346: Chapter 346 Ye Chen brought a gift!

That evening.

Sima Family Manor.

In the study, Sima Li was sitting in an armchair, resting with his eyes closed.

The tea on the table had gone cold, yet he hadn't taken a single sip.

Since yesterday, a vague unease had been gnawing at his heart.

Ling'er went to Western Hunan with the Chen family people. Logically, he should have returned long ago, or at least sent some news.

But until now, there hasn't even been a phone call.

He opened his eyes, about to call for the steward Sima Nong...

The study door was abruptly pushed open.

Sima Li frowned, ready to reprimand the intruder, but his gaze fell on the face of the person entering, and he froze completely.

Mo Wu stood at the doorway, his face pale as paper, his robe stained with blood, looking utterly disheveled.

Behind him, four Chen family disciples carried a wooden door plank. On it lay a figure covered by a white cloth.

Sima Li's heart sank like a stone.

He slowly rose to his feet, staring at the door plank, his voice trembling as he asked, "This... this is..."

Mo Wu did not answer.

He merely stepped aside and nodded to the four disciples.

The white cloth was pulled back.

Revealing Sima Ling's deathly pale face.

His eyes were closed, traces of blood remained at the corner of his mouth, and a large, sunken crater deformed his chest.

Sima Li's complexion changed drastically in an instant.

He stood rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning, motionless.

Several seconds passed.

Then he staggered forward, grabbing his son's corpse, only to find it stiff as a board.

"Ling'er!!!"

A heart-wrenching roar exploded within the study.

The voice was filled with grief! Rage! Disbelief!

His son, the one who had entered the Kunlun Ruins, actually! Actually! Actually! Died!

And the body was already too stiff to move!!!

He lifted his head, glaring at Mo Wu with bloodshot eyes that seemed about to drip blood.

"Who?!"

"Who killed my son?!"

Mo Wu lowered his head, his expression too complex for words.

However.

He did not conceal the truth, speaking only with resignation.

"Ye Chen."

Sima Li was stunned.

Clutching his son's corpse, he seemed to have his spine ripped out, remaining utterly still.

Then.

A towering inferno of rage erupted from the depths of his heart!

"Ye Chen!!!"

He roared, his voice dripping with venom and madness.

"He dares to kill my son?!"

"He, a mere Chief Instructor of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion, dares to kill my son?!"

"My Sima Family has no feud with him! What right does he have to kill my son?!"

No feud?

If that were truly the case, things would be simpler. But the problem was... it wasn't.

Mo Wu gave a bitter laugh.

"Family Head Sima, the matter... is not as simple as you think."

Sima Li whipped his head around, glaring at him intently.

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you people from the Chen family?"

"No matter how arrogant Ye Chen is, would he dare lay a hand on the Chen family people???"

Mo Wu shook his head, his face full of bitterness.

"Family Head Sima, you don't know..."

"That Ye Chen is not someone we can contend with."

"All fifteen Celestial Realm experts I brought were crippled by him."

"My life-bound magical weapon, the Ink Blade, was also shattered by him."

"My own life was only spared because he showed mercy."

"Moreover..."

He narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness creeping into his expression, "Your Sima Family clearly concealed some matters from the Chen family."

That's right.

Initially, the Sima Family hadn't mentioned that Ye Chen had legitimately won the item at auction, and that the Sima Family had made the first move.

Sima Li's pupils contracted sharply.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Fifteen Celestial Realm experts.

All crippled?

Mo Wu's life-bound magical weapon, shattered?

He is a Celestial Master Realm expert!

Ye Chen...

That Ye Chen, barely in his twenties, is actually this powerful?

Sima Li trembled all over, holding his son's corpse.

It wasn't fear.

It was rage.

It was hatred.

It was resentment.

He took a deep breath, suddenly lifting his head, his eyes filled with madness.

"Contact the Chen family immediately!"

"I will make that brat pay with his blood!"

"Killing my son is a slap in the face to the Chen family!"

"The Chen family will not stand idly by!"

Mo Wu nodded silently.

This matter was already beyond his control.

The urgent task now was indeed to let the Chen family members decide. He was merely a guest elder, after all!

He turned to leave...

Just then.

A flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the study.

Immediately after.

A figure stumbled in.

It was the Sima Family steward, Sima Nong.

His face was deathly pale, sweat beaded his forehead, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"M-Master!"

"Something terrible has happened!"

Sima Li frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart: "What is it? Calm down!"

Sima Nong gasped for breath, pointing outside the door, his voice trembling.

"Ye... Ye Chen is here!"

Sima Li shuddered from head to toe.

Ye Chen is here?

He dares to come?

He killed my son, and he dares to show up at my doorstep???

In an instant, overwhelming killing intent erupted in Sima Li's eyes.

But before he could speak, Sima Nong's next sentence left him utterly dumbfounded.

"And..."

"He brought a gift!"

Sima Li was stunned.

A gift?

He killed my son and brought a gift?

What kind of move is this?

Could he be coming to apologize???

How could my son's life be measured by a mere gift!

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fury in his heart, and asked coldly, "What gift?"

Sima Nong's face grew even paler.

He opened his mouth, forcing out four words with difficulty.

"A coffin."

Sima Li: "???"

Mo Wu: "???"

A coffin?

Ye Chen killed Sima Ling and personally delivers a coffin to their door?

Is he here to pay his respects?

Or is he here...

To provoke!?

Sima Li's face turned an ashen shade of green.

"Ye Chen!!!"

He laid down his son's corpse and strode toward the door, "If I don't kill you today, I swear I'm not human!!!"

He marched through the corridors, sprinting all the way toward the manor's main gate.

Behind him, Sima Nong stumbled along, and Mo Wu hesitated for a moment before dragging his injured body to follow.

Sima Family members passing by, though confused by the commotion, hurriedly followed suit.

...

Outside the manor gate.

Dusk had fallen, the last sliver of sunset fading from the horizon.

Ye Chen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, right in front of the Sima Family Manor's main entrance.

Behind him, Chu Shixiong and the others had all come.

Chu Niubi stood at the very front, a brand-new coffin placed beside him.

Suddenly!

Sima Li burst through the gate, his eyes immediately landing on that coffin.

Sima Li's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"Ye Chen!"

"You killed my son! You're simply asking for death!!!"

Ye Chen looked at his furious state and gave a light chuckle: "Asking for death? I'm not asking for death. I gave your Sima Family a chance before. You're the ones who didn't cherish it."

Sima Li trembled all over, pointing a finger at Ye Chen, his hand shaking like a leaf in a storm.

"You... you..."

He stammered "you" for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence.

Too angry!

Too hateful!

In his decades of life, having led the Sima Family for so many years, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?!

Son killed!

Corpse delivered back!

The murderer personally brings a coffin to their door!

This was trampling the Sima Family's face into the ground, grinding it to dust!

Watching his state, the smile on Ye Chen's face grew even more harmless.

He raised his hand and gave a slight wave.

Chu Niubi immediately understood, shouldering an armchair and striding forward to place it behind Ye Chen.

Ye Chen sat down in the armchair with an imposing air.

Then.

He lifted his head, his gaze settling on Sima Li's face, and spoke calmly.

"I'll give you one hour."

"Summon anyone in your Sima Family who has any capability."

"Otherwise..."

He tilted his head, glancing at the brand-new coffin beside him, "you'll be the one lying in this coffin today."

Sima Li's face was livid, veins bulging on his forehead.

Chu Niubi, standing to the side, couldn't help but ask curiously, "Master, what if he really manages to summon them?"

Ye Chen turned his head slightly, looking at him.

"Then they'll all lie in it together."

Chu Niubi was taken aback for a moment, then burst into uproarious laughter.

"Master! You're the best!"

"So, whether they call for help or not, they're all going in the coffin today, right?"

Leaning back in the armchair, Ye Chen said calmly, "I'm just giving them a chance to be together as a family."

Standing there, listening to this exchange, the muscles on Sima Li's face twitched violently.

He glared at Ye Chen, his eyes almost spewing fire.

"Ye Chen!!!"

"Do you truly believe my Sima Family has no one capable?!"

Ye Chen looked at him and gave a slight nod.

"Mm-hmm."

"That's exactly what I believe."

Sima Li: "!!!"

Damn!

This is too much!

Utter humiliation!

He truly doesn't place our Sima Family in his eyes!

He took a deep breath, suddenly turned around, and roared at Sima Nong.

"Go!"

"Summon everyone!"

"Everyone!"

Sima Nong shuddered, then turned and sprinted back into the manor.

Sima Li turned back, glaring fixedly at Ye Chen, his voice dripping with venom.

"Ye Chen, you will regret this."

"What happens today, my Sima Family and you are locked in a fight to the death!"