Hou Mingzhu curiously asked, "Discuss with the owner of that space? Have you already contacted them directly?"
"Hearing you say that, the owner of that space should be a good person, not as bad as you guys worried, which is why it's possible to negotiate, right?"
This made Ye Tiancheng want to sigh. "It's hard to say. At least, his attitude is friendly right now. Not only do we need something from him to get the Fuxi Qin fragment, but he also needs something from us."
As for whether to link Azhi's identity with that of the Great Master, Ye Tiancheng felt it was best to conceal it if possible, to avoid complicating matters.
To prevent Hou Mingzhu and the others from overthinking, Azhi should ideally be a simple human, and also the elder brother of the little fox.
Therefore, this matter required him to first discuss it with the little fox. Once the little fox agreed, he could then discuss it with Azhi. Ye Tiancheng actually had some guesses, which made him believe Azhi wouldn't refuse his proposal. Thus, Ye Tiancheng hadn't considered the possibility of Azhi refusing, as the probability was less than ten percent.
Furthermore, even if Azhi might refuse, that wasn't the primary condition to consider. The most important thing was that the little fox must have no objections. Ye Tiancheng had to respect the little fox's wishes. If the little fox was unwilling, then whether Azhi refused or not would be irrelevant.
So, Ye Tiancheng paused. At this point, he didn't continue speaking, nor did he bring up Azhi's matter immediately. This matter still needed to be discussed with the little fox first.
Hou Mingzhu nodded thoughtfully, but she knew that Ye Tiancheng was very concerned about her and Ye Qingcheng's safety and wouldn't let them take any risks. Therefore, if they went, they would definitely be safe. Otherwise, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have even mentioned it. Hou Mingzhu didn't pry further.
"That's good then. Mutual benefit is also a strong relationship. If you can guarantee safety, that's great. If there's an opportunity, you can take me and our daughter for a visit. Such opportunities are rare and hard to come by. If we don't see it this time, we might never have the chance again in our lives."
Hearing Hou Mingzhu say this, Ye Tiancheng felt it was indeed the case. By then, they would have brought Azhi out, and who knew if that space could still exist.
Perhaps the mysterious market, which had developed for so long, would disappear because of it. If Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng weren't allowed to see it now, they might truly never have the chance again.
"You're right. Since there are conditions and you want to see it, there's no harm in going."
After they agreed, Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng had some snacks to fill their stomachs and then went for a walk outside. It wasn't until Nuwa Stone notified them that the old house had been repaired that Ye Tiancheng brought everyone back, and it was also time to prepare the belated lunch.
Although it was a bit late and awkward in terms of time, dinner today could be pushed back slightly, and it wouldn't affect the normal meal schedule for the next day.
Ye Tiancheng asked Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng, "What did you two want to eat before you blew up the kitchen? I remember Qingcheng wanted to eat baked cake, right? What else? What were you originally planning to make?"
Hou Mingzhu said, "We wanted to eat Western food – grilled steak, pasta, baked pizza, and desserts like egg tarts... we wanted to make quite a few things and experiment to see which ones we could make. But the final result, well, as it stands, none of them were successful."
Ye Tiancheng chuckled, "That sounds very high in calories. Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
He said this not to mock Hou Mingzhu for getting fat, but because Ye Tiancheng knew that women generally cared about their figures, hence his remark.
Hou Mingzhu said, "It's been a long time since I've eaten them, and eating them once in a while is fine. Since coming here, our activity level has also increased a lot compared to before. Eating like this once won't hurt."
Ye Tiancheng nodded and thought for a moment before saying, "I understand. I'll make these today then."
After Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he went into the kitchen to prepare delicious food for Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng. They were left in the old house and hadn't eaten anything delicious for a long time. Ye Tiancheng also wanted to fulfill their wishes.
The family's conditions were originally good. It was only because they followed him here that things they could easily eat at any time became rare. He had to satisfy their needs.
As Ye Tiancheng had said before, he himself believed that normal desires were not being willful. He would not ignore their reasonable requests.
Considering their appetites, Ye Tiancheng didn't make too much. He made a little of each dish so that everyone could eat what they wanted without waste, and they wouldn't have leftovers for the next meal.
For example, for steak, half a portion per person was enough. The high-quality steak was pan-fried in melted butter until the surface turned a golden brown, smelling very fragrant.
Since they were eating other things, the pasta was also a small portion, topped with red tomato meat sauce. And for the pizza that Hou Mingzhu mentioned, they could make it with multiple toppings, so they wouldn't just have one flavor. Ye Tiancheng even baked half a durian.
Egg tarts and baked cakes, among other things, required longer preparation times. Pizzas also couldn't be made quickly, but there were ready-made pizza bases in the refrigerator, which saved a lot of time.
And considering the possibility of not finishing everything, Ye Tiancheng decided to leave the dishes that required longer preparation for the afternoon. This way, Hou Mingzhu and the others could also have an afternoon tea. Baked cakes, which Ye Qingcheng wanted, were also not suitable to be eaten during a main meal.
After Ye Tiancheng finished cooking, he called them over to serve everything.
Finally, because Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng hadn't eaten such delicious food for a long time, and Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had been in a mysterious market that was mainly a gathering place for evil spirits, they too hadn't eaten normal hot food for a long time.
Therefore, after the meal, everyone was very appreciative and completed the "clean plate" challenge. Nothing was left after the meal, only empty plates, cleaner than if they had been washed.
Of course, this was an exaggeration, though not by much.
In the afternoon, the main task was to have the little fox research materials, as the little fox was primarily studying these things and knew better where to find the information.
Ye Tiancheng, on the other hand, primarily focused on taking care of Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng, as they had truly been wronged during this period.
Ye Tiancheng made various Western-style small desserts for them, enough for about two to three days. Ye Tiancheng baked a berry cake for Ye Qingcheng. Their previously made berry jam was ready, and fresh berries could be picked, making them perfect for cakes. Coincidentally, Ye Qingcheng and Hou Mingzhu both liked them very much.
After eating the berry cake, Ye Qingcheng even requested to have berries for breakfast the next morning. Ye Tiancheng, doting on his daughter, agreed to this request.
Finally, it was Hou Mingzhu who remembered that Ye Tiancheng had returned to find solutions to problems and had important matters to attend to. He couldn't always delay his time for her and their daughter, nor could he let the little fox work alone. When she had gone to deliver desserts to the little fox earlier, she had seen the little fox engrossed in researching materials in the study, oblivious to everything else.
Therefore, Hou Mingzhu urged Ye Tiancheng to get back to his important tasks. Ye Qingcheng was also very understanding of Ye Tiancheng. Although she missed her father and wanted Ye Tiancheng to spend more time with her, she didn't act spoiled or throw a tantrum, knowing that her father had important things to do and didn't raise any objections.
Ye Tiancheng felt extremely guilty and grateful, but in the end, he just hugged his wife and daughter, said nothing more, and went to attend to his business.
No amount of sweet talk could compare to taking action. Doing more was better than saying more. The sooner he solved the problem, the sooner he could truly live a peaceful and normal life with his wife and daughter.
After Ye Tiancheng went to the study, his main task was not to assist the little fox in finding information, but to inquire with Nuwa Stone about Azhi's situation, whether there were any commonalities with Nuwa Stone, and if there were any ways to break through it.
Upon arriving at the study, Ye Tiancheng saw the little fox flipping through books in front of the bookshelf. Hearing Ye Tiancheng's approach, the little fox looked up and said, "Big brother, why are you up here so soon? Shouldn't you spend more time with sister-in-law and little niece?"
Ye Tiancheng sighed and said, "Don't you know them? They definitely want me to prioritize important matters, so they told me to do that first. I also think that only by finding solutions can I truly have the opportunity to spend quality time with them. Being soft-hearted and procrastinating now is of no help at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen this path."
The little fox didn't offer any words of comfort to Ye Tiancheng because the little fox knew that Ye Tiancheng was very clear about those things and didn't need him to persuade him. Ye Tiancheng was also a person of strong will.
The only thing the little fox could do for Ye Tiancheng was to stay by his side, assist him from the sidelines, and help Ye Tiancheng achieve his goals and wishes as soon as possible.
This was also the meaning of the little fox staying by his side. Otherwise, even if he could be with Ye Tiancheng without being separated, if he couldn't do anything useful for Ye Tiancheng and only dragged Ye Tiancheng down or caused trouble for him, then the little fox would have no face to stay by Ye Tiancheng's side.
After this topic was temporarily concluded, Ye Tiancheng walked to the little fox's side and asked, "How is it? Have you found any valuable information?"
The little fox thought seriously and then shook his head, "Nothing particularly valuable. It's not that I haven't found anything, but rather that I can't form a useful train of thought yet. It's just some fragmented ideas, and they can't really help much."
Ye Tiancheng patted the little fox's shoulder and said, "It's okay, don't rush. Things don't happen overnight. If this problem were so easy to solve, Azhi would have solved it himself long ago and wouldn't have waited until we met him now. Or rather, if we met him, it wouldn't be in this situation."
"But I think it shouldn't be that difficult to solve. Because Azhi hasn't been able to come out for thousands of years, I think a large part of the reason is that he hasn't been very proactive in exploring ways to leave. Otherwise, his progress wouldn't be so slow."
"At least the conclusions he has been able to draw are not things that would take thousands of years to figure out."
"I suspect that a large part of the reason why he has become like this and hasn't been able to get out for so many years is also because he has imprisoned himself."
The little fox was silent for a moment upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's words. He knew that what Ye Tiancheng was saying likely had something to do with that child who might or might not have lived up to Azhi's trust. Perhaps it was because of that child that Azhi wasn't actively trying to leave.