A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 1154 The Final Judgment

"Ye Fan..." Qiu Mu-Cheng looked at Ye Fan with a pleading look.

It was obvious that she wanted to save the father and daughter.

Ye Fan waved his hand expressionlessly. "Alright, Mu-Cheng, you don't have to say a word. I know what you want to tell me."

He stared at Chen Ao, who was kneeling on the ground, and at Chen Nan, whose cheeks were stained with tears. After a long moment, he finally sighed. The murderous urges that he had felt earlier receded. "Forget it. Chen Ao, I'm going to spare your life on Nannan's account. But you will not escape punishment. Leave Jiangdong and never step into these lands again," said Ye Fan coldly.

That was the punishment he had decided for Chen Ao.

Having said that, Ye Fan turned and left with Qiu Mu-Cheng.

The crowd was left with the sight of his retreating back.

"Mr Chu, thank you for sparing my life." Chen Ao's head hit the ground loudly as he wept and kowtowed.

Mr Chu's words had sent tears streaming down the grown man's cheeks.

Chen Ao was filled with both guilt and gratitude towards Ye Fan.

He had not expected to live after what he had done.

Even though Ye Fan had cast him out of Jiangdong, at least he had spared his life.

"Dad, you're going to live! Fan spared your life!" Chen Nan wept tears of joy when she heard what Ye Fan had said.

She turned, threw herself into her father's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Don't cry...everything's alright now," said Chen Ao as he hugged his daughter and patted her shoulder. His words of comfort

seemed to be directed at both his daughter and himself.

No one knew how he had survived the past few days.

They had been akin to the final days of a prisoner facing capital punishment. The devastation and hopelessness that he had endured while awaiting death must have been terrifying.

No one could preserve their composure in the face of death.

Even though Chen Ao had been a powerful man who had had command over countless men in Jiangdong, he was only still a man.

Fortunately, everything had come to an end.

The life of terror and utter fear had finally ended.

Chen Ao had survived.

The others smiled with relief.

Li Er walked up to Chen Ao and pulled both father and daughter up from the ground. He sighed. "Chen Ao, you've got a wonderful daughter. If she hadn't turned up in time and pleaded for your life, you would be dead now."

Lei San and the others gathered around Chen Ao and offered similar words of consolation.

After a brief moment of laughter, a forlorn look settled on their faces.

After all, Chen Ao had been cast out of Jiangdong.

They would miss their comrade sorely.

"Chen Ao, don't hold it against Mr Chu. He's the leader of Jiangdong. There are some things that he has to do. He'll lose the respect of the public if he doesn't punish you for the terrible misdeed that you've committed," sighed Li Er and the rest.

"I know," said Chen Ao. "I won't blame anyone but myself for this. I'm happy that

I'm alive."

Lei San and the rest nodded.

'Tm glad you think this way. What are your plans after you leave Jiangdong? Let us know if you need any help. I'm sure you'll do alright though. You'll make a name for yourself outside. I have faith in your abilities."

Li Er, Lei San and the rest looked at Chen Ao.

They had shared laughter and tears with each other for many years. There had been plenty of fights and arguments amongst them too. Their time spent together had culminated in a deep friendship. They couldn't help but feel sad now that Chen Ao was leaving them.

Chen Ao shook his head.

'Tm doing no such thing. I'm old and tired. I just want to find a quiet place, have a small garden and keep a few songbirds. I want to spend time with my family. That's all I want," said Chen Ao softly with a smile. He seemed like an old man who, having survived the ravages of time and reality, had seen the world for what it truly was and gained release from it.

The lesson that he had suffered had been too heavy.

No other lesson had been as memorable and as painful as this particular lesson.

It was the reason why he had decided to go into retirement.

"Come on, Nannan, let's go home." Having bade Li Er and the others farewell, Chen Ao leaned against his daughter and hobbled slowly out of the Haiyuan Restaurant.

His legs had gone numb from the long period of kneeling that he had endured. The fresh blood flowing from his forehead was a testament to how hard he had kowtowed earlier.

Li Er and the rest watched as the once formidable man who had commanded a legion in Jiangdong leave them.

He walked into the horizon, disappearing into crimson sunset and from Jiangdong.

The Chen family of Jianghai became history that day.

It was unlikely that they would meet the man who had served Mr Chu alongside the others and watched over Jiangdong again.

Li Er, Lei San and Wang Jie-Xi sat in the restaurant, gazed out at the mountains and lake that spread before their eyes and drank without stopping.

"I was only a hawker manning a street stall when I first met Chen Ao. He was already in the big league then. I swore then that I would catch up and become his equal one day. Ten years have passed since. No one could have expected that he would be cast out of Yunzhou one day," sighed Wang Jie-Xi.

Li Er and Lei San felt the same way.

"That's right. No one could have foreseen that one day, Chen Ao would leave these lands with his tail between his legs.

Nothing is certain in this world."

Li Er raised his cup and emptied it.

He must have drunk too much, so his cheeks were red as he turned towards Lei San and Wang Jie-Xi. "The two of you must never forget that we serve only Mr Chu. Otherwise, we might end up like Chen Ao." The wintry winds carried the voices of these men into the distance.

In the meantime, Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng had returned to the mansion in the west.

"Ye Fan, do you really intend to send Chen Ao away? Why don't you give him another chance? He didn't want to betray you. He did it to protect Nannan. It was to protect his own daughter. You're going to need Chen Ao now that you're back and running Jiangdong again. He'll be a great help."