Chapter 80: Once Bullied in Youth, Now Driven to Despair!

“This, this…”
“How could there possibly be a major general?!”
The members of the Jiang family stared intently at Li Qiye, but none dared meet the sharp gaze he returned.
Major General Li Qiye stood beside Qin Mu, his military uniform as upright as a silver lance, his aura overwhelming. On his shoulder gleamed a golden branch and a dazzling gold star.
No one would question, nor dare question, the authenticity of this major general’s identity.
And now, a major general leading several lieutenant colonels had come in person to offer New Year’s greetings.
Just who was Qin Mu, then, to warrant such treatment?
Even Zhao Yinghao was thoroughly shocked, though he scowled inwardly, cursing the guards outside as utterly useless—for a little commotion, they panicked and fled, letting these people right in.
Had it been only a few lieutenant colonels and some ordinary soldiers,
Zhao Yinghao might not have been so intimidated.
After all, with the mountains far and the emperor farther, in these remote villages, even a major general arriving was but a tiger trapped in the flatlands.
Whether he could touch this local tyrant depended on circumstances.
“Major General, I am in the middle of personal matters here. If there is nothing else, please take your men and leave,” Zhao Yinghao said, half politely, half as a dismissal.
His words implied that he was the ruler of this place.
He was busy, and Li Qiye and the others should not interfere—best to withdraw their troops quickly.
Li Qiye glanced sideways, asking, “Those riffraff outside, are they your men?”
“Indeed,” Zhao Yinghao nodded, “If this Dragonwatch Village weren’t so out of the way, I could have called another two thousand.”
A thousand of his men had been scared off by a handful of officers.
What if he brought two thousand more?
Yet Zhao Yinghao’s bravado nearly made Li Qiye and his companions laugh aloud.

“Three thousand under your command—are you proud of that?” Li Qiye asked.
Zhao Yinghao waved dismissively, continuing with confidence, “Not really. If need be, I could call a few thousand more—they’d all give me face.”
“I have thirty thousand soldiers, fully equipped, waiting outside Dragonwatch Village. Would you care to see?”
Li Qiye’s words cut him short, leaving Zhao Yinghao choking on his own breath.
Thirty—thirty thousand?!
Even if he gathered every contact he had, it would never total thirty thousand!
And from Li Qiye’s tone, these thirty thousand were elite troops, all fully armed.
No wonder—his men had only seen a few officers and were terrified to the point of fleeing.
A massive force, all bearing arms.
Who would dare linger for a moment?
Only now did Zhao Yinghao realize:
Among the soldiers who entered, the lowest rank was major.
In other words, anyone below lieutenant colonel didn’t even qualify to meet Qin Mu—they could only wait outside for orders.
This time, he was truly doomed.
He could never have imagined that the timid, unremarkable fellow of the past could now summon such powerful figures.
Zhao Yinghao trembled, as if facing judgment, and turned to flee.
But just as he spun around, Wu Mu kicked him flat, sending him crashing into the coffee table.
Wu Mu’s size forty-three military boot pressed down on Zhao Yinghao’s face.
“Speak loudly about what happened at the hot springs that day,”
“If you lie by a single word—”

Wu Mu drew a Type 54 pistol from his belt and tossed it before Zhao Yinghao.
Bang, bang!
The gun struck the table, making sharp, percussive sounds, as if shots had already been fired—each echo made Zhao Yinghao’s heart miss a beat.
“I’ll speak, I’ll say everything!”
Zhao Yinghao, shaking all over, recounted how Jiang Yao smashed the vase, how Jiang Tao twisted the truth, how they tried to force Jiang Zheng to stay with Zhao Yinghao while they left themselves.
Every word made Jiang Yao and Jiang Tao tremble with fear.
“For a mere Zhao Yinghao, you all wore sycophantic smiles, even snatched the New Year gift I gave to Grandmother to offer as your own tribute?”
“Tell me, who gave you the courage to present my gift as your own, hoping to curry favor?”
Qin Mu’s question left Jiang Yao utterly panic-stricken—she lost her balance and fell to the floor.
“And you—earlier, you wanted me to bring Jiang Zheng out to kneel and apologize to Zhao Yinghao, just to spare yourselves disaster?”
Qin Mu set down his warm teacup, his gaze sweeping over the Jiang family.
“That’s not what we meant,” Jiang Zheng stood up then, his years of confidence supporting him.
“If not, then what did you mean?”
“According to your logic, I should hand over my girl, so you can climb up to Zhao Yinghao, is that it?”
Qin Mu spoke with razor-sharp words, his final sentence nearly a furious roar—even Jiang Zheng, who had clawed his way to a high position in the city, couldn’t withstand it, collapsing into the sofa.
“We were only concerned for the whole Jiang family…” Han Ying tried to argue.