Chapter 9

Bai Longbo frowned slightly and said, "That doesn't make sense. Ah Wei is usually pretty sharp. Why isn't he answering his phone?"

Li Xiaofeng snorted. "If you ask me, Ah Wei is probably teaching that little punk a lesson, which is why he missed the call."

Bai Yuruo nodded upon hearing this, a smile blooming on her face as she said, "That's entirely possible. I already told Ah Wei to teach that bastard a lesson and then bring him over. I'm going to personally tor—"

"Bang!"

Before Bai Yuruo could finish speaking, a deafening crash echoed from outside!

Before anyone could react, there was another booming sound!

The main gate was violently kicked to pieces, the hundreds of pounds of solid wood shattering into splinters that flew inward!

Dust swirled through the villa, and the walls seemed to tremble.

A dark shadow slammed heavily inside, crashing hard onto the floor!

Everyone in the villa was stunned. As they looked at the dark shadow on the ground, Bai Yuruo's face instantly turned ashen, and she shrieked: "Ah Wei!"

Lying on the ground was none other than their family bodyguard, Ah Wei!

Right now, he lay there like a dead dog, covered in blood and injuries, completely motionless.

Li Xiaofeng and Bai Longbo were also dumbfounded, staring blankly, completely clueless as to what had just happened.

A figure slowly emerged at the doorway, bringing with her a terrifying oppressive force that made the temperature in the hall plunge to below freezing in an instant!

A cold voice rang out. "You Bai family are truly courting death. You dared lay a hand on my parents—not even the gods can save you now!"

The voice was as cold as if it had risen from an eternal ice cellar. When Bai Yuruo looked and recognized the newcomer, her body shook violently. Even breathing became difficult, and cold sweat poured continuously down her back!

How could it be Ye Tianming?!

Wasn't he crippled by Mingwu Hall? Why was he standing here completely unscathed?

Bai Yuruo took two steps back, her face deathly pale as if she had seen a ghost. Pointing at Ye Tianming, she asked in sheer terror: "You... you... how could it be you?"

Ye Tianming walked in slowly, the corners of his lips curling into an icy arc. "Why couldn't it be me?"

"Aren't you a loser who was crippled by Mingwu Hall? How are you completely fine?"

Bai Yuruo was on the verge of a breakdown. Subconsciously, she refused to believe that the man who should have been half-dead was not only completely unharmed, but had forcefully kicked open the gates of the Bai family estate. For a fleeting second, Bai Yuruo felt as though she were living in a nightmare.

Could it be... that the man before her was truly extraordinary?

Bai Longbo snapped back to reality, pointed straight at Ye Tianming, and cursed: "You're that bastard who beat my daughter?!"

Ye Tianming narrowed his eyes into razor-sharp blades, his gaze stabbing into Bai Longbo with a bloody intent.

Bai Longbo felt as though he had plunged headfirst into an ice cellar; his breathing grew tight, and cold sweat broke out across his back.

"You old beast, have the guts to say that again?"

Bai Longbo's face instantly drained of color. He pointed at Ye Tianming, opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed his words instead—he was terrified.

Didn't Mingwu Hall say they would take care of this guy? Why wasn't it handled? Could it be... that even Mingwu Hall couldn't do anything to him?

Bai Longbo's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the floor. Beside him, Li Xiaofeng glared at Ye Tianming with venom in her eyes and shrieked shrilly: "You little punk! You dare come to the Bai family to cause trouble—have you grown tired of living? You hit my daughter and cursed my husband, today the Bai family is going to finish you off!"

Bai Yuruo let out a cold laugh and suddenly pressed a button on the table beside her.

An alarm blared. Staring at Ye Tianming, she smiled viciously and said, "Surname Ye, this is the Bai family's alarm. The moment it sounds, more than a dozen of our bodyguards will rush right over! You aren't getting away today!"

Ye Tianming raised an eyebrow and smiled playfully. "Are you sure they can come?"

Bai Yuruo froze. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing much. They probably won't be able to answer you anymore." Ye Tianming smiled faintly.

Bai Yuruo's expression shifted, and she hurriedly pressed the alarm a few more times, but still, no one appeared.

Her body trembled violently as she looked at Ye Tianming in horror. "You... you..."

Ye Tianming walked forward step by step, saying as he moved: "A tiny little Bai family with just a dozen bodyguards dares to be this arrogant. Where on earth do you get the courage?"

Just as his voice fell, Ye Tianming's figure flashed with eerie speed right in front of Bai Yuruo. Bai Yuruo let out a scream of terror!

Before her scream could fade, Ye Tianming abruptly grabbed Bai Yuruo by the throat, lifted her into the air, raised his hand, and slammed a vicious slap across her face!

Slap! Slap! Slap!

With several crisp smacks, the swelling that had just subsided on Bai Yuruo's face puffed up again instantly. Blood mixed with shattered teeth spilled from her mouth, completely ruining her face beyond recognition.

"Tell me, how do you want to die?"

Ye Tianming looked coldly at Bai Yuruo, like a dragon looking down upon an ant.

A wave of chill washed over Bai Yuruo's body. In Ye Tianming's eyes, she saw bloodlust, gloom, ice, darkness, and mercilessness...

All of her psychological defenses completely shattered, and tears welled up uncontrollably.

The sensation of death struck without warning, and she had no doubt that in the next second, Ye Tianming would genuinely crush her windpipe...

"Daughter!"

Li Xiaofeng shrieked and charged at Ye Tianming like a madwoman.

Ye Tianming frowned. The moment Li Xiaofeng lunged forward, he delivered a swift kick straight to her lower abdomen!

"Get lost!"

Li Xiaofeng flew backward on impact, crashed into the side, and passed out cold with darkness sweeping over her vision. Bai Longbo's eyes turned red as he roared: "You beast, I'll fight you to the death!"

He grabbed a fruit knife from nearby and lunged to stab Ye Tianming. Ye Tianming shook his head. "A family of lunatics!"

Without another word, he delivered a fierce slap across Bai Longbo's face. Bai Longbo spat out a mouthful of blood, spun around twice, and collapsed unconscious to the floor.

Watching all of this, Bai Yuruo's mind went completely blank. Her body shook uncontrollably as tears streamed endlessly down her face.

With a gloomy look in his eyes, Ye Tianming slowly turned toward her: "Tell me, where are my parents? If either of my parents loses even a single hair today—"

"Your Bai family will be wiped out today!"

Bai Yuruo shook her head in agony. "They were locked up in the small courtyard in the back. No one... no one touched them. I'll have someone bring them... bring them over."

"You'd better not have touched them!"

Ye Tianming tossed Bai Yuruo aside. Crumpled on the floor, she dialed a call on her phone and said with a trembling voice into the receiver: "Hello, bring them to the main hall."

Soon, two elderly figures appeared at the entrance of the villa. The moment they saw Ye Tianming, tears welled up in their eyes, and they cried out: "Tianming!"

Ye Tianming turned around, his body shaking violently: "Dad, Mom!"

After looking the two elders up and down, he confirmed that neither of them had suffered the slightest injury.

Trembling with fear, Bai Yuruo stammered, "I really didn't lay a hand on them, I just locked them up! If you don't believe me, ask them yourselves."

Ye Tianming looked toward his parents. Liu Cuirong said somewhat nervously: "Tianming... the young lady is right, no one hit us. She just locked us away, and the two of us just sat in the courtyard, we're fine."

Ye Tianming turned his head back to Bai Yuruo and frowned slightly: "Consider that you still have a shred of conscience. Seeing as you used to be my fiancée, I'll give you one last chance. If you ever dare harbor any ideas against my parents again, I will make you vanish from this world entirely."

With a cold huff, Ye Tianming turned to Yè Jiànguó and Liú Cuirong. "Dad, Mom, let's go home."

Yè Jiànguó and Liú Cuirong opened their mouths as if to speak, then sighed softly and followed behind Ye Tianming.

Once the three of them left, the villa's main hall was left in complete disarray.

Li Xiaofeng and Bai Longbo regained consciousness, their faces bruised and swollen. Bai Yuruo looked even paler than death.

The three of them remained silent, a heavy pall of gloom hanging over their hearts.

Right at that moment, footsteps echoed, and Bai Yaohua slowly walked out.

The next moment, he looked at the three people on the floor and said with a look of extreme disappointment: "To have descendants like you is a complete disgrace to the Bai family! You people are truly blind! This Ye Tianming is simply not an ordinary person!"

Bai Yuruo froze, asking in astonishment, "Grandpa, what do you mean?"

Chapter 20: Younger Sister

Bai Yaohua snapped irritably, "What do I mean? You still have the nerve to ask what I mean? Let me ask you—did this Ye Tianming really feel like an ordinary person to you today?"

Bai Yuruo paused, then began to think carefully.

Back in the small courtyard today, when Ye Tianming faced them—representatives of several major elite families—he hadn't shown a shred of nervousness.

There had even been a hint of arrogance deep in his eyes, and when they humiliated him, his expression carried more mockery and disdain.

That kind of temperament radiating from within was quite extraordinary; it certainly wasn't something an ordinary person could possess.

Coupled with the fact that Ye Tianming had actually beaten the pants off the Bai family's bodyguards...

Now, the more Bai Yuruo thought about it, the more wrong it felt, and a look of lingering shock slowly surfaced on her face.

Holding her face, Li Xiaofeng cursed angrily from the side, "I think he's just a bastard! Just some punk who only knows how to fight, what's so extraordinary about him?"

"Shut up!"

With a single stern reprimand from Bai Yaohua, Li Xiaofeng obediently clamped her mouth shut.

"Grandpa, now that you mention it... I also feel like this guy is a bit strange." Bai Yuruo finally couldn't help chiming in.

Bai Yaohua snorted. "That's not just strange—that's unfathomable! In all the years your grandfather has lived, I've seen plenty of talented young men, but those with Ye Tianming's bearing can be counted on one hand! Yuruo, Grandpa is giving you a task."

"Go ahead, Grandpa."

Bai Yaohua stroked his beard and said earnestly, "Starting from now, investigate Ye Tianming thoroughly. Not only should you investigate him, but you must also find an opportunity to get close to him! Grandpa's intuition has never been wrong—this Ye Tianming is definitely no ordinary man!"

Bai Yuruo bit her lip, wanting to say something, but the words caught in her throat.

Ultimately, she chose silence. She simply couldn't accept the idea of Bai Yaohua telling her to get close to Ye Tianming.

No matter how mysterious Ye Tianming appeared right now, the hard truth was that his family picked trash for a living.

Asking her to cozy up to the son of a garbage-picking family was utterly absurd and ridiculous.

Li Xiaofeng chimed in sarcastically, "Old man, when you strip it all away, isn't this Ye Tianming just a broke loser? Even if he's somehow tougher than ordinary folks, he still can't compare to our Bai family. He's still not worthy of my daughter."

Bai Yaohua slammed his hand heavily onto the table and roared, "You ignorant fool!"

Li Xiaofeng's mouth twitched, and she managed a dry laugh. Though furious inside, she didn't dare talk back to Bai Yaohua.

Fuming with rage, Bai Yaohua glared at them in utter disappointment: "All of you... are an absolute embarrassment to the Bai family! If the Bai family truly misjudges this person and takes the wrong path this time, I will not let any of you off!"

With that, Bai Yaohua turned around and stormed back into his room in a huff.

Li Xiaofeng rolled her eyes and muttered softly to Bai Longbo, "The old man is losing his mind the older he gets. He actually thinks a poor kid who picks trash can amount to anything. How ridiculous."

Caugh in the middle between his wife and his father, Bai Longbo didn't know who to side with, so he simply sighed and said, "Alright, stop talking. Let's leave it to our daughter and see what she wants to do."

As Li Xiaofeng and Bai Longbo left the main hall, Bai Yuruo pulled out her phone and dialed the number for Mingwu Hall.

The call connected, and the Red Demon's deep voice came through: "Hello, Miss Bai?"

Frowning, Bai Yuruo asked, "Why did you let that guy go today? Didn't I tell you to capture him?"

The Red Demon said coldly, "Miss Bai, you are far too arrogant. You have no idea how terrifying this person is! From now on, any missions regarding this individual—Mingwu Hall will not take them!"

"You..."

Before she could finish, the phone was disconnected, leaving Bai Yuruo standing frozen in place.

Even Mingwu Hall considered Ye Tianming extraordinary?

Emotions suddenly boiled over inside Bai Yuruo. She slammed her phone hard against the floor, shattering several vases in the main hall!

"Ye Tianming, what on earth is your background?! I refuse to accept this! I refuse! You're clearly just a good-for-nothing I dumped!"

"I will definitely make you pay the price!"

***

Meanwhile, Ye Tianming and the elderly couple had returned to the small courtyard.

Evening was approaching, and the sunset over Longhai City had arrived, casting a soft golden glow over the courtyard.

Yè Jiànguó and Liú Cuirong were busy—one was washing clothes in the yard while the other cooked inside the house.

Smoke curled from the chimney, and smiles radiated on the faces of the two elders. Ye Tianming sat beneath the old locust tree in the courtyard, smoking a cigarette.

Looking at everything in the small courtyard, warmth filled his heart. This feeling was wonderful.

After three years apart, he could finally return to his parents' side. In the past, his parents had suffered through endless hardships for him and his younger sister, scrimping and saving on food and clothing.

Now, he possessed peerless authority and wealth rivaling nations; he was determined to give his parents a wonderful life.

Looking at the somewhat dilapidated courtyard, though cozy, Ye Tianming decided it was time to find a better living environment for his parents.

Tomorrow, he would go look for a nice villa and buy one for his parents to settle into.

"Tianming, dinner's ready! Wash your hands and come get ready to eat, your sister should be home any minute now!"

At Liu Cuirong's voice, Ye Tianming paused, a look of hopeful anticipation crossing his face.

His younger sister, Yè Yúnfēi, was three years younger than him and very pretty. By now, she should be at university age.

Ye Tianming held an immense fondness for his sister.

Ever since she was little, Yè Yúnfēi had been extremely well-behaved and sensible. Whenever they got anything good to eat, she could never bear to take the first bite, always saving it for Ye Tianming.

Even when she occasionally had a pocket coin or two, she refused to spend it, saying she wanted to save it to help pay for Ye Tianming's tuition.

Ye Tianming still remembered that when they were young, because the family was poor and new clothes were hard to come by, Yè Yúnfēi wore his hand-me-down clothes to school and faced plenty of mockery...

Thinking back on all those memories, Ye Tianming's rock-hard heart slowly softened.

After washing his hands and returning inside, he sat at the table with Yè Jiànguó and Liú Cuirong, waiting for Yè Yúnfēi to return.

Seeing this scene, Liu Cuirong was overcome with emotion. Her eyes turning slightly red, she smiled and said, "Tianming, if Yúnfēi sees you back, there's no telling how happy she'll be! When you left back then, she spent no end of effort asking about you..."

Ye Tianming sighed softly, a mix of deep emotion and guilt washing over him.

His departure back then had undoubtedly inflicted heavy trauma on his parents, his sister, and the entire family.

Thinking of his sensible and endearing younger sister, Ye Tianming finally spoke in a complex tone: "Has Yúnfēi had a good life these past few years?"

Liu Cuirong and Yè Jiànguó exchanged glances, both of their eyes growing dim.

"What is it?"

Ye Tianming noticed the elders seemed to be harboring worries.

Liu Cuirong hesitated, opening her mouth as if to speak, but swallowing the words back down.

Ye Tianming frowned; his parents seemed to have an unspeakable secret.

Just then, the light sound of footsteps drifted in from outside the courtyard, and shortly after, a slender, frail figure appeared at the gateway.

Ye Tianming looked over, catching sight of his younger sister Yè Yúnfēi at first glance, and a smile instantly bloomed on his face.

Yet the next second, as if struck by lightning, his smile slowly froze...

Chapter 21: It's All My Fault!

The girl also caught sight of Ye Tianming instantly, her face filled with shock and disbelief.

She stared blankly at Ye Tianming, her eyes slowly turning red as she murmured, "Big brother... is that really you?"

At that moment, Ye Tianming's body felt as though it had turned to stone. This girl was indeed his younger sister, Yè Yúnfēi!

Yet right now, he couldn't bring himself to believe it, couldn't bring himself to accept the reality!

The hands that had crushed countless lives were trembling at this moment. "How... how could this be?"

Ye Tianming's eyes reddened, and for a fleeting second, he wondered if he had recognized the wrong person.

His sister—his sister had been so cute and sensible... why on earth was she holding a walking cane?

Why was she limping on one leg?!

Why on earth was this happening?!

Like a fool, Ye Tianming stumbled toward Yè Yúnfēi. Reaching her, he trembled as he slowly extended his hands, wanting to touch her, but stopping short.

The corners of Ye Tianming's eyes slowly grew damp, his voice strained and heavy with grief-stricken tremors: "Yúnfēi... what on earth happened? What happened to you?"

"Big brother... is it really you?"

Yè Yúnfēi bit down hard on her lip as tears welled up and spilled from her eyes.

At that moment, Ye Tianming gripped Yè Yúnfēi's hand tightly, his red-rimmed body shaking continuously: "It's me... I'm your older brother, Yúnfēi. Your leg..."

Before he could finish, Yè Yúnfēi abruptly jerked her hand away. Infinite hatred welled up within her tear-filled eyes as she shouted at Ye Tianming: "You're not my brother! I don't have a brother like you!"

With that, leaving Ye Tianming frozen in place, Yè Yúnfēi leaned heavily on her cane and limped her way into the courtyard.

Ye Tianming stood there dumbly. The resentment in Yè Yúnfēi's eyes just moments ago pierced deeply into his heart, leaving him completely at a loss.

Watching her pitiful retreating figure, his heart trembled incessantly. What on earth had happened?

What could have possibly happened in the three years since he left, turning his innocent, adorable, and sensible sister into someone with a crippled leg?

And why did she harbor such intense hatred toward him?

Could it be because of him?

His mind went blank, and like a walking corpse, he shuffled into the courtyard.

Just as he reached the front of the house, the door was slammed shut heavily by Yè Yúnfēi with a loud *bang*!

Ye Tianming froze in his tracks as Yè Yúnfēi's choked shout echoed from inside: "Get out of here! I don't have an older brother like you! My parents don't have a son like you either!"

Then came Liu Cuirong's tearful voice from within: "Yúnfēi... let your brother come inside. Mom knows you're hurting inside, but your brother had it rough these past few years too... Our family is finally reunited, we can't fall apart again..."

Yè Yúnfēi and Liu Cuirong embraced and wept bitterly. Tear-streaked and choking back sobs, Yè Yúnfēi cried, "Mom, you guys treat this man like a son, but did he ever treat you like parents? When he left without a word back then, it left you two weeping day and night! To look for him, you burned through all our family savings, and Dad even fell seriously ill from the anxiety, nearly not making it through at the hospital—have you forgotten all of that? And now look at him, showing up again out of the blue acting like nothing ever happened. Tell me, what does he even want?"