"Yes... I think so!"
Yun Fan said uncertainly, his heart filled with an inexpressible feeling that could only be conveyed by those two words.
To his surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, Ye Ji shot him a glare, clearly displeased, very displeased.
"Then get lost! I'd rather die than have anything to do with a mere tool like you!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan realized he had said the wrong thing. He quickly said to Ye Ji, "That's not what I meant. I meant, given our current relationship, speaking too formally would make us strangers!"
Seeing Yun Fan's earnest explanation, Ye Ji smiled. She knew Yun Fan was a rare talent in terms of strength and aptitude.
But in matters of the heart, despite his constant flirtatious remarks, he was nothing more than a blank slate.
So, she said to Yun Fan, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Come here!"
Yun Fan nodded obediently and jumped into the hot spring.
At this moment, Ye Ji approached him and took his hand. "If you and I break through this barrier between us, people will surely talk. Are you afraid?"
"It's fine, I'm not afraid!"
Yun Fan said directly. When he took this step, he was already prepared to face any criticism. But it didn't matter; he didn't care about what others said, as long as he was happy.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ji gave him a charming smile. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you! Come on!"
"Sister, I have no experience!"
Undoubtedly, Yun Fan was nervous at this moment, which was, of course, related to his lack of experience.
Ye Ji chuckled. "Actually, I don't have much experience either, so we can explore it slowly!"
"Okay!"
And so, a night passed. [We know you don't want to read this, so we've skipped a million words for you!]
The next day, Ye Ji lay in Yun Fan's arms. "Little brother, you're so strong!"
It had to be said that last night was a process of both pain and pleasure. Even she couldn't withstand Yun Fan's onslaught.
"Sister, you're not weak either!"
Yun Fan chuckled mischievously.
"Naughty!"
At this point, Ye Ji said to Yun Fan, "Little brother, my injuries are almost healed. I just need to recuperate now."
"So, shall we continue tonight?"
Yun Fan asked tentatively. He had to admit that despite both being inexperienced novices, Ye Ji seemed to have a natural talent in this regard. She wasn't just easily aroused but also surprisingly skillful, making her top-notch.
However, Ye Ji replied, "That will have to wait for another day! I'm busy recuperating these next few days and will be in seclusion!"
Fine! Yun Fan was used to this kind of behavior, where one's feelings changed after the deed was done. So, he bid farewell to Ye Ji.
Wishing Ye Ji a speedy recovery and successful seclusion.
As he walked out of the back mountain, he saw Ye Qingcheng leaning against a pillar, waiting for him. Seeing him walk with a slight stagger, she revealed a look of disdain.
"Why are you so weak?"
She said dismissively.
Yun Fan sighed. "You have no idea how fierce the battle was last night. Never mind, let's not talk about it. Make me a cup of goji berry tea!"
"Pfft!"
Hearing this, Ye Qingcheng let out a giggle. But for some reason, although she should have been unable to let go of her past grievances and should have been angry, at this moment, she suddenly felt at ease, as if she no longer needed to dwell on these matters.
Her relationship with Ye Ji had also shifted to one of sisters.
Perhaps, both she and Ye Ji had been too extreme in the past, which had led to their current situation. But things were much better now.
At this, she said to Yun Fan, "Come on, I'll take you out for some nourishing food!"
"Mmm-hmm!"
Yun Fan felt he indeed needed to replenish his energy, as he had been nearly drained dry last night.
Thus, the two of them went to a renowned health restaurant in Jinling, where almost all the food was focused on nourishment.
At this point, Yun Fan asked, "Have you found any leads?"
Previously, when he was attacked, he had been thoroughly investigating the true culprit. To that end, he had asked Ye Qingcheng to focus her efforts on the investigation.
Ye Qingcheng shook her head. "Not a single clue!"
If it were anyone else, she could investigate and provide results quickly. But Jason was different; his whereabouts were mysterious.
She found nothing to go on. Only by tracing Jason's movements could she identify the buyer.
"Forget it, just let me find them!"
Yun Fan had no intention of continuing the investigation, dismissing it as an accident. However, at that very moment, they overheard a conversation from the adjacent private room.
The conversation piqued their interest.
Normally, the soundproofing in these rooms was quite good, and one wouldn't be able to hear conversations. But as congenital masters, especially Yun Fan, who had reached the peak, he could hear the slightest sound.
Someone asked, "Young Master Shui, why haven't you been out with us brothers these past few days? Your phone has been switched off too."
The young master complained, "Don't even mention it. I was ambushed by some country bumpkin a few days ago, and there was a minor mishap. But I'm fine now. Not only am I recovered, but that kid is also guaranteed to die!"
"Who? Who dared to attack you? Are they tired of living?"
His friends around him exclaimed indignantly.
The young master stammered, "Don't you worry about this matter. I've already handled it. My father hired a very formidable assassin to kill him. I believe it was successful!"
He was unaware that Jason had already been killed by Ye Ji. After all, he had been too busy indulging in food and drink these past few days and hadn't paid any attention to family matters.
Furthermore, even his own family wasn't certain if Yun Fan had been assassinated, as they had no news of him either.
Upon hearing this, the others breathed a sigh of relief.
"Enough said, let's toast!"
Afterward, the sounds of feasting and drinking resumed from the adjacent room.
"My luck is incredible!"
Ye Qingcheng said triumphantly. "Who would have thought that just by coming out for a meal, we'd find the culprit!"
"I'll help you investigate his identity!"
Yun Fan shook his head. "No need. Because I already know his identity. You might not know this young master, but you definitely know the family behind him!"
"The family behind him?"
Ye Qingcheng asked curiously.
Yun Fan replied, "The family behind him is the Shui family of Jinling!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingcheng said, "Then he's an old acquaintance. You might not know, but after a group of people from your Long family defected to my Ye family, they went to the Shui family!"
"Shouldn't they be united?"
Yun Fan asked, confused. In his opinion, when Ye Ji was in charge of the Long family, she had saved them. Shouldn't these people have been united?
Ye Qingcheng replied, "You're overthinking it. In fact, after your mother's incident, your father was preoccupied with finding a solution! The Long family members who had previously submitted to him had their own agendas, all wanting to usurp your father's position!"
"So, after your father left, their ambitions began to inflate. Unfortunately, my mother quickly suppressed them!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan finally understood what had happened. However, he was not surprised.
Enemies often fall apart from within.
Thus, he said to Ye Qingcheng, "I need to go to the Shui family!"
"I'll accompany you!"
And so, the two of them left. The young master of the Shui family probably never imagined that his words would bring ruin upon the entire Shui family.
...
Upon arriving at the Shui family, Shui Wuzhong, who was pacing anxiously, felt a sense of foreboding when he saw Yun Fan and Ye Qingcheng arrive.
He had paid a considerable price to hire Jason to assassinate Yun Fan. He hadn't expected them to show up at this moment.
Did that mean Jason had failed?
Thinking of this, he became even more unsettled.
"May I ask, Miss Ye and Mr. Yun, what brings you to our humble Shui residence?"
He asked them with a cordial smile.
Ye Qingcheng said, "Master Shui, you probably already know why we've come, don't you?"
"Old man, why did you send someone to kill me?"
Yun Fan asked directly.
Shui Wuzhong's heart sank. His plan had indeed failed, hadn't it?
He quickly replied, "It's a misunderstanding. This has nothing to do with our Shui family. Jason acted on his own initiative and decided to assassinate you!"
"It was indeed your Shui family!"
Seeing Shui Wuzhong's personal confession, Yun Fan's killing intent surged, so powerful that Shui Wuzhong felt immense pressure.
Shui Wuzhong hurriedly said, "Mr. Yun, spare my life!"
"Spare you?"
Yun Fan said coldly, "I gave your Shui family a chance, but you failed to cherish it. Today's outcome is your own doing."
Hearing this, Shui Wuzhong trembled and said, "Yun Fan, by all accounts, I am your uncle. You cannot attack my Shui family, either by sentiment or by reason!"
In fact, he had already learned of Yun Fan's background during his prior investigation. However, this had no bearing on him.
Let alone the fact that they were distant relatives, even if Yun Fan were his nephew, he would still have him killed.
He just hadn't expected the plan to fail, and that even the formidable Jason, the King of Assassins, was no match for Yun Fan.
Little did he know that it wasn't Yun Fan who killed Jason, but Ye Ji, who had dispatched him with a single strike.
"Ridiculous!"
Ye Qingcheng scoffed. "Since you knew of his background, you still went to such lengths to kill him. Now you beg for mercy. Don't you find it ironic?"
Hearing this, Shui Wuzhong quickly said, "That was before I knew!"
But it was clear that they weren't listening to his excuses.
Yun Fan asked, "How do you want to die?"
At this, Shui Wuzhong angrily retorted, "Yun Fan, the Ye family occupied your Long family's assets and killed so many people from your Long family. You didn't seek revenge, yet you've now joined forces with the Ye family to attack my Shui family. Where is your conscience?"
The two had long anticipated this.
Yun Fan said, "Don't you have any idea why the Ye family killed so many people from the Long family?"
"After my parents' incident back then, you not only failed to help but also wanted to swallow the Long family's assets. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
At this statement, Shui Wuzhong lost his footing. Yun Fan was speaking the truth. Not only that, but Yun Fan's parents' accident seemed to have been orchestrated by the main family.
Yet, he stubbornly accused Yun Fan, "So what? The Long family was leaderless at the time. Rather than let the outsiders of the Ye family benefit, why not let us, our own kin, benefit?"
"Would you bear to hand over the assets to outsiders? You unfilial son!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan chuckled disdainfully. Even at this point, Shui Wuzhong was still making excuses. Ye Ji had indeed taken over the Long family.
But if Ye Ji hadn't intervened back then, the hundreds of people of the Long family would probably have all turned to dust by now.
At this, he said to Shui Wuzhong, "Who said it would be given to outsiders?"
In fact, at present, both Ye Ji and Ye Qingcheng were considered family, not outsiders.
He continued, "Stop making excuses, Shui Wuzhong. No matter how eloquently you speak today, your Shui family must die!"
"Hmph!"
Shui Wuzhong snorted coldly. "Come out, all of you! I'd like to see if this unfilial son dares to kill us elders?"
Upon hearing this, the Shui family members who had been hiding inside emerged. Of course, the traitors from the Long family were also among them.
An elder pointed a finger at Yun Fan's nose and cursed, "You little bastard, I am your third grandfather. If you dare to make a move, you will bear the infamy of ages!"
"That's right, we protected the Long family with all our might back then. We never expected you to collude with evildoers. Our Long family has no unfilial descendant like you!"
A group of people looked at Yun Fan indignantly. In the blink of an eye, Yun Fan was labeled a disloyal and unfilial sinner of the ages.
Yun Fan remained silent. They were merely a group of buffoons.
At this, Ye Qingcheng said to Yun Fan, "You don't need to make a move. I'll take care of it for you!"
Hearing this, everyone's expression changed. If Ye Qingcheng made a move, there would be no room for mercy, and they would all die.
"Hmph! As expected of a bastard, you know you're in the wrong and dare not act, so you let this lowly woman do it!"
"Exactly, if you have the guts, do it yourself!"
"Enough!"
Yun Fan shouted, and the crowd finally stopped their verbal abuse, but their anger towards Yun Fan was unhidden.
Yun Fan said, "You've guessed wrong. She doesn't need to act today. I will clean up my own house and eliminate you traitors of the Long family!"
"You dare..."
Just as they were betting that Yun Fan wouldn't dare to act and would only engage in verbal sparring, Yun Fan made his move, swiftly attacking them.
"Escape!"
Instantly, the entire courtyard descended into chaos. No one had expected Yun Fan to actually dare to act. However, in front of Yun Fan, a peak congenital master, they were incapable of escaping.
In the blink of an eye, these individuals were all slaughtered by Yun Fan, and there was not a hint of guilt in Yun Fan's eyes.
These people deserved to die long ago; they had merely lived for over twenty more years.
Back then, the branch of his parents' family had been nearly eradicated by these people in secret, not even sparing infants months old.
If not for Ye Ji's appearance and her killing of the ringleader, even he, an infant, would have met with misfortune.
Yun Fan showed no mercy when dealing with such venomous individuals.
"No!"
Shui Wuzhong hadn't expected that the Shui family, so prosperous just moments ago, would now suffer such a catastrophe.
He cursed at Yun Fan, "Beast, even if I die, I will not let you go!"
Unfortunately, as soon as he finished speaking, Yun Fan kicked him flying.
"Do you think this is the end?"
Yun Fan said coldly, "No, this is just the beginning. Everyone who participated back then must die, including your Shui family, the Long family traitors, and the main Shui family!"
"Hmph! Boasting!"
Shui Wuzhong snorted coldly. "I must admit, you bastard were very lucky to have escaped that ordeal back then. Now you've even made a name for yourself, but you're waiting for your downfall! Both you and the Ye family will be sanctioned by the main family!"
"The main family will not let you go!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan sneered. "They should be the ones to worry, because my reckoning has only just begun!"
With that, Yun Fan stepped forward, and the wicked Shui Wuzhong died on the spot.
Outside, the young master of the Shui family and his companions, who had just returned to the Shui residence, were so terrified that they wet themselves upon witnessing the scene.
"I'll kill you!"
He charged towards Yun Fan.
But after only a few steps, he was swiftly dealt with by Ye Qingcheng.
After eliminating these rebels, Yun Fan did not leave, as he found documents and contact information for the main Shui family here.
These were all very useful to Yun Fan. One day, he would set foot into the hidden sects, and while seeking revenge, he would thoroughly eliminate all hidden dangers.