"I've never heard of such a thing. Let's see who has the nerve to show up."
Supported by his cane and surrounded by a large crowd, Qi Shanhai walked out.
"Grandfather! This guy is here specifically for you, and he's exceptionally skilled! All the bodyguards were beaten to the ground by him!"
Seeing Qi Shanhai, Qi Yanran immediately stepped forward to explain the situation.
A flat-topped man nearby glanced at the bodyguards rolling around on the ground and cursed impatiently, "Useless! A bunch of complete trash!"
He was Li Dazhong, the human weapon and elite bodyguard of the highest rank!
Upon hearing what had happened, Qi Shanhai merely looked slightly surprised.
Qi Shanhai remained completely calm. "No matter! With Li Dazhong here, no one will ever break into the Qi family!"
The other members of the Qi family were furious. "No one has ever dared to hurt our people! This is a death wish!"
"You little punk, get down on your knees and kowtow right now! Maybe we'll spare your dog's life!"
Without directly asking Ye Lingtian the purpose of his visit, Qi Shanhai waved at Li Dazhong, signaling him to take care of the intruder first.
Li Dazhong slowly walked toward Ye Lingtian, speaking in broken Dragon Country speech, "Little punk, do you know who I am? The number one bodyguard from the Blue—SMACK!"
Before he could finish, Ye Lingtian's voice rang out: "Is there any place for you to speak here? Get lost!"
With a fluid motion, he struck Li Dazhong across the face.
In an instant, Li Dazhong looked as though he had been hit by a truck traveling at five hundred miles per hour.
His entire body flew backward through the air.
A mouthful of white teeth mixed with blood came flying out of his mouth.
"Crack!"
Like a cannonball fired from a barrel, Li Dazhong shot forward, instantly shattering the main gates of Gunan Number One and carving a human-shaped hole right through them.
Without losing momentum, he flew another several hundred meters before crashing heavily to the ground, leaving a massive crater. He curled into a ball, convulsed a few times, and went completely still.
Silence.
Absolute silence filled the entire scene!
Chapter 24: How Did You Get This Ring?
Chapter 24: How Did You Get This Ring?
Every single member of the Qi family was completely dumbfounded.
Their eyes remained locked on the trajectory along which Li Dazhong had just flown.
They looked like walking corpses!
Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined such an outcome!
They hadn't even managed to see how Ye Lingtian made his move!
"Qi Shanhai!"
Ye Lingtian called out.
Only then were the members of the Qi family snapped out of their shock.
Their gazes toward Ye Lingtian were filled with terror and dread.
Qi Shanhai's body trembled. This young man was simply invincible.
How did he pull that off?
A single slap possessed such terrifying power?
That was the number one bodyguard from the Blue House!
A human weapon!
A grandmaster with the potential of a God of War!
This was madness!
It was entirely too terrifying!
And the crucial part was, he was barely in his twenties!
He was most likely a Great Grandmaster!
Throughout the entire Dragon Country, Great Grandmasters in their twenties could be counted on one hand!
The only ones of that age he had ever heard of achieving the level of Great Grandmaster were the four supreme guardians of the nation, including the Kunlun God of War!
Only now did the Qi family realize just how terrifying their visitor truly was.
Qi Yanran, the proud favorite of the heavens, looked as though her eyes were about to pop out of her head.
This man, whom she hadn't even deigned to look at a second time, had just sent Li Dazhong flying with a single slap?
Qi Shanhai immediately softened his tone. "Esteemed master... how on earth has the Qi family offended you? This should be our first time meeting, shouldn't it?"
Ye Lingtian nodded. "That's right, but you have my mother's ring! I'm here to take it back."
"Ah? Your mother's ring?"
Qi Shanhai seemed to recall something, and his entire body shuddered.
"There is indeed a ring! I'll go get it right now!"
Hastily leading Ye Lingtian into his private vault, Qi Shanhai retrieved a box and handed it over to Ye Lingtian.
Inside lay a thick band ring, set with a sizable blood-red gemstone!
Ye Lingtian immediately inspected it, but could not discern any hidden mysteries within.
It was simply an ultra-rare gemstone, devoid of any strange energies or properties.
Putting the ring away, Ye Lingtian's expression suddenly shifted as he fixed his gaze on Qi Shanhai and the others.
The overwhelming pressure of his aura forced Qi Shanhai and the rest to drop to their knees.
"How did you get this ring? Was it snatched from my mother's hands?"
Ye Lingtian demanded.
This scared Qi Shanhai so badly he felt like vomiting blood.
"Ah? No! Master, I have no idea who your mother is! Twenty years ago, Chen Guofeng from the Chen Family sold this ring to me for seventy million, claiming it contained great mysteries and that a secret was hidden inside! Seeing that the gemstone on it was exceptionally rare, I bought it, but I've never been able to figure out what secret it holds!"
Ye Lingtian didn't hear a single word of what came after; he caught only the name Chen Guofeng.
It really was the Chen Family!
"I'm taking the ring. My maid will pay you whatever it costs!"
With the ring in hand, Ye Lingtian hurried away.
Right at that moment, a Rolls-Royce arrived at Gunan Number One.
Xu Yourong stepped out and brushed past Ye Lingtian.
"Go inside and pay!"
Ye Lingtian vanished instantly, though his voice lingered.
Just as the members of the Qi family were standing around in confusion, a breathtaking woman walked over, instantly overshadowing Qi Yanran.
"Hello, I'm here to pay on behalf of my master!"
Xu Yourong said.
"You... aren't you Xu Yourong, the Dragon Country head of the Black Gold Consortium? You're actually the master's maid?"
Qi Shanhai recognized her instantly.
Xu Yourong smiled faintly. "That's right, I am my master's maid! And it is the greatest honor of my life."
"Boom!"
The members of the Qi family felt their worlds shatter!
Just who on earth was he?
The queen of the Black Gold Consortium was his maid?
Forge ties with him!
They had to forge ties with him at all costs!
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Qi Shanhai hastily said with excitement, "Ms. Xu! How could we ever dare accept money? Besides, the ring originally belonged to the master's mother, so this is merely returning it to its rightful owner. Not only that, but we must also go and offer our personal apologies!"
Chapter 25: Daring to Do It, But Not Daring to Admit It?
Chapter 25: Daring to Do It, But Not Daring to Admit It?
Meanwhile, at the Chen Family mansion.
Chen Shihao and his cohorts sneered, "Grandfather, I heard that punk Ye Lingtian has been looking for his mother's ring. What the hell does that have to do with us?"
Yet Chen Guofeng's expression turned peculiar, and he couldn't help saying, "Actually, it does have to do with us!"
"Ah?"
Everyone turned as one toward Chen Guofeng, bewildered.
"Back then, that boy's mother sought me out. To thank Guiyuan and his wife, she asked me to pass a gemstone ring along to them as a gift! She even claimed the ring held a secret great enough to allow the Chen Family to rise to prominence!"
"Yet I spent ages trying to decipher what secret was hidden inside, and even had others look at it, but none of us could figure it out. Right around that time, Qi Shanhai, the King of Mansions, expressed interest in the gemstone on the ring, so I sold it to him for seventy million!"
"You could say that the Chen Family's success today is entirely thanks to that seventy million!"
Hearing this, the entire Chen Family was stunned. Never did they imagine that their current standing was entirely owed to Ye Lingtian's mother!
Chen Guofeng then strictly admonished each of them: "However, under no circumstances are any of you to speak of this! You must not tell a single soul, especially Third Master's family. Absolutely not! We must deny any involvement whatsoever!"
"Understood!"
Everyone nodded in succession.
At that moment, Ye Lingtian returned to the Junting Villa.
Right outside, he happened to run into Chen Xiaoran's family of three returning from a stroll.
"Godmother, my guess was spot on! My mother's ring really was with the Chen Family back then!"
Ye Lingtian said.
The expressions of Chen Guiyuan and his daughter instantly darkened. "What nonsense are you spouting, Ye Lingtian? This is pure slander! For twenty years, I've never heard of any ring!"
"Godfather, I wasn't talking about you—I meant your family's old man!"
At those words, Chen Guiyuan became even angrier. "What are you trying to pull, Ye Lingtian?! Now you're slandering my father? The Chen Family is a prominent and respected clan; do you really think we'd covet some worthless ring of yours?"
"Are you trying to extort us, Ye Lingtian? Fine, we'll play along—how much money do you want? I'll pay you!"
Chen Xiaoran felt a deep surge of disgust.
Ye Lingtian was rotten to the core!
He Wenqian couldn't understand why he was so certain that the Chen Family had taken Zhou Xueqing's ring.
She had never seen it before in her life!
"Whether your old man took it or not, we'll know the truth as soon as we confront him!"
Ye Lingtian said.
Chen Guiyuan readily agreed. "Let's go! We'll go confront him right now! If he didn't take it, you'd better watch out!"
Before long, the four of them arrived at the Chen Family mansion.
"Third Brother, why are you and your family here?"
Chen Guofeng asked, feeling somewhat guilty.
Speak of the devil!
"Dad! This punk Ye Lingtian claims that his mother's ring was lost at our house and that you took it! Is there any truth to this?"
At these words, the Chen Family almost exploded.
They had literally just been discussing this very matter.
It had scared the wits out of them.
Chen Shihao and the others instantly turned pale.
As an old fox, Chen Guofeng remained composed on the surface and flatly denied it: "I took his mother's ring? How absurd! I don't even know who his mother is! What kind of game are you Third Brother's family playing? Is he here to interrogate me?"
He Wenqian actually believed this part.
Back then, the old man had indeed never met Zhou Xueqing, let alone taken any so-called ring.
Chen Guiyuan and his daughter were furious. "Did you hear that? He didn't take it! He doesn't even know your mother! What else do you have to say?"
However, Ye Lingtian had caught every single detail: the fleeting panic on Chen Guofeng's face and the reactions of Chen Shihao and the others.
They had guilty consciences!
Chen Guofeng was lying and denying the truth!
"What? Chen Guofeng, you dare to do it but don't have the guts to admit it?"
Ye Lingtian sneered.
That single sentence infuriated the entire Chen Family.
Chapter 26: Flatly Denying It!
Chapter 26: Flatly Denying It!
"You insolent brat, do you even know what you're saying?"
Chen Guiyuan looked as though he wanted nothing more than to slap Ye Lingtian across the face.
Chen Shihao and the others also began to rain abuse down on Ye Lingtian.
"What do you mean by that? Make yourself clear! Your mother's ring went missing, so what does that have to do with the Chen Family?"
"Besides, our Chen Family is a wealthy and prominent household. Would we ever lower ourselves to eye some worthless piece of junk?"
Ye Lingtian smiled. "From what I understand, twenty years ago the Chen Family was nothing more than a seventh or eighth-tier outfit in Jiangcheng, weren't you?"
Chen Guofeng was startled; the boy even knew that much.
"A worthless ring? Chen Guofeng, you sold it for a full seventy million! Seventy million twenty years ago! The Chen Family's position today was built entirely on the back of my mother's ring, wasn't it?"
As soon as Ye Lingtian uttered those words, Chen Guofeng's body shook, and he nearly collapsed backward into his seat.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The other members of the Chen Family also lost their composure one by one, trembling and coughing.
Never in their wildest dreams did they expect Ye Lingtian to know all of this.
And in such detail?
H-H-How on earth did he find out?
Yet Chen Guiyuan and his daughter immediately shouted, "You're spouting nonsense, Ye Lingtian! You're making false accusations! You're slandering us!"
He Wenqian chimed in to persuade him, "Tian'er, stop making a scene! There's no such thing!"
Yet Chen Guofeng wasn't afraid.
Even if Ye Lingtian knew, it was useless without evidence!
As for evidence?
That was in the hands of Qi Shanhai, the King of Mansions!
There was simply no way Ye Lingtian could ever get his hands on the proof!
As long as they bit the bullet and denied it to the end, Ye Lingtian wouldn't be able to do a single thing about it!
"What kind of fairy tales are you making up? This is blatant defamation and slander! He Wenqian, is this your precious godson?"
Chen Guofeng roared angrily.
The rest of the Chen Family also stubbornly denied everything.
"Nothing of the sort ever happened! The old man doesn't even know your mother, let alone some ring!"
"If you want to extort us, just say so! You want money, don't you? Take it and get the hell out of here!"
Chen Shihao even tossed a wad of cash directly in front of Ye Lingtian.
"Didn't you say my grandfather sold your mother's ring, Ye Lingtian? Fine! Produce the evidence, and we'll believe you!"
Chen Xiaoran's words were sharp and struck straight at the vital point.
Chen Guofeng and the others hypocritically chimed in, "That's right, show us the evidence!"
"Produce the evidence and we'll believe it!"
Since the evidence was in the hands of the King of Mansions, it was effectively the same as having no evidence at all.
Therefore, they felt completely secure.
"Fine, you want evidence? I'll show it to you!"
Ye Lingtian reached his right hand into his pocket, intending to pull out the ring, but suddenly a hand grabbed his arm tightly, stopping him from taking it out.
It was his godmother!
He Wenqian already believed it.
She hadn't believed Ye Lingtian's previous joking remarks, but with the matter having reached this point, she believed it now—perhaps Ye Zangsheng was helping him behind the scenes.
However, she couldn't let Ye Lingtian produce the evidence. Doing so would be equivalent to exposing Chen Guofeng right to his face.
That kind of situation wouldn't end well for anyone.
It might even cause a permanent rift in her relationship with the Chen Family.
The Chen Family was also a prominent household, and Chen Guiyuan and the others were people who cared deeply about their pride.
If this crime were pinned on them, the Chen Family would lose all face completely.
"No!"
He Wenqian shook her head gently.
Ye Lingtian understood his godmother's intent. Changing tack mid-sentence, he said, "Fine, Old Master, I'll let this matter go for now. But please tell me the whereabouts of my mother! Where did she go?"
Yet, because Ye Lingtian had abruptly changed the subject, Chen Xiaoran took it as absolute proof that he had no evidence whatsoever.
Having slandered and defamed her grandfather, he now thought he could just brush it off as if nothing happened?
She wasn't going to let that stand!
"Drop it? Why aren't you pursuing it anymore? Either you produce the evidence right now, Ye Lingtian, or you get down on your knees and kowtow in apology to my grandfather! Otherwise, this isn't over!"
Chapter 27: Ye Lingtian, I Look Down on You!
Chapter 27: Ye Lingtian, I Look Down on You!
Seeing this, Chen Guofeng became even more certain that Ye Lingtian had neither the evidence nor the capability to acquire it.
He sneered, "What is my reputation like, Chen Guofeng? Who in Jiangcheng doesn't give a thumbs-up when they hear my name? Yet today, an outsider has actually accused me of stealing his mother's ring and selling it for seventy million? If word of this gets out, how am I supposed to show my face in Jiangcheng? I've lost all my dignity!"
"Smack!"
With that, Chen Guofeng heavily slapped himself across the face.
"Dad (Grandfather)!"
Everyone panicked.
Chen Guiyuan was consumed by a raging fire of fury. Pointing at Ye Lingtian, he shouted, "Get on your knees and kowtow in apology! Or else this will never end!"
Ye Lingtian's body trembled slightly.
If not for his godmother, he would have slaughtered everyone present.
He wanted to throw the evidence right into Chen Guofeng's face on the spot and summon Qi Shanhai to testify in person!
Yet his godmother was holding onto him for dear life, firmly refusing to let him take it out.
"Don't do it, child! Godmother is begging you!"
He Wenqian pleaded in a low, sorrowful voice.
"Kowtow and apologize on your knees!!!"
"At least eighteen loud kowtows!"
...
The Chen Family members pressed their advantage aggressively.
Ye Lingtian hesitated, the veins on his arm bulging.
If not for his godmother...
Would he even need evidence?
If they refused to admit it, he could just crush a few of them to death!
If he produced the evidence now, he could expose Chen Guofeng on the spot, but how would his godmother manage to live within the Chen Family after that?
It would directly disrupt his godmother's family life.
In the end, Ye Lingtian relaxed his grip and gave in to his godmother's plea.
"Forget it, forget it. Am I really going to lower myself to argue with a kid? Remember, watch your mouth next time!"
Chen Guofeng waved his hand with a smile.
"Dad, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I'll make sure to discipline Tian'er when we get home!"
He Wenqian apologized immediately.
"We'll talk about this at home. What an absolute embarrassment!!!"
Chen Guiyuan stormed off in a fury.
Chen Xiaoran glared fiercely at Ye Lingtian. "I look down on you!"
After Ye Lingtian and the others left, Chen Guofeng and the rest burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"That was too close. I was scared to death; I genuinely thought he was going to produce evidence!"
"Ain't that the truth? To think he actually knew about all of that!"
Lingering fear gripped everyone's hearts.
Chen Guofeng sneered repeatedly. "Want to expose me? Impossible! With his background, he'll never even get close to touching the level of the King of Mansions, let alone get his hands on any evidence!"
"From now on, stick to this: bite the bullet and deny everything! He has no recourse! And make sure none of you breathes a word to Third Brother's family!"
Upon returning to the Junting Villa, Chen Guiyuan ranted and raved, his mustache twitching with rage.
Chen Xiaoran was utterly speechless!
"Can you just calm down for once, Ye Lingtian? Stop stirring up trouble! How long have you even been here? First you provoke a gang leader, and now you frame my grandfather! Does the Chen Family owe you something?"
He Wenqian hurried Ye Lingtian away to his own room.
Right at that moment, Xu Yourong had already finished investigating what happened back then and sent the information over.
After soothing her husband and daughter, He Wenqian came to Ye Lingtian's room and looked at him with a heart full of distress. "I'm sorry you were wronged, child. Thank you, Godmother."
"It's nothing, Godmother. I've already gotten the ring back. I just wanted to find out what happened to my mother!"
The moment he produced the ring, He Wenqian knew her guess had been right all along.
"Godmother, actually, after my mother sent me overseas back then, she returned to Jiangcheng! In her haste, she gave this ring to Chen Guofeng, intending for him to pass it on to you folks as a token of gratitude! It's just that the ring ended up being sold."
"I won't be giving this ring to you guys; it doesn't serve much purpose for you right now. As for the Chen Family's business, the ancient medicinal formula I gave Godfather is more than enough."
Chapter 28: The Best-Informed Man Around!
Chapter 28: The Best-Informed Man Around!
"Ah? An ancient medicinal formula? Understood!"
A strange flash crossed He Wenqian's face.
She knew that Chen Guiyuan had long since thrown that piece of paper away.
She just hadn't had the heart to tell Ye Lingtian.
Mostly because she hadn't taken it seriously herself.
By this point, Shang Hongwei, Xiang Haiwen, and their team had reached the final stages of researching the Black Ginseng Jade Bone Ointment.
They had already secured approval from the medical department and were ready for mass production and market release.
Of course, the medicinal herbs demanded by this ancient formula were of the absolute highest tier—things like black ginseng and jade bone grass.
Finding any substantial quantity was virtually impossible, let alone using them for mass production.
The Black Ginseng Jade Bone Ointment given to his godmother had been crafted using top-tier ingredients.
The raw herbs in that single box alone were worth at least several hundred million!
Let alone the finished product.
However, Shang Hongwei and his team had managed to find lower-cost, substitute herbs suitable for mass production while still retaining powerful medicinal effects.
Yet Chen Guiyuan remained completely oblivious to all of this.
"Alright, go say hello to your godfather and Xiaoran and patch things up!"
He Wenqian pulled Ye Lingtian out of the room.
Chen Guiyuan's anger had already subsided somewhat. "Don't pull stunt like that next time, or I'll really lose my temper!"
"Understood, Godfather."
Ye Lingtian nodded.
He then asked, "Godmother, do you know someone called Third Master?"
Earlier, Xu Yourong had discovered that there was a faction in Jiangcheng specializing in intelligence and information trading, headed by a boss known as Third Master.
He was the best-informed figure in all of Jiangcheng.
Perhaps he knew his mother's whereabouts.