Ye Tiancheng had achieved some minor accomplishments, but he was far from satisfied. His heart held grand ambitions, and he couldn't afford to indulge in this gentle haven. Seeing the two women, he was about to speak when he was interrupted by a girl, Wang Xiaomiao, who suddenly appeared at his doorstep.
Seeing her arrive, he knew there was something to be done, and Ye Tiancheng used it as an excuse.
The two women were displeased by his apparent desire to escape but, with an outsider present, they had to accept the situation.
"The boss has something to attend to."
"You should call me Mr. Ye. I'm not that old. That title makes it sound like I'm running a criminal organization." Ye Tiancheng was quite unhappy with Wang Xiaomiao's address. After all, society needed harmony, not the spread of negative energy. As a prominent figure in the community, he needed his subordinates to address him with proper respect. Titles like "boss" or "third brother" sounded like they belonged to a gang.
Wang Xiaomiao, seeing Ye Tiancheng's displeasure, stuck out her tongue, looking worried.
"Look at you, scaring the little girl. Such a smug attitude. I'm really worried that problems will arise because you're frightening her so much right now." As she spoke, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
"I was just joking with you, but you'd better take what I say seriously. Otherwise, if I become a prominent figure in the future and you still call me that, it will be truly embarrassing." Ye Tiancheng envisioned a glorious future, and it would be ridiculous and pathetic if people still addressed him in such a manner.
A respectable person naturally cared about their reputation. If one disregarded their face, how could they get by? Anyone with a sense of dignity should have such a shining banner fluttering in the wind.
"I know what you want to say, but now is not the time. The next step is simple: just do what needs to be done. Don't feel embarrassed. The more embarrassed you feel, the more likely we are to fall into an abyss from which there is no return."
"Are you referring to Hou Mingzhu? Didn't you let that girl go?" Wang Xiaomiao asked incredulously. "Please call me Xiaomiao." He quickly shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. That woman is a fair-weather friend. If we fall on hard times, she'll be the first to kick us while we're down and won't lift a finger to help us. You know her well. As the saying goes, 'It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change a person's nature.'"
"Then why don't you corner them to eliminate future trouble? Instead, you want to help them. I really don't understand what you're thinking."
"My thoughts are simple, but you just don't understand. If you understood my intentions, you wouldn't be laughing at me right now." Ye Tiancheng wore a sheepish expression that disgusted everyone. They couldn't fathom what he was thinking. In fact, some things didn't need to be explained too clearly to others, otherwise, they would lose all meaning.
"It seems you understand and your thoughts are quite simple. If we keep talking about it, it's not really our intention. So, what we do in the future must be aboveboard. Otherwise, gossip will spread, and our reputation will be tarnished. Being scorned by everyone would result in significant losses. Having a righteous banner to rally people is beneficial for developing any industry." Ye Tiancheng was very forward-thinking, always considering the benefits first.
Where there were benefits, there was meaning. Thus, for the sake of benefits, everyone engaged in mutual struggle and strife. Because benefits were eternal, without the entanglement of benefits, people would lack passion, and the world would be a desolate, terrifyingly lonely place. The struggle for benefits often generated various forms of motivation, creating the grand and turbulent panorama of the world. It was impossible for the world to remain peaceful; one day it would descend into chaos. In such times, heroes and valiant figures would emerge, as would demons and monsters, engaging in the most intense struggles, altering the course of history and giving rise to new things.
Each time this happened, the human world resembled hell. Therefore, those without ambition would say, "Better to be a dog in peace than a human in chaos."
In this era of fierce competition, a single misstep could lead to eternal damnation. Ye Tiancheng was acutely aware of the importance of cherishing his reputation, much like a bird cherishes its feathers. Any slight misstep could be exploited by others, causing severe damage to his interests. In such a situation, he would be as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, potentially losing a great deal of profit.
He was acutely aware of the terrifying consequences of continuous profit loss. It was these things that constantly drove him to innovate and transform himself into someone different.
"Looking at you, it seems you're gradually beginning to understand how to be a qualified member of high society. If you still don't understand, I'll have to give you a good smack on the head so you learn how to be a gentleman at times. Everyone who enters high society must cherish their reputation to be accepted by the world. You are like a ripe, red fruit hanging high above; everyone standing beneath the tree sees you first. You will become the object of everyone's scrutiny. Any mistake you make will become an object of attack. When people in high society fall, the poor feel a sense of schadenfreude, an ineffable joy."
The speaker at this moment was, of course, Su Muxian.
Ye Tiancheng understood what she was saying and also knew how to conduct himself properly.
Hearing these words, everyone except Ye Tiancheng found them profound and unfathomable.
Ye Tiancheng, however, found nothing extraordinary about them.
It was essential to make the other person understand for them to be on the right track.
"Of course, even if you truly understand some things, it's meaningless if you don't act on them." Su Muxian had high expectations for Ye Tiancheng, hoping he could achieve what others could not.
Ye Tiancheng naturally wished he could achieve this, but it was extremely difficult.
After all, he already understood the adage, "It is lonely at the top."
"Whoosh!" Just as he was happily contemplating his future, he suddenly heard a sound approaching their house. He instinctively sensed danger. Therefore, before the sound reached them, he unleashed his divine sense to scan. He clearly felt that the sound approaching the house was not an RPG, but a simplified rocket launcher.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng suddenly rush outside, everyone wondered why he was running out. But then, a deafening explosion echoed, and the entire house was engulfed by a powerful shockwave, shaking as if it were alive. Everyone was terrified, their faces pale, and cold sweat beaded on their bodies. After a while, they cautiously ventured outside to find Ye Tiancheng, his clothes torn and his body battered, completely enveloped in black smoke with his hair standing on end...
"What on earth is going on?" All the women looked at Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng calmly said to the three women, "I think the Feng family has found assassins. They want to completely erase me from this planet."
He spoke of such a dangerous situation with such nonchalance, terrifying the injured women. Su Muxian, in particular, looked at Ye Tiancheng with extreme worry in her eyes.
As one of the four great families, she was well aware of the Feng family's character and had long been wary of their machinations. Therefore, Su Muxian was deeply concerned that Ye Tiancheng might be killed. Even with his extraordinary abilities, he couldn't withstand continuous attacks. One day, he might be unable to guard against the schemes of truly villainous people and perish. "Don't worry, it's no big deal. Isn't it just Feng Zhongke? He's not far from us. Although that brat failed and ran away, I smelled his disgusting scent from over 300 meters away..."
"You say it so casually. You truly are a fool who won't shed tears until they see the coffin."
"Precisely. I am a fool, but fools have their luck. I hope you remember, 'If the enemy does not move, I do not move; if the enemy moves, I move...' We can move now since they've made their move." Ye Tiancheng smiled faintly, his face filled with confidence.
"Where does your confidence come from?" Seeing Ye Tiancheng's demeanor, the others appeared exceptionally perplexed.
"It's no big deal, you'll understand eventually." His expression conveyed to Ye Tiancheng that he had to grow at all costs, that there was no alternative but to find a way. Wang Xiaomiao suddenly admonished Ye Tiancheng like a mature woman.
Clearly, he didn't take these matters seriously. For him, nothing could exert negative pressure. He was different from others. Only he understood what he desired. After all, there was always someone better, and there was always a higher heaven. All problems generated negative consequences. Once such a definition of a problem arose.
Unless you were his internal parasite, you could never figure out what this guy was thinking. What was on his mind was surely beyond anyone's imagination.
"I want to give those guys a mirror and tell them to reflect on what they are. They've become one of the four great families, yet they're still so aggressive. Aren't they afraid of being scorned by everyone if it leaks out?"
"Some families are born into privilege, with no sense of hardship. In their minds, the strong are respected. If they can bully someone, they will do so without reservation. Unless you can control them and make them your pets, they will obediently listen to you. Because at that point, you hold their lives in your hands. They dare not confront those stronger than themselves. This is what is most disgusting about the Feng family. Although I'm used to it, I simply dislike people like them."
"I dislike them just as much. Because of people like them, I feel the world will not be a beautiful place, as if it's filled with a vicious cycle." At this moment, Ye Tiancheng wanted to eliminate this guy, to strike them a heavy blow no matter what, so they would never dare to babble nonsense in front of him again. Making them disappear from this world was simple: kill them, make their bodies vanish, and their very existence would be instantly erased. This was the simplest, most brutal, and most effective method.
"I never expected you to have such thoughts. You truly amaze me." Seeing his demeanor, there were no superfluous thoughts. The straightforward approach was to make them thoroughly understand that as long as they existed in this world, there would be such and such unsatisfactory things. They wouldn't think Ye Tiancheng was a vicious person, not some naive, innocent youth from a mountain village, pure and white like a piece of paper, who would take abuse without a word. Such people would eventually be bullied until not even a shred of bone remained.
The chilling killing intent on his face made everyone's hair stand on end. They clearly understood why Ye Tiancheng was so enraged. It wasn't just him who was targeted; it was the people around him. He didn't care about any minor disturbances affecting him, but when it came to the women he cared about, it was different. Although his first marriage was a failure, ending for the sake of benefits, Ye Tiancheng deeply valued his subsequent relationships. Even though he hadn't decided which woman would be his lifelong partner, he absolutely could not tolerate someone harming those close to him.
This was a severe provocation of his bottom line, which was why he was so furious.
"I think you should be magnanimous and forgiving. Even if Feng Zhongke has countless faults, you are a magnanimous person. Don't bother with such petty troublemakers. Your path ahead is long. Don't get investigated by the Imperial Guard for fighting with him. If you are convicted of murder, you will face life imprisonment and spend your entire life in prison..." Su Muxian was extremely worried about his dangerous temperament.
"I'll be fine. If the Imperial Guard were to investigate such a tragic matter, I would have died long ago." How could the women around him know that he had already clashed with Lin Xue's senior disciple and had seized his storage ring?
"I don't offend those who don't offend me. If they offend me, I will pursue them to the ends of the earth. Although I dislike fighting, they sought me out. I will absolutely not let them live comfortably and happily. I will make sure they have no place to be buried." Ye Tiancheng did not say this aloud, as it would only make them more worried. Therefore, he would never tell the three women such things. Instead, he said with a radiant smile, "I've wanted to take punitive action against them for a long time. Now they've finally given me a reason to make them disappear without a trace. So, I want to kill the chicken to scare the monkey."
"Does fighting violence with violence ever end well? Those who resort to violence will die by violence." Wang Xiaomiao finally couldn't help but say something. She had been instilled with the principle of patience since childhood. Her grandfather had lived by this principle, passing it down as a family treasure to be learned by future generations: no matter what happened, one must learn to endure. The strong would be dealt with by the strong; it was not their place as the weak. They were meant to be bullied. As long as they didn't assert themselves, didn't speak, and didn't act, they should just focus on living. If they listened to rousing speeches and risked their lives for others, they would be the first to die. Such a death would be meaningless because it wouldn't be for themselves. Living for oneself was the best outcome.
"Do you understand now?" Wang Xiaomiao was very worried that Ye Tiancheng would act recklessly.
"What you say doesn't apply to me." Ye Tiancheng naturally believed in his own strength and his intuition.
Because everyone's reasoning was merely their own experience and life circumstances. It was like a plum tree and a peach tree; they had different ways of living. One bloomed with pink flowers, while the other bloomed with white flowers. The fruits they bore should be sweet, while the other was very sour.
Therefore, you couldn't understand why the peach tree bloomed with pink flowers, and the peach tree couldn't understand why the plum tree bloomed with snow-white flowers. If two people demanded that others live like them based on their own circumstances, it would be laughable. Because different people have different ways of life, there are few similarities. Everyone is an independent and individual existence, like "one flower, one world."
The reason for his stubbornness was his firm belief that his way was correct. No matter what, he would stick to what he believed in, whether the world reached its end or underwent immense changes over ten thousand years, he would not change his original intention. This was the principle and idea he desperately wanted to uphold, believing that only by persisting in oneself could one achieve self-realization. It had to be said that he was a very headstrong person. Perhaps it was because of his persistence that he had come this far. If he hadn't had the fierce determination to turn his life around from the beginning, he would have long since turned to dust in that small river village and died of melancholy. It was precisely because he believed that one day he would turn his life around and exact revenge that this fierce resolve kept him going.
"I don't think he's listening at all. He still thinks he's right. People like that are thinkers. No matter what you say to them, they won't care, nor will they take your words to heart or even notice them. So, everything you say to him is in vain and useless." Hearing Su Muxian's words, Wang Xiaomiao was surprised by Ye Tiancheng's thoughts and felt very disappointed.