At noon, Ye Fan returned to the little restaurant. He had grown very fond of the atmosphere of sharing meals together with Grandpa Jiang and Little Tingting.

After the meal, Little Tingting obediently went to wash the bowls. Ye Fan watched with a sense of mild shame — it seemed he had never helped with anything at all.

“Let me do it. You’re still little — you don’t need to be doing this yet. Go take your afternoon nap and grow tall.”

“Big Brother doesn’t need to do it. I know how to wash bowls, and I wash them very clean.” The little girl firmly pushed Ye Fan aside.

Grandpa Jiang stood nearby with a face full of smiles, tidying up the dishes and bowls, his gaze at his granddaughter brimming with adoration.

An abrupt voice shattered the warmth of the moment. “Two years and I haven’t seen you — this little girl has grown a bit. She can help with things now.”

A young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six walked in, a faint smile on his face. He cast a contemptuous glance at Grandpa Jiang and Ye Fan, then fixed his gaze on Little Tingting.

“Uncle, who are you? Do you know me?” Little Tingting was sweet-natured by instinct. Though she sensed something unpleasant in the air, she still politely called him “uncle.”

“Of course I do. I already knew you when your parents were alive.” The young man’s complexion was pale, his lips thin, giving an impression of cold and ruthless cunning. With no attempt at tact, he brought up Tingting’s deceased parents directly.

The little girl’s large eyes immediately reddened. She still had a vague memory of her parents’ faces. In the past she had often woken from sleep in tears, but as time passed and she and Grandpa Jiang relied on each other, she had gradually stopped crying in her dreams at night.

Now, with someone bringing up her parents again, she could not hold back her tears. She turned her small body around, slowly washing a blue-and-white bowl, her small shoulders trembling.

Seeing Little Tingting’s sorrow, Grandpa Jiang’s expression changed. “Seventh Young Master of the Li Family — what brings you here?”

The young man pulled up a chair and sat himself down without invitation. “Nothing in particular. I’m simply a sentimental sort — I came to see how you two are getting along.”

Grandpa Jiang kept his expression neutral and replied, “Thanks to Seventh Young Master’s blessing, we manage to scrape by.”

Ye Fan said nothing at the side. He had already recognized this person — the young man who had ridden the Dragon Scale Horse that morning.

“Somehow I sense a strong aura of grievance. Old man Jiang, do you resent me?” The young man looked down at him from above, a faint cold smile on his lips.

This man had once entered Misty Haze Heavenly Grotto at the same time as Little Tingting’s father. Due to his lesser aptitude, he had been left far behind by Tingting’s father. He had also committed misconduct and been severely punished by Tingting’s father as a result — and had harbored a deep grudge ever since. After the death of Tingting’s parents, it was he who had directed the Li Family to seize Grandpa Jiang’s inn and tavern, nearly leaving the grandfather and granddaughter without any means to survive.

“How would I dare resent Seventh Young Master? There is nothing of the sort.”

The young man’s thin lips gave him an air of cold cruelty. “There is no need to keep things bottled up inside. If you resent me, it’s better to let it out freely — otherwise the anger will harm your health, and at over seventy years old, you haven’t many good years left.”

Grandpa Jiang’s body trembled slightly, but at last he steadied himself and said, “Seventh Young Master, I only have one question for you. Otherwise, I will die without peace.”

“Go ahead and ask.” The young man snapped open a folding fan with a crack and began lightly fanning himself with an air of complete composure.

“I only want to know — did Tingting’s parents truly die by accident?” The old man’s emotions seemed to be veering toward loss of control. He clenched his fists with great force — his knuckles had already gone white — and his body trembled faintly.

Ye Fan quickly moved to his side and steadied him. On the other side, Little Tingting was crying silently. Her small body faced away from everyone, her shoulders trembling without cease. Her little hands slowly scrubbed a small porcelain bowl.

“Old man Jiang, it seems you have a towering grievance burning in your heart. But what can you do about it? At your age, are you truly going to fight to the death? If you die, this pretty little granddaughter of yours will truly have nowhere to turn.”

“How did Tingting’s parents die?” Grandpa Jiang’s breathing was rapid and labored, his chest heaving continuously, grief etched across his face.

“Believe whatever you like.” The young man snapped the folding fan shut with a crack and looked at Ye Fan. “I heard you led people and beat Steward Liu until he was crippled?”

Ye Fan said nothing, simply steadying Grandpa Jiang as he stood to the side. The young man gave him a glance but said nothing more. He rose from his chair and walked toward Little Tingting.

“What are you doing?!” Grandpa Jiang’s eyes flooded with fear. Like a mother hen spreading its wings, he threw out both arms and blocked the young man’s path, shielding Little Tingting behind him.

“What are you so alarmed about, old man Jiang? Do you think I would actually harm a little girl?” The young man studied Little Tingting carefully, nodding to himself repeatedly, murmuring, “The resemblance is striking — truly striking. What a pity about the Misty Haze Immortal — she died for nothing. Two years have passed, and I never imagined your daughter would already look so much like her.”

Little Tingting bit her lip. Though she was crying, she did not let herself weep aloud — as though she refused to let herself cry in front of the Li Family’s Seventh Young Master.

The young man held his folding fan in his right hand and tapped it lightly against his left. “Very well — old man Jiang, you won’t need to suffer anymore. I’ll be taking this little girl away before long. You can enjoy your remaining years in peace here in this small town.”

“What do you mean by that?!” Grandpa Jiang immediately began gasping for breath. He shielded Little Tingting behind him, his gaze fixed on the Li Family’s Seventh Young Master with fierce intensity.

“This little girl is clever and nimble-fingered. I intend to bring her to Misty Haze Heavenly Grotto to serve at my side. That’s far better than going hungry every other day with you, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely not. Unless I am dead first — Seventh Young Master of the Li Family, you cannot bully people like this!” Rage and grief overwhelmed Grandpa Jiang at once. He could barely breathe, his eyes reddening, his body swaying unsteadily.

Ye Fan moved quickly to steady him.

“Grandfather, are you alright? Don’t frighten Tingting…” Little Tingting wrapped her arms around the old man’s leg and looked up at his face, her expression filled with worry and fear, tears falling without stop.

The young man said mockingly, “Old man Jiang, is there really need for such agitation? You should understand — once she leaves you, she will be living a very different life. In the future, she may well make a great name for herself at Misty Haze Heavenly Grotto.”

Grandpa Jiang gasped and wheezed for a long while before finally calming down, then pleaded, “Seventh Young Master, please just leave us be.”

“What kind of thing is that to say?!” The young man’s expression turned cold, radiating a chilling edge. “I offer you a peaceful old age, and you won’t accept it? You truly don’t know what’s good for you.”

“I will always stay with my grandfather!” Little Tingting’s eyes were red and swollen, her arms wrapped tightly around Grandpa Jiang’s leg.

“I have important business to attend to this time — I must return to Misty Haze Heavenly Grotto tomorrow. In a few days I will come personally to take her away.” The Li Family’s Seventh Young Master said all of this, then turned around. His gaze fell on Ye Fan. “When you beat a dog, you should still consider whose dog it is — even a dog that’s been driven out is not for outsiders to humiliate.” With that, he gave Ye Fan two light taps on the shoulder. “Hot-headed people tend not to live long.”

Bang!

Ye Fan was sent crashing to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. The chair behind him was shattered from the impact.

The young man glanced at him once, gave a cold smile, and strode away.

“Child, are you alright?!” Grandpa Jiang was frightened and furious, rushing to help Ye Fan to his feet.

“Big Brother…” Little Tingting’s face showed a look of alarm. She used her small hand to wipe the blood from the corner of Ye Fan’s mouth.

Ye Fan watched the Li Family’s Seventh Young Master disappear into the distance, then quickly stood up. “I’m fine.”

“Are you truly fine?” The old man was unconvinced.

Little Tingting looked on with a face full of anxiety. “Big Brother, are you really alright? Your mouth was bleeding.”

“It nearly went wrong.”

“Is it serious?” Grandpa Jiang showed a worried expression once more.

“You misunderstood what I meant. I was saying it nearly went wrong because I almost couldn’t hold back from making a move. As for me, there’s nothing wrong at all. But that man truly is deeply vicious — if it had been an ordinary person who took those two strikes just now, they wouldn’t last half a month before dying.”

“It’s our fault — the two of us have dragged you into this. If you were on your own, you would never have had to endure this kind of humiliation.”

“Old sir, please don’t say that. The blood just now — I forced it up myself on purpose.” Ye Fan smiled lightly. “Come to think of it, I actually have to thank this Seventh Young Master of the Li Family. He’s going to present me with a great opportunity — he came here in person and told me exactly when he will be leaving.”

“You…” Grandpa Jiang showed a look of puzzlement.

“A man as vicious as that has no business remaining in this world. And he actually wants to take Tingting away — not in this life, not in the next!”

That night, Ye Fan kept constant watch on the Li Family’s movements. Deep in the night, he left the small town and took up position on the mountain road more than twenty li away — the only route connecting Clearwind Town to the outside world.

The moonlight was hazy and dim. A dark cloud drifted past, and the mountain forest was plunged instantly into darkness. The howls of nameless beasts echoed without end. Deep at night, the mountain forest felt cold and eerie.

In the small hours of the night, the mountain road shuddered. The heavy pounding of hooves rang out, and in the dim starlight, a Dragon Scale Horse — every scale glimmering blue-green — came charging forward like a bolt of lightning.

Ye Fan waited in stillness. Only when the Dragon Scale Horse drew close did a blazing golden light suddenly erupt from his body — brilliant and dazzling in the darkness, like a fierce sun blazing across the sky.

Pfft!

A spray of blood flashed. A cry of pain came from atop the Dragon Scale Horse — but the rider did not fall from the saddle.

Ye Fan’s heart lurched. He quickly redirected the golden book, sending it slashing across in a flying arc. With a soft thud, the Dragon Scale Horse was cleaved in two. Its body crashed heavily to the ground, and the rider was hurled more than twenty meters, tumbling to the earth.

Shing!

A streak of silver blazed to life — a half-foot-long silver spear came rushing at Ye Fan like a bolt of silver lightning.

Clang!

A flash of golden light — the golden book Ye Fan had projected intercepted the silver spear, and the half-foot lance snapped in two, clattering to the ground.

Not far away, the rider who had been thrown from the Dragon Scale Horse leaped swiftly to his feet, making to dash into the mountain forest.

Ye Fan struck again. The golden book transformed into a streak of lightning, cleaving through the dark void in an instant, arriving before the man in the blink of an eye. Like a bolt of absolute silk it struck — unstoppable, cutting through everything — and with a muffled thud, severed his left leg.

“Ahhh…”

At last the man cried out in anguish, rolling across the ground.

Only then did Ye Fan let out a long breath and advanced cautiously toward him. This had been his first ambush. At the outset he had been somewhat tense and had not been as precise as he would have liked.

“Seventh Young Master of the Li Family — we meet again.”

The young man on the ground — rolling in pain, blood flowing freely — was deathly pale. When he looked up and recognized Ye Fan, he could scarcely believe it. “How is it you?!” he cried out in shock.

“Is something wrong with that?” Ye Fan’s expression was calm. He watched the man from a short distance.

“To think it was you — you little wretch! I truly misjudged you!” The Li Family’s Seventh Young Master’s face was twisted with ferocity, pain and rage consuming him entirely, a terrifying sight to behold.

“Thank you, Seventh Young Master, for presenting me with such a great opportunity.” Ye Fan stood at a distance, a faint cold smile on his lips.

“You… you…” The Li Family’s Seventh Young Master shook with fury, his body twitching violently. In this moment he was consumed by despair, indignation, and burning rage.

“How did Tingting’s parents die?” At those words, Ye Fan’s tone turned to ice. A flash of golden light — the golden book streaked out.

Two muffled thuds. Both of the Li Family Seventh Young Master’s arms were severed and fell away. Still not fully satisfied, Ye Fan projected the golden arc once more and drew it lightly across his Bitter Sea.

“Ahhh… you little wretch — even as a ghost I will not let you go!”

“Why do people always say such pointless things.” Ye Fan walked up close to him and said, “You vile creature — your evil deeds have exhausted all of heaven’s mercy. Everything that is happening to you today is nothing but retribution. I will tend to you slowly.”

Crack!

Ye Fan swung a palm across, sending the man spinning away four or five meters.

“You…” The Li Family’s Seventh Young Master’s eyes blazed like fire.

Ye Fan walked over and planted his foot on that still-smooth face. “Heaven watches all that men do. When evil is done without end, did you truly think you could live out your days free and easy?”