Chapter 180: The Flood Washed Away the Dragon King's Temple

"Stop!" Yang Laoer grabbed the shotgun.

Yang Shao said: "Dad! You don't know, this old thing just tried to become in-laws with us, and he actually claimed he's your brother! How can we tolerate that? Don't stop me—I have to teach him a lesson!"

Yang Laoer's temples bulged with veins, he threw the gun to the ground, gritting his back teeth, he said: "He really is my brother."

"Huh?" Yang Shao's cheeks twitched, "Dad, you're not joking..."

"Who the hell is joking with you!"

Yang Laoer's expression was complex as he helped Lao Yang up, "Brother, why did you suddenly come without even giving me a heads-up?"

His tone carried a sense of detachment.

But he still personally wiped the blood from Lao Yang's face.

He then asked, "How are you? Should I take you to the hospital first?"

Lao Yang's expression was also complex; he waved his hand, then took out a crumpled gift box from his pocket.

"Lao Er, this is... the gift I brought for you. I don't know if you'll like it."

Yang Laoer frowned, hesitated a few seconds, took the box, and casually opened it.

Inside lay an exquisite handcrafted Zisha teapot that showed some age.

The outer packaging was smashed, yet the Zisha teapot was unharmed.

No need to ask; it was Lao Yang who had carefully kept it in his pocket, otherwise it would have shattered during the beating.

"You... sigh..." Yang Laoer said helplessly, "What's your status now? Why do you still treat giving me things as more important than your own safety, just like when we were kids?"

Those words stirred Lao Yang's memories.

As children, the two depended on each other; the family was poor, and Lao Yang, as the older brother, would sometimes pick up trash to sell for money to buy a few candies for his younger brother, but they were always snatched away by other troublemakers.

Even if Lao Yang came home bruised and swollen, he would still bring the candies back for his younger brother.

"You're my younger brother," Lao Yang said softly.

Yang Laoer's eyes felt sore; he turned away, rubbed the corners of his eyes, and muttered, "You still remember I'm your brother? Twenty years have passed... heh..."

"Lao Er, I..."

"Forget it, it's all in the past," Yang Laoer said, stroking the Zisha teapot, "We're both old now; there's no point dwelling on what happened."

Hearing that, Lao Yang's eyes reddened and he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Zheng Xing! Kneel!" Yang Laoer shouted at his son, "Kneel and apologize to your great-uncle!"

Yang Shao was still dazed.

He could hardly believe it—this old guy really was his great-uncle.

"Are you deaf?!" Yang Laoer kicked Yang Shao in the back of the knee.

Thud.

Yang Shao dropped to his knees.

He braced his hands on the ground, gritted his back teeth, and kowtowed, "Great-uncle, I'm sorry."

Seeing this, Ning Jinli's worried heart eased.

Fortunately, Lao Yang's brother arrived in time, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable.

But Ning Jinli did not let her guard down; taking advantage of the temporary lull, she seized the moment to catch her breath, focused her energy, and began to open a Time-Space Gate nearby.

This was just in case.

If something unexpected happened later, she could immediately take Lao Yang away.

"Your apology, I can't accept it, Yang Shao," Lao Yang said coldly, looking at the boy kneeling before him.

"I... I was wrong," Yang Shao said, slapping himself twice across the face.

Although Yang Laoer didn't yet know the exact details, he knew his son had caused a major disaster, so he shouted and kicked, "Get lost and go home! Wait there for me—I'll deal with you later!"

Yang Shao understood at once, scrambled to his feet, and tried to leave.

"Stop," Lao Yang said in a low voice, "Since I'm here, let's settle this right in front of me."

Yang Laoer knew his older brother's temperament; if he didn't handle this well, his own son might be doomed, so he smiled and urged, "Brother, rest assured, this kid won't run off. Look at your injuries—you're not lightly hurt. Let me first accompany you to the hospital; once your wounds are treated, I'll bring you home and give him a proper scolding."

Lao Yang wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve, tidied his messy clothes as best he could, and said, "I've endured far worse injuries; this superficial wound is nothing."

"Brother, given your age, I urge you as your younger brother not to be so stubborn..."

"Lao Er, you should be grateful I'm old now; otherwise, your son would already be dead from my beating!"

Upon hearing that, Yang Laoer's face darkened.

Yang Shao stood to the side, head lowered, silent, but his eyes were dark and his cheeks twitched involuntarily from having just taken drugs.

"Explain to me how he got this." Lao Yang pointed at the shotgun on the ground, "Don't tell me you don't know our country's regulations on firearms."

Yang Shao began, "Great-uncle, I..."

"Shut up!" Yang Laoer, fearing his son would spout nonsense, glared at him to silence him, then personally explained, "Brother, Zheng Xing is legally licensed to possess it."

Lao Yang frowned, "Legally?"

Yang Laoer nodded, "Exactly. This kid loves guns; he even underwent formal training abroad, then opened a Shooting Club in Xinghan City. Brother, rest assured—everything was approved, and he also obtained the relevant Gun License, with no violations."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and showed Lao Yang photos of the Permit Documents.

Lao Yang's brows knit tighter, "According to the relevant regulations, even with a permit, firearms cannot be taken out of the designated area. Your son not only brought it out, but also posed a serious threat to others' lives."

Yang Laoer lowered his voice, "Brother, no matter what, he's your own nephew—surely nothing serious happened?"

"You can't escape responsibility either," Lao Yang said, pointing at Yang Laoer's nose, "Do you dare swear to me that you obtained those so-called documents for him without using my name?"

Yang Laoer forced a smile, "It's my fault, my fault—I only have this one son, his mother passed away early, and I've been too indulgent. If that's the case, I'll go cancel those permits later and shut down his Shooting Club as well."

Lao Yang withdrew his finger, "Anything else?"

"Anything else?" Yang Laoer looked puzzled, "Isn't that enough?"

"You really don't know what kind of trouble your son has gotten into?" Lao Yang said, seething with anger.

Yang Laoer hardened his heart, grabbed his son's ear in one hand, and said, "What have you done!"

At this point, Yang Shao didn't dare to hide any longer.

"Actually… I didn't really do anything; it's just that a while ago Wu Sanye raised the price and took away an antique I was after. I was a bit angry, and I happened to meet a guy who wanted to show off, so I had him go punish Wu Sanye. Who knew that guy was useless, the matter wasn't handled, and he even dragged people under my command into it. My men were crippled, so of course I wanted to vent my anger. I was planning to deal with the antique shop owner, and I had no idea… that the person accompanying the female shop owner was my big uncle…"

Yang Shao skirted the heavy details and gave a vague account, his tone still full of resentment.

Ning Jinli, not far away, heard this and finally understood that she hadn't been overthinking; Su Qiang was indeed seeking revenge, but there really was someone behind him giving orders.

She just hadn't expected it to be so coincidental.

The mastermind was precisely Old Yang's own nephew.

And it just so happened that he ran into me taking Old Yang to the antique shop to buy something.

Isn't that a flood washing over Longwang Temple?

"You see how this matter has escalated…" Yang Laoer said to Old Yang, "Brother, it's actually not a huge problem. I'll have Zheng Xing turn around and properly make amends and apologize. Does that work? If that's still not enough, count me in too—pay the money, pay the money; apologize, apologize!"

Old Yang was silent for two seconds, then, with a serious expression, said a few words, "Take him to turn himself in."

Yang Laoer and Yang Shao were both stunned.

"Turn himself in?" Yang Laoer retorted, "It's such a minor thing; can't we settle it privately? Is it necessary to make it so serious?"

Old Yang said calmly, "From your son's behavior, I have reason to suspect he's a repeat offender, and with a father like you who spoils him, who knows how many illegal acts you've covered up before. Lao Er, when the time comes, give me a full, honest confession."

"It's not… brother…" Yang Laoer scoffed, "All these years I've been law‑abiding, other than spoiling my son, there's no other problem. Zheng Xing is still young, inevitably makes mistakes. For the sake of family, give him a break; I promise to discipline him strictly from now on."

After speaking, he gave his son a subtle signal.

Yang Shao's head bobbed like a chick pecking grain, "Big uncle, I know I was wrong, I'll reflect, I'll improve."

"How long have you been using drugs?" Old Yang asked abruptly.

Yang Shao immediately replied, "Not… not long, just dabbling for fun."

Old Yang suddenly yanked his arm, pulled his sleeve up forcefully, and saw his forearm covered with needle marks.

"You call that not long? Do you think you can fool me?" Old Yang's eyes were full of anger and utter disappointment. "You're even injecting it; only a seasoned drug user would do that! Speak! Besides using it yourself, have you been involved in trafficking!"

"Brother! That's enough!" Yang Laoer shouted suddenly.

Old Yang pressed on, "Lao Er, tell me, you know about his drug involvement, don't you!"

Yang Laoer's expression darkened, "I know."

"Fine," Old Yang said coldly, "Then you and your son, when the time comes, give a full, detailed account of everything concerning the drugs."

A barely restrained anger rose in Yang Laoer's eyes, "I even called you brother, and now this! After twenty‑something years of cutting ties, you meet and immediately want to deal with my son?"

Old Yang's expression was stern, "I don't want to either, but once it involves illegal matters, I won't leave any room."

"Fine… you really are something!" Yang Laoer erupted with fury.

"Our Yang family has only one Only Heir! And you, for your own future, disregard both father and son! Clearly, if you just lent a hand, I wouldn't have to suffer and struggle in society on my own! I built a career with my own two hands, I have money now, I want my son to live a bit more as he wishes—does that pose a problem?! Years ago, Zheng Xing got addicted to drugs, and that made me sad too!"

Regarding the accusation, Old Yang didn't want to explain, just said, "Since you know he got addicted years ago, why didn't you force him to quit?"

Yang Laoer roared, "I tried! I tried to force him to quit! But seeing him worse off than death was more painful than killing me! Then I realized, I'm not short of money, let him smoke if he wants… anyway… he can't quit! It's better than endless torment!"

Hearing this, Old Yang was furious beyond measure and shouted:

"You even indulge him in such matters?! He touched something he shouldn't, and must bear the withdrawal price; even the painful torment he endures! Do you know that each time he uses drugs, it could add danger to our anti‑drug officers! Do you know how many of our country's anti‑drug personnel have given their lives, how many families have been shattered because of this! Your son only suffers the pain of detox, what about those law‑enforcement officers who sacrifice their happiness and even lives?!"

After saying that, Old Yang's eyes turned red, tears welling up.

As the head of the National Security Headquarters, he was all too familiar with these matters.

Every year, anti‑drug law enforcers sacrifice themselves on duty.

To protect their families, the nation cannot even hold public memorials for these fallen heroes.

These heroes, and their families, have given everything for the country's and the people's stability.

And every dollar spent by a drug user could become a lethal bullet aimed at those heroes!

"Don't bring me that!" Yang Laoer ignored Old Yang's heartfelt anger and instead blamed him, "You only think of climbing higher, only care about your own power and position. You have no wife or children, so you can't understand a father's love for his son! You have no right to lecture me!"

Slap!

Old Yang delivered a hard slap to Yang Laoer's face.

Yang Laoer's head tilted, he clenched his back teeth and stayed silent.

The surrounding bodyguards, even Yang Shao, watched the scene and dared not intervene.

Ning Jinli never intervened, after all she was busy opening the Spacetime Portal; within these few minutes, a Fluorescent Vortex only she could see had already formed beside her.

Old Yang slowly exhaled a breath of foul air, "Lao Er, take your son to the police station, immediately."

Yang Laoer's expression turned indifferent, "What if I refuse?"

Old Yang replied without hesitation, "Then I will personally arrange for the Project Team to investigate and interrogate."

"You really are my great big brother…" Yang Laoer said, then suddenly hurled the Zisha Teapot in his hand onto the ground.

The gift Old Yang had carefully chosen as a meeting present shattered into a pile of fragments.

Old Yang lowered his gaze, glanced at the fragments at his feet, then turned and walked up to Ning Jinli, "Miss Ning, let's go…"

"Dad… Dad…" Yang Shao looked at Yang Laoer in terror.

If big uncle hadn't intervened, even if he made a hole in the sky in Xinghan City, nothing would happen.

But this time, he realized he was truly in big trouble; if all his misdeeds were dragged out again, they'd have shot him to death many times.

"Dad… I'm only twenty, I… I don't want to die…" Yang Shao clutched Yang Laoer's arm, trembling, pleading softly.

Yang Laoer's face was full of hatred that wouldn't turn to steel; he raised his hand to slap his son but finally let it fall, "Fine, who made me your dad. Son, this is the last time I'll help you."

Yang Laoer's cheek tightened, his resolve hardened, he bent down, picked up the Shotgun, and aimed the barrel at Old Yang's back.