Ye Chen did not speak, because he heard two people coming out of the room on the right one after another.
"What kind of meat are you eating!"
A shrewish voice rang out: "All day long, you don't even stay home and do proper work, yet you insist on going to Nanshan to worship the dead! Such a waste of a chicken from our home!! And why are you starting to drink already? Dinner time is almost here, people will be coming to eat, why aren't you hurrying to the kitchen to prep the food?!"
"Also, Brother Zhang and I are hungry, go to the kitchen and make us something good!! Brother Zhang... sit down first, I'll go get you a bottle of good wine..."
Chapter 34: Fury!
Erniu gritted his teeth and did not move.
Staring at the woman before him, he gritted his teeth and said, "This is my friend, little Ye!"
"A friend?"
The woman gave Ye Chen a once-over, and seeing that he wore no designer clothes and no watch, her gaze instantly filled with a bit of contempt. "He isn't here for a free meal, is he? Even friends have to pay the bill!"
"You!!!"
Erniu was so furious that veins bulged on his forehead, yet he could not bring himself to rush over and slap her.
At that moment, his eyes bloodshot, he stared at the woman and demanded, "What about Boss Zhang then? He has eaten here so many times, why hasn't he paid?"
The Boss Zhang whom Erniu spoke of was none other than the man who had come out of the room with Li Cuihua. At that moment, he was sitting leisurely in a chair, watching the show with a toothpick clamped between his teeth.
"Who says Brother Zhang hasn't paid? Look at what this is?"
As she spoke, Li Cuihua pulled several red bills from her pocket and said, "This money is Brother Zhang's meal money. If it weren't for Brother Zhang's generosity, where would you have gotten the money for your mother's medical care? Your mother would have died of illness long ago!"
"The money for my mother's medical care is my own money, the restaurant earns one or two hundred yuan every single day."
Erniu retorted loudly: "All that money is with you! Every time I... every time I go get medicine for my mother, you don't even want to give it to me!"
"Doesn't a wife need to be provided for? I married you, shouldn't you give me money to support me?!"
Akimbo, Li Cuihua pointed at Erniu and scolded: "Fine! If you begrudge the money I spend, let's get a divorce! Once we're divorced, I won't want your money, and we'll be done with each other!!"
Hearing the word "divorce," Erniu instantly wilted. Staring at Li Cuihua for a few seconds, he finally said in a trembling voice, "I—I was wrong, okay? I'll go make food for you right now!!"
With that, his shoulders slumped, and Erniu started walking toward the kitchen.
At that moment, Erniu wished he could simply drop dead... Especially with little Ye standing right there; Erniu had no idea if little Ye would look down on him.
"Brother Zhang, let me pour you a glass of wine."
Seeing Erniu obediently go off to cook, Li Cuihua cursed him as a "good-for-nothing," then practically dove into Boss Zhang's arms. "This ox just needs to be taught a lesson, otherwise he won't obey. Come on, drink up."
"Hahahaha."
Boss Zhang laughed heartily, his hands moving restlessly over Li Cuihua's body.
Hearing their arrogant words and the insults hurled at Erniu, Ye Chen could no longer hold back.
He stepped forward to stand before Li Cuihua and asked coldly, "Are you Erniu's wife?"
"So what if I am? None of your damn business, psycho!" Li Cuihua frowned and said.
Ignoring her, Ye Chen turned his gaze to Boss Zhang. "Did you know she is already married? She has a husband."
"Oh? Looking at you, are you planning to champion the cause for that ox?"
Tossing his head back, Boss Zhang sat proudly in his chair and sneered, "Who the hell do you think you are? I'll play with whoever the hell I want, now get the hell out of here and stay out of it!!"
With that, Boss Zhang viciously spat his toothpick straight at Ye Chen's face.
Ye Chen tilted his head slightly to dodge the flying toothpick, then violently snatched two pairs of disposable chopsticks from the table and slammed them down with a loud *crack*!
"Ah!!!"
Instantly, a heart-rending scream tore from Boss Zhang's mouth.
Yet Ye Chen did not let him off, pulling out another pair of chopsticks and driving them savagely into the table...
"Ah!!!"
Boss Zhang let out another scream, nearly fainting from the agonizing pain.
Because Ye Chen had pinned both of his hands to the table with the chopsticks. Those disposable chopsticks, which would normally snap at the slightest bend, now acted like two sharp iron blades, effortlessly piercing through Boss Zhang's palms and the two-centimeter-thick wooden table.
*Drip, drop! Drip, drop!*
Blood continuously trickled down the chopsticks onto the concrete floor. At that sight, Li Cuihua was struck dumb with terror.
After howling in agony a few times, Boss Zhang panted heavily, preparing to unleash a torrent of abuse, but Ye Chen pulled out two more chopsticks. "Shut your mouth. Say one more unnecessary word, and I'll nail your head to the table."
At those words, Boss Zhang's body convulsed, and he instantly clamped his teeth shut, not daring to make a single sound. He could sense that Ye Chen was not joking.
"What's going on?"
Hearing the commotion, Erniu rushed out in a panic.
When he saw the scene before him, he was utterly stunned: "Little Ye, what are you doing, little Ye?! You need to get out of here right now! Boss Zhang's older brother is Zhang Long, please run!"
"Erniu, this is the kind of friend you make?! Is he trying to get us killed?!"
Seeing Erniu emerge, Li Cuihua hurriedly leaped up to hide behind him, shouting, "Is this the kind of scum you take as a friend?! Chase him out right now, hurry!"
"Little Ye is not scum."
Erniu forced himself to explain, "He is my best friend!"
"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you! He hurt Brother Zhang, and Zhang Long will never let this go! He... he runs with a rough crowd out there, see what you do when the time comes!"
"I..."
Erniu gritted his teeth. "In any case, I will never betray little Ye! Little Ye, run away!!"
"Erniu."
At last, Ye Chen spoke up. "For the sake of a woman like this, are you willing to let yourself be tortured like this?"
"Haaah...!!"
Ye Chen let out a long breath, as if expelling all the heavy gloom from his heart. Staring straight at Erniu, he said, "A real man need never fear a lack of wives. She clearly has no regard for you in her heart, she even brings other men into your home..."
"I—I, I, I!!"
Just a few words from Ye Chen completely broke Erniu down. A man nearing thirty, he immediately clutched his head and squatted down onto the ground.
"I—I... little Ye, I'm furious too!! But I'm useless, I wish I could get a divorce too! But my mother is sick, and she won't allow me to get a divorce... She's so terribly ill, who knows how many months she has left?! My mother's greatest wish is to see me hold a grandchild with her own eyes... I—I want a divorce too, but I don't have the money to marry another wife."
"If we get a divorce now, my mother will literally be worried to death! I—I have no choice, little Ye!!"
Squatting on the ground, Erniu wailed bitterly. "I'm useless! I'm spineless! I deserve to be cuckolded, I might as well be dead!!"
The surrounding villagers were all dumbfounded. While a few had initially come for a meal, with such a massive commotion, many people from the village had come out to watch the spectacle.
Most of them were well aware of the situation between Li Cuihua and Boss Zhang, and they deeply pitied Erniu.
At that moment, seeing Erniu in such absolute despair, everyone's eyes filled with a trace of sympathy.
"Useless trash!"
Yet Li Cuihua merely spat out those two cold words.
*Slap!*
Before the echo of those two words had even faded, Ye Chen executed a backhanded slap. Before Li Cuihua could even react, a tremendous force sent her flying through the air.
After spinning around several times in midair, she crashed heavily onto the ground. Looking at that face—which had previously possessed a passable charm—it was now swollen as large as a pig's head... With that single blow, Ye Chen had completely ruined her looks.
Chapter 35: Auntie Niu
At first, Ye Chen could not understand why Erniu chose to endure all of this.
Now, he finally understood: there was no longer any love left between Erniu and Li Cuihua, only bitter hatred!
The reason Erniu begged Li Cuihua so bitterly and dared not divorce her was that his mother was gravely ill and could not withstand any further shock... Furthermore, his mother was desperately yearning for a grandchild.
With wave after wave of crushing pressure bearing down simultaneously, it completely broke Erniu, a man with neither money nor capability.
"Don't worry, I can cure Auntie's illness!"
"As for a wife, Erniu, don't worry. I will definitely find you a wife a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Li Cuihua!"
Having sent Li Cuihua flying with a slap, Ye Chen walked over and helped Erniu to his feet.
"Little Ye, you don't need to comfort me... My mother has coronary heart disease, how could you possibly cure that?"
Gritting his teeth, Erniu wiped the tears from his face and said, "As for a wife, I've given up all hope. Right now, the only thing on my mind is keeping my mother alive!"
He assumed Ye Chen was simply trying to comfort him.
"Erniu, have you grown a pair of bear's guts?! You actually dared to find someone to beat me up—I, I'll fight you to the death!"
Li Cuihua had already struggled to her feet. When she realized her face was disfigured, she went completely mad... Charging into the kitchen and snatching a boning knife, the woman rushed straight at Erniu and Ye Chen.
"Vile woman!"
A fierce anger ignited within Ye Chen's eyes. Not only had Li Cuihua betrayed their marriage, but she had humiliated Erniu to his face, made him cook for her adulterer, and now, after being punished, she actually intended to stab Erniu with a knife.
In that instant, killing intent rose in Ye Chen's heart!
As the master of the Kunlun Sect, he had cultivated a ruthless disposition over the past few years, holding the power of life and death in his hands. Dealing with a wicked woman like Li Cuihua required nothing more than a flick of his finger to reduce her to ashes.
Just as he was about to move, he saw Erniu suddenly lunge forward.
Snatching the boning knife straight out of Li Cuihua's hand, Erniu grabbed her by the collar with a frantic grip and roared furiously, "I told you, little Ye is my friend! You—you cuckolded me, you insulted my friend, today, I! I! I'm divorcing you!"
"Divorce me then! Divorce me and let that half-dead mother of yours be worried to death! Erniu, you bastard, do you have any idea how much debt you've racked up yourself? Divorce me! Once you divorce me, you'll be a bachelor for the rest of your life, unable to find a wife, and you'll scare your mother to death—that would be just great..."
Li Cuihua cursed uninhibitedly, her temper fiercely abrasive.
*Slap!*
Yet this time, Erniu did not endure Li Cuihua's abuse; instead, he lashed out with a vicious slap.
"You dare hit me?!" Li Cuihua was instantly shocked.
Gritting his teeth without a word, Erniu delivered another backhanded slap immediately after the first, striking her until she burst into tears and began to beg for mercy. Only then did Erniu loosen his grip.
*Thud!*
Collapsing to the ground like a pile of mud, Li Cuihua glared at Erniu and Ye Chen with venomous hatred, clearly scheming on how to exact her revenge.
*Hmph...*
Reading the look in Li Cuihua's eyes, Ye Chen flicked his finger, sending a silent, invisible trace of internal energy straight into her mind.
In that fleeting moment, Li Cuihua's pupils dilated abruptly, and her entire body went blank before she slumped into unconsciousness.
Seeing her pass out, the onlookers suspected nothing, assuming she had simply been knocked out by Erniu's slaps... No one knew that Ye Chen's tiny, effortless gesture had instantly turned Li Cuihua into an utter idiot.
Meanwhile, Boss Zhang's hands were still bleeding continuously, yet he sat rigidly in his chair, not daring to move an inch or even utter a single cry of pain.
The dominance Ye Chen displayed was simply too overwhelming, and even the usually dull-witted Erniu had turned ferocious.
Boss Zhang feared that saying one more word would get him slapped into a pig's head just like Li Cuihua... Though having his hands pierced was miserable enough, Li Cuihua was in an even worse state; her face was beaten out of shape, bleeding from her mouth and nose, beyond any medical cure, doomed to spend the rest of her life as a facial-paralysis patient with grotesquely distorted features.
"Let's go, I'll accompany you to check on Auntie."
Having disciplined Li Cuihua, Ye Chen gently patted Erniu's shoulder and said.
"No... let's not!"
Though slow-witted, Erniu wasn't a complete fool. Pointing at Boss Zhang, he said, "Little Ye, his older brother is terrifying. You should leave, this matter has nothing to do with you."
"Never mind him."
Ye Chen glanced at Boss Zhang and ignored him entirely... Knowing full well that people like this would eventually come back to retaliate against Erniu, Ye Chen intentionally left a long line to catch a big fish.
With that, Ye Chen patted Erniu's shoulder again. "Stop talking nonsense, take me to see Auntie... Do you not trust me?"
"No, no."
Seeing Ye Chen's stern expression, Erniu dared not argue further and simply nodded, preparing to lead Ye Chen home to take a look.
Yet deep down, Erniu didn't really believe Ye Chen could cure coronary heart disease... He remembered that back in school, what had Ye Chen studied? Something-or-other management? That definitely wasn't medicine...
Though feeling muddled, Erniu didn't dwell on it. When they were kids, Ye Chen had spent plenty of time playing at Erniu's house, and Auntie Niu had always been very fond of him. Bringing him along might actually cheer his mother up.
Walking the whole way, as they neared the front gate, Erniu suddenly said, "Little Ye, don't tell my mother about what happened at the restaurant."
"Alright, I won't say a word." Ye Chen agreed.
Hearing this, Erniu's expression eased somewhat before he pushed open the door and led Ye Chen inside.
"Mom, look who's here!" As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, Erniu called out loudly.
"Who is it?" Soon, a weak voice drifted from inside the house.
"Auntie Niu..."
Hearing that aged voice, Ye Chen felt a sudden tightness in his throat. When he was young, he would often bring his younger sister to play at Erniu's house.
Conditions had been poor back then, but whenever he and Mumu arrived, Auntie Niu would roast sweet potatoes for them right inside the hearth stove, giving the biggest and sweetest one to Mumu, then to Ye Chen, while Erniu invariably ended up with the smallest one.
"It's me, Auntie Niu."
Walking into the room, Ye Chen laid eyes on an elderly woman with hair as white as snow. Gaunt and skeletal, she looked frail and feeble, resembling someone in her seventies.
Yet Auntie Niu was barely in her fifties this year; due to a lifetime of farm labor, her health had always been robust.
Observing the drastic change in Auntie Niu, and recalling Erniu's condition as well, Ye Chen furrowed his brow. It was clear that this mother and son had suffered terribly over the years.
" You, you are..." Auntie Niu's dim, lifeless eyes stared at Ye Chen for a long time before she said in a trembling voice, "Little Ye... you're little Ye? Did you bring Mumu along to play at our house?"
At those words, Erniu's expression shifted drastically. "Little Ye, my mother had a fever last night, her mind is still muddled... please, please don't take her words to heart."
Chapter 36: Intent to Kill
"Auntie Niu, Mumu didn't come..." A bitter ache gripped Ye Chen's chest as he reached into his pocket and fished out a Spirit Gathering Pill, trying to figure out how to trick Auntie Niu into taking it.
"Mumu didn't come?"
After asking the question, Auntie Niu suddenly froze, then slapped her own forehead hard. "I forgot, I forgot all about it... Little Mumu is dead... She died such a miserable death, and old Su too... Little Ye, you, you've come back to life, why didn't you drag little Mumu back from the netherworld as well?"
"Mom, what are you talking about!"
"Little Ye didn't come back to life, he never died in the first place!"
"Besides, once people die, they're gone—there's no such thing as the netherworld... Resurrections from the dead are just things made up on TV."
Fearing that his mother would keep talking and upset Ye Chen, Erniu quickly interrupted, "Mom, little Ye is here to see you... How are you feeling? Are you still in pain?"
"Oh." Auntie Niu nodded blankly. "I'm much better. Why isn't Cuihua here? Is she busy at the restaurant? Since little Ye is here, you should introduce Cuihua to him."
"Ah..." Hearing his mother bring up Li Cuihua, Erniu's expression grew awkward once more.
"Auntie Niu, I've already met Cuihua. There were still customers at the restaurant, so Erniu brought me over to see you first."
As Ye Chen spoke, pondering how to get Auntie Niu to swallow the Spirit Gathering Pill, a wave of abrasive curses suddenly erupted from outside.
"Damn it, who the hell hurt my younger brother?!"
"Erniu, get your ass out here!"
"Damn it, you have a death wish, daring to provoke my brother Zhang Long!"
Amidst the stream of abuses, Erniu's face drained of color. Glancing at his bedridden mother, he said, "Little Ye, watch over my mother for me. I'm going out to fight those beasts to the death!"
With that, Erniu bolted straight out the door, snatching up a grass-cutting sickle from the courtyard as he passed by.
"Wh—what's going on?"
Auntie Niu had heard the commotion as well, and fearing for Erniu's safety, she struggled to sit up.
"Auntie Niu!"
Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. Erniu had already left, so there was no need for further explanation; he simply reached out and tapped a finger lightly against Auntie Niu. Once she drifted into unconsciousness, he slipped the Spirit Gathering Pill directly into her mouth.
Next, channeling his internal spiritual qi into his palms, Ye Chen began using mental energy to guide the flow of blood through Auntie Niu's body... This Spirit Gathering Pill would strengthen her physical constitution and restore a measure of her vitality.
As for curing her coronary heart disease, he did not possess specialized pills on hand and would need to return and carefully study a formulation.
However... simply by ingesting this Spirit Gathering Pill, Auntie Niu's body would regain its health, sparing her from the torments of coronary heart disease for the next three to five years.
Faint rays of light shimmered at the tips of Ye Chen's fingers. Guided by the spiritual qi, the Spirit Gathering Pill began to slowly disperse throughout Auntie Niu's body... At the same time, her sallow, wax-like complexion gradually began to regain a hint of radiance and vitality.
As Hua Yuntian's master and the sect leader of the Kunlun Sect, such minor techniques were effortless for Ye Chen.
A few minutes later, noticing that Auntie Niu's breathing had returned to normal, Ye Chen withdrew his hand.
Outside, Erniu and Zhang Long's group were still locked in a standoff.
It was Boss Zhang who had summoned reinforcements. His hands already simply bandaged, he stood directly behind Zhang Long, gnashing his teeth as he snarled, "Erniu, hand that brat over right now, or I'll burn your house to the ground!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
Gripping his sickle tightly, Erniu shouted furiously, "Whoever dares to burn my house down, I'll fight them to the death!"
"Fight to the death? Just on your own lousy strength? I brought over a dozen brothers today, let's see you fight... Damn it, unless you kill every single one of us today, I'm going to break both of your mother's legs." Zhang Long threatened.
Having roamed the streets for so many years, he could tell that Erniu was currently in a blind fury. If they fought desperately, his own side might very well suffer a casualty or two.