Volume One, Chapter 28: Deserving of Death.

Inside the car, both of them were blushing. Ning Rou returned to the driver's seat, touched her burning cheeks, and said, "Let's go home."
Jiang Chen stopped her. "You go home first. I have something to take care of."
Ning Rou grabbed his hand. "You're going after Ye Qingming?"
Jiang Chen nodded, leaving no room for argument. "That's right. He must die."
Ning Rou didn't ask further. "Be home before midnight. If you come back late, I'll assume you're out messing around with some vixen, and you needn't bother coming home at all."
Jiang Chen laughed as he got out of the car. "Alright, honey. Take care on the road. I'll be back early."
Ning Rou spat lightly and snorted. "Scoundrel, you might as well not come back."
Jiang Chen wanted to say something else, but Ning Rou stepped hard on the accelerator and the sports car roared off, leaving Jiang Chen standing with his hand still raised.
"So this is what being in love feels like—not so difficult after all. I wonder why my masters never found themselves a wife," Jiang Chen mused, savoring the first taste of affection and feeling it was delightful.
If his masters had had wives back then, he wouldn't have spent every meal with them eating nothing but wind.
Jiang Chen hailed a rental car by the roadside and inquired about Ye Qingming’s address as he rode.
He could have deduced the address himself, but at that moment, he was examining the phone left behind by the man.
Jiang Chen was not someone who exposed his emotions easily, but as he scrolled through the phone’s contents, his fury became impossible to suppress.
The people in the videos were battered beyond recognition; not a single clean face among them. All bore scars, pleading desperately for Ye Qingming to spare them. They wore nothing resembling any famous brand—just ordinary folk who wanted to survive. Yet, in every video’s dreadful conclusion, Ye Qingming slaughtered them one by one like a beast.
Jiang Chen turned off the phone, his mind haunted by the misery of those poor souls.
They had done nothing wrong, but for offending Young Master Ye, they were tortured to death.
Jiang Chen refused to dwell on it. Right and wrong lay solely with Ye Qingming.
...
Inside the villa, Ye Qingming swirled his wine glass. Zhou Hua and Ma Minglong stood on either side—one ready to pour wine, the other holding a tray of food. Both had become Ye Qingming’s lackeys.

Ye Qingming glanced at the time. "Strange, he hasn’t returned yet?"
He knew his butler was meticulous, always coming back immediately after finishing any task, never lingering outside.
Zhou Hua said, "I figure Jiang Chen must be hiding somewhere. The butler couldn’t find him, so he’s running late."
As natives of Qingcheng, they knew well how ruthless Ye Qingming could be. Anyone who crossed him never lived to see the sun rise again.
Ye Qingming pursed his lips with closed eyes. "What a pity. I thought perhaps he could have been a friend, but he shouldn’t have opposed me."
Ma Minglong, massaging Ye Qingming’s shoulders, chimed in, "That’s right. That Jiang Chen was foolish enough to offend Young Master Ye and ruined your mood for the whole day."
Zhou Hua agreed, "Better off dead. Tomorrow, Young Master Ye can read about it in the news."
Ye Qingming gave a questioning grunt, nearly causing Zhou Hua to drop to his knees.
"Little Zhou, am I that kind of person? Are you saying I have no compassion at all?" Ye Qingming kept his eyes closed, but his words nearly scared Zhou Hua out of his wits.
"Young Master Ye, I didn’t mean that—" Zhou Hua began, but was interrupted by the doorbell.
Ye Qingming spoke calmly, "Go answer the door. He’s back."
Zhou Hua hurried out, breathing a sigh of relief.
The villa door opened with a creak, and Jiang Chen appeared at the threshold, flashing a gleaming smile.
Zhou Hua dropped to his knees at once.
Ma Minglong shouted, "Fool, you’re supposed to open the door, not kneel!"
Jiang Chen patted Zhou Hua’s shoulder and stepped inside.
Ma Minglong’s facial muscles twitched uncontrollably at the sight of Jiang Chen.
Ye Qingming, eyes still closed, asked, "How did it go?"

Jiang Chen mimicked the butler’s voice. "It’s done."
Ye Qingming chuckled. "By the way, did Jiang Chen have any last words before he died?"
Jiang Chen replied, "He did. He said, 'Ye Qingming, open your eyes and see who your grandfather is!'"
Those final words, spoken in Jiang Chen’s own voice, caused Ye Qingming’s closed eyes to tremble.
He opened his eyes to find Jiang Chen smiling at him, his gaze cold and vicious. Though Jiang Chen’s face betrayed no emotion, the overwhelming murderous intent emanating from him filled Ye Qingming with uncontrollable fear.
Jiang Chen pulled up a chair and sat opposite him. "Young Master Ye, enjoying yourself, I see?"
Ye Qingming scrambled to his feet. "No, no, Brother Jiang, let me explain. I didn’t send anyone to kill you. I merely wanted you brought here so we could talk things out."
Jiang Chen knew well: once a man realizes he’s about to die, terror makes him irrational. Ye Qingming was clearly in that state.
"Oh? Since you like explaining, why don’t you explain the videos on your phone?" Jiang Chen crossed his legs.
At the mention of the videos, cold sweat poured down Ye Qingming’s face. For a moment, he considered fleeing, but the man who could kill his own butler would surely catch him if he tried. His first thought was to delay.
If he could survive, he’d have a chance tomorrow to deal with Jiang Chen, provided Jiang Chen spared him tonight.
"Videos... Brother Jiang, you know, at our status, as long as we don’t offend those above us, a few ordinary people..." Ye Qingming finished, thinking his words flawless, but what he didn’t realize was that after Jiang Chen had seen those videos, Ye Qingming had lost even a hope of reincarnation.
"Ye Qingming, Ye Qingming—human life is just a matter of words to you, but you forget: you’re only a matter of words to me." Jiang Chen stood up.
Ye Qingming moved quickly, dropping to his knees with a thud, showing no hesitation. He understood that nothing was more precious than his life; as long as he survived, his world could go on, so he conceded.
Jiang Chen strode to him, the blaze of rage in his chest finally unleashed. He pressed Ye Qingming’s shoulder, then pushed down hard.
Ye Qingming collapsed, his shoulder crushed to powder, veins bulging on his forehead from the agony.
"Don’t cry out, Young Master Ye. I’m only just beginning."