Chapter 2771: Silence

Ye Chen did not know that the moment he was sent to Lin Wan'er by the ring, he had already unconsciously destroyed this girl's chastity.

For a girl born in the Ming Dynasty, if she had been seen by a man, or had such intimate actions with a man, basically, apart from marrying him, there was only the path of proving her integrity with death.

Therefore, Ye Chen didn't know at all that Lin Wan'er had already decided in her heart that she would marry no one but him in this life.

Moreover, he didn't know at all that Lin Wan'er, who had lived through both the Ming and Qing dynasties, had a marriage view that was the exact opposite of today's.

In Lin Wan'er's worldview, it was a perfectly normal thing for a man to have three wives and four concubines. She could fully accept marrying Ye Chen as a concubine and using the title of "sister" to respectfully address Xiao Churan.

Ye Chen, who had just relaxed, felt an unprecedented sense of exhaustion sweep over his body and mind.

Although his cultivation had been restored and the spiritual energy in his body was full, he still felt incomparably tired, so tired that he didn't even want to open his eyes.

Therefore, he tore up the letter he had left for Xiao Churan and prepared to rest well at home for the afternoon before going to the half-mountain villa at Champs-Élysées to formally meet his grandfather and grandmother at dusk.

When he lay on the bed, although his exhausted body was temporarily relieved, his brain was still running at high speed like an overloaded engine.

Everything that happened last night flashed through his mind like a slide show.

When he recalled the moment before he was on the verge of death, he still clearly remembered the deep unwillingness in his heart at that time.

Fortunately, the ring Lin Wan'er had given him saved his life at the critical moment.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel grateful to this ring.

He couldn't help but take the ring in his hand, close his eyes, and quietly feel its smooth and warm touch.

In the past, Ye Chen once thought this ring was the biggest scam he had ever encountered, sucking his spiritual energy dry several times—even more hateful than a telecom scammer.

But who could have thought that this ring had been protecting him in the dark, and the spiritual energy it had sucked from him was actually the power pre-stored to save his life at the critical moment.

If it hadn't been for the spiritual energy being sucked away time and time again, the ring would never have been able to bring him to Lin Wan'er at the critical moment.

Therefore, Ye Chen took out two Cultivation Pills and continued to pour the surging spiritual energy in his body into the ring continuously.

And this ring, which had been silent for a day, suddenly absorbed all the spiritual energy Ye Chen injected into it greedily, like parched earth.

When the spiritual energy in Ye Chen's body was almost completely swallowed by it, Ye Chen hurriedly swallowed the two prepared Cultivation Pills.

This time, he didn't spare his spiritual energy, only thinking about feeding the ring first.

Several hours later.

After the three great elders returned to Buenos Aires on the Boeing 777, they transferred to a seaplane and finally returned to the Routhless Society's station.

On the way back, all three felt somewhat dejected and dissatisfied.

Originally, they were only one step away from breaking through their Niwan Palaces when their seclusion was suddenly interrupted, which had already made them somewhat dissatisfied.

They had thought they were executing an important mission and would receive more rewards upon success, but unexpectedly, after being taken for a spin at an altitude of ten thousand meters by Wu Tianlin, they did nothing and were brought back.

Wu Feiyan's state of mind at this time was even more broken than the three great elders.

Over the past few hours, she had been unable to stop her wild thoughts.

At one moment, she even wanted to go to Jin Ling herself to see who on earth had brought out this painting to warn her from afar.

However, this thought only existed in her mind for a moment before being completely denied by her.

Her cautious personality destined her not to take risks.

The most adventurous thing she had done in her life was to kill Lin Zhulu after he rejected her.

And that time, it was her catching Lin Zhulu off guard from behind.

But this time, a mysterious person was hiding behind her, and how could she dare to expose herself to the other party's field of vision?

Therefore, she could only keep her distance.

Wu Tianlin temporarily settled the three elders in the secret meeting hall and then hurriedly requested an audience with Wu Feiyan.

After meeting, he couldn't wait to ask Wu Feiyan, "Lord, why were you in such a hurry to have me return? Was there some sudden event?"

Wu Feiyan's expression was extremely gloomy as she said coldly, "My identity has been exposed."

"What?!" Wu Tianlin asked in horror, "Lord... you haven't left here for twenty years. Who could have leaked your identity? Could it be Count Dingyuan?!"

Wu Feiyan shook her head, "Whether it's her or not doesn't matter. What matters is that that person not only knows my identity but also knows my master, and most importantly, he also knows my master!"

"Ah?!" Wu Tianlin took a step back and exclaimed, "Lord... hasn't your master passed away for over three hundred years? How can there still be someone in this world who knows him?!"

Wu Feiyan handed the short video to Wu Tianlin and said coldly, "See for yourself."

Wu Tianlin respectfully took the phone and watched the video carefully, asking in shock, "Lord, is... is the old man in this painting really your master?"

"Yes." Wu Feiyan nodded, "The person in the painting is my master, Meng Changsheng. The person who painted it captured at least ninety percent of his charm."

As she spoke, Wu Feiyan added, "I speculate that the other party likely knew my master earlier than I did. And this painting was painted in the Tang Dynasty. It's possible that the other party, or the other party's ancestors, already knew my master in the Tang Dynasty!"

"Tang Dynasty..." Wu Tianlin widened his eyes and muttered, "Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming... The time span between these is over a thousand years. If the other party really knew your master back then, I fear he is already over a thousand years old. If the other party's ancestors knew your master, it proves that the other party is a hermit family that has been passed down for over a thousand years..."

Wu Feiyan nodded with a solemn expression, "Now that the other party already knows my information, no matter which one you say it is, it's not optimistic for me."

As she spoke, Wu Feiyan added, "What I can't understand even more is why he wants to protect the An family. What virtue or ability does the mere An family have?"

Wu Tianlin exclaimed, "Could this person be related to An Chengxi and Ye Changying?!"

Wu Feiyan gritted her teeth, "How is that possible! If he were related to An Chengxi and Ye Changying, he wouldn't have sat idly by twenty years ago when Count Changsheng took action against the couple!"

"This..." Wu Tianlin frowned, "The Lord's words also make sense... Your servant always feels this matter is very strange. There are countless possibilities, but each one seems to have some points that don't make sense..."

Thinking of this, Wu Tianlin lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then looked at Wu Feiyan and asked, "Lord, your servant feels, could there be another possibility?"

Wu Feiyan said, "Speak!"

Wu Tianlin hurriedly said, "Lord, your servant feels that the other party might not really have any relationship with your master. It's also possible that he just happened to obtain that painting and happened to learn your identity information from Count Dingyuan or Lin Wan'er, knowing you are Meng Changsheng's disciple, so he deliberately used this painting to scare you! Think about it, if the other party really had heaven-defying strength, why would he bother to bring out this painting? It would be better to just wait for a rabbit in Jin Ling."

Wu Feiyan frowned and asked, "You mean, the other party is just bluffing and playing an 'Empty Fort Strategy' with me?"

"Yes!" Wu Tianlin said without hesitation, "Your servant feels this is not an impossible possibility."

Wu Feiyan nodded and said coldly, "It's not that I haven't suspected what you said. However, I have no way to verify this point. If I really want to verify it, I would have to let the three great elders go. But if the three great elders also fail in Jin Ling, not only will the Routhless Society suffer heavy losses, but it might even completely enrage the other party."

Wu Tianlin thought for a moment and asked, "Lord, could we send one elder to Jin Ling first to test the waters?"

"One?" Wu Feiyan shook her head, "Although I don't know how strong that person is, since Count Changsheng's self-detonation couldn't kill him, it proves that his strength is definitely above any one of the three great elders. Sending one elder over is no different from sending him to his death. If the other party's strength is even stronger than mine, the result of sending three over will be the same."

As she spoke, Wu Feiyan added, "And have you thought about this? The other party might not be using my master's portrait to scare me; they might be using it to provoke me. If this isn't a 'strategy of the empty city' but a 'goading tactic,' then his ultimate goal, I fear, is to lure me out!"

Wu Tianlin said in horror, "You are right... Empty Fort Strategy and provocation look almost the same on the surface, but the results they lead to could be life and death... The other party has already clashed with us several times in the dark and has had the upper hand every time. Now it's very likely he wants to force you to appear..."

Wu Feiyan nodded and said, "And, this person is very similar to me in one point."

Wu Tianlin hurriedly asked, "Lord, which point are you talking about?"

Wu Feiyan said, "This person is not only a cultivator but also exceptionally skilled in the use of firearms!"

As she spoke, Wu Feiyan added, "I am the one who understands the characteristics of martial artists and cultivators, which is why I let you use modern weapons to train the Dead Soldiers and Cavalry Guards;"

"The Dead Soldiers we trained can slaughter ordinary martial arts experts like cutting melons and vegetables. Those martial arts experts are nothing but unranked rabble in front of dense bullets;"

"And this person is even better than me! He actually thought of using close-in defense guns to slaughter cultivators! This person's methods are truly ruthless!"

Wu Tianlin recalled the end of Count Jian'gong, Ou Bojun, being blown into DNA by close-in defense guns, and couldn't help but shiver, unable to help but say, "We found out last time that three people from the Blackwater Company bought three close-in defense guns from the black market in Eastern Europe, which are the same model as the one that killed Count Jian'gong;"

"However, Count Zhongyong has been investigating the Blackwater Company, but hasn't found any special situation. He has already secretly kidnapped several Blackwater executives and tortured them, but hasn't asked for any clues;"

"In the past few days, because several high-ranking officials of the Blackwater Company have died strangely, they have announced a suspension of sending troops overseas. Your servant speculates that Count Jian'gong's death might have been someone deliberately framing the Blackwater Company."

Wu Feiyan gave a hum and said, "Notify Count Zhongyong to stop investigating the Blackwater Company. In addition, notify the Five Military Governor's Offices to stop all external actions from now on. The entire society will remain silent for three months!"

Wu Tianlin said without hesitation, "Yes, Lord, your servant will notify them!"

Wu Feiyan added, "By the way, notify the flight crew to prepare. I am going to Myanmar tomorrow."

Wu Tianlin exclaimed, "Lord, your servant dares to ask, why are you leaving the station at such a critical moment?"

Wu Feiyan glared at him with murderous eyes and scolded coldly, "Bastard! Is this something you should ask?" ===== CHAPTER 2772 =====