The heavy Amethyst Wood door silently closed behind them, shutting out all the noise of the outside world.
Su Chen stood where he was, making no move to approach.
Ya Fei turned around, her captivating, seductive eyes slowly sweeping over him.
He was still wearing that nondescript gray shirt and a bamboo hat. Only the hem of his clothes was stained with fresh dust and dampness, leaving him looking somewhat bedraggled.
Yet beneath the shadow of his hat, his calm presence had not wavered in the slightest.
"Something happened."
Ya Fei did not ask. Instead, she stated it as a fact.
She took a few graceful steps back to the soft sofa and sat down. Her fiery red qipao traced a breathtaking figure.
"Jialie Ao."
Su Chen's voice was as steady as ever. He walked over and sat opposite Ya Fei, showing not the slightest awkwardness.
"He cornered me."
Those five short words made Ya Fei pause slightly as she lifted her teacup.
She set the cup back on the table. The lazy smile slowly faded from her stunning face, replaced by a solemn expression.
"I'm sorry. This was my oversight."
Ya Fei's fingertips lightly tapped the smooth tabletop.
"I thought that old fox Jialie Bi would choose to wait and see after hitting a wall. I didn't expect him to indulge his idiot son and let him use such a low-down tactic."
Her apology was sincere.
The Miteer Auction House had an ironclad rule of keeping its clients' identities confidential, but even the tightest rules had loopholes that were impossible to guard against.
Su Chen could contact her through the auction house's purple-gold VIP card. Likewise, Jialie Ao could use the appearance of that card to narrow down the list of suspects.
"He didn't manage to do anything to you, did he?"
Ya Fei looked up at Su Chen.
"He lost a piece of valuable Warm Jade, and the dignity he had as the young clan leader of the Jialie Clan."
Su Chen's answer was casual and dismissive.
Ya Fei was taken aback. Then a glimmer flashed through her beautiful eyes.
She did not press him for details.
The fact that the man before her was sitting here unharmed proved he had a trump card that was more than enough to protect himself.
And smart people never pried into everything.
"Jialie Ao is useless. He's no threat."
Ya Fei's tone shifted, and her voice turned serious.
"But this time, you've slapped both him and his father hard across the face. They absolutely won't let the matter rest."
She rose and slowly paced around the room.
Her high heels made no sound against the expensive carpet, yet the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive.
"How much do you know about Jialie Bi?"
She suddenly asked.
"A greedy, stupid brute."
That was Su Chen's assessment.
Ya Fei stopped and turned around, shaking her head.
"No."
"He's greedy, but he isn't stupid. He's simply used to solving every problem with the most direct violence in Wutan City."
"Because it's always worked."
Ya Fei's gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, fixing on some distant spot in the city.
"Three years ago, a small medicinal-herb merchant in the eastern part of the city happened to acquire a hundred-year-old Fire Sun Grass. Word got out."
"The next day, the merchant and his entire family of thirteen—from his eighty-year-old mother to a baby just three months old—vanished overnight."
"Half a month later, that Fire Sun Grass appeared in the cauldron of Liu Xi, the Jialie Clan's alchemist."
She recounted the story calmly, without a trace of emotion in her voice.
Yet her words seemed to lower the temperature of the entire chamber.
"In Wutan City, Jialie Bi is the law. Whatever he wants, he either buys with money or takes with lives."
"His probe failed this time, but he won't let it go. The next ones to come after you won't be idiots like Jialie Ao. They'll be the Jialie Clan's true retainers, the executioners with blood all over their hands."
Ya Fei sat back down on the sofa and poured Su Chen a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.
"My Miteer Auction House can shelter you. As long as you stay inside the auction house, I can guarantee that not even Jialie Bi himself will dare lay a finger on you."
"But can you stay here for the rest of your life?"
It was a very practical question.
No matter how formidable the Mittel name was, it could only protect him for a while.
Su Chen couldn't hide forever in this golden cage.
The chamber fell into a long silence.
After a long while, Ya Fei's captivating eyes settled on Su Chen once more. This time, beneath the solemnity in their depths, there was also an intense curiosity that refused to fade.
"But..."
Her red lips curled into a playful smile.
"What I'm even more curious about is how you managed to escape unscathed when seven or eight Dou Shi surrounded you."
In the end, she couldn't resist asking.
She didn't believe Su Chen could have fought them head-on.
A "normal person" with not the slightest trace of Dou Qi facing several well-trained clan guards, two of whom were Dou Shi.
It was an inescapable dead end.
And yet he had somehow broken out of it.
He had even made Jialie Ao suffer a heavy loss.
The details left her completely baffled and burning with curiosity.
Su Chen picked up the cup of cold tea and took a small sip.
The tea was bitter, much like the predicament he faced now.
"Just a few little tricks to stay alive."
A calm voice came from beneath the bamboo hat.
"Nothing worth mentioning."
The more casually he brushed it off, the more mysterious he seemed.
Ya Fei gave him a long look and did not press him any further.
She leaned back against the sofa, her breathtaking figure rising and falling with the motion.
As she looked at the young man before her, for the first time she moved him from the category of "extremely valuable business partner" to that of "mysterious powerhouse worth investing in."
A monster with not only an extraordinary business mind, but also an unfathomable ability to protect himself.
Someone like that was either a friend to be made or a threat to be snuffed out before he could grow.
And she had clearly chosen the former.
"Being able to protect yourself isn't enough."
Ya Fei's voice grew more earnest than ever.
"That can only make you a slippery loach escaping the fisherman for a time. But as long as you're still in this pond, you'll always be in danger."
"You need to... show them your value."
"A value so irreplaceable that Jialie Bi, every faction in Wutan City, and even the powerful figures of the Jia Ma Empire would think twice before touching you!"
Each word struck Su Chen's heart like a heavy hammer.
"Your 'Beast Fire Intelligence' business is good. It helped you meet Aoba Pa and gain your first ally. But this is only the beginning."
"It's still not enough to make a warlord like Jialie Bi give up on coveting what you have."
Ya Fei stood up and walked to the window, gazing down at the bustling city below.
"You need a bigger stage."
"A... 'product' that will drive all of Wutan City wild!"
"A 'miracle' that will make the Alchemist Guild stand up for you, the City Lord's Mansion treat you with respect, and every powerhouse want to be on good terms with you!"
"Then you won't need anyone's protection."
"Because your very existence will be the strongest shield."
"Anyone who wants to touch you will have to consider the consequences of making enemies of every powerhouse in Wutan City."
Her words rang through Su Chen's mind like a thunderclap splitting the darkness!
Until now, he had focused on how to hide and how to protect himself.
But Ya Fei had pointed him toward a completely different path—one that was far brighter.
The best defense was a good offense!
He would use a value so dazzling that no one dared look it straight in the eye to forge himself a crown no one would dare touch!
Su Chen slowly stood up.
He walked over to Ya Fei and stood beside her, gazing down with her at the city that was about to be swept into turmoil because of him.
Beneath the shadow of his bamboo hat, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Miss Ya Fei, you're right."
His voice was still steady, but something new had entered it.
Ambition enough to stir the winds and clouds.
"Perhaps it's time to let everyone see my real 'product.'"
Before you continue