Following Hua Xiaoyu’s gaze toward the main gate, a burly, full-bearded man was holding a young man up in the air.
There was a bright red five-finger seal on the young man’s face.
"Boy, are you still refusing to yield?" the burly man asked in a deep, booming voice.
"I... I refuse to yield!" The young man gritted his teeth and growled out the words.
The burly man sneered coldly and delivered another slap. SLAP.
Both sides of the young man’s face were now red and swollen.
"You... you’re courting death! I am Ye Wen of the Ye Family. Since you hit me, my cousin Ye Xuan won’t let you off!"
Ye Wen was Ye Yihe’s eldest son, a descendant of the Ye Family’s Direct Lineage.
"Ye Family’s Ye Wen? What the hell is that? Never heard of you. Make one more sound and I’ll snap your neck! If you don’t believe me, just try squeaking."
The man glared, naturally exuding an intimidating aura without even trying. Ye Wen instantly clamped his mouth shut, too terrified to speak.
"Who are you, sir? Could you please put my nephew down first?"
At that moment, Ye Yizhou’s voice rang out.
"Whether I put him down is my business. What, are you trying to teach me how to do things? Do you even think you have the right?"
"I didn’t mean it like that. However, this is the Ye Family’s home. Aren’t you acting a bit too brazenly?"
Ye Yizhou spoke again. As soon as the words left his mouth, Wen Shanghua, who was standing nearby, instantly changed his expression. He quickly stepped up to Ye Yizhou and whispered, "Mr. Yizhou, do not offend this man."
Ye Yizhou frowned. "Patriarch Wen, do you know him?"
"Not exactly, but I’ve seen him before. Back in the Fang Family, even Fang Tianming had to swallow his pride and act subserviently whenever he saw this man."
"What?"
While the two were conversing, the burly man’s impatient voice rang out. "What are you whispering about? I’ll ask one more time: who is the leader here? Come over and kneel before me right now!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, Ye Zeyun’s voice echoed out.
"Lord, my apologies for not coming out to welcome you to the Ye Family sooner. Please forgive our poor reception." Ye Zeyun wore a wide smile, clearly trying to placate the man. He bowed continuously as he walked over.
Satisfied with Ye Zeyun’s actions, the man asked with a smile, "Do you know me?"
"When the Fang Family was still around, I saw you from afar, Lord."
"At least you have some manners. You’re much better than this blind fool of a kid."
"Lord, this is all a misunderstanding. Please, I ask that you let my grandson go."
"Sure."
True to his word, the man loosened his grip on Ye Wen’s neck and violently hurled him away!
In his panic, Ye Wen flailed his legs wildly. Suddenly, a loud CRACK echoed out.
His right leg smashed into a large boulder nearby. The immense force instantly snapped his leg into a ninety-degree fracture.
"Wen’er!"
Standing behind Ye Zeyun, Ye Yihe let out a cry of alarm and hurried over to Ye Wen, his face filled with heartache.
At this moment, Ye Yihe’s mind was filled with bewilderment. He wondered why it was always his branch of the family that ended up getting hurt. When the Fang Family attacked, he had nearly died. Thankfully, Ye Xuan had returned just in time. This time, it wasn’t him who suffered, but his son.
"Lord, you...!"
Further away, Ye Zeyun’s expression turned slightly ugly, but he forcibly suppressed the anger welling up in his heart.
"I said I’d let him go, and I did. I’m a man of my word, right? Hahahaha." The burly man simply laughed, utterly indifferent to the situation.
After laughing, he spoke again. "I came here looking for Fang Tianming, but upon asking around, I found out the Fang Family had actually been wiped out. Now that’s news to me. To think someone in Hongtu Town was actually capable of destroying the Fang Family."
"Lord, are you planning to stand up for the Fang Family?" Ye Zeyun furrowed his brows deeply.
"Stand up for them? Why would I do that? It doesn’t matter to us who the overlord of Hongtu Town is. However, the prerequisite is that they must have some sense and know how to behave."
"We know how to behave. I understand perfectly. Lord, let’s discuss this in detail inside."
"There’s no need for a detailed discussion. I don’t have the time. Just get the goods ready for me. I only want thirty thousand taels of Silver, one hundred taels of Gold, five hundred stalks of Human-grade Spirit Medicine, and ten stalks of Yellow-grade Spirit Medicine. Hand them over, and I’ll leave immediately."
Hearing this, Ye Zeyun sucked in a breath of cold air.
In the past, the Ye Family’s entire annual income was a mere five thousand taels of Silver. Human-grade Spirit Medicine was even scarcer; they couldn’t even collect fifty stalks in a year. As for Yellow-grade Spirit Medicine, obtaining even three stalks a year was considered a good haul.
Spirit Medicine was incredibly precious! This was because it could rapidly heal a Cultivator’s injuries.
Human-grade Spirit Medicine could heal the injuries of a Cultivator in the Mortal Spirit Realm. Yellow-grade Spirit Medicine could heal the injuries of a Cultivator in the Strong Spirit Realm. And so on and so forth.
Of course, not all Spirit Medicine could be used for healing. Its uses were wide and varied, and some could even directly elevate one’s cultivation level. Spirit Medicine that could directly increase cultivation was the most valuable of all. Whenever they appeared, any Cultivator would fight tooth and nail for them.
"I’ll give it to you. I’ll get it right away." Ye Zeyun turned to look at Ye Yiwei and asked in a soft voice, "Have the medicinal herbs we confiscated from the Fang Family been tallied up yet?"
"Father, they’ve been tallied. However, most of the Fang Family’s herbs were destroyed in the battle. We only have forty stalks of Human-grade Spirit Medicine left, ranging from low to high quality. We also have seven stalks of Yellow-grade Spirit Medicine, mostly of low and mid quality."
Although Ye Xuan’s battle with Fang Tianming hadn’t destroyed the wealth, it had ruined a significant amount of Spirit Medicine. Once Spirit Medicine was smashed or damaged, its medicinal efficacy would vanish completely.
"So little? Then take from our Ye Family’s storehouse. We should just barely be able to scrape enough together. Hurry."
"Alright."
Ye Yiwei turned and left. It didn’t take long for him to emerge carrying two large wooden chests on his shoulders. The chests were packed with wealth and medicinal herbs.
"You certainly know how to behave. Carry them out; my carriage is parked outside. I’ll be back again next year." The burly man laughed uproariously before swaggering out of the Ye Family estate.
Once the carriage had disappeared into the distance, the eldest son, Ye Yiwei, finally couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, "Father! Why did you hand over so much wealth and Spirit Medicine to him?"
"That’s right, Grandfather! He even broke Cousin Ye Wen’s leg. Are we just going to swallow this insult?"
"Father, even though Ye Xuan isn’t here, if you give the word, we can still make him stay. It’s not too late!"
The Ye Family members spoke over one another, all of them appearing deeply enraged. They had clearly become the overlords of Hongtu Town. They had thought no one could bully them anymore, and that even if threatened, they wouldn’t have to swallow their pride. So why had their Patriarch still yielded?
Ye Zeyun let out a heavy sigh. "I know you’re all unwilling to accept this, but this is a man we simply cannot afford to offend."
"Father, who is he?"
"I don’t know who he is."
"Father, you don’t know?! Then why were you so respectful?"
"Do none of you have eyes? Did none of you see the golden bull’s head embroidered on his chest?"
"A bull’s head!"
"Now that you mention it, I remember. He really did have a bull’s head embroidered on his chest."
At that moment, everyone’s expressions drastically changed.
In the past, the Fang Family had repeatedly issued strict orders: anyone who saw a person bearing the golden bull’s head insignia was to be treated exactly as they would the Fang Family’s Patriarch. There was to be absolutely no disobedience.
Furthermore, a flag embroidered with that very same golden bull’s head was still planted above the main gates of Hongtu Town.
That burly man was indeed someone they could not afford to provoke!