Chapter 501

Chapter 501: Chapter 500:

Ye Yuanshan was also an elder, having held an official position in the past. Although none of his sons and grandsons turned out particularly distinguished, he was still alive. After hearing the security guard’s report, Ye Yuanshan did furrow his brow, but he didn’t make a fuss. Instead, he walked calmly towards the entrance of the Ye family’s old residence.

Along the way, no one suspected anything. Among those who went with Ye Yuanshan to the entrance of the Ye family’s old house was Fan Xingyu of the Fan family. The two men were quite close, their past relationship had been good, and now that the Ye family might be on the rise, naturally, there would be even more interaction. In comparison, Ye Yuanshan seemed to be one of the more alert individuals.

Throughout their journey, neither Ye Yuanshan nor Fan Xingyu spoke much. Both were very wise old men; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to grow their family’s power to such an extent. They could guess that the Ye family’s old house was now surrounded by armed guards, and this surely had something to do with the Li family.

Elder Li, Li Jian, was known for his explosive temper. Ye Yuanshan had experienced Li Jian’s temper back when he was still in office, the kind of man who dared to bang the table and glare even at the top commander, a legitimately intimidating figure. The situation was probably very tricky. No matter what, even if things turned out to be very disadvantageous for the Ye family in the end, Ye Yuanshan had made up his mind that he could not implicate his descendants and had to protect Ye Tianchen above all, as he was the family’s only hope.

"It’s definitely the Li family’s doing. Li Jian, despite his explosive temper, is known for being clear about right and wrong. However, when it comes to his grandson Li Xin, he is very protective, a well-known fact. We should be cautious in handling this," Fan Xingyu reminded Ye Yuanshan.

Many people might think that since Ye Tianchen rejected Fan Ruoxuan and snubbed Fan Xingyu’s dignity, there would be a rift between Ye Yuanshan and Fan Xingyu, no matter how friendly they were. But that wasn’t the case. Such a minor issue could not affect the bond forged by battle, when they had fought side by side and faced life and death together. The intrinsic bond was indescribable. More importantly, both men were wise and understood that for the sake of their family’s growth, many decisions were not theirs to make, so they wouldn’t blame each other.

"I know to handle it cautiously. But judging by Li Jian’s reaction speed, he is intent on taking Tianchen, even willing to use force to abduct him—a very adamant attitude. I’m afraid words might be useless," Ye Yuanshan said, still somewhat worried.

Indeed, when it came to family power, the Ye family was definitely not on par with the Li family. Coupled with Li Jian’s notorious temper, which was well-known among the nation’s top echelons, Ye Yuanshan truly felt outmatched. Li Jian was the kind of man who would dare to speak out against the top commander and maybe the only one in all of Huaxia with such guts, leaving others dumbfounded. Now, without any prior notice, Li Jian had sent his personal guards to surround the Ye family with guns, an act more aggressive than anything the Luo family had done before. It was uncertain whether this would lead to any casualties, but Ye Yuanshan had already decided that if something were to happen, he would take full responsibility and go talk to Li Jian alone; he couldn’t drag the rest of his descendants into it, especially Ye Tianchen.

"Tianchen should not have gone too far when he taught Li Xin a lesson; it should have been stopped," Fan Xingyu remarked.

Hearing Fan Xingyu’s words, Ye Yuanshan shook his head, knowing his old friend meant well. Indeed, Ye Yuanshan had considered stopping his grandson, Ye Tianchen; after all, he knew that killing Li Xin would cause a great deal of trouble—not to mention Li Jian’s eruptive temper. Li Xin was the Li family’s only bloodline, and his death would likely incite Li Jian to turn Heavenly Capital upside down, which the Ye family could hardly withstand. However, it was Ye Tianchen’s words that made Ye Yuanshan reconsider.

"If we don’t even dare to kill Li Xin, how can the Ye family claim to be powerful in Huaxia?"

What a commanding and domineering statement it was. Those present with any measure of status knew of Li Xin’s background and feared Li Jian’s explosive temper. No one wanted to offend Li Xin, let alone kill him. Only Ye Tianchen did not care at all. His nonchalance wasn’t feigned but a natural expression of a king’s domineering spirit. Ye Yuanshan could feel that this grandson harbored far greater ambitions than his own. With that in mind, why shouldn’t he support him?

Now in his twilight years, Ye Yuanshan had chosen to hand over the Ye family’s helm to his grandson Ye Tianchen, and he must trust him and support him fully. So after Ye Tianchen spoke those words, Ye Yuanshan didn’t say anything more. He believed that Ye Tianchen knew his limits.

"Since I’ve handed over the position of the Ye family’s helmsman to Tianchen, I must support him and trust him!" Ye Yuanshan said with a smile.

At that time, Ye Tianchen was unaware that the Ye family’s old residence was surrounded by more than thirty armed guards—they had come expressly to capture him. As for the other guests at the old house, they, too, had not realized what was happening, as they were busy forging new connections. Such a rare opportunity was not to be missed by anyone.

While Ye Tianchen was scrounging for all sorts of delicious food and dodging the pursuit of the beauties Su Feifei and Fan Ruoxuan, those delicacies were considered luxuries in the post-apocalyptic world. That world was like a barbaric place, where such food items couldn’t be found. Of course, it was still possible to find spiritual remedies no longer available on Earth, such as the Divine Herb, Dragon Marrow Grass.

"Hello, I am Ye Yuanshan from the Ye family. Is there a problem?" Ye Yuanshan had reached the door of the Ye family’s old mansion and saw the young commander of Li Jian’s personal guard contingent; he spoke in an indifferent tone.

The platoon leader of the guards, a rather thin man about thirty years old and roughly 1.8 meters tall, donned a neat military uniform that lent him an air of military dignity. Stern and not given to levity, his serious face regarded Ye Yuanshan and the nearby Fan Xingyu with a discerning eye. Recognizing that these two elders were no ordinary individuals, his purpose here was to take Ye Tianchen away, and there was no need to offend everyone present!

After all, on the occasion of Ye Yuanshan’s seventy-fifth birthday celebration, many important figures were in attendance. Even someone as formidable and hot-tempered as Li Jian wouldn’t dare to offend every person there, would he? Of course, not everyone would side with the Ye family—that was an absolute certainty. No one would foolishly join the fray, as sometimes being a bystander was better than anything else.

Slap!

The young guard platoon leader saluted Ye Yuanshan and Fan Xingyu, then began to speak:

"Elders, my name is Wang Feng, I am the platoon leader of the guards under Elder Li, and I have come here this time to take Ye Tianchen away. He injured Elder Li’s grandson Li Xin, so please be accommodating."

Ye Yuanshan was taken aback. Although the guard platoon leader Wang Feng seemed polite, he knew that this was a tactic of courtesy before force. Looking at the situation, where an entire platoon of guards, each armed with a submachine gun, had surrounded the entire Ye family estate, he knew Wang Feng wouldn’t rest until he had taken Ye Tianchen away.

"Have you figured out the ins and outs of the situation? Just showing up at our Ye family ancestral home to make an arrest is quite disrespectful to me, Ye Yuanshan, and quite lawless, wouldn’t you say?" Ye Yuanshan asked gravely.

"I am not privy to that. Elder Li’s intention is to have Ye Tianchen brought before him for personal interrogation," Wang Feng replied with an unchanged expression.

"Interrogation? Then let him first interrogate his own grandson Li Xin. During my seventy-fifth birthday, he caused a commotion at the Ye family home. Doesn’t Li Jian bear any responsibility?" Ye Yuanshan asked with a hint of anger.

"Mr. Ye, as I said before, I am here to take away Ye Tianchen. As for the incidents you mentioned, I am not aware of them. If you wish to understand what happened, you are welcome to accompany me to meet Elder Li," Wang Feng said, still with a stern face.

"I may have stepped down, but if Li Jian causes such a disturbance on my seventy-fifth birthday, I will surely repay in tenfold," Ye Yuanshan said fiercely.

Ye Yuanshan was indeed angered. His seventy-fifth birthday was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but Li Xin had arrived and created chaos, and Ye Tianchen had nearly killed him in self-defense. Now, Li Jian’s grandfather had sent a platoon to surround the entire Ye family ancestral home, each soldier armed with a submachine gun. What did this mean? It was even more infuriating than when the Luo family had barged into the Ye estate. Today was his seventy-fifth birthday, and neither he nor the Ye family could afford to lose face.

Wang Feng was startled for a moment. Although Li Jian was known for his explosive temper, had he been there, he probably would have charged in without saying much; even Ye Yuanshan’s presence wouldn’t have stopped him—such was the ferocity of Li Jian’s temper.

Unfortunately, Wang Feng had a sense of propriety; he had been serving at Li Jian’s side as the platoon leader of the guards for ten years, and without Li Jian, there would be no Wang Feng today. Therefore, Wang Feng had to consider many things on Li Jian’s behalf. The Ye family ancestral home was filled with significant figures from various realms. If they stormed in to make an arrest and Ye Tianchen didn’t surrender peacefully, causing harm to others, it was likely to provoke a collective anger and lead to considerable trouble.

With that in mind, Wang Feng glanced at Ye Yuanshan and said, "Mr. Ye, it is your seventy-fifth birthday, and I don’t wish to cause a commotion, but I must execute Elder Li’s orders. So please, hand over Ye Tianchen, or else I will be forced to storm in to arrest him."

"Breaking into the Ye family home to make an arrest, I’m afraid your platoon of over thirty men won’t be enough!"

At that moment, both Wang Feng and Ye Yuanshan, as well as Fan Xingyu, heard Ye Tianchen’s voice. Wang Feng furrowed his brow and turned to look toward the entrance of the Ye family estate, perched atop the courtyard wall, where he saw Ye Tianchen sitting, slowly savoring a red-braised chicken wing in his right hand, smiling down at him. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)