"Dad, Mom, and everyone of the Ye family."
"I have avenged you all."
Ye Chen said in a deep voice.
The firelight flickered in his eyes.
Destroying the Zhao Family was enough to comfort the spirits of his parents and clansmen in heaven.
As for who was the mastermind behind the events of three years ago, he would definitely investigate until the truth came to light!
Everyone involved in that matter three years ago would pay, not a single one would escape!
This fire was just like the one the Ye Family had suffered three years ago.
Everyone in Jiangbei City could see it.
By this time, what had happened at the Zhao Family's wedding had already spread throughout the entire city.
Everyone in the city knew that the people of the Ye Family had returned!
People were discussing this massive earthquake that had struck Jiangbei City!
Jiangbei’s sky had changed once and for all!
By the time the fire burned itself out, night had already fallen.
Ye Chen turned and left.
He returned to the hotel.
Lin Ruoyi was alone in the room, sitting on pins and needles.
She was terrified that Ye Chen would never return, killed by the hateful Zhao Family.
Yet the man she worried about so anxiously had returned safely to her side.
"Ye Chen, you're finally back!"
"Thank goodness, you're all right!"
Lin Ruoyi was overwhelmed with emotion.
She desperately wanted to stand up and give him a hug.
But due to her injured legs, she couldn't stand.
"Look how worked up you are."
"I told you, I'll be fine."
Ye Chen smiled.
Facing this young woman, the killing intent on him completely vanished, leaving only a man's tenderness.
"Did you really go to the Zhao Family?"
Lin Ruoyi asked with concern.
"Yes."
"The Zhao Family is gone now."
Ye Chen replied casually.
"What? The Zhao Family is gone? What do you mean?"
Several huge question marks popped up over Lin Ruoyi's head.
She hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, so she couldn't grasp what Ye Chen meant.
"Gone means gone."
"The people of the Zhao Family have already gone to report to King Yama."
Ye Chen explained briefly.
"You mean you wiped out the entire Zhao Family?"
"H-How is that possible! The Zhao Family was so powerful!"
Lin Ruoyi wore a look of utter shock, completely unable to believe it.
"Destroying the Zhao Family was as easy as turning over a hand."
"Didn't I tell you? I'm not the same person I was before."
Ye Chen smiled faintly.
"I still can't believe it."
"Give me your phone, I need to check."
Lin Ruoyi demanded, her pretty brows furrowing.
She thought to herself how a behemoth like the Zhao Family could simply vanish just like that.
Besides, less than half a day had passed from the time Ye Chen left until he returned.
Destroying the Zhao Family in a single day was impossible by any stretch of the imagination.
Taking Ye Chen's phone, Lin Ruoyi immediately searched for the news in Jiangbei City.
Upon seeing the news, her beautiful eyes widened in frozen disbelief.
The Zhao Family was truly gone!
"Ye Chen, you really killed them to get revenge!"
"You've actually become this powerful!"
In Lin Ruoyi's eyes, shock and adoration instantly surged!
She couldn't imagine what this man had been through during the three years he was gone!
Why had he become so terrifyingly strong?
"But by killing people from the Zhao Family, you've brought even bigger trouble upon yourself!"
"The Zhao Family is backed by the King of Jiangnan! He will definitely not let this go!"
"Hurry and pack your things, leave Jiangbei!"
Lin Ruoyi was overcome with worry once again.
"The King of Jiangnan is nothing to be afraid of."
"Whoever provokes me, I kill!"
Ye Chen said calmly.
In his heart, he wondered if the mastermind behind the Zhao Family could be the King of Jiangnan.
If so, then the King of Jiangnan had to die!
"The King of Jiangnan is far too powerful. No one in Jiang Province dares to cross him."
"Listen to my advice, leave quickly!"
Lin Ruoyi urged anxiously.
She was genuinely worried for Ye Chen's safety.
"You don't need to worry, it's fine."
"You must be hungry, I'll order some food."
Ye Chen smiled faintly.
He picked up his phone, called the hotel front desk, and asked them to send up two dinners.
Lin Ruoyi's stomach let out a couple of rumbles, and the reminder made her realize she was starving.
Unable to persuade Ye Chen, she had no choice but to give up.
His confident and resolute gaze made her believe that perhaps this man truly possessed the strength to defy the King of Jiangnan!
A moment later, hotel staff delivered dinner.
The two of them began to eat.
As she ate, Lin Ruoyi's eyes suddenly reddened.
It had been a long, long time since she had eaten such a delicious dinner in such a bright, warm place.
And besides, there was a man by her side who gave her an overwhelming sense of safety!
"Ye Chen, I'm so glad you came back."
"It's just that, in the state I'm in now... will you..."
Lin Ruoyi said with a sob.
Disfigured and crippled, she worried he would despise her in this condition.
Before she could finish, however, she was interrupted.
"Ruoyi, don't worry."
"I will cure the injuries on your face and your legs."
"I will definitely make you the lively and cute girl you used to be."
Ye Chen promised earnestly.
With the medical skills he had mastered, this was hardly difficult at all.
"R-Really?"
Lowering her head, Lin Ruoyi's eyes suddenly filled with hope.
She knew that whatever this man promised, he would never lie to her!
"Of course it's true, trust me."
Ye Chen reached out and gently pulled the young woman into his arms, resting her against his shoulder.
"Mm, I trust you!"
Lin Ruoyi nodded, burying her face in Ye Chen's chest.
Feeling this man's solid and warm chest, the tears swirling in her eyes could no longer be held back, spilling over and streaming down her face!
Huh? What's that smell?
Ye Chen's nose twitched as he sniffed the air, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Ruoyi, you have a bit of a strong smell on you."
"Shouldn't you go take a bath?"
Ye Chen offered a timid reminder.
How could a young lady smell like anything other than fragrance, let alone a bad odor?
"Oh..."
Lin Ruoyi responded with utter embarrassment.
She had spent a long time living in that rundown little shack without taking a bath, so of course she had an odor.
It was just that she had gotten used to it and couldn't smell it herself.
"I definitely don't mean to look down on you or anything."
Ye Chen quickly added.
He was terrified she would overthink it.
"Hmph, you clearly *are* looking down on me!"
Lin Ruoyi shot him an immediate glare.
Indignant, she pinched Ye Chen's arm hard.
"Siss, ouch, ouch, ouch."
Ye Chen gasped sharply from the pain.
Bantering back and forth, they felt as though they had returned to the days of their childhood innocence.
Soon after, they finished dinner.
Ye Chen went into the bathroom and filled the tub with hot water.
Then, he carried Lin Ruoyi into the bathroom.
"Is it easy for you to take off your clothes, or do you need my help?"
Ye Chen asked with a straight face.
He was purely thinking that Ruoyi had mobility issues and needed assistance.
He definitely had no other wicked thoughts!
"No, I can do it myself!"
Lin Ruoyi blushed.
She wasn't handless; how could she possibly let him help her undress?
"Then wash up yourself, and be careful."
"You definitely can't wear these tattered clothes anymore; I'll go buy you a new set."
"Take your time washing, I'll be right back."
Ye Chen instructed with concern, then walked out of the bathroom, remembering to close the door behind him.
He headed out to buy clothes near the hotel.
Inside the bathroom, Lin Ruoyi's emotions were somewhat complicated.
She realized that Ye Chen was simply concerned for her, and so remarkably thoughtful to boot!
She really had overthought it...
Thinking of this, Lin Ruoyi felt an incomparable warmth in her heart.
She slowly stripped off her filthy, tattered garments and stepped into the bathtub.
She would wash herself clean and start a brand-new life from this day forward!
Meanwhile, in Jiangnan City, at the Sun Family's luxurious mansion.
"My Sheng'er!"
"Where did that little bastard Ye Chen crawl out from? How dare he kill my son!"
"I'm going to tear that brat into a thousand pieces! I'll use his head as a sacrifice for my Sheng'er!"
Sun Zhiye, the head of the Sun Family, was consumed by monstrous rage, his molars grinding down in hatred.
Before him lay the cold, stiff corpse of his son, Sun Sheng.
His son had had his heart ripped out; seeing such a tragic state caused Sun Zhiye excruciating pain!
"M-Master."
"That brat also told us to pass a message to you, saying you should wash your neck and wait..."
A Sun Family servant reported tremblingly.
"Absurd!"
"That little bastard dares to utter such wild threats!"
Sun Zhiye flew into a thunderous rage.
With a flick of his hand, he struck the reporting servant across the face, sending him flying.
The servant spat blood as he crashed to the ground, his life instantly snuffed out.
Seeing this, the other servants shrank back in terror, keeping their heads down and trembling all over.
They knew all too well that their master had a tyrannical temper and killed without blinking an eye.
"Pass down my order! Gather all the Sun Family guards and have them stand by!"
"I'm going to slaughter that little bastard myself!"
Sun Zhiye ordered furiously.
Several servants acknowledged the command and hurriedly seized the opportunity to slip out of the room.
At that moment, Sun Zhiye picked up his phone and dialed a number.
The destruction of the Zhao Family and the murder of his son were matters he needed to report to that lord!
...
At the same time, in a mysterious location in the northern territory of Long Country.
A woman of peerless beauty held a smartphone, looking at the news about the destruction of the Jiangbei Zhao Family.
Ordinarily, this was just a minor piece of news not worth mentioning.
The collapse of a local bully family was simply commonplace.
Yet, the woman watched it with great relish.
Because the person who did this was well worth her attention.
"This brat has finally come down the mountain."
"The moment he comes down, he causes such a huge commotion."
"Not bad, not bad, very much in line with this brat's style."
The woman smiled, talking to herself.
She seemed quite appreciative of Ye Chen's actions.
"I just wonder what this brat's strength is like now?"
"He surely can't still be that little rookie he was when he first went up the mountain, right?"
The woman smiled as she guessed.
Recalling some past events.
"Go ahead and make all the trouble you want, kid."
"Even if you pierce the heavens, it doesn't matter—you still have your big sister here."
...
Returning our gaze to Jiangbei.
Ye Chen had been gone for nearly half a minute—no, half an hour—and returned carrying several shopping bags.
Based on his visual estimate of her height and size, he had bought Lin Ruoyi several sets of clothes.
He had even bought several sets of undergarments.
He had also bought Ruoyi a cell phone; in this day and age, doing anything without a phone was inconvenient.
Where had he gotten the money?
Naturally, when Ye Chen left the mountain, he had swiped a bit of travel money from his master.
Lin Ruoyi had already washed up, wrapped in a bathrobe inside the bathroom, waiting for Ye Chen to return.
Ye Chen carried Ruoyi into the bedroom, letting her try on her new clothes herself.
He returned to the living room to wait; naturally, he couldn't just stand there and watch a young woman change.
Ten minutes or so later, Lin Ruoyi had dressed and called Ye Chen into the bedroom.
"How is it? Do the clothes fit?"
Ye Chen asked casually.
"The outer clothes fit basically fine."
"It's just the inner... they're a bit small, a bit tight."
Lin Ruoyi replied with a blush.
Right now, she was wearing a white dress, instantly giving her a completely different aura than before.
"They turned out small?!"
"Are you *that* big?"
Ye Chen raised his gaze to Lin Ruoyi's chest.
This girl really was hiding her assets.
When all was said and done, it was still a lack of experience on his part—he had misjudged!
"Hey, where are your eyes looking!"
Lin Ruoyi blushed furiously on the spot, raising her hands to cover her chest.
A lone man and woman, isolated in a single room.
The atmosphere suddenly grew somewhat subtle.
"Right, I need to contact Uncle Li!"
"He brings me food at night; if he doesn't see me at our usual spot, he'll definitely worry!"
Lin Ruoyi suddenly remembered a crucial matter.
During the three years since her tendons were severed and she became crippled, she owed her survival to the help of kind-hearted people.
And Uncle Li, who made a living scavenging, had helped and cared for her the most—his kindness to her was as heavy as a mountain!
"You direct the way, I'll carry you on my back."
"I also want to properly thank this Uncle Li you mentioned."
Ye Chen immediately hoisted Lin Ruoyi onto his back and headed out.
Ten minutes later.
They arrived near the old Ye Family residence, which was also Lin Ruoyi's former shelter.
She pointed toward a dilapidated building ahead.
Uncle Li, who was childless, wifeless, and completely destitute, lived right there.
Ye Chen quickened his pace.
From afar, he sharply caught the sound of voices coming from ahead.
"You old immortal, you think you can brush me off with this pittance?"
"If you don't pay enough protection money, don't even think about living in this dump!"
Inside the dilapidated house, two men with dyed yellow hair were scolding and threatening a white-haired old man lying on the ground.
"I gave you all the money I had!"
"You're bullying an old man like this—aren't you afraid of retribution, of being struck by lightning!"
The white-haired old man collapsed on the ground, his tattered clothes marked with shoe prints, his face bruised; he had clearly just taken a beating.
How could an old, frail body like his endure such a thing?
"I'm scared of retribution?"
"Struck by lightning, my ass! Strike me with lightning and let me see!"
"Let me tell you, you old bastard, if you don't pay enough protection money, don't think about staying on Black Tiger Gang territory!"
"Beat you to death tonight and nobody'd give a damn!"
The two yellow-haired men roared with ferocious grins.
They raised their fists and boots to lay into the old man once more.
"You two bastards, stop!"
Lin Ruoyi shouted angrily from atop Ye Chen's back.
"Are you even human!"
"Bullying even a pitiful old man!"
Seeing two young thugs bullying frail Uncle Li, Lin Ruoyi was instantly filled with rage!
She even clenched her dainty fists, wanting to rush forward and pummel the two thugs.
"Where'd this little bitch come from? Stop meddling in other people's business and get lost!"
"We're from the Black Tiger Gang, you can't afford to mess with us!"
The two yellow-haired men turned around to look.
In the dim light, they couldn't clearly see who had arrived.
Hearing that it was just a woman, they didn't care at all.
"Ruoyi, there's no need to reason with scum like this."
Ye Chen said with a flash of cold light in his eyes.
"Oh, well look, there's a stinking brat too!"
"Don't want to get beaten? Then scram!"
The two yellow-haired men barked.
Emboldened by their ties to the Black Tiger Gang, they were extremely arrogant.
"Courting death."
Carrying Lin Ruoyi on his back, Ye Chen couldn't be bothered to step forward.
He simply raised his hand and lashed out with a remote slap through the air.
The moment Ye Chen struck, the two yellow-haired men suddenly recognized him—this man looked just like Ye Chen, the one who had wiped out the Zhao Family!
The two of them instantly turned ice-cold from head to toe!
Unfortunately, they recognized him far too late.
Smack!
With a crisp snap, both yellow-haired men flew sideways through the air.
They flew over ten meters before crashing to the ground, where they stopped moving entirely.
Seeing this, Lin Ruoyi's eyes widened in shock.
It was her first time witnessing Ye Chen make a move.
She was amazed—could he really send people flying from such a distance?
Handsome! He was so handsome!
Still, why weren't those two guys he had slapped flying moving anymore? Could they be dead?
"Are those two yellow-haired guys dead?"
Lin Ruoyi asked softly.
"Not dead."
"Just fell asleep."
Ye Chen excused smoothly.
Directly admitting that those two punks were dead would only frighten Ruoyi.
"Oh..."
"Let's hurry and check if Uncle Li is okay."
Lin Ruoyi murmured thoughtfully.
She instantly cast the thugs' lives and deaths aside, caring only for Uncle Li's safety.
The two of them walked forward.
Uncle Li, lying on the ground, saw Lin Ruoyi appear and let out a sigh of relief, smiling with relief.
When he had gone to deliver food tonight and hadn't seen the little girl, he had feared something had happened to her.
Fortunately, his worries had been for nothing.
Looking at the injured Uncle Li, Lin Ruoyi's heart ached fiercely.
This was a man whose kindness to her was as heavy as a mountain!
Those two thugs were utterly hateful!
Ye Chen checked Uncle Li's injuries.
Fortunately, nothing vital had been damaged.
He sincerely thanked Uncle Li for helping Lin Ruoyi.
Then, he produced a small medicine bottle he carried with him and took out a black pill for Uncle Li.
This medicine was anything but ordinary; it could strengthen the body and prolong life!
Countless people on the outside would pay any price for it!
After swallowing the pill, Uncle Li immediately felt refreshed and clear-headed. All the aches and pains vanished from his body, and he stood right up from the ground.
He quickly recognized that the young man before him was none other than the boy of the Ye Family!
He had already heard about the destruction of the Zhao Family.
That was the kind of joyful event that made people want to cheer!
Looking at the heroic and handsome Ye Chen before him, Uncle Li was so moved that old tears streamed down his face.
Indeed, the way of Heaven is a recurring cycle, and good and evil ultimately get their due!
Afterward, the two of them forcefully brought Uncle Li back to the hotel and arranged a room for him.
Uncle Li couldn't refuse and had no choice but to accept their kindness.
Having lived a life of poverty, when had he ever enjoyed such a good life!
Inside the room.
"The ones who bullied Uncle Li were from the Black Tiger Gang. They're so hateful!"
"My parents were killed because the Zhao Family ordered the Black Tiger Gang to do it!"
Lin Ruoyi said with intense bitterness.
Her family had been ordinary. After offending the Zhao Family, the Zhao Family had directed the Black Tiger Gang to repeatedly come and make trouble.
Until they killed her parents, leaving her, a disabled person, completely destitute and alone!
"Ruoyi, don't grieve, I'll avenge you."
"Tonight, the Black Tiger Gang will vanish!"
Ye Chen comforted her in a deep voice.
He told Ruoyi to wait safely in the hotel while he went out and returned shortly.
"You must be careful!"
Lin Ruoyi urged anxiously.
She hadn't expected that no sooner had she finished speaking than Ye Chen would leave to avenge her.
In her heart, an indescribable wave of emotion welled up!
Half an hour later.
One of Jiangbei City's most famous luxury clubs, the Black Tiger Club.
This was the stronghold of the Black Tiger Gang.
In a luxurious private room, core members of the Black Tiger Gang were indulging in hedonism, drinking and making merry.
Every man had two glamorous women draped over him, left and right.
Drinking while groping, their hands far from clean.
The heavily made-up women threw themselves into the embrace willingly, doing it all just to win the men's favor.
Sitting dead center was a burly man with a thick beard.
He was none other than the boss of the Black Tiger Gang, Zhao Hu.