Chapter Twenty-Three: Buy High, Not Low

“Where am I?” Long Teng mumbled groggily as he woke up, his words slurred. He had barely managed to utter a sentence before a sharp pain shot through his jaw.

Duan Bowen gave a wry smile. “You’re in my car. Your jaw was dislocated—Dr. Liu fixed it, but he said you’d better let a hospital take a look. I’m taking you there now.”

Long Teng sat up, gingerly moving his jaw with his hand, and managed a bitter smile. “I’m fine. No need for the hospital. I just can’t believe I lost in one move.”

Duan Bowen kept his eyes on the road. “You were too impulsive. You shouldn’t have tried to fight him. I can see it clearly now—that guy’s a monster!”

Long Teng nodded. “How did things end? What happened after I passed out?”

Duan Bowen avoided the question and instead reached for an SD card from the dashboard. “Here’s the video Feng Tao had. We got it back.”

Long Teng was stunned. “How did you get it?”

“I bought it,” Duan Bowen replied with a helpless smirk. “It could’ve been settled so simply, but you had to complicate things. Satisfied now? Why did you rush in? Did you really think you could beat him?”

Long Teng shook his head. “Honestly, I never thought I’d win. The guy’s not normal. But I wanted to see the difference between us. Turns out, I didn’t even see what he did before I blacked out.”

Duan Bowen pointed to a tablet sitting on the passenger seat. “The iPad has the footage. I knew you’d want to watch, so I got it ready for you.”

Long Teng grimaced. “Where did this monster come from? I knew there was a gap, but I never imagined it could be so huge.”

Duan Bowen said, “Long Teng, we grew up together. I think it’s good for you to taste a bit of defeat. Life’s been too smooth for you. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘There’s always someone better out there’?”

Long Teng curled his lip. “So you finally get a chance to lecture me, is that it? How much did you pay for the video?”

“One million,” Duan Bowen answered.

Long Teng jumped up from his seat, banging his head on the car roof with a thud. Clutching his head, he ignored the pain and exclaimed, “One million, and it’s settled?”

Duan Bowen grunted in affirmation. “What did you expect? And that’s only because Zhao Chuan chipped in half a million—we couldn’t be outdone by some street thug. Otherwise, I think fifty thousand would’ve been enough.”

Long Teng was dumbfounded, silent for a long while before finally saying, “Bowen, am I stupid? I took a beating and lost face over something that could be solved for so little?”

Duan Bowen replied, “Who would dare call you stupid, Young Master Long? Are you someone who usually throws money at problems? Oh, and besides the million, there’s one more condition: you have to help him resolve the trouble with Zhai Dacheng. Zhai Dacheng’s men lost out again, and if he goes after your guy because of this, your guy will come looking for you at the Long Yun Fitness Club.”

Long Teng’s eyes widened. “Why? What’s it got to do with me if Zhai Dacheng goes after him?”

Duan Bowen shrugged. “Because he’s stronger than you. Think he’ll be reasonable?”

Long Teng bristled. “If I put his photo at the entrance and ban him, what can he do? He can’t just storm in, right?”

Duan Bowen shook his head. “Forgot to mention, he’s a member at Long Yun Fitness Club. You can try banning him. He said if you do, he’ll show up every day and challenge you in the ring. Don’t blame him then.”

Long Teng was about to explode. “How can he act like this? Isn’t he being unreasonable?”

Duan Bowen shrugged again. “He said, ‘If you can be unreasonable, why can’t I?’”

Long Teng gritted his teeth. “He’s too arrogant. What if I have him thrown in jail?”

Duan Bowen answered without hesitation, “I believe you could. You’re Young Master Long! You think he’s arrogant, but can he outdo you? But have you thought about whether someone like him could be kept in jail for life? If you really push him, who in the Long family could stop him?”

Recalling how Yang Meng had tossed people around earlier, Long Teng shuddered. If Yang Meng ever stormed their house, he wasn’t sure his family could hold out until the police came.

“So that’s it, then?” Long Teng still felt uneasy just thinking about Yang Meng’s face.

Duan Bowen replied, “While you were unconscious, I extended an invitation on your behalf.”

“Invitation? What kind of invitation?” Long Teng asked, confused.

“I invited him to be the head coach at Long Yun Fitness Club,” Duan Bowen explained.

“What?” Long Teng jumped up again, banging his head once more. “I never want to see his face again, and you invited him? What were you thinking?”

Duan Bowen answered matter-of-factly, “Because he’s strong. But don’t worry—he said he’d think about it, but he won’t accept. He looks down on your club.”

Long Teng was baffled now. “Why would he look down on such a great club?”

Duan Bowen explained, “It’s not the club—he looks down on you. As he left, he said, ‘A true son of Dragon Country, yet you study those half-baked Eastern techniques? We’ll never see eye to eye.’ Only after much persuasion did he say he’d consider it. Long Teng, with someone like Yang Meng, even if you can’t be friends, it’s best not to make an enemy. Long Teng? Long Teng?”

He stopped, realizing Long Teng hadn’t responded. Turning his head, he saw Long Teng was watching the video on the iPad, imitating Yang Meng’s move that had knocked him out.

“Ingenious...” Long Teng murmured, mimicking the motion. “Step forward with the right foot, block my low roundhouse while closing the distance, then drive the palm into the chin—simple and effective. Land that strike, and even a middle-schooler could disable an opponent... Wait, why is his left hand clenched? Of course! If I block my chin, my abdomen is exposed for the next blow... Brilliant! Truly brilliant!”

He grew more and more excited as he practiced in the car, completely ignoring Duan Bowen.

Duan Bowen shook his head. He was used to Long Teng’s antics by now.

But Long Teng had become so absorbed that he didn’t even notice his phone ringing. It took Duan Bowen nudging him twice before he picked up the call. After a few words, his expression changed dramatically. “Bowen, get to Central Hospital, quick!”

Duan Bowen was startled. “What for?”

“Nanyao’s in trouble!” Long Teng said.

Without another word, Duan Bowen spun the car around and sped off toward Central Hospital.

While Long Teng and Duan Bowen were tense and anxious, Yang Meng was having his own troubles. He had just gotten out of a taxi at the entrance of his alley when he was cornered by two men.

“What do you two want with me?” Yang Meng asked, exasperated. He recognized one of them—Zheng Da Pao, whom he’d dealt with in Zhao Village. The other he didn’t know, but the man’s face was covered in pockmarks, so there was no need to ask; he had to be the “Qian Mazi” Zheng had mentioned.

Zheng Da Pao forced a smile. “Mr. Yang, I didn’t know who I was dealing with earlier and got into a conflict with you. The more I think about it, the more ashamed I am. So I’d like to invite you to a meal at Spring Rain House to apologize and make peace.”

Before Yang Meng could reply, Qian Mazi snorted. “Zheng Da Pao, you’re a shrewd one, always betting on the winning horse, huh? Brother Yang, don’t be fooled by him. He talks about making peace, but today you took out Zhao Hai. And who pointed Zhao Hai in your direction? Wasn’t it him? Whether Zhao Hai comes after you later is another story, but he’ll definitely go after Zheng Da Pao. Zheng just wants to cozy up to you as an insurance policy!”

“Qian Mazi, damn you!” Zheng Da Pao, exposed, flew into a rage. “You think you’re any better? When the misunderstanding happened in Zhao Village, don’t tell me you didn’t know. Why are you only showing up now? You just wanted to see who would win, me or Zhao Hai! Zhao Hai wouldn’t take you in, so now you’re rushing to get close to Brother Yang. Neither of us is a saint, so don’t laugh at me.”

Yang Meng cut them off. “Enough. Both of you, stop arguing. So you already know about my fight with Zhao Hai?”

Qian Mazi nodded. “Brother Yang, Han Dong City’s both big and small—news travels fast. One of my guys was there and sang your praises to the heavens. Too bad he broke his toe when you threw Zhao Hai and had to go to the hospital.”

Yang Meng waved his hand. “Alright, enough. One of you had a conflict with me, the other I don’t even know. Why are you both here, circling around? I don’t have time for your games. Come on, stop squabbling. Zheng Da Pao, you first—what do you want from me?”

But when Yang Meng put him on the spot, Zheng Da Pao became tongue-tied, leaving Yang Meng baffled.

Finally, Qian Mazi sneered, “Brother Yang, what could he want? He’s invited a wolf into his house and is begging you to save him.”

“Invited a wolf? Asking me to save him? What do you mean?” Yang Meng asked, puzzled.

Qian Mazi nodded toward Zheng Da Pao. “Is it hard to figure out? This guy’s got big ambitions but a thin skin. He tried to monopolize the second-hand motorcycle market at Zhao Village and ended up provoking a bigger fish. He might be top dog there now, but it won’t be long before he’s chased out.”

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