The knocking of a salted fish
Tianyan.
These two words, like a silent bolt of lightning, struck Feng Jinxuan and Yu Jinli's hearts hard.
Inside the laboratory, the futuristic blue light shone on the two utterly shocked faces, casting their shadows long and distorted on the polished floor.
Feng Jinxuan stared intently at the familiar, gentle handwriting on the screen.
That was his mother's handwriting; he would never mistake it.
He always thought that his mother was just a gentle and sentimental matriarch of a wealthy family, who was indifferent to worldly affairs and lived her whole life under the protection of her family.
Little did they know that beneath her delicate appearance lay such a shocking secret, and a mysterious past that could shake the entire Xuanmen world...
Tianyan Pavilion, a distant and mysterious name he had only heard once from his grandfather, was now connected to his closest person in the most direct and irrefutable way.
Yu Jinli stared at the character "衍" and felt a surge of shock in her heart.
She thought of Gu Yanzhi.
That gentle and refined man, that erudite man, that man who always appeared at the most crucial moments to offer her help and guidance.
The man who claimed to be from Tianyan Pavilion.
Was his approach to me really a coincidence?
Was everything he did really to help himself?
Or is there a deeper scheme hidden behind all of this, one that she is unaware of?
“Boss,” Hans’s voice snapped the two out of their shock, “According to the law of conservation of energy, the energy contained within these two items couldn’t have been created out of thin air. They must share a common, extremely powerful energy source. If we can find that source…”
Feng Jinxuan didn't listen any further.
He simply reached out and carefully removed the safety buckle and the wooden hairpin from the instrument, as if they were not two inanimate objects, but rather the burning wishes left by his mother.
Then, he gave Hans a concise instruction.
"All analysis reports today are classified as top secret. No one except me has the right to access them."
After saying that, he pulled the still-dazed Yu Jinli along, turned around, and left the laboratory full of mysteries.
...
It was already late at night when I returned to the mansion.
Only a dim wall lamp was left on in the living room, creating a quiet and somewhat oppressive atmosphere.
The two sat on the sofa, speechless.
Everything that happened today was so information-dense and impactful that they all need time to process it.
“So,” Yu Jinli broke the silence first, hugging a cushion and curling up in the corner of the sofa, her voice muffled, “Gu Yanzhi…could he also be one of my 'family members' whom I’ve never met, sent to spy on me?”
This guess left her feeling very uneasy.
She preferred to believe that Gu Yanzhi genuinely appreciated her, rather than... having ulterior motives.
“Possibly.” Feng Jinxuan’s answer was calm, yet also ruthless. “From a business perspective, when an organization is searching for its long-lost ‘core assets,’ sending its top ‘project manager’ to make contact is the most efficient and reliable option.”
He ruthlessly applied Gu Yanzhi's behavior to the coldest business model.
Yu Jinli: "..."
Even though I know he has a point, why does he sound so irritating?
“But we have no other choice now.” Feng Jinxuan looked at her, his dark eyes deep. “Before we thoroughly investigate the Shadow Devouring Sect, Gu Yanzhi is the only force we can rely on.”
"As for his motives..." He paused, his tone carrying an innate pride and confidence, "Once I've dealt with the Shadow Devouring Sect, I'll have plenty of time to settle this score with him."
Looking at the complex, solemn expression on the man's face, filled with painful memories, Yu Jinli felt her excitement at discovering a shocking secret gradually replaced by an inexplicable heartache.
She reached out and gently covered the back of his hand, which was tightly clutching the two tokens.
“Boss,” she said softly, “don’t think about it. No matter who your mother is, no matter what secrets you have. Just remember, you are not fighting alone now.”
The man's body stiffened slightly.
He slowly raised his head and looked into the girl's clear eyes, which were filled with worry and trust.
He turned his hand over and held her soft little hand tightly in his palm.
“I know,” he said in a hoarse voice.
In this warm atmosphere filled with the camaraderie of revolutionary comrades, Yu Jinli's phone rang at an inopportune moment, breaking the rare tranquility.
She took out her phone and saw that it was an unfamiliar number.
She hesitated for a moment, but still answered the call.
A lazy voice with a heavy nasal tone came through the receiver.
"Hello? Is this the lucky koi fish that owes me 10,000 yuan in additional consultation fees?"
Yu Jinli: "..."
That irritating tone, that precise debt collection... who else could it be but that lazy bum from the Metaphysics Association!
"Mr. Chu?" She lowered her voice, glancing instinctively at Feng Jinxuan beside her. "Um... I'll transfer the money to you first thing tomorrow morning!"
"Tomorrow?" Chu Xiu's tone sounded very dissatisfied. "Let me tell you, I hate it when people delay paying their consulting fees. You need to understand, in our industry, reputation is life. If you delay me by even one day, and it affects my 'financial luck,' can you afford to compensate for that loss?"
Yu Jinli was completely bewildered by his twisted logic and heresies.
"Then... shall I transfer it to you now?"
"That's more like it." Chu Xiu's voice sounded a little more cheerful. "Alright, since you're being so sincere, let's get down to business."
"Last time you said you wanted to find out where that Ghost Hand Elder was, right? When will the 500,000 arrive?"
Yu Jinli: "..."
This guy really does...never forget his job.
She glanced at Feng Jinxuan beside her.
The man nodded to her.
"Okay, deal!" She gritted her teeth and agreed. "The money will be in my account immediately! Now, can you say what you're going to say?"
"Great!" Chu Xiu seemed quite satisfied. "However, I haven't pinpointed the exact location yet. That old fox is very cunning and has several hideouts. I can only tell you that his recent target is a private museum under your Feng Group..."
A private museum?
Yu Jinli and Feng Jinxuan exchanged a glance.
There, lies...that piece of imperial green jade!
"Alright, that's all I wanted to say." Chu Xiu seemed genuinely tired. "I've said everything I needed to say. What you do next is up to you. Oh, by the way..."
He seemed to suddenly remember something and added another sentence.
"Since you've been so generous today, here's an 'upgraded' warning for you, free of charge."
His tone suddenly became somewhat playful.
"It's still about that guy surnamed Gu who's with you."
Yu Jinli was taken aback: "Mr. Gu? What happened to him this time? Didn't you say last time that his righteousness was too fake?"
"Yes." Chu Xiu's voice carried a hint of confusion. "So, having nothing to do these past two days, I went to the association's archives and looked up some things."
"Then, I discovered something even more interesting."
He paused, then lowered his voice even further.
"As the leading figure of the orthodox sects of the Xuanmen, Tianyan Pavilion has always kept its distance from the secular world and rarely interferes in worldly affairs. In the association's nearly 100-year archives, there are only two recorded instances of them making an exception and descending the mountain."
"Once, it was fifty years ago, to save your Feng family's ancestor."
"Another time, right now, for...you."
Yu Jinli's heart jumped.
"The person who came to the Feng family that time was the head of the pavilion at the time, which makes perfect sense."
“But this time,” Chu Xiu’s tone was full of confusion and doubt, “the Tianyan Pavilion actually sent their once-in-a-decades genius senior brother to personally escort you, a ‘bloodline’ who has been out of the country and has not yet returned to his ancestral home.”
"Don't you think... this level of extravagance is a bit too high?"
"It's like... they're not here to protect you, but rather to... 'watch over' you."
"Little Koi, think it over carefully."
After saying that, he hung up the phone decisively.
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