Chapter 26: Fortunate This Time

Even more explosive revelations were coming.

Old Huo spoke up again, his tone even more miserable. “Second Brother, you really have to believe me, Thirteenth Aunt and her lot are just that devious. Back in the days of the old drunkard, they got tangled up with the CIA and the military—not only did they collude to swallow up seventy billion dollars in Cold War funds from the U.S. government, but afterwards they brought down the Soviet Union and divided up a third of its wealth. This isn’t a fantasy. Now, in your era, they’ve turned on the CIA and become enemies—never openly, but the secret battles are endless. The past few years, with your health failing and you no longer handling affairs, things have only gotten worse. And you know, Ma Jiaohong can’t stand me—she won’t back me up, and since I can’t see you, I’d never dare refuse Thirteenth Aunt. If I did, she’d bury me alive.”

Xiao Ma’s face darkened even further. He felt he’d been drawn into a conspiracy even greater than before. Wait—so it was my Thirteenth Aunt who brought down the Soviet Union?

At this point, it was clear that this body had no knowledge of the organization’s affairs. He’d have to respond. But what was the right reaction? How would his predecessor have handled this situation? Xiao Ma racked his brain but came up empty, growing more anxious by the second. But he knew he couldn’t let a single bead of sweat appear on this body’s brow.

“Second Brother…” Old Huo ventured, trying to prompt him.

Just then—beep, beep. Xiao Ma’s phone chimed.

Another uncanny incident: all four of his mobile numbers received the same message at the exact same time—a single word: Burn.

Xiao Ma shuddered, chilled by the realization that in this tangled mess, there was still an unseen observer, watching coldly from the shadows.

With nothing better to do, Xiao Ma decided to keep up appearances. With a frosty expression, he waved his hand. “Burn it.”

Old Huo hesitated for a split second—not because of the money, since the cash stashed in the basement barely totaled over three billion, not even pocket change to them. What made him pause was that this was Thirteenth Aunt’s money.

But the hesitation didn’t last three seconds. After all, the Demon King always did things this way.

Not daring to question, Old Huo promptly stepped aside, made a call, and ordered his men to burn every last bill—no exceptions.

How to handle the aftermath, the Demon King hadn’t said. Old Huo dared not ask.

Such was the rule for dealing with the Demon King: do exactly as he says, immediately. Many matters might fizzle out only to flare up again later, but it was always better than defying him to his face. As long as you showed enough respect and didn’t argue, things never got too ugly.

“Tell Thirteen I burned her money. If she wants it back, she can come find me,” Xiao Ma said coldly.

To Old Huo, this was the Demon King showing mercy, not burning bridges—just a warning. Thirteenth Aunt would never be foolish enough to confront the Demon King over money.

Moreover, Old Huo understood that burning this small fraction of Thirteenth Aunt’s wealth wouldn’t bring her to heel. She’d only lie low for a while, then return to her old tricks, perhaps a bit more discreetly, avoiding direct confrontation.

Such was the family’s political game. Old Huo took this as a sign that the Demon King wasn’t going to move against Thirteen, so the business would eventually resume.

Having figured this out, Old Huo nodded slightly to Jiang Yaowen, flashed two hand gestures, and Jiang Yaowen made his exit.

Jiang Yaowen understood Huo Dongjun’s meaning: it was time to keep a low profile, like reshuffling the deck in a game of mahjong—put everything on hold and await word from other quarters.

If that was the case, then there could be no deaths, no new complications—otherwise, this wouldn’t be “low profile” at all, but a mess that even Mr. Huo couldn’t clean up.

So, once outside, Jiang Yaowen muttered a few words to Ye Gongmin, then called Zhan Yunfei for confirmation. With that secured, Fat Jiang replaced Old Huo’s orders and had all those detained released—including Chen Xiao and Tao Zi.

At this stage, no one knew what was really going on. Ye Gongmin was already scared out of his wits—he would have sprouted wings and flown away if he could.

But Ni Feihong wasn’t satisfied. He kept shouting, “Where’s Ma Weimin? What did you do to him? Let him out!”

Who was Ma Weimin?

Jiang Yaowen wondered, but also had a good idea. When it came to this family, unless they spoke of it themselves, you never mentioned their affairs. So Jiang Yaowen played dumb, said nothing, and simply waved them off. “Enough—if you can go, go now, before anyone changes their mind.”

“Let’s go, Honghong!” Ye Gongmin hurried to pull Ni Feihong along.

But Ni Feihong was reluctant. That young man earlier, who had jumped out shouting, “Let go of the witch!”—as foolish as it sounded, it left a strong impression. For someone as wily as Ma Weimin, who usually hid away and didn’t dare so much as take a sideswipe in a fight, to step up like that—it was, in Ni Feihong’s eyes, rather admirable.

Chen Xiao and Tao Zi hadn’t been mistreated, just frightened. When they emerged, they saw the aftermath of a grand melee—evidence of a massive brawl—and their big sister Ni Feihong, plus her gallant protector Ye Gongmin.

Naturally, Chen Xiao and Tao Zi were both relieved and proud, convinced that it was Big Sis Ni Feihong who had resolved the incident.

In their minds, with Big Sis Ni Feihong and Young Master Ye present, any trouble could be smoothed over.

They also heard from Ni Feihong that Brother Ma, the “crazy man,” had participated in the “rescue.” Hmph, at least he had some conscience and sense of justice. Their impression of him improved.

Their courage bolstered, Chen Xiao and Tao Zi wanted to show off in front of Ni Feihong. With brash confidence, they piped up together, “And our designer bags were snatched—one Hermès, with over a million in cash inside!”

Ye Gongmin’s face turned ashen, his head spinning. He had no words for these two women. But, as a man who loved to play the hero in front of women, he couldn’t bring himself to say, “I’ll cover the bag and the money.” Instead, he shot a pleading look at Jiang Yaowen.

Jiang Yaowen frowned. The money in the bag was here, but it had already been burned. The bag itself remained.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Yaowen decided he couldn’t bother Huo Dongjun over such a trivial matter. He stepped aside, made a call: “Bring out the bag. Now.”

Hanging up, Jiang Yaowen moved closer to Ni Feihong and spoke in a low voice. “I’ll reimburse whatever was in the bag—just tell me, I can wire it or give you cash. But please, don’t make any more trouble. Leave now. I’m sorry for hitting you earlier—I was angry. If you want an apology, want to sue, or need compensation for medical bills, whatever you want, we’ll settle it later.”

Ni Feihong had no idea what kind of mess she’d stumbled into, but recalling Zhan Yunfei’s earlier words, she knew the matter was serious—she was lucky to have gotten away at all. Still, she said, “Don’t worry about hitting me. Just release Xiao Ma.”

“He’s fine, I promise. As long as you leave right away,” said Jiang Yaowen.

After much back-and-forth, Ni Feihong wasn’t entirely reckless. She realized that, given Jiang Yaowen’s status, if he really had video evidence, her side was in deep trouble. Since he was willing to compensate them, it seemed the matter could be resolved, even if she didn't understand the reasons. Calming down, she chose to believe he wouldn’t make things hard for Xiao Ma.

With Ye Gongmin urging her on, Ni Feihong grudgingly agreed.

At last, the troublesome group was sent on their way. Jiang Yaowen breathed a sigh of relief, feeling drained. He didn’t want to linger, but before getting into his car, he glanced once more in the direction of the warehouse. There was nothing to be done—this was the legendary power of the Demon King: with a single word, tens of billions, money that no one dared touch, went up in flames.

“Let’s go,” he sighed, closing his eyes as he settled into the discreet Lexus…