"Hall Master, if you've returned to attend to something, you need only leave it to me," Lü Zhongyuan said, keeping close behind Ye Bei.
As far as he knew, the Hall Master never wasted time. He must have come back for something important.
The five envoys wielded unquestionable authority. This was Central China, and as its State-Securing Envoy, Lü Zhongyuan could get things done with ease.
Ye Bei waved him off without answering.
He had left home at eighteen and spent seven years on the frontier. Throughout those years, a thorn had remained buried deep in his heart, tormenting him every moment.
Now that the frontier was secure, it was time for certain people to repay certain debts.
He had to deal with them himself.
Lü Zhongyuan knew better than to ask more. The other four were even less inclined to speak. They all sensed that the Hall Master had returned on personal business.
The group walked out of the airport.
Su Wanshan recognized Ye Bei at the front immediately and stepped toward him, his hands trembling.
Ye Bei hurried forward to steady him. "Grandpa Su."
That simple greeting brought tears to Su Wanshan's eyes. Looking at the sturdy young man before him, he felt a tangle of emotions.
Only he knew how much Ye Bei had suffered during those seven years on the frontier.
Ye Bei's eyes reddened as well. Without this old man, he would have died that night seven years ago.
It had been the day of his eighteenth-birthday banquet.
Someone had set him up at the celebration, slipping a drug into his drink. In a haze, he had ended up having sex with a girl.
That girl was Gu Moli, a daughter of Jinghai's Gu family.
The Gus were one of Jinghai's foremost families. When they learned that one of their daughters had been violated, they flew into a rage. At their command, hundreds of bodyguards surrounded the hotel lobby, determined to wipe out the Ye family.
The banquet became a battlefield.
Ye Bei's parents had sacrificed their lives to help him escape.
Rain had poured down that night. He had run through it alone, the shouts of his pursuers never far behind.
He could do nothing but keep running, until he finally collapsed from exhaustion at the roadside. His pursuers caught up. Just as their blades were about to fall, a passing car pulled in front of them.
Inside was Su Wanshan, a friend who shared a life-and-death bond with Ye Bei's grandfather. Cowed by the Su family's influence, the pursuers had shouted a few threats but dared do nothing. They could only watch the car vanish into the rain.
The Gu family held tremendous power in Jinghai. Su Wanshan had no choice but to send Ye Bei to the frontier that very night. Only there would he be safe.
"Seven years, Little Bei. You've finally come home." Su Wanshan choked on the words.
Apart from Ye Bei's parents, Su Wanshan was the only person in the world entitled to address him that way.
The Su family had suffered over those years too. Saving Ye Bei had made enemies of the Gus, who had suppressed them at every turn. If not for the strength they still retained, the Su family would have vanished overnight, just like the Ye family.
"Yes, Grandpa Su. I'm home."
Su Wanshan was the first person Ye Bei had wanted to visit on his return. He would never forget what the old man had done for him.
To Ye Bei, Su Wanshan was family.
"It's good to have you back. Oh, yes—this is my granddaughter, Jianxi." Su Wanshan wiped his eyes and pulled her a step forward.
"You're the person Grandpa came to meet? You're so young." Su Jianxi could not hide her disappointment.
She had assumed he must be some important figure. Instead, he was just a young man. At his age, how much could he possibly have achieved?
"Just call me Ye Bei." He took no offense.
"Grandpa, now that he's here, let's get in the car." Without waiting for an answer, Su Jianxi opened the door. Drenched in sweat, she had long since had enough.
Su Wanshan looked embarrassed. "Ahem. Little Bei, I've spoiled my granddaughter. Please don't mind her."
Ye Bei smiled. Of course he would not hold it against her.
"Zhongyuan stays. The rest of you, go back where you came from." With that, he got into the car.
The Bentley sped along the road. Behind it, Lü Zhongyuan followed in a Paramount Marauder.
"Little Bei, now that you're back... about your marriage to Jianxi..." Su Wanshan hesitated. He knew that with Ye Bei's current standing, any willingness to marry his granddaughter would be a gesture of affection for their old bond.
"Marriage? What marriage?" Su Jianxi demanded before Ye Bei could answer. Her grandfather had never mentioned this to her.
"Grandpa Su, I gave you my word in my letter, and I won't go back on it. But if Jianxi doesn't agree, I'll respect her choice." From her reaction, Ye Bei could tell that she knew nothing about the arrangement.
Three years earlier, Su Wanshan had written to suggest that Ye Bei marry his granddaughter. Ye Bei had accepted in his reply.
He had done so to repay the man who had saved his life. Marrying a daughter of the Su family was nothing; even protecting three generations of the family would only have been right.
"She wouldn't dare refuse!" Su Wanshan growled.
As head of the Su family, he was not accustomed to being disobeyed.
More importantly, if his granddaughter refused, it would mean she looked down on Ye Bei. If that became known, it would be a public humiliation for him.
Who in the world dared humiliate the Godslayer Hall Master?
If anyone did, it would take less than half a day to flatten not only the little Su family but all of Jinghai.
"Grandpa!" Su Jianxi stamped her foot in distress. She could obey him in other matters, but this was her marriage. She had only met Ye Bei today, and already they were discussing a wedding. It was far too rash.
"Enough. It's settled. If you want to refuse, you'll have to wait until I'm dead." They had reached the Su residence. Su Wanshan opened his door first and stepped out with the driver's help.
Tears brimmed in Su Jianxi's eyes. She had never seen her grandfather be so unreasonable.
"I'll talk to Grandpa Su," Ye Bei said, then got out without looking back.
"Really?" A spark of hope rose in her. For the first time, she thought perhaps Ye Bei was not so unbearable after all.
A crowd was already waiting at the entrance to the Su Family Estate. They had heard the patriarch had gone to meet an important guest, someone who could supposedly turn the family's fortunes around. Their faces were filled with anticipation.
The sight of Ye Bei getting out of the car instantly dashed their hopes.
Who had started the rumor that the old man was meeting some powerful figure? What a waste of their time and expectations.
"You... You're Ye Bei?" Su Canyang stared at his face in shock.
He was about Ye Bei's age, and they had been passing acquaintances back then.
Seven years had not changed his features beyond recognition. He could still make him out.
"What? Ye Bei?" the others exclaimed.