Chapter 328: Tit for Tat
It wasn't that the Ouyang Family didn't want to solve this problem; they simply couldn't. After all, it was a historical issue that had been left to fester for years.
No one was willing to integrate into the other factions, let alone get along with them.
However, there was one thing the Ouyang Family handled very well: they never let outsiders know about their problems. They always closed their doors and dealt with matters internally.
The dossier clearly detailed who was in each of the Ouyang Family's three factions, along with their statuses, personalities, and past deeds.
Xiao Ye immediately spotted an opening to exploit in each faction.
"These three people... let's make them cause a scene."
"First, we'll target this Ouyang Ying. Get him into an argument with Ouyang Shen from the other faction. Afterward, we'll arrange for someone to send Ouyang Ying a little... gift."
"Yes, sir!"
His subordinate immediately went to make the arrangements.
Inside a lavish, palace-like private club.
Ouyang Ying was just leaving with a group of people after a night of revelry.
He was a man who knew how to have a good time, so he often took the employees from the three companies under his name out for "team-building" activities.
Over time, a good number of them had actually become quite loyal to him.
"President Ying, you're still as sharp as ever! Even with all of us, we couldn't beat you at dice."
"That's right, President Ying! You have to go easy on us next time!"
Ouyang Ying lapped up his employees' flattery.
Besides the fun of being in a large group, he also enjoyed feeling superior to them.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely go easy on you next time."
As they walked out, they saw that another car had parked right where his was, blocking him in.
Ouyang Ying's temper flared instantly, but when he saw the license plate, he raised an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, isn't that Ouyang Shen's car?"
'What's he doing here?'
The words had barely left his mouth when one of his men spoke up, "President Ying, his car is parked right in front of yours, and it's an acquaintance. This has to be deliberate!"
"Exactly! This underground garage has so many parking spots. Why would he park right here?"
"President Ying, I'll go slash his tires. That'll teach him not to do this again!"
Having had a bit to drink, and egged on by the people around him, Ouyang Ying immediately ordered them to do it.
Only after all four tires were slashed was he satisfied.
A full half-hour later, Ouyang Shen finally returned.
He had been called away on urgent business. There were no open spots in the garage, but since there was another car parked ahead, he had no choice but to stop here temporarily.
Little did he know that the car in front and all the other parking spots had been deliberately occupied.
The moment Ouyang Shen arrived and saw his tires were all ruined, he flew into a rage. "Who did this?!"
"I did!"
Ouyang Ying emerged from his car. "You blocked my way on purpose. I'm just returning the favor!"
"I didn't block you on purpose! I think you're the one who's doing this deliberately!"
"If you weren't trying to block me, then why didn't you park in one of the many other spots here?"
Ouyang Ying naturally didn't believe him. "Or are you just so uncivilized that you enjoy parking in the middle of the lane?"
Ouyang Shen's anger flared. "I have urgent business! You're wasting my time!"
"You already wasted more than half an hour of my time! If it weren't for you, I'd be at the next party by now!"
The two argued more and more fiercely, and with others egging them on, they finally started throwing punches.
Finally, when it seemed like they had fought enough, someone pulled them apart.
"Ouyang Shen, you dared to hit my face! I'll remember this! Just you wait!"
"Ouyang Ying, you're the one who should remember this! You'll pay for the damage to my car, down to the last cent!"
In the end, the two parted on bad terms.
News of the incident quickly reached the Ouyang Family.
However, it wasn't considered a major issue. After all, they belonged to two different factions, so conflicts were normal.
A fight between young men wasn't worth worrying about.
「The Ouyang Residence.」
The more Ouyang Ying thought about it, the angrier he got. 'How am I supposed to go out and have fun with my face looking like this?'
It would be humiliating no matter where he went!
One of his subordinates seized the opportunity to say, "President Ying, why don't we teach him a lesson, too? Nothing too extreme. We could just put a sack over his head and give him a good beating."
Ouyang Ying's face lit up. "Yes! And make sure you hit him right in the face!"
「The next evening.」
Just as Ouyang Shen parked his car, several men rushed out from a dark corner, pinned him down, and threw a sack over his head.
"What are you doing? Let me go!"
The men punched Ouyang Shen in the face several times. They even paused midway to check, making sure the injuries were bad enough that they wouldn't heal for at least half a month. Only then did they scatter.
Dizzy and in excruciating pain, Ouyang Shen hadn't even gotten to his feet when another group of people arrived.
They were wearing the same clothes as the previous group. With their backs to the security camera, they raised wooden clubs and brought them down hard on his head!
Ouyang Shen lost consciousness immediately. He wasn't discovered for another hour.
"What happened? How could Ouyang Shen get beaten this badly?"
"We've already retrieved the security footage. We're investigating now."
No sooner had he said that than the investigation results were delivered.
"It was Ouyang Ying's men. They're all employees of Ouyang Ying's companies."
"You can see from the footage they were aiming for Ouyang Shen's head. That last blow, especially—they put their full force into it!"
Hearing this, the expressions of the other Ouyang family members turned grim.
"The hospital says… Ouyang Shen's head injury is severe. Even with a craniotomy, the risks are very high. He might end up in a vegetative state."
"Outrageous! What is that faction playing at? Are they deliberately trying to start a war?"
The men Xiao Ye had chosen were, of course, not good people.
So when they struck, they showed no mercy!
"Let's go! We're going to get justice!"
Even if Ouyang Shen wasn't highly regarded in their faction, they couldn't let him suffer such a great humiliation!
A large, furious crowd marched off to find Ouyang Ying.
"Ouyang Ying, what is the meaning of this?! You tried to kill Ouyang Shen! Harming your own kin… you're nothing but an animal!"
Ouyang Ying was stunned. 'When did I ever try to harm my own kin?'
"I just had someone beat him up! I didn't do anything else!"
"You nearly beat him to death!"
"We don't care! You have to give us an answer for this!"
Ouyang Ying felt even more wronged. "I just wanted them to rough up his face! I never thought about killing him!"
The other side produced the security footage. After watching it, Ouyang Ying's faction immediately spotted a discrepancy.
"The people who appeared later were clearly a different group from the first. Their builds are similar, but if you look closely, you can spot the differences. And they kept their backs to the camera the whole time."
"Could it be that you're using this as an excuse to cause trouble for us, so you were the ones who went all out?"
"Bullshit! Ouyang Shen is one of us! Why would we do that to him?"
"Because the competition for Patriarch is coming up! You're trying to start a fight and frame us for it!"