Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The So-called Family
As everyone stared in utter shock, Ye Xuan slowly retracted his right hand. With a look of pure innocence, he said, "Heh, strange things happen all the time, and there are idiots everywhere. But this is the first time I’ve ever met someone who actually asked me to hit them. I guess the Wang family really does have peculiar tastes."
His clear voice echoed through the hall. Everyone was dumbfounded, utterly and completely stunned.
Ye Xuan had actually dared to strike Wang Tian!
They rubbed their eyes, hoping it was all just a hallucination. Unfortunately for them, it was real.
This...
In that instant, everyone was frozen in shock. Li Yue was stunned, as were Ye Yun and Ye Fei. The second-generation experts of the Ye family, like Ye Zhanxiong and Ye Zhantang, were aghast. Li Haoran and Liu Tianjie were stupefied. Even Ye Xuan’s own father, Ye Zhanyun, was completely dumbfounded.
A single thought echoed in everyone’s mind: ’How could he dare?!’
"How audacious!"
"You’re courting death, kid."
Li Haoran and Liu Tianjie were the first to recover, roaring in anger. The two of them hurriedly helped up the fallen Wang Tian, their faces a mask of shock and fury.
Ye Xuan’s slap had been crisp and loud, unleashing the full extent of his Profound Qi as a First Layer Samurai. Even with his cultivation as a Martial Master, Wang Tian was sent spinning, blood spilling from his mouth. Half his face swelled up instantly, making him look like a pig, and he’d even lost a few teeth.
"Master Wang Tian, are you alright?" the two of them asked, full of fawning panic.
"You dare hit me? You actually dare to hit me...?" Wang Tian ignored them, his finger trembling as he pointed at Ye Xuan. He was shaking with such fury that his mind went blank.
He had never imagined Ye Xuan would actually dare to attack him. If he’d had even an ounce of vigilance, a First Layer Martial Master like himself would never have been beaten so badly that he could barely speak.
His eyes shot daggers, a look like that of a vicious wolf or a vengeful ghost. It was a gaze filled with such violent malice that he looked as if he wanted to devour Ye Xuan whole.
"Ye Xuan, how dare you attack Steward Wang Tian!"
"Insolence! Who gave you the right to do that?"
Angry shouts erupted from the Ye family’s section. Several of the family elders, along with Ye Zhantang and his faction, were on their feet. Their faces were flushed, and their eyes betrayed a hint of panic—a deep-seated fear of Ye Xuan’s actions and the wrath of the Wang family it would inevitably provoke.
’Was the Wang family an existence that could be so easily provoked? Ye Xuan was pushing their entire family into a fiery pit!’
Meanwhile, Wang Tian had finally recovered from the shock.
"You little bastard, you’re finished! Do you hear me? You’re finished! And not just you—your entire Ye family is finished! All of you! I’ll make sure every last one of you dies a miserable death!" Wang Tian gasped, his words becoming a jumbled, incoherent rant.
’Humiliating. To be slapped so soundly in public...’ Aside from venomous hatred, Wang Tian wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole. He was a respected steward of the Wang family! Never in his life had he suffered such a disgrace. It was as if decades of his precious dignity had been utterly destroyed in a single moment.
"Please, calm your anger, Steward Wang Tian!"
"It’s a misunderstanding! This must all be a misunderstanding!"
"He’s just a child who doesn’t know any better! Please, Steward Wang Tian, don’t lower yourself to his level!"
Some of the Ye family elders frantically tried to explain, their faces pale with terror. Ye Zhantang and his cronies, however, turned their fury directly on Ye Xuan.
"You beast! Get on your knees, now!"
"Kneel and apologize! Do you even realize what you have done?"
As they roared at Ye Xuan, they kept shooting apologetic smiles at Wang Tian, all the while cursing furiously in their minds.
’Has that waste Ye Xuan gone insane? He actually dared to attack Wang Tian.’
’Now I’m starting to believe the stories about that waste running wild at Xingxuan Academy. He’s audacious beyond belief. Simply audacious beyond belief.’
’Of all the people to provoke, that waste had to go and provoke the Wang family!’
’What misfortune for the family to have produced such a waste, such a magnet for trouble.’
Ye Xuan swept a cool gaze over the crowd. The ones speaking out were his Second Uncle, Ye Zhantang; his Second Aunt, Ye Zhanling; and several of the family elders.
He let out a cold laugh, his eyes perfectly calm. "So, this is what passes for a family? Moments ago, that idiot told a member of the Ye family to strike him. I simply granted his wish. Was I wrong? Why is every one of you so terrified? Are you really this scared? Has a mere servant from the Wang family scared you all out of your wits? And what of our family’s so-called dignity? Where did you all misplace it?"
Ye Xuan’s questions grew progressively colder, each one landing like the beat of a heavy drum, striking at their hearts and shaking them to their core.
"Insolence! Ye Xuan, you constantly drag this family into one crisis after another! What is your motive? If I don’t deal with you today, what little face would the Ye family have left? Kneel!"
Ye Zhantang shot to his feet and strode toward Ye Xuan, his body radiating a sharp killing intent. The terrifying aura of a First Layer Earth Martial Artist pressed down on Ye Xuan like a great mountain.
Having his inner cowardice exposed, Ye Zhantang flew into a rage fueled by shame.
Within the Ye family’s second generation, Ye Zhantang was the only other expert besides the Patriarch, Ye Zhanxiong, who had reached the level of a First Layer Earth Martial Artist. The only other person at that level in the entire family was one of the clan’s most senior elders.
"Father, it’s all his fault! He’s the one who plunged our family into this crisis! If not for him, the Ye family would never be in this predicament!"
"Second Uncle, Ye Yun is right! If Ye Xuan hadn’t been so arrogant at the academy and provoked Wang Yue, the Wang family would never have come after us!"
"He didn’t just offend Wang Yue; he also broke both of Zhou Yan’s legs! We’re lucky the Zhou family hasn’t come for us yet. A person like him is a menace who will only bring disaster to the family!"
The younger generation, Ye Yun and Ye Fei, also began to loudly condemn him.
"Ye Zhantang, what do you think you’re doing?" Ye Zhanyun demanded, stepping in front of Ye Xuan.
"Third Brother, move. This waste has squandered too many of our family’s resources and brings us nothing but trouble. If he is not punished, he will drag the entire Ye family into an abyss! If you refuse to step aside, don’t blame your Second Brother for being merciless."
"Ye Zhantang, if you want to hurt my son, you’ll have to go through me first," Ye Zhanyun snarled, his relatively slender frame planted firmly in front of Ye Xuan, appearing as immovable as a mountain that could hold up the heavens.
"Third Brother, you brought this on yourself." A cold light flashed in Ye Zhantang’s eyes as his right hand began to glow with a suffocating Profound Qi. "Do you really think you’re still the Ye family’s number one genius of old? No. You’re just a waste, like your son. Now, get lost!"
A tidal wave of powerful Profound Qi surged madly toward Ye Zhanyun and Ye Xuan.
"Stop!"
At the critical moment, the Patriarch, Ye Zhanxiong, roared, suddenly appearing between them and forcefully blocking Ye Zhantang’s attack.
Ye Zhantang’s expression darkened. "Eldest Brother, what is the meaning of this? Are you going to shield these two wastes who have brought nothing but trouble to our family?"
"What am I doing? I’d rather ask what you think you’re doing!" Ye Zhanxiong retorted, fuming.
"Heh heh, what a touching display of familial love," Wang Tian’s sinister voice, dripping with venom, cut in. "Ye Zhanxiong, I’ll give you one last chance. Hand over Ye Xuan, and I might consider letting today’s events slide. Otherwise, the Ye family can wait for the Wang family’s Martial Artists to smash down your gates."
The expression of every Ye family member sank.
The Wang family was powerful and influential. The Ye family could not afford to make an enemy of them.
’That waste, Ye Xuan... If I’d known that little brat was so good at causing trouble, I’d have said we should’ve let him die long ago,’ someone from the Ye family cursed under their breath.
But others wore expressions of defiance, their fists clenched and faces red. As disciples of the Ye family, they were filled with pent-up rage from Wang Tian’s repeated insults, wishing they could just pulverize him with a single punch.
Ye Zhanxiong’s expression shifted several times before he finally let out a sigh. "Steward Wang Tian, there must have been a misunderstanding. Children can be ignorant. I ask that you be magnanimous and not stoop to his level."
"A misunderstanding? Ignorant?" Wang Tian sneered. "So, Patriarch Ye, does this mean you’ve decided to shield this boy after all?"
His eyes were venomous; no one could doubt his hatred for the Ye family.
Seeing this, Li Haoran and Liu Tianjie were secretly overjoyed. For days, their Li and Liu families had relentlessly chipped away at the Ye family’s businesses with the Wang family’s backing, yet they had only managed to seize half of their assets. They couldn’t take the other half because the Wang family hadn’t fully committed. But now, with the Ye family having offended Wang Tian himself, it seemed their doom was imminent.
Once the Ye family completely collapsed, Cyan Mountain Town would belong to their two families.
"Uncle Tian is right," Li Yue said, stepping forward with a venomous and disdainful look. "Patriarch Ye, hand over Ye Xuan. It’s your family’s only chance of survival. Otherwise, your doom is certain."
"Eldest Brother, you must make a decision! Are you really going to sacrifice our entire family for a single piece of trash?" Ye Zhantang added with a cold shout.
Ye Zhanxiong’s face was a mask of conflict as he turned to look at Ye Xuan.
The sight made him freeze.
Ye Xuan, the very cause of this whole incident, showed no sign of panic or remorse. His expression was calm and composed, the corner of his mouth curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. He watched the drama unfold, observing the performances of all sides with the detached amusement of someone watching a circus monkey show.
His eyes were clear and bright, yet profound and deep, like a starless night sky. Looking into them, Ye Zhanxiong felt that his nephew was utterly unfathomable.
His body suddenly trembled as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
’Wasn’t Ye Xuan only able to open a single Profound Vein? He was always at the bottom of his class at Xingxuan Academy. How could he suddenly be causing such waves? He thrashed the Wang family’s Wang Yue and even got him expelled. On top of that, he’d heard from his own son, Lin Xuan, that Ye Xuan had also given Zhou Yan of the Zhou family a savage beating.’
’It’s been so long. Could something have happened to him in that time?’
’But the boy had offended Wang Yue of the Wang family and Zhou Yan of the Zhou family. The Wang family alone had pushed the Ye family to the brink of ruin. If the Zhou family were to get involved as well, the Ye family would truly be annihilated.’
’Was it worth sacrificing the entire family for a single disciple?’
’But Ye Xuan was, after all, a disciple of the Ye family. If he, the Patriarch, simply handed him over to outsiders, what was the point of his position? The very concept of "family" would become a complete disgrace.’
Ye Zhanxiong’s heart was a battlefield of conflicting thoughts. As the Patriarch, he had to consider so, so much. For a moment, he found himself hesitating.
