“An Ya, who is this babbling buffoon?”
Chen Fan turned his head around toward the speaker. He watched as a large crowd filed into the courtyard and leading the crowd was a white-haired old couple. The speaker was a middle-aged woman standing beside the old couple.
The middle-aged woman was of average looks and her lips were as thin as the edge of a blade. Despite the expansive make-up she wore, she couldn’t hide the crow’s feet around the corners of her eyes.
She shot Chen Fan a cold glare that was loaded with contempt.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Auntie…”
An Ya’s eyes dimmed as she saw the group of people in front of her. The excitement in her eyes was replaced with complicated emotions.
The middle-aged woman was An Ya’s Auntie. She caught Chen Fan with the hook of her questioning glare. “Who are you? How did you get here? Security! Security!”
The guards murmured a reply in unison and were about to come forward.
“Hey, stop! All of you! He is Sister An Ya’s brother, and I brought him in here!”
The little girl shouted hotly.
“Oh, it’s you, Xiao Xi.”
Seeing it was An Tianshu’s most favorite child, The middle age woman suddenly heaped a smile on her face and said.
“Xiao Xi, you are such a nice girl. But this man is bad, he just wants our money, like all those bad people out there.”
Chen Fan stood by and watched the comical exchange indifferently.
“Sister An, are these your so-called relatives ”
Chen Fan gave An Ya a sidelong glance and asked.
“Thank you.”
An Ya bit onto her lower lip as she endured the middle-aged woman’s scornful remarks. She nodded slowly and painfully.
Although An Ya was related to these men and women by blood, they were the culprits who separated her parents and abandoned her. Even after spending three months together, they still treated her like a stranger.
They never regarded An Ya as a member of their own family, instead, they looked at her as if she was just an item.
“I am An Ya’s brother, and I am here to bring her back.”
Chen Fan took a step forward and said calmly.
“What?”
Chen Fan’s words had stirred up the crowd. The middle-aged woman hurried to put in.
“Nonsense! Xiao Ya is going to marry into the Fu family. Young Lord Fu can arrive at any moment now, we can’t bail out on the marriage at the last moment.”
“An Ya, have you already forgotten our deal? We will protect the Jin Xiu Group from the Ji Family, in exchange, you will stay with your family and be a good girl. That means do as you were told by your family.”
The stately-looking middle-aged man put in. His face slightly resembled that of An Ya .
“No, Uncle. I haven’t forgotten.”
An Ya lowered her head.
“Then what is the meaning of this? Humph! Do you think the An family is a pushover? Do you think you can use us as you please? Who do you think you are?”
The middle-aged man hissed at An Ya with a smirk.
“I… I only agreed to come home with you but not the arranged marriage with Fu family”
An Ya’s body shook a little as she gritted her teeth and lifted her chin up.
“An Ya!”
The middle-aged man pulled a dark face and growled.
“Are you two going to keep your silence forever? Why don’t you speak up for An Ya?” Chen Fan asked He pulled An Ya back and landed his accusatory glare on the old couple.
The old woman turned her head around and avoided Chen Fan’s questioning glare. Contempt and arrogance were written all over her face.
After a while, the white-haired old man who carried an imposing demeanor finally broke the silence.
“I wager you must be a member of the Chen family from Jin City. As you are surely aware, An Ya is the child of the An family and therefore, it fell upon us to help her make the most important decision in her life. Getting Married to Young Lord Fu, Fu Zhengtin would be the best thing ever happened to her. Such prestige and talent as the Young Lord Fu, that countless girls dreamed to be as lucky as An Ya. We have spared no expense at securing this marriage for An Ya, because we care about her.”
“Hahaha!”
Chen Fan burst out laughing. He managed to gather himself and shook his head.
“I had thought too highly of you, An Zaiche. Even at your age, you still live like a spineless worm who feeds on others. You have abandoned your daughter and now you want to sell your granddaughter like an object. I have never seen anyone more shameless than you!”
“Hey, asshole! Watch your mouth!”
Chen Fan’s words riled up the people in the room.
A few older members of the family spoke up and reprimanded Chen Fan as An Zaichen’s face darkened. An Ya’s Uncle, An Tianfen shot Chen Fan a cold glare and fumed.
“Hey, you! This is not Jin City so behave yourself. Plus, the Chen family’s fate is hanging in balance and without my family’s help, the Jin Xiu Group would have been gone a long time ago. What gives you the audacity to come here and talk down on all of us?”
The sudden turn of events startled An Ruoxi as she gaped in fear
An Zaichen was her grandpa’s brother. He was the leader of the family branch at Yan Jin, the second most powerful figurehead next to her own grandpa. If An Zaichen got mad and wanted to kick Chen Fan out, there was nothing An Ruoxi could have done.
“Shit, shit! He is butting heads against that Old Bone. He is not going to win. I need to find my dad and Grandpa to help him.”
An Ruoxi was young and innocent, her bond with An Ya made her an ally of Chen Fan.
“Shut up you fools! Do you have any idea who you are speaking with?”
Even as the An family members thought that Chen Fan was going to be scared and run for his life, Chen Fan held his ground and flung back at them with a bright light shining in his eyes. His voice boomed in the small courtyard.
Chen Fan’s voice sounded like a crack of thunder and shook the earth. It shot through the entire An family residence and startled many guests in the main compound.
The CEO of the An Group, An Tianshu jumped out of his seat and looked to the northeast corner where the blaring din came from.
“Dad, that’s where An Ya lives.”
“Let’s go and take a look.”
Lord An, An Zaiqin furrowed his brows and rose to his feet.
Many guests looked at each other in confusion. Seeing Lord An was already on his way out of the main hall, they hurried to catch up with him.
An Yuqin put down her teacup and rose from her seat.
“Shoot! Xiao Xi had taken that guy to An Ya. I wonder if she is OK.”
“Don’t worry, Yuqin. There are surveillance cameras everywhere within the An family residence. Xiao Xi must be safe.” Hou Fangyu comforted the girl with a warm smile. He then said confidently: “The An family has thrived for hundreds of years. It dealt with trouble much greater than just a petty thief. Even an Internal Force user has to think twice before messing with An family, much less a young boy.”
“Right.”
An Yuqin saw the truth in his words. She managed to pull herself together and regained the cold and unflappable demeanor.
“But I am still curious who dares to cause a racket here. If it was that young man we have met at the entrance, I will not let him get away with it.”
A sharp light glinted in An Yuqin’s eyes as she announced.
Then they followed the crowd to the north-eastern corner of the residence.
Meanwhile, everyone stood inside the small courtyard were staggered by the overbearing sound wave.
Fortunately for them, Chen Fan didn’t use any Qi energy in his roar, and therefore the listeners were able to gather themselves relatively quickly. Anger spilled out from the eyes of An Ya’s auntie. She put her hands on hips and shouted back at Chen Fan: “I don’t give a damn who you are either. I HATE it when people think that they talk louder than ME! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Security! Old Xu! WHERE ARE YOU!”
“I am here, lady An.”
Her bodyguard Old Xu hurried to come forward as he shot Chen Fan a begrudging glance.
Old Xu cursed at Chen Fan in his mind.
He was in charge of the security during the An family’s reunion. But Chen Fan had sneaked into the residence, caused a racket and disturbed all the important guests. He wagered that the An family would not pay him for his services during the reunion, if not outright release him from his contract.
“Xiao Fan…”
An Ya shot out an arm and grabbed hold of Chen Fan.
Everyone had taken An Ya’s reaction as fear for what was coming for Chen Fan but little did they know that she was fearing for their lives instead. She knew that Chen Fan could kill everyone in the An family without lifting a finger.
“Hehe. You are finally afraid, you should have been afraid a long time ago.”
An Ya’s auntie smirked and said.
“An Ya, you have disappointed us.” An Tianfen also shook his head and heaved a sigh.
“No. It was the An family that has disappointed me.” Chen Fan grunted. He gritted his teeth and avoided Sister An’s pleading gaze. He gently plied An Ya’s hand off of his arm and then took a step forward.
“I had planned to give the An family an opportunity to right the wrongs. Therefore, I have refrained from using violence from the beginning. However, the An family turned out to be rotten to the core and is shamelessly selfish. You don’t deserve any chance, nor my mercy.”
Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and said in an even voice. However, the tension in the air suddenly grew heavier.
Old Xu threw himself at Chen Fan, but he was knocked back by an invisible force while he was still a few meters away from Chen Fan.
The development drained the color out of everyone’s face.
The smirk froze on An Ya’s Auntie’s face. She came closer to Chen Fan and said with great trepidation in her voice: “What.. what are you doing? This is the An family! Be… behave…”
“Guuu!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Chen Fan slapped her on the face, sending her reeling back.
An Ya’s Auntie fell back so fast that her body had turned into a shadow. Her lifeless body spun in the air before it thudded onto the ground. Her blood-stained face caved in slightly where the bone had fractured.
“How dare you hurt people!”
Anger and shock contorted An Tianfen’s face. He pointed a shaky finger at Chen Fan.
“Not only do I beat people up, but I also kill them. Just watch me.”
Chen Fan gave him an ugly grin and replied.
“Attack! attack! Take him down! NOW!”
An Tianfen shouted as he stomped the ground anxiously.
The guards gritted their teeth and threw themselves at Chen Fan reluctantly. With a single wave of a hand, Chen Fan sent out a force and knocked these attackers back, sending their bodies flying. Some guards even landed on the roof.
“Get out of my face.”
Chen Fan quickly dispatched the guards and appeared right in front of An Tianfen.
“I have given you a chance to repent, but you didn’t take it. It’s all too late now.”
Chen Fan said indifferently as he slowly lifted an arm to his shoulder, ready to strike down.
Life had ebbed away from An Tianfen’s face. Even An Zaichen was too stupefied by the development to do anything. They were both ordinary people and had never seen such power before. Suddenly, a voice shot through the courtyard.
“Stop!”