Half an hour later, at the entrance of Longyun Mountain Villa.
Just as Lin Ce stepped out of the off-road vehicle, Qili walked over and said, "Dragon Head, we just received a call from Yanjing."
Lin Ce was slightly taken aback and smiled faintly, "Oh? Word has reached Yanjing that quickly."
"What did they say? Do they think I made too big of a stir?"
Qili's expression turned stern, a trace of deep reverence flickering in her eyes. "No, they said—you can make all the noise you want, as long as you don't tear down the sky."
Lin Ce shook his head with a smile. "At least they still understand human sentiment. I've given my heart and soul to the Northern Territory. What big deal is it to kill a few people and wipe out a few clans?"
Hearing this, Bahu felt an even deeper wave of admiration in his heart.
Looking across Huaxia, there were probably no more than a handful of people who enjoyed the kind of standing the Dragon Head had.
That old man in Yanjing really pampered the Dragon Head quite a bit.
"You two have worked hard these past two days. Take the afternoon off, and tonight you'll accompany me to the Zhou Family."
"Understood, Dragon Head!"
With that, Bahu and Qili left, and Lin Ce walked into Longyun No. 1 alone.
However, the moment he stepped into the villa's courtyard, he heard voices drifting out from inside.
"Daughter, we saw on the news that a murder case happened near the Lin Family, and it scared us half to death. Are you alright?"
"Mom, I'm fine. You two should leave first. I'm only staying here temporarily. It won't look good if younger brother Ce comes back and sees you here."
"My, listen to yourself! Since my daughter has become a widow of the Lin Family, living here is the least of it. Even if they gave us this villa, it would only be right. Remember, the Lin Family owes our Ye Family, understand?"
Ye Xiangsi sighed helplessly. "Mom, how can you say that? The Lin Family doesn't owe me anything. I can only blame my bad luck. Besides, this villa belongs to a friend of younger brother Ce."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ye immediately looked disappointed. "Oh, so after all that, it doesn't belong to that Lin boy? What a waste of excitement."
Hearing this, Lin Ce pushed the door open with one hand.
In the living room stood Ye Xiangsi and her mother, while a man in his forties sat on the sofa, smoking in silence. Ye Xiangsi bore a striking resemblance to him, so he must have been her father, Ye Huai.
"Younger brother Ce, you're back." A trace of awkwardness crossed Ye Xiangsi's pretty face.
"Dad, Mom, this is Lin Ce. Lin Ce, this is my father Ye Huai, and my mother Liu Cuixia."
Lin Ce nodded slightly and said, "Uncle, Auntie, hello."
Liu Cuixia raised an eyebrow and looked Lin Ce up and down with surprise. What a handsome young man! This figure and build were far superior to that weak and frail Lin Wen.
Yet, after just a glance, she twisted her neck and let out a cold snort.
"I thought the Lin Family had been wiped out completely. Turns out there's still one breathing."
Lin Ce frowned slightly as a surge of anger welled up in his heart.
"Lin Ce, don't blame me for speaking bluntly. My daughter just married into your Lin Family, and now she's a widow. You know how hard it is for a second-hand woman. How is my daughter supposed to remarry in the future?"
"Mom, what are you talking about? If you say things like that again, I'll be angry." Ye Xiangsi was immensely embarrassed. Why say such things right in front of Lin Ce? Have some shame.
Liu Cuixia shook her hand off.
"What? Is what I said wrong?"
"Lin Ce, has my daughter not treated your Lin Family right? Even when the Lin Family fell into ruin, my daughter still faithfully guarded it."
"Back then, my daughter was the director of Beiyu Group! And what is she now? Just an unemployed vagrant. Nobody in Zhonghai dares to give her a job."
"We old folks don't have any way to make money either. How do you expect us to live? Drink the northwest wind?"
Lin Ce took a deep breath.
True, Ye Xiangsi was a dutiful sister-in-law, and she had sacrificed a great deal to protect the Lin Family.
Nowadays, women like her were rare indeed.
"Auntie, if you have any demands, you can state them."
Liu Cuixia secretly glanced at Lin Ce, trying to gauge his level of wealth from his attire.
Yet, no matter how she looked at it, none of Lin Ce's clothes were designer brands.
Still, being able to live in a villa like this meant he couldn't be doing too badly.
Besides, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; the Lin Family was bound to cough up plenty of compensation.
With that thought, Liu Cuixia said with a straight face, "My demands are very simple. Our old house is being demolished, and we have nowhere to live. Getting us a house shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Also, my daughter doesn't have a job, so you need to find a way to sort that out. On top of that, considering my daughter's lost youth and our mental distress as parents, a cool million in cash should be enough."
Lin Ce said calmly, "A house, a job, plus one million in cash. Fine, I can grant that."
Hearing this, Ye Xiangsi hurried over to Lin Ce and said, "Younger brother Ce, don't listen to my mom's nonsense. I don't need any of this. A-Wen and I loved each other sincerely; there's no question of anyone owing anything. Please don't take it to heart."
With that, she turned to Liu Cuixia. "Mom, you're opening a lion's maw. This is going way too far!"
Liu Cuixia instantly flew into a rage, pointing right at Ye Xiangsi's nose and cursing, "You ungrateful wretch! I made you marry Lin Wen so your father and I could live in comfort. Look at you—not only did you go looking for suffering on your own, but you dragged your father and me down with you. What an unfilial daughter!"
Ye Xiangsi bit her lip hard, and just as she was about to speak, Lin Ce stopped her.
"Auntie is right. Sister Xiangsi, it's not easy being a woman on your own, and you still have to support your elderly parents."
"Younger brother Ce, don't be so formal... You don't need to worry about this, let me handle it."
"Mom, younger brother Ce is just acting on impulse, don't take it seriously. If it's not ours, we can't take it."
"Shut your mouth!"
Liu Cuixia glared at her and snapped unhappily, "Didn't you hear him agree? He has the ability, yet you're telling me not to take it seriously. Are you slapping his face, or are you looking down on him?!"
Just then, Ye Huai stubbed out his cigarette butt in the ashtray, shook his head, and smiled. "Old woman, didn't you hear our daughter? Lin Ce is just a soldier; how could he have that kind of ability?"
"You, you never measure your words before speaking. Aren't you just putting people on the spot?"
However, right at that moment, Lin Ce took out a cheque, wrote down one million directly, and placed it on the table.
"This is a one-million-dollar cheque. You can exchange it for cash at the counter of any bank."
Then, he took out a document.
"This is the appointment contract for Beiyu Group, appointing Ye Xiangsi as the general manager of Beiyu Group."
Finally, he slapped a property ownership certificate down on the table.
"This is the property deed for Longyun No. 1 Villa. Yesterday, I already had someone transfer it under Ye Xiangsi's name."
Lin Ce said word by word, "My Lin Family never owes anyone anything."
***
Lin Ce was the Northern Dragon Head, controlling dozens of large monopolistic enterprises.
His annual net profit was dozens of times the GDP of Zhonghai.
A mere million dollars was something Lin Ce didn't even care about.
As for the position of general manager of Beiyu Group, it was meant for Ye Xiangsi all along; after all, she used to be Beiyu Group's director and was familiar with the operations.
To others, Longyun No. 1 might be a symbol of status and power, but to Lin Ce, it was just a place to sleep.
Compared to Lin Ce's palace in the Northern Territory, Longyun No. 1 Villa was like a gnat next to the bright moon.
Yet, the few items Lin Ce casually tossed out were no different from a royal flush to these three people!
Ye Huai and Liu Cuixia were utterly shocked, staring fixedly at the table as if they wanted to pick it up and run off with it immediately.
"A-Are these... are these real? Don't you dare try to fool me!" Liu Cuixia shouted with her eyes wide open.
Ye Huai also snapped back to his senses. "I know there are plenty of people making fake certificates in North City Park. Cheques, property deeds, contracts—all these can be forged."
"Daughter, didn't you say Lin Ce was a soldier in the Northern Territory? Didn't you say this villa wasn't his? Didn't you say Beiyu Group had been seized by the Zhao Family?"
"W-What is going on here?"
Ye Xiangsi was completely dumbfounded, trapped in a daze.
"Younger brother Ce, a-are these really real? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Her breathing grew hurried.
She didn't care about the villa or the cash.
What she hoped for most of all was to reclaim Beiyu Group—after all, that was the life's work of their family!
Liu Cuixia picked up the cheque and said, "Lin Ce, I'm telling you, forging cheques and contracts is a crime! Old man, go check online how to tell if a cheque is real, hurry up!"
Lin Ce shook his head speechlessly. What was wrong with this family? Such a trivial matter, why would anyone fake it?
Ye Huai took out his phone and started searching online, when suddenly, a news pop-up appeared.
"Zhao Family head Zhao Hongguang dies in an accident; Beiyu Building reclaimed by the Lin Group."
"Latest news from Beiyu Group's official website: The legal representative of Beiyu Group has been changed to Lin Ce, and the general manager is Ye Xiangsi."
Ye Huai rubbed his eyes, and after confirming he hadn't misread, he cried out in shock, "Look at the news, everyone! Xiangsi has become the general manager of Beiyu Group!"
Liu Cuixia hurriedly snatched the phone to take a look, her eyes welling up with tears of excitement. She grabbed her daughter's arm in a death grip and exclaimed, "Xiangsi! Such a huge matter, why didn't you tell us?! You're a general manager now, my daughter is a general manager! The Ye Family is going to bring honor to our ancestors!"
Ye Xiangsi looked at Lin Ce in astonishment, never expecting that what he said was actually true.
Although she didn't know how it all happened, she could tell from the headlines that Zhao Hongguang had died in an accident, and Beiyu Group had returned to the hands of the Lin Family.
Wasn't all of this happening a bit too fast? How on earth did Lin Ce pull it off?
Before Ye Xiangsi could recover, Ye Huai said excitedly, "Old woman, I checked. This cheque is real! We really have one million!"
Hearing this, Liu Cuixia was already overcome with excitement. If that was the case, didn't that mean this villa was theirs too?
At this thought, Liu Cuixia's attitude toward Lin Ce underwent a 180-degree turn. She hurried forward and said warmly, "Xiao Ce, look at you! We're all family, why are you being so formal with us? How can we ever thank you?"
Lin Ce said calmly, "If you want to thank someone, thank Sister Xiangsi. If not for her, you wouldn't get any of this even if you knelt and begged me."
Hearing this, Ye Huai and Liu Cuixia's old faces instantly flushed red.
They had been nagging Ye Xiangsi for meddling in other people's business and had even started scouting for a new husband candidate for her.
Never did they expect to reap such massive benefits in the end.
"Xiao Ce, from now on we're all family, no need to be so formal. How about this, I'll go buy some groceries and let you taste your auntie's cooking."
Lin Ce didn't say anything; he just went upstairs straight to his room.
On the battlefield, Lin Ce had fought off five powerhouses and suffered severe internal injuries, which he had been recuperating from ever since.
Fortunately, his foundation was unharmed.
Once General Xiaolong led his troops to Tianshan to retrieve that divine herb and brought it back for him to take, he would be completely healed.
Time flew by to seven in the evening. During this period, Liu Cuixia had already prepared a table full of dishes.
Yet Lin Ce didn't come down to eat, leaving Liu Cuixia with a thoroughly sour expression.
"Xiangsi, does Lin Ce have some kind of opinion about us? If he doesn't want us old folks living here, we can just leave," Ye Huai said, taking a puff of his cigarette.
Liu Cuixia instantly threw a fit.
"Old man, what kind of nonsense are you talking about? This villa belongs to my daughter! The property deed has Ye Xiangsi's name on it. If anyone leaves, it should be Lin Ce!"
Ye Xiangsi shook her head helplessly. "Mom, now that we're staying here, stop acting so domineering. If it weren't for younger brother Ce, you'd still be living in that old house."
Just as Liu Cuixia was about to retort, the door was pushed open, and Qili and Bahu appeared at the entrance.
"What kind of people are you? Who let you in?"
Startled, Liu Cuixia jumped up and pointed straight at Qili and Bahu. "Get out of here right now! You're trespassing on private property!"
Qili and Bahu frowned slightly. Who was this old woman, and why was she acting so wild in the Dragon Head's residence?
Ye Xiangsi apologized, "This is my mother. She doesn't know you are younger brother Ce's friends."
"Hph, friends? Friends can just walk in like this?" Liu Cuixia muttered discontentedly.
At that moment, Lin Ce walked down from upstairs.
"Dragon Head, we should get going," Qili said respectfully.
"Alright."
Lin Ce nodded. Ignoring Liu Cuixia and the others, he left Longyun No. 1 Villa with Qili and Bahu.
"Dragon Head? Wasn't his name Lin Ce? When did he become a Dragon Head?" Liu Cuixia muttered in confusion.
***
In the car.
"Dragon Head, since the villa has already been given to someone else, let's find another residence. That old woman doesn't look like a peaceable sort; I'm afraid she'll disturb your rest," Bahu said in a low voice.
Qili also nodded in agreement.
"It's fine. It's just a place to sleep; anywhere is the same."
Bahu gave a chuckle and said, "Of course the Dragon Head isn't picky. Back in the day, the Dragon Head and the brothers slept out in the goose-feather snow, using the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed. Those were the days!"
Recalling those years of smoke and gunfire, Lin Ce couldn't help but feel a flicker of emotion.
The car soon arrived near the Zhou Family estate.
However, right at that moment, a wave of commotion drifted out from within the Zhou Family compound.
It sounded as though something major had happened to them.
Not good!
Lin Ce's heart skipped a beat!
***
Lin Ce, along with Qili and Bahu, strode quickly toward the backyard of the Zhou Family's grand estate.
As soon as they stepped inside, they saw Zhou Peipei rushing toward Lin Ce like an enraged little lioness.
"Lin Ce, it's all your fault! If it weren't for you, my dad wouldn't have gotten into trouble! You jinx, I hate you, I hate you!"
Before Zhou Peipei could reach Lin Ce, however, a slender arm grabbed her.
"Daring to show disrespect to the Dragon Head—court death!" Qili said coldly.
That voice, heavy as an avalanche, instantly forced Zhou Peipei to calm down.
Yet Zhou Peipei still glared venomously at Lin Ce, her eyes filled with rage and hatred.
Lin Ce frowned slightly, having already guessed something.
He said in a deep voice, "What happened to Uncle Zhou?"
Xing Hui screamed angrily, "How dare you have the nerve to ask what happened to us?!"
"My husband was fine this afternoon, but as soon as you left, he started rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for things, and suddenly collapsed just now! It must be your fault!"
"I told him not to meddle in the Lin Family's affairs, but he refused to listen. Now look at this—give me back my husband!"
Xing Hui burst into tears as she spoke, and Zhou Peipei was weeping bitterly as well.
With a deep frown, Lin Ce ignored the Zhou family members, walked straight into the tea room, and went over to Zhou Pengju to check his condition.
Zhou Pengju was unconscious, with dark eye bags and purplish-blue lips.
Lin Ce pressed his fingers against Zhou Pengju's pulse. Within seconds, his expression turned ice-cold, and he issued an order:
"Bahu, immediately take Uncle Zhou back to the base. No matter the cost, you must save Uncle Zhou's life and wake him up."
"Understood, Dragon Head!"
"What are you doing? Don't take my father away!" Zhou Peipei rushed forward to shield Zhou Pengju.
Lin Ce glanced coldly at Zhou Peipei and said, "First, Uncle Zhou's condition has nothing to do with me. Second, if you keep making trouble, your father really won't survive."
Zhou Peipei froze. Before she could react, Bahu had already carried Zhou Pengju away.
In truth, Zhou Peipei knew deep down that this incident probably had nothing to do with Lin Ce.
Yet, if not for Lin Ce's appearance, the Zhou Family wouldn't have run into such trouble.
So even though Lin Ce was acting out of goodwill, Zhou Peipei still harbored resentment toward him.
Ignoring the cold attitude of the Zhou family, Lin Ce left the Zhou residence after handling the matter.
***
The moonlight was like water.
Lin Ce walked slowly down the chilly street, casting a very long shadow.
"Dragon Head, your body hasn't fully recovered. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Qili considerately stepped forward and draped a black overcoat over Lin Ce's shoulders.
"How much longer until the Northern Territory fighter jet arrives?"
"Reporting to Dragon Head, this time we dispatched the U210 fighter. It will arrive at the Zhonghai dedicated airport in half an hour."
Only then did Lin Ce nod. "Then let's wait."
"It seems someone must be pulling the strings behind this incident."
On the battlefield, Lin Ce had always dominated and conquered without fail.
Strategies, plots, open warfare, tactical arrays—he had experienced them all.
Yet, Uncle Zhou's unexpected accident caught him off guard.
The more unexpected it was, however, the more it proved that there was an enormous conspiracy behind the death of his adoptive father's family.
No matter who the enemy was, he would drag them out into the light.
At that moment, a Hidden Dragon Guard appeared and handed a photograph to Qili.
"Dragon Head, the Hidden Dragon Guards found a clue inside Zhou Pengju's tea room. Please take a look."
With that, Qili respectfully presented an aged photograph to Lin Ce with both hands.
Lin Ce took the vintage photograph.
In the picture were three young men, around twenty years old, right in the prime of their youth.
The three of them had their arms slung around each other's shoulders, looking very close.
Lin Ce's pupils constricted. The youth in the middle was none other than his adoptive father!
The person on the left was precisely Zhou Pengju, who was currently unconscious.
As for the youth on the right... Lin Ce frowned slightly. He looked somewhat familiar.
Yet he couldn't quite remember who it was; he must have seen him somewhere in his childhood.
"Dragon Head, these two should both be close friends of your adoptive father. Zhou Pengju is currently unconscious, so the youth on the right is our only remaining clue."