Lin Yanshu had indeed not paid much attention to the little fox.
Most of Lin Yanshu's attention was on Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng himself had a protector's stance towards his brothers, his wife, and daughters, so he naturally became quite conspicuous and eye-catching when facing others.
Upon hearing Lin Yanshu's pretense, Ye Tiancheng's expression did not change at all.
If Lin Yanshu could act, then Ye Tiancheng certainly could too.
Ye Tiancheng showed no resentment on his face, merely smiling as he replied to Lin Yanshu, "This is but a small matter, nothing worth dwelling on, nor is there a need to blame others."
"Furthermore, since Clan Head Lin trusts us brothers so much, entrusting us with such an important task, it is clear that Clan Head Lin also cares deeply about this matter. Since it is so crucial, it would be better to find someone to inform Clan Head Lin about it."
"Besides, at this time, for us brothers to come, report the situation to Clan Head Lin, and then return, it would be about time for rest. It's just right, no need to specifically rest for a while and then come back."
Lin Yanshu then smiled and said, "What does it matter even if you come back after resting for a night?"
Ye Tiancheng just smiled and said nothing more.
Lin Yanshu then asked Ye Tiancheng, "I wonder if your trip, Mr. Ye, was smooth and how the situation turned out?"
Ye Tiancheng had decided to play dumb, so he deliberately put on a dejected expression.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's expression, Lin Yanshu, feigning ignorance, immediately pressed, "Why the long face, Mr. Ye? Did something happen?"
Ye Tiancheng had set the stage, and seeing that Lin Yanshu had indeed taken the bait, he replied to Lin Yanshu, "Today, I brought my brother with me, and we went to that place. Following the location you mentioned, Clan Head Lin, we found that cellar and searched it thoroughly."
"But I don't know what the reason is, the mirror you mentioned, Clan Head Lin, was not in the cellar."
"Moreover, we didn't see any other cellars in that area, so we had no other recourse but to return and report this matter to Clan Head Lin."
"We... really have no other way, we couldn't find any other place. I wonder if that mirror was perhaps stolen by someone else?"
Lin Yanshu put on an expression of great shock, an act far more exaggerated than when he had first learned privately that the Kunlun Mirror was missing.
Lin Yanshu said, "How could such a thing happen? This... did the two gentlemen see any other clues in the cellar at that time?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "It was quite messy there, and the light was dim. Moreover, it was in the ruins after a fire. Even if there were any clues, it would probably be difficult to discern them."
Lin Yanshu asked again, "Really, you found nothing at all?"
Ye Tiancheng shook his head and replied, "We initially suspected that we hadn't searched thoroughly enough, so we searched the cellar very carefully. However, it was a great pity that we still found nothing."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's reply, Lin Yanshu fell silent for a moment.
After a long while, Lin Yanshu finally said, "Since that is the case, perhaps something unexpected happened. There's nothing we can do about it. Thank you, two gentlemen, for making this trip."
Seeing Lin Yanshu's reaction, Ye Tiancheng blinked his eyes.
Suddenly, Ye Tiancheng asked Lin Yanshu, "Clan Head Lin, aren't you afraid that my brother and I are deliberately deceiving you?"
"How do you know I'm telling the truth?"
"Clan Head Lin, aren't you afraid that because my brother and I suddenly became greedy, and intentionally kept the mirror for ourselves, we fabricated this lie to deceive you?"
Lin Yanshu himself might not have fully believed Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, otherwise, he wouldn't have sent people to track them and keep an eye on them.
The reason he wasn't pursuing it further now was simply because he had received news and believed that Ye Tiancheng and the little fox absolutely could not have taken the Kunlun Mirror under his nose. That was why he was so confident.
Even though this fact was something Ye Tiancheng had deliberately acted out for him.
This was not the real truth.
However, since Lin Yanshu believed it to be so, it was enough.
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, Lin Yanshu smiled and then said to Ye Tiancheng, "If you don't trust someone, don't use them. Moreover, you two gentlemen saved my sister's life and did not seek wealth, which shows your character."
"Besides, I told you gentlemen long ago that you could destroy the mirror, or if you liked it, you could keep it. Consider it a gift to you gentlemen."
"Under these circumstances, what reason would you gentlemen have to deceive me?"
On the surface, it sounded reasonable and well-founded.
If they hadn't known what had happened before, and seeing Lin Yanshu's sincere expression, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox might have believed his fabricated story.
Ye Tiancheng smiled and said, "If my brother and I thought that thing was a treasure, and we wanted this treasure but didn't want others to know it was with us, to avoid attracting trouble with it, and thus deliberately concealed it, it's not impossible."
Lin Yanshu then said with firm conviction, "Then it's the same old saying, I believe in your character, gentlemen, and you wouldn't do such a thing."
"Moreover, even if you gentlemen truly took the mirror, there's nothing to say. That is what you gentlemen deserve to have."
Ye Tiancheng smiled without speaking.
If it were truly as Lin Yanshu said, why would Lin Yanshu be asking now?
In any case, Ye Tiancheng didn't believe a word Lin Yanshu said.
Since they had both seen Lin Yanshu's two-faced nature, they both knew what kind of person he was. Some pleasantries were just for show and shouldn't be taken seriously.
However, although some of his words were utilitarian, most of what Ye Tiancheng said was actually true.
He had spoken the truth, and whether Lin Yanshu believed it or not was none of his concern.
It was Lin Yanshu himself who had said that he believed Ye Tiancheng and the little fox no matter what, so let him believe it.
After all, they were all deceiving each other, each with their own hidden motives, and it was a matter of who could outsmart the other and achieve their goals.
Ye Tiancheng had fooled Lin Yanshu for a while, and Lin Yanshu had acted his part quite convincingly. Even when Ye Tiancheng and the little fox left, he personally escorted them to their room door.
He even walked out a few steps.
This act was indeed performed to perfection.
After leaving Lin Yanshu's room, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox naturally chose to return to their own rooms immediately.
They had already done what they needed to do. What remained was essentially to discuss and find further clues, which would likely be the next day.
Therefore, they certainly wouldn't choose to linger outside.
Upon returning to their room, the little fox said to Ye Tiancheng, "That Lin Yanshu is truly impressive. He's quite good at putting on an act, and he really seems like a two-faced person."
As he spoke, the little fox even rolled his eyes.
In private, the little fox would certainly not hide his true thoughts from Ye Tiancheng, and he expressed them as such.
Ye Tiancheng said, "There's nothing strange about that. As the head of a prominent family, what do you expect? Do you think he would act exactly as he thinks?"
"Regardless of his motives, if he were truly a 'straightforward' person, Lin Yanshu wouldn't be able to be the family head."
The little fox said, "That makes sense... I'm just a bit unhappy with him!"
"He's so good at pretending, and he even said, 'What does it matter even if you come back after resting for a night?' It's hard to believe he could say such insincere words."
"He even shifted the blame to his subordinates. If he truly had that intention, would his subordinates dare to overstep him and deliberately hint to us not to delay and to see him quickly?"
"In the end, it's his own intention, but he wants to appear as a good person after doing this."
Ye Tiancheng understood such people very well.
"One plays the good cop, the other plays the bad cop. As the head of the Lin family, do you think Lin Yanshu would be the one to play the villain?"
This was just a common tactic, very frequently seen in daily life.
Ye Tiancheng had also encountered such people before.
However, regarding Lin Yanshu, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had complained about him quite a bit before. Now, a few complaints were enough, and they wouldn't go on and on about it.
Therefore, after complaining a few times, the little fox said no more.
He was merely expressing his dissatisfaction.
Regarding the new information gathered throughout the day, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had some new thoughts.
They still believed that the events happening on their side and the events happening on Nie Chongyang's side should not be unrelated. Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping should not have inexplicably traveled to that timeline again.
In other words, there must be some connection between the two that they were unaware of.
However, they were currently unable to untangle this connection or find any real clues.
If one had to say, perhaps the key to the connection lay with the key figures on both sides?
But what connection could Bai Nianqing from a hundred years ago and Ding Yijie from a hundred years later have? How were they connected?
How could it be that these two individuals seemed so mismatched?