Chapter Forty-Two: Talent

"I don't care about all that. I just don't want to talk to him, and I don't want to see him," Wang Meng said, waving his hand.

"You think you're in the right?!" Deng Qiaoying snapped.

"I never thought I was wrong. If it were me being sent to the front lines, Brother Xin would do whatever it took to rescue me!" Wang Meng declared boisterously. "The two of us are like real brothers!"

Ye Xin sighed inwardly. He had no idea how the old Ye Xin would have handled this, but he himself would not have gone so far—because now he saw stakes, saw the broader picture.

For reasons he could not quite explain, Ye Xin felt a twinge of guilt. He reached out to pat Wang Meng's shoulder, then turned to Deng Qiaoying. "Auntie, I'd like to share a good drink with Meng. Is the kitchen convenient?"

"No need to go to all that trouble," Wang Meng said quickly. "Brother Xin, let's go to the Fragrant Pavilion. Third Brother is waiting for us there."

Deng Qiaoying had originally intended to keep Ye Xin from leaving, but when she heard that Tie Shudeng was waiting as well, her eyes brightened. Without waiting for Ye Xin to speak, she interrupted, "In that case… go ahead, Xin'er. It's right to gather with old friends after so long."

It wasn't fair to call Deng Qiaoying opportunistic; she simply wanted to protect the Ye family, to protect Ye Xin. Thus, she hoped Ye Xin would reintegrate into the circle of noble families.

"Very well," Ye Xin nodded.

"Let's go, let's go," Wang Meng called impatiently.

"Brother, I want to go too!" Ye Ling exclaimed.

"Of course," Ye Xin replied.

Ye Ling glanced about and suddenly noticed Mo Yan. She asked suspiciously, "Brother, who is this?"

"His name is Mo Yan. He's my friend," Xue Baiqi answered.

"Mo Yan greets Miss," Mo Yan said, bowing slightly to Ye Ling.

Wang Meng was nearly out the door but stopped abruptly, turning back. "You are Mo Yan?"

"Yes," Mo Yan replied, respectfully.

"What are you doing here?" Wang Meng demanded.

"I…" Mo Yan opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Two years ago, I saved Brother Mo Yan once, and recently we happened to meet on the street. He only came to see me, and pay his respects to the young master," Xue Baiqi explained.

Wang Meng gave Mo Yan a long, searching look, then strode outside. Ye Xin and Ye Ling followed him out.

Wang Meng kept frowning, as if something weighed on his mind. Soon, they left the Ye estate and climbed into a carriage. Ye Ling whispered, "Meng, what is Mo Yan's background?"

"Don't ask. He's nothing good," Wang Meng replied, looking at Ye Xin. "Brother Xin, you need to talk to your family guards—keep them away from Mo Yan!"

"Why?" Ye Ling pressed.

"Because we're officials, and they're outlaws," Wang Meng said with a heavy sigh. "Officials and outlaws cannot coexist."

Ye Xin felt a bit at a loss. He certainly knew Mo Yan's identity—indeed, it was precisely the task assigned to Mo Yan.

In professional terms from another world, Mo Yan had spent the past two years consolidating the criminal underworld of Nine Cauldron City: destroying some factions, suppressing others, recruiting a few, and finally absorbing the rest. Mo Yan was now the ruler of the city's underworld.

Mo Yan alone could never have accomplished such a feat, but he had enforcers—terrifying ones: Xue Baiqi, Hao Fei, Xie En, Ziche Hui, and Fu Shang, any of whom could provide Mo Yan support at any time.

It's no wonder Wang Meng recognized Mo Yan: Wang Fang was the chief constable, and Mo Yan was the kingpin of the underworld—a conflict as old as time. Mo Yan's name must have appeared countless times in Wang family's study documents, since almost every street murder in the past two years was linked to him.

"I can't interfere much with Xue Baiqi's affairs," Ye Xin said softly, "but I'll remind him."

"Brother Xin, don't take this lightly!" Wang Meng said gravely. "That fellow… he's terrifying!"

"Meng, you've just returned from General Wei's army. Haven't you seen all kinds of situations?" Ye Xin laughed.

"Don't laugh," Wang Meng remained serious. "The old man always brings back case files from the Prefect's Office to review. Whenever I'm free, I flip through them. Whenever 'Mo Yan' appears, it's circled in red. The old man keeps sighing over those files… I've never seen him so wary of anyone!"

"If the Prefect wants to arrest someone, isn't it easy?" Ye Ling wondered aloud.

In Nine Cauldron City, the entire bureaucratic class had only three positions with real armed power: Grand Commandant, Grand Steward, and Prefect. The Grand Commandant commanded the army, but since Ye Guanhai's rise, the position was usually held by the frontline commander. Tie Xinsheng wanted to reclaim the Grand Commandant's authority for his own confidant, but the noble families blocked him—for now, the Grand Commandant was Wei Juan.

The Grand Steward commanded the city defense forces—the only military force left to protect home and country after the frontline army was destroyed. Small in number, but elite—only a few thousand troops, with actual combat strength second only to the now-defunct Tianlang Legion. The city defense force was now the strongest in Great Wei, stronger than Wei Juan's army. The Grand Steward was Han Sanmei, who happened to be Third Prince Tie Shudeng's uncle.

The Prefect was the chief constable. The constabulary wasn't regular troops, but the Prefect's Office was not to be underestimated; thousands of constables, scattered they were sand, gathered they were a net. Nothing happened in Nine Cauldron City without their knowledge.

Of course, none of the three—Grand Commandant, Grand Steward, Prefect—could rule alone; their internal entanglements were extremely complex. In the Prefect's Office alone, out of eight chief constables, at least half were confidants of other noble families. Wang Fang could never fully control them, nor dare try, lest Tie Xinsheng intervene.

"Ling, you underestimate Mo Yan," Wang Meng said with a bitter smile. "Mo Yan's movements are unpredictable, impossible to track, and his arrows… do you know Zuo Zhisheng?"

"No," Ye Ling shook her head.

"You've seen him, just didn't notice. He's Third Brother's man," Wang Meng explained. "Zuo Zhisheng and Mo Yan faced off in the western city. They were still over a thousand meters apart when Mo Yan shot an arrow into the sky. Zuo Zhisheng never saw Mo Yan, but was hit by his arrow. They say his head exploded like a smashed watermelon!"

"A thousand meters?" Ye Ling was shocked.

"It should have been twelve hundred meters," Wang Meng said. "Zuo Zhisheng came from humble origins, but he was a high-level innate warrior! That's why Third Brother noticed him. But under Mo Yan's arrow, he never had a chance to act. One moment he was laughing with his companions, the next he was dead. Tell me, is Mo Yan formidable or not?"

Ye Xin remained silent. He knew far more than Wang Meng. Baiqi was steady, Hao Fei ruthless, and Mo Yan—precise. Thanks to his demon eye, Mo Yan could kill a fly from a kilometer away; and that was two years ago. Given his training rate, now his effective killing range should exceed fifteen hundred meters.

However, Mo Yan paid a price for it. Every shot left him limp and powerless, unable to move, his primal channels damaged, needing seven or eight days to recover.

"Could even the Prefect not withstand Mo Yan's arrows?" Ye Ling asked.

"No one knows; it's never been tried. Who could know?" Wang Meng rolled his eyes. "Besides, the old man is alive and well; he wants to live for decades more. Without absolute certainty, why provoke Mo Yan?"

"True," Ye Ling laughed.

"That's why you must stay far away from that fellow! Don't associate with him at all!" Wang Meng insisted.

"Meng, don't you think such a master could help our Ye family?" Ye Ling said slowly.

Ye Ling harbored a great secret: her brother, who couldn't condense primal force, had become so powerful. In that earth-shaking moment, only she sensed the terrifying power hidden in Ye Xin's body.

Many questions found their answers. For example, why did Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei change from arrogance to deference before her brother? He must have shown his strength, winning their respect. Or why did Uncle Qiu hand over two hundred thousand gold notes to him? He must have known Ye Xin's power and believed he could revive the Tianlang Legion!

Mo Yan had appeared in the Ye family for no apparent reason, and was respectful to Ye Ling—so he must have been won over by Ye Xin's strength, and hoped to serve the Ye family.

Luckily, Ye Ling had enough self-control; otherwise, she would have jumped for joy and grabbed Ye Xin, demanding an explanation.

Ye Ling had always wanted to ask, but since Ye Xin awakened, she never had the chance.

"Help your Ye family?" Wang Meng paused. "I'm only worried he'll swallow you whole! Ling, trust me—you can't afford to provoke him!"

Ye Ling proudly lifted her nose. Before, she never dared even imagine, but now things were different—her brother was back! The Ye family was not in decline, nor would it ever be!

"Also, when you see Third Brother, don't mention Mo Yan," Wang Meng warned. "Zuo Zhisheng mattered a lot to him. When he heard Zuo Zhisheng was defeated and killed, he was furious—but a few days later, he let it go. Do you know why?"

"He thinks he can win Mo Yan over," Ye Xin said calmly.

"I…" Wang Meng stared at Ye Xin. "Brother Xin, I know you've always been smarter than me, but could you act foolish just once, for my sake?!"

"I don't want to disappoint you, but I can't help it—my reactions are too fast," Ye Xin laughed. "Even I can't stop myself."

"Honestly…" Wang Meng gritted his teeth, then looked at Ye Ling. "Ling, you see? Every time your brother is this infuriating, I want to beat him up!"