162: You have no right to negotiate with me!

Everyone was stunned, and they all turned their heads to look.

They saw the girl who had been standing quietly beside Ye Chen slowly step forward two paces.

Her face, which appeared exceptionally cold and beautiful under the lights, bore no expression, save for a pair of eyes that were like ice-tempered blades, fixed dead on Hong Sanqian's limp, mud-like face.

Initially, Hong Sanqian only felt the girl looked somewhat familiar; the contours of her features seemed like someone he had seen somewhere... Suddenly!

His pupils constricted violently, as if he had seen a ghost, and he cried out in alarm: "You... are that little girl from the Liu Family? Liu Qingluo???"

He remembered clearly!

Back then, that little girl from the Liu Family had quite good talent, but her family had unintentionally offended the Young Miss.

As a result...

In a fit of rage, the Young Miss ordered the extermination of the entire Liu Family!

This girl had a fierce temperament; seeing her family die tragically and having her own dantian destroyed, she actually jumped into a sea of fire, intending to prove her resolve through death!

Although she was later dragged out of the fire by Hidden Guards, she suffered severe burns over her entire body and became a complete cripple!

In the end, it seemed she was treated like trash, tossed into the black market with the requirement that the seller use the most insulting method possible, selling her for only ten yuan... How could such a person appear here?!

And... where were those hideous, terrifying burn scars on her face and body?

That face was smooth as jade, her features exquisite, even more stunning than before!

What made Hong Sanqian's heart pound even more was that the faint aura flowing from this woman was actually that of a Heaven Realm martial artist?!

No... was this some kind of joke?

How could someone whose dantian was destroyed and whose appearance was ruined stand here perfectly intact, and even possess a Heaven Realm cultivation?!

Meeting Hong Sanqian's terrified gaze, Liu Qingluo nodded slowly.

"That's right, I am Liu Qingluo."

"Hong Sanqian, you didn't expect this, did you?"

"I didn't rot away in the mire of the black market."

Hong Sanqian's throat was dry, his voice trembling: "Your face... your dantian... why are they fine?"

He couldn't understand it!

With such injuries and destruction, even the top-tier spirit medicines stored by the Hidden Sect could never restore someone to their original state, let alone mend a shattered dantian!

Liu Qingluo looked at him coldly, her eyes filled with boundless hatred.

"Because I met my benefactor."

"It was my benefactor who gave me a second life, healed my injuries, repaired my dantian, and allowed me to be reborn!"

"And I will live well, using this life to personally kill that viper-hearted Young Miss of yours and avenge every single member of my Liu Family!!!"

Hong Sanqian was shaken to the core, his head buzzing in a state of total confusion!

Ye Chen healed her?

If this was true... Hong Sanqian snapped his head around to look at the calm Ye Chen.

Liu Qingluo was living proof!

Evidence more powerful than any words!

This Ye Chen might truly possess divine medical skills capable of repairing a shattered dantian?!

The resentment on Hong Sanqian's face quickly faded, replaced by pleading: "Can you really... repair a dantian?"

Ye Chen looked down at him and spoke indifferently.

"What do you think?"

Using all his strength, Hong Sanqian slammed his forehead heavily onto the ground in Ye Chen's direction!

"I will lead the way!!!"

"Mr. Ye! This old man... no, I, Hong Sanqian, am willing to take you to the Hidden Sect!"

"I only ask... only ask that afterward, you keep your promise and repair my dantian!"

Ye Chen looked down at him and said coolly, "You are in no position to negotiate with me. Leading the way is your only value, but you aren't the only one who can lead me there, understand?"

Hong Sanqian's face turned pale, and a fierce struggle flashed in his eyes.

If he didn't lead them, he was just a cripple right now, a fate worse than death.

If he did, there was a sliver of hope... even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance that Ye Chen could truly repair his dantian, it was worth gambling everything!

Otherwise... just as Ye Chen said, if he didn't lead them, someone else would, and then he would truly be at a dead end!

He gritted his teeth and agreed.

"I... I'll lead the way!"

"I only ask that Mr. Ye... for the sake of my contribution in leading the way, gives me a chance afterward!"

Hearing this, a smile played at the corners of Ye Chen's mouth: "Then let's set out."

Hong Sanqian struggled for a moment but couldn't stand up, so he said with a bitter smile.

"Mr. Ye, my dantian is shattered, and I have no strength in my body... I'm afraid I won't be able to travel far."

"Can't travel?"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, then realized.

"Oh, that's simple."

He crouched down, and at some point, several more Silver Needles appeared in his hand.

"Relax, I'll give you a few needles. I guarantee you'll be more energetic than if you'd eaten a Great Restorative Pill."

Before his voice had even faded.

The Silver Needles had already turned into several streaks of cold light, piercing into several major acupoints on Hong Sanqian's limbs and spine.

Hong Sanqian only felt a slight numbness in those acupoints, and then strength returned to his body... aside from being a bit weak, like an ordinary person recovering from a serious illness, he could actually walk normally!

"This... this is..."

Hong Sanqian looked at his hands, which had returned to normal, and his heart was filled with incomparable shock.

Ye Chen's medical skills were simply miraculous!

"Don't just stand there."

Ye Chen withdrew the Silver Needles and patted him on the shoulder.

"Lead the way."

"Yes!"

Hong Sanqian didn't dare to show the slightest disobedience and hurriedly bowed in response.

Liu Qingluo gave him a cold glance, gripped her dagger, and silently followed Ye Chen.

After the three left, the casino remained in dead silence... In Yanjing, inside the Huang Family living room.

Huang Tian stood in the center of the hall, his fists clenching until they cracked, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.

He stared fixedly at his father, Huang Batian, who was seated in the main seat, his eyes full of anger.

"Dad!"

"On what grounds did the Group Leader suspend me?!"

"I merely had a slight conflict with the target person while performing a protection mission!"

"What kind of thing is that Ye Chen? He's just an upstart who relies on a bit of medical skill and has climbed onto Bai Wanqing's coattails!"

"You are Huang Batian!"

"The former War God of the Southern Border! If it weren't for your injury, you'd still be at the front lines!"

"That Xuanyuan Huo actually didn't give you any face at all?!"

Indeed.

Not long after Huang Tian returned, he received an official notice from the Dragon Group headquarters... suspending all field missions and escort duties, pending an internal investigation, with the restoration time to be determined.

This treatment, which was practically being 'put on ice,' was an absolute catastrophe for a proud Dragon Group elite with a limitless future like him!

What made him even more frustrated was that the family had pressured the Dragon Group over this matter, only to be rebuffed by that old stubborn Xuanyuan Huo with a firm but polite refusal!

The reason was simple!

The Dragon Group operated by its own rules; personal honor or disgrace had nothing to do with the mission. Violations meant punishment, and no personal favors were allowed.

Listening to his son's resentful questioning, Huang Batian slowly lifted his eyelids.

"Asking me?"

"Isn't it because you're a useless thing, jealous and unable to separate public and private matters!"

"Who is Bai Wanqing? She is the helm of the Tianyao Group, holding the nation's biomedical lifeblood. Even the highest levels have to give her some face!"

"Her security level is the highest. Sending you was to protect her, not for you to put on airs or covet her!"

"But look at you. Not only did you fail the mission, but because of some boring petty jealousy between a man and a woman, you went to provoke someone she personally values, and you were beaten until you spat blood in three moves!"

"The Dragon Group's face has been completely lost by you!"

"I... I did that for the Huang Family too!" Huang Tian craned his neck and argued hoarsely. "Bai Wanqing's husband just died; she's at her most vulnerable. If I could take this chance to gain her favor, or even a marriage alliance... then our Huang Family could use the Tianyao Group's influence to suppress the other two families in one fell swoop, and even..."

"Idiot!"

Huang Batian slammed the armrest of his chair, interrupting Huang Tian's voice.

"Marriage alliance? With just you?"

"If Bai Wanqing were really such an easily manipulated ordinary widow, the vast foundation her husband left behind would have been swallowed up until not even crumbs remained!"

"She was able to secure the top position in the Tianyao Group as a woman in just one month, causing countless domestic and foreign coveters to return in defeat. What did she rely on?"

"It was her methods! Her intellect! And a depth of character that even I can't see through!"

"Do you think you were the only Bodyguard the Dragon Group sent to her side?"

"In the shadows, who knows how many pairs of eyes are watching, how many forces are at play!"

"And you, you just jumped out to be the first bird, becoming a laughingstock in everyone's eyes!"

Huang Tian was left speechless by his father's scolding, his chest heaving violently, but his eyes still held defiance.

Looking at his son like this, Huang Batian was angry at his lack of ambition, yet also felt a hint of complexity.

This son had good talent and high spirits, but he had lived too smoothly and lacked tempering; his character was impetuous, and he couldn't handle setbacks.

After a moment of silence, Huang Batian let out a long sigh, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

"Forget it."

"Things have come to this; as for the Dragon Group, you can't go back for the time being."

"Suspension is fine too; it'll let you calm down and think about where exactly you went wrong."

Hearing this, Huang Tian immediately panicked: "Dad, are we just going to let it go like this?"

"Let it go?"

Huang Batian snorted coldly, "It's impossible to let it go. Go and make a phone call to the Chu Family in Yanjing."

Huang Tian was stunned, thinking he had misheard: "The Chu Family? Dad, you're telling me to call the Chu Family? Are we preparing to bow our heads?"

The three major families of Yanjing—Huang, Chu, and Wang—had been in a three-way standoff, fighting openly and secretly for many years.

But now.

The Chu Family was not what it used to be; they had long since risen to prosperity, and their foundation could even stand shoulder to shoulder with the Five Great Clans of the Capital!

The Huang and Chu families had a tense relationship due to an old grudge from years ago; although they hadn't completely fallen out, they were by no means on good terms.

Now, his father actually wanted him to take the initiative to contact the Chu Family?

Huang Batian narrowed his eyes: "Bow our heads? When has my Huang Family ever needed to bow to the Chu Family?"

"Then why call them?" Huang Tian pressed.