Chapter 57: Accept My Reverence!

After returning to his lodging for a night's rest, the next morning arrived. Ye Tian rose early, performing breathing exercises for an hour in the golden light of dawn before stepping out. He left Tianhua Inn, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the western part of the city.

The previous evening, a sudden idea had taken root in his mind: he would rebuild the Ye family.

It had been five years since he left, and not once since returning to Zhongdu had Ye Tian visited the old family estate. He could easily imagine that, in order to erase all traces of the massacre that had destroyed the Ye family, the once magnificent seven-courtyard residence had long since been razed to the ground. That grand estate, which had held so many memories, now existed only in the past—irretrievable, lost to time.

But Ye Tian was not one to cling obsessively to what was gone. The past, after all, was past; one ought to stride boldly forward. So today, he intended to look at properties alone and select a prime location, blessed by good fortune, as the new home for the Ye family.

The taxi sped along and soon brought him to a real estate sales center.

Inside the main hall, a girl dressed in a riot of colors was twisting and rubbing herself against a blond young man. "Cheng, please buy it for me! It's only two million, and we can live together there~" she cooed.

"Well, twelve million isn't exactly cheap..." The blond stared absently at the display, his face awkward. Damn, he hadn't brought enough money, and now he was in a tight spot.

"Do you only have single-level units? I'm looking for a larger villa," Ye Tian asked nearby, pacing as he examined the properties. After a thorough look, he realized the developer offered no villas at all—only single-floor apartments.

"None available," the saleswoman replied impatiently, not even sparing him a glance before walking away.

"What's with this place? Is everyone so indifferent about doing business?" Ye Tian muttered, perplexed.

As he frowned, the blond suddenly leaned in, whispering, "Are you really that naive, or just pretending?"

"What do you mean?" Ye Tian scratched his head, not quite sure. The blond didn't seem to be looking for trouble—just a little offbeat—so Ye Tian wasn't offended by his bluntness.

"Look outside! The sign says Runya Mansion—it's an apartment complex!" The blond pointed at the billboard, eyeing Ye Tian suspiciously.

This guy was dressed in a simple vest and nondescript pants, with flip-flops on his feet. He looked nothing like a man of means. Besides, this was Zhongdu, not Guangdong—surely not some low-key billionaire. If he wasn't wealthy, then he was probably just showing off.

So the blond mused to himself.

Seeing how knowledgeable the other seemed, Ye Tian's eyes brightened. He grabbed him earnestly and asked, "You look like you know your way around. Do you have any good villas to recommend?"

After all, he had been away from Zhongdu for five years. The real estate developers had changed hands more than once, and even the city's appearance was different. Finding a suitable property was proving difficult.

"Villas?" The blond's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Even here in Zhongdu, a single villa starts at twenty million at least."

He scrutinized Ye Tian from head to toe.

"I'm not joking," Ye Tian replied helplessly, spreading his hands. He couldn't blame the blond for not believing him—his own attire today was rather shabby, and he even wore a human-skin mask. At first glance, he looked like someone who couldn't even afford the down payment on a basic apartment.

That explained why the saleswoman had ignored him, thinking he was crazy.

"Forget it. If you can really take out twenty million, then I'm the First Emperor of Qin!" The blond, after a moment's thought, waved his hand dismissively and pulled the flamboyant girl with him, quickening his pace out the door.

"Aren't we buying a place, darling?" she whined.

"Buy what? Didn't you see that idiot? He might stab us with a knife if we cross him!"

Damn it...

Ye Tian bristled with annoyance. If you can't afford it, just say so—no need to call him an idiot as an excuse.

Soon, the blond and the girl turned left into a lottery shop.

"Cheng, let's just go to a bar. This place is so boring," the girl grumbled, but the blond, excited, started scratching lottery tickets.

"Boss, give me five hundred yuan's worth of scratch cards."

Without hesitation, he scanned five hundred yuan over.

Seeing such a big customer, the shopkeeper beamed, quickly fetching a thick stack from behind the counter. "Take your pick—five or ten yuan each!"

The blond didn't bother choosing, simply pulled all the tickets on the table toward himself and started scratching.

It didn't take long for him to start cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, my luck is awful today! I've scratched over a dozen and only won five yuan once—what a loss!"

At that moment, a mysterious voice sounded behind him, "Stop scratching. That whole stack only has fifty yuan in winnings."

Ye Tian smiled, giving him a knowing look.

Startled by the sudden close-up, the blond nearly toppled over. He eyed the stranger warily and demanded, "How do you know there's only fifty inside? Do you have superpowers—X-ray vision or something?"

"Don't listen to him, Cheng. Let's just scratch and then go to the bar," the girl urged, already impatient.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go!" the blond said irritably, waving her off. "If you were really that amazing, you'd already be driving a sports car and living in a villa. Stop bothering me, or I'll deck you."

With that, he went back to his 'business' with even greater focus.

Ye Tian, however, didn't leave—he simply watched, smiling.

Within five minutes, the blond handed his scratched tickets to the boss, whose expression was now awkward as he scratched his head. "Sir, exactly fifty yuan."

Damn, he was exactly right. How was he supposed to stay in business like this?

Now, the blond looked at Ye Tian as if he'd found a long-lost father.

"Master, allow me to bow to you!"

"Weren't you the one who didn't believe me?" Ye Tian could barely suppress a laugh.

"I, Jiang Cheng, was blind to Mount Tai, blind to the two hundred and fifty-eight thousand wonders, blind to the dragon queen's straight flush..." He babbled, bowing low. "Master, I was wrong—please guide this humble disciple!"

Ye Tian couldn't help but laugh. This fellow, though irreverent, was rather amusing.

And his luck was clearly extraordinary...

Through his qi-sensing technique, Ye Tian saw wisps of clear energy rising from Jiang Cheng's head and arched an eyebrow. Ordinary wealthy families or children of old clans could never possess such overwhelming fortune. This man was either fate's favored son, or a princeling from the capital.

He quickly confirmed his suspicion: judging by the accent, this was definitely a scion of a capital family, traveling incognito in Zhongdu!