Chapter 1591: Redevelopment

A gift?

Ye Guan looked at Sang Mei, intrigued. "What kind of gift?"

Sang Mei smiled widely. "It's a secret for now."

Ye Guan was speechless.

Then, her smile faded as she looked at him seriously. "Are you willing?"

Ye Guan glanced around and lowered his voice. "You mean... fundamentally?"

Sang Mei nodded.

"I understand what you're asking," Ye Guan replied.

"Then?" she asked again. "Is that a yes?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Yes."

"You sure?"

"I'm looking forward to the gift."

"I knew it. I knew you'd help even without anything in exchange."

Ye Guan chuckled.

"Don't worry, the gift will definitely be surprising," said Sang Mei.

Ye Guan grew serious. "I can't promise I'll succeed. If I mess up..."

"Even if you do, the gift's still yours."

Ye Guan turned to look at her.

Sang Mei smiled. "True kindness is rare in this world. You have a good heart, good things should come your way."

Ye Guan smiled. "Then I'll thank you in advance."

"I'm curious," Sang Mei said. "How do you plan to change things here?"

Ye Guan glanced around and spoke softly, "Handing out money helps for a moment. But real change comes from within. They need to feel valuable again."

"And how will you do that?"

"That's a secret for now."

Sang Mei paused and chuckled. "You're kinda sly, aren't you?"

Ye Guan just smiled.

***

After leaving the slums, Ye Guan returned to Nan Xiao's Residence. At the entrance, he saw a large crowd. These people had been gathered outside for days now.

Ye Guan ignored them and headed toward the door.

"That's him! That's Ye Guan!"

Someone in the crowd shouted in rage. "That heartless man! Bullying the Jun Clan's young master just because he has powerful backing! He's nothing but a vicious mongrel!"

The crowd erupted. Glares fell on Ye Guan, and surging spiritual energy filled the air. Some even unleashed their divine senses, attacking Ye Guan directly.

Ye Guan stopped. He turned and looked straight at the man shouting insults. The man didn't back down. Instead, he yelled louder, "Ye Guan, you bastard! You think you'll get away with this?! You—"

Hum!!

With a resonant sword hum, nearly a thousand heads flew into the air.

Blood flowed like a river, and the crowd was stunned.

Even the guards of the Judicial Office were frozen in place.

A massacre?

The rioters died with their eyes wide open, never expecting Ye Guan to actually kill them.

Ye Guan ignored the stunned guards. He casually collected over a thousand storage rings and walked through the gates of the residence.

Just then, Old Ji came running out. When he saw the field of corpses, he was dumbfounded.

He killed them all?!

Old Ji stared at Ye Guan in disbelief. "You... killed all of them?"

Ye Guan nodded calmly. "

Mmhm

."

"But... why?" Old Ji asked.

Ye Guan replied, "According to the divine laws, if someone unlawfully attacks you and you take action to stop it, even if they're harmed in the process, it's considered self-defense.

"They attacked me first with their divine senses. I was defending myself."

Old Ji was speechless.

You really know how to twist the laws in your favor.

Ye Guan continued walking into the residence. He had more important matters to attend to. Since he had agreed to help Sang Mei, he planned to give it his all.

As for the Jun Clan? They weren't the Great Daoist Brush Master. He had no interest in playing political games with them.

What status did he have? What about the Jun Clan? Were they really qualified to play with him?

Not long after Ye Guan left, Nan Xiao arrived at the gates.

Old Ji quickly approached. "Boss, that Young Master Ye..."

Nan Xiao smiled. "Good kill."

Old Ji was puzzled.

Nan Xiao chuckled. "You think my brother acted too impulsively, don't you?"

Old Ji nodded. "I mean, swordsmen tend to be hot-blooded. They're honest and straightforward people..."

Honest?!

Nan Xiao twitched.

Brother is honest? Not quite.

Still smiling, Nan Xiao said, "He must've had his reasons."

Old Ji frowned.

Nan Xiao looked at the sea of corpses and calmly said, "Even if I don't know what he thinks, I still support him."

Old Ji was speechless.

***

Meanwhile, at the Jun Clan Residence...

Word of Ye Guan slaughtering over a thousand people spread like wildfire. In the main hall, the hot-tempered Jun Quan practically jumped with excitement, rubbing his hands together.

"Good! That brute really did it, killed over a thousand! The people are sure to be mad at him. He's done for!"

The Jun Clan elders were also shocked. He just went ahead and killed them all?

Jun Yan solemnly said, "Don't celebrate too early. Something about this doesn't sit right."

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Jun Quan waved him off. "Ye Guan is nothing but a reckless brute. He's young, impulsive, and a swordsman. Of course, he'd snap under pressure. Either way, he slaughtered a thousand people. If we work this right, he's as good as dead."

Jun Yan shook his head slightly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Ye Guan's stance doesn't matter right now, and even Nan Xiao's stance isn't important. What truly matters is the Main Gods' reaction."

The room fell silent.

The Main Gods were the true powers. The Temple God rarely handled internal affairs, which meant the Main Gods ran the world.

Even Jun Quan's expression darkened at that thought.

"So far, the Main Gods haven't made a move. That's troubling. And our allied noble clans are starting to get nervous. After all, Nan Xiao is tied to the Temple of the Gods. If we go too far and upset the Main Gods..."

Jun Yan glanced at Jun You.

Jun You was expressionless. "Stick to the original plan."

Jun Yan sternly said, "The only reason Nan Xiao is going head-to-head with us is because of Ye Guan. I just don't understand... why go to such lengths for a swordsman from the outside? Which makes me wonder... who really is Ye Guan?"

Jun You repeated, "Stick to the plan."

Jun Yan hesitated before nodding. "Understood."

Once the elders had left, a man entered the hall; it was Zong Gu.

He recounted his earlier conversation with Ye Guan.

Jun You asked, "Do you think he's really that straightforward, or is it all an act?"

"That's for you to judge, Miss."

"What do you make of him killing a thousand people?"

Zong Gu thought for a moment. "Two possibilities. One, he doesn't care for underhanded tricks. Two, it was a warning. But either way, his attitude isn't what matters; the real issue is how the Main Gods will respond.

"If they side with Ye Guan, nothing we do will matter. Worse, it'll bite us back."

Jun You looked at him. "So what do you think the Main Gods are thinking?"

Zong Gu shook his head. "That's beyond me."

He was clever, sure, but he understood one thing—information was power.

And the Main Gods? They were far beyond his sphere of information or influence. Trying to outmaneuver them was a death sentence. If he could, he'd back out of this mess right now, but clearly, it was too late for that.

"Go," said Jun You.

Zong Gu bowed deeply and took his leave.

Just then, a voice whispered from the shadows. "Miss, about the Main Gods..."

Jun You slowly closed her eyes. "Their silence is telling. They're letting us stir the pot. Why? So they can swoop in when the backlash hits and clean up the mess by cleaning us out."

The voice asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

Jun You didn't answer. Instead, she walked to the hall's entrance. After a moment, the spacetime in front of her trembled, and a scroll floated into view.

She opened it. After scanning the contents, she smirked. "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Let's see who ends up on top."

***

Back in his room, Ye Guan was deep in thought.

Zong Xin suddenly asked,

"Kid, how exactly are you planning to save the slums?"

Little Pagoda chimed in,

"Yeah, I'm curious too."

Ye Guan thought for a bit and said,

"I'll need your help for this, Master Pagoda."

Little Pagoda blinked.

"My help?"

Ye Guan nodded.

"If we want to make a difference fast, we'll have to do something drastic. And step one requires your cooperation."

Little Pagoda was intrigued. "What do you need me to do?"

Ye Guan just smiled.

Little Pagoda grumbled,

"Don't play coy! You know I've seen all the tricks in the world. Share it with me and I will advise you just in case you go down the wrong path."

Ye Guan chuckled and said,

"First, I need you to take a little trip to the slums... and then, you need to get accidentally discovered by someone."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That place has no value in the eyes of the Temple of the Gods. And because it has no value, it gets no attention from those at the top. My first step is to make it valuable. Once you're discovered, with your heaven-defying abilities, it'll cause a major stir."

Little Pagoda was still confused.

"What kind of scheme are you running here?"

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed.

"Two words—urban redevelopment. If we want to change their fate, we start with a demolition project!"