Chapter 136: The Penalty of Death by a Thousand Cuts

Brother Chen, you are here!

The battle concluded, and Ye Chen hurried to the casino. Upon learning that an incident had occurred at the establishment, he had rushed over almost immediately. Seeing the traces of combat at the entrance and the soaked figures of the men, he more or less pieced together what had happened. Ye Chen dashed straight into the casino and descended into the basement guided by Xiao Er. Catching sight of Ye Chen, Feng Zhixiao immediately stepped forward and laughed heartily, "This time, we've truly made a mighty impression!"

"Mm, not bad!" Ye Chen nodded. "We fought well today. From now on, as our prestige in Jianghuai City grows higher and higher, no one will dare to cross us!"

"Brother Chen is completely right!" Feng Zhixiao grinned. "As long as we project our might and establish our prestige, there will always be a place for us in Jianghuai City."

"Brother Chen, how should we deal with this bastard?" Xiao Er led five or six elementary and middle school students holding steel pipes. With snot still hanging from his nose and a Young Pioneer's red scarf tied around his neck, Xiao Er glared at Prince, who was hanging suspended in mid-air, and said coldly, "If you ask me, we should just finish him off once and for all!"

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned. Pinching Xiao Er’s cheek, he chuckled, "You little punk, since when did you become such a ruthless character? You talk about offing people left and right!"

"I learned it from Brother Chen!" Xiao Er grinned widely.

"Damn it, when have I ever been that ruthless?" Ye Chen looked at Xiao Er in bewilderment.

"Brother Chen, you lopped off Big Baldy's head with a single blade—we all witnessed it!" Xiao Er looked at Ye Chen with undisguised admiration. "In the future, I want to be a great hero just like Brother Chen!"

"Ye Chen, if you're a real man, let me down and let's fight one-on-one!" Prince, dangling in mid-air, cried out in bitter frustration.

Clang!

Xiao Er immediately swung his steel pipe, striking Prince hard, and raged, "Damn your sister! You're already a captive and you still want to fight Brother Chen one-on-one? Why don't you just go die!"

"Cut him down," Ye Chen waved his hand.

"Brother Chen, this punk is dangerous. Don't fall for his tricks!" Feng Zhixiao immediately warned Ye Chen, eyeing him closely.

"No need to worry. If I can't even beat him, how could I possibly survive in Jianghuai City?" Ye Chen let out a cold snort.

Shortly after, Prince was lowered from the ropes by Da Hei. A sinister and cold smirk played on the corners of Prince's mouth. This time, he was determined to teach Ye Chen a harsh lesson and let everyone here know that Prince was the true big boss of Jianghuai City. Prince stretched his arms, cracked his wrists, and casually picked up an iron rod from the ground. Grinning broadly at Ye Chen, he said, "Ye Chen, if I accidentally beat you to death, don't blame me for not holding back!"

"Bring it on!" Ye Chen crooked his finger.

Prince lunged at Ye Chen instantly, raising the iron rod high and swinging it down viciously toward him. Ye Chen sidestepped, easily dodging the blow. A cold smile flashed across the corner of Ye Chen's mouth. As Prince brushed past him, Ye Chen drove his knee fiercely into Prince's chest. Prince's eyes widened in horror. He saw Ye Chen's knee hurtling toward his chest, but his own momentum carried him forward, making it impossible to change direction.

Bang...

Ye Chen's knee struck Prince squarely in the chest with tremendous force. At that single kick, Prince felt a suffocating tightness in his chest and a sweet taste rising in his throat. Instantly, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed from his mouth. His whole body pitched forward and he slammed onto the ground. Ye Chen smiled coldly, "With pathetic skills like yours, you still wanted to finish me off."

A cold smirk crept onto Ye Chen's face. He then lifted his foot and pressed it heavily onto Prince's back.

Crack...

With a loud snap, the sound of several ribs fracturing echoed through the room, followed immediately by an earth-shattering, soul-stirring shriek of agony. As Prince's screams reverberated, his subordinates outside involuntarily shrank their necks. That agonizing cry made their hearts tremble. Good grief, judging by that sound, it was impossible to tell whether he had lost an arm or a broken leg.

"Prince, it's not that I'm lecturing you, but your own old man hasn't even spoken yet regarding the underworld of Jianghuai City. What makes you, a mere son, think you can try to step over my head?" Ye Chen walked coldly toward Prince. At that moment, Prince was rolling on the ground clutching his chest; Ye Chen's knee strike had been packed with absolute power. With a pale, ashen face, Prince gasped, "I... I... I surrender!"

"Hmph, surrendering isn't going to cut it!" Ye Chen twirled a dagger in his hand, grinning, "In ancient China, there was a punishment called Lingchi—death by a thousand cuts. I wonder if you've heard of it, Prince? Supposedly, every person subjected to it has to endure three thousand six hundred cuts before they finally die!"

Hiss...

Leaving aside Prince, even Feng Zhixiao and the others behind him sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, tightening up instantly. They took a few steps back, not daring to get anywhere near Ye Chen. Although Brother Chen was benevolent, he was utterly merciless toward his enemies. This much was obvious from the day he sliced off Big Baldy's head with a single stroke.

"No, no, don't kill me!" Disregarding the piercing pain in his chest, Prince burst into repeated pleas for mercy.

"Now you know how to beg for mercy?" Ye Chen chuckled coldly. "Too late!"

"Don't, don't kill me! I'll buy my life with money!" Prince hurriedly pleaded.

"Oh? Prince's life is quite precious, it seems. How much money are you planning to spend to buy your life?" Interest piqued instantly, Ye Chen flashed a joyful smile at the mention of money. He was tight on cash right now; thirty million had been poured into the number one villa, but because he bought it he couldn't dare live in it openly—Zhang Yantong might discover something amiss at any moment, meaning Ye Chen basically had to write off those thirty million as money thrown down the drain.

"One million!" Prince hurriedly raised a single finger.

"Damn it, your life as a prince is only worth one million?!" Ye Chen flicked the dagger in his hand. The blade zipped right through the gaps between Prince's fingers, embedding itself deeply into the wooden paneling behind him. Shocked by this casual display of skill, Prince hurriedly screamed, "One million five hundred thousand!"

"Hmph, only one.5 million? You're really devaluing yourself, aren't you?" Like a magician, Ye Chen produced a second dagger from his clothes. Terror flashed in Prince's eyes, and he pleaded frantically, "Two million! That's my absolute limit. If you want any more, I simply don't have it. You took three million from my account last month; my balance is completely empty!"

"Damn it, you're a prominent figure in Jianghuai City with some standing; who are you trying to fool by claiming you only have a few million in your account?" Ye Chen twirled the dagger back and forth in front of Prince's eyes. Prince immediately cried out, "No, no, I really don't have any cash! Don't look at how well I seem to be doing in Jianghuai City; I actually don't have many profitable legal businesses. I just run a few brothels, and my subordinates manage a group of hostesses, guarding those golden geese. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a single penny!"

Feng Zhixiao stepped forward and muttered, "Brother Chen, it actually seems to be true. This guy Prince doesn't touch drugs; he specializes strictly in women and pimping."

"Fine, two million it is then!" Ye Chen waved his hand. "At least we can use this money to clear the outstanding bills for our renovation!"

Following that, Ye Chen immediately had Prince's subordinates bring the money over before releasing him. On the opening day, the casino's net income was one hundred thousand, plus the two million 'gifted' by Prince, bringing the net profit to a staggering two million one hundred thousand. This haul thrilled the subordinates immensely. Xiao Er bounced with excitement; looking at the piles of cash, he was too thrilled for words, clapping his hands continuously and shouting, "We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich! From now on, eating, drinking, and living it up will be pure bliss!"

"You little punk, do you think this money belongs to you?" Feng Zhixiao couldn't help glaring at him as he said, "All of this money has to be returned to Tianya Group. Our renovation materials relied entirely on their generous support."

"Sigh... The duck that was already in my mouth flew away again!" Xiao Er sat down helplessly, staring at the stacks of red banknotes. What a pity they didn't belong to him; after fighting hard all night long, the money they busied themselves for ultimately belonged to someone else.

Despite his disappointment, seeing Feng Zhixiao hand out generous red envelopes of five thousand yuan each to the brothers instantly cheered Xiao Er up. Clutching his five thousand yuan, he immediately turned around and distributed cash to his own subordinates. Don't be fooled by how shrewd Xiao Er was; he was never stingy with his own underlings. He stuffed eight hundred yuan into each of their hands. The elementary and middle school students hanging out with Xiao Er usually considered having ten or twenty yuan in pocket money a huge deal; suddenly receiving several hundred yuan, they felt overwhelmingly grateful to him and showered him with devotion.

"Second Brother, we're sticking with you from now on!" they cheered in unison.

"Hehe, don't worry! Follow me, Xiao Er, and I guarantee you'll eat well and live luxuriously!" Xiao Er grinned broadly.

The matter of the casino had finally reached a conclusion, and everyone happily went home to sleep. Although the incident with Prince had occurred, far from dampening their spirits, it had only fueled their enthusiasm further.

The news eventually reached the ears of Yan Bu'er.

"What? Prince brought over a hundred men and still got defeated by Feng Zhixiao's crew of just over sixty?" Yan Bu'er asked in astonishment. "Feng Zhixiao's crew are nothing more than street youths with zero fighting experience, whereas the hundred-plus men under Prince were all battle-hardened veterans!"

"Boss Yan, this time it was mainly because Prince fell hard into their trap!" His subordinate recounted the whole sequence of events. Yan Bu'er finally understood the situation and sneered, "If you ask me, this Feng Zhixiao is quite a clever fellow. If anyone's to blame, it's Prince for having a wooden brain."

"Prince has been schooled by Ye Chen time and time again; the whole of Jianghuai City will probably know about this by tomorrow!" the subordinate said eagerly.

"Strange, how did Ye Chen manage to escape from prison?" Yan Bu'er asked curiously.

"I don't know!" The subordinate shook his head, then gasped in sudden realization, "Could he have broken out?"

"This is crucial!" Yan Bu'er's interest was instantly piqued. "Call the police station immediately. If Ye Chen really did break out of prison, he's committed an additional crime, hehe. Forget about a sentence reduction; he'll probably face severe punishment!"

"Yes!" Without a second word, the subordinate immediately dialed the police station. However, upon receiving the feedback from the other end, the subordinate's eyes widened in shock as he reported, "Boss, the cops say Ye Chen was released unconditionally according to regular legal procedures. This..."

Clatter!

The teacup in Yan Bu'er's hand slipped and smashed onto the floor. His eyes bulged as he muttered, "This kid's got powerful connections!"

"Then... what should we do?" the subordinate asked anxiously.

"Hmph, find an opportunity to wipe them all out at once!" Yan Bu'er gritted his teeth. "I refuse to believe that in this turf of Jianghuai City, anyone dares snatch food from right under my nose."

"Understood!" The subordinate nodded immediately. After pondering for a short moment, he turned and walked out. Yan Bu'er remained seated in his office. A short while later, an alluring woman walked in. She wore a lace outfit with a hollow-out dress, wearing nothing underneath. Half-timid and half-shy, her appearance was breathtakingly attractive.