Seeing Wu Meng's attitude, Song Qiao felt a chill in his heart.
He kindly reminded the other party, only to be seen as causing trouble.
"Forget it, do as you please. In the end, you'll be sold out and still help count the money."
Song Qiao grew more and more angry as he thought about it, eventually deciding to let Wu Meng fend for herself.
...
Leaving Wu Meng's house, Song Qiao headed straight for the Xia family in Yang City.
His purpose was singular – to settle the score with Xia Haibin.
This guy was the mastermind behind the malicious wage arrears incident at the construction site last time.
Before Song Qiao could confront him, Xia Haibin had, once again, stirred up trouble with Tianhong.
This was simply unbearable.
Today, he would make Xia Haibin learn his lesson.
Arriving at the entrance of the Xia family, his eyes fell upon an ancient-looking wooden plaque.
The words "Xia Family" were written on it in a flamboyant style.
Song Qiao, already fuming from his encounter with Wu Meng, was enraged by the sight of these characters.
"What do you want? What are you doing at the Xia family?"
As soon as the gatekeeper spoke, Song Qiao leaped forward, striking the Xia family's plaque with his palm, sending it crashing to the ground.
He then delivered a fierce kick, shattering the plaque.
"Kid, you're asking for death, coming to the Xia family to cause trouble."
"Help! Someone's here to make trouble!"
The gatekeeper, without thinking, knew this was an act of defiance and immediately called for the Xia family members to resist.
Before long, over a dozen people, led by Xia Haibin, surrounded Song Qiao, armed and with hostile expressions.
"Song Qiao, it's you!"
"You've had enough of living to dare come to our Xia family to cause a scene!"
Xia Haibin roared, waving his hand, signaling his family members to surround Song Qiao.
"Less nonsense."
"Xia Haibin, did you sabotage Tianhong?"
Song Qiao, facing multiple opponents, remained calm and unfazed.
Xia Haibin, however, sneered and retorted:
"What sabotage? That's just Tianhong getting what they deserve. What does it have to do with me, Xia Haibin?"
"I think you're deliberately looking for trouble with flimsy excuses."
"Slap!"
Song Qiao didn't believe a word he said, walking directly up to him and slapping him hard across the face.
"You won't admit it? Then I'll beat you until you do!"
As he spoke, he raised his palm again.
"Song Qiao, you dare to act out on our Xia family's territory? Today, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead."
Xia Haibin cast a venomous glance at Song Qiao and waved to the assembled Xia family experts.
"Family members, attack! Take this kid down for me."
Upon hearing their patriarch's grandson's command, the Xia family members, wielding their fists, charged at Song Qiao.
The Xia family was a martial arts lineage, with each member possessing at least one or two martial arts skills.
Even the weakest among them could take on two strong adult men on the street.
Despite the relentless assault, Song Qiao didn't rush to retaliate.
Instead, he skillfully parried their attacks, one by one, and within a few exchanges, he had grasped the essence of the Xia family's martial arts.
Then, with a sudden roar, he ceased holding back. Within minutes, all of the Xia family's experts were on the ground.
In an instant, only Song Qiao and Xia Haibin remained standing.
"You, what do you want to do?"
Xia Haibin instinctively retreated, swallowing hard.
He knew Song Qiao was capable, but he hadn't expected him to be this formidable.
So many of the Xia family's experts had been defeated by him in mere exchanges.
"Young Master Xia, mistakes come with a price."
Song Qiao sneered and lunged forward to teach Xia Haibin a lesson.
"Stop!"
However, as he took a step, a furious roar echoed from behind him.
It was Xia Changshan, Xia Haibin's father.
"Who is this young brat, daring to cause trouble at my Xia family?"
Song Qiao halted, turned to face Xia Changshan, and said sternly:
"Old Master Xia, your son, Xia Haibin, has been acting recklessly outside. Today, I've come to discipline him on your behalf!"
He then recounted Xia Haibin's targeting of Tianhong in detail to Xia Changshan.
The old Master Xia's expression changed. He first glanced at his son, then denied:
"Impossible, how could my Haibin do such a thing?"
"What proof do you have for such claims?"
"Proof?" Song Qiao scoffed.
"Very well, I'll show you." With that, he flung several documents at Xia Changshan.
These were the proofs of Xia Haibin's collusion with underworld elements to organize malicious wage arrears!
Xia Changshan took the documents and, after a brief glance, his face grew even more grim.
"Kid, this evidence is clearly fabricated by you."
"You brazenly come to my Xia family to cause trouble, do you think my Xia family has no one?"
He lightly clapped his hands, and several Xia family retainers appeared beside Song Qiao like phantoms.
These individuals were clearly several times more powerful than the previous group.
"Hmph, no wonder you're his family. I didn't expect you to be such a scoundrel."
Song Qiao chuckled dismissively, preparing himself for the impending battle.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect it to be so lively here."
Just as the two sides were about to clash, the Provincial Governor Zheng Shan arrived at the scene.
"Governor Zheng!"
Xia Changshan exclaimed, quickly stepping forward to pay his respects, and motioned for the Xia family experts to stand down.
"Changshan, what your son did was indeed wrong. If you continue to be so biased, you'll likely be laughed at by the martial world in the future."
Zheng Shan spoke, giving Xia Changshan a meaningful look, his eyes conveying a stern warning.
Xia Changshan trembled inwardly.
The Provincial Governor was clearly here to back this young man.
He absolutely could not act rashly at this moment. He immediately lowered his head respectfully and said, "Yes, Governor, Changshan was presumptuous."
"The person you should apologize to is not me."
Zheng Shan waved his hand, maintaining his nonchalant demeanor.
As the head of the Xia family, Xia Changshan understood Zheng Shan's meaning perfectly.
He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and approached Song Qiao.
"Young friend, on behalf of the Xia family, I apologize. I hope you can be magnanimous."
He then bowed respectfully to Song Qiao.
Seeing the other party bow his head, Song Qiao felt it inappropriate to press the matter further.
He nodded lightly and said, "For Governor Zheng's sake today, this matter is considered over."
"However, I must still warn Xia Haibin."
"If he dares to target Tianhong's projects again, don't blame Song Qiao for coming back!"
With that, he couldn't bear to stay another second. After exchanging a greeting with Zheng Shan, he left the Xia family.
Although that woman Wu Meng bit the hand that fed her,
He couldn't truly abandon her and let that beast Chen Jun take advantage of her.