244: Are you being cyberbullied? Are you being slandered?

By the time they left the Yunyao Tea House, the sky had already darkened.

“We’ve been running around all afternoon, you must be hungry, right?”

Ye Chen pulled open the car door and asked Bing Lan and Li Qin with a smile, “Go out to eat?”

“Go out to eat!”

Li Qin cheered, “I want barbecue! I want grilled fish!”

Bing Lan smiled faintly, gently hooking her arm through Ye Chen’s: “Then let’s go out to eat. We’ll find somewhere casual.”

Ye Chen nodded: “Okay. Since Sister Qin wants grilled fish and barbecue, let’s go for something down-to-earth.”

He turned the steering wheel, and the car drove towards a bustling night market street in the old city district.

Not long after.

The car stopped in front of a brightly lit open-air food stall.

The business here was booming; the plastic tables and chairs set up outside were almost full, and the air was filled with a mixed aroma of barbecue, fried noodles, and beer.

It was noisy, yet full of life.

“This one looks good,” Ye Chen said, parking the car and walking ahead.

Bing Lan and Li Qin followed him out of the car. The appearance of two beauties with distinctly different yet equally outstanding styles immediately attracted the attention of many diners.

However, the three of them were long used to it and found a table that wasn't too conspicuous.

Bing Lan looked at the plastic menu and quietly ordered a few light side dishes and seafood congee.

Ye Chen, however, was unrestrained. Lamb skewers, grilled oysters, stir-fried beef ho fun, spicy stir-fried river snails... he ordered a whole pile.

Li Qin also ordered two bottles of iced beer and added extra grilled oysters.

Soon, the steaming hot dishes were served one after another.

The skewers were fragrant and charred, the oysters smelled strongly of garlic, and the beef ho fun had a perfect wok hei.

Ye Chen gnawed on skewers, Bing Lan sipped her congee, while Li Qin enthusiastically scrolled through her phone, occasionally letting out a soft hum.

It was obvious she was keeping up with the aftermath of Lin Mei’s 'scandal'.

Just as Li Qin stuffed a chicken wing into her mouth and slid the screen while puffing out her cheeks, her movement suddenly paused.

“Huh?”

Her delicate eyebrows furrowed immediately.

“What’s wrong, Qin Qin?” Bing Lan put down her spoon and asked.

Li Qin immediately turned her phone screen towards Ye Chen and Bing Lan.

“Look at this quickly! I just scrolled across this short video!”

Ye Chen and Bing Lan leaned closer to look.

The video cover featured the avatar of a regionally certified media account (Blue V), and the title boldly read: [Online ‘Wuxia Man’ or Hidden ‘Evil Cultivator’? Exposing the Mysteriously Popular Expert ‘Ye Mou’ of Late!]

The video content was edited clips of Ye Chen’s early actions in the Xiamen City residential area, followed by some blurry combat footage.

This was accompanied by highly inflammatory and suggestive narration.

“Recently, a young man named ‘Ye Chen’ has exploded online for displaying extraordinary martial prowess, hailed as a real-life ‘Martial Arts Master’.”

“However, according to revelations from several insiders and analysis of relevant clues, the power displayed by this person far exceeds common sense. It is suspected that he is not following a traditional martial arts lineage, leading to suspicions of involvement with certain taboo, heretical cultivation methods...”

“There are even rumors that this person is ruthless and merciless in his actions, having caused multiple casualties during his time in Yan Jing, carrying lives on his hands...”

“Is he a hidden master defending justice, or a dangerous individual walking in the shadows?”

“Our account will continue to monitor this and call on relevant departments to intervene and investigate to reveal the truth to the public...”

The video was not long.

But the editing and copywriting were extremely targeted.

The video had not been posted long, but the likes, comments, and shares were growing rapidly.

In just the minute they watched, it had surged by a full hundred thousand likes!

Ye Chen squinted as he finished watching the video, his face expressionless.

Bing Lan’s brows, however, were deeply furrowed.

She tapped open the comment section, which was indeed already a chaotic mess.

“Holy crap! Is this real or fake? Is that master an evil cultivator? Impossible! His skills look like righteous martial arts!”

“Don’t be naive upstairs! What kind of martial art can be that fierce? Even novels wouldn’t write it like that! It must be a daily myth-making on Douyin!”

“What myth-making? I thought something was off a long time ago! How can a person be that strong? He must have used some shady means!”

“Nonsense! You’re just jealous! Little Brother Ye Chen is clearly so handsome and righteous!”

“Fanatics are scary. The official regional account has already spoken out, how can it be fake?”

“The official account didn’t confirm anything; this is clearly manipulating the narrative. I think someone is envious and started smearing him!”

“Regardless of whether he’s an evil cultivator or not, such a dangerous person should indeed be investigated thoroughly! Support the investigation!”

...

The comments were clearly divided into several factions.

There were die-hard supporters who believed it without question.

There were rational critics who questioned and criticized.

There were onlookers who followed the trend and stirred things up.

And there were obvious paid accounts deliberately guiding the public opinion.

The debate was fierce, and the popularity was climbing at an astonishing rate.

Bing Lan closed the comment section and looked at Ye Chen with her cool eyes.

“A-Chen, this video has ill intentions.”

“Someone must be trying to smear you and guide public opinion. This is a common tactic in online information warfare.”

Li Qin angrily slammed the table: “It must be that Lin Mei!”

Ye Chen calmly tore off a piece of charred lamb skewer, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly.

“Lin Mei?”

“He doesn’t have the guts, nor the ability.”

Li Qin was stunned: “Then who could it be? These people stirring things up online are clearly professional paid trolls. The copywriting and editing are very slick; it’s not something an ordinary person could do.”

Ye Chen smiled and took a sip of beer.

“No matter who it is.”

“Let’s eat a good meal first.”

“Once we’re full, the other party might just jump out on their own.”

Ye Chen wasn't foolish. Someone was launching an organized smear campaign against him right after he returned from Yan Jing; it was highly likely connected to the capital, probably the Sima Family.

But he couldn't figure out the opponent's exact goal for now—whether it was simply to slander him and ruin his reputation, or to force him to react...

However, Ye Chen believed that as long as the opponent had an agenda, they would reveal themselves when the time came.

What he needed to do now was remain steady and respond to all changes with no change.

Li Qin opened her mouth, about to say something more.

“Listen to A-Chen.”

Bing Lan gently pressed her hand and then picked up a grilled shiitake mushroom, handing it to Li Qin.

“Eat first.”

Li Qin looked at Bing Lan, then at Ye Chen who was calmly eating skewers, and reluctantly suppressed the questions bubbling up inside her.

Then.

She took the mushroom and took a big bite angrily: “I still prefer big ones. This mushroom is too small.”

Ye Chen: “...”

Bing Lan: “...”

Why did it feel like what this girl said when she was angry sounded so suggestive?

However.

Just as Ye Chen picked up a mouthful of stir-fried beef ho fun and brought it to his lips...

Suddenly!

“Ye Chen!!!”

A shrill, piercing cry suddenly tore through the background noise of the night market, coming from the street entrance outside the food stall!

“You demon! Murderer! Come out here!!!”

“You killed my whole family! Destroyed everything I had! I want your blood to pay for it!!!”

“Ye Chen! Get out! I want you to pay the price!!!”

The hysterical cries echoed in the night, instantly drawing the attention of every diner on the entire street.

Countless gazes turned uniformly toward the source of the sound, looking bewildered.

Amidst the crowd, Ye Chen raised his eyebrows, put the beef ho fun from his chopsticks into his mouth, chewed slowly a few times, and then swallowed.

“Didn’t he just jump out?”

Bing Lan and Li Qin simultaneously put down what they were holding and looked toward the street entrance with solemn expressions.

The other diners in the night market also snapped out of their bewilderment, immediately buzzing with murmurs, craning their necks to look around.

“Make way! Everyone move aside!”

A harsh, irritable shout was heard, followed by over a dozen figures roughly parting the crowd and rushing straight into the area where the food stall was located.

The leader was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, wearing wrinkled white mourning clothes, a mourning band tied around his head, his eyes bloodshot, and his face streaming with tears and snot.

The dozen or so people following behind him varied in age, male and female, but their attire was uniform, and every one of them looked grief-stricken.

The most striking thing was... in every one of their hands, they held an obituary photo!

There were old and young among them—seventeen in total!

“Oh my god!”

“What... what is going on here?”

“Bringing obituary photos to cause trouble? That’s incredibly unlucky!”

“Quickly move away! Don’t catch any bad luck!”

...

The surrounding diners were startled and rose to retreat, exclaiming in shock.

The originally bustling stall area was instantly cleared of a large section, leaving only Ye Chen’s table still occupied.

The young man’s eyes immediately locked onto Ye Chen, and his eye sockets turned even redder.

“Demon! Ye Chen! You murderous demon!”

“You still have the mood to eat here? Can you even stomach it?!”

He roared hoarsely, pointing at the array of obituary photos behind him, tears streaming down his face.

“Look! Open your eyes and look!”

“This is my grandfather!”

“These are my parents! This is my little sister! These are my uncle and aunt...”

“And these neighbors!”

“Seventeen lives in total!”

“Just because my family refused to sell you an ancestral jade piece, you held a grudge, brought people in the middle of the night to wipe out our entire village, and snatched the jade piece!”

“You didn’t even spare the three-year-old child!”

“You are not human! You are a beast! A devil!”

He advanced one step with every sentence he spoke.

The people holding the obituary photos behind him also angrily pressed forward.

The tragic accusations, combined with the visual impact of the dozen obituary photos, instantly brought the atmosphere at the scene to freezing point.