Chapter 7: I said it was a gift from Xiao Qidi—do you believe me?

After He Kai snatched the jade disc, he immediately drove off.

Although Ning Hai never explicitly told him anything.

But he was smart, could guess his future father-in-law's thoughts, so he took care of the matter.

Even a small dragon-pattern jade pendant from Xuan Guo sold for 47 million.

Now this palm-sized jade ring is obviously worth even more.

"Should I auction it domestically or go abroad..."

He Kai muttered while driving.

"Going abroad should fetch a higher price; those wealthy foreigners are more willing to spend money on our country's antiques."

"Hmm, that's settled then."

"This time I've done another nice job for Ning Hai, and I can also help him keep the remaining antiques underground at his factory—surely he ought to let me marry his daughter now?"

Thinking about this, He Kai felt depressed.

He pulled out all the stops to curry favor and help, but all he got was Ning Hai's permission for his daughter to get engaged to him.

As for marriage, not a word was mentioned.

Suddenly his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

He glanced at it—it was an unknown number.

He answered casually, and a stern voice came through the Bluetooth earpiece: "Are you He Kai?"

He Kai frowned, "Who are you?"

The other party said, "This is the Star River Police Bureau, you're suspected of—"

He Kai immediately interrupted, "Is this a scam call? Your competence is lacking—do you not know I'm a lawyer even though you have my phone number?"

"He Kai, we solemnly remind you..."

"Get lost! If you call again I'll sue you to death!"

He hung up, pulling a smug smile at the corner of his mouth.

Hearing the word "suspected," he judged the caller to be a scammer.

As a senior private lawyer running his own firm, would he not know whether he'd broken the law?

At most he often exploits loopholes, like the Ning family inheritance matter.

Very underhanded, yet watertight.

He handles such business with ease, never leaving any evidence.

Less than two seconds later, another call came in.

"Hello?"

"He Kai, we are the Star River Special Police Headquarters—"

"Oh? Impersonating special police again? Buddy, you've got guts!"

He mocked them, then hung up again.

The calls kept coming.

Annoyed, he simply powered off.

He then turned the car audio up to max and set the car navigation destination to Wu Sanye's antique shop.

First find a knowledgeable acquaintance to appraise it; only after knowing its value would it be good to send overseas for auction.

Over half an hour later.

Ning Hai drove to the entrance of Star River Hospital.

Along the way he called He Kai, but the latter had already shut off his phone.

However, Ning Hai didn't think much of it.

After all, He Kai always spares no effort in handling affairs for the Ning family in order to marry Ning Yao.

He would surely sell that jade disc for the best price, then just wait to collect the money.

From now on, any antiques unearthed from the factory underground would also be handled by him.

"Strange, why are there so many cars blocking the entrance?"

Ning Hai muttered, preparing to find another place to park.

Just as he was about to turn around, several men surrounded him, gesturing for him to get out.

"What the hell!" Ning Hai impatiently killed the engine and opened the car door.

Click—

A cold pair of handcuffs was clamped onto his wrist.

His face changed drastically, "What are you doing! Who are you!"

The leader produced identification, while the others searched him and his luxury private car.

He realized these were plainclothes law enforcement officers.

It looks like Ning Jinli called the police!

Ning Hai snorted coldly, calming down.

"No matter what, that factory land belongs to the Ning family; for Ning Jinli to do this is simply overturning the natural order!"

"Where is the item?" the plainclothes officer asked.

Ning Hai replied, "I don't know what you're talking about; please discuss it with my lawyer."

"He Kai, right? Once we catch him we'll talk to him—you come with us for now."

They shoved Ning Hai into the vehicle.

Inside the factory, the specialist team that had been scheduled to come retrieve the Canglan jade disc had already arrived.

"Miss Ning, we, on behalf of senior officials, thank you," everyone shook hands with her one by one.

"We are already aware of the incident of the Azure Mist Jade Disc being stolen."

"Please rest assured, Miss Ning, the relevant personnel are working tirelessly and will certainly retrieve the national treasure."

The leader was calm and amiable, and a few words relaxed Ning Jinli considerably.

Then he introduced, "These individuals are senior experts from the national cultural heritage department, all former students of Mr. Zheng Lao; they would like to learn some details from you."

The senior experts, all in their fifties or sixties, smiled and nodded respectfully to Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli politely nodded in response, "May I ask… what would you like to know?"

"Miss Ning, how did you obtain the Azure Mist Jade Disc?" the oldest expert asked.

"It is of great significance to related research; the more detailed you are, the better."

"Perhaps we can get crucial clues from you to help us trace the origins of the Azure Mist Jade Disc's disappearance over two thousand years, and corroborate many related historical events!"

"Miss Ning, we beg you!"

Including him, everyone's eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.

Ning Jinli's expression stiffened slightly.

Oh no, it's over…

How should I answer this?

She knew that every clue about a relic is immensely valuable to those who work with cultural artifacts.

She also wanted to help.

But…

How should I put it?

Claim it's an ancestral heirloom or a parents' relic?

No, no.

Any false or erroneous information could ruin a researcher's lifelong effort in an instant.

Then, should I just tell them the truth?

No matter how I think, this is the only option.

Ning Jinli silently made up her mind, "Everyone, please follow me."

She led them to the main entrance of the small warehouse.

Even if they couldn't see the back door that connects two time periods, she could demonstrate it in person; showing it physically is far more convincing than merely describing it.

Since water was continuously being sent to Xiao Qidi's side, both the front and back doors of the small warehouse were open, so the experts were about to see the miraculous sight of the water pipe extending to the doorway and then disappearing.

She hurried inside, about to formulate her words to explain to the experts.

But she suddenly noticed that the semi‑transparent fluorescent vortex that had filled the entire back‑door frame had vanished.

Moreover, the pipe that delivered water there was also broken.

It happened to be broken right at the back door.

As if something had sliced it cleanly.

The water splashed wildly onto the overgrown ground outside the door; after an unknown amount of time, the area became a water‑logged, muddy mess.

Ning Jinli froze for a moment, then rushed over, hopping back and forth inside and outside the back door.

The others watched, bewildered and puzzled.

"Miss Ning, what are you doing?"

"I…"

Ning Jinli felt utterly disheartened.

After testing, she found that the Spacetime Portal… was gone.

"If I said… it was given to me by Xiao Qidi, would you believe me?"

She forced out an awkward smile.

The experts looked at each other in bewilderment.

The older expert laughed, "You can't possibly be talking about the Xuan Ancestor Emperor, can you?"

Ning Jinli blurted out, "No, no, no—he is currently the ruler of Xuan Guo and has not yet become the Xuan Ancestor Emperor."

All the experts wore expressions that were hard to put into words, each one on the verge of speaking but holding back.

This young girl seemed perfectly normal, why did she suddenly start spouting nonsense?