Chapter 123: Chapter 121: A Villain Needs a Villain to Grind Him Down

The commotion on the second floor quickly attracted the attention of the guests dining in the Celestial Jade Pavilion.

They all craned their necks to look toward Jiang Chen’s table. When they saw Lin Kang kneeling on the floor, the color drained from their faces.

"Holy shit, that kid actually dared to make Eldest Young Master Lin kneel? Does he have a death wish?"

"Everyone knows that Grand Commander Gan Luo of the Red Flame Army is extremely protective of his own. Especially with the recent annihilation of the Qinghuo Gang, the Qian Family, and the Luoo Family, the prestige of the Red Flame Army and the City Lord’s Mansion is at an all-time high. For this kid to offend Lin Kang now is like provoking Grand Commander Gan. He’s a dead man!"

"Sigh, young people are just too impulsive, they don’t think about the consequences..."

A few of them hesitated for a long moment before stepping forward to advise Jiang Chen to flee immediately, lest he face a catastrophic disaster.

But they were stopped by Lin Kang’s shouting...

"Get the hell away from me, all of you! If you dare to keep crowding around, I’ll have my cousin arrest every last one of you and throw you in the Red Flame Army’s prison when he gets here!"

One side of Lin Kang’s face was swollen, making his expression particularly hideous. His venomous gaze was fixed on Jiang Chen as he gnashed his teeth. "Brat, don’t even think about running! You’re making me kneel now, but when my cousin gets here, I’ll make you kneel ten, a hundred times over... No, I’ll break both your legs and make you crawl like a dog for the rest of your life..."

Jiang Chen shot him a glance. "All this chirping is so damn annoying."

The Black Emperor, who was beside them, chuckled. "If you find him annoying, then just shut him up!"

A black light flashed.

The two small claws on the Black Emperor’s fleshy wings grabbed a handful of chopsticks and, without a second thought, stuffed them all into Lin Kang’s mouth.

His mouth was crammed full of chopsticks. A few even pierced through his cheeks, protruding from his face with bloody chunks of flesh still attached.

"ARGH..."

Lin Kang howled in agony, but with his mouth blocked by the chopsticks, he couldn’t form any words.

His eyes were bloodshot, and fat teardrops rolled down from their corners.

He raised his hands, wanting to pull the chopsticks out.

The Black Emperor glanced at him and said coolly, "For every one you pull out, this Emperor will shove in twice as many!"

As it spoke, it grabbed another handful of chopsticks with its small claws.

The sight made Lin Kang’s hands tremble in fear.

He clenched his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white as his body trembled from the pain.

’You bastards... When my cousin gets here, I’ll have you torn to pieces...’ An expression of pure malice filled Lin Kang’s eyes from under his lowered eyelids as he thought viciously.

...

"Make way..."

"Red Flame Army business! All idle hands, clear the way..."

A group of Red Flame Army experts, clad in grim battle armor and wielding Combat Weapons, filed in one after another, their killing intent palpable.

A full hundred men!

Every single one of them radiated killing intent, their gazes menacing, like a procession of Evil Stars. The moment they entered, they secured all the exits of the Celestial Jade Pavilion. Their formidable formation and overwhelming presence sent the guests scrambling back in fear.

Their eyes filled with apprehension and fear. "As expected of the Red Flame Army. Every one of them is a battle-hardened Evil Star. That kid upstairs is a dead man!"

"Sigh, we told him to leave earlier. Now it’s too late to even try!"

"Look... It’s Grand Commander Gan Luo!"

A young man riding a tall horse approached with the confident stride of a tiger. He wore the blood-red battle armor of a Commander and had a long saber hanging at his waist, a faint scent of blood clinging to him.

It was none other than the Grand Commander of the Red Flame Army, Gan Luo!

"Cousin, Brother Lin Kang is on the second floor!" said Lin Jing.

Gan Luo nodded, his eyes glinting coldly. He snorted. "Lin Kang is my uncle’s only son. My father has repeatedly ordered me to protect him. I can’t believe someone would dare to bully my cousin, Gan Luo’s cousin, here in Yulan Mansion—on my turf. Brothers, it doesn’t matter who this person is. If he dares to resist, chop him to death!"

"Yes, sir!"

The hundred Red Flame Army soldiers roared in unison, their shouts shaking the Celestial Jade Pavilion to its foundations.

On the second floor.

Lin Kang shuddered, his eyes flashing with excitement. Beyond the venom in his bloodshot gaze, a thick layer of smugness appeared. ’Brat, you’re dead!’

At that moment...

Gan Luo had already strode onto the second floor like a conquering hero. The crowd parted automatically, not daring to obstruct the rising Grand Commander of the Red Flame Army.

"Mmph... mmph..."

When Lin Kang saw Gan Luo arrive, he was so overcome with emotion that tears welled up in his eyes.

Whimpering, he tried to crawl toward Gan Luo.

But Jiang Chen planted a foot on his back, pinning him to the floor. The pain made Lin Kang cry out. Ignoring the Black Emperor’s threat, he violently pulled the chopsticks from his mouth and shrieked hysterically, "Cousin, save me! This little bastard is a ruthless Demon who kills without batting an eye! I just brought Little Jing here for a meal, and he stole my table and beat me up like this! Cousin, you have to get justice for me!"

Gan Luo’s heart burned with rage when he saw Lin Kang’s miserable state and bloody mouth.

Ever since returning from the Celestial Demon Canyon, he had been promoted to Grand Commander of the Red Flame Army by Si Xiaosheng for his meritorious service in protecting Lui Yifa and the others.

These last few days, he had been riding a wave of success.

In all of Yulan Mansion, who wouldn’t show Grand Commander Gan some respect?

And who didn’t know that Lin Kang was his, Gan Luo’s, cousin?

But now, some blind fool had beaten Lin Kang into this state. This was no different from slapping Gan Luo hard across the face several times!

"Don’t worry, Cousin. No matter who it is, I’ll pay them back a hundred, a thousand times over for daring to do this to you!"

Gan Luo nodded emphatically. Only then did he fix his ice-cold eyes on Jiang Chen, who was still stepping on Lin Kang. "Brat, you’ve got some nerve, causing trouble in Yulan Mansion... Ah! Huh?"

Gan Luo seemed to short-circuit. He was dumbfounded, his eyes wide as he stared at Jiang Chen, unable to speak for a long moment.

It was as if he were possessed.

Only Lin Jing, standing beside him, noticed that Gan Luo’s body was trembling slightly.

Lin Kang, however, didn’t notice. He twisted his head, a savage expression on his face, and cackled at Jiang Chen, "You little bastard, you’re dead! HAHAHA, I’m going to chop off your hands and feet and make you wish you were dead...!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Tsk tsk, make me wish I were dead? You talk big!"

Jiang Chen clicked his tongue, his gaze landing on Gan Luo with a hint of a smile. "Grand Commander Gan," he said lightly, "what an imposing display."

"Hmph, my cousin is the Grand Commander of the Red Flame Army. Who in all of Yulan Mansion dares to disrespect him? You little bastard, if you kneel and kowtow for mercy now, I might be merciful enough to leave your corpse intact. Otherwise, my cousin will definitely chop you into pieces and feed you to the dogs to avenge me!" Lin Kang spat viciously.

Jiang Chen looked at Gan Luo. "Grand Commander Gan, I hear you’re going to chop me into pieces and feed me to the dogs?"

"Hmph, you think that’s a lie? My cousin is the Grand... Grand... Grand... Cousin, what are you doing?" Lin Kang was in the middle of his arrogant threats when he suddenly saw the majestic Gan Luo’s legs give way as he dropped to his knees.

His face was filled with terror. Not even daring to look at Jiang Chen, he trembled from head to toe and stammered, "Gan Luo greets Young Master Jiang. I was not aware of Young Master Jiang’s arrival. Gan Luo apologizes for his offense. I beg Young Master Jiang to forgive me!"

"C-Cousin, what are you doing? He’s my enemy! Instead of crippling him, you’re kowtowing to him?" Lin Kang was completely dumbfounded.

"Shut your mouth!"

Gan Luo shot Lin Kang a furious glare and raged, "I told you to keep a low profile, but you wouldn’t listen, insisting on stirring up trouble everywhere. This is the great Young Master Jiang Chen! Even the City Lord and the Commander-in-Chief must address him as Young Master Jiang. You dared to offend him? Even if Uncle and Aunt came, they couldn’t help you. Hurry up and apologize to Young Master Jiang! Beg for his forgiveness!"

"W-What? You want me to apologize to him?" Lin Kang’s face was a mask of disbelief.

Gasps of shock rippled through the surrounding crowd.

To them, the Grand Commander of the Red Flame Army was already a powerful and untouchable figure.

But Gan Luo had just said that even the lofty Mansion Master and the Red Flame Army’s Commander-in-Chief had to address Jiang Chen as Young Master Jiang?

Just who was this young man?

The crowd stared at Jiang Chen, their gazes a mixture of horror and curiosity.

Lin Kang’s face was ashen with despair. He knew he had really kicked an iron plate this time. Under Gan Luo’s vicious glare, Lin Kang turned pale and knelt shakily before Jiang Chen, kowtowing repeatedly. "Young Master Jiang, I was wrong! It was I who was blind and failed to recognize your greatness! Please, I beg you to forgive me this once! Please, let me go..."

Gan Luo looked at Jiang Chen with a pleading expression. "Young Master Jiang, Kang is my uncle’s only son. He’s been spoiled since childhood and didn’t mean to offend you. You can see that he’s truly repentant now. Can’t you just let him off this once?"

"Spoiled? Heh. If it had been an ordinary person he met today, and not me, do you think he would be repentant?" Jiang Chen sneered.

Gan Luo was speechless.

’An ordinary person?’

’He would have been hacked to death by his men long ago!’

Jiang Chen slowly stood up. The Black Emperor flapped its fleshy wings and landed on his shoulder. He swept a cold gaze over Gan Luo and Lin Kang and said flatly, "Those who humiliate others will themselves be humiliated. Those who kill will always be killed. With Lin Kang’s arrogant and tyrannical nature, I fear more than one or two lives have already been lost at his hands. Today, I, Jiang Chen, will act on behalf of heaven and eliminate this menace. As for you, Gan Luo, go back and report to Wang Yizhou. Resign from your position as Grand Commander."

As his voice fell.

Jiang Chen had already transformed into a streak of Flowing Light, shooting out from the window and vanishing without a trace.

The crowd’s gaze slowly fell upon Lin Kang. A single chopstick was embedded in the center of his forehead, piercing through his skull. He was already dead!

Gan Luo’s face was ashen. He stared in the direction Jiang Chen had left, a flicker of resentment and anger in his eyes. But the thought of Jiang Chen’s terrifying power made him sigh. His face darkened. "Men, carry Lin Kang’s body back. After today, I, Gan Luo, will report to the Commander-in-Chief and resign my position as Grand Commander!"

They had arrived with great fanfare, only to leave in disgrace.

The scene left everyone spiritually shaken. Watching the wicked young master Lin Kang being carried away, many felt a sense of satisfaction and excitement.

An old man with white hair and a white beard, who had once been bullied by Lin Kang, his eyes blurry with tears, spoke the words on everyone’s mind: "It takes a villain to grind down a villain..."