Volume One, Chapter Five: Leave a Way Out

With a single sentence, not only was Yun Xueyan stunned, but even Yun Tianding was left speechless with shock. No matter how impressive you are, surely there’s a limit to bragging! That’s the leader of the Fierce Tiger Hall, the ruthless man who unified the East City overnight, and you claim he knelt before you? Why not say he even calls you master? Yun Tianding, who had always admired Chu Ming, found himself unable even to offer an excuse for him at this moment.

“You get a little praise and you’re already getting carried away! Don’t you know, nothing is more off-putting than a deceitful man!” Yun Xueyan scoffed.

“Yan Yan! No matter what, Mr. Ye just saved you. How can you speak to him like that?”

“The urgent matter right now is to find out who orchestrated the attack on us!”

“There’s no need to investigate—I’ve already found out. It was Wang Qi.”

At these words, Yun Tianding’s gaze turned icy cold. “Very well! I’m not dead yet, and already a mere junior of the Wang family dares to swagger over this old man’s head?”

At that moment, several luxury cars that had been left behind by the driver earlier finally caught up. The bodyguards rushed over, breathless. “Master, are you all right?”

“I’m fine! Inform everyone in the family to assemble immediately—I have two important announcements to make!”

The Yun family manor was soon abuzz with people. Yun Tianding had three sons and three daughters. Apart from Yun Xueyan’s parents, who had passed away, the remaining children each presided over a branch of the family’s businesses in different fields. Yet, they were all a bunch of incompetents. Only Yun Xueyan was capable of supporting the vast family on her own.

He was old, with only a few years left. He dared not imagine what would become of the Yun clan in the hands of these wastrels if Yun Xueyan were lost. But heaven had not abandoned him—it had sent Chu Ming to Yun Xueyan’s side. Yun Tianding believed that with Chu Ming there, the Yun family would not only endure, but flourish even more gloriously.

As soon as Yun Tianding returned home, he was surrounded by his children, all talking at once.

“Dad, I heard you’re actually going to listen to that charlatan Huangfu Duan and marry Yan Yan off to some nobody?”

“Dad, please don’t lose your mind in your old age!”

Not one of his children expressed concern for the fact that he had just barely escaped death. Instead, they immediately bombarded him with accusations. Yun Tianding’s face turned cold, his voice icy as he spoke. “That’s right! This is the first matter I wish to announce: Yan Yan will marry Chu Ming, and together they will manage all the Yun family’s assets!”

“He’s an outsider! By what right?” protested his second son, Yun Cheng.

“Exactly! Father, we all know Yan Yan doesn’t have long to live. When she’s gone, do you intend to leave all the family’s assets to this outsider?” his eldest daughter, Yun Mingyi, said sarcastically.

The third son, Yun Chao, rolled up his sleeves, waving his fists at Chu Ming in fury. “You! Are you cozying up to our Yan Yan just to get your hands on the Yun family fortune?”

Chu Ming laughed dismissively. “Is the Yun family wealthy? If I wished, I could buy ten Yun families in a matter of minutes.”

The assembled crowd burst into laughter, their faces full of mockery.

“This boy really is shameless!”

“Look at his clothes—can’t be worth more than two hundred yuan—and he dares say he could buy the Yun family? I doubt he could even afford the dog food for one of our family’s pets!”

Yun Cheng strode over, looking down at him as he tossed a card at Chu Ming. “Boy, I’ve investigated your background. You’re the only survivor of the Chu family, wiped out ten years ago. You’ve been drifting ever since, even tried to extort money from the Chen family and got thrown out!”

“I don’t know what tricks you’ve used to bewitch the old man, but I’m more generous than the Chen family. There’s a million on this card—take it and get out of here!”

“Our Yun family is a prestigious house, not the kind of place for a small-time nobody like you to covet!”

Chu Ming smiled. “Prestigious house? Is the Yun family really so grand?”

Through the years, he had followed the old man to many places. He had sat on the throne of the British Queen and had princes raise a toast to him. He had visited the Nordic palaces, and a princess had offered her country as dowry to marry him. He had received the homage of the world’s richest man, accepted the allegiance of the King of Darkness. As Lord of the Imperial Hall, he represented the pinnacle of the world’s power.

Chu Ming let out a cold laugh, an overwhelming aura erupting from him, his proud voice echoing through the entire manor. “The Yun family is nothing in my eyes. If not for the fact that you are Yan Yan’s relatives, you wouldn’t even be qualified to stand before me and speak!”

“Yun Xueyan, I will marry you! Who approves? Who opposes?”

This domineering declaration left the crowd so shocked that not a single person dared utter a word.

Yun Xueyan gazed at Chu Ming, and a glimmer of light flickered in her eyes. This man, though prone to boasting, was, at this very moment, undeniably dashing.

“Hmph! You won’t be marrying her! We’ve already promised Yan Yan to Master Xu!” someone interjected.

Yun Tianding’s expression changed instantly. “Xu Biao, vice-chief of the Fierce Tiger Hall? That scoundrel was originally under Old Eight, but later betrayed him and defected. Tiger Lord only made him vice-chief to stabilize the East City. This man is notorious for his ruthlessness and depravity. Who gave you the right to promise Yan Yan to such a scoundrel?”

Yun Cheng spoke up, “Dad, it wasn’t our wish! But Yan Yan doesn’t have much time, and you’re not in the best of health. The rest of us brothers need a backer. Master Xu promised that as long as Yan Yan spends a few nights with him, the Yun family’s prosperity and safety are guaranteed. Even if the other three great families want to move against us, they’ll have to think twice about crossing the Fierce Tiger Hall.”

“Second Uncle! What do you take me for?” Yun Xueyan, furious, demanded.

Yun Cheng shrugged indifferently. “Yan Yan, the Yun family owes everything to you, but you’re dying. At least do this last service for your family. All your uncles and aunts will be grateful.”

The affection of great families is colder than ice.

“Impossible! I will never be with someone like Xu Biao!”

“Heh… I’m afraid you won’t have a say in the matter!”

At that moment, an arrogant voice rang out. A burly, pockmarked man strode in with a group of thugs. Xu Biao leered at the stunning Yun Xueyan, swallowing hard before chuckling, “Beauty, let me be frank—the other three great families are already preparing to join forces to swallow the Yun family whole. But if you come with me, I promise to leave your family a way out.”