A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 1962

Though Ye Fan's voice was not loud when he said that, his grave words fell with such weight and impressed upon the old woman the depths of emotion in his sonorous proclamation. Ye Fan had had a difficult life with hardships plaguing every stage of his brief two decades on earth.

He was exiled from the Chu family as a boy. Under the threat from his own cousin, he fled across the ocean to China.

He had sought refuge from the Chu Sect in the Ye residence by running from Jingzhou to Yunzhou.

Even later, when the forces of the Chu Sect had been defeated and the whole world besieged, Ye Fan ran.

I have been running my whole life. No more. It's time to make a stand. I will take back everything that belongs to me one way or another!

Given the tall order of the mission, Ye Fan was not delusional about his prospects, as the trip to the cave had undoubtedly given him an incomparable sense of confidence that he had never had.

I am done running from the world. It's the world's turn to run from me.

Without saying another word, Ye Fan turned and walked away.

"Where are you going, sir?" Geetha asked at once.

Selva displayed a similar expression of concern. "What are you going to do, young man?"

Ye Fan merely looked back and smiled. "I'll kill them all."

The solitary man's easy laughter dispersed in the windin the wake of his journey. On his back, the five divine weapons pierced the sky with as much murderous intent as their master.

Meanwhile, in the huge manor of the Vias family downtown, exotic beasts kept as pets were seen lounging on the vast expense of fragrant grass. Countless servants bustled in their toil of maintaining the extravagance of the most powerful noble family in India.

The sky was overcast by the gray, ominous thunderclouds that day. The air, laden with moisture that foretold an imminent storm, swept across the city from the ocean and threatened to suffocate the inhabitants of the city.

"D*mn the weather!" someone grumbled. "It looks like Uncle's wedding has to be postponed again."

At that moment, a luxury car rolled to a halt outside the entrance to the manor.

A young couple helped each other out of the car while the door was being held open respectfully by the chauffeur.

The speaker was a man in his early thirties.

"I've checked the weather forecast," the woman said reassuringly. "This will pass by tonight. Don't worry, it'll be sunny enough for Uncle Fen Tian's big day tomorrow." The man nodded. "I hope so."

While they were talking, the couple noticed a delicate figure sweeping the stairs at the doorway.

She was clad in a tattered dress of dark gray, and her flaxen hair draped lifelessly over her shoulders. Even her face was smudged with dust.

Armed with a broom, she clumsily attempted to sweep up the fallen leaves littered across the manor grounds with clear incompetence.

Suddenly, she missed a step and fell to the ground.

The crash brought her presence to the man's attention. With a disgusted glare at her, he cursed in a low voice before turning his head away rather than subject himself to her sight. The woman beside him noticed the change in her husband's mood. After coaxing the man to enter the house by himself, she walked toward the girl dressed as a servant.

Noa sat on the steps and examined the bloody skin on her ankle with a pained expression on her delicate features.

She looked up at the sound of approaching high heels and stood up immediately. "Beatrice," she blurted in a panic.

Smack!

The woman slapped Noa hard across the face.

"You still have the cheek to look me in the eye?"

Beatrice spat viciously. "After lying to your family and abandoning your country? Yourfather died because of you, and Uncle Fen Tian was injured due to your actions. If it weren't for your brother's kindness, you would have been executed for treason! Remember that. You are no longer a Vias. You are now nothing more than just a servant!"

Beatrice reveled in the descent of the once-beloved daughter of Gray Vias.

Who knew that this day would come for you, Noa?

Noa was once the favored child of the Vias family. Her father had even proclaimed her his heir. As a result, she had been treated by members of the Vias household with almost as much reverence as the old patriarch himself.

As Norton was only a ward, he was naturally not as favored as Noa. At that time, although he and Beatrice were Noa's elders, they resigned themselves to grovel before her for the rest of their lives. However, an unexpected stroke of luck completely changed everything.

Over a month ago, word of Gray succumbing to fatal injuries reached the Vias household.

Later, the King of India, who had been similarly injured, brought Noa back to her family. It was from Fen Tian's mouth that the Vias family found out it was Noa who had paved the way for a foreigner to take the life of her father and almost that of the King of India and the inhabitants of his entire kingdom.

That grievous sin Noa committed was deemed unforgivable. Without giving her the chance to prove her innocence, she was immediately branded as a traitor to both her family and country.

Norton, on the other hand, took the opportunity to usurp the position of heir to the Vias family with the support of Fen Tian.

Naturally, Norton's first decree as the new patriarch was to make life difficult for his sister.

It was only due to the persuasion of the clan elders that Noa was spared. Otherwise, Norton would have undoubtedly gotten rid of his sister.

After all, he knew deep down that he had not been rightfully appointed. As the appointed heir of the old patriarch was still alive, Noa's existence remained a threat to Norton's position as the head of the family. Since killing her outright might produce more harm than good, Norton decided to torture the girl to death instead.

As she had been spoiled since she was a child, Norton was confident that Noa would not be able to endure much suffering and that it would not take long before she sought her own death instead of necessitating his involvement.

To the surprise of Norton and his wife, the girl proved tougherthan he imagined even after being degraded for over a month.

"What are you still standing there for?" Beatrice screeched. "Have your brother's car washed! If there's even a speck of dust, you're going to wish you were never born!"

Noa did not respond. Instead, she meekly fetched some water for her task.

If Ye Fan were here, he would definitely not believe that the domineering princess he once knew now looks like this.

Despite being humiliated in servitude, she did not resist her circumstances. The pride and spirit that she once had seemed to have all been worn away.

It's not all bad, though. Setbacks are what make us grow the most. Look at me, I have already learned to endure suffering in silence.

Noa knew that resistance was futile because the only person who was capable of protecting her was no longer there.

Despite the Viases being a huge family, Noa had never felt more alone.

The death of her father was undoubtedly a huge blow to her. She also could not shake off the guilt in her heart because it was indeed her who took Ye Fan to the Island of the King of India.

If I had not led the way, the battle would never have happened, and Dad would not have died. It was my fault that he died. Being a servant is the least of what

I deserve.

Little did Noa know that her father had not only survived on the Island of the King of India but was also saved by Ye Fan and the people of the Elysian Faction.

Unfortunately, Noa's father made the mistake of having Norton pick him up from the island.

Being one of wild ambition, Norton knew that he would never inherit anything of value if the rules of proper succession were followed.

With a cold, calculated blow, Norton killed Noa's father en route from the island and put all the blame on Noa. Before anybody could digest the shocking news, Norton had gained complete control of the entire Vias clan. As for the formerly favored heiress, she was directly demoted to a slave by her brother.

The pain of losing a father, coupled with the humiliation of being a servant, almost drove Noa mad with grief and desolation.

Despite seriously contemplating paying for her transgressions with her life and joining her father, she did not yield to the temptation in hopes of seeing Ye Fan again.

It's all I can do just for another glimpse at him. I refuse to believe that he is dead.