The clan war between the Huang and Bai families, much like Long Jin herself, was merely part of the background in the original novel—summarized in just a few lines. What truly mattered were the events this war set in motion within the main plot.

Take the infant who triggered this war, for example. She would reappear twenty years later as a supporting character tied to another protagonist—after having been imprisoned for two full decades.

The call was passed through two intermediaries before, at last, a desperate, hoarse female voice asked with reckless urgency, “How much?”

“Grand opening special—half‑price discount. Five hundred thousand.”

The Bai family was already destined to pay a crippling price for this war. That five hundred thousand was nothing more than a speck of dust within the total cost.

“Deal. But if you dare lie to me, I’ll make you understand the consequences of offending the Bai Fox family!” The raspy voice erupted with terrifying force.

Jing Pei provided an account she had just registered on the dark web not long ago, requesting the transaction be conducted using Bubble Coin. The trade was completed in under five minutes.

“I just love doing business with people as decisive as you. You’re welcome back anytime—this is the Puzzle Intelligence Agency. Whatever intelligence you want, I have it. Goodbye.”

After Jing Pei gave the address, Bai Xinran froze.

Why was it this address? Since when did this house have a basement?

Bai Xinran’s face turned ashen, her lips trembling, but she immediately dispatched people to that location.

Because the matter was so critical—and because it made Bai Xinran begin to doubt many things—she sent her most trusted personal steward to lead the team himself.

The steward and the bodyguards arrived quickly. Some of them took positions beneath the windows of the three‑story villa, while the rest broke in through the door and began searching for the basement entrance according to the intelligence provided.

When they pulled back the carpet, a door appeared before their eyes. It was heavy, specially customized, and it took an enormous amount of effort to pry the lock open.

Behind it was a long, steep staircase descending downward. At the bottom was another heavy door, secured with a lock. They broke it open, pushed the door aside—and saw a woman cowering in the corner, clutching a blood‑stained swaddled bundle, staring at them with terror and hatred.

When Bai Xinran received the call from her personal steward, her colorless lips trembled even more violently.

She had a maid bring her the phone and, shaking with urgency, called the Puzzle Intelligence Agency again. The moment the line connected, she demanded harshly, “Was this your doing? Are you trying to pit us against someone? Who are you? Are you from the Huang family?!”

“Oh my, that’s truly an injustice, my friend. I’m just an intelligence broker. If you’re not calling to purchase information, I’m going to hang up—I don’t offer companionship services.”

If the Huang family were responsible, staging such a farce would have been unnecessary. Besides, interrogating that woman should soon yield answers. But Bai Xinran couldn’t afford to wait even a single second.

“Wait!” Bai Xinran squeezed her eyes shut. “I want to buy information. I want to know the full cause and effect of this matter.”

“Oh my, that information comes with a hefty price tag—I did go through quite a lot of trouble to gather it, after all,” said Jing Pei, comfortably lying on a soft bed, a whitening face mask on, legs crossed, thoroughly enjoying herself.

This intelligence fee was indeed much higher than the last one, but Bai Xinran paid without hesitation.

After receiving the answers she sought, Bai Xinran’s eyes brimmed with tears as she called out.

“Immediately… immediately go to the Bubble and inform Father.”

…

Bubble No. 3.

Night blanketed the land, the situation poised on the brink of eruption.

Both sides’ supporters had already received word that the war would begin tonight. They rubbed their hands together, eager for the moment they could finally prove themselves.

“Between the Huang family and the Bai family, which one is actually richer? I’m a bit worried I might’ve backed the wrong side,” someone whispered to a nearby atavist they didn’t know.

“About the same overall, but the Bai family is stronger. The Huang family went too far this time—going after a baby, that’s beyond the pale. More people are siding with the Bai family.”

“Good, good. I’d hate to put in all this effort for nothing. Buying a house depends on this one win。”

“What? What are you guys talking about?” A straightforward man nearby stared at them in shock, righteous indignation all over his face. “Money? Didn’t everyone come here out of justice?”

“Ha, no way—you seriously didn’t know?”

When two major families went to war, these so‑called supporters weren’t showing up purely out of friendship or moral conviction. Whether Huang or Bai, both families were wagering their honor and their enterprises. Even the victor would only win a measure of pride—at best, each family would lose at least half its power.

These supporters were gambling as well. If the side they backed won, they would share in carving up the loser. But if their side lost, all their effort would be wasted—and they might even pay a devastating price.

If the conflict could be resolved through negotiation instead, they would all receive “compensation for delays” from the families they supported, eking out a modest profit.

High reward came with high risk. The more one could earn, the greater the danger—so most people here were itching for battle, hoping desperately that their side would emerge victorious and allow them to strike it rich.

“It’s time,” several members of the Bai family said with grim expressions inside the main command tent.

“Dad, big brother… please,” the man said with reddened eyes.

“Wenxing, rest assured. We will definitely seek justice for Miaomiao,” his father‑in‑law said, patting his shoulder. “You should go out and stay with Xinran. She needs you right now.”

He and his son were both atavists—they would naturally head into battle against the Huang family. Mu Wenxing, as their son‑in‑law, was a normal person. Staying here any longer served no purpose.

Mu Wenxing nodded, watching them leave the tent. As they disappeared from sight, his expression gradually darkened, and a smug, icy smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

…

On the Huang family’s side, the atmosphere was just as heated, fists clenched in anticipation.

“This time we’ll settle things properly with those slutty foxes from the Bai family. Damn it, they’ve been smearing us nonstop—I’m sick of it!”

“Exactly! Our family’s reputation has been completely ruined by them. Even when we say it wasn’t us, no one believes it!”

“At this point, whether it was really us or not doesn’t even matter anymore,” the family head said, his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept across the crowd. “So if anyone did do it, now would be a good time to come clean.”

Everyone cried out their innocence. As the family head looked into each pair of eyes—eyes without a hint of guilt—he confirmed that no one in his family had committed such a vile act. His fist clenched tightly, hatred surging in his eyes.

“The Bai family has gone too far. Back then, our ancestor ate a few of their people, and later they hunted down and killed a white fox in retaliation. We lost plenty of people too—those debts were settled long ago. Yet they insist on dragging this out until now, endlessly pestering us! This time, we’ll settle everything once and for all!”

“Settle it!”

The arrow was already on the bowstring. These two bitter enemies were about to pour everything they had into deciding a victor, hoping to put an end to this long-standing hatred. Yet both sides knew deep down that win or lose, as long as descendants remained, the hatred would continue.

…

At the rear, Long Ling stood among the other normal people, watching the crowd preparing for battle. She thought to herself that this war would be best if it dragged on for as long as possible. The longer it lasted, the more advantageous it would be for her. She needed the favor of those people she despised—needed to use them to obtain what she wanted.

The whistle sounded. They were just about to set off.

Suddenly, a car sped toward them in a hurry, horn blaring repeatedly to draw attention, the shrill noise cutting through the air.

“What’s going on?”

“Looks like it’s coming from the White Tower direction.”

Long Ling frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in her chest.

Not long after, just as the Huang family’s forces had already set off, they suddenly received word that the Bai family was calling for a temporary ceasefire. The Huang family members exploded with fury.

Fight when you say fight, stop when you say stop—didn’t that make them look ridiculous?

But rules were rules. If one side refused to fight, the other couldn’t force it. Otherwise, the government would have the right to intervene.

…

“Dad, Big Brother—what’s going on…?” Mu Wenxing, who hadn’t yet left, stared in shock as his father-in-law and brother-in-law returned with grim expressions.

He was answered with a slap that sent him crashing to the ground.

The Bai family head glared at him with murderous fury, even greater than the hatred he felt toward the Huang family. “The Bai family took you in, supported you, gave you the best education, let you manage the company, even allowed you to marry Xinran—and still you weren’t satisfied?!”

“Dad, let me beat this ungrateful bastard to death!” the brother-in-law snarled, his eyes blazing with hatred. “He even dared lay hands on his own biological daughter—he’s not human!”

“You idiot,” the father-in-law said bitterly. “Did you think that once we were all dead, you could swallow up the Bai family? Dream on. If the Bai family were wiped out, our assets would either be carved up by other families or confiscated—there’d be nothing left for an outsider like you! This was killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. You acted too hastily!”

His voice was full of grief and fury. The more satisfied he had once been with this son-in-law, the deeper his disappointment and hatred now ran. He was certain that once Mu Wenxing had finished scheming against them all, Bai Xinran wouldn’t escape either. A man who could be so ruthless toward his newborn daughter—how could anyone expect him to cherish Xinran?

Most atavists possessed physical constitutions far stronger than ordinary people. Mu Wenxing saw stars as he lay on the ground, taking a long while before he slowly came back to his senses. As he listened to their accusations, understanding dawned on him bit by bit.

He looked up at them, hatred in his eyes no less intense than theirs. “I don’t know what’s going on exactly,” he said coldly, “but it seems the information you received… wasn’t all that accurate.”

The Bai family froze.

Bai Xinran had only sent back a short, concise message:
【The child has been found. It has nothing to do with the Huang family. This was Mu Wenxing’s doing. Return immediately.】

They still needed to leave the Bubble and go home to hear the full story from their daughter. And because Mu Wenxing had married into the family, they had instinctively assumed he had done all this to seize the Bai family’s assets.

But judging by his reaction, there seemed to be more to it.

…

Jing Pei finished picking at her feet and then started tapping away at her keyboard, preparing for tomorrow’s battle.

Before long, she heard movement outside the door. Her beautiful eyes curved slightly.

The news from inside the Bubble must have made it out.

The war between the Huang and Bai families never got off the ground. And with that, Long Ling lost the fertile ground she needed to cultivate relationships with the heirs of other atavist families—and she could no longer erect an insurmountable barrier against Long Jin.

Mm. Her happy, comfortable life was safe for now ^^