Because his name is Ye Fan, he must die

"His name is Ye Fan." Sun Xiang was quite surprised. It was rare to see such an expression on the Great General's face, so he added, "He said it himself, his name is Ye Fan."

"Why didn't you report such an important matter to me?"

"Huh?" Sun Xiang was stunned.

Well, he did report it. He had clearly told the Great General that someone had rescued Su Xiu, but the Great General had looked completely unfazed and just told him to send people to search for her.

At the same time, he was ordered to keep the Su Manor under control.

He had done all of that!

How could he say he hadn't reported it?

"The name, why didn't you tell me his name?"

"The name?" Sun Xiang was even more bewildered, and muttered timidly, "Great General, it's just an ordinary name. I didn't think there was anything special about it, so I didn't mention it."

Ren Tianye sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it. I don't blame you. It was my own negligence. I calculated every possibility, thinking it was just the Su Manor playing tricks, but I never expected..."

"It's Ye Fan!"

"To think it's Ye Fan!"

Sun Xiang asked curiously, "Great General, could it be that you know this Ye Fan?"

"I don't know him, but this name..."

"This name? It's very ordinary!"

Ordinary?

This name is ordinary?

It has Ye and Fan in it!

Anyone who has read a few web novels would find such a name thunderously familiar. This is the absolute, undeniable hallmark of a main protagonist!

The moment a person like this appears, they are accompanied by ridiculously heaven-defying luck. Dealing with someone like this requires a massive amount of effort.

Just like that young man from the Li family he had killed before!

Simply abnormal.

Thinking of something, he added, "Didn't you say you had an artist draw his portrait? Bring me a copy."

"Yes, sir!"

Sun Xiang really couldn't understand why the Great General was suddenly so tense, but the Great General had never made a mistake in anything he set out to do, which made Sun Xiang feel a bit nervous as well.

He quickly presented the portrait of Ye Fan.

He handed it to Ren Tianye to inspect.

With just one glance, Ren Tianye felt cold sweat break out on his forehead, his heart filled with extreme shock.

Whether it was just a psychological effect or something else, upon seeing this portrait, the image of that young master of the Li family involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He couldn't shake the feeling that this Ye Fan shared a strange trace of similarity with that Li family young master.

He immediately ordered, "Sun Xiang!"

At this shout, Sun Xiang was startled into standing up straight. "Subordinate is here."

"I order you to go to the military camp right now. Take my token. Aside from the one thousand soldiers guarding the city, the remaining nine thousand or so men, whether recruits or veterans, are all to conduct a city-wide search."

"Ah? Yes, General!"

"Where is Zhang Shi?"

A messenger went to notify him, and a short while later, Guerrilla General Zhang Shi also walked in briskly. "Great General, your subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead your troops and announce throughout Yunji City that every residence, be it a poor commoner's or a wealthy merchant's, must keep their lights on throughout the night. Those who disobey or attempt to fake it shall be executed!"

"At the same time, have the artists draw more portraits of this Ye Fan. Distribute them to as many citizens in Yunji City as possible, so they can join the search."

"Also announce that anyone who can provide information about Ye Fan will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver."

"Anyone who can kill Ye Fan will be rewarded with one hundred thousand taels of silver."

"Remember, if you can kill him, chop him into minced meat for me!"

"Go and relay the orders immediately. There must be no mistakes."

Zhang Shi was equally dumbfounded, but he went to execute the orders without hesitation.

Ren Tianye then continued, "Where is Wang Ming!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Go and notify the scout camp. The entire camp is to mobilize and spread out from Yunji City. There must be someone keeping watch every ten miles. If this Ye Fan has already left the city, it must be reported immediately."

"Anyone who dares to be negligent, or knows something but fails to report it, will be killed without pardon!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Right, go to the Su Manor again..." Ren Tianye said, then suddenly paused. "Never mind, go and call Su Jin here."

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone acknowledged the orders and was about to leave. Sun Xiang hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "General, what about Su Hong?"

"Should we arrest him first?"

"The Su Manor is currently surrounded. If we want to catch him, he won't be able to escape even if he grows wings!"

Ren Tianye shook his head. "Forget it, it shouldn't be Su Hong."

Sun Xiang was a bit surprised again.

Just because the thief was named Ye Fan, their prime suspect, who was practically confirmed to be Su Hong, was cleared of suspicion. Just what kind of person was this Ye Fan?

How could he make the Great General treat him with such importance?

Despite his thoughts, his movements didn't stop, and he immediately left to follow his orders.

Soon, Yunji City was thrown into a state of chaotic turmoil.

They had already spent the whole day chasing the thief and thought they would have the night off. Unexpectedly, the commotion at night was even greater, with almost everyone mobilized, determined to capture Ye Fan.

With Ren Tianye's broadsword held high and the extremely generous silver rewards, the people in Yunji City worked quite hard.

But even so, Ren Tianye did not let his guard down in the slightest.

Facing a protagonist who might appear in this female-oriented novel world, he only had one principle.

Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit!

If he had to add another one, it would be...

Better to kill by mistake than to let them slip away!

Therefore, aside from these mountain-like military orders, Ren Tianye also gathered more information about Ye Fan through Su Jin and the soldiers who had seen Ye Fan today.

His impression of Ye Fan deepened.

"This Ye Fan was once a destitute and poor kid."

"This Ye Fan once made a three-year pact with Su Hong!"

"This Ye Fan mistook Sun Xiang for me, yet could say things showing he wasn't afraid of me at all."

"This Ye Fan even shouted 'thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river'!"

"This Ye Fan was able to easily escape even when surrounded by Sun Xiang's army!"

"Damn it, if this Ye Fan isn't the protagonist, I'll eat shit!"

Ren Tianye had completely confirmed Ye Fan's identity; he absolutely had the aura of a protagonist.

However, there were some things that left him very confused.

"It was already difficult for this Ye Fan to rescue Su Xiu, yet he went out of his way to carry a box on his back. His goal was obviously to avoid skin-to-skin contact with Su Xiu."

"And also..."

"He actually wants the love between men and women in this world to no longer be divided by social status, no longer separated by wealth and poverty, and to be free from coercion."

"This..."

"Doesn't really seem like those true protagonists!"

"They are all sex-crazed demons who wouldn't even spare a mother and daughter. Would they maintain such polite manners towards Su Xiu?"

"Moreover..."

"What is he doing pursuing equal love? Shouldn't he be building his own harem, ideally with a first wife who isn't jealous, supports him, and helps manage the harem while he goes off having fun?"

"This is quite different!"

After being puzzled for a long time, Ren Tianye suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Could it be that because this is a female-oriented world, even someone with the aura of a protagonist is completely different?"

"That's it, that's it!"

"That must be it. Only the fools in female-oriented novels pursue fairness and justice. Male-oriented protagonists just directly draw their blades!"

"They all believe that truth only exists within the range of a cannon!"

Having figured this out, Ren Tianye breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As long as it wasn't one of those ridiculous protagonists from a male-oriented novel, it was fine. After all, once that kind of protagonist fully matured, even if you attacked with an army of eight hundred thousand, they could casually summon a meteor strike on you.

Female-oriented protagonists were better. They all had something wrong with their brains, giving him a chance to manipulate them!

However...

Even so, Ren Tianye dared not let his guard down. After all, his name was Ye Fan!

But precisely because he was Ye Fan, he had to die!

...