Volume One, Chapter 25: Time for Some Excitement

"But... this." Sun Yingxiong felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if his heart were bleeding. Fifteen hundred million slashed down to five hundred million—how was this a discount? This was daylight robbery! He knew perfectly well that the Ye family could easily offer more than five hundred million; this was clearly nothing but bullying backed by power.

"Young Master Ye, let’s go by the proper process," Sun Yingxiong pleaded inwardly, hoping Ye Qingming would abide by the rules. After all, he hoped to rely on this artifact for his retirement.

Ye Qingming nodded lightly, and Sun Yingxiong finally breathed a sigh of relief. But in the very next moment, that breath nearly knocked him out.

"Go ahead, let’s see who dares to offer more than me," said Ye Qingming.

At his words, the eager crowd instantly wilted like frostbitten eggplants. Everyone immediately understood the implication: anyone who dared to bid was setting themselves against the Ye family. In Qing City, the Ye family was a first-rate clan. These minor families, even if they couldn’t curry favor with the Ye family, couldn’t afford to offend them either. If the Ye family so much as lifted a finger, these obscure clans would vanish from Qing City overnight.

Would any of them dare to bet on the Ye family not seeking revenge? They wouldn’t. No one would.

Everyone present knew it—Ye Qingming, Sun Yingxiong, all of them.

A deathly silence filled the hall; Sun Yingxiong’s hopes plunged to the bottom.

Ye Qingming stepped onto the stage and bent slightly. Sun Yingxiong’s face was already frozen stiff.

"Old Sun, look, it’s not my fault. No one’s raising the bid. You can’t blame me for that," Ye Qingming said, his arrogance unrestrained. His hand caressed the glass case, his face radiating undisguised triumph.

"If you’re not buying, get off the stage. I’ll offer six hundred million," Jiang Chen’s sudden voice cut through the silence, instantly drawing all eyes to him.

Different gazes landed on Jiang Chen—perplexed, puzzled, some admiring, but most looked at him as if he was already a dead man.

Ning Rou clutched his arm and whispered, "Are you crazy? That’s Ye Qingming—why provoke him?"

As a native daughter of a Qing City family, Ning Rou had been told from childhood that of all people, the Ye family was never to be crossed. At first, she hadn’t understood, but as she grew up, she realized just how powerful the Ye family was. From then on, even if the Ye family provoked them, they could only silently endure. Even her marriage was tainted by their threats.

Jiang Chen took her cold little hand in his own. "Don’t worry. It’ll be fine."

Ning Rou was in a daze, her mind racing for ways to resolve this, to persuade Ye Qingming to forget about Jiang Chen. Even if Jiang Chen could come up with the money, she doubted an outsider could outmatch the local overlord.

Ye Qingming turned to look at Jiang Chen. "You want to raise the bid?"

Jiang Chen spread his hands. "What else?"

Ye Qingming no longer bothered to hide his intentions. "You’re competing with me? With something I set my sights on?"

Jiang Chen looked at him strangely, half-suspecting the man was mad, and deliberately repeated, "So what if you did?"

Ye Qingming pinched his brow. "Fine, I’ll remember you. Since you’re bidding, I’ll offer seven hundred million. Care to follow?"

"Eight hundred million," Jiang Chen replied.

Ye Qingming clenched his fists, his dignity deeply challenged. In Qing City, aside from his brother and father, no one had ever spoken to him like this—especially in that tone.

"One billion! Let’s see how much you really have!" Ye Qingming pressed on.

Jiang Chen ignored him and continued, "One point three billion."

Ye Qingming’s father had only given him one billion for this auction, to broaden his horizons. He never expected to meet such a reckless fool—one who not only didn’t fear him, but also dared to snatch what he wanted.

Seeing Ye Qingming fall silent, Jiang Chen said, "Young Master Ye, will you raise your bid? If not, the item is mine."

Ye Qingming could no longer contain himself. "Kid, you’re bold. I’ll remember you. Let’s see if you get to see the sun rise tomorrow."

Jiang Chen glanced at his phone. "It’s going to be cloudy tomorrow—there’ll be no sunrise. Are you hoping to see the dawn, Young Master Ye?"

Ye Qingming restrained himself, but it was obvious to everyone that his breathing was already ragged with rage.

The onlookers silently pronounced Jiang Chen’s death sentence in their hearts. To offend Ye Qingming—there’d likely be a nameless corpse on the streets by morning.

Ye Qingming waved a hand and strode out, but as he left, his eyes locked onto Jiang Chen, as if to devour him.

Ning Rou watched everything unfold, her heart clenched with worry—not just her, but Su Yike and Jiang Ning as well. They all broke out in a cold sweat for Jiang Chen.

Sun Yingxiong, meanwhile, finally relaxed. Though he’d lost two hundred million, at least he hadn’t offended Ye Qingming. Ye Qingming’s fury was now directed at Jiang Chen instead, which suited him perfectly. The banquet had been a success, he’d avoided a feud with Ye Qingming, and he’d secured his position in Qing City once and for all.

With Ye Qingming gone, the atmosphere of the banquet hall plummeted to freezing. Sun Yingxiong announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s event is drawing to a close. I’ll arrange for everyone to leave in an orderly fashion. Thank you for your support."

The banquet ended abruptly. Although Ye Qingming’s departure was because of Jiang Chen, no one present wasn’t secretly relieved they hadn’t joined the bidding. To have drawn Ye Qingming’s ire would have been disastrous.

Sun Yingxiong informed Jiang Chen that the item would be delivered to his car, then hurried off, leaving only Jiang Chen, Su Yike, Ning Rou, and Jiang Ning in the hall.

Su Yike said solemnly, "Rest assured, Little Celestial Master, I’ll go tell my father right away. No matter what, our family can at least protect your life."

Jiang Ning knew Jiang Chen was a good man—a truly, truly good man. With red-rimmed eyes and a choked voice, she said, "I’ll go talk to my dad too. Wait for me!"

Su Yike and Jiang Ning hastily left. Despite both wearing dresses, each hurried faster than the other. They knew time was of the essence—the longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it became for Jiang Chen.

Ning Rou calmed herself. "Don’t you know even our family doesn’t dare provoke Ye Qingming?"

Of course Jiang Chen knew. But after all these years, he had always been the one to bully others—never the bullied, and certainly not those close to him.

"You must feel wronged," Jiang Chen said gently, his voice warm and magnetic.

Ning Rou shook her head. "I’m fine. But you must leave the city immediately. You can’t stay in Qing City any longer—go as far as you can and don’t come back. Remember, you must hide your identity. I’ll handle everything here."

Jiang Chen ruffled her lustrous hair, but instead of answering, he spoke to himself, "Qing City has been too quiet for too long. It’s time to stir things up—s