233: I saved you, thank you!

Ye Chen turned his head and glanced at Yan Qingwu. "Was she defeated by me?"

Yan Qingwu was taken aback and subconsciously nodded.

"...That's right."

"Then do I have the right to decide whether or not to kill her?" Ye Chen asked again.

"...Yes."

Yan Qingwu's elegant brows furrowed even tighter, "But..."

"Since it is my right..." Ye Chen interrupted her, turning to face her directly and asking in return, "Then is there a problem with how I handle it?"

Yan Qingwu was momentarily speechless by his self-righteous retort. She pursed her lips before saying somewhat anxiously.

"But she has killed many people! Her sins are grave!"

"You... as a Dragon Group Special Agent, you should eliminate harm for the people and uphold justice!"

"Am I not eliminating harm for the people right now?"

Ye Chen tilted his head, a strange smile appearing on his face.

"I subdue one and have her trick the other seventeen into coming here, and then I'll kill them one by one."

"Using one life that you deem deserves to die to trade for seventeen lives that also deserve to die..."

"No matter how you calculate it, it's a profit, right?"

"One for seventeen, is there a problem?"

Yan Qingwu: "..."

Wait... it seemed like the logic had been forcibly twisted to his side by this guy?

But why did it always feel like something was wrong?

Looking at Yan Qingwu's choked-up expression, her beautiful face filled with conflict, Ye Chen suddenly found it a bit amusing.

He leaned in a little closer.

"On the contrary, it's you."

"I saved you, and your whole family."

"Logically, it seems like... you should say thank you to me first?"

Yan Qingwu suddenly looked up, meeting his gaze so close at hand, and her heart skipped a beat for some reason.

That's right... no matter how 'unorthodox' Ye Chen's way of dealing with White Charm was, it was undeniable that if he hadn't acted just now, she and the Yan Family members would likely have been dead souls under the scythes of Black and White Impermanence.

That pride and principle suddenly seemed a bit ungrateful in the face of the debt of saving her life.

Her exquisite cheeks flushed slightly, not from shyness, but from embarrassment, annoyance, and frustration.

After a few seconds, she finally lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's: "...Thank you."

Ye Chen smiled. "I'll accept your thanks. Then, I'll be going now."

With that said.

Ye Chen walked to the end of the road and quickly disappeared from sight.

"..."

Yan Qingwu stomped her foot in annoyance, feeling a bit depressed.

This guy is simply too hateful!

Even though he saved people, he insisted on speaking in such an irritating way, making it so she couldn't even finish a complete logical argument!

The Blade and Sword Duo stepped forward clutching their chests, whispering, "Miss, this young man is not simple at all. Do we need to report this to the Family Head?"

Yan Qingwu took a deep breath, pressed her beautiful legs together, and nodded.

"Report it."

"But before reporting, let's head back to the auction. The direction that guy went..."

"Is clearly back to the auction too."

The Blade and Sword Duo looked at each other and nodded. One of them asked as if thinking of something, "By the way, Miss... what about the matter of the buddha head?"

Yan Qingwu bit her lip and looked in the direction Ye Chen had disappeared. She was somewhat unwilling, but she still said.

"As long as it doesn't fall into the hands of the Soul Hall, it's fine. Report the rest to Father when we get back and let him decide!"

She wasn't a fool; she knew very well that now that the buddha head had fallen into Ye Chen's hands, they wouldn't be able to get it back!

And even if they could, for argument's sake.

Ye Chen was a member of the Dragon Group; he wouldn't do anything out of line against the country.

Therefore.

It was fine in anyone's hands, as long as it wasn't in the hands of the Soul Hall's people.

The Blade and Sword Duo responded and said no more, directing the Yan Family elites who could still move to quickly clean up the scene and tend to the wounded.

Yan Qingwu turned and quickly got into a car, heading towards the Tianque Pavilion.

But her heart was in turmoil.

That guy named Ye Chen... where on earth did such a monster come from?

His strength was ridiculously high, and his way of doing things didn't follow common sense at all!

And he even saved her life... At the Tianque Pavilion auction, items were presented one by one, with only the last two lots remaining.

Inside Sky Box Number One.

Chu Niubi was clutching a bag of potato chips, munching away happily, though his eyes glanced at the door from time to time.

"Why hasn't Master come back yet? It's been almost an hour since he went out."

"Could it be that he sacrificed himself to break up that pair of Southeast Asian merchant lovers?"

Bai Wanqing held a cup of clear tea. Hearing this, she glanced at him and said indifferently, "Chu Niubi, is your skin itching again?"

Chu Niubi shrunk his neck and gave two dry laughs.

"I'm just... concerned about Master!"

Bai Wanqing couldn't be bothered with him. Her gaze fell back on the auction screen, but a trace of worry couldn't help but rise in her heart.

Ye Chen went to chase the Soul Hall person. Although she had confidence in his strength, the other side had many people after all... Just as her thoughts were becoming slightly scattered, the box door was gently pushed open.

Ye Chen walked in leisurely, carrying a sealed safe in one hand and his other hand in his trouser pocket.

"Master!"

Chu Niubi's eyes lit up, and he immediately scrambled over.

"You're finally back!"

"How was it? Did you get the item?"

"Were those two Soul Hall bastards beaten by you until they were looking for their teeth on the floor?"

Ye Chen casually placed the safe on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa.

"I got the item."

"And the people have been dealt with."

Chu Niubi, however, was dancing with excitement.

"Awesome! Master is awesome!"

"I knew it! What bullshit Soul Hall Impermanence Envoys? In front of you, Master, they're just clay chickens and pottery dogs! They can't even take a hit!"

Bai Wanqing's gaze fell on Ye Chen as she asked softly, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No."

Ye Chen shook his head. "It went quite smoothly."

Bai Wanqing nodded and didn't ask further.

She was a smart woman and knew what to ask and what not to ask.

If Ye Chen said it went smoothly, then it went smoothly.

As for how the process was, if he wanted to speak of it, he would naturally tell her.

Chu Niubi, however, couldn't keep things in. He leaned in toward Ye Chen with a sly, gossipy look. "Master, can you tell us what happened?"

Ye Chen didn't hide anything and briefly recounted the events.

After Chu Niubi finished listening, he was completely stunned.

"Holy crap!"

"You actually saved Yan Qingwu?"

"I heard that Yan Qingwu is the number one beauty in the capital!"

"Moreover, her talent is high, and her looks are even more exceptional!"

"You saved the beauty; she hasn't secretly given her heart to you, has she?"

Ye Chen put down his teacup and glanced at him.

"Chu Niubi."

"Aie! Master, I'm at your command!"

"I think your skin really is itching," Ye Chen said slowly. "Tomorrow, we return to Xiamen City, and your training will be doubled."

The smile on Chu Niubi's face instantly froze, then collapsed as he made a long, miserable face.

"Don't, Master! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

"Wasn't I just concerned about your life-long happiness!"

"Look at you, so handsome and so strong. It would be such a pity not to have a confidante by your side!"

While Chu Niubi was still there with a long face begging for mercy, in the auction hall, Lin Wei had already started the final round of the auction.

"Distinguished guests, next will be the final item of tonight's auction, and also the grand finale's mysterious lot!"

"This is a special cultural relic. Its history can be traced back to the Warring States period, or even further."

"Please welcome our final lot of the night—"

"The Warring States 'xuanyin silk scroll' fragment!"

Following her words, two assistants very solemnly pushed a transparent constant-temperature and constant-humidity display case to the center of the auction stage.

Inside the case.

Laying flat was a roll of dark-colored ancient fabric fragment with severely damaged edges.

The material was neither silk nor paper, appearing like skin or leather, exuding the vicissitudes of time.

On it, using cinnabar and a dark silver pigment, were drawn dense, twisted characters that looked like tadpoles or cloud patterns, as well as some patterns resembling human meridians.

"Warring States xuanyin silk scroll?"

Hearing this, a trace of curiosity flashed in Bai Wanqing's beautiful eyes. "That name... sounds extraordinary."

Chu Niubi also craned his neck to look at the screen. "This scrap of cloth can be the grand finale? It looks even less complete than my great-grandfather's foot-binding cloth!"

Ye Chen had originally just given it a casual glance.

But in the next second, his gaze suddenly froze!

The [X-Ray Vision Technique] operated instinctively, his sight penetrating the specially made protective case and the fragment itself.

It wasn't to look at its internal structure, but to perceive its residual 'intent' and 'rhyme'.

This aura... was cold!

Pure!

Ancient!

Moreover, it produced a startling resonance and echo with that stream of original Yin energy within Bing Lan's body, which originated from the 'Extreme Yin Physique'!

No, it wasn't just resonance.

It was more like... they shared the same source!