Ye Tiancheng hesitated, but he also understood that since the Grand Auction Master had repeatedly revealed the matters of the Fuxi Qin fragments and the Nuwa Stone, he had no choice but to believe him.
No matter what the Grand Auction Master intended to do or what his purpose was, Ye Tiancheng could only follow his lead for now.
Ye Tiancheng's expression was grim. He said to the Grand Auction Master, "If you yourself cannot get out of this place, how do you know that the little fox and I can definitely take you out?"
The Grand Auction Master looked at him and said, "How do I know? I'm not sure you can take me out either."
"But what does it matter? I want to leave, but I can't. So, no matter what method it takes, I will definitely find a way to leave here. And if you want to obtain the Fuxi Qin fragments, you must take me out, unless you don't want the Fuxi Qin fragments anymore."
"So why should I worry about it? The one who should be worried is you. Although I really want to leave, it doesn't matter to me whether I leave or not at the moment. I do want to leave, but I'm not in a hurry. However, I don't know if you are in a hurry to get the Fuxi Qin fragments."
Everything he said was true. No matter what his intentions were, Ye Tiancheng had to take the Fuxi Qin fragments, and the sooner the better, preferably with less wasted time. Ye Tiancheng had no choice.
Thus, Ye Tiancheng could only compromise and say, "Alright, I understand. Since you've agreed to cooperate with us, then you will definitely cooperate with all the plans we propose to take you out, won't you?"
The Grand Auction Master nodded affirmatively and said, "Naturally. As I said, I keep my word and will never go back on it. You can rest assured. I will cooperate with you in whatever you ask me to do."
Ye Tiancheng then said, "In that case, the Grand Auction Master might as well accompany me and the little fox for a while, and we can try to figure out how to take you out of this place?"
He was actually quite unsure. It wasn't that he was worried about the Grand Auction Master not cooperating. After all, whether the Grand Auction Master was sincere or not, since he had put on this act, he wouldn't change his mind so quickly. Even if the Grand Auction Master was lying, there would be no point in revealing his true colors so soon after deceiving them.
Otherwise, the deception from the beginning would have been meaningless. Even if he was just playing games, exposing himself at this stage would ruin the fun.
Therefore, compared to that, Ye Tiancheng was more worried about the analogy the Grand Auction Master used when comparing himself to the Nuwa Stone and the illusion constructed by the Nuwa Stone, to describe his relationship with the current space.
Hence, Ye Tiancheng was even more concerned that if everything the Grand Auction Master said was true, then like the Nuwa Stone, how could he possibly take the Grand Auction Master out of here?
After the three of them finished their tea, Ye Tiancheng proposed to try and take the Grand Auction Master out of this space. The Grand Auction Master readily agreed and followed Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
Before leaving, Ye Tiancheng said, "Since we are traveling together, may I ask how the little fox and I should address the Grand Auction Master?"
"I think it's not good for our group to be too conspicuous outside, as it might attract unwanted attention and hinder our actions. It's better to conceal our tracks a bit, don't you think?"
The Grand Auction Master nodded, but he said, "You have a point, but I don't have a name. What do you want to call me?"
This made Ye Tiancheng fall silent for a moment. How could he address the Grand Auction Master? Did he have to come up with a name for the Grand Auction Master too?
In the long silence, the Grand Auction Master suddenly smiled, "Alright, let's just say I was joking. How about this, from now on, you can just call me Ah Zi, Zi as in purple. How does that sound?"
Ye Tiancheng had no objections to this. On one hand, he was not in the mood to give the Grand Auction Master a name. On the other hand, if he were to give the other party a name and the other party was not satisfied, he wouldn't know what would happen. It was better to let the other party think of it himself.
Since the Grand Auction Master said he would be called Ah Zi from now on, that would be it, even though the name sounded rather casual, as if it were made up on the spot.
However, before leaving, Ye Tiancheng suddenly remembered another important matter. So, he spoke to the Grand Auction Master again, or rather, he should now call him Ah Zi.
Ye Tiancheng said to Ah Zi, "I am forced to take you out of here because I must have the Fuxi Qin fragments."
"But I don't know what kind of person you are. After going out into the world, will you cause any bad effects to the mortal realm? Will you do evil deeds and harm ordinary people?"
"Now that I have no choice, I must take precautions in advance. How can you prove to me that you will absolutely not do any evil deeds or harm anyone after you go out?"
Ah Zi could no longer wear the fox mask because he was about to leave with Ye Tiancheng. In this peculiar market, there was no one who had seen the Grand Auction Master's true appearance. The fox mask was the Grand Auction Master's symbol, and no one else dared to wear a fox mask in the peculiar market and impersonate the Grand Auction Master.
Therefore, if Ah Zi walked with Ye Tiancheng wearing the fox mask, it would be equivalent to announcing it to the world as soon as he appeared. Thus, Ah Zi had already removed his fox mask at this moment, revealing his true face.
Ah Zi heard what Ye Tiancheng said and blinked his eyes. "Why should I prove myself to you? What good would it do even if I did? Even if I can't do it, wouldn't you still have to send me out?"
Ye Tiancheng shook his head, disagreeing with this line of reasoning. He said, "I will collect the Fuxi Qin fragments everywhere, and I want to restore the Fuxi Qin to its complete state because I am doing it for the sake of all living beings, for the greater good. I also cannot let the Fuxi Qin fall into the hands of evil people to harm the world."
"My intention is fundamentally for the good of this world. But if bringing you out would cause more serious consequences, then I would rather keep you here forever, never to leave, and never be able to gather the Fuxi Qin fragments."
"I will always remember why I am doing all this, so I will absolutely not let things go in the wrong direction because of it."
Ah Zi's expression became somewhat complex for a moment, as if he felt a bit of disdain and annoyance. However, he finally cooperated and said to Ye Tiancheng, "Tsk, troublesome. Then what do you want me to do to prove it? You won't believe me if I just say it, will you?"
"Or should I make an oath? If you are willing to trust me because of it, then I can swear however you want me to. I'm just afraid you won't believe me."
This was indeed a difficult situation. Whether to do good or evil was not something that could be proven with mere words; it was very troublesome.
If some form of restraint were used, anything too weak would be ineffective, and capable people would not be easily restrained.
But if the consequences were too severe, such as controlling the other party's life and death, although this would undoubtedly be the most effective and best method, who would be willing to entrust their life to another person unless they were completely subdued and unable to resist? The risk was too great.
Those who could achieve this were either close family or friends, or there was a significant power gap.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng knew that he could not even bring this up. What if the Grand Auction Master had no ill intentions, or perhaps his own goals were more important, and he hadn't planned to do anything, but by bringing this up, he angered the Grand Auction Master, leading to severe consequences in advance? Wouldn't that be even worse?
Ye Tiancheng fell into deep thought. This matter was indeed very difficult to resolve. If the Grand Auction Master had any problems and was an utterly wicked being, then if Ye Tiancheng let him out, he would be fully responsible.
How could Ye Tiancheng dare to gamble the lives of ordinary people in the mortal realm on such a possibility?
Ye Tiancheng was in a dilemma. However, this matter absolutely had to be clarified.
But what Ye Tiancheng did not expect was that while he could not think of a reasonable solution, the Grand Auction Master, Ah Zi, took the initiative to speak, "How about this? I understand your thoughts. This is indeed a very important matter, and I promised to cooperate with you as much as possible to get out of here."
"Therefore, I will give you something. Once you have that item, you can control me. Because that item is related to my life, if you crush it, I will die on the spot, my soul scattered, and my existence wiped out."
What Ah Zi said made both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox look at him in surprise. He was actually willing to hand over such an important item?
If he was truly willing to give it, then it might be a good thing, because it could largely prove that everything Ah Zi said was true, without a single false word.
Ye Tiancheng looked at Ah Zi suspiciously and said to him, "You are actually willing to hand over such an item to us?"
"You must understand what this action means. It is equivalent to handing your life over to us. If we have any malicious intent, you will lose your life because of it."
Ah Zi raised his eyebrows and said nonchalantly, "Of course I know. My brain isn't faulty, I'm not an idiot."
"Of course I can give you the item. Firstly, I have spoken my word and will keep my promise to cooperate with you. Since you have such concerns, I should cooperate with you to resolve this issue."
"Secondly, such an important item cannot be given away just like that. I can give it to you, but I have conditions."
"We should have a back-and-forth discussion and negotiate to reach a result that satisfies all three of us."
Ye Tiancheng had a vague feeling that this Grand Auction Master seemed to care particularly about the little fox, and intentionally or unintentionally, he would always involve the little fox. Even in the Grand Auction Master's eyes, although the little fox was with Ye Tiancheng and should be on the same side, as if they were a single entity, the Grand Auction Master saw the three of them as three separate parties, with the little fox being an independent party.
Ye Tiancheng thought this way not because he overlooked the little fox's thoughts or didn't consider the little fox an independent person. He was only thinking about the issue of stance. The little fox should naturally be on the same side as him, and he and the little fox could be considered as one.
In this situation, it seemed strange that the Grand Auction Master had singled out the little fox.
Although Ye Tiancheng would not doubt the little fox because of this, and the trust between them was not at that level, it still made Ye Tiancheng unable to ignore what the Grand Auction Master said.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng finally said, "You are right. Such an important matter should be discussed and negotiated. Then, tell us what you have in mind."