Chapter Sixty-Six: Reasoning?

The young girl waved her sleeve and vanished cleanly, leaving no trace. On the vast expanse of grass, only the gentle breeze, the fragrance of flowers, the murmuring of running water, and the dazed Ye Feng remained...

While Ye Feng quietly spent his time alone in the secluded courtyard, the world outside had already been upended.

The second son of the Qi family was killed, the heir of Marquis Yuan gravely wounded, and the third sons of several other families also seriously injured. As soon as these events were leaked, they caused a tremendous uproar.

The seasoned veterans of the capital, cunning from years of experience, immediately moved to silence the masses, only reporting that several people had died without revealing the identity of the perpetrator.

Almost simultaneously, several prominent families dispatched their top experts in large numbers, heading toward the direction of the Ye residence, claiming that someone had seen the culprit fleeing there.

As the most loyal guards of the Ye family, the Golden Scale Guards would, of course, never allow these people to enter the estate.

Thus, nearly a hundred elites from the great families lined up against an equally impressive force of Golden Scale Guards, creating a tense standoff. For a moment, the entire eastern city was in chaos and panic—the likes of which had not been seen in a decade.

On the street outside the Ye residence, a few street vendors gathered in small groups, furtively glancing toward the tense scene at the gates, not selling a single item for quite some time. It was obvious that street vending was only their side business...

When Ye Feng learned of these events, he did not panic. He merely shook his head with a wry smile, muttering, "Those old bastards!"

Who was Ye Feng’s second brother? The actions of these powerful families were clearly an attempt at a double-cross—they intended to kill him first and ask questions later.

But... was that possible?

"If you want to kill me in secret, then I’ll simply appear before you in broad daylight! If you have the guts, come and kill me!" With a sly grin, Ye Feng strode out boldly, commanding his servants to bring out a grand armchair. He sat leisurely in the sun, not far from the opposing sides.

When this news reached the nobles, they were so enraged they nearly coughed up blood, cursing the boy’s cunning.

Because of Ye Feng’s appearance, the tense atmosphere before the Ye residence suddenly grew quiet. Without orders from above, none of the great families' experts dared to make a move against Ye Feng in broad daylight.

"Young Master Ye, I have heard that the murderer has taken refuge in the Ye residence. For your safety and for the sake of justice, please allow us to search your estate!" Before long, an elder of the Qi family hurried over and, feigning civility, addressed Ye Feng.

Ye Feng glanced sidelong at the man, remaining at ease in his chair, and replied slowly, "I was the one who killed them. There’s no need to search—if you want to arrest someone, take me."

A thunderclap on a clear day.

Ye Feng’s words rang out like a sudden thunderbolt. All the Golden Scale Guards were stunned, as were the elites of the great families—and even the elder of the Qi family who had just arrived stood frozen in shock.

In that instant, almost no one could believe that Ye Feng had so calmly admitted to the deed, showing not the slightest sign of anxiety.

Completely disregarding convention.

"Young Master Ye must be joking! We have never wronged you in the past, nor quarreled with you today. Why would you deal such a cruel hand to our sons?" Three middle-aged men in lavish robes approached from the distance. Their noble bearings marked them as men long accustomed to power.

Though dignified, their faces now wore forced smiles that did not reach their eyes. Outwardly, they seemed to absolve Ye Feng of involvement, but in truth, their questions were sharp.

"Indeed! I, too, am puzzled. We have no enmity, so why, upon my arrival in the capital, did the young lord of the Qi family block my way and attack without warning? Had my skills been lacking, I fear the Golden Scale Guards would now be hunting my killer instead!" Ye Feng shrugged theatrically, showing no weakness, glaring as he retorted.

"So, by your logic, after killing my son, not only are you blameless, but they brought it upon themselves?" The first of the middle-aged men spoke coldly, his voice low.

Ye Feng stood slowly, staring him down, and replied word by word, "Precisely so."

The two men locked gazes, neither yielding an inch. If their eyes could do battle, they would have fought a thousand rounds already.

Just as the tension reached its peak, a giant ape, now the size of an ordinary man, ambled out and stood beside Ye Feng.

"You brat, since it was their young ones who attacked first, then killing them is fair enough—what’s the point in wasting time with them? If they get on my nerves, I’ll eat them all, one by one!" The beast clearly had little regard for Ye Feng’s methods. In the world of demon beasts, there was no time for scheming—if one disliked another, one simply bit them to death and ate them.

"No, no, Uncle Ape... This is the human world; there are rules here," Ye Feng hastily interjected, seeing the murderous glint in the giant ape’s eyes.

Having killed a few juniors, under the shadow of Fifth Master’s reputation, these families would hesitate to act against him openly. But if this creature lost patience and truly devoured the heads of these families, the remaining nobles would surely unite and turn against the Ye family. Then Ye Feng’s plan would backfire.

"I really don’t get it," grumbled the ape, glancing disdainfully at the three finely dressed family heads. "They look so feeble, yet dare to cause trouble on the old man’s turf. Is this your so-called human custom?"

The three exchanged uneasy glances, surreptitiously wiping sweat from their brows. Had they known this beast had come to the capital with Ye Feng, nothing could have induced them to stir up trouble here.

The deeds of this demon—devouring several elders of the Heartless Sect alive—were well known among the capital’s elite.

"Uncle Ape, I wonder if the Shapeshifting Fruit is of any use to you?" Ye Feng produced a spirit fruit from the Demon King’s domain and addressed the giant ape.

At this point, he only wanted to get this killing machine to leave as quickly as possible. If things went awry and the opposing nobles provoked the beast, Ye Feng had every reason to believe the giant ape would not hesitate to eat them...

"Hey! You actually have such a treasure! If I eat it, I’ll be able to fully transform into human form, and my meridians will be able to practice human martial arts... Are you sure... you want to give it to me?" The ape’s mouth fell open, drool dripping as his eyes lit up, squirming bashfully like a shy bride.

"Uncle Ape, I can give you the Shapeshifting Fruit, but you must promise me not to eat people anymore!" Ye Feng said earnestly, holding out the fruit, leaving the three nobles standing awkwardly to the side.

"Deal! I promise! I won’t eat these three today..." The ape patted his chest, swearing solemnly.

At these words, Liu Chuang laughed heartily, tossing the Shapeshifting Pill to the ape. "Eat it quickly, or the spiritual energy will dissipate..."

With the immortal fruit in hand, the giant ape shot a regretful glance at the three nobles. "Such tender morsels... what a pity I won’t get to taste them..."

With that, the ape paid no further heed to the three, who looked ready to soil themselves, and happily scampered off toward the Ye residence.