A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 1788

"Are there only three thousand left?" Tang Xian's brows immediately scrunched up in a furrow.

As the world's leading martial power, the Chu Sect was five thousand strong at its peak, but they found themselves down to only three thousand pairs of able hands at that moment. That was to say that Ye Fan had singlehandedly slaughtered nearly half of their disciples.

However, even at their current numbers, the Chu Sect disciples were still a force to be reckoned with, as all of the martial artists from the various nations in Epea did not exceed two thousand when added together.

Although China boasted of a population of one-point-four billion, there were only, on record, a paltry one to two thousand martial artists registered with the War God Castle.

In other words, the number of martial artists Ye Fan had culled on two trips to the Chu Sect was already equivalent to having eradicated them from Epea in their entirety.

"No! The disparity is too much. A mere three thousand is far from being enough," Tang Xian bellowed. "Go and get in touch with the Brown family, the DuPont family, the Adams family, and all the rest of the Chu Sect's vassals. Have them send out their men and mobilize all their military and political clout to lock down the borders to Norwal City immediately!

I want eyes stationed at every stretch of road and coastline leading out of this city!"

"In addition, have an arrest warrant issued for Chu Tianfan and the Dragon God Hall in both the secular and martial arts world. Let it be known that anyone who harbors them shall be regarded as our enemy! Also, have a hundred thousand copies of Chu Tianfan's photos printed out and distributed to all personnel involved in the manhunt. I refuse to believe that that little twerp from China would be able to escape from the heart of Chu Sect's stronghold!" In somber spirit, Tang Xian rattled off his instructions in a highly organized fashion.

With Chu Yuan currently recuperating in retreat, the task of searching for Ye Fan and rescuing Tang Yun naturally fell upon Tang Xian's lone shoulders.

On top of representing the Tang family's future and aspirations, Tang Yun was the head of the Chu Sect as well. In a bid to save her, Tang Xian was also expectedly committed to hunting down Ye Fan. Whatever leads he should find on Ye Fan, he would report to Chu Yuan right away.

Deprived of the protection of the four Dragon Slayers and Moon God, the arrival of the Old Master would mean the end of Ye Fan, whenever Ye Fan should show himself.

Shortly after the announcement for the all-out extermination of the latter in both the martial and secular realms was made, word had arrived through one of Chu Sect's affiliated families.

"We have ourselves a lead, head of elders. Someone from the Brown family has been killed by martial artists, and they suspect that the culprit may very well be Chu Tianfan, the one who we've been searching for!" the subordinate anxiously reported inside the hall.

The head of elders was astounded. "Is this true?"

Meanwhile, Ye Fan and his crew convened on the shores of Lake Elterton and began to retreat toward the fringes of Norwal City in an orderly manner.

However, they were beaten to the punch, for every stretch of the coast that led away from the borders had already been placed on watch.

On top of that, a massive force had converged in wait along the entire coastline, and included in their ranks were members of Anglandur's navy.

"Damn it! How did this Chu Sect manage to summon these many people? I reckon that they must have mobilized at least a hundred thousand men just to capture us."

The wizened faces of Li Er, Lei San, and the others were set in a taut furrow when they learned of their present predicament.

"These people are outsiders, not members of the Chu Sect itself. The Chu Sect had been building themselves up here for generations and had practically turned the whole of Norwal City into their own stronghold. Here, they wield considerable influence within the military, political, and corporate arenas, amongst others. Major local families like the Browns and the Adams have all become their vassals," a beautiful woman to the side said softly in response to Li Er and the rest's lamentations.

"Huh? Who might this be, Mr. Chu?"

Li Er and his contemporaries had already noticed this resplendent lady in the company of Ye Fan for some time.

Alongside the translucent veil that kept her face shielded from view, her slender figure had been comprehensively concealed beneath her flowing black dress.

In spite of that, Tang Yun's otherworldly countenance, poise, and grace still drew the involuntary gazes of others upon her.

Even Li Er, who had been at Ye Fan's side for so many years, could not recall when there was such a curious woman around Ye Fan.

Could this be another of Mr. Chu's confidantes? But she seems remarkably well-informed about matters pertaining to the Chu Sect.

Li Er and the others were quietly absorbed in their own thoughts while Xu Lei to the side, too, evoked a look of puzzlement.

For reasons unknown, she found this veiled woman to be somewhat familiar, as though they had met somewhere before. "This here, is my cousin," Ye Fan explained.

He neglected to mention that the one before them was Tang Yun, the head of the Chu Sect, as her identity was, after all, a little too sensitive given the circumstances.

Moreover, it was not Tang Yun's wish to reveal who she was either. If word spread that the head of the Chu Sect herself was eloping with their enemy, it could prove devastating to the sect's reputation. Tang Yun did not desire to see her own master become the laughing stock of the martial arts world.

This was a sentiment Ye Fan was well aware of and hence, endeavored to help keep her identity under careful wraps on his part.

"Cousin? Do you have another cousin besides Yuyan, Ye Fan? How is it that I don't know anything about that?" Xu Lei sounded somewhat doubtful.

Ye Fan rapped the rascal over the head. "Stay out of grownups' business, lass," Ye Fan chided.

That scene made Xue Renyang, Li Er, and the others wince, for they knew that this Ms. Xu before them had the stature of a queen in Yanjing's corporate world.

Perhaps only Ye Fan is the only one in all of China who would be able to lecture her like a child.

What stood out more to them was how Xu Lei merely clasped her noggin and whined, hardly seeming upset.

"Huh? Did you mention the Brown familyjust now, Yun? How many Brown families do you know of in Norwal City?" Sparked by a sudden recollection, Ye Fan arched his head toward Tang Yun. "Just the one," Tang Yun replied candidly.

Ye Fan's expression fell when he heard that.

"This is not good. Trouble might be abound."

Jarred by a bad feeling about all this, Ye Fan turned to walk off.

"I'm going back to see to something, so all of you should go on ahead and make your way back on your own. We'll reconvene back in Jiangdong!" Ye Fan's words reverberated amongst them.

Xu Lei and Chiike Shizuka wanted to catch up with Ye Fan but by the time they looked up, they realized that he was already gone.

Predictably, Tang Yun had also departed alongside him.

"They came expressly to look for you, so why didn't you let them wait so that you may all return to China together?" Tang Yun asked Ye Fan enroute.

Ye Fan shook his head. "I'm the one who the Chu Sect wants, so why get them dragged into it?"

Prior to this, Ye Fan did plan to break out of Norwal City alongside Li Er and the others, but the gravity of the situation at hand had doubtlessly exceeded Ye Fan's own expectations.

To think the Chu Sect actually went out and tapped on the strength of outsiders to corral me. Given these circumstances, being in a large group makes Ye Fan and the others a more visible target. Hence, it would be better for them to make their way back on their own than risk being seen with him.

Tang Yun did not respond to Ye Fan's words, but the esteem she held inside for this man had only been enhanced.

She had no idea how much courage one must muster up in order to go up against the entire Chu Sect alone, for even when faced with the besiegement of the Chu Sect and in spite of having the support of thousands of his allies, Ye Fan nonetheless chose to brave the storm on his own.

The very thought of that suddenly left Tang Yun dispirited because she was now unsure whether she would be able to successfully retreat to China alongside Ye Fan.

Inside the city, the students' condominium was suddenly placed under lockdown by personnel that came surging out of nowhere to have one of the properties completely surrounded.

At this moment, a strikingly beautiful woman was already strung up inside one of the rooms with her previously pristine body peppered with wounds all over.

Shallow of breath, her disheveled appearance cut a sorry sight.