Ten minutes later, Tang Jing finally found them. Standing in the small restaurant, she was panting heavily.
"Tang Jing, what else do you want?" Jiang Yurou asked with a frown. Was eating here really getting in her way?
"I told you that you'd come begging for me," Chen Bufan said coldly.
"I'm sorry, I was blind and lacked manners. I'm here to sincerely apologize to both of you!" Tang Jing bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
Jiang Yurou's eyes widened. She looked in shock at Chen Bufan, then back at Tang Jing.
"What... what is going on here?"
"It was my fault before. Please, come with me to the Jiangnan Misty Rain restaurant to dine. Everything is already prepared," Tang Jing said urgently.
"No need, we're doing just fine eating right here," Chen Bufan replied indifferently.
Tang Jing had no choice but to turn her gaze to Jiang Yurou: "Yurou, for the sake of our school days, I'm begging you to forgive me! Please, let's go eat at the Jiangnan Misty Rain, or I'm going to lose my job!!"
Jiang Yurou wore a look of utter bewilderment. "Tang Jing, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"It was my fault! I had no idea that the Jiangnan Misty Rain really was booked out by your husband. I'm just trying to make up for my mistakes now. Please, hurry and go! Otherwise, I really won't keep my job!" Tang Jing looked as if she were on the verge of tears.
What? Jiang Yurou was left speechless, staring at Chen Bufan in shock. She had been the one who misunderstood! Chen Bufan hadn't been lying, nor had he been putting on a false front at all?
"Yurou, Sisi, are you full?" After asking, Chen Bufan walked straight over to settle the bill.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I hope you won't come harass us again!" Chen Bufan warned Tang Jing, a fierce, killing intent in his eyes.
Terrified to the point of not even daring to breathe loudly, Tang Jing could only watch helplessly as Chen Bufan left, feeling like she could neither laugh nor cry.
After leaving the restaurant, Jiang Yurou said guiltily, "Tang Jing is actually a good person at heart. She must have regretted what she said earlier, which is why she made up that lie to get us to go back."
Chen Bufan: "……"
"Yurou, you still don't believe that I booked it?"
"Booking the Jiangnan Misty Rain, along with all those decorations and everything else, must cost millions. Where on earth did you get that kind of money?" Jiang Yurou asked with a serious expression.
"Back when I went north to the battlegrounds, after four years of contributing countless immense services, I was long ago crowned a generation's God of War, commanding a million soldiers. The last thing I lack is money..."
"Chen Bufan!" Jiang Yurou suddenly put on a stern face.
"Can you be a little more reliable instead of spouting these far-fetched nonsense stories? I've said it before, as long as you're back, that's enough. I don't need you to pretend to be anything else."
Chen Bufan was left speechless.
Bringing all this up out of the blue really was hard for anyone to believe. He would just have to find an opportunity to confess the truth later.
"Right, you hired so many cars and invited so many people. That must have cost quite a bit, didn't it?"
"Friends helped out." Chen Bufan didn't dare to tell the truth.
"Then Han Youwei and his son..."
"Their conscience must have finally gotten the better of them," Chen Bufan continued.
"Most likely," Jiang Yurou agreed readily.
This silly girl... Chen Bufan smiled helplessly, but this was precisely why he loved Yurou.
She was kind-hearted.
And that was enough.
Chapter Eleven: The Three-Day Deadline!
The entire afternoon, Chen Bufan spent his time accompanying Yurou and Sisi as they played.
It wasn't until nightfall descended that they finally returned home.
This was a dilapidated civilian house located in an urban village, divided into multiple single rooms for rent at three hundred yuan a month.
"You two live here?" Chen Bufan looked at the surroundings, his brows furrowing deeply.
"What's wrong with this place? It's cheap and convenient. To pay for Sisi's medical treatments, we have to save every penny we can," Jiang Yurou said nonchalantly.
As a proper young lady of the Jiang Family, to have fallen to such a state—Chen Bufan felt a deep, aching sorrow in his heart.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to buy a house!" Chen Bufan said decisively.
Jiang Yurou rolled her eyes. Although Liyang wasn't a major metropolis, housing prices had skyrocketed wildly over the past few years. Did he think things were still the same as four years ago? Nowadays, any ordinary place started at over ten thousand per square meter, and a small apartment cost around a million. You couldn't just buy one on a whim.
Fearing that she might hurt Chen Bufan's self-esteem, Jiang Yurou said softly, "Bufan, I don't look down on you. I just hope you can keep your feet on the ground. We'll be able to afford one eventually."
"Alright!" Chen Bufan could only agree helplessly.
The room was not large, but it was kept clean and felt very cozy.
"Four years of warfare, fires raging across the skies... having the feeling of a home is truly wonderful..." Chen Bufan said with a sense of gratification.
"What are you muttering about? Hurry up and help me tidy up, Sisi has already fallen asleep," Jiang Yurou called out.
"Coming right up!" Chen Bufan replied.
If those world-shaking giants heard this scene, their jaws would surely drop in shock. The only person in the world who dared to order around a generation's God of War like this was Jiang Yurou.
……
The extermination of Han Youwei's entire household was still causing a massive sensation throughout Liyang, with countless people discussing it incessantly.
The night wind blew biting and cold. Han Lie stood among the ruins of the Han Family estate, having remained there for hours, a pile of cigarette butts accumulating at his feet.
Just at that moment, he received a piece of intelligence, and a sharp glint burst from his eyes.
"Feiyun, it's been investigated. It was done by Chen Bufan!"
"Chen Bufan? Isn't that piece of trash dead?" Han Feiyun's gaze hardened.
She wore velvet over-the-knee boots that encased her slender, jade-like legs, matched with a genuine leather miniskirt and a trench coat draped over her upper body. Her cold, striking beauty was matchless.
"The brat has a hard life. He didn't die when he fell into the river back then. After all this time, he's actually returned to Liyang and even wiped out my older brother's entire family. What incredible audacity!"
"And here I thought it was some formidable expert; it turns out to be just that piece of trash. Back then in our house, he was nothing more than a lapdog, completely unqualified to even touch me. No matter how many years pass, trash is still trash," Han Feiyun said with a disdainful smile.
"Regardless of anything else, since he killed my older brother's whole family, we must put him down. Besides, as early as four years ago, there were already people who desperately wished he were dead!" Han Lie said in a harsh, ruthless tone, grinding a cigarette butt fiercely under his foot.
"Assemble our men. Send Chen Bufan on his final journey!"
………
At the stroke of midnight, dozens of cars converged, charging straight toward an urban village.
According to intelligence, Chen Bufan lived right here. With all three members of his family present, they could take care of them all at once!
"Brother Hu, this is the place. Cars can't get any further in," a lackey said.
"Get out of the car and charge through!" ordered the flat-topped man known as Brother Hu. He was Han Lie's premier enforcer—the very person who had first discovered that Han Youwei's family had been wiped out.
Dozens of cars opened simultaneously, disgorging over a hundred sturdy-looking men. However, the moment they stepped out of their vehicles, they were dumbfounded!
Right there in the hazy nocturnal mist, countless figures clad in black appeared, drifting like ghosts and slicing through the air like sharp swords while exuding an aura of death!
Compared to these people, Brother Hu and his mob looked like mere children; their momentum alone was utterly suppressed.
"B-Brother Hu, what kind of people are these?" The lackeys panicked.
Brother Hu swallowed hard. "What kind of people are you?"
"The ones who are going to kill you!"
A figure suddenly materialized. It was none other than Canglong, who had been ordered to protect Yurou and her daughter from the shadows.
"We were sent by Second Master Han! You've got a death wish, daring to cause trouble here!" Brother Hu blustered.
"Second Master Han? Then we've got the right people!" At Canglong's command, countless shadowy figures surged into motion amidst the night.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."
In an instant, blades flashed and swords shimmered.
The men sent by Han Lie possessed no defensive power whatsoever, falling to the ground one after another.
In mere minutes, only Brother Hu remained. Having long since been scared out of his wits, his legs trembled and his face turned ashen.
"Time to go!" Canglong said as a dagger materialized in his hand, a cold, piercing gleam flashing across its blade.
"Hold on." A cold voice rang out, and a white-clad figure suddenly descended upon the scene, a ferocious and tyrannical momentum shaking the eight desolate directions!
"Hall Master!" Canglong bowed and shouted.
"Who the hell are you?" Brother Hu asked, his tone laced with horror.
"Chen Bufan!"
A sharp glint flashed in Brother Hu's eyes. If he couldn't beat the others, couldn't he handle this brat?
Sensing a burst of feral adrenaline from goodness knows where, he suddenly pulled out a short blade and thrust it straight toward Chen Bufan's chest.
"It's rare that there are still people in this world who dare to kill me!" With the speed of lightning, Chen Bufan reached out a single hand and grabbed the short blade barehanded.
"Crack, crack!!"
The razor-sharp dagger shattered like a piece of ice, directly grinding Brother Hu's massive hand into a bloody pulp of flesh and mud.
"Ah..."
The excruciating pain immediately forced a low, beast-like roar from his throat.
Capitalizing on the momentum, Chen Bufan brought his large hand forward and pressed it directly onto Brother Hu's shoulder with the crushing weight of a thousand catties. With a sharp bend of his knees, Brother Hu dropped heavily to the ground with a loud *thud*.
"Crack, crack!!"
The concrete ground burst and fragmented directly beneath him.
Brother Hu felt like cursing out loud. Didn't Second Master say this guy was just a piece of trash, someone even worse than a dog in his own house a few years ago?
To hell with all that!
This was an absolute demon! He had just walked straight through the gates of hell!!
"I won't kill you. Go back and tell Han Lie and his daughter: if they don't want Ye himself to pay a visit, they have three days to come find me and beg for forgiveness!" Chen Bufan said coldly. Then, channeling strength into his palm, a hidden force drilled straight into Brother Hu's shoulder.
Accompanied by the sound of breaking bones, the excruciating pain twisted his face into a grotesque grimace.
The moment Chen Bufan withdrew his hand, Brother Hu scrambled away on all fours, wishing he had seven or eight extra legs as he fled for his life from this purgatory-like place.
"Hall Master, why didn't you cut the weeds and eliminate the roots?" Canglong asked, puzzled.
Chen Bufan cast a glance at Canglong.
"I'm sorry, this subordinate spoke out of turn," Canglong hurriedly apologized.
"Canglong, you understand far too little about human nature," Chen Bufan remarked before turning and leaving the scene.
When the Han Family launched their sudden assassination attempt back then, there must have been some specific reason behind it. Chen Bufan was casting a long line to catch a big fish!
Returning at top speed, Chen Bufan found Jiang Yurou standing at the doorway, which gave him quite a start.
"Yurou, it's the middle of the night. What are you standing out here for?"
With tear tracks lingering at the corners of her eyes, Jiang Yurou rushed forward and threw her arms tightly around Chen Bufan, holding him so close that he could feel the fiery warmth of her chest.
"I was afraid you'd leave again."
A look of deep tenderness filled Chen Bufan's eyes. "I won't. I just went to use the restroom."
"Come on, let's go get some sleep."
With that, he wrapped his arms around Jiang Yurou and walked toward the bedroom.
……
In the dead of night in Liyang, inside a private villa.
Han Lie sat in the living room, repeatedly glancing at the time.
He was waiting—waiting for good news from his subordinates.
Yet, for some reason, an underlying sense of unease gnawed at him.
"Dad, you can rest completely easy. With over a hundred men, can't they even handle a single piece of trash? Chen Bufan and his family of three are probably off reuniting in the underworld by now!"
"What a shame, I really wanted to see with my own eyes how Chen Bufan died," Han Feiyun said with a hint of regret, gracefully sipping a cup of coffee.
Bang!
Right at that moment, a figure suddenly burst into the living room. It was none other than Tiger.
"Dad, see? I told you there wouldn't be any problem," Han Feiyun said, before suddenly noticing that something was terribly wrong. Tiger was covered in blood, and the moment he staggered into the living room, he collapsed completely onto the floor.
"Second Master, it's bad! All the brothers have been killed! Chen Bufan told you and the eldest miss to go find him within three days and beg for forgiveness, or else he's coming to your doorstep himself!"
"Pfft—" The moment he finished delivering the message, a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth. The hidden internal force that Chen Bufan had left lingering inside his body flared up, killing him instantly.
Chapter Twelve: Harass My Wife Again, and You Won't Live to See Tomorrow's Sun!
"Tiger!" Han Lie roared, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Everyone was dead!!
The news hit him like a thunderbolt, making his head spin with dizziness.
That was a-hundred-plus men! Not a single survivor? It was utterly mind-boggling!
Han Feiyun was also scared out of her wits. With a sharp *clatter*, her coffee cup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, glass shards flying everywhere.
Over a hundred men, and only Tiger made it back—just to deliver a message, only to end up dead himself.
Chen Bufan... how on earth did that piece of trash pull this off?
"He wiped out my older brother's family and killed over a hundred of my men. Chen Bufan, this debt is far from over!" Han Lie clenched his fists so hard they cracked.
"Dad, this brat is too arrogant! He actually expects us to apologize to him? He's delusional!" Han Feiyun's eyes turned venomous.
"He must have martial artists helping him!" Han Lie analyzed.
"Martial artists helping him? Then what do we do?" Han Feiyun asked.
"So what if he has martial artists helping him? I am a Deputy Hall Master of Kirin Hall! Once I go find Hall Master Xing Ao, I'll make sure to crush this brat into the ground in Liyang!" Wasting no time, Han Lie set off immediately in the dead of night.
……
When Chen Bufan awoke, it was already eight o'clock in the morning.
Jiang Yurou was already up and had prepared breakfast.
Looking at Yurou's busy figure and the sumptuous dishes laid out on the table, a wave of profound contentment washed over Chen Bufan. For all these years, only this single moment had brought him the genuine warmth of a home.
"Yurou, you truly are a kind and virtuous wife."
"Cut the flattery, hurry up and wash up so you can eat. I have to go to work soon," Jiang Yurou said.
"Work?"
"How are we supposed to make money if I don't work? I sell houses at a real estate agency and also moonlight as a freelance designer at a studio." While speaking, Jiang Yurou had already finished getting ready.
She wore a short-skirt-and-blouse business suit, her slender, jade-like legs encased in flesh-toned stockings, paired with a pair of black pointy-toed high heels. Her jet-black hair was twisted up behind her head with a pearl hairpin, exposing her snow-white, graceful neck. Standing tall and poised, her temperament was exceptional.
"It would be a crime if Yurou didn't become a star," Chen Bufan sighed with emotion.
"With me around, you won't need to go to work anymore in the future," Chen Bufan said, a look of heartache in his eyes.
"Chen Bufan!" Jiang Yurou glared at him.
"What's wrong?" Chen Bufan looked baffled.
"Can't you be a bit more down-to-earth? Sisi has to start kindergarten this year, and there are still plenty of places we'll need to spend money. How can I not work? Oh, right, do you have any ideas regarding Sisi's current illness?"
"Actually, it's already cured. I just need to give her a little more treatment to adjust her body, and she'll be completely fine," Chen Bufan said.
"Alright then, you stay home and take care of Sisi. I'm heading out first." After saying goodbye, Jiang Yurou hopped on her electric bike and rode off to work.
Members of the Demon God Hall were already stationed in the shadows to ensure her safety.
After finishing breakfast with Sisi, Chen Bufan checked on the little girl's condition. The toxins inside her body had been completely cleared out, and after using his internal energy to regulate her meridians once more, she should be entirely problem-free now.
Just then, a commercial vehicle entered the urban village. At first, it didn't draw much attention.
However, once the vehicle stopped and its occupants stepped out, countless gazes turned toward them, burning with intensity.
A tall, slim young woman wearing a white dress and sunglasses stepped out. Exuding a powerful aura, she possessed a stunning, breathtaking face.
Bai Ruobing looked around and frowned. "An expert that formidable lives in a place like this?"
Uncle Hui wore an embarrassed expression. "There shouldn't be any mistake."
Without a word, Bai Ruobing walked up to the civilian house and knocked firmly. *Thump, thump.*
"Hello, we're looking for Chen Bufan!"
Chen Bufan opened the door and saw the two people standing before him. He didn't recognize them.
"What do you want with me?"
Bai Ruobing and Uncle Hui looked Chen Bufan up and down, failing to spot anything particularly special about him.
"I heard from Professor Li that you've mastered the Ghost Valley Mystic Acupuncture?" Bai Ruobing asked straight to the point.
"I don't know any Professor Li. Speak your mind or leave," Chen Bufan replied indifferently.
"Show a little respect to our young miss," Uncle Hui said in a low voice. Originally expecting some sort of reclusive master, they found only a young man instead, causing him to instantly harbor doubts about what Professor Li had said.
"If you have nothing to say, then forget it." Too lazy to bother with them, Chen Bufan reached out to shut the door.
"Wait!" Bai Ruobing blocked it with her hand. "My name is Bai Ruobing. I need to find a medical grandmaster for an urgent rescue. If you can help, you won't have to keep living in a dump like this anymore."
"Not interested," Chen Bufan shook his head, then slammed the front door shut.
Right at that moment, a large hand shot out forcefully, grabbing the doorframe with immense strength.
"Young man, don't be too arrogant in this world!" Uncle Hui muttered in a deep voice.
"Are you lecturing me?" Chen Bufan's gaze turned as sharp as a sword, and his aura suddenly erupted like a torrential flood, unstoppable and destructive.
Uncle Hui felt as if he had been struck by a massive blow, instantly stumbling backward several paces with a look of sheer shock on his face.
"We are strangers to one another, and I'm not the person you're looking for. Stop disturbing this place, or execution without pardon!"
As his voice fell—
*Bang!*
The door slammed shut instantly.
A fierce glint shot through Uncle Hui's eyes. "Such formidable strength!"
"Miss, I didn't believe it before, but now I do."
Bai Ruobing removed her sunglasses, her face also written over with astonishment. She knew Uncle Hui's strength inside and out; for him to be blasted backward by the opponent like that—how terrifying!
Yet, if he were truly that powerful, why would he live in a place like this?
"Uncle Hui, check his background and identity. If he really is the person we're looking for, we must not let him slip away!" Bai Ruobing instructed before she and Uncle Hui turned and left.
Chen Bufan didn't take the incident to heart. The only things that mattered in his life were Yurou and Sisi; everyone else was irrelevant.
After tidying up, Chen Bufan took Sisi out to play. He wanted to make up for every bit of responsibility he had failed to fulfill over the past four years.
At the amusement park, in the public park, at the aquarium... Sisi left behind peals of joyful laughter, having never been this happy before.
When evening finally approached, Chen Bufan brought Sisi to the Yunlu Real Estate Company, which was where Jiang Yurou worked.
Chen Bufan's arrival drew the attention of a group of company employees, who began pointing and whispering.
"So that's Jiang Yurou's man? Doesn't look like anything special."
"He's pretty handsome, though."
"Handsome is worth squat! You can't eat good looks!"
"That Jiang Yurou is such a fool, passing up wealthy families just to choose a penniless loser..."
……
…
"Bufan, why are you here?" Jiang Yurou hurried over, jogging toward him.
"To pick you up from work," Chen Bufan said with a smile, completely turning a deaf ear to the surrounding gossip.
"Yurou, let me give you a ride home," a man in a suit walked over, pressing the key fob in his hand to make the hazard lights of an Audi parked outside flash twice. Glancing sideways at Chen Bufan, a thick, mocking smile played on his lips.
"Thanks, Supervisor Bai, but no need," Jiang Yurou politely refused.
"Come on, Yurou. The Yunlu residential project has been on the market for a while now, and your sales performance hasn't shown much progress. I still wanted to have a chat to guide you through it," Supervisor Bai continued pressing the invitation.
"It's already past work hours. Let's talk about work matters tomorrow," Jiang Yurou's rejection was quite resolute.
"I'm just showing concern for my subordinates. I know you're raising a daughter all by yourself and facing heavy financial pressure. We should at least chat over a cup of coffee, otherwise I'll be quite worried about your performance review this month," Supervisor Bai said smoothly, carrying a hint of a warning while treating Chen Bufan, the husband, as if he didn't even exist.
"A supervisor at Yunlu Real Estate, and you're harassing a female subordinate this openly?" Chen Bufan spoke up abruptly.
Supervisor Bai's face flushed bright red. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"
Without answering, Chen Bufan walked straight up to Supervisor Bai.
His aura was overwhelmingly fierce, resembling a rampaging tiger or wolf, instantly frightening Supervisor Bai's legs into trembling.
"I'm warning you, don't try anything funny!!"
Seeing the man's cowardly display, Chen Bufan's face filled with utter disdain. He leaned in and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "If you still want to see tomorrow's sun, don't ever come harass my wife again!"
The edge in his tone was so razor-sharp that Supervisor Bai shivered uncontrollably, his face turning pale with fright, unable to utter a single syllable.
With a faint smile, Chen Bufan turned and left, mounting his electric scooter to take Yurou and Sisi back home.