"Ye Xiu, you’ve gone too far!"

The Dragon Master bellowed, blood spurting from his mouth as if it were free. As the revered head of the Long Family, a man over a hundred years old, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

What he found hardest to accept was that he had never taken Ye Xiu seriously. Especially after resolving the "misunderstanding" with Huang Quan, he had begun to truly despise Ye Xiu, feeling as though the man’s life was in the palm of his hand, ready to be crushed at any moment.

And yet, it was this very ant who had robbed the Long Family of its wealth overnight, severed its source of income, and even left behind a timed music box that scared him half to death.

Amid his shame and anger, the Dragon Master’s eyes suddenly narrowed. Wait a minute! Something’s not right... Something is definitely off. I haven’t left this villa all day. That means Ye Xiu must have stolen the cash, gold, silver, and jewels while I was knocked out by Huang Quan. That’s when he left the timed music box. But I was unconscious then, so why didn’t he kill me? With his medical skills, it’s impossible he didn’t realize I was unconscious, not dead. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left the music box just to taunt me.

The Dragon Master squinted, completely baffled. After a long while, he finally connected the dots.

Ever since Ye Xiu returned to the country for his revenge, he has always utterly dominated his enemies but rarely killed them. He’s playing with me, playing with the entire Long Family. He wants to watch us lose everything, to starve and become beggars.

PFFT!

As the realization dawned, the Dragon Master spat out another mouthful of blood.

To be toyed with by someone I considered an ant... This is the greatest humiliation of my life!

"Ye Xiu, you just wait! At dawn, I’ll issue an order to find you with every resource we have. Once I get my hands on you, we’ll see how I torture you to death!" The Dragon Master’s teeth clenched with hatred.

He pulled out his phone and called Long Tianhao. "Sixth Brother, notify all Long Family branches on Hexia Road. Tell them to start liquidating their assets."

Long Tianhao was stunned. "Why? Big Brother, you have plenty of money. We haven’t reached a point where we need to sell off our property."

"The cash, gold, silver, and jewels I had here have also been stolen," the Dragon Master said, his voice grim.

"I understand!" Long Tianhao replied.

「At a quarter past five in the morning.」

Nangong Yue woke from a deep sleep.

Huh? Where am I?

She realized this wasn’t her room. She shot up, scrambled out of bed, and ran out of the bedroom. A quick look around made her gasp.

This is Brother Ye’s room! How did I end up sleeping in Brother Ye’s room? Did I get drunk last night and... sleep with him? Yes, that must be it! I slept with Brother Ye! Does that mean I’m his woman now? Does that mean I beat Gu Meng, Bai Xi, and Wen Rubing? But where is he? Why isn’t he in bed or even in the room? Did he wake up, realize what happened between us, and run off to hide because he’s too shy to face me? Yes, that has to be it! Tsk, I’m the girl and I’m not even shy. What’s a grown man like him got to be shy about?

She went back into Ye Liangchen’s room and picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, planning to return to her own room to wash up and change before finding him.

"Everyone, out here now!" a thunderous voice suddenly roared.

Sixth Master? Nangong Yue instantly recognized the voice of Long Tianhao. She clutched the clothes to her chest and hurried out of Ye Liangchen’s room.

Just then, Gu Meng, Bai Xi, and Wen Rubing also rushed out of their bedrooms, drawn by the shouting. They were just in time to see a completely naked Nangong Yue emerging from Ye Liangchen’s room, holding a pile of clothes.

The three of them froze, completely stunned.

"Nangong Yue, why are you coming out of Brother Ye’s room? And... and you’re not wearing anything?" Gu Meng asked.

Nangong Yue lifted her chin and puffed out her chest proudly. "I’m Brother Ye’s woman now. All of you better stay away from him in the future, you hear me?"

Gu Meng, Bai Xi, and Wen Rubing exchanged glances, their faces flushing with anger. That shameless witch! Nangong Yue actually used being drunk as an excuse to sleep with Ye Liangchen! How despicable! At the same time, a wave of regret washed over them. Why didn’t we think of using a little alcohol to seal the deal with him?

「Ten minutes later.」

Long Yifei and the members of the thirteen external families all ran out of their residences and gathered in the open grounds of the Long Family Manor.

"Where is Long Yifei?" Long Tianhao asked, surveying the crowd. An expressionless young man clutching a sword stood behind him.

"Great-grandfather, I’m here," Long Yifei said. He was lying on the ground, completely wrapped in bandages.

Long Tianhao gasped in shock. "You... You’re Long Yifei? What in the world happened to you?"

The question stunned Long Yifei and the members of the thirteen external families.

"You don’t know, Great-grandfather?" Long Yifei asked in return.

"Know what?" Long Tianhao shot back.

That confirmed it for Long Yifei and the others. Long Tianhao truly had no idea what had transpired at the Long Family Manor over the past few days.

"It’s like this..." Long Yifei recounted the story of the masked, black-clad man who had raided the manor in the night, killed three of the Wei Family’s War Gods, and viciously beaten him. He deliberately omitted the part about being thrown into the pigsty and mauled by the pigs. Naturally, he also left out any mention of the stolen cash and gold.

"Something like that happened?" Long Tianhao exploded with rage. "That damned Ye Xiu! Sooner or later, I’ll kill him with my own hands! By the way, you’re so badly injured, why didn’t Ye Liangchen treat you? With his medical skills, healing your wounds should have been easy."

At the mention of Ye Liangchen, tears of humiliation and self-pity streamed from Long Yifei’s eyes. "Ye Liangchen refused to treat me on purpose," he sobbed. "He wishes I were dead."

This made the members of the thirteen external families frown. Long Yifei is clearly lodging a false accusation to frame him. They eagerly awaited Ye Liangchen’s arrival to set the record straight, ready to testify on his behalf.

"That worthless bastard!" Long Tianhao roared. "Where is Ye Liangchen?"

"He’s not here," Nangong Yue said.

The members of the thirteen external families stiffened. Only now did they realize Ye Liangchen was absent.

This is bad! With Ye Liangchen gone, Long Yifei can slander him as much as he wants!

Just as they feared, once it was confirmed that Ye Liangchen was not present, Long Yifei pressed his advantage. "Great-grandfather, Ye Liangchen’s refusal to heal me is a clear sign of disrespect towards you. He looks down on you and is deliberately positioning himself against you!"

Long Tianhao’s face darkened. He had actually been planning to recruit Ye Liangchen. If Ye Liangchen were on his side, it would have greatly increased Long Yifei’s chances of becoming the next Young Master of the Long Family. But now, it seemed the man looked down on him.

Ye Liangchen, since you’ve chosen to stand against me, then I have no choice but to eliminate you... A murderous intent toward Ye Liangchen took root in Long Tianhao’s heart.

"Sixth Master," Nangong Yue said, deliberately changing the subject, "did something important bring you here so early in the morning?" She hoped it would make Long Tianhao temporarily forget that her man was missing.