Chapter Three: Is He Xiao Ye?

"What..." Old Madam Li's face froze, tears instantly welling up in her eyes, her cheeks trembling uncontrollably. For a long time, she was unable to speak, her heart filled with nothing but guilt.

Back then, in order to prevent Qin Xue’er from marrying Xiao Ye, she had plotted and schemed endlessly. Yet now, not only did Xiao Ye let bygones be bygones, he was even willing to acknowledge her, this disfigured mother-in-law, as his dearest family by blood—as the King of Xiao, no less! What kind of grace was this? What kind of honor?

"Red Dragon, assemble the troops. Come with me to the Tianxuan Grand Hotel!" Xiao Ye commanded coldly. "Tonight, I’ll settle accounts with each and every one of them!"

With that, he gently lifted Qin Xue’er from the bed. His arm, however, tensed abruptly. Though she was his age, she weighed less than a feather. This realization only made the murderous intent in Xiao Ye’s heart burn fiercer.

"Yes, sir!" Red Dragon answered, turning swiftly to leave.

Xiao Ye personally placed Qin Xue’er in her wheelchair, laid a blanket over her legs, tidied her hair, and wheeled her out of the villa. Together, they got into a military jeep.

"Mother, come with us," Xiao Ye said offhandedly to Old Madam Li.

Soon after, the military jeep sped off into the night, heading toward the Tianxuan Grand Hotel.

Along the way, Old Madam Li, watching the murderous resolve on Xiao Ye’s face, recounted everything that had taken place over the past five years.

Five years ago, the main branch of the Xiao family seized power, and the Four Great Clans saw their chance, joining forces to carve up the Xiao family’s influence. By the time the Xiao family realized what was happening and tried to unite in resistance, it was already too late. The collateral branches of the Xiao family began dying one after another, and Xiao Ye’s uncle, betraying his own kin for survival, sided with the Four Clans, leading to the massacre of all fourteen members of the Xiao family.

Overnight, all of the Xiao family’s assets were swallowed up. None of the main bloodline survived. Even the ancestral grounds and the family shrine were razed to the ground.

Xiao Ye’s grandfather, who had fought the hardest, was hanged beneath the Jianghai Bridge, his body left dangling for seventy-four days before finally being buried.

From that moment on, the Xiao family was utterly destroyed, their home shattered, their people gone, everything consumed by the Four Great Clans.

Afterward, the Qin family, once one of the great houses alongside the Xiao family, also fell victim to the same dark fate. Qin Xue’er, famed for her beauty, drew the covetous eyes of countless men, and the Four Great Clans played a cruel joke: they tried to force her to serve all their heirs alone.

Who could endure such humiliation? In the face of this, she resolutely disfigured herself, slashing her face with a deep scar, choosing death over disgrace.

To protect her daughter, Old Madam Li rallied her entire clan, hoping to resist the Four Great Clans with everything the Qin family had. But it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—doomed to fail. The Qin family was wiped out, not a soul spared. Qin Xue’er and Old Madam Li were thrown into a pigsty, treated no better than livestock. Yet, by fortune or fate, their last shred of dignity was preserved.

At that time, Xiao Ye was fighting on distant battlefields, trampling over heaps of corpses, determined to carve out a legacy, to win glory and command vast territories.

Until yesterday, when he cut down the last enemy general beneath his horse. Xiao Ye was made a king in his own right, returning home victorious.

Who would have thought that, after five years, the only people he still cared about in this world had been reduced to such a wretched state? In truth, he could have returned safely three years ago. Had he done so, Qin Xue’er might have been spared from this fate.

This crushing guilt kept Xiao Ye’s thirst for vengeance simmering, unable to abate.

Tonight, at the Xuantian Grand Hotel, the Four Great Clans and all the notable merchants of Jianghai would gather. If he did not unleash a bloodbath, how could he possibly quell his fury?

Half an hour later, the military jeep carrying Xiao Ye and his companions stopped at the hotel entrance.

From one end of the street to the other, luxury cars worth millions were parked in neat rows. Lanterns and banners adorned the scene, joy and festivity in the air. Countless socialites and dazzling courtesans, bearing gifts and jewelry, mingled in and out. Among them, the faint presence of government officials could be glimpsed.

This was the grandest event Jianghai had seen in three years, and everyone knew why: tonight, a business deal worth billions would be finalized, negotiated between the Four Great Clans and the Jianghai Merchant Alliance.

Before Xiao Ye arrived, all the reception festivities had concluded. Now, only the ribbon-cutting, the signing of contracts, and the sealing of the deal remained.

Clad in a robe embroidered with python patterns, Xiao Ye pushed the vacant-eyed Qin Xue’er and walked in with Old Madam Li, drawing the attention of countless onlookers.

"That man... why does he look so familiar?"

"Isn’t he the surviving heir of the Xiao family from back then?"

"What!?"

"Is that Xiao Ye?"

A stir swept through the crowd.

"And the woman in the wheelchair—surely that’s Qin Xue’er!"

"And Old Madam Li from the Qin family!"

"Weren’t they all supposed to be dead?"

Instantly, the entire hotel was in an uproar.

Before long, a striking woman in a flamboyant red dress, her expression severe, strode down the spiral staircase from the second floor. She approached Xiao Ye, looked him up and down, and gave a cold laugh. "You’re Xiao Ye?"

"I am," Xiao Ye replied calmly.

"I can’t believe it. After all these years, you mangy cur are still alive?" the woman in red sneered. She glanced at Qin Xue’er in the wheelchair, her nose wrinkling in disdain. "What’s that smell? It reeks like a pigsty..."

Smack!

Before the words had faded, a powerful slap sent her sprawling to the floor.

"You—you dare strike me!" she shrieked, clutching her reddened cheek, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth—a testament to the force of the blow.

"I struck you because your mouth is filthy," Xiao Ye replied coldly, his murderous aura impossible to conceal.

He had not come here tonight to hide his identity—what would be the point?

"Do you even know who I am, you useless dog?" the woman in red screamed, struggling to her feet with the help of several servants. "Someone! Seize this worm who’s been on the run for five years! Deliver him to the family head!"

At her command, more than twenty burly guards surged inside, wielding heavy batons.

But in the next instant, Xiao Ye turned to look at them.

Immediately—

Every one of the baton-wielding guards felt a chill grip their hearts, fear flashing in their eyes. The deadly, tyrannical intent blazing in Xiao Ye’s gaze filled them with terror.

"What are you waiting for? Get him!" the woman in red shouted. "There are few in Jianghai who dare lay a hand on me. Tonight, I’ll have you leave an arm behind!"

Xiao Ye’s face remained expressionless as he surveyed the group of bodyguards, a trace of disdain in his eyes.

Just a single look from him was enough to break their courage.

If they were on a real battlefield, how long could they possibly last?

He was born for bloodshed, advancing with every step over mountains of corpses.

To kill such vermin would only dirty his own hands.