Chapter 56 0058: Even I Fear Myself When I Abandon Reason

A few days earlier.

In a bar, Yitianxing handed Cao Zheng an exquisite box.

“Master Cao, these five bottles of mid-grade Body Tempering Elixir are for you.”

Cao Zheng opened the box and, seeing the valuable gift, gave a light laugh. “With the friendship between us, it doesn’t make sense for you to give me something like this, does it?”

Yitianxing smiled. “I need a favor from you.”

Cao Zheng replied, “Say it.”

Yitianxing said, “I want the Ye family left half dead. If you agree, once it’s done, the Yi family will thank you handsomely. I’ll give you another ten bottles of mid-grade Body Tempering Elixir.”

Cao Zheng’s eyes lit up. “The Ye family is cautious. It won’t be easy.”

“Not necessarily,” Yitianxing chuckled. “Ye Linglong’s two younger brothers are the weak point. I hear you’re not happy with the marriage arrangement with the Jin family, is that right?”

“Family matters are beyond me,” Cao Zheng replied.

“Then why don’t we kill two birds with one stone?” Yitianxing said with a sinister edge. “We can make the Ye family offend you, and at the same time, dissolve your engagement.”

That was why, when Ye Wuwei woke up, he found himself in such a predicament.

To the Cao family and Cao Zheng, a family like the Ye’s was not even worth consideration. For the Yi family, crossing into another territory to deal with the Ye’s might be inconvenient, but handing it over to the local power, the Cao family, made it simple. With their roots in Sentinel City, making trouble for the Ye family was all too easy. The city lord might ignore the Yi family, but would turn a blind eye to the Cao family’s actions.

If, on top of that, this deal could help Cao Zheng rid himself of the Jin family engagement he disliked, he had no reason to refuse.

Jin Yun, naive as she was, would gladly do anything for him if he promised to marry her. She had no idea Cao Zheng’s real plan was to shake her off and pin the blame on Ye Wuwei.

“I want his life.” Cao Zheng cast a glance at Ye Zhenhuan and then pointed at Ye Wuwei. “Does the Ye family have any objections?”

Ye’s mother fainted and was caught by Ye Linglong.

Ye Zhenhuan clenched his fists, looked at Cao Zheng, and said, “Master Cao, the Ye family would never dare oppose the Cao family, nor are we capable of it. I beg you, could you spare my son? I’ll take responsibility for his mistakes. I’ll kneel to you.”

“It’s all Cao Zheng’s scheme!” At this point, Jin Yun, desperate, cried out, “He told me to meet him last night for— for those things, so I could become his woman and marry him sooner. I went to the appointment and drank with him all night. I remember it was Cao Zheng who helped me leave, but I don’t know why I woke up in a strange room.”

“You wretched woman, you make a mistake and want to blame me?” Cao Zheng roared at her. “I misjudged you, that’s all. From now on, we’re through!”

With that, Cao Zheng turned to the Ye family and bellowed, “But that Ye Wuwei—he must die!”

Ye Wuwei shuddered all over. “No, Master Cao, please don’t kill me. I really didn’t do it. I don’t know anything, Master Cao!”

Seeing no one spoke up for him, Ye Wuwei crawled over to Chu Yun, clutching his pants and crying, “Brother-in-law, save me, please—brother-in-law!”

Yitianxing now watched Chu Yun, waiting to see if he would still defend the Ye family.

But this was a different matter now—the Cao family was not the Yi family from across the region. When it came to a power of the Cao family’s level, even the Hou family wouldn’t dare intervene; the Cao family could simply ignore them.

Yitianxing sneered in his heart: You can help them once, but can you help them forever? I want you to watch the Ye family fall with your own eyes!

Chu Yun looked at Ye Wuwei, who trembled and wept in terror. He thought to himself, how bad could such a person truly be?

He grabbed Ye Wuwei by both shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Tell me, did you do it or not?”

“No!” Ye Wuwei made a gesture as if taking an oath. “I swear to you, I did not! The hotel’s surveillance must have been damaged—if it weren’t, it would prove my innocence!”

“Good,” said Chu Yun. “That’s enough.”

Chu Yun helped him up, as if ready to stand up for him.

Seeing this, Ye Zhenhuan grabbed his arm. “Chu Yun, stop. We cannot afford to offend the Cao family.”

Chu Yun looked at him and asked, “So you’ll just watch him die?”

Ye Zhenhuan closed his eyes in pain. “Every family that survives to this day faces such moments. Today, I would rather lose a son than lose you as my son-in-law.”

“Father!” Ye Wuwei pleaded, looking at Ye Zhenhuan in despair.

“My son, I hope you can forgive me,” Ye Zhenhuan said, eyes red.

“Enough.” Chu Yun spoke up. “This is clearly Yitianxing’s revenge. The Yi family’s trouble started, at least partly, because of me. How can I pretend there’s no connection? Let me handle this.”

As he spoke, Chu Yun stepped forward, but Ye Linglong caught his arm.

Ye Linglong looked at him with pleading eyes.

In that moment, her heartstrings trembled.

Chu Yun turned to look at her, gently patted the back of her hand, then lifted her delicate fingers away.

When Yitianxing saw Chu Yun step forward, he could hardly contain his joy.

The fish had taken the bait!

Cao Zheng, unaware that Yitianxing’s true target was this man, only grew impatient that someone dared to defy him at this point. He frowned at Chu Yun.

“Who are you? Did I say he could get up?”

Chu Yun pointed at Ye Wuwei. “I’m his brother-in-law. If you have a problem, talk to me.”

“Are you even qualified to speak to me?” Cao Zheng spat, his features twisting with contempt. He glanced at the beautiful Ye Linglong and raised his brow. “How about you hand your wife over, let me have her once, and we’ll call it even?”

“That’s enough,” Chu Yun replied. “He’s said he didn’t do it. You’ve already beaten him half to death and made him kneel. There’s a limit to punishment—even when killing, there’s a line. You’ve humiliated him more than enough. I think it should end here.”

“So you mean to shield him?” Cao Zheng looked at Chu Yun with interest, then turned to the Ye family. “Are you all planning to defy me? Are you sure you want to be enemies with the Cao family?”

“We don’t want that,” said Ye Zhenhuan. “But we feel we’ve offered sufficient apologies. If you want compensation or anything else, we can discuss it. But demanding my son’s life—isn’t that going too far?”

“Too far?” Cao Zheng laughed, as if he’d heard the greatest joke. “You offended me, and I only want the life of one family member. That’s too far?”

“Is it too much?” he asked his cronies.

Yitianxing smiled. “Killing your whole family wouldn’t be too much.”

Cao Zheng grinned maliciously at the Ye family. “Hear that? Don’t wait until I really go too far—you couldn’t handle that!”

Chu Yun struck like lightning, kicking Cao Zheng hard in the chest and sending him crashing into the Ye family’s front gate.

“If you won’t be reasonable, then let me tell you—I can be unreasonable too, and when I protect my own, even I scare myself,” Chu Yun said with a grim face.