Lin Tai burst into laughter, stood up, and said, "Well, Ye Huan has been on a plane for so long, he should go back and rest early. I should be heading back too."
"Alright!"
The group left Shangyang Restaurant. Ye Huan and Lin Xi watched as the cars carrying Lin Tai, Lin Canglan, and Li Meiya drove away.
Ye Huan said, "Look how eager your grandfather is to hold a great-grandson. Why don't you come home with me right now and we can work overtime? My childhood nickname is Ye Shiyilang, and I've already mastered the 108 techniques of the 'Yin-Yang Convergence Grand Canon' to perfection. I guarantee we plant the seed today, and next month your aunt won't visit, keeping your grandfather grinning from ear to ear..."
Lin Xi looked at Ye Huan as if he were a complete idiot and said coldly, "Ye Huan, are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten that we aren't a real couple, but in a contractual marriage? As for my purpose in entering this agreement with you, you know it better than anyone."
"You can have kids in a contractual marriage too!" Ye Huan said with a straight face.
"Heh..." Lin Xi sneered. "Go home and sleep. In your dreams, you can have as many kids as you want, with whoever you want."
With that, she got into her car.
Ye Huan curled his lip and was just about to walk over to the passenger side when Lin Xi slammed on the gas and drove away.
Ye Huan: "???"
What the hell, you left! What am I supposed to do?
And didn't Lin Tai tell you to move into my place?
"It's incredible. There's actually someone in this world who can put the great Underworld King in his place. I'm afraid nobody would believe it if I told them."
A cold voice rang out just then.
Ye Huan looked toward the sound and saw a girl wearing a baseball cap and a face mask, dressed in casual clothes and white sneakers, walking over.
"To think that Hongluan, one of Huaxia's prestigious eight Country-Protecting Gods of War, has stooped to tailing and stalking people. I suppose nobody would believe that either," Ye Huan retorted.
Instead of snapping back, Hongluan took off her baseball cap and face mask, walked right up to Ye Huan, looked him straight in the eyes, and asked, "What are you doing in Pengcheng?"
"Don't you welcome me?" Ye Huan asked with a smile, taking the opportunity to look Hongluan up and down.
Hongluan was stunning. With her neat short hair, fair skin, delicate facial features, and a height of one meter seventy-five, combined with her spirited and crisp demeanor, her beauty was exceptionally distinctive and full of personality.
"You are the Underworld King, the Butcher, the Mortal Fiend, the Purveyor of Death and Terror, the most terrifying and dangerous criminal on the planet. No country in the world welcomes you," Hongluan said bluntly.
"Are you planning to chase me out of Pengcheng? Out of Huaxia?" Ye Huan asked.
*Yes...* Hongluan thought to herself, though she didn't dare say it aloud. Worried that honesty might enrage the Underworld King, she asked instead, "How long do you plan to stay in Pengcheng?"
"I am a Huaxia citizen, and my household registration is in Pengcheng. This time, I'm back in Pengcheng to take a wife. I'm afraid I'll be settling down here from now on!" Ye Huan said.
*Settling down in Pengcheng?*
Panic set in for Hongluan. With the Underworld King settling down in Pengcheng, it was equivalent to planting a super atomic bomb ready to detonate at any moment right in the city!
"Your worries are entirely unnecessary. I wouldn't wreak havoc on my own homeland, no matter where else I might bring trouble!"
Ye Huan patted Hongluan's shoulder in a reassuring gesture and said, "Let's go. Take me home."
Hongluan was startled. "Your home? Where is that?"
"Qinwan Bay!" Ye Huan said.
A deep tremor went through Hongluan's heart. She had no idea the Underworld King owned property in Qinwan Bay, Pengcheng.
Meanwhile, after driving the car into a blind spot out of Ye Huan's line of sight, Lin Xi pulled over. She wanted to see how Ye Huan would manage to leave, and that was when she caught sight of Hongluan.
Of course, because she was too far away, Lin Xi couldn't see Hongluan's features clearly, but once Hongluan took off her cap and mask, her fair skin and distinctive aura were still faintly visible to Lin Xi.
"Bitch, scoundrel! He even has a lover waiting for him in Pengcheng!"
Furious, Lin Xi pulled out her mobile phone and made a call. "Help me run a background check on someone. His name is Ye Huan—'Ye' as in rotten leaf, 'Huan' as in a dog jumping for joy to eat shit. His ID card and household registration list his home address as the Pengcheng Orphanage..."
***
Qinwan Bay Villa District!
In the bathroom of a luxurious villa, Yaoji was taking a shower.
*If the Underworld King gets a marriage certificate with that woman, what will happen to me? Will I be his mistress? Or the Underworld King's favored concubine?*
Yaoji couldn't figure it out!
She was a super battle god, proudly ranked 35th on the Global Battle God Rankings, and a top assassin ranked 8th on the Assassin Rankings!
She had looks when she wanted looks!
She had the body when she wanted a body!
And most importantly, she was seductive!
Why on earth would the Underworld King choose that mediocre-looking, poorly dressed, bad-tempered little nobody instead of her?
*I'll start as the Underworld King's favored concubine, and wait for a chance to edge out the legal wife and take her place. Yes, that's the plan!*
After finishing her shower, Yaoji put on a white bathrobe, walked into the living room on the ground floor, sat down on the sofa, and after much deliberation, mapped out her life plan for the second half of her life: she would become the Queen of the Underworld!
At this thought, Yaoji's mood instantly brightened, and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Chef! Is my meal ready yet? I'm starving to death!"
No one answered!
"Oh, come on! Are you guys forgetting that a butler holds some rank around here?"
Fuming, Yaoji hurried into the kitchen, only to find it completely empty. She searched the entire villa from top to bottom and couldn't find a single person, until she finally located the chef outside the gates of the villa courtyard.
Along with the butler, the gardener, the maid, and the driver.
All five of them were standing at attention right at the entrance of the courtyard.
"What are you all doing out here?" Yaoji demanded.
Nobody answered her!
This really made Yaoji furious. "I'm talking to you! Did you stuff donkey hair in your ears?"
Her imperfect Huaxia speech made what should have been an angry outburst sound rather comical.
Yet the butler, the chef, the gardener, the maid, and the driver still ignored Yaoji entirely.
They didn't even cast a single glance in her direction.
"Fine! So you've got thick skulls and refuse to take me, the butler, as your superior, do you? Just wait. Once that Ming... once Ye Huan gets back, I'll make you see just how much authority a butler has in this household. I'm going to have every single one of you fired!" Yaoji fumed angrily.
The five of them still gave her the cold shoulder.
Yaoji: "..."
Just then, a long motorcade drove up, and a crowd of people in tailored suits stepped out—men and women, young and old, with yellow skin, white skin, and black skin alike.
These people quickly assembled into a neat formation right at the entrance of Ye Huan's courtyard.
"Who are you people? What are you doing here?" Yaoji asked.
She felt like there was something wrong with these people's brains. It was the scorching heat of midsummer, yet they were all wearing full business suits—weren't they afraid of dying from the heat?
"Yaoji?"
The bald, chubby man leading the group caught sight of Yaoji, blinked in surprise, and then broke into a smile that looked remarkably like Maitreya Buddha. "The Underworld King is truly the Underworld King. He's even brought Yaoji under his command."
Yaoji was taken aback. This short, chubby man actually recognized her and had instantly called out the fact that she had defected to the Underworld King.
It seemed these people weren't ordinary underworld thugs; they were true martial world practitioners, and far from ordinary ones at that.
"Who are you? What kind of people are you?" Yaoji demanded once more.
"You don't qualify to know who I am, nor do you qualify to know who we are!"
A warm smile hung on the bald fat man's face, but his demeanor was incomparably arrogant, and the words he spoke were utter haughtiness.
"Oh, my explosive temper!"
Incensed, Yaoji pointed at the bald fat man and cursed, "You fat bastard, you clearly know who I am, yet you still dare talk to me like that! Have you got a death wish?"
*Asking for death!*
The single insult "fat bastard" instantly wiped the smile off the bald fat man's face, and a massive wave of killing intent erupted from him.
At the same time, everyone behind the bald fat man released their killing intent, instantly enveloping and washing over Yaoji.
In a split second, Yaoji felt as though she had plunged into an icy cellar. Even though it was the scorching heat of summer, a chill ran straight through her bones.
"You should thank your lucky stars that you defected to the Underworld King, otherwise, just for those words you uttered a moment ago, you'd already be a corpse!" the bald fat man said with chilling murderous intent.
"Is that so? I'd love to see just how capable you really are to dare utter such wild words!"
Provoked by the dense killing intent and the bald fat man's words, Yaoji's anger flared. Her figure flashed, and she materialized right in front of the bald fat man, throwing a punch straight at his face.
"Overestimating your own strength!"
The bald fat man met her punch with a single palm strike.
The moment they connected, Yaoji felt as though her fist had slammed head-on into a speeding train. An immensely terrifying force instantly crushed her striking momentum, traveling straight up her right arm and through her entire body, forcing her to stumble backward seven or eight steps before she finally managed to regain her footing!
"So strong!" Yaoji gasped in shock.
Even though she hadn't used her full strength in that punch, she could tell that the bald fat man hadn't gone all out either.
If they were to engage in a genuine life-or-death battle, she stood no chance of defeating him!
That was terrifying!
She knew every single person in the top 35 of the Global Battle God Rankings, and the bald fat man was definitely not among them.
Yet he possessed power on par with a top 35 battle god.
"Come with me to see the Underworld King!"
Ksitigarbha ignored Yaoji completely, addressing the dozen or so people behind him.
Without another word, he walked straight toward the courtyard gate of Ye Huan's house, followed closely by his entourage.
Right at that moment!
The butler, the chef, the gardener, the maid, and the driver stepped directly into the path, blocking the courtyard entrance!
"Without the master's permission, no one is allowed to enter!" the butler said expressionlessly.
"Step aside!" the bald fat man said calmly.
The five servants stood completely motionless!
The bald fat man's expression turned icy. "Step aside, or die!"
The five servants still didn't budge an inch!
"Courting death!"
Furious, the bald fat man lashed out, throwing a palm strike directly at the butler.
Seeing this, Yaoji's expression changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm, "Look out!"
In her estimation, even she might not be a match for the bald fat man. If the butler—an ordinary person—took a direct hit from him, death was guaranteed!
However, the butler did not dodge, nor did a trace of fear cross her face. Facing the incoming palm strike, she simply struck out with her own palm in response.
*Bang!*
The two palms collided, producing a dull, heavy impact sound!
*Thump, thump, thump, thump...*
The bald fat man's burly frame shuddered as his heavy body was forced backward step by step. Every single step left a centimeter-deep footprint in the solid ground, and he was forced back a full five steps before finally coming to a stop.
"So strong!" the bald fat man gasped aloud.
Everyone behind him wore expressions of utter shock.
They were well aware of the bald fat man's true strength. Even if he hadn't used his full power in that palm, he shouldn't have been pushed back five full steps by a single counter-strike.
This was more than enough to prove that the butler possessed extraordinary power!
"This..."
Yaoji stared dumbfounded at the butler, the corners of her mouth twitching violently.
She had always assumed the five of them were ordinary people hired to do chores around Ye Huan's house. Earlier, she had even felt a sense of superiority in front of them, and when the butler failed to obey her, she hadn't even bothered to lower herself to using martial force.
And yet, the butler turned out to be an absolute master!
And a master whose strength was by no means inferior to her own!
If that was the case, then the chef, the gardener, the maid, and the driver couldn't possibly be ordinary people either, right?
*Oh, mother of god!*
As expected of the Underworld King, keeping five such terrifying battle gods as a butler, chef, gardener, maid, and driver in his own home.
That was far too extravagant!
"Who are you?"
The bald fat man glared coldly at the butler and demanded, "With your level of strength, you are clearly no nobody. Though I don't recognize you, I must have heard of your reputation. What is your name?"
***
The butler acted as if she hadn't heard a single word from the bald fat man. She gave no answer, uttered no response, and didn't even deign to cast her gaze upon his face.
This made the bald fat man feel profoundly humiliated. He raged, "Giving you face and you refuse to take it—you're asking to die!"
As he spoke, he lunged forward, throwing another palm strike at the butler. This time, he held nothing back; it was a full-powered strike fueled by utter rage.
Seeing this, Yaoji's pretty face turned pale, and she shouted a warning at the top of her lungs, "Don't take it head-on!"
With Yaoji's martial prowess, she could clearly gauge the terrifying destructive power behind the bald fat man's palm strike.
At the same time, Yaoji realized she was definitely no match for him—he was even stronger than the rank 1 battle god on the Global Battle God Rankings whom she had once challenged.
That was why she was warning the butler not to block it. Although the butler had ignored her and given her no face earlier, they were all on the same side now; she didn't want to see the butler injured by an outsider like the bald fat man.
"Ignorant of the wider world!"
The butler cast a contemptuous glance at Yaoji, and then calmly sent out another palm strike.
*Bang!*
The collision of their palms erupted with a sound resembling a booming bronze bell.
And then, Yaoji watched in utter disbelief as the bald fat man was sent stumbling backward more than a dozen steps, crashing into the people behind him and causing a domino effect of retreat.
"My sweet lord!"
Yaoji stared in shock at the butler, her eyes practically popping out of her skull.
The combat power of this unassuming butler was actually this terrifying.
With strength like this, she could easily snatch the crown of the number one position on the Global Battle God Rankings!
"You—you, you, how is this possible?"
Having stabilized his footing after retreating more than a dozen steps, the bald fat man stared at the butler as if he had seen a ghost.
He simply couldn't fathom that anyone other than the Underworld King could exist in this world who was stronger than him.
And yet this person appeared to be nothing more than a domestic servant in the Underworld King's household.
Everyone standing behind the bald fat man was equally terrified by the butler's display of power. At that moment, whatever sense of superiority they had previously harbored vanished into thin air.
They weren't even a match for the domestic help at the Underworld King's house!
"Step back ten paces, or die!" the butler said expressionlessly.
The bald fat man quickly motioned for his people to retreat. All of them immediately tucked in their sharp edges and arrogance—they didn't dare show off anymore!
Right at that moment!
A Hummer came speeding down the road!
Ye Huan and Hongluan—who had put her baseball cap and face mask back on—stepped out of the vehicle!
"Greetings, Underworld King!"
The bald fat man and the entire group in tailored suits dropped to a single knee in unison.
"Master!"
The five servants bowed respectfully.
Yaoji stood there with a dazed and innocent expression. She had always assumed the bald fat man and his crew were enemies of the Underworld King, here to stir up trouble and seek revenge.
Yet here they were, kneeling all over the ground. It turned out they were all subordinates coming to pledge their allegiance to the Underworld King?
"Who are these people?"
Hongluan was startled by the lineup before her. She remembered the Underworld King as a lone-wolf butcher who didn't maintain any organized forces under his command.
Who were these characters dressed in business suits in the dead of summer?
And why were they paying homage to the Underworld King?
"They're the upper echelon of Hell Gate!" Ye Huan replied casually.
*What?!*
Those five words—*Hell Gate upper echelon*—nearly scared the wits out of both Hongluan and Yaoji!
They stared in absolute shock at the high-ranking members of Hell Gate kneeling across the ground, massive waves crashing through their hearts.
Hell Gate—the most mysterious, powerful, and thousand-year-old evil super-organization in the global underworld—had actually been subdued by the Underworld King?
Yaoji's face flushed bright red with excitement. Her heart raced and her breathing hitched; the man she fancied truly had immense prestige.
Not only stood at the very pinnacle of the global pyramid, but he had even brought an organization like Hell Gate to heel.
Too formidable!
Simply too formidable!
At that moment, Yaoji couldn't help but think: forget about becoming the Queen of the Underworld, even if she only ended up as one of the Underworld King's lesser concubines, it would still be the absolute peak of her life!
Compared to Yaoji!
Hongluan had far more thoughts running through her head, and her shock ran even deeper!
The Underworld King alone was already enough to make nations and underground syndicates across the globe tread carefully, avoiding him at all costs.
With the Underworld King now wielding an evil organization like Hell Gate, he practically held the power to threaten every single country on earth!
"You guys really know how to pull off a stunt!"
Ye Huan walked over to the bald fat man, planted a foot squarely in his chest, and sent him sprawling onto his back. He said coldly, "The very first day I get out of prison and return to Pengcheng, you're all waiting here for me. It looks like you've got my every movement mapped out down to a science!"
Instead of getting angry after being kicked over, the bald fat man scrambled back up in a flash, dropped straight to both knees, and prostrated himself right in front of Ye Huan.
Seeing this, the other Hell Gate higher-ups, who had previously been on one knee, hurried to drop to both knees and grovel on the ground as well!
*Terror!*
At that moment, they were utterly terrified!
Secretly investigating the whereabouts of the Underworld King was a capital offense.
Running uninvited into the Underworld King's home with such a massive fanfare ran a grave risk of touching the Underworld King's reverse scale!
"Please spare us, Underworld King!"
The bald fat man slammed his forehead against the paving stones with a heavy thud, trembling in panic as he said, "We didn't mean any malice by investigating your whereabouts and coming to your home. We merely came to implore you to return to Hell Gate and take up the position of Sect Master."
"I already said six years ago that I have no interest in being the Sect Master of Hell Gate!" Ye Huan said coldly.
Yaoji and Hongluan exchanged a glance.
They had both seen people who liked to act arrogant, but they had never encountered a king of pretension on Ye Huan's level.
That was the infamous Hell Gate! Anyone who wielded that kind of power could stand toe-to-toe with any nation on the globe.
Yet look at Ye Huan—all the high-ranking figures of Hell Gate were practically begging and pleading on bended knee for him to take the position, and it seemed they had been begging him for six whole years, while Ye Huan stubbornly refused!
"Uhm, let me interrupt for a second."
Hongluan took a few small steps to get closer to Ye Huan and asked in a low voice, "What happened to the previous Hell Gate Sect Master? Why are they begging you to take the role?"
"Six years ago, I hacked the Hell Gate Sect Master to death!" Ye Huan said casually.
Hongluan: "..."
Yaoji: "..."
*Badass!*
Yes, they couldn't think of any other word to describe Ye Huan.
Ever since the founding of Hell Gate a millennia ago, each successive Sect Master had been hailed as the most mysterious figure on earth, even more mysterious than the current Underworld King.
Forget about killing them—nobody even knew who the Hell Gate Sect Masters actually were!
The Underworld King was truly something else!
Not only did he know who the Hell Gate Sect Master was, but he had actually hacked the guy to death.
And if that wasn't enough, the truly bizarre part was that instead of plotting revenge for their slain leader, the members of Hell Gate were begging Ye Huan to become their Sect Master.
Fierce!
Too damn fierce!
"Please discern the truth, Underworld King! Ever since you killed the former Master, Hell Gate has been left without a leader. Internal struggles for power have caused the sect to fracture into multiple factions, none of them willing to submit to the others. There have even been multiple internal bloody clashes. If things continue this way, the total collapse of Hell Gate's millennia-old foundation is only a matter of time!"
The bald fat man prostrated himself flat on the ground, speaking at breakneck speed.
"We, the upper echelon of Hell Gate, do not wish to see a thousand-year legacy destroyed overnight. After much deliberation, we concluded that only you possess the qualifications to serve as our Sect Master today, and we submit to you alone."
With that, he banged his head against the ground in a resounding kowtow!