Helian Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly looked up, meeting Ye Tiancheng’s calm and composed face, unchanged in expression. For a long time, he couldn’t utter a word.
The prolonged silence put him at a disadvantage in front of Ye Tiancheng.
Did Ye Tiancheng truly know something, or was he bluffing?
The distinction between the two was crucial. It determined how Helian Yi should answer Ye Tiancheng’s question. If Ye Tiancheng had indeed guessed something, then even if he babbled about other things to divert attention and attempt to smooth things over, it would be useless and even counterproductive.
Helian Yi frowned, pursed his lips, and pondered for a long time. "Mr. Ye, do you seem to have some misunderstanding about our Helian family?"
Misunderstanding? Ye Tiancheng felt he had no misunderstanding. However, at present, neither side wanted to make things too ugly. It was best to leave some room for future interactions. Given the current situation and circumstances, there wasn't a deep-seated hatred yet. If things were pushed to the extreme, it wouldn't be good for anyone.
"Perhaps I am mistaken. However, I simply find it hard to believe in coincidences. I trust the Helian family can understand, right?"
Ye Tiancheng was playing for time, beating around the bush. After all, his side was not at a disadvantage. In this regard, Helian Yi should be the one feeling more troubled and anxious.
Helian Yi observed Ye Tiancheng’s expression, but after a long while, he couldn't glean the desired outcome. He thought for a moment and finally said to Ye Tiancheng, "In that case, I believe Mr. Ye would be more willing to believe our elder’s words. I will report this matter to him, and he will personally give you an explanation."
"Would that satisfy you, Mr. Ye?"
Having reached this point, Ye Tiancheng couldn't push too hard. So, he nodded noncommittally. "Everything is at the Helian family's discretion. I just want to see what kind of explanation I will ultimately receive."
In a way, both parties parted ways unhappily.
After leaving the room where he had negotiated with Ye Tiancheng, Helian Yi returned to the door of room 909, unlocked the door that had been bolted from the outside, and then left completely.
Ye Tiancheng, having not received any news from Fatty and being unclear about the situation inside the room, felt it inappropriate to disturb them at this juncture. Therefore, he didn't do anything further. Instead, he and Little Fox returned to the eleventh floor and rested in Little Fox's room.
Little Fox had minimized his presence throughout the entire process. Ye Tiancheng had been the one negotiating with Helian Yi, and Little Fox had barely spoken. Helian Yi's attention had not been significantly focused on Little Fox, essentially overlooking him.
Upon returning to the room, Little Fox asked Ye Tiancheng, "Big Brother, what are your plans now? Are you still going to investigate further?"
Ye Tiancheng glanced at him and said with great certainty, "Investigate? Of course, we must investigate. We can't be kept in the dark and give others a chance to fool us, can we?"
"No matter what, I still want to know the purpose behind their planning of these troublesome affairs. If we don't clarify it, who can feel at ease? I'm afraid we won't be able to sleep soundly at night."
Little Fox agreed. Thinking about being schemed against by someone behind the scenes, it was indeed difficult to feel at peace without understanding their motives.
Ye Tiancheng suddenly rubbed his temples again. "Moreover, I have another troublesome matter."
Seeing this, Little Fox immediately asked with concern, "Is there anything else? Can I help you with anything, Big Brother?"
Ye Tiancheng paused before replying, "What could it be? You know about the previous incident, right? It caused such a stir, and the news is bound to spread. If this news reaches Mingzhu..."
If it reached Hou Mingzhu's ears, what should be done then?
Little Fox and Ye Tiancheng exchanged bewildered glances. They both pondered what Hou Mingzhu's reaction would be upon hearing such strange rumors, and they felt a sense of uncertainty.
It was easy to imagine that once the news spread, rumors would multiply like a three-man rumor becoming a tiger. Who knew what the rumors would turn into by the end? If Hou Mingzhu heard the rumors then, it would be troublesome.
But how should this matter be explained?
Ye Tiancheng rubbed his fingers with some melancholy, finally making up his mind. "Forget it. When Mingzhu wakes up, I will personally go and explain these matters to her. It's better than her hearing all sorts of jumbled rumors later and making wild guesses."
"If that happens, who knows what other trouble it might cause? At this juncture, it's not good for us to have internal conflicts."
Little Fox nodded in agreement. "That's for the best. There's no better solution. It's better to confess to Sister-in-law proactively before others do."
After concluding this topic, Little Fox asked about the main issue. "So now, Big Brother, where do you plan to start investigating?"
Ye Tiancheng propped up one hand, touched his chin, and thought for a while. After a long pause, he finally said, "We are currently on the Helian family's territory, and our movements are quite restricted. If we want to do anything, we can only start by extracting information."
Little Fox then understood Ye Tiancheng's meaning.
He said, "I understand. Then I'll go and ask around first. Perhaps I can get some other information. It's not certain."
Ye Tiancheng said, "I don't know if that servant, who was bribed by someone unknown, has been exposed and found by that old fellow Helian Yi. When you go to inquire about the news, you can pay close attention to this point."
Little Fox indicated that he understood and asked, "What does that person look like? Are there any distinguishing features?"
This was where Ye Tiancheng became troubled.
Ye Tiancheng carefully recalled the situation at the time. Mo Huaifeng had bribed a servant of the Helian family and brought Mo Huaifeng to his room. After that, the servant left.
To avoid alerting Mo Huaifeng and to understand Mo Huaifeng's intentions, Ye Tiancheng had been quietly pretending to be asleep the entire time. He hadn't made a sound, nor had he even slightly opened his eyelids.
Under such circumstances, how could he have seen the servant's appearance?
Ye Tiancheng sighed and could only tell Little Fox, "Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to see his appearance clearly. Because of the situation at the time, I was pretending to be asleep the whole time. Opening my eyes would have easily alerted them, so I didn't see anything."
This was quite troublesome. Little Fox furrowed his brows and could only say helplessly, "Alright, there's nothing we can do. I'll try to ask around more. Since that person could be bought, it means their moral bottom line is relatively low. As long as Helian Yi hasn't found him yet, perhaps we can still find some clues and follow the vine to get some information."
Ye Tiancheng said, "You don't need to be too persistent, focusing only on this one point. The more important thing is the truth behind it, not fixating on someone who only understands part of the truth."
Little Fox understood the urgency of the situation and agreed, promising to be mindful.
After Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he said, "I'll rest here with you for a while. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I was woken up while sleeping drunk, and then there was all that commotion. I definitely don't want to go back to that room to sleep now."
As they were good brothers, they wouldn't mind such matters. Little Fox naturally had no objections and immediately agreed to let Ye Tiancheng stay and rest.
Having received the answer, Ye Tiancheng felt reassured and rested at Little Fox's place.
Before falling asleep, Ye Tiancheng remembered to remind Little Fox that if he received any news from Hou Mingzhu or Fatty, and if he was still asleep at the time, he should wake him up. Little Fox agreed.
Ye Tiancheng closed his eyes. Perhaps he was truly tired, and he soon fell asleep.
In a hazy dream, Ye Tiancheng suddenly heard a voice say to him, "You're investigating these matters, why don't you ask me at all? Regarding the events happening around you, who could be clearer than me?"
Ye Tiancheng was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was the Nuwa Stone speaking to him.
It was at this moment that Ye Tiancheng realized that the Nuwa Stone had always been within him and must know many things. Even if the Nuwa Stone didn't know about other matters, it must at least have some awareness of what was happening around Ye Tiancheng, right? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
However, he couldn't say it too directly. Although Ye Tiancheng had indeed forgotten about this matter before, if he said it directly, the Nuwa Stone might get angry with him. So, it was better not to be so blunt.
Thus, Ye Tiancheng coughed lightly and replied to the Nuwa Stone, "Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? It's such a small matter, and it's just ordinary entanglements with mortals. Why bother you?"
The Nuwa Stone didn't believe Ye Tiancheng's nonsense and immediately scoffed, "Guess if I believe you?"
"Do you dare to speak the truth? Ye Tiancheng, ask yourself, would you believe what you just said if it were you?"
Ye Tiancheng thought to himself, of course not, because it was pure deception.
"Alright, if you insist on hearing the truth, and if hearing the truth will make you happy, then I'll tell you directly. It's because I forgot."
The Nuwa Stone gritted its teeth. "I knew you were such a..."
Ye Tiancheng felt extremely helpless and said, "You know the truth won't be well-received, yet you still insist on being so calculative. What are you trying to achieve?"
The Nuwa Stone remained silent, clearly angered.
Ye Tiancheng added, "Alright, I've told you both lies and the truth. Now, can you tell me what you know?"
Ye Tiancheng knew that if the Nuwa Stone didn't know certain things that he wasn't aware of, it wouldn't have spoken to him so suddenly. Given the relationship between Ye Tiancheng and the Nuwa Stone, there was no need for beating around the bush. Ye Tiancheng asked directly.
The Nuwa Stone, however, replied, "I'm in a bad mood right now and don't want to talk."
Ye Tiancheng's mouth twitched. He was speechless. "You're not my wife, do you expect me to coax you? We're in the same boat now. If I'm good, you're good, and everyone's good. I admit my attitude wasn't proper before. I apologize, okay? Stop playing games and just say what you know."
The Nuwa Stone muttered, "Who is in the same boat?"
Ye Tiancheng heard the Nuwa Stone's voice clearly and responded decisively, "I am. I am the grasshopper."
This made the Nuwa Stone quite speechless.
However, dragging this out without speaking was indeed a bit too melodramatic. The Nuwa Stone was also a bit too lazy to waste time with him, and in the end, it spoke.
"I do know a few things. When you returned to your room drunk, didn't you feel uncomfortable? You should have felt it, because you directly used your cultivation to remove the uncomfortable feeling. Don't you remember anything?"
Ye Tiancheng was stunned. He really didn't remember. "Uncomfortable? What was uncomfortable then? I might have felt unwell due to being drunk before."