Meanwhile, the entire nation was cursing the Ming Family.
The people’s decade of hatred for Ye Xiu was now redirected with full force upon the Ming Family. In just a few hours, they had become a public enemy. Clients, suppliers, and dealers of the Ming Corporation called immediately to terminate their partnerships, return goods, and demand payments. All employees of the Ming Corporation resigned remotely via phone, text, and email. The bank manager even called personally to demand the immediate repayment of their loans.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.
This scene was strikingly similar to the one that had played out ten years ago after Ye Xiu was framed.
"The Ming Family is completely finished!"
In Ming Shixiong’s villa, every member of the Ming Family wore an expression of devastation and despair.
"The money in all our family’s bank accounts has been mysteriously transferred out. The funds in the company accounts have also vanished inexplicably. The cash we withdrew recently has been stolen, along with the safe. Tomorrow morning, the bank and the shareholders will file lawsuits with the court. The company, our cars, our houses—everything of value—will be seized. The Ming Family is left with nothing!"
At this moment, the Ming Family finally understood what the Li Family and Ruiding Pharmaceuticals had felt.
"Ye Xiu is a bastard."
Ming Yue shot to her feet, cursing vehemently, her expression twisting with rage. "It was Ye Xiu who did this to us! I curse him..."
The other members of the Ming Family were seething with an anger so intense they wished they could eat Ye Xiu’s flesh and drink his blood. Only then would their hatred be sated.
"Now is not the time for anger," Ming Shixiong said calmly. "Ye Xiu hates our family to the bone. Now that he’s released the evidence, he will likely come to kill us tonight or send us to the City of Asura to work in the mines."
His words sent a chill of terror through the entire family.
"I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to go mine in the City of Asura! Dad, you have to think of something, quickly," Ming Yue’s mother pleaded in a panic.
"Our only option now is to go to the Patrol Bureau Office and turn ourselves in!" Ming Shixiong said through gritted teeth. "Ye Xiu has only released the evidence of us framing him. As long as he doesn’t press charges, the Patrol Officers won’t arrest us. He’s doing all this because he wants to take revenge with his own hands. We’ll go to the Patrol Bureau Office right now and confess to all of the Ming Family’s crimes. Instead of being killed by Ye Xiu or sent to mine in the City of Asura, we’d be better off eating prison food in the comfort of a jail cell."
Hearing this, the Ming family members all grew excited. Though they would lose their freedom in prison, it was far better than being murdered or sent to the City of Asura.
"Ye Xiu wants to deal with us personally, but we won’t let him have his way. We’ll do this just to spite him," Ming Yue sneered maniacally. "Let’s go to the Patrol Bureau Office right now."
"Let’s go!"
The Ming Family members immediately got into their cars and drove to the nearest Patrol Bureau. They were well aware that by confessing to all their crimes, they could outlast Ye Xiu from behind bars.
They were the ones who had hired a killer to run down Ye Xiu’s mother and maternal grandparents. They were the ones who had single-handedly destroyed Ye Xiu’s reputation. They were the ones who had sold fake medical equipment to major hospitals and framed Ye Xiu for it. And they were the ones who had poisoned Ye Xiu’s medicine, killing hundreds of patients.
Combined, these crimes were enough to ensure they would rot in prison for life. They didn’t believe Ye Xiu had the power to get to them in there.
However, when the Ming Family members eagerly ran to the Patrol Bureau to turn themselves in, they were thrown out by the Patrol Officers.
"What do we do now? Wait for Ye Xiu to kill us? Or wait for him to send us to the City of Asura?" Ming Hao asked, trembling violently with fear.
"Run!" Ming Yue said through clenched teeth. "While our cars haven’t been seized yet, let’s flee Jin Ye City tonight."
"Yes, yes, run!"
The Ming Family members clutched at the idea like a drowning man at a straw. They all sprinted toward the parking area, intending to escape Jin Ye City under the cover of darkness.
Just then, a group of masked, black-clothed people appeared from out of nowhere. Without a word, they grabbed the members of the Ming Family and gave them a sound thrashing. After the beating, they drove off in all of the family’s cars.
Ming Shixiong, his face bruised and swollen, slumped to the ground. "It seems Ye Xiu was prepared for our escape," he said in despair.
Someone couldn’t help but sob, and soon, the entire Ming Family was wailing. At that moment, they finally understood the depths of Ye Xiu’s despair from ten years ago—a helplessness so complete it felt as if his cries to heaven and earth had gone unanswered.
「The next morning!」
Ye Xiu and Qin Qing had just finished their sword practice and were preparing to go inside to wash up and eat breakfast.
"My friend, you’re up early! Here, your big bro brought you breakfast," Ma Tengkong said with a broad smile as he ran over, carrying several bags.
Seeing him, Qin Qing gave a wry smile. "Back then, whenever you ran into trouble, Ma Tengkong would vanish. But the moment something good happened, he was always the first to offer congratulations. I can’t believe he hasn’t changed a bit in ten years."
"A leopard never changes its spots," Ye Xiu said with a small smile.
"You can deal with him. I’m going to wash up and eat," Qin Qing said and went straight back into the house. She truly detested Ma Tengkong’s sycophantic act; it was disgusting.
Just then, Ma Tengkong scurried up to Ye Xiu with a fawning grin. "My friend, I’m exhausted from carrying all this. Give me a hand, will you?"
Ye Xiu didn’t offer to help. "I’ve seen many shameless people," he said coldly, "but you are still the most shameless of them all."
"Now, why would you say that?" Ma Tengkong chirped. "I had a fight with your sister-in-law last night, so I took it out on you. Please, bro, don’t hold it against me."
"If you came here to apologize, you can leave," Ye Xiu ordered.
"How could I leave now?" Ma Tengkong said, striking a pose as if he were looking out for Ye Xiu’s best interests. "With your name cleared, it’s a huge celebration! People will be visiting all day. I’ll stick around and help out."
Ten years ago, whenever someone brought Ye Xiu a gift, Ma Tengkong would always play the role of the helper, only to take all the gifts meant for Ye Xiu back to his own home. He had rushed over first thing in the morning with the exact same intention.
Ye Xiu saw right through him. "Ma Tengkong, people change," he said sternly. "I’m not the same Ye Xiu from ten years ago. You won’t get anything from me, so don’t waste your time."