196: Tickl her!

Watching Ye Chen's profile, Bai Wanqing became lost in thought.

To be fair.

The current Ye Chen was truly different from when they first met... However.

Before she could speak, a service door on the side of the banquet hall was pushed open.

Immediately after.

A petite figure dressed in a waitress uniform slipped out silently.

She kept her head down, carrying an empty tray in her hands.

But when she looked up, revealing a plain waitress's face, those heterochromatic eyes blinked playfully in Ye Chen's direction.

Ye Chen's eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

Bai Wanqing keenly noticed Ye Chen's gaze and looked at the waitress in confusion.

The "waitress" casually tossed the tray aside, then lightly rubbed behind her ear and peeled—

A mask as thin as a cicada's wing was stripped away, revealing Night Owl's wild and seductive face.

She smoothly pulled off the brown wig used for disguise and shook out her original, slightly wavy, deep chestnut hair.

"That nearly suffocated me."

Night Owl stretched her neck and walked to Ye Chen's side with a cat-like, lazy stride.

"Hey, everything upstairs is settled."

"And those 'little crows' hidden in the cabins, engine room, and cargo hold below? I've cleared them out for you too."

She paused, a flash of cunning amusement appearing in her heterochromatic eyes.

"Oh right, I purposely left one unplucked and tied her up quite securely."

"Want to go take a look?"

Before Ye Chen had even boarded the ferry, Night Owl had already snuck in.

Her most formidable skill was disguise... which was how...

The current situation had come to be.

One in the light, one in the shadows, cooperating with each other.

Ye Chen asked, "Where is she?"

"Follow me."

Night Owl turned and walked toward the passage leading to the lower decks on the other side of the banquet hall.

Ye Chen said softly to Bai Wanqing, "Together?"

Bai Wanqing didn't ask questions but nodded in agreement.

The three of them crossed the banquet hall and entered the passage.

Night Owl clearly knew the layout like the back of her hand. After several twists and turns, they soon arrived outside a secluded storage cabin on the lower level.

She pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

The cabin was piled with cleaning supplies and spare tables and chairs, and on a pillar in the center of the room... a woman was tied up.

The woman looked to be in her thirties, with short hair and a cold face. Even as a prisoner, her gaze remained sharp as a knife, glaring intently at the three who entered.

But the most eye-catching thing wasn't her gaze, but the way she was restrained.

Her limbs were bound with nylon rope in an extremely complex and... well, artistic manner.

The ropes formed a diamond mesh across her body, biting into her black skin-tight clothing and outlining her curves, with certain key areas deliberately tightened and emphasized.

It was clearly a form of rope art originating from Japan, known as 'Kikkoubaku'.

Moreover, it was tied quite professionally, ensuring the target couldn't escape while also being full of a strange visual tension.

Ye Chen paused, his expression turning odd: "...Night Owl."

"Hmm?" Night Owl blinked.

"You're into this?" Ye Chen couldn't help but ask.

Hearing this, Night Owl wasn't embarrassed or annoyed; instead, her red lips curled.

"What, you don't like it?"

"I thought you men were all into this?"

"Your mouth says no, but your eyes are very honest."

Ye Chen's mouth twitched, and he raised a hand to push her head away. "Like your sister."

Night Owl didn't get angry at being pushed away; instead, she shrugged with an innocent look.

"What a pity, I don't have a sister."

"How about..."

"I take one for the team and tie myself up for you to see?"

Ye Chen couldn't be bothered to deal with this female hooligan anymore and instead walked up to the woman.

"Do you want to live?"

The woman gritted her teeth and roared.

"I want to die!"

"Don't use these methods to humiliate me, just give me a quick death!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"What a coincidence."

"I don't have many hobbies."

"But my favorite is making people wish they were dead but unable to die."

As soon as Ye Chen finished speaking, a flash of alarm and fury instantly crossed the tightly bound woman's face.

"You... what do you want to do?!"

"I'm warning you, Dark Crow won't let you off! Black Prison's revenge will make you..."

Ye Chen didn't wait for her to finish; he looked at Night Owl with an impatient expression: "Tickle her."

"Huh?"

Night Owl was taken aback for a moment, then her red lips curled into a smile so bright it was almost demonic.

"Tickling?"

"Ye Chen, I didn't see that coming. You actually have such a... well, 'unique' fetish?"

"But..."

She licked her lips and flexed her fingers. "I like it!"

With that.

She walked straight up.

"No! You wouldn't dare..."

The woman tried to continue her threats, but her voice cut off abruptly.

Immediately after.

Her body went stiff.

Because Night Owl's fingers were already like vipers, rapidly scratching and rubbing her armpits, waist, soles, and other most sensitive, ticklish spots.

And ridiculously... she pulled out a goose feather, as if she had been prepared all along.

The woman initially tried to endure it, her body twisting violently in an attempt to dodge, but under the 'Kikkoubaku', she had nowhere to run.

In less than ten seconds, the anger on her face completely collapsed, replaced by laughter mixed with tears and snot.

"Hahaha!"

"Stop... stop! Hahaha! I... I can't take it anymore!"

"Hahaha... ah! Help! Hahaha..."

She laughed until her whole body convulsed, tears streaming down her face, reaching the brink of a mental breakdown.

Just as she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, seeing stars and feeling like she would laugh herself to death the next second... suddenly.

She screamed through her broken laughter: "Stop... stop tickling! Haha... You haven't even asked me anything, how am I supposed to answer? Hahaha..."

Hearing this, Ye Chen was slightly stunned, then showed an expression of realization and gestured for Night Owl to stop.

"Oh, right."

"Night Owl, stop for a moment. I forgot to ask the questions first."

The woman: "..."

Good grief!

This bastard was treating her like a toy!

Night Owl stopped accordingly, but her face showed a hint of wanting more, and the goose feather in her hand kept waving.

It was as if she were telling the woman... if she didn't cooperate, she'd immediately be made to wish she were dead again!

The woman's heart collapsed even further.

Devils!

Both of these people are fucking devils!

Ye Chen walked up to the woman and asked calmly.

"Will you talk now?"

"Besides your 'Dark Crow', what other specific forces does Black Prison have in Dragon Country?"

"Tell me everything you know."

"If you don't talk, or if you lie, I'll let Night Owl continue."

"She seems to quite enjoy this game."

The woman's whole body trembled, and she shot a terrified glance at Night Owl, who was rubbing her hands together nearby.

The next second.

She said in panic: "There are no more Black Prison forces within Dragon Country's borders, but there is one family that is connected to Black Prison!"

Before the woman's voice could fade, a sharp light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes, and he immediately followed up: "A family? Which family? Be clear!"

The woman didn't dare hide anything and explained urgently.

"It's the Wang Family of Yanjing!"

"The head of the Wang Family, Wang Zhenyue—his daughter is the wife of our Black Prison's Prison Master!"

"So, the head of the Wang Family is our Prison Master's father-in-law!"

"What?!" As soon as these words were spoken, not only Ye Chen, but even Bai Wanqing on the side showed a look of surprise.

Night Owl even laughed outright.

"Ha?! Did I hear that right?"

"That mysterious Black Prison Lord is actually the son-in-law of the Yanjing Wang Family?"

"If this gets out, I'm afraid the Wang Family's ancestral graves will be dug up and the corpses whipped!"

She wasn't exaggerating at all.

Black Prison was an assassin organization that not only killed countless people but also engaged in some very shady business.

Therefore.

The number of people they had killed had long surpassed a hundred thousand, and the people they had offended were countless... If anyone found out the Wang Family had that kind of relationship with Black Prison, the Wang Family would likely be torn apart!

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly: "What is the relationship between Black Prison and the Yanjing Wang Family? Do they have close contact?"

The woman nodded repeatedly.

"Very... very good!"

"The Prison Master dotes on Miss Wang extremely, so he also looks after the Wang Family quite a bit."

"Some things that aren't convenient for the Wang Family to handle openly are sometimes dealt with using Black Prison's strength. Both sides are..."

"Bound by both interests and marriage; the relationship is very solid."

After listening, Ye Chen remained silent for two seconds and then slowly nodded.

"Fine, I understand."

He stopped looking at the woman, turned, and walked out of the cabin, only tossing a light sentence to Night Owl.

"You handle this person."

Night Owl curled her lip: "Making me do the dirty work again?"

However.

Ye Chen ignored her completely, leading Bai Wanqing out of the storage cabin and back up the passage to the upper deck.

The late-night sea breeze blew in with a chill.

Bai Wanqing spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"The situation in Yanjing is more complex than many people imagine."

"The Chu Family is currently the most prominent and is the recognized number one."

"The Wang Family ranks second, but they have kept a low profile for many years. Their industries are mostly concentrated in traditional fields and some overseas investments, and they rarely participate in fierce competition."

"The Huang Family has declined somewhat in recent years and ranks third."

She paused and turned to look at Ye Chen.

"I always thought the Wang Family was just biding their time, but I didn't expect..."

"That they would have such a deep binding with Black Prison."

"With a force like Black Prison hidden in the shadows as their backing, the Wang Family's low profile probably has other motives."