Chapter 64: Dealing with the Aftermath

"Dammit! How dare they cause a disturbance in the New Moon Hotel? Catch them!" Yin Jiangxue felt as if she was about to explode with rage.

She had never expected today's events to take so many twists and turns. Now that Wu Tianzhen had jumped out to ruin everything at the very end, he had given her the perfect outlet for her fury!

Watching the chaotic and ruined scene unfolding below, Wu Yu could not help but chuckle.

As expected, Wu Tianzhen was still Wu Tianzhen. Since things had reached this point, Wu Yu saw no reason to linger here any longer.

Originally, he had intended to pay for his bill and leave once the transaction was smoothly completed. But since the item had not been delivered, he couldn't be bothered to wait any longer.

After leaving the room key on the table, Wu Yu pushed open the door. Looking at the crowd of staff wielding wooden staves and the various spies sent by different factions stationed in the stairwell, Wu Yu subconsciously reached up to touch his face.

"Forget it, better not stir up trouble," Wu Yu thought to himself, deciding to give Zhang Rishan a little face to prevent him from having to answer to the Yin family.

What he did not know, however, was that the moment he stepped out of the private room, his face had already been spotted by quite a few people.

Among them were, notably, Huo Xian Gu, the veteran matriarch of the Nine Clans, and the head steward standing beside Xie Xiao!

Goodness gracious, upon catching sight of a face identical to that of Commander Zhang in his youth, the Xie steward was so startled that he cried out and collapsed straight onto the floor!

"C-Commander!" Steward Xie stared in utter disbelief at the person emerging from the private room, panic seizing him entirely.

"Did they recognize me after all?" Wu Yu touched the rapidly drying human-skin mask, knowing he had to make his exit as quickly as possible within the two-hour limit.

Giving the steward a cold glance, Wu Yu shoved the window open and vaulted directly outside.

Since the affair at the New Moon Hotel had reached its conclusion, whatever happened next had nothing to do with him anymore.

Stepping into a narrow alley, Wu Yu quickly rubbed off the human-skin mask from his face, then circled around to the back door and re-entered the New Moon Hotel.

Slung with his instrument case and just about to leave, he saw Yin Jiangxue walking toward him with a face full of fury.

"Oh? Is there something Elder Sister Yin needs?"

"Wu Yu! Hand over Wu Tianzhen!" Yin Jiangxue demanded with a fierce shout, instantly surrounded by thirty or forty staff members wielding staves.

"Even if I say I have no idea, you won't believe me. But the truth is I genuinely have no clue. You should know that I wasn't involved in this matter from beginning to end!" Wu Yu looked at Yin Jiangxue with an expression of pure innocence, acting as if he could not fathom why she was targeting him.

"You surely aren't planning to practice collective punishment and implicate my entire clan, are you? If that's really the case, your Yin family certainly has a massive ego!"

"Hmph! This matter... is far from over between us!" Yin Jiangxue glared coldly at Wu Yu. "Since you claim this has nothing to do with you and told us to settle the score with Wu Tianzhen, fine!"

"Men! Immediately hang Wu Tianzhen's head on the Crimson Notice Board! Whoever brings me Wu Tianzhen's head will from this day forth be the esteemed guest of my New Moon Hotel!"

"Hah, the Yin family sure throws its weight around!" Wu Yu flicked his body and vanished from the spot. When he reappeared a heartbeat later, one of his hands was already resting casually on Yin Jiangxue's shoulder.

With one hand, Wu Yu gently pressed Yin Jiangxue down against his shoulder. From behind, the two of them looked strikingly like an intimate young couple!

"If you insist on blowing things out of proportion, there's nothing I can do, but I guarantee I'll make your entire clan vanish completely from this planet!"

With a soft snap of his fingers, all the wooden staves in the hands of the staff were cleanly sliced in half, clattering down onto the floor.

Hearing the crisp sounds of breaking wood, a flicker of genuine terror crossed Yin Jiangxue's face. "You... exactly who are you?!"

"Me? Wu Yu, the Second Young Master of the Wu family!" Wu Yu smiled, his left hand gently stroking Yin Jiangxue's hair as he spoke softly, "As for today, the New Moon Hotel lost face, and Wu Tianzhen certainly went too far. Punish him however you see fit; I have only one request—he is still a cub of our Wu family, and we're counting on him to carry on the family line, after all!"

"Shortly, the Wu family will issue a public statement reprimanding Wu Tianzhen's reckless behavior and offering a formal apology!"

"Furthermore, in a few days, someone will pay a personal visit to apologize, ensuring that every shred of dignity the New Moon Hotel lost is fully restored to you!"

"How does that sound?"

"It's a deal!" Yin Jiangxue took a deep breath, gritting her teeth as she spat out the four words.

What other choice did she have when her very life was pinched between Wu Yu's fingers? More importantly, if Wu Yu could actually deliver on his promises, the face the New Moon Hotel had lost could genuinely be reclaimed, and they might even use the Wu family as a stepping stone to rise to an even higher level!

Such intangible prestige was also the most priceless commodity of all.

"Alright, I'll take my leave first!" Wu Yu stepped back and waved his hand, looking much like an old friend saying goodbye, before turning around and walking away.

Watching his retreating figure fade from view, though Yin Jiangxue felt her teeth itching with frustration, she harbored a brand-new level of respect for this fellow.

"The Second Young Master of the Wu family, huh? True to being the son of that old monster of the underworld—hidden away for twenty years, and now he intends to soar straight into the skies!"

Though Wu Tianzhen left a deep impression, this Wu Yu gave her an even more terrifying sensation.

Returning to the perspective of Wu Tianzhen and Fatty, the two of them had long since been aware of the formidable capabilities of the New Moon Hotel's listening agents. Therefore, the moment they went downstairs, they communicated using their mobile phones and actually managed to successfully pocket the snake-browed copper fish.

Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos, the two of them scrambled to flee outside.

To their surprise, however, the moment they stepped into an alley, Liu Li Sun, who had been lying in wait with everything prepared, came forward with a sneer, leading his subordinates.

Without a second word, he waved his hand and ordered an attack.

The snake-browed copper fish was the kind of legendary artifact he had only ever heard of in tales. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected the object to actually exist, let alone materialize here.

Yet so many eyes were fixed upon it, and the final auction price had reached an astronomical figure that Liu Li Sun could never hope to afford.

Had the New Moon Hotel successfully handed the item over to the legitimate buyer, he would have had nothing to say.

But now that the audacious Wu Tianzhen had snatched it away, he had nothing left to lose. Even if Yin Jiangxue came looking for him later, there was nothing she could do.

In an instant, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty found themselves trapped in a desperate plight, as these thugs struck with lethal intent and reasoned with no one.

Just as Fatty was about to be hacked to pieces by flying blades, Xiao Ge descended from the heavens. After effortlessly dispatching all the assailants, he quickly led the two of them away.

Back inside Fatty's antique shop, the trio could finally catch their breath. Holding the snake-browed copper fish, Tianzhen asked, "What do we do now? This thing is way too hot to handle!"

"You still have the nerve to say that!" Fatty retorted angrily. "Why weren't you thinking about this back then?!"

"You've truly stirred up a massive disaster this time," Xiao Ge added quietly from the side.

"B-but what choice did I have? The final bid for this thing was more than I could earn in several lifetimes!" Tianzhen sighed. "Yet this object is directly tied to Third Uncle's disappearance. No matter what, I have to find Third Uncle and get him to explain everything clearly!"

"Right! What about Master Yu?! Oh no, you don't think he got detained by the New Moon Hotel, do you?!" Fatty asked anxiously.

"Probably not. With Brother Yu's martial prowess, if he wanted to leave, who could possibly stop him?" Tianzhen reasoned after a moment of thought.

"That's true, the New Moon Hotel doesn't have that kind of muscle," Fatty agreed, nodding before eagerly snatching up the snake-browed copper fish. "Goodness me, let me feel what a ninety-billion-plus-worth artifact actually feels like in the hand!"