Creak...
At this moment, the sound of a door opening broke the eerie atmosphere of the room.
It was the butler, who had finally found his way and pulled open the door!
But even though the door was open, and escape was just a single step away, the butler's legs trembled, and he couldn't take that crucial step!
"Didn't I tell you? None of you are leaving."
Ying Chen's calm tone rang out from behind the butler.
The butler's inner fear finally reached its limit, and he could no longer bear it.
With a thud, he fell to his knees.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me... I was just following orders, I'm just a scapegoat!"
"The tiger tally was deliberately given to me by the master, and the order to kill you was also given by the master. The debt has its owner, if you want revenge, go find the master, don't find me!"
"Please, spare my life! I have old parents, young children..."
The butler wept profusely, intending to use the same words to move Ying Chen.
Alas, it was no use this time.
With a *swish*!
Before the butler could utter his last word, a bloody hole appeared in his forehead, and he fell backward onto the ground.
To his death, he couldn't believe he had actually died.
Didn't they say, "A gentleman can be deceived by artifice"?
The better a person, the easier it was to exploit their good nature and manipulate them.
Since Ying Chen had spared him the first time with his "elderly parents, young children" plea, why couldn't he do it a second time?
The butler didn't understand and died with his eyes wide open.
What the butler didn't know was that Ying Chen's leniency the first time wasn't due to any mercy; he had simply treated him as an ant by the roadside, too lazy to even lift his foot to crush it.
Was lifting a foot so effortful?
But unexpectedly, this ant not only didn't learn its lesson but dared to bite!
That was indeed seeking its own demise.
Thus, everyone in the room, except for Ying Chen and Min Ziqiong, was dead.
Min Ziqiong, huddled in a corner, trembled as she watched everything, her face drained of color.
When had she ever experienced such a scene?
Let alone in reality, not even in her dreams!
The thick smell of blood filled her nostrils, and severed limbs and broken bodies lay before her, as if she had arrived in the netherworld.
She couldn't help but doubt if it was all an illusion!
Seeing Min Ziqiong's state, Ying Chen shook his head, "Scared already? If you had seen the scene where Lord Wu'an annihilated 400,000 Zhao troops, wouldn't you have been scared to death?"
"Never mind, after this is over, I'll help you seal away this memory!"
"But you'll have to endure a little longer, as there might be even more tragic scenes to come."
Hearing Ying Chen's words and looking at the corpses before her, Min Ziqiong finally couldn't help but vomit.
Ying Chen, unfazed, turned around and kicked the butler's head.
Then, a round, bloody object clanged into a small wine cabinet nearby.
"Since it's a birthday banquet, there must be a birthday gift."
"I believe you will definitely like this gift."
Ying Chen muttered to himself.
...
In the Ma family's main hall.
Ma Zhenbang sat majestically, with a crowd of guests below him.
The entire hall was lavishly decorated and filled with festive cheer.
Sixty-six years old was considered a joyous milestone, so everyone in the hall was beaming with smiles.
And Ma Zhenbang was happier than anyone present.
Not only because it was his birthday, but more importantly, because he had solved a problem that had troubled the ancestors of the Ma family for generations!
Ever since the Ma family ancestor had accepted Ying Chen's terms and become Ying Chen's "seed," he had constantly worried about the day Ying Chen would return.
After all, Ying Chen's supreme power had long been deeply etched in his heart.
He was unwilling to hand over his vast fortune, yet he didn't want to die.
Therefore, starting from that generation, he had secretly begun to make arrangements, planning how to deal with Ying Chen, who might appear at any moment.
And with each generation's inheritance, although many descendants no longer believed the legend, it did not prevent them from continuing to maintain these arrangements.
The Ma family's combat team was a brand-new contingency plan devised by Ma Zhenbang, combining modern technology and breaking away from the thinking patterns of his ancestors!
He firmly believed that his contingency plan was absolutely more powerful than the one left by his ancestors!
Even if Ying Chen didn't exist, it could be used against other enemies of the Ma family!
He never expected Ying Chen to actually appear!
Ma Zhenbang naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. He decisively and deliberately detained Min Ziqiong's daughter, luring Ying Chen into a trap!
And now, Ying Chen had become a fly caught in a spider's web, just waiting for the spider to open its maw and devour him!
"Hoo!"
Thinking of this, Ma Zhenbang let out a long sigh.
"Five minutes have passed. Let alone a person, even a dinosaur should be dead by now?"
"Ordinary people might be misled by movies, thinking that bullets can't penetrate a dinosaur's skin. But those who truly understand know that nothing in this world can withstand bullets! All animals, including rhinoceroses, can't withstand a single shot!"
"Otherwise, where do you think all the rhinoceros hides sold on the market come from?"
Ma Zhenbang thought confidently.
It had to be said that Ma Zhenbang's theory was actually correct;
The mistake was that Ma Zhenbang's understanding of Ying Chen was flawed by a dimension.
Ying Chen's existence was like a dimensionality reduction attack on Ma Zhenbang.
How could Ma Zhenbang, using a three-dimensional understanding to speculate about the four-dimensional Ying Chen, possibly be correct?
"Old Ma, may your blessings be as vast as the East Sea and your lifespan as bright as the sun and moon! May your longevity be like the pine and crane, and your years be as everlasting as the spring and autumn!"
"This is a small token of my appreciation. I hope Old Ma will accept it."
At this moment, a guest suddenly stood up, holding a congratulatory gift with both hands, and said.
As the gift was opened, gasps of admiration arose from the hall.
"Such a large piece of Tianhuang Shoushan stone, top-grade!"
"This stone is probably worth at least eight figures! Old Zhao is truly willing to spend money!"
Ma Zhenbang was stunned by the gift, then chuckled, "Director Zhao is very thoughtful. I cannot refuse such kindness, so I will accept it."
"Old Ma, I also have a gift to offer." At this point, another guest stood up and revealed their congratulatory gift.
It was an extremely rare Tianmu ware teacup!
"Good, good, good! Young Master Song, this gift truly strikes a chord with me. I won't be polite then!" Ma Zhenbang laughed heartily.
Following this, more guests offered their gifts.
They were almost all jewelry, antiques, and valuable items.
Ma Zhenbang narrowed his eyes, his smile full of joy.
On the surface, these people were giving gifts, but in reality, they were offering status!
The value of their gifts showed that no one present dared to underestimate Ma Zhenbang; they had all indirectly acknowledged Ma Zhenbang's standing in the martial world!
And next, with his greatest worry resolved, Ma Zhenbang could expand his influence without any scruples, changing the name of the Jianghai Ma family to the Longguo Ma family!
However, in the next second, the smile on Ma Zhenbang's face froze abruptly.
Because a voice came from the entrance of the hall, overpowering all the noise and piercing directly into Ma Zhenbang's ears: "On such a joyous occasion, I shall also give you a gift!"