Chapter 53: The Northern Tiger Crosses the River

Ye Fei did not pause, his expression blank as he spoke. He lifted Situ Ye’s arms and handed them to Li Yueyao. “Hold them.”

Situ Ye’s face was filled with terror as he mumbled incoherently, “No... please, no...”

Li Yueyao hesitated. The earlier slap had already dispelled most of her anger, so she shook her head and said, “Let it go...”

“Hold them,” Ye Fei’s tone grew colder.

A chill seemed to rise beneath Li Yueyao’s feet, and she instinctively reached out to steady the arms.

Crack! Crack!

Two clear, decisive cracks echoed in the room. Situ Ye screamed like a slaughtered pig, both arms dangling uselessly, not a single finger bone left intact.

“Are you satisfied?” Ye Fei picked up a shirt nearby, wiped the sweat from his body, and turned to Li Yueyao.

She stared at his chest, covered in scars and gunshot wounds, and for no reason her heart burned with a sudden heat. After a moment, she nodded, “Yes... satisfied.”

“Then stop acting like a little girl.”

Ye Fei waved her off and looked toward the group of wealthy heirs who had been watching the drama unfold.

Every face was stricken with terror and dread.

“If anyone dares breathe a word of what happened tonight, you’ll end up just like Situ Ye.”

His voice was deliberately icy.

The young men shuddered one after another, nodding frantically like chickens pecking at grain.

If it came to squandering money in extravagant nightlife, each was more skilled than the last. But if they had to take up arms on a battlefield, they’d all be the first to cower. The scene of Situ Ye’s wrists being snapped was vivid in their minds—who would dare ignore Ye Fei’s threat?

“The one named Huang Cong, you stay. The rest of you, get out.”

Ye Fei spoke again.

The others heaved a sigh of relief, dragging their “princesses” with them as they fled in panic.

Only Huang Cong, who had been singled out, stood frozen, his expression vacant. Ye Fei’s command nearly scared him witless.

He stammered, “B-brother... I haven’t—haven’t done anything to you... please, let me go... I’ll give you money, how about that?”

“Do I look like someone who needs money?” Ye Fei responded with a cold smile.

“Brother... do you need women?” Huang Cong glanced at Li Yueyao, then his eyes darted and he suddenly stuck out his rear in mock misery, “Brother, how about me?”

“Get lost!” Ye Fei cursed, kicking him hard. “I’m not gay.”

“Then what do you want from me, Brother? Please, just tell me what you need!”

Huang Cong knelt, sobbing and sniffling, all his former arrogance as a rich heir gone.

“I’ll give you three chances to prove yourself,” Ye Fei raised two fingers. “First, handle the aftermath here—do it cleanly and thoroughly. Destroy all surveillance footage; nothing of me can leak out. With your connections to Zhang Huang, this shouldn’t be hard. If he dares resist, tell him I’ll come looking for him. Second, let it be known that Situ Ye’s hands have been ruined. Third, answer me this: who was it that clashed with Situ Ye yesterday?”

“It was—” Huang Cong began, but was cut off by a clear, light voice.

“It was the ‘Dragon Crossing the River’ from North China Province—surname Pan, given name Shanfeng, the eldest son of the Pan family,” said a minor starlet Situ Ye had brought, stepping forward unabashedly. “The Pan family’s background is enormous—far greater than all the heirs here combined. They have countless businesses; they’re a true giant.”

“Oh?” Ye Fei’s surprise was evident. No wonder Situ Ye, the second-generation scion, didn’t dare provoke him—his background was formidable indeed.

“You seem unfamiliar with the Pan family’s reputation,” the starlet, Fang Min, smiled and explained, “Let me fill you in.”

“It’s said the Pan family’s current generation has two sons, as different as night and day. One is Pan Shanfeng, the one who offended Situ Ye yesterday—a rich playboy, idle and aimless, frequenting nightclubs and bars, surrounded by all sorts of unsavory friends. The other families call him ‘the hopeless one,’ with no chance of inheriting the family business.”

“But the other son is quite impressive. Pan Shanyu, the ‘King of Soldiers’ in the North China Military District—he broke every record in his unit as soon as he enlisted: physical fitness, marksmanship, strategy, all of them. Even an old, highly decorated commander personally presented him with awards, calling him the district’s top soldier of the decade, with great achievements ahead of him.”

“Because of this, the Pan family’s influence in North China keeps growing, attracting all sorts of wealthy heirs and family scions who want to curry favor.”

“Oh? Such a powerful background?” Ye Fei’s surprise deepened.

No wonder. With such standing, Situ Ye, the son of a mere wealthy businessman, was simply outmatched.

“Ye Fei, you’re not seriously thinking of going after Pan Shanfeng, are you? If you do, you won’t have a place to stand in this city!” Li Yueyao advised earnestly. “The Pan family’s been wracked by internal strife these past years, and their power is tangled and complex, not what it once was. But you’re all alone—you can’t go up against them!”

“Tell me again—who ordered that old man to cripple my brother last night?” Ye Fei ignored her warning and narrowed his eyes at Fang Min.

“Let me think...” Fang Min batted her heavily mascaraed lashes and drawled, “Situ Ye blamed the head of security for botching things, said he offended someone important without knowing it, and made him take the fall.”

“But Yang Tianming’s men told me Situ Ye came tonight to seek revenge?” Ye Fei countered.

“Revenge? Hah, as if that coward would dare!” Fang Min sneered, her face full of contempt. “He spread that story so the other heirs wouldn’t look down on him. In truth, the Pan scion had already returned to North China—who was he going to take revenge on, thin air?”

Hearing this, Ye Fei understood at last.

All bluster and no substance—Situ Ye would never dare go after the Pan family’s heir for real. Instead, he cleverly waited until Pan Shanfeng had left before spreading word that he was seeking payback.

Then, he brought Old Wang back to the Hornet Bar, so outsiders would think he had truly come to settle accounts, when in fact he was just gathering with other rich heirs.

With no outsiders present, he could say whatever he liked afterward, and no one would question him, right?

But no matter how well he’d plotted it, he never expected Ye Fei to appear out of nowhere.

“Every debt has its debtor. I settle accounts clearly—those who order and those who act, all pay together,” Ye Fei said, glancing at Situ Ye and Old Wang.

“Handsome, are you a soldier? You’re so fierce—can I call you a hunk?” Fang Min giggled, leaning in without shame and running her hand over Ye Fei’s chest. “Wow, real muscle!”