Chapter Two: Today, Heaven Will Claim You!

In the pigsty, a fountain of blood sprayed into the air.

It lasted for over ten seconds.

Only then did the body of the yellow dragon collapse to the ground with a dull thud.

Old Madam Li stood there, her face blank with shock. With trembling hands, she wiped the blood from her cheeks and looked up at the figure before her—

That face was both unfamiliar and yet hauntingly familiar.

Chiseled as if carved from stone, stern as a mountain peak.

The aura about him was overwhelming.

Then, something even more unbelievable happened.

On the open ground beyond the pigsty, thousands of figures had silently assembled.

Without exception, each wore a blood-red battle robe; their faces were cold, but their eyes brimmed with respect as they gazed at the man before them.

Click.

The gate of the pigsty swung open.

A man in military boots strode in, unbothered by the filthy ground. He stepped forward and swept the woman, still shackled in chains, into his arms. His voice trembled as he spoke: “Xue’er… Xue’er… I… I’ve come back.”

All the murderous fury vanished without a trace.

Only searing heartache remained.

“Xiao Ye! You’re Xiao Ye! You’re alive! You’ve come back!”

Old Madam Li snapped out of her daze, the aged lines on her face twisting in utter disbelief. Her voice was tinged with hysteria. “Xiao Ye! It’s really you! You’ve returned!”

At the sound of her mother’s voice, the woman in Xiao Ye’s arms—Qin Xue’er—showed a faint flicker of emotion on her face. But soon, that light faded, and she returned to her lifeless state, as if a withered flower.

Snap.

Without a word, Xiao Ye’s powerful hands crushed the thick chain as if it were no more than a twig. He lifted Qin Xue’er, who did not move or resist, as though she had forgotten how.

“Mother, come home with me.”

He turned, leaving these words behind for Old Madam Li.

A tremor ran through her body; that wild, deranged expression suddenly froze into blankness.

At that moment, over a dozen figures burst onto the ground outside the pigsty, shouting that someone had escaped, charging toward Xiao Ye and his companions.

“Not a single one…”

“Shall be spared.”

With those words, Xiao Ye carried Qin Xue’er out of the mountains.

Behind him, heads flew through the air.

Blood gushed like crimson pillars.

...

Jianghai City.

Sunset, dusk.

Inside a villa worth tens of millions.

“Xue’er, all these years, you’ve suffered too much.”

Xiao Ye gently caressed the scarred face of Qin Xue’er; the wounds upon it were heartbreaking to behold.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll heal you.”

Though his voice was soft, it still carried the echo of his earlier wrath.

He himself cleaned away the filth and grime from her body, but no matter how he tried, he could not wash away the emptiness in her eyes.

Behind Xiao Ye, Old Madam Li watched his tall, upright figure with a complicated expression.

She could not find words.

Once, she had looked down upon him as a useless scoundrel.

But now, he had changed beyond recognition.

His presence was more imposing than anyone she had ever met.

“Mother, do you remember the Four Great Clans, and those wealthy merchants who destroyed your family and ruined Xue’er’s life?”

Xiao Ye’s words were calm, each syllable deliberate.

“I remember!”

Hatred twisted Old Madam Li’s features, her voice squeezed out through clenched teeth. “Those faces—I wouldn’t forget them even if I turned to dust! They all deserve to die! Every one of them deserves to die!”

Xiao Ye nodded slightly, leaning down to press his palm gently to Qin Xue’er’s forehead, as a tide of murderous intent surged within him.

“Xue’er, since these wounds cannot be healed, I will take you with me. One by one, they will pay with blood for what they have done.”

Lying on the bed, Qin Xue’er, seemingly asleep, suddenly shuddered as if she had heard something. From the corners of her tightly shut eyes, tears began to fall.

“Xiao Ye…”

“Are you… seeking vengeance against them?”

“Today, the Four Great Clans and the Jianghai Business Alliance are holding their annual celebration at the Celestial Pavilion Hotel. Every single person who brought ruin upon your Xiao family, who destroyed my Qin family—they’ll all be there.”

A deadly silence fell.

Then, Xiao Ye threw back his head in a silent, wild laugh.

“It seems—”

“Today, judgment has come for you all!”

With that, he called out.

“Red Dragon!”

Outside the room, Red Dragon strode in, swift and commanding, dropping to one knee before Xiao Ye.

“King Xiao! Awaiting your orders!”

A gasp escaped Old Madam Li; she trembled uncontrollably.

King Xiao?

Throughout the entire Dragon Kingdom, there were only four Kings of Foreign Surname!

The man before her—wearing a battle robe and military boots, his eyes filled with lethal intent—had not only shed his former frivolity but had ascended to become…

A King of Foreign Surname?

Old Madam Li stared in utter stupefaction, her eyes nearly bulging from their sockets.

In the Dragon Kingdom, the Kings of Foreign Surname were second only to the sovereign himself—wielding power above all others.

One beneath the heavens, ten thousand below.

And to become such a king required more than just harsh qualifications—

One had to command vast armies, venture to the frontiers, recover lost lands, and carve out territory for the nation, trampling over mountains of enemy corpses to achieve unparalleled merit.

In the hundred-year history of the Dragon Kingdom, only three such kings had ever arisen. Now, the once disgraced Xiao Ye had become the fourth.

Five years. Only five years had passed!

What could five years change?

Nothing at all.

Yet it had forged a King of Foreign Surname at only twenty-five years of age.

Only after a long silence did Old Madam Li force open her parched lips, her voice tinged with unfamiliarity.

“Xiao Ye, what have you been through all these years?”

Deep down, she could not believe it.

She could accept that the man before her was a King of Foreign Surname—for only such a king could command armies within the city.

But she could not accept that this king was the same Xiao Ye who had vanished five years ago, clinging to life like a stray dog.

Xiao Ye sensed the meaning behind her words. He did not reproach her, but stood with one hand behind his back, gazing at the full moon outside the window, his eyes deep with sorrow.

“For five years, I have done only one thing.”

“And what is that?”

Old Madam Li’s pupils contracted.

“Killing enemies, expanding our borders.”

“Quelling chaos at the frontiers, bringing millions of exiles under the flag.”

His tone was calm, but to Old Madam Li it sounded like thunder.

She gasped again, her legs trembling as she suddenly knelt before Xiao Ye.

“A—A humble subject pays respects to King Xiao!”

Her eyes were brimming with awe and reverence.

It was a fear that came from the very soul, from the depths of her heart.

Xiao Ye.

King Xiao.

The same man, yet utterly changed.

Five years ago, Xiao Ye’s family had withered, he himself barely surviving, little better than a stray.

Now, five years later, King Xiao had become a man revered by all, the pride of the nation.

“Rise.”

“Mother.”

“The past—let it remain the past.”

Xiao Ye stepped forward, gently lifting Old Madam Li to her feet, his eyes soft and calm.

“I know the Qin family has only you two left. From this day forward, let us be as mother and son.”