Chapter 5: You Are Not My Brother

In that instant, Ye Mengxue was certain—the man standing before her was indeed Ye Cheng, the brother who had abandoned his family and disappeared for a full seven years.

"Ye Cheng... Ye Cheng... How could it be you..."

She stood dazed, paying no mind to the enemies lying unconscious all around her. In her eyes, there was only this man before her.

"Ye Cheng, why!"

The words tore from her throat, wrenching her heart with pain so sharp it nearly suffocated her. All these years, she had believed her obedient little brother was dead. Every year, during the Ghost Festival, she would draw a white circle on the ground for him alone, quietly burning extra offerings out of a sister's selfish grief.

A thousand, ten thousand questions swarmed her mind. She wanted to shout at Ye Cheng, to demand where he had been all these years, to ask why he had abandoned them.

But in the end, all that poured out was a silence without end.

She could not say a word. Her eyes brimmed with hatred and despair.

Her own brother, Ye Cheng, had forsaken her and their parents for seven whole years.

Seeing his sister's agony, Ye Cheng was filled with guilt.

Sister, I will make it up to you. I will make sure you and our parents live a good life!

But now...

All his fury was focused on one man: Wang Yongsheng.

At that moment, Wang Yongsheng was so terrified he could barely speak.

Over twenty elite bodyguards—his own father had arranged for them, the finest protection, each trained for at least five years!

Yet this beggar had felled them all in less than a minute, leaving their fates uncertain.

"Young master... listen to me, apologize and pay compensation. This young man is not someone we can afford to anger..."

Zhao Wuji had lost all will to fight.

To bring down more than twenty sturdy guards in succession—even he would have struggled, yet Ye Cheng had done it with effortless grace.

Who was this man?

"Apologize?"

It was only then that Wang Yongsheng began to recover from his shock.

But he was unwilling—utterly unwilling!

Who was he? The only son of Wang Long, chairman of Linjiang Group! The future heir of the entire conglomerate! A billionaire in his own right!

And this young man? A martial artist beggar? Was that all?

"Impossible!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his entire being trembling with madness.

"Are you out of your mind? You want me, the young master of Linjiang, to apologize to a filthy beggar?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"You, just you wait. I’ll call my father here, he’ll kill you! And as for this woman, she’ll—"

Swoosh!

Before he could finish, a large hand seized his throat.

His eyes widened in disbelief at the man before him.

"You... you..."

Wang Yongsheng's legs kicked wildly, while Zhao Wuji, the once-mighty master, stood frozen in terror.

"Senior, please, spare him just this once. His crime isn't worthy of death!"

"If you say another word, you’ll die too."

The hellish aura radiating from Ye Cheng made Zhao Wuji fall silent instantly.

Save his boss? Better to save himself first.

"To insult my sister is a capital offense."

Crack!

The sound of breaking bones was crisp and clear. Zhao Wuji could only close his eyes in despair.

The young master of the Wang family, who had ruled Linjiang like a tyrant for over ten years, died just like that.

"Sister... he called me his sister..."

If before there had only been suspicion, now all doubts were gone.

This was her brother, Ye Cheng.

Having dealt with the man who had tried to defile his sister, Ye Cheng released his grip.

Thud.

Wang Yongsheng’s body slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Just as Ye Cheng turned to seek his sister, he saw another man rushing toward her.

"Xiaoxue! Xiaoxue!"

A man in a trench coat was rapidly approaching Ye Mengxue.

Seeing this, Ye Cheng darted forward.

But just as he was about to reach her side, a familiar figure blocked his path.

"Ye Cheng!"

Ye Cheng stared at his sister in disbelief.

Only she, the one for whom he felt such guilt, could make him show such an expression.

"He's not a bad person. Don’t do anything rash."

Her voice was unexpectedly cold, piercing Ye Cheng’s heart.

"But—"

"Xiaoxue, who is this man? Is he one of those bastards who bullied you?"

The man looked at Ye Cheng with wary hostility.

"Come with me, you’ll be safe at home!"

He reached for Ye Mengxue’s hand, an action that instantly ignited Ye Cheng’s anger.

"Courting death!"

Ye Cheng flashed past his sister, striking the man’s hand with a slap.

Slap! Crack!

Using only a fraction of his strength, Ye Cheng broke the man’s hand instantly.

"Ah!!!"

The man’s scream drew the attention of several black-clad men in the distance—his bodyguards, no doubt.

"Ye Cheng!"

Seeing the man wounded, Ye Mengxue finally broke down. She could not understand why her brother had become this, a ruthless demon who killed without hesitation.

"Go! Leave! I don’t recognize you as my brother anymore—just go!"

Staring at her, torn between grief and rage, Ye Cheng’s heart finally shattered.

He had thought he might have a chance to make amends, but he had never imagined his sister would scold him for the sake of an outsider.

"Sis, I only want to make it up to you."

"Make it up to me?"

Ye Mengxue’s face flushed red, and she screamed with all her might.

"With what? With your fists, your violence?"

"Seven years! Do you know what it’s been like for me and our parents these seven years?"

"I work in a factory by day and as a bar waitress by night—twelve hours a day just to scrape together enough to pay for our parents’ medical bills!"

Her whole body trembled with emotion.

"When I wept while taking our parents to the hospital, where were you?"

"When I was harassed by thugs at the bar, where were you?"

"When our relatives turned me away, where were you then? Tell me!"

Ye Cheng was left speechless.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again.

"All these years... I’ve always wanted to come home."

"Come home?"

Ye Mengxue let out a bitter laugh.

"You have no home anymore, Ye Cheng. You will never be my brother again—never!"

Lifting the wounded man from the ground, Ye Mengxue held back her tears and disappeared into the endless night.

Ye Cheng did not follow. He bowed his head in silence.

No matter what, he would go see his parents—they were gravely ill in the hospital.

Having made up his mind, Ye Cheng fell once again into deep thought.

He possessed only martial skill, with no influence in the mundane world at all.

At this, he turned toward Zhao Wuji.

The once-proud "master" Zhao Wuji now felt as if a hungry tiger had set its sights on him.