"Grandfather, but... what exactly does this ox head symbol represent? Is it related to the Fang Family? Could it be their allies? But we already wiped out the Fang Family. Do we still need to fear them?"
Hua Xiaoyu spoke up again, clearly still harboring doubts.
Ye Zeyun let out a bitter smile. "Allies? How is that possible? Do you all remember the banners at the town entrance?"
"I remember. There were two banners at the entrance. One was the Fang Family’s banner, which we’ve already taken down. The other was the golden Ox Head Banner."
Ye Zeyun asked again, "Then do you recall which of the two banners hung higher?"
"I think... the Ox Head Banner was higher! And not just by a little bit. Could it be..."
Some members of the Ye Family began to guess the truth.
Ye Zeyun nodded. "I assume some of you have figured it out. The Fang Family, or rather, the entirety of Hongtu Town, was just like we used to be—a subordinate faction to someone else."
"What? A subordinate faction!"
"Does... does this mean we are still living under someone else’s roof?"
The Ye Family members were stunned. They had assumed that after becoming the overlords of Hongtu Town, no one could threaten them anymore. But who could have imagined that the entire town was merely a vassal to another power?
So this was the harsh reality: no matter how strong you are, there is always someone stronger. It seemed that in this world, it would always be a dog-eat-dog existence where the strong preyed on the weak.
"Don’t be discouraged, everyone," Ye Zeyun continued. "Judging by how the Fang Family handled things in the past, as long as we pay our tribute on time every year, the Niu Family won’t cause us any trouble. Hasn’t the Fang Family of Hongtu Town been perfectly fine all these years?"
"Sigh, I guess that’s our only option."
"As long as we pay the tribute on time each year, we’ll be safe. In our own neck of the woods, no one will dare bully the Ye Family anymore. This situation is a hundred times better than before."
Although reluctance was written all over their faces, the Ye Family members had no choice but to accept this reality.
"All right, you’re all dismissed. Go about your own business and let’s aim to move in as soon as possible." Ye Zeyun waved his hand, signaling for everyone to disperse.
However, just as his words fell, Ye Xuan’s voice drifted in from the doorway.
"I didn’t see anyone when I went back to the old estate, so I figured everyone might be over here. I didn’t expect the outline of our new home to already be taking shape after just five days. Everyone has worked hard.
"Huh? Why do you all have such strange expressions? You don’t seem very happy."
A faint smile hung on the corner of Ye Xuan’s lips. In those five days, he had already mastered the Hidden Dragon Technique. Now, when he unleashed his Beast Soul, he no longer had to worry about triggering unnatural weather phenomena and bringing trouble to himself or his family.
From now on, the Dragon Soul would be his greatest trump card. Its might far surpassed the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body. This was true even though he had only just grasped the basics of the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body and had yet to achieve minor mastery.
"Brother! You’re back."
Ye Ling’Er immediately ran toward Ye Xuan and threw her arms around him. Ye Xuan was slightly taken aback, feeling a soft and incredibly comfortable sensation against him. Having not seen her for thirteen years, this girl had developed quite well.
But this couldn’t go on. She was all grown up now; they couldn’t keep hugging all the time.
"All right, Ling’Er, you’re not a child anymore. Don’t hold on so tightly. By the way, what’s going on here? Why do I get the feeling that our clan members are unhappy?"
Before Ye Ling’Er could answer, Hua Xiaoyu’s voice rang out. "Cousin Ye Xuan... I mean, Patriarch. Ye Wen was beaten."
"Hmm?"
Ye Xuan frowned. Turning around, he finally noticed Ye Wen lying on the ground. Ye Wen’s face was completely swollen. The kid had originally looked quite delicate and handsome, but now his head had puffed up to twice its normal size.
Ye Xuan originally wanted to laugh, but then he remembered his identity as the Patriarch. How could he laugh? Besides, his own clan member had just been severely beaten—how could he possibly find that funny?
The assailant clearly hadn’t held back in the slightest. The marks of five Finger Seals still lingered on Ye Wen’s cheek, and his face was nearly shattered from the force of the blow. What made Ye Xuan’s gaze turn ice-cold was Ye Wen’s right leg, which was bent at a grotesque ninety-degree angle. Without an experienced bone-setter, it would be impossible to snap it back into place.
"Who did this?"
Ye Xuan’s voice instantly turned freezing cold. He had only just become the Patriarch, and already a family member had been beaten—and it was his own cousin, Ye Wen, of all people! When they were kids, he had snatched Ye Wen’s candy more times than he could count. For that reason alone, this grudge had to be avenged.
"We don’t know who the other party is, but a golden ox head was embroidered on his chest."
As if recalling something, Ye Xuan asked, "A golden ox head? Was that person heavily bearded and burly?"
"Brother, you know him?"
"Yeah. I crossed paths with him on my way back."
When Ye Xuan was heading home, he had indeed seen such a man. When their eyes had met, the other party had arrogantly sneered at him, *What are you looking at, brat? Keep staring and I’ll gouge your eyes out.* After tossing out that threat, the man had driven his carriage away.
Ye Xuan had originally wanted to beat the guy up, but he reconsidered, remembering that as the Patriarch, his every move represented the Ye Family. They had only just become the local overlords; beating someone up in the middle of the street would set a bad precedent. Thus, he hadn’t paid the incident any mind.
But he never expected that very same brute would actually go and assault Ye Wen.
"Ye Wen, wait here for a moment. I’ll go drag him back. It shouldn’t be too late to catch up. When I do, you can personally smash his face in and break his legs! Anyone who bullies a member of the Ye Family must pay a bitter price."
With that said, Ye Xuan turned to leave. His actions gave Ye Zeyun quite a fright.
"Ye Xuan, wait a moment!"
"What’s wrong, Grandfather? Do you want to go with me? I’m just afraid you won’t be able to keep up with my speed."
"No! Ye Xuan, I know you’re furious, but this is a man we cannot afford to offend."
Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow. Was there really someone in Hongtu Town that he couldn’t afford to offend?
"Ye Xuan, listen to me." Ye Zeyun gave him a brief explanation of the situation.
Hearing Ye Zeyun’s words, Ye Xuan furrowed his sword-like brows and murmured softly, "To think that Hongtu Town is merely a subordinate faction..."
Then again, it made sense. In a world teeming with experts, survival was never easy for the weak.
"Yihe, take Ye Wen back to treat his injuries first," Ye Zeyun ordered. "I’ll have someone fetch an experienced doctor to set his bones. With some time to rest and recover, his leg should heal up just fine."
By telling Ye Wen to step down, Ye Zeyun was offering Ye Xuan a graceful way out of the situation.
At this moment, Ye Xuan also chimed in. "Ye Wen, you’ll have to endure the grievance for now. But rest assured, you won’t suffer in vain."
Ye Xuan’s words sounded like simple consolation, but in reality, he genuinely intended to get revenge on Ye Wen’s behalf. Once the Ye Family finished renovating their estate, he would send someone to investigate exactly what kind of clan or faction used a golden ox head as their Clan Banner.
"All right, let’s disperse," Ye Zeyun ordered once more. "Ye Xuan, the underground training room you asked for has been fully excavated. Come with me to take a look."
"Okay."
After watching Ye Wen being carried away, Ye Xuan finally followed Ye Zeyun toward the main courtyard.
The training room was located directly beneath the main courtyard, and its entrance was concealed within Ye Xuan’s bedroom.
Before long, Ye Xuan arrived at his underground training facility. The entire room was constructed out of Black Steel Rock. This material was not only incredibly sturdy but also provided excellent soundproofing. Naturally, its cost was exorbitant. A single cubic meter of Black Steel Rock was worth One Thousand Silver Taels.
This underground training room spanned a full two hundred square meters. Constructing it had cost hundreds of thousands of Silver Taels.
Fortunately, the Fang Family had been wealthy. Although they hadn’t hoarded many consumables like Spirit Medicine, they had accumulated a vast fortune in currency—all of which now securely belonged to the Ye Family.