Ye Zhentian set down his teacup, his gaze settling on the stone table.
"After that, I kept wearing it. Right up until the War of National Founding."
His voice grew somber.
"When we fought the American invaders, I was a regimental commander, fighting on the Northern Front."
"During one encounter, the location of the Regimental Command Headquarters was exposed. An American bomber dropped an aerial bomb."
Qin Changhai clenched his fists on his knees.
Ye Pianran's fingers gripped the armrests of her chair.
"Everyone inside headquarters died. Blown to pieces."
Ye Zhentian's voice remained flat.
"Everyone except me. I didn't have a scratch."
He raised a hand and pointed to his chest.
"It was like there was a transparent shield covering a five-meter radius around me. When the shock wave reached me, it dispersed. The shrapnel struck empty air and bent on its own."
"I saw it with my own eyes."
Silence settled over the backyard for several seconds.
Holding his teacup, Chen Lin gave a slight nod.
A Core Formation defensive magic treasure, fully activated, withstanding an aerial bomb from seventy years ago-that was perfectly normal.
It was even somewhat stronger than he had previously estimated.
But that was not what occupied his thoughts.
"That old man," Chen Lin asked. "Do you still remember what he looked like?"
Ye Zhentian shook his head.
"It's been too long. All I remember is a white beard that reached his chest. His clothes were ragged, and he was covered in blood. Dried blood obscured his entire face. I couldn't make out his features at all."
"In all the decades you've had that jade pendant, did anything unusual happen apart from the bombing?"
"No," Ye Zhentian answered without hesitation. "It never showed its power again."
Chen Lin fell silent.
The trail had gone