Mrs. Liu insisted on staying by her husband's side, hoping to share his hardships.
Seeing the couple like this, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but think of Hou Mingzhu, sighing inwardly. He then said, "Since Mrs. Liu wishes to stay, Mr. Qian, you needn't force her. Although your concern for your wife is evident, Mrs. Liu surely wouldn't wish to abandon you at such a crucial moment."
"Once Qian Liye returns with paper and brush, everything will be fine. This short period won't have too significant an impact on Mrs. Liu. At most, I'll have my younger brother help remove some of the Yin energy from Mrs. Liu, which isn't a difficult task."
"If she wants to stay, then agree to it."
Qian Zhongming looked at his wife and, after a sigh, finally said no more.
Ye Tiancheng stopped the couple. The little fox, after observing them, remembered an important matter that needed to be brought to their attention.
The little fox said to Qian Zhongming, "There's another matter I need to make clear to you. To completely resolve this, you must take this seriously. Otherwise, we can save you once or twice, but we can't follow you around forever to solve all your problems, can we?"
Hearing the little fox speak like this, Qian Zhongming immediately became serious.
"Mr. Ye, please tell me."
The little fox said, "As I mentioned before, the reason you've attracted these things is that someone deliberately left a mark on you. This mark attracts these non-human entities to stay by your side, which is why you've encountered these troubles."
"Moreover, I must clarify that the mark on you was absolutely left by a person, not something you accidentally attracted yourself, and then the non-human entities marked you."
"Therefore, you'd best think carefully about who you've offended in your daily life, who harbors such deep animosity towards you that they would resort to such unscrupulous means to harm you."
The little fox paused, feeling the need to make Qian Zhongming understand the gravity of the situation.
He said to Qian Zhongming, "To be honest, the marks left on you are not just one. After the marks fade, new ones are added. In fact, quite a few marks have been left at different times, which can be judged by the depth of the marks on your body."
"It's just that these marks haven't attracted very powerful entities. It's likely because there are no powerful beings nearby, or perhaps some powerful beings don't wish to harm people, like those in the building you live in. They don't harm people, which is why you're still alive."
"This is a deliberate attempt to ensure your death. You must find this person."
"Otherwise, even if we remove the marks and Yin energy for you now, and you are safe, once we leave, if you encounter that person again and they leave marks, you might not be so lucky every time."
Both Mr. and Mrs. Qian were filled with anger and indignation.
Mrs. Liu exclaimed angrily, "Who on earth is it that is so intent on harming my husband's life? My husband is honest and upright, he never seeks trouble, and he is kind to everyone. How could he deserve such malicious harm?!"
The little fox shrugged and said, "That, I'm afraid, is something only that person and Mr. Qian can know."
Qian Zhongming understood the seriousness of the situation.
He frowned, trying hard to recall how he could have offended such a person. However, if such a deep-seated threat wasn't dealt with promptly, how could he ever find peace?
Ye Tiancheng reminded Qian Zhongming, "If you really can't think of anyone, then it's best to minimize contact with outsiders and avoid them as much as possible. It's basically confirmed that you can report this to the Special Operations Team. They should be able to handle this matter and not allow anyone to use such methods to harm lives."
"Once the Special Operations Team identifies the person, unlike reporting a case as you have now, they can apprehend them immediately. Once the person is apprehended and it's confirmed you weren't mistaken, and the person is dealt with, you can naturally go out with peace of mind."
Qian Zhongming took Ye Tiancheng's advice and thanked him.
Qian Liye's trip took quite some time, and he finally returned about two hours later.
When Mrs. Liu heard someone knocking, she went to open the door. Seeing that it was indeed Qian Liye, she opened the door fully.
However, Qian Liye was not alone when he returned.
Mrs. Liu was clearly surprised by the tall, burly men behind Qian Liye.
She wasn't afraid that these people were criminals, as she recognized their uniforms. Mrs. Liu had seen them before; they were from the Special Operations Team, likely from the Haicheng branch.
Mrs. Liu quickly asked Qian Liye, "...Who are these?"
Mrs. Liu wondered if the people from the Haicheng branch, whom they had reported their case to earlier, had finally arrived to solve their problem at this critical juncture.
But they had already invited Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
However, Mrs. Liu found it strange, feeling that things might not be that simple.
Before people from the Special Operations Team arrived, they would surely notify them. But they didn't seem to have received any news from the Special Operations Team.
Qian Liye was also quite bewildered.
He told Mrs. Liu, "I... I'm not entirely sure either. However, I heard them say that these gentlemen seem to be from the Special Operations Team headquarters, and they are here specifically to see Mr. Ye." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After Qian Liye finished speaking, the leader among the group stepped forward and explained to Mrs. Liu, "We are from the Special Operations Team headquarters. We received word from Mr. Ye and his companions and have come specifically to meet them. May I ask if Mr. Ye Tiancheng is here at the moment?"
As he spoke, he also showed Mrs. Liu his identification.
Mrs. Liu saw that the identification did not appear to be fake, and knowing that people from the Special Operations Team, especially those from headquarters, were unlikely to be bad people, she hesitantly said, "He is indeed at our home. Do you need to see him for something?"
After putting away his identification, the person opposite showed Mrs. Liu a relatively gentle smile and explained, "You don't need to be too nervous. We are not here to cause trouble. Mr. Ye is someone we have been looking for for a long time, and Mr. Ye is not a bad person."
Mrs. Liu thought that if the people from the Special Operations Team were here to arrest a criminal, they wouldn't be so polite after she opened the door. They would have rushed in to apprehend them immediately. After all, any delay might allow the person inside to hear the commotion, realize something was wrong, and escape.
Mrs. Liu then moved aside, "Then please come in. They are inside."
As the group entered, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox happened to come out.
Ye Tiancheng hadn't paid much attention to the commotion outside, but seeing that Mrs. Liu and Qian Liye were taking so long to return, he found it strange and thus focused his senses.
After clearly hearing what the people outside were saying and recognizing their voices, he understood what was happening.
The little fox also heard the people outside speaking and therefore followed Ye Tiancheng out.
As they went out, they met the people from the Special Operations Team.
Most of the faces were unfamiliar, but as long as Ye Tiancheng and the little fox could recognize the leader, that was enough.
Ye Tiancheng and his companions had prepared themselves mentally after hearing the voices. Now, seeing them in person and realizing that it was indeed the person they had identified, they immediately stepped forward to greet them.
Ye Tiancheng greeted the other party, "Liang Ping! How is it you're here?"
"I first sent a message and made a call to Nie Chongyang, but I didn't get a response. I thought I would have to wait a while longer to get you here." Ye Tiancheng looked behind Liang Ping and asked, "Where is that kid Nie Chongyang?"
The team members following behind Liang Ping were very shocked to hear Ye Tiancheng directly address Nie Chongyang by name and call him "that kid" so casually.
However, seeing that Liang Ping, who was supposedly close to Nie Chongyang, showed no reaction to Ye Tiancheng's words and didn't seem offended, they exchanged glances and dared not speak.
Liang Ping, upon seeing Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, also quickened his pace and walked directly up to them, responding to Ye Tiancheng's words.
"Captain Nie is out on an assignment, and I don't know what happened. Not only you, but even I can't reach him. He probably doesn't know you're back. I only found out because our clan has always kept people watching for your whereabouts, and we noticed a financial transaction from your account yesterday, logged in Haicheng, which is why we came looking."
"I had the Haicheng branch confirm your identity and found that it was indeed you. Since all three of you are here, we rushed over immediately."
Although Ye Tiancheng knew that the Special Operations Team wouldn't ignore them if they lost contact and their whereabouts were unknown, he was still very grateful and felt a complex mix of emotions upon actually hearing about the effort Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping had put in for them.
Ye Tiancheng patted Liang Ping on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your concern for us."
Liang Ping, in a very serious and grateful manner, said to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, "You helped us so much back then. Without you, the Special Operations Team wouldn't have developed to this point and wouldn't have overcome so many obstacles. Since you went missing, how could we possibly ignore you or abandon you?"
He looked at Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, and then asked with some curiosity, "Where is Miss Long? Why haven't I seen her?"
Ye Tiancheng replied to Liang Ping, "When we came here, we were helping family. But we felt it wasn't a particularly troublesome matter, so we didn't want to trouble Miaomiao to make the trip with us. We asked her to stay at the temporary hotel, so she isn't here."
Liang Ping nodded, feeling even more relieved.
It was the best outcome that all three who had gone missing were safe.
Liang Ping said excitedly, "It's wonderful that all three of you are safe. For three years, there was no news from you, and despite our best efforts, we couldn't get any information. We were extremely worried."
"However, why aren't you staying in better hotels? The Haicheng branch found out that the hotel you're staying at is too run-down. It must be very uncomfortable to stay there."
Ye Tiancheng could only say helplessly, "It's unavoidable. After the incident, everything we had on us was destroyed, including our IDs. Without IDs, we couldn't stay in hotels, so we had to make do."
Liang Ping immediately said, "I see. Once we return to the team, we'll help you get new ones processed."
"Thank you very much then." Ye Tiancheng thanked Liang Ping and then added, "My brother and I are here to help someone. Let me have my younger brother resolve this matter first."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, the little fox went to find Qian Liye to get the paper and brush, and then headed to Qian Zhongming's room.
Mrs. Liu dared not disturb Ye Tiancheng and Liang Ping. After seating Ye Tiancheng and his companions in the living room and preparing tea, she followed them.