C11 Netherworld

"Aren't you scared I'll end your woman with a single cut?" Dao Ba's fist was white-knuckled as he hissed at Ye Fann, "Or do you actually believe that if I release her, you'll both just stroll out of here tonight unharmed?"

No sooner had Dao Ba's words hung in the air than the manager's agonized scream pierced the silence once more.

True to his word, Ye Fann delivered another precise slash, the third one to the manager's leg.

"Ye Fann, you..." Dao Ba seethed with rage.

"Motherfucker, release him! Goddamn it, let him go!" The manager's howl at Dao Ba was frenzied, desperate.

The stark blood continued to stream from the manager's legs, soaking the floor in a crimson tide.

Amidst the bloodbath, Ye Fann stood unflinching, his demeanor icy and unafraid.

The air was tinged with a subtle but bone-chilling aura of menace.

Dao Ba, teeth clenched, wavered in his resolve, while the manager, screaming and writhing in agony, demanded his release with every ounce of strength.

All eyes were fixed on Ye Fann as he poised the dagger once more, ready to strike the manager's leg again.

At last, Dao Ba shoved Huang Xinying towards them.

A collective exhale rippled through the crowd, their own tension a mystery even to themselves.

"Xinying." Ye Fann extended his phone towards Huang Xinying. "Call the last number in the contacts."

Overwhelmed with panic and concern, Huang Xinying fumbled with the phone, following his instructions.

"Now that I've let him go, isn't it time you released our manager?" Dao Ba snatched up a knife and edged closer to Ye Fann with menace.

Without hesitation, Ye Fann plunged the dagger into the manager's thigh a fourth time.

The manager's scream was one of utter despair. How the hell did he get mixed up in this?!

Dao Ba froze, not daring to advance another inch.

Huang Xinying stood motionless, shocked, until Ye Fann urged her, "Don't be scared. Make the call."

"Alright, I'm on it," Huang Xinying stammered, hastily navigating the contact list to dial the last number.

"Think this through, Ye Fann. If you don't let him go now and he dies from blood loss, not even your mother's life will cover the debt!" Dao Ba spat out the words, his anger barely contained.

Ye Fann remained silent, his hand gripping the dagger that hovered above the manager's leg, poised to deliver a fifth strike at any moment.

"Hello?" Huang Xinying's call connected, and a man's voice with a magnetic timbre answered.

"Hello, you... Hi, I... I, what am I supposed to say?" Huang Xinying was so flustered she was on the verge of tears, turning to Ye Fann with her plea.

"Hand me the phone."

"Oh, right, okay." Huang Xinying hastily handed the phone to Ye Fann.

With a wary eye on Dao Ba across from him, Ye Fann spoke into the phone with grave urgency, "It's me. I'm at the underground casino in Globe Square. Get here immediately."

Within ten minutes, a hundred-strong force of unidentified armed personnel arrived, swiftly taking down the entire underground casino.

The manager was rushed to the hospital for emergency care, while Dao Ba and all his henchmen were detained. The tumultuous episode, sparked by gambling debts, appeared to have reached its conclusion.

In the deep of night, Ye Fann strolled down the street, hand in hand with Huang Xinying. He needed a walk, some quiet, before heading back.

"Those people... who were they?" Huang Xinying's question pierced the silence, clearly referring to the armed group that had raided the casino.

Ye Fann paused, a hint of mystery in his gaze. "Just some friends from my circle. You've got to have some clout to marry a beauty like you, right?"

A blush crept onto Huang Xinying's cheeks as she blinked up at Ye Fann. "But those men... they were armed. They're not part of some criminal syndicate, are they?"

"I was armed too. Do I look like a criminal to you?"

"What? You, where did you get...?" Huang Xinying's realization cut her off mid-sentence, her face growing even redder as she shot Ye Fann a glare. "You're such a scoundrel!"

Ye Fann chuckled, wrapping his arms around Huang Xinying's waist and drawing her close. "Now, about you and those men..."

"There's nothing to tell," Huang Xinying cut him off, shaking her head. "But it's good you got there when you did. Otherwise, it really would have been... terrible."

"That's a relief." Ye Fann exhaled deeply, his worries finally put to rest.

Huang Xinying parted her lips, on the verge of asking something, but she swallowed her words, restraining herself.

Meanwhile, at the Huang Estate.

Huang Xiaoshan had just drifted off to sleep when her phone rang: "Xiaoshan, You Ming has surfaced and taken down a casino in Lin City."

"What?" Huang Xiaoshan bolted upright. "You Ming took down a casino in Lin City? You've got to be joking."

"No joke, it's for real. Happened just minutes ago."

"Minutes ago? How can you be so sure it was You Ming's doing?"

"We had people there who spotted the You Ming badge."

Huang Xiaoshan was taken aback. A badge?

"So, you're telling me You Ming brazenly hit a casino and then just 'forgot' to cover up their badge?"

"Exactly, but it wasn't an oversight; it was deliberate. They're flaunting their presence, probably to bait the Eight-Armed Yama. Listen, Xiaoshan, big trouble's brewing in Lin City, and your master, that lunatic..."

"Your master's the lunatic. Believe me, I'll end you if you keep this up."

"No, I mean..."

"Got it." Huang Xiaoshan ended the call, her brow furrowed in thought.

After a moment, she slipped out and into her sister Huang Shasha's room.

"What's with the stealth act? It's the dead of night." Huang Shasha was still awake, poring over files at her computer.

Huang Xiaoshan gave a secretive smile, settled onto Huang Shasha's lap, and teased, "Sis, how about a gift?"

"Hmm?" Huang Shasha's eyebrows furrowed, eyeing Huang Xiaoshan as if she were a thief, "A gift? What are you up to this time?"

The intrigue in Huang Xiaoshan's eyes intensified, "The ancient Qin Cold Royal Seal, the treasured heirloom of the Eight-Armed Yama, priceless and without equal, is right here in Lin City. Interested?"

At three in the morning, Ye Fann didn't head home. Instead, he and Huang Xinying checked into a nearby hotel.

No sooner had the door closed than Ye Fann, unable to contain his urgency, scooped Huang Xinying into his arms and dove into the warmth of the bedcovers with her.

A peculiar chill clung to Ye Fann, causing him to shiver uncontrollably as if poisoned, his body even emitting a frosty air. Huang Xinying, having witnessed this before, dutifully shed her clothes and used her own warmth to chase away his cold.

She had long suspected that Ye Fann's intentions for joining the Huang family were far from pure, yet she never broached the subject. The daily minutiae, along with her mother and brother's attitudes, had effectively overshadowed Ye Fann's brilliance, leaving her with little time to ponder or delve into his secrets.

As Huang Xinying nestled into Ye Fann's embrace, she drifted into a deep sleep. Suddenly, the phone beside her sprang to life with light.

It was a WeChat message from Bi Wenfeng. Ye Fann glanced at the screen.

"Xinying, yes, I have a fiancée, but that doesn't have to come between us," the message began. "If you're willing, I can support you discreetly. Your brother mentioned his million in gambling debts—consider it handled. What future do you have with that loser Ye Fann? A woman must look out for herself; there's nothing wrong with being realistic. Be good, will you? Remember how you always listened to me when we were kids?"

Ye Fann skimmed the rest, too exasperated to read further. He fired back a terse reply: "Listen to your mother's second uncle, Bi Wenfeng. She's asleep in my arms. If you don't straighten up, I'll have King Yama escort you to the underworld himself!"

With a tap, the message was sent, and Bi Wenfeng was promptly blocked on Huang Xinying's WeChat.

Just as Ye Fann was about to settle down and sleep with his wife in his arms, his own phone buzzed with a new text.

"Master, a word of caution: stay on your toes. Even with your injuries healed and the Underworld heeding your command, the Eight-Armed Yama is no pushover. He rules the borderlands now. Go easy, for I have no desire to be fetching your corpse."