Volume One, Chapter 60: Cleanup.

“Of course! You villain! Villain! Villain! I just took a nap, and when I woke up, you had destroyed my home.” Kui Niu sent this message to Jiang Chen through divine sense.

Jiang Chen looked embarrassed. “Weren’t you the one who made the first move? How can you blame me?”

Kui Niu stood up and snorted twice. “You’re not even human! A true man should own up to his actions, but you don’t dare!”

Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. “Enough, let’s not talk about this. Your world is about to collapse. I have to leave, or I’ll end up buried with you.”

He was ready to escape; Jiang Chen had no intention of taking responsibility, nor would he rebuild the secret realm.

His figure vanished in an instant, and he appeared before Chu Xixi and Coriander.

The two were huddled against a tree, their faces smeared with dirt and despair.

The ground shook violently and unpredictably. Jiang Chen grabbed them both by the arm. “Let’s get out of here. It’s almost time. If we don’t leave now, this place will collapse.”

Just as Jiang Chen was about to take off, Kui Niu floated over from afar and blocked his path. Man and beast locked eyes.

“What’s the meaning of this? Blocking my way—do you want to challenge me?” Jiang Chen was ready to suppress Kui Niu, or send the two women out first and stay behind to battle Kui Niu if necessary.

Kui Niu rumbled, “Take me with you! Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving!”

Jiang Chen frowned. “Are you threatening me?”

Kui Niu had no choice but to back down. Though Jiang Chen couldn’t do much to him, Kui Niu himself couldn’t restrain Jiang Chen either.

“Take me with you. I can protect you.” Kui Niu finally softened, choosing survival over pride.

“I don’t need protection…” Jiang Chen replied.

Kui Niu felt that he had already humbled himself, yet this young man remained stubborn.

“What do you want then, gold and jewels?” Kui Niu asked anxiously.

Jiang Chen shook his head. “I want nothing. As long as you behave yourself once we’re out, I’ll take you with me. I don’t care what else you might bring me.”

Kui Niu agreed without hesitation, nodding his huge head and planning to run off once he was free.

Jiang Chen didn’t care what Kui Niu was thinking; once outside, he had plenty of ways to keep Kui Niu in check—provided the beast didn’t cause trouble.

“Come into the jade pendant and see if it works.” Jiang Chen revealed the pendant on his chest. Kui Niu’s body shrank until he was no bigger than an ant.

Jiang Chen held him in his palm for a moment, patted his tiny head, then tossed him into the pendant.

“Let’s go. Grab my hand!” With that, Jiang Chen tore a huge hole in the secret realm.

Once he had left, the secret realm began to collapse. First the sky fell, then the earth crumbled; the realm vanished with a thunderous crash.

Inside the jade pendant, Kui Niu quietly wiped away tears. “Oh, my home… my home is gone!”

...

The chairmanship of Shan Shui Group had already changed hands, and even the office had been completely renovated. All this was because Ye Qingfeng disliked the decor left by his deceased father, preferring to remodel rather than live with any trace of the old man.

The dead ought to stay dead—no trace is best.

“How are the Ning family’s preparations going?” Ye Qingfeng lounged in his chair, sipping tea leisurely, his eyes filled with calm.

“Young master, the media is saying you’re unfilial. Isn’t it improper to hold an engagement ceremony just after your father passed away?” As the family butler who had served the Ye household since childhood, Pang Qing was understandably concerned.

Of course, he had no idea that the seemingly obedient young master before him was actually the true mastermind behind the scenes.

Ye Qingfeng pulled his chair closer. “Butler Pang, I believe I’m now the head of the family, am I not? Does what I say require confirmation? If my father were sitting here, would you speak to him this way?”

Pang Qing hurriedly replied, “Young master, I meant no offense. I’ll handle it right away.”

Though something was amiss, the news had been thoroughly suppressed. All reports claimed the former chairman of Shan Shui Group had died suddenly, but Pang Qing knew that Ye Qiang had no condition that could cause such a death, so there was surely something strange behind it.

...

Late at night, Pang Qing left his home. His son, Pang Bo, was already asleep. He drove to the company, avoided the surveillance cameras, and slipped into the small warehouse below the building.

As he approached, he felt a chill underfoot. He pressed on, opened the door, and a massive block of ice appeared before him, covered by a white sheet.

Pang Qing’s suspicions deepened. When he lifted the sheet, Ye Qiang’s corpse was revealed.

“Master! This…” Pang Qing stared at the rope marks constricting Ye Qiang’s neck, suddenly realizing the truth.

“Butler Pang, you’re quite spirited—staying up late to meddle in Ye family business.” Ye Qingfeng stepped out from the shadows, accompanied by the Gu Master.

Pang Qing’s fury erupted. “Ye Qingfeng! How could you do this? The master treated you so well, made you his heir—unfilial son! Shameless!”

Ye Qingfeng replied coldly, “You know what you’ve done. My father was strict with me, indulgent to Ye Qingming. When I wanted a tiny piece of chocolate, he said I was worthless. Is that kindness? Is that love?”

“It was just a small matter!” Pang Qing protested.

Ye Qingfeng tilted his head. “A small matter?”

“To you, it’s insignificant. But to me, it was the emblem of my childhood. I was always denied, always wrong. These ‘small matters’ forced me to become who I am now.” Ye Qingfeng clutched his chest, a handkerchief falling from his grasp.

“We’re all old acquaintances. Go join my father, so he won’t be alone down below.” With those words, Ye Qingfeng left without looking back.

Pang Qing’s scream rang out, and Ye Qingfeng smiled. “Yes, it’s better when they’re all dead. No one left to stand in my way.”

Halfway out, he remembered something, pulling a photo from his pocket—Jiang Chen’s picture from the auction.

“I forgot about you.”

...