.

"This information should really be no surprise to anyone here," I continued, scanning the room with an unbothered smile. "Only about five or six people in this entire room didn't already know this about my background. And if it weren't for Scott constantly rubbing the reality of my bloodline right into my face over the years, I wouldn't even know the truth myself, because my father went out of his way to hide it from me entirely."

I paused for a brief microsecond, a fleeting thought crossing my mind that maybe I shouldn't have dropped the absolute nuke onto the family dynamics until after we had safely secured the free meal.

"Father, I swear I never told him a single thing about his mother!" Scott shrieked, panic visibly setting into his eyes as his father's gaze locked onto his chest.

Sadly for him, the punk was actually telling the absolute truth for once in his life, but after the spectacle that had unfolded at the welcome ball, absolutely who in this room was going to believe a single word out of his mouth? I kept my calm smile fixed in place, my internal thoughts locked onto his trembling form. My revenge against your life will never truly end until you completely break down in tears and absolute despair, Scotty.

"Scott, you have said more than enough on this matter, and he has already stated that he can find it in himself to forgive you," Anthony commanded, his tone leaving zero room for negotiation as he shut his son down completely. "The entire issue officially ends right here. If you choose to initiate any further trouble for his household moving forward, the structural fallout will rest squarely on your own shoulders."

Both Anthony and I knew with absolute certainty that Scott and his toxic mother wouldn't just sit by passively and do nothing after this humiliation, so Anthony was merely executing a desperate containment strategy to salvage whatever family face he could possibly cling to at this point. He turned his attention back to me, his expression turning complex.

"I fully intended to sit down and talk with you about this lineage situation over time," Anthony admitted, his voice dropping slightly. "I even made a personal effort to reach out to your household immediately following your father's passing, but you adamantly refused to speak with anyone from the organization, and I had absolutely no idea that you already possessed this information. In the future, if you find yourself having any questions concerning my late sister, come straight to me."

I could tell this guy was trapped between a massive rock and an incredibly hard place with his domestic setup, so I resolved to try my best not to make life too terribly difficult for him during the rest of the evening. I was honestly a bit surprised to confirm that he was one of the specific family members my sister and I had aggressively ignored during our period of grief.

My previous technical research indicated that he and my father had actually maintained an exceptionally good relationship in the past, but their mutual connection had soured completely the exact second Scott first approached me during my very last year of middle school.

Mary and Hana were sitting flush against my sides, providing me with an immense amount of silent, physical support by subtly patting my arm beneath the line of the table. Both of them were very clearly surprised that I had chosen to openly discuss the forbidden bloodline topic right in front of the major family Heads, but this was undeniably the absolute best tactical window to air out my past grievances and force Scott to absorb the full, burning spotlight for his historical choices.

The Lang family elders and my in-laws looked exactly like they had just been forced to sit through a live taping of a cheap family talk show where the various members of a dysfunctional dynasty reveal exactly how they have been cheating and betraying one another behind closed doors while raw mud-slinging flies in every direction. All they were missing was a big bucket of popcorn to enjoy the drama. Before anyone could break the thick silence, Mercy Mu walked smoothly back into the living room, completely unaware of the explosive family feud that had just unfolded across the couches as she offered a calm announcement.

"The formal dinner is officially ready to be served, everyone," Mercy said, bowing slightly. "Please step into the dining hall and prepare to eat."

I offered a wide, satisfied smile, adjusting the lapels of my black suit jacket as I stood up between my wives. Hey, look at that—it turns out I still get to enjoy the expensive, free meal after all!

We all pretended the awkward family reveal had never actually happened and made our way into the dining room, where a massive table had been beautifully set up to accommodate our entire party. And for anyone sitting there thinking I meant a single word when I told Anthony Tang that I would forgive Scott, fuck that.

How could I ever truly forgive him after everything? I was purely playing the part of a reasonable human being to look good in front of the families. The truth was that Scott had already gone far too cross-line to ever pull back his actions now, and there was absolutely no way on any world that a punk like him was suddenly going to turn over a new leaf.

The seating configuration at the long rectangular table was meticulously structured to keep the peace. At the two far ends sat matching pairs of chairs reserved explicitly for the major family Heads and their wives to maintain proper social hierarchy. On the opposite side of the table from my position sat the Lang family, with Linda taking her seat right next to her parents.

Further down that same side, Scott sat directly beside his mother, with his four wives sandwiched in a row between him and the main Tang Head. Because Nadia and Nichole had known Linda for a year, the twins were placed right next to her seat.

On my side of the table, I sat sandwiched between my two wives, with my in-laws taking their places next to us, positioned directly opposite the Tang family block. The arrangement put Mary across from Linda, placed me directly face-to-face with the twins, and set Hana right next to her parents.

Phew, navigating that table layout was an absolute hassle, but it successfully kept everyone from tearing each other apart before the food arrived. If the table had been even a few inches narrower, I could easily imagine the twins trying to mess with my legs underneath the wood, but thankfully they didn't possess limbs that long.

Soon enough, the private waitstaff brought out fresh bowls of soup and crisp salads as an appetizer block before the heavy main courses were to be served. It was highly amusing to witness so many women at the table simultaneously pass on the premium wine selection due to their pregnancies. I couldn't help but smile to myself, thinking about how four separate women sitting right at this table were now actively carrying my children. Damn, I was going to be an incredibly busy dad in the near future.

As the meal got underway, the older generation of family Heads and my father-in-law initiated a heavy administrative conversation regarding Star University and the upcoming business courses. Taking advantage of the ambient noise, Mary leaned in close to whisper in my ear, "Rick, are you completely alright after bringing up that bloodline history out in the open? I was honestly so surprised you chose to expose it in front of his parents."

Gently patting Mary's leg beneath the table line to soothe her anxiety, I leaned closer to clarify my strategy. "No, it is vastly better to handle the issue this way. Most of the high-ranking players already know about my background, so I might as well completely own the information.

This public exposure makes things incredibly difficult for Scott and his mother to ever deal with me behind closed doors moving forward. Plus, dropping that bomb successfully helped Linda distract the table from her parents' constant attempts to force a closer alignment with Scott. It is a solid tactical victory all around, and Scott is most definitely going to get severely scolded by both of his parents for completely different reasons tonight."

"Wait, why exactly is Scott's mother so deeply involved in your past?" Mary questioned, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses.

I let out a slow sigh, briefly explaining the hidden logs I had uncovered detailing how Debby Tang had systematically paid off private investigators and spied on my life to ensure my ruin, explicitly bribing my high school teachers and threatening my classmates to keep everyone isolated from my social circle. The raw details of the psychological sabotage left Mary so completely shocked that for a split second, I genuinely thought she was going to pull out her service handgun and shoot the woman right across the table.

The sudden shift in our energy immediately captured Hana's sharp attention, and the two of us exchanged a brief look before my two wives stood up to excuse themselves, heading straight down the hall to the powder room to discuss the situation in private.

With my wives temporarily absent from the cushions, Linda seized the opening to alter the table conversation, looking across the porcelain toward her parents and the other guests. "In the advanced business course that Scott, Rick, and I attend together, the head instructor Victoria Long actually selected Rick to act as her official teacher's assistant on our very first day of class."

My father-in-law proudly puffed out his chest, adding his own commentary to support my standing. "That's completely right. Victoria had personally tested Rick's administrative capabilities previously during the hospital welcome ball and found his comprehension of corporate structures to be more than enough to graduate university right now. Because of his exceptional skill talent, she is fast-tracking his placement into the executive intern program starting next semester, a whole calendar year earlier than the rest of his peers. If I didn't know any better, I would assume she was actively grooming him for a permanent upper-management position within the Long group."

George Lang and Anthony Tang both looked completely surprised by the news, especially given the high-level rumors circulating among the elite regarding the Long group's recent aggressive corporate maneuvers. The technical advancement of a random freshman both confused and deeply intrigued them as Heads of the four great families.

Before the topic could expand, my beautiful wives returned to the dining room. Hana offered me a warm smile, planting a soft, tender kiss right against my cheek as she slid back into her seat, and I simply smiled back at her, feeling her hand rest against my thigh.

Attempting to reclaim some family face, Mrs. Lang turned her attention toward the other side of the table, asking, "Scott, dear, what exactly are your primary plans after you complete your university studies?"

"Mother Lang, I intend to secure my business degree and immediately move out to the Eastern White State to manage a few of our primary Tang corporate assets there," Scott announced proudly, throwing his shoulders back. "Our organization commands a massive piece of the commercial sector in the East, so we need to maintain a strong main-branch family presence in that area."

I quietly chewed on my salad, holding back a smirk at his sheer delusion. I don't think you're graduating from this university in four years though, punk. Maybe five or six is a better estimate for your intelligence. I mentally noted down the location data, calculating whether kicking him out of Star City entirely down the line would be better or worse for my long-term revenge operations.

George Lang shifted in his chair, suddenly throwing a highly perplexing question straight in my direction. "The Feng family has employed your services recently, and seeing their behavior at the hospital ball, they seem to be exceptionally close with you. Is there any particular reason their leadership has gotten so familiar with a young man like you, Rick?"

The intense corporate rivalry between the Lang family and the Feng clan was well known throughout the city, so I didn't mind the blunt nature of his inquiry at all. "I was officially hired as the professional, high-level bodyguard for Tina Feng," I explained clearly, making sure my voice carried across the table. "And the Head, Tony Feng, along with his wife, Lane, have been supporting my operational growth ever since. I have successfully completed some incredibly high-profile tactical assignments within the local syndicates, and my high rating in the bodyguard registry is entirely thanks to my performance with the Feng clan. As for Tina Feng, we are simply casual classmates in the exact same business course alongside Linda and Scott."

Anthony Tang leaned forward, his analytical eyes locking onto mine as he inquired, "Does this mean you have actively met Jerry Bing? What was your true impression of his character?"

"Him?" I replied, matching his direct gaze. "At first, I operating under the impression that the two of us wouldn't get along at all. But I quickly discovered through interactions with the syndicate's next-in-line leaders that he and I actually align exceptionally well. I was immensely impressed by his decisive, ruthless measures when handling security crises as a syndicate vice leader."

George Lang's expression tightened as the underlying context of my words began to click in his mind, and he asked, "Wait a minute... are you telling me you were the specific operational bodyguard stationed at the Hilton International during the recent peace talks? Are you the exact individual Brenda Sho discussed in her high-level security reports?"

A sudden wave of mild embarrassment hit me, and a visible blush touched my face as I recalled the sheer destruction of the luxury courtyard. "Yeah, I admittedly went a bit overboard with my defensive techniques that night, but the helicopter incident was honestly just a bit of unexpected dumb luck, ha-ha."

Debby Tang chimed in, her voice shrill as she joined the conversation. "Are you talking about that high-profile news helicopter that mysteriously lost control and crashed directly into the hotel's central fountain, destroying the entire architectural setup a while ago?"

Her husband turned a cold look toward her seat, correcting her information. "That vehicle was a military-grade helicopter explicitly hijacked by the Southern Cross gang network, Debby. If it hadn't crashed into the fountain, our tactical units would have been forced to shoot it down over the city."

Linda had clearly never heard the uncut operational details of my hotel engagement before, and her gray eyes widened significantly as she stared across the table at me in complete surprise. I felt like I was undergoing some kind of high-intensity physical body scan under her intense gaze.

I cleared my throat to clarify the technical parameters of the incident for the table. "The pilot essentially lost total control of the layout because he was severely wounded during our hand-to-hand engagement. So I technically didn't shoot the vehicle down myself, per se. It was just an unexpected mechanical event during the firefight, but the police investigation concluded that I held zero legal fault or financial obligation for the structural crash. We simply successfully repelled a massive gang operation that had been set up for months to cause disruption during the political summit."

Mrs. Lang leaned in, throwing another probing question across the plates. "So then, Rick, are you telling us you are actively a part of the syndicates, or do you belong to the Fire Birds organization?"

I firmly shook my head no, dissolving her suspicion immediately. "No, not at all. I harbor absolutely zero interest in local gang fights or syndicate territory mapping. But my contractor was in immediate mortal danger, and I systematically eliminated the threat solely because my client's safety was compromised. I wouldn't have lifted a single finger to interfere in their conflict otherwise. I make exceptionally good money operating as an independent bodyguard, and I prefer to keep my performance rating high."

Both George Lang and Anthony Tang absorbed my explanation, and a sudden look of profound, heavy realization washed over their faces—a specific understanding that the rest of the oblivious guests at the table could not comprehend. It was a piece of ancient, classified information that only the current Four Heads of the legendary families were ever privy to. Anthony paused, keeping his next inquiry incredibly vague as he test-checked my reactions.

"Have you happened to come across any strange monks out on the streets lately, say within the past month?"

"I occasionally spot a few traveling beggar monks looking for basic alms along the main roads," I replied smoothly, keeping my face unreadable. "Why do you ask, Head Tang?"

"Oh, no real reason at all," Anthony replied, attempting to sound completely casual as he leaned back. "I just recently noticed that absolutely no high-level monks have been residing within Star City limits for a while now. It feels like they all suddenly got spooked and fled the state."

I remained entirely in the dark regarding the massive, lethal threats that Kimberly had previously delivered straight to the Monks' hidden Mountain Temple on my behalf, but the two family Heads had heard every single detail of that secret intelligence report. Now, the final puzzle pieces of the national landscape clicked perfectly into place for both men. They confirmed the seemingly impossible, ancient truth that the central government's highest authorities had already quietly concluded: the legend was real. They deduced that Tony Feng must have figured out my true identity early on, which explained perfectly why he had gone completely out of his way to take me into his inner circle and protect my growth.

Both corporate titans hid their intense shock exceptionally well, but for a brief microsecond, they looked across the table at my seat as if they were staring directly at a terrifying, primordial monster or an awakening dragon.

I sat there quietly enjoying my soup, still completely unaware of what it truly meant to be recognized as the reincarnated Yellow Emperor in this modern world. No, it wasn't some mythical, fantasy god possessing magical cultivation powers; it was simply a prestigious, unparalleled prodigy that surfaced once every few hundred years in Pangaea—the exact same enlightened soul, consistently reborn to shake the world.

The Yellow Emperor was traditionally only born from the First Emperor's direct bloodline dating back to the previous Ancient China Empire, emerging long before the noble Li family was systematically hunted down to the absolute brink of extinction.

To survive the current China Empire's lethal network of specialized assassins, the surviving members of the Li family had cleverly changed their legal family name to Lee, adopting a completely common moniker to permanently blend into the civilian population registry.

Because of those historical tracks, the two family Heads knew with absolute certainty that it had been roughly four hundred years since the last documented time my particular soul had descended straight from the Celestial Realm, exactly as the ancient clan legends whispered.

Of course, the grand legends the elite spoke of were merely educated guesses from outside observers. They did not truly comprehend the mechanical framework of the Yellow Emperor's actual reincarnation cycle, relying entirely on heavy speculation and historical fragments.

The single baseline reality they actually verified was that the physical possessor of the Yellow Emperor soul was permanently gifted with absolute Divine Knowledge, meaning their grand mythological explanation was just a perspective of ignorance constructed by the common people of this world.

I knew for a absolute fact that the phenomenon was simply a high-level System operating inside my consciousness, but the regular population could never psychologically accept a technological reality like that.

That four-hundred-year gap they marveled at was actually just the cumulative time my soul had spent navigating entirely different lives inside other distant worlds, as the System simply kept moving my consciousness around a small loop of alternative dimensions in a permanent developmental cycle.

The moment the main course dishes were being elegantly served across the table by the Lang estate staff, I glanced across the porcelain and decided that Scott was looking a bit too bored for his own good, prompting me to discreetly initiate my planned email picture plot. I reached down, pressing a quick macro sequence on my smartwatch to launch the automated script through my home supercomputer arrays.

Ding.

A sudden, muted chime vibrated from Scott's phone, quietly notifying him that an important, high-priority message had just landed inside his inbox.

He pulled the device from his jacket pocket, his eyes instantly tracking a short block of text and a pair of attached high-resolution media files. The header read: [To my dear Scotty, it's over for us.]

I had previously taken a raw security image from the first afternoon I encountered his private maid, Mei Xia, and utilized my master-tier computer skills to meticulously edit the data, altering her clothing to display an identical red dress matching the one Nichole had worn during our dark classroom rendezvous.

I positioned that specific graphic file as the first of the two images, ensuring that the second media file was the explicit, close-up intimacy shot Nadia had captured of me buried deep within Nichole's tight folds with our love fluids actively overflowing down her skin.

By designing the layout this way, the second Scott laid eyes on his favorite maid dressed in that vibrant red fabric, his brain would naturally bridge the visual connection, forcing him to consume her brief, devastating letter before the explicit penetration shot ever loaded onto his screen.

The letter stated: [I am so incredibly sorry, my love, but since I returned back to my traditional homeland, I have found myself feeling far too lonely without your daily presence around me. I eventually managed to find a new local lover who possesses significantly more physical experience in bed, and well... a much bigger hardware heart than you could ever hope to provide. Because of that reality, we are officially over and done forever. Good luck with your future arrangements, my once sweet lover. Oh, and I am already pregnant with his child, look!]

Directly beneath the final line of text, the unblurred close-up shot of my throbbing dragon buried completely within those wet lips was displayed in absolute, crisp detail. I didn't waste a single microsecond, instantly executing the second phase of my technical script to permanently eliminate and crash-corrupt absolutely every single email registry, social media handle, and encrypted messaging account she still utilized to maintain contact with Scott's network, effectively cutting their communication lines off for good unless he physically boarded an international flight to go track her down in person. I even forced a remote carrier switch to instantly change her personal phone number parameters, ensuring he couldn't initiate a standard voice call to verify the data.

The absolute best part of the entire hack was that she had completely no idea the breach had occurred and would be entirely incapable of reaching out to his device as well. Even if they eventually attempted to resort to sending traditional hand-written letters across the ocean, the psychological damage was already permanently done.

Scott's arrogant expression completely crumbled as he stared down at the screen, a couple of genuine tears actively shedding over his lower eyelids. It was glaringly obvious that he wasn't taking the time to anatomically study the precise layout of Mei Xia’s private parts, or the twins simply possessed a near-identical physical appearance down there, because he totally bought the entire illusion hook, line, and sinker.

Of course, these initial tears didn't officially count toward the completion of my total revenge script; I needed to witness a few more full-scale mental breakdowns before I would ever feel truly satisfied with his suffering, but watching him cry into his lap was an exceptionally good start to the weekend.

Debby Tang, noticing her precious little boy suddenly turning pale and staring down at his phone with a look of pure, unadulterated devastation, immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders, coddling him aggressively as she tried to demand what was wrong.

The vast majority of the dining table was left completely confused by his sudden emotional shift, a reaction that only made Scott look significantly more pathetic as he turned super sad under their intense scrutiny.

Nadia bit her lower lip hard, actively trying to prevent herself from erupting into a fit of wild laughter because she knew for a absolute fact that I had just blasted the message file to his screen, while Nichole busied herself staring down at her plate to hide the slight, rosy blush of shame warming her cheeks, fully aware that it was her own bare body being displayed on his phone. But despite her embarrassment, the look dancing in her blue eyes told me with absolute certainty that I had done an exceptionally good job with the delivery.

Scott quickly attempted to collect his scattered composure, thrusting the smartphone deep back into his pocket as he abruptly pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. He looked across the room, announcing in a tight, cracking voice, "Please excuse me, everyone. I must use the restroom immediately."

He turned on his heel and quickly exited the dining hall, and I was entirely positive he was rushing to find a private corridor so he could frantically attempt to email, text, or call her number to find out if the message was just some kind of twisted, sick joke. Oh man, Scotty doesn't know a single damn thing!