Li Jiuchuan's Request

"Just met?" Hu Liena looked puzzled.

"Yes."

Ye Tian lightly tugged at Hu Liena's golden hair, making her cry out in pain. She could not help frowning, her delicate brows knitting as she looked over.

Pointing at the girl in the blue dress, he explained, "This is Li Jiuchuan, from the Li Family of Golden Turtle Island. The Li Family's fleet is quite substantial along the East Sea Coast, and we have business dealings."

"So you came here as a guest?" Hearing this, Hu Liena briefly glanced at Li Jiuchuan's fair profile and relaxed her guard slightly.

She instinctively moved closer to Ye Tian, displaying their "special" relationship.

The other party had come uninvited with a clear purpose.

She had to stay on guard.

Then Hu Liena noticed the change in her own feelings.

She froze for a moment. My jealousy is showing a little too clearly...

Li Jiuchuan walked gracefully up to Hu Liena, gave a slight bow, and smiled sweetly. "You could say that, but my main purpose is to invite Ye Tian to Golden Turtle Island as a guest."

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes brimmed with anticipation as she glanced at Ye Tian.

Ye Tian was not interested in that.

He had no interest in visiting Golden Turtle Island.

A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

If he agreed to go, he would have to bring guards to ensure his safety.

That would risk exposing the forces hidden in the shadows.

He did not want to see that happen.

Besides, if the Li Family merely wanted to strengthen their relationship, there was no need for it.

Business dealings put profit first.

With the Li Family's fleet, his goods could be shipped far away and sold for more money.

It was entirely a mutually beneficial arrangement.

As long as those benefits remained, there was no need for either side to fall out.

Without that mutual interest, maintaining ties would be pointless.

Ye Tian pointed at Bibi Dong beside him and politely declined. "My sister has just returned from afar, and I do not wish to leave home. Forgive me, but I cannot agree."

That was half the truth.

When one's sister was home, one did not travel far.

Hearing that, Hu Liena's face blossomed with delight.

The worry hanging over her heart eased considerably.

It seemed Li Jiuchuan did not mean all that much to Ye Tian after all.

She clasped her hands before her, putting on the air of a refined lady as a faint curve touched her lips. "What a pity, Miss Li."

Hu Liena's words carried the smile of a victor.

Bibi Dong also propped her forehead against her jade-like hand with great interest, her gaze shifting back and forth between Ye Tian and Li Jiuchuan.

Li Jiuchuan was stunned for a moment by Ye Tian's words.

With her looks, she had never been rejected from childhood until now.

But when she raised her head and reassessed the two women beside Ye Tian,

she found part of the answer.

Behind Ye Tian stood a pale purple-haired girl who rarely smiled, like a beauty carved from ice and snow. Compared to Li Jiuchuan, her appearance was no less exceptional.

Li Jiuchuan had not expected Ye Tian's features to be so striking, nor that even his sister would possess such peerless beauty.

No wonder they were family. Their genes were powerful.

Her gaze shifted to the golden-haired girl smiling beside Ye Tian.

She too was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her cuteness carried a trace of foxlike allure, and she radiated charm from head to toe.

Li Jiuchuan had to admit that she could not compare.

Seeing the two women's appearances, Li Jiuchuan felt a little less confident.

But then she remembered that she had not come to compare looks.

She quickly shook her head inwardly. A trace of helplessness flashed between her delicate brows as she sighed softly.

"I invited you to Golden Turtle Island, Young Master Ye Tian, because I have an important matter to ask of you."

"What is it?" Ye Tian removed his hand from Hu Liena's hair, stepped forward, and asked.

His first thought was that the Li Family's ships had been attacked by pirates.

But the odds of that were very low.

Li Jiuchuan's grandfather, Li Haitian, the head of the Li Family, was an eighty-ninth-rank Soul Douluo.

Moreover, he was a Sea Soul Master. At sea, the strength he could display was even more terrifying.

No pirate crew foolish enough to cross the Li Family existed.

That was also why Ye Tian had initially chosen to work with the Li Family to transport his goods.

Li Jiuchuan's expression dimmed. She leaned forward, preparing to whisper into Ye Tian's ear.

But before she could get close, Hu Liena grabbed Ye Tian and pulled him behind her.

Her Kazi Lan Big Eyes were full of wariness, and her tone was somewhat unnatural. "There are no outsiders here. Whatever it is, just say it out loud."

After a pause, she whispered to Ye Tian, "Be careful. She might have ulterior motives."

Seeing Hu Liena act this way, Ye Tian felt rather helpless. He had to admit, Nana Meimei was incredibly strong.

She had flung him behind her in one move.

Perhaps Nana Meimei was doing this for his own good.

He gave an awkward laugh, stepped out from behind Hu Liena, and looked at the downcast Li Jiuchuan.

"Sorry. My little sister is just overly cautious."

"It's all right. I was the one who was presumptuous." Li Jiuchuan forced a bleak smile and waved her hand.

She knew her relationship with Ye Tian was tenuous.

They had not even met before. This was her first time coming to Butterfly Farm to meet Ye Tian.

If her family had not been Ye Tian's business partner,

she might not even have gotten the chance to see him.

A complicated look filled her eyes. In the end, she decided to be honest and raised her hand in another bow.

"To be frank, I came this time to ask you to treat my grandfather."

"My grandfather went into the deep sea to hunt a thirty-thousand-year-old soul beast, the Tooth Poison Sea Lion, in order to advance to Titled Douluo. During the battle, he was poisoned by a deadly toxin."

"He did not notice it at first, but after absorbing the soul ring and returning home, he began suffering tearing pain in his heart and lungs every day. The space between his brows has grown darker and darker. Each day, he remains conscious for less and less time!"

She looked at Ye Tian with sincere eyes.

"Young Master Ye Tian, please consider the business ties between our two families and come to Golden Turtle Island to save my grandfather. My Li Family is willing to pay one million Gold Soul Coins as compensation!"

Hearing this, Ye Tian frowned.

Li Haitian had been poisoned?

That was a major matter.

Golden Turtle Island lay at a crucial point along the sea routes, in an extremely important location.

Countless pirates had their eyes on that golden territory. The reason the Li Family had remained standing amid wolves on every side

was because Li Haitian was an eighty-ninth-rank Soul Douluo who could even wield the power of a Titled Douluo in the ocean.

Now that Li Haitian had been gravely poisoned, how could those pirates possibly remain quiet?

They would certainly have designs on the Li Family of Golden Turtle Island.

This trip to Golden Turtle Island was likely not as simple as treating an illness.

Blades and bloodshed would be unavoidable.

At that thought, Ye Tian inwardly shook his head. He did not want to get involved.

One million Gold Soul Coins was mere pocket change to him, not worth his attention at all.

The benefits did not match the risks. It was better not to go.

Besides, his greatest dream was simply to remain peacefully on the East Sea Coast.

Ye Tian stared into Li Jiuchuan's beautiful eyes and deliberately sighed. "I am still young, and my medical skill is truly shallow. The only reason I am so well known in the East Sea is that I often treat people for free, and they are grateful."

He spread his hands. "In truth, the illnesses I treat are only fevers, colds, sprains, and bruises. There is no real skill involved."

"Your grandfather was poisoned by a Tooth Poison Sea Lion, but I have never even seen one, much less have experience treating such poison."

He said frankly, "So I am truly sorry, but there is nothing I can do."

Hearing this, Li Jiuchuan froze for a moment. Then she gritted her teeth and said, "My Li Family is willing to offer the Tooth Poison Sea Lion's Soul Bone!"