Fortunately, the car wasn’t going fast, so both parties only suffered minor injuries, but the vehicle damage was significant.
Once the accident assessment came out, the problem was traced to the brake pump.
The driver took the purchase record and repair receipt and reported it to the police.
Once the police station investigated, Yang Bo’s little tricks were impossible to hide.
"The current situation is that Yang Bo is suspected of ’passing off substandard goods as quality ones and defrauding a customer,’ which indirectly caused a traffic accident. He’ll have to bear the liability for compensation."
"The other driver is demanding compensation for vehicle damage, medical expenses, and lost wages, which will probably add up to twenty or thirty thousand."
Luo Kaifeng said, "The police station is mediating. If Yang Bo’s family has a good attitude and provides full compensation to get the other party’s forgiveness, he can avoid detention. But if they try to argue or drag their feet, then it’s hard to say."
After hearing this, Yang Qi was silent for a few seconds before spitting out two words.
"Deserves it."
On the other end of the line, Luo Kaifeng also sighed. "You can say that again. In the auto repair business, your reputation is your life. To ruin your own name and get sued over a few hundred yuan price difference... what was he thinking?"
"Let him bleed a little. It’ll teach him a lesson."
Yang Qi said, "Captain Luo, thanks for helping me look into this. Sorry to trouble you. Let Yang Bo pay what he needs to pay and accept the punishment he deserves."
"It’s nothing."
Luo Kaifeng chatted for a couple more moments before hanging up.
Yang Qi held his phone, pondering for a moment, then dialed his grandma’s number again.
Just as he expected, it was an anxiously waiting Aunt Yang who answered the phone.
"Auntie, I found out what happened."
In a calm tone, Yang Qi relayed the situation Luo Kaifeng had described, leaving out the internal police information and framing it as something he’d "heard from a friend."
"...So that’s the gist of it."
"Yang Bo swapped a customer’s new part for an old one, which caused their car to crash. Now the other party is demanding compensation, and the police station is mediating."
"He’s not in any serious trouble, but he definitely can’t escape paying compensation. How much exactly will depend on the result of the mediation and the other party’s attitude."
"If you want to help him, you should hurry and raise the money, show a good attitude, and try to earn the other party’s forgiveness. If you pay quickly and act sincerely, he might even avoid getting a criminal record."
Aunt Yang was stunned silent on the other end of the line, then she started crying and cursing.
"That prodigal son! I was wondering why he kept bringing money home recently... So it was dirty money! Serves him right! Let him pay! It’d be best if he lost everything!"
But cursing was one thing; he was still her son.
Aunt Yang thanked Yang Qi again and then hurriedly went off to raise the money.
The phone was passed back to his grandma.
"Xiaoqi, what on earth did Yang Bo do?" his grandma asked in a low voice.
Yang Qi explained the whole story all over again.
After listening, his grandma spat, "Pah!" and said in a disappointed tone, "He’s been trying to be a clever little punk since he was a kid. Well, look where it got him. Outsmarted by his own cleverness. He deserves it!"
After her rant, she warned Yang Qi sternly, "Xiaoqi, you can’t be like him. You have to be an upright person. Earn the money you should earn, and don’t touch a single cent of what you shouldn’t! You hear me?"
Yang Qi quickly protested his innocence, "Grandma, don’t you know your own grandson? I’d never do that kind of shady stuff."
"That’s true. My grandson is the best-behaved."
Grandma praised him casually before adding a few reminders, "Take care of yourself out there. Eat your meals on time, and don’t always stay up late."
"You got it," Yang Qi agreed with a smile.
The grandson and grandmother chatted for a while longer about everyday things before ending the call.
Putting down his phone, Yang Qi leaned back on the sofa and shook his head with a wry smile.
This time, Yang Bo had taken a nasty little tumble.
Losing money, losing face, and ruining his reputation—it would be enough to make him sting for a good while.
...
...
「Time moved into August, and the sweltering heat of midsummer gradually reached its peak.」
The final plans for the Xianlai Zoo were officially approved, and the enormous flow of capital began to move.
On the barren land in the Northwest Corner of Cangshan Mountain, machines roared and construction vehicles bustled in and out. The foundations were being dug, and the rudimentary shapes of the enclosures began to appear.
Yang Qi took some time to visit the site. He specifically instructed the construction team to be sure to reserve locations for one hundred tree pits and to prepare for the transplanting of one hundred large trees, each over thirty years old.
As for the construction of the other enclosures, Yang Qi didn’t interfere much after looking at the design renderings.
Back at the Zoo, life returned to its usual rhythm.
Tending to the animals, cultivating, and performing lottery draws.
A few days later, he had collected eight Wind Spirit Stones and eight Thunder Spirit Stones.
For the Cloud Plate Enchanting Array, he needed nine of each. Now he was only one of each short!
’It’s time to go into the mountains and have a look.’
The Cloud Plate Enchanting Array was to be set up in Cangshan, but Yang Qi hadn’t chosen the specific location yet.
And so, on his next day off, Yang Qi took Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, Hu Zi, and Leopard and entered Cangshan from the mountain behind the Zoo first thing in the morning.
Qi Zai circled in the sky, guiding the way.
Once inside the mountains, Yang Qi mobilized his Magical Power, putting the Spirit Crane Body Technique into practice.
His toes tapped lightly on rocks and tree trunks, his figure as graceful and ethereal as a crane, yet he moved with a swift, rushing force, flitting and weaving through the forest.
Behind him, the four Guardian Beasts followed closely.
Xiaojiu was the most agile, a gray flash of lightning, leaping and vaulting between the branches with ease.
Bai Wan, Hu Zi, and Leopard sprinted wildly along the ground.
Having all crossed the threshold to become Spirit Beasts, their stamina, endurance, and speed far surpassed that of ordinary canines. With wind at their paws, they could just barely keep up with Yang Qi’s pace when he used his Body Technique.
Qi Zai soared high above, its sharp golden eyes scanning the mountain forest below, occasionally letting out a short cry to indicate the general direction.
They climbed over mountains and ridges, forded streams, and crossed ravines.
The one human and five beasts moved like a well-trained special forces team, rapidly traversing the vast, wild mountain forest.
At a quarter to eleven in the morning, the group arrived at the edge of an ancient and towering forest.
Ahead of them was the famous "Ancient Goose Forest," located deep within Cangshan.
Legend had it that hundreds of years ago, great flocks of wild geese used to rest and winter here, hence the name.
The wild geese were scarce now, but because this part of the forest was deep in the mountains, had an abnormal magnetic field, and was rarely visited by humans, it had retained an extremely primitive state.