Best Young Master
Chapter 367 - 328: Striving to Perform, Not for Oneself

Chapter 367: Chapter 328: Striving to Perform, Not for Oneself

The night was like ink, and the evening breeze blew past.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Presidential Edition glided smoothly down the street, with Ye Fan gripping the steering wheel in one hand and holding his phone in the other, his expression resolute and indifferent.

On the other end of the phone, Ye Wenhao forcefully inhaled his cigarette, seemingly trying to anesthetize his complex emotions with nicotine.

"Dad, there’s no need for you to get involved in tonight’s matter," Ye Fan said.

After a few seconds, guessing that Ye Wenhao was in a dilemma, Ye Fan took the initiative to speak again.

"Mm."

Ye Wenhao hummed softly and hung up the phone first.

"Beep beep..."

Hearing the busy tone from the handset, Ye Fan also put away his phone.

In the back seat of the car, Pan Ying was as confused as a monk scratching his head, her face filled with bewilderment.

Pan Jueming looked excited.

Although he couldn’t fully understand the purpose of Ye Fan’s phone call just now, Ye Fan made the call in front of him to Ye Wenhao, discussing such confidential matters!

The implicit meaning contained within was self-evident!

"I can help you avenge, but I don’t need a dog. If you believe I can do it, be my pawn," Pan Jueming couldn’t help but recall Ye Fan saying this to him that evening at Ao Xiang Villa in his excitement.

To this day, he knew that not only had Ye Fan not treated him like a dog, but he also did not merely see him as a pawn—no chess player would risk losing the entire game to save a pawn!

"Jueming, to prevent them from making a desperate move, you and your sister should stay at this courtyard tonight. With my aunt protecting you, I trust that no one will be able to touch a hair on your head," Ye Fan said a few minutes later, as the imposing Rolls-Royce Phantom Presidential Edition came to a stop in front of Chu Ji’s courtyard, turning his head to Pan Jueming.

Clearly, Ye Fan knew that because of the cooperation agreement with the Ye Family elders, those in the Ye family who harbored hatred against him were bound to lose both their wife and soldiers tonight, but he couldn’t guarantee whether those people would make a desperate move and vent their anger on Pan Jueming and Pan Ying.

"Mm."

Hearing Ye Fan’s words, Pan Jueming didn’t put on airs and simply nodded lightly.

All was understood without words.

Seeing this, Ye Fan opened the car door, got out first, and walked straight to the back door of the car.

"Mr. Ye... let Little Ying help me," Pan Jueming said, his eyes red and his voice choking, upon seeing this.

"Your sister is too slight, I’m afraid she won’t be able to support you," Ye Fan said with a smile, "Stop being pretentious, I need to take you inside and then make a trip to the Ye Family Mansion."

Hearing this, Pan Jueming said no more and let Ye Fan help him out of the car.

Screech!

Meanwhile, the courtyard door opened with a sound, and Chu Ji, draped in a red cloak, appeared.

"What happened?"

Seeing Ye Fan helping Pan Jueming and noticing the bloodstains on his body, Chu Ji’s face changed as she asked worriedly, "How did you guys end up like this? Did you encounter an assassination? How serious are the injuries??"

"There was a scare but no harm done. Let’s talk about the specifics inside," Ye Fan replied with a smile, indicating that it was alright.

"Phew~"

Relieved to notice that Ye Fan’s injuries weren’t serious, Chu Ji let out a sigh of relief.

"Lady Chu."

Bearing the severe pain from his wounds, Pan Jueming managed a greeting to Chu Ji, then said to Pan Ying, "Little Ying, this is our benefactor’s aunt."

"Hello, aunt," Pan Ying greeted obediently.

"Come inside quickly," Chu Ji said, nodding with a smile, and stepped aside.

A few minutes later, Ye Fan helped Pan Jueming into a room in the courtyard, left Pan Ying to watch over him, and then left the room.

Chu Ji stood at the doorway of the room, and upon seeing Ye Fan exit, she immediately asked eagerly, "What exactly happened?"

"Let’s talk in the study," Ye Fan said with a smile, seeing the anxious look on Chu Ji’s face.

Chu Ji rolled her eyes unwillingly and followed Ye Fan to the study.

"Who made the move on you?"

Once in the study, Chu Ji asked again, driven by a pressing sense of urgency.

"Ye Long,"

"Him?"

Cold light flashed in Chu Ji’s eyes, but she quickly thought of something and asked with some confusion, "He has reached the Peak stage of Innate Martial Artist and has even mastered the ’Yanhuang’s Fury’ First Level of ’Yanhuang Fist,’ putting him on a par with Innate Great Perfection cultivators in terms of strength and combat power. How did you manage to escape this calamity?"

"Rely on it."

Ye Fan’s consciousness stirred, and a Xuanye Flying Blade flew out of his sleeve, hovering in front of him.

"You used telekinesis to catch him off guard with the flying knife?" Seeing the bloodstains on the Xuanye Flying Blade, Chu Ji’s eyes lit up.

Ye Fan shook his head.

"Alright, I won’t ask anymore, and stop beating around the bush. Just tell me everything clearly in one go."

Seeing his demeanor, Chu Ji felt so frustrated it was almost painful, glaring at Ye Fan with an expression that seemed to threaten to chop off Ye Fan’s little brother if he didn’t make things clear.

"Here’s what happened..."

Noticing Chu Ji’s impatience, Ye Fan didn’t dare to keep her in suspense any longer and recounted everything that had happened that night, including Ye Long’s schemes.

"Heh, Hong Lie’s apprentice is indeed quite crafty, to think that he wanted to use Ye Cang as cannon fodder to create an opportunity to attack you!"

After hearing Ye Fan’s account, Chu Ji felt intense hatred, with her killing intent flashing unmistakably―she wished she could turn back time and rush to Qingshui No.1 to chop up Ye Long herself!

"Lucky for me, my magic cultivation broke through to the Great Success Realm at the critical moment, otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing me right now."

Thinking back on the life-and-death struggle that evening, Ye Fan too felt a chill―had he not broken through in time, he and Pan Jueming might already be discussing life with the King of Hell at this very moment.

"Innate Mages really are miraculous."

Hearing Ye Fan’s sigh, and thinking of how he had effortlessly managed Ye Long with just a Xuanye Flying Blade, Chu Ji couldn’t help but utter her amazement. Then another thought struck her, and she said contemplatively, "Although you spared Ye Long’s life, this matter is probably far from over―the bastards of the Ye Family will most likely turn to Ye Zhen and Ye Yuanshan for help, and it’s possible that even Hong Lie will get involved in this affair!"

"I understand," Ye Fan replied with a smile, his face fearless.

"Knowing this, why didn’t you just finish off that little bastard Ye Long?" Chu Ji was puzzled. Ye Fan had always been ruthless against his enemies.

This time, Ye Fan did not rush to reply but considered how to explain the situation to Chu Ji.

"Are you afraid of putting Ye Wenhao in a difficult position?" A thought struck Chu Ji, and she vaguely guessed something, though she still wasn’t certain.

"Yes and no," Ye Fan first nodded, then shook his head.

"What do you mean by yes and no?" Chu Ji widened her eyes, not understanding.

"There are three reasons why I spared Ye Long’s life."

Ye Fan unveiled the mystery, "First, for Ye Long, crippling his Kung Fu and depriving him of any hope for revenge is far more satisfying than killing him. It will make him truly live in misery!"

"Second, as you said, I’m worried about making my father feel awkward. I can see that he does not wish for me to completely break ties with the Ye Family. If I had killed Ye Long, with the agreement I have with the Ye Family elders and the moral high ground, likely, they would only swallow their broken teeth, but the rest of the Ye Family, not knowing about the agreement, would certainly believe my father intervened on my behalf. Henceforth, they would bear a grudge against my father! That would leave my father in a very awkward position, as if swallowing bitterness without being able to say a word."

"What about the third reason?" Chu Ji asked eagerly.

"It’s also for my father."

Ye Fan continued, "By crippling Ye Long’s Kung Fu, I’ve turned him into a cripple. With his character, he will likely seek revenge on me. No matter what methods he uses to take revenge, he will need Ye Yuanshan’s approval. In this way, this matter will ultimately escalate to Ye Yuanshan’s attention―the third generation of the Ye Family will definitely rally around Ye Long, and I will expose Ye Long’s conspiracy with evidence!"

"If Ye Wenhai actively seeks justice for his son, he will have to swallow the pain silently; if he decides to use it as an opportunity to scheme against my father, it will surely be noticed, and he will end up being clever only to outwit himself. Not only will he lose favor in Ye Yuanshan’s eyes, but he will also offend the other members of the third generation of the Ye Family! By then, my father’s position as the successor of the Ye Family will be thoroughly secured."

"Your calculating of Ye Wenhai and Ye Long is only cutting off one of Ye Cang’s fingers. I assume that was also considering your father, wasn’t it?" Hearing what Ye Fan had articulated, Chu Ji felt a sudden epiphany and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

This time.

Ye Fan didn’t make a sound, silently affirming Chu Ji’s words.

"Does Ye Wenhao know about this?" Chu Ji asked again.

"Hmm, I gave him a call before I returned to the Courtyard."

Remembering the earlier call, Ye Fan couldn’t help but sigh, "He guessed that Ye Wenhai might be too clever by half, yet he didn’t wish for such a scene to unfold."

"To others in the Ye Family, even if they are not enemies, they can hardly be called relatives, but in his heart, they are family."

Upon hearing this, Chu Ji remarked with a wry smile, "He and you are alike in valuing loyalty and righteousness. With his character, I fear he would rather give up the position of the third generation successor of the Ye Family, and even the chance to stand at the apex of the power pyramid, than see brother turn against brother, grudges leading to bloodshed."

"I know, which is why I said, he values relationships deeply and can’t bring himself to do certain things, so I’ll do them for him!"

At this point, Ye Fan let out a cold chuckle, "The old folks of the Ye Family played dumb, and in the agreement, they only said that the old man should make use of a great favor to boldly support the Ye Family when the time comes, but neglected to specify it was to be my father―did they think I was unaware of their little calculations?"

"The world thinks you will be the downfall of your father, not knowing that you care more about his career than anyone else and would exert all your efforts to propel him to the apex of the power pyramid!"

After hearing his words, Chu Ji first sighed, then, like Ye Fan, let out a cold laugh, "When that day comes, those who have underestimated you will be green with regret! And those who have been looking forward to the spectacle, heh, I bet their expressions will be quite a scene to behold!"

Ye Fan clenched his fists, his face determined.

"A grand play of imperial rivalry unfolds under the red curtains; you perform with all your might, yet not for yourself."

Seeing this, Chu Ji, moved by the scene, couldn’t help but look out the window towards the direction of the Ye Family Mansion, her face filled with yearning, "I really want to go to the Ye Family Mansion with you to watch tonight’s drama."

...

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PS: End of the two updates~

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