"Little Ningning can only hear Daddy's voice, but she can't see Daddy at all!"
"Mom... is Ningning dreaming? I, I... I want so much to see Daddy, I want to see what Daddy looks like!"
"Even just for a glance would be enough..."
As she spoke, little Ningning's eyes began to stream with tears.
Beside them, Hua Yuntian clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his forehead bulged with anger!
Even though he was the Valley Master of Medicine God Valley and a generation's Medical Saint... having witnessed countless scenes of life and death, hearing little Ningning's words still brought tears to his eyes.
*Those animals of the Gu Family, my master will surely grind their bones to dust and scatter their ashes!* Hua Yuntian thought bitterly, gritting his teeth.
"Ningning, don't cry, you..."
Xia Qingyue hesitated. She desperately wanted to say, *'You will definitely see Daddy!'* But would Ye Chen really come back?
That was the Jinling Gu Family and the Lin Family!
The two first-tier families of Jinling City, with immense power, wielding influence in both the underworld and the righteous world.
With just Ye Chen, how could he possibly fight against the Gu Family and the Lin Family?
In Xia Qingyue's heart, Ye Chen was facing a narrow escape from death this time, or rather... certain death!
"Mom, why aren't you saying anything... Is Ningning dreaming?"
"Does Ningning not have a daddy at all?"
"Sob, sob, sob!!"
By the end of her sentence, little Ningning was sobbing uncontrollably.
Looking at her daughter's aggrieved and helpless expression, her bright, watery eyes filled with nothing but disappointment and despair.
In an instant, Xia Qingyue's heart twisted into knots. She hugged her daughter tightly and repeated over and over again, "Ningning, don't cry, you have a daddy, you have a daddy... Your daddy's name is Ye Chen, and he's fighting the bad guys right now."
After a long while, little Ningning finally stopped crying and asked with a hiccup, "Then, when is Daddy coming back?"
"Daddy will be back soon, Ningning, don't cry!"
Xia Qingyue gently stroked little Ningning's cheek and said word by word, "Mom promises you, Daddy, he will definitely come back!"
"Really?" little Ningning asked through her tears.
"Really... definitely!" Xia Qingyue answered with a trembling heart.
Nearby, Hua Yuntian couldn't help but interject, "Mistress, little Junior Sister, don't worry, Teacher will definitely return safely."
Xia Qingyue looked at Hua Yuntian, recalled the situation at the time, and said in despair, "I know you people are very powerful, but there are only a few dozen of you. You are simply no match for the Gu Family and the Lin Family!"
Hua Yuntian wanted to explain, but suddenly remembering the sect rules, he had to keep his mouth shut.
On his very first day as a disciple, Ye Chen had told every single disciple that they were not allowed to reveal his name to outsiders.
Even the Grand Marshal of the Great Xia Country War Department respectfully referred to Ye Chen as "that person in Kunlun..."!
Therefore, without Ye Chen's permission, Hua Yuntian did not dare to reveal anything about the peak of the Kunlun Mountains. Even though the woman before him was his teacher's beloved.
"Mistress, you just need to believe that Teacher will definitely return. That's enough!" In the end, Hua Yuntian could only say this much.
But these words fell on Xia Qingyue's ears feeling completely groundless. Because Hua Yuntian couldn't give any concrete reason; he was simply asking her to believe that Ye Chen could return safely... It was sheer fantasy!
Rumble!!
At that moment, in the sky outside the hotel, countless fighter jets tore through the clouds, charging toward the same direction!
Below, countless tanks, armored vehicles, and fully armed soldiers advanced in unison, creating an earth-shaking momentum!
"This is already the third wave of troops. I wonder what kind of... earth-shattering event has happened in Jinling City?" Xia Qingyue muttered to herself.
Suddenly, she thought of what Hua Yuntian had just said... though she felt it was impossible. She still couldn't help asking, "Are these people appearing because of Ye Chen...?"
Hua Yuntian glanced outside and hesitated. "This... doesn't seem to be it!"
"Not them?"
Xia Qingyue smiled bitterly. As expected, she was just overthinking it!
This batch of troops was indeed not Ye Chen's disciples.
They were sent by the Great Xia Country War Department to support Ye Chen, and the person in charge was General Lei Chong of the Northern Territory!
Although Lei Chong was not a War God, this time he had brought the Old Marshal's tally!
With the backing of the War Department, no one in the entire Jinling City would dare to make an enemy of Ye Chen anymore!!
...
Meanwhile, outside the mountainside villa, Ye Chen was staring coldly at Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong.
The legs of Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong had already turned to jelly. These figures who usually looked down upon others from on high were currently shaking like plucked pipa strings!!
Looking at this army covering the mountains and plains, and the neatly arrayed, pitch-black sea of people, the two of them were already frightened as pale as paper!
They couldn't even speak properly anymore, looking at Ye Chen in absolute terror as they tremblingly asked, "Who... who, who, who exactly are you?"
Chapter 9: What Despair Is
"Who exactly am I?"
Ye Chen coldly repeated the question... By the time he reached the second repetition, his eyes were brimming with killing intent!
"Who am I!!"
"I am Xia Qingyue's husband, the biological father of Ye Yuning!!"
"The Gu Family and the Lin Family have such unbridled audacity to draw blood and dig out the heart of my daughter!!"
"As well as... humiliating my wife?!"
With every word Ye Chen spoke, another layer of despair settled into the hearts of Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong!
With such deep, unresolvable hatred, today's matter could probably only be settled with blood and lives...
Gu Nanfei, who was hanging upside down, felt utterly despairing in his heart at this moment. No matter how powerful his Gu Family was, they had no ability to fight hundreds of thousands of heavily armed soldiers with nuclear weapons!
Gu Nanfei's complexion grew paler and paler, half due to severe injuries and blood loss, and half due to sheer terror!
"Dad, save me, think of a way to save me, I, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" Gu Nanfei screamed in despair.
Yet, how could Gu Tianhao dare to answer?!
It wasn't just Gu Tianhao who was scared out of his wits; even Lin Yuanhong was in despair. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected Xia Qingyue's backing to be so terrifyingly powerful!!
Yet things had reached this point, and Gu Tianhao couldn't bear to watch his son get killed like this.
After all, he only had this one son, Gu Nanfei!
Gu Tianhao was old, and his grandson Gu Tian'er was already dead. If Gu Nanfei were killed as well... wouldn't his Gu Family lineage be cut off?!
At this thought, Gu Tianhao dropped straight to his knees with a heavy *thud*. He was terrified—truly terrified—and no longer dared to gamble!
No matter how strong the Gu Family was, they couldn't possibly summon hundreds of thousands of heavily armed soldiers!
Besides, those fighter jets in the sky, and the armored vehicles and tanks behind them, could blast him into ashes in a matter of seconds!!
Gu Tianhao kowtowed frantically, begging in utter despair, "I, I, we truly didn't know you were Ms. Xia's husband, and even less did we know that little girl was your daughter!! Otherwise, even if you gave me a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare touch your wife and daughter!!"
"Give us a chance, no matter how much money you want... I, I, I will split half of the Gu Family's property with you, okay?!"
"No, not half, all of the property!!"
"As long as you spare our father and son, all the foundations and properties of the Gu Family can be offered to you with both hands!"
At this moment, facing the hundreds of thousands of pitch-black gun barrels, along with planes, tanks, and artillery... Gu Tianhao was in absolute despair. He only wanted to use the Gu Family's legacy to buy two lives—his and Gu Nanfei's.
"Money?"
Before Ye Chen could speak, Ma Huayun, the chairman of the Tengli Group, laughed aloud. "Heh, with just that pitiful property of your Gu Family, you dare attempt to bribe my Teacher?!"
"You... it's you... Pre, President Ma!!!!"
Gu Tianhao raised his head and saw a face so familiar it couldn't possibly be more familiar—Ma Huayun.
This Ma Huayun was the richest man in Great Xia Country, who had repeatedly topped the Forbes rich list for several years and had several times become the world's richest man!
Eight or nine out of ten young people in Great Xia Country called him Father Ma!
One could imagine just how alluring his wealth was!
The moment he saw that face, Gu Tianhao plunged straight into despair. The Gu Family was very wealthy, but compared to Ma Huayun, the Gu Family's wealth was merely a drop in the ocean!
And furthermore, Ma Huayun actually called this young man Teacher?!
My god, what on earth was this young man's identity?!
It wasn't just Gu Tianhao; at this moment, even Lin Yuanhong was scared out of his wits. Earlier, neither of them had paid attention to Ma Huayun, but seeing him step forward now, they couldn't help but start observing Ye Chen's other disciples.
It was fine not looking, but with this observation, Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong felt their souls fly right out of their bodies.
Although they didn't recognize the God of Slaughter from the "Yama Hall" or the Medical King and Poison King from the "Medicine God Valley"...
Among the other disciples standing behind Ye Chen were figures who had appeared on international media channels!
There were even the names of several disciples that everyone knew by heart!
*This... isn't this the tycoon of a certain foreign conglomerate? He's even been on the cover of international news, why is he here too?!*
*"And this person... isn't this person hailed as the number one bodyguard of Great Xia Country? He was once ordered to protect countless visiting presidents, heads of state, and leaders of foreign countries!!"*
*"And the founder of the 'Microsoft' system! His net worth is already immeasurable, and he has repeatedly topped the Forbes rich list. More than a decade ago, his wealth already rivaled that of a nation!!"*
*"And this one, the gold-medal lawyer of Great Xia Country, known as the Litigation King who has never lost a single lawsuit!!!"*
*"And... and this one, a renowned Grandmaster of Great Xia, who once founded a sect and had countless disciples... Whether domestic or foreign disciples, the number of them is terrifyingly large!!"*
Seeing these familiar faces, Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong were so frightened their souls flew into the void. They felt like dying right then and there!!!
What on earth was going on here??
Wasn't it just digging out the heart of a little girl??
How did the other side suddenly pull off such a massive scale of force?!
Gu Tianhao was already in despair; he didn't even have the heart to kneel and beg for mercy anymore!!
He could only kneel before Ye Chen, kowtowing incessantly, hoping just to trade for a sliver of a chance at survival...
"It's too late to regret now."
Ye Chen stared down at Gu Tianhao and said coldly, "Your son's and grandson's lives are lives, but my daughter's life is not?!"
"They're lives, all lives. It was my wolfish heart and dog's lungs, my cold-blooded ruthlessness. Please spare us this once." Gu Tianhao continued to kowtow, his pleas for mercy continuous.
"Ha!"
Ye Chen let out a cold laugh, his smile carrying a chill straight from hell. "Sparing you is possible. Go and dig Gu Nanfei's heart out with your own hands, and I'll spare your Gu Family once!"
"I..."
In an instant, the expression on Gu Tianhao's face froze.
After remaining silent for a few seconds, a vicious glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I, I'll kill him then!! You... give me a dagger!!"
Clatter!
The moment Gu Tianhao finished speaking, Nie Wuji tossed a dagger over.
*Fine, I'll kill, I'll kill, I'll kill!*
With bloodshot eyes and seemingly having made up his mind, Gu Tianhao walked step by step toward Gu Nanfei.
"No, no, Dad, don't kill me... Quick, save me, save me, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Gu Nanfei panicked completely, struggling frantically, but he was hanging in mid-air, and no matter how much he struggled, it was useless.
Yet Gu Tianhao acted as though he had gone mad, advancing toward Gu Nanfei step by step.
"Don't kill me, Dad, I don't want to die..."
Gu Nanfei was still wailing, his face a picture of absolute terror, but the expression on Gu Tianhao's face grew increasingly sinister and cruel!
Chapter 10: Execution Without Pardon
Execution Without Pardon
Just when he was about three meters away from Gu Nanfei, he suddenly raised the dagger in his hand and said through gritted teeth, "When you get to hell, don't blame me!!!"
With those words, Gu Tianhao's body suddenly surged forward, charging straight at Ye Chen.
The sharp point of the dagger was aimed precisely at Ye Chen's heart.
"Courting death!"
Before Gu Tianhao could rush over, Nie Wuji's figure flashed, and he grabbed Gu Tianhao by the neck.
"Ugh... cough, cough! Save... save me!"
Nie Wuji's grip was immensely strong, instantly cutting off Gu Tianhao's air supply. He coughed desperately, gasping for breath. In less than half a minute, his old face turned the color of a pig's liver.
"Ha."
Ye Chen let out another cold laugh. The moment Gu Tianhao asked for a dagger, he had already anticipated this move from him.
He calmly walked over, picked up the dagger from the ground, and then, right in front of Gu Tianhao, mercilessly carved the dagger straight into Gu Nanfei's heart!
"Ah!!!"
Gu Nanfei let out a miserable scream as blood poured out, and he died instantly.
"You, you... bastard, how dare you kill my son! Even if I go to hell, as a ghost... as a ghost I won't let you off."
Watching his only son die a miserable death, Gu Tianhao completely collapsed!
Ye Chen glanced coldly at Gu Tianhao and ordered, "Since you want to be a ghost, I'll grant your wish."
Hearing this, Nie Wuji applied a slight force to his right hand and twisted!
With a sharp snap! Gu Tianhao's neck was snapped directly by Nie Wuji.
Then, his body slumped limply to the ground—dying without even managing to let out a scream!
Watching Gu Tianhao's body fall, the servants and retainers of the Gu Family were so frightened out of their wits that they knelt on the ground, not daring to utter even half a word. They even breathed with utmost caution!
"Now, it's your turn."
Ignoring the underlings of the Gu Family entirely, Ye Chen shifted his gaze to Lin Yuanhong, asking in a voice as cold as a netherworld Asura, "I heard that your daughter, Lin Wanwan, is Gu Nanfei's wife!"
"—Was the matter of digging out my daughter's heart her idea?"
"No, no, no!"
Lin Yuanhong immediately began kowtowing incessantly, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Those were all dirty ideas hatched by those animals in the Gu Family! My daughter is not such a cold-blooded person... You also know that when that animal Gu Nanfei harmed your daughter, my daughter Wanwan wasn't even at the Gu Family!!"
"Our Lin Family completely opposed such bestial acts as heart-digging! That's why Gu Nanfei waited until the opportunity when my daughter returned to her maiden home to harm your daughter..."
Lin Yuanhong hurriedly tried to distance the Lin Family from the matter, kowtowing non-stop. "Every word I said is absolute truth. I beg you... I beg you to show mercy, our Lin Family is truly innocent!!"
"Is that so?"
Ye Chen let out a cold laugh and lightly clapped his hands.
Immediately, a heavily made-up, gaudily dressed woman was brought over by two men in black.
These two men in black were experts from the Slaughter God Palace. While rushing over to rendezvous with Nie Wuji, they had received a secret mission—to kidnap Lin Wanwan, the eldest daughter of the Lin Family!
At this moment, Lin Wanwan bore no physical injuries on her surface.
However, Lin Wanwan was trembling nonstop... because half an hour earlier, a top-tier hypnotist had forced Lin Wanwan to spill every single detail.
The conspiracy regarding the persecution of little Ningning and the heart transplant had actually been planned jointly by Lin Wanwan and Gu Nanfei!
But Lin Yuanhong knew nothing of this. Seeing Lin Wanwan appear, his body stiffened, and he hurriedly shouted in warning, "The heart-digging matter really has nothing to do with my daughter! It was all, it was all the Gu Family's idea!"
"Dad... I, I've already confessed!" Lin Wanwan said weakly.
"What?"
Hearing this, Lin Yuanhong's face instantly turned as pale as paper. He had already witnessed the fate of Gu Tianhao and his son.
For Lin Wanwan to choose to confess at a time like this, wasn't that pushing the Lin Family onto the road to ruin too?!
Just as Lin Yuanhong was panicked and at a complete loss for what to do, a Dragon Cavalry soldier wearing camouflage uniform ran over with neat, brisk steps toward Chen Junlin.
"General Chen, people from the Jinling Ministry of War, War Department, and Police Station have arrived! And they're all leading a large number of subordinates."
"Oh?"
Chen Junlin's eyes darkened. Were these fellows from Jinling trying to stir up trouble?
However, Chen Junlin was a Five-Star War God of Great Xia Country, and he wasn't afraid even if they caused trouble. He immediately let out a cold snort, "My Teacher is handling business and does not wish to be disturbed. Block them outside!!"
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, that Dragon Cavalry soldier gave Chen Junlin a standard military salute, then immediately turned around to execute the command.
Upon hearing this news, Lin Yuanhong was overjoyed. "Hahaha! Do you know? General Zhang of the Jinling Ministry of War is my brother-in-law... And I have connections in the War Department too! Furthermore, the Chief Inspector of the Police Station is my sworn brother, Lin Yuanhong!!"
By this point, a swaggering arrogance had already surfaced on Lin Yuanhong's face.
"I don't care how awesome you guys think you are!! What Tengli Group chairman?! What Microsoft founder... what gold-medal lawyer!"
"In Jinling, you are nothing!! Unlike Gu Tianhao, I'm warning you—if you dare touch me, I guarantee you won't walk out of Jinling alive!"
Lin Yuanhong said with arrogant swagger.
"Is that so?"
Before Ye Chen could speak, another extremely authoritative voice rang out.
At the sound, everyone looked over and saw a sturdy middle-aged man in military uniform, with three stars on his shoulders, walking step by step toward Ye Chen.
He then saluted and said, "Mr. Ye, hello. I am General Lei Chong of the Northern Territory. Coming to Jinling this time, I am acting under the orders of the Old Marshal of the Yandu War Department to cooperate with your actions!!"
The Yandu War Department? The Old Marshal?
Hearing those seven words, Lin Yuanhong's head went "boom," leaving a complete blank!
Yandu...
That was the capital of Great Xia Country!!
An order issued by the Yandu War Department was a military command of the highest order, which every official in Jinling had to obey!
"This... how is this possible!!"
Lin Yuanhong's face turned the color of ash. Before he even had time to question it, he saw the high-ranking generals of the Jinling Ministry of War, War Department, and Police Station already kneeling before Ye Chen!
They had followed Lei Chong in.
And at this moment, Lei Chong was already handing the secret military directive from the Old Marshal with both hands to Chen Junlin.