"Hurry home. Your wife has been captured by us. If you want her back, pay five hundred million. Not a cent less."
Ye Tiancheng paused, thinking he didn't have a wife. But then he considered that if they said so, it couldn't be made up. It was likely Liu Lanying.
Ye Tiancheng realized something was wrong. Trouble had occurred. He couldn't be a coward any longer. He quickly ran back to his small cabin.
"Liu Lanying! Are you there? If you are, can you say something to me?"
Ye Tiancheng felt a bit nervous. He had never been this nervous with others. He didn't know why today, when it concerned Liu Lanying, he felt so helpless. If he truly lost this ordinary woman, it would be a significant blow to Ye Tiancheng. He couldn't think of much else now. Treasure hunting was no longer important. His only thought was that Liu Lanying must be safe and nothing should happen to her. He had caused enough trouble already. The last time he felt this scared was with his first love, Hou Qing'er. It seemed that without realizing it, he did care about her quite a bit.
In his panic, Ye Tiancheng suddenly remembered he could use the 'Seeker' to find Liu Lanying. However, he quickly discovered that while the Seeker could normally operate with the activation of true qi, it was suddenly interrupted by black energy. This feeling of helplessness made Ye Tiancheng unable to breathe.
Ye Tiancheng tried again, but it still didn't work. At this point, Ye Tiancheng could only seek help from someone with stronger true qi than himself. He called out to Nuwa Stone and the Great Green Snake for a long time, but they both remained motionless, refusing to come out. Ye Tiancheng had to rely on himself. In his desperation, he suddenly thought of his disciple, Lin Xue.
Ye Tiancheng called Lin Xue. Perhaps the signal was bad on her end, as no one answered. Ye Tiancheng was extremely anxious, so he called Xiao Pang.
"I was originally going to search for treasure at the old residence, but there was black energy obstructing me. At first, I didn't think much of it, but later I discovered that Ouyang Xinuo had only temporarily retired and was still causing trouble behind the scenes. He has already intercepted Liu Lanying."
"Brother Ye, what should we do? The village is about to ask Miss Liu to resume her post. Now that she's missing, if the news gets out, I'm afraid this position won't be kept for long."
"Don't worry, I'll find a way. I will definitely find a way to rescue Liu Lanying. I have already ruined one woman's life, and I will not ruin Liu Lanying's. Even if there are any mistakes, I will resolve everything in advance. I will not implicate her."
Ye Tiancheng felt extremely guilty at this moment. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have gotten so close to Liu Lanying in the first place. Now that he had caused her such trouble, and he didn't even know if she was safe, he didn't know what to say besides regret.
"Then, Brother Ye, please hurry. Do you want to contact your disciple? Otherwise, I can help you contact her. I know an address for Lin Xue."
"I bought a car. I'll drive to your place now, pick you up, and then we'll go find Lin Xue. There are some things I need my disciple to help with; I can't solve them alone."
"Okay, Brother Ye, then come pick me up quickly. I'll take you to your disciple. We can't delay these matters any longer. Let's go solve them quickly."
"I understand. I'm on my way now."
Ye Tiancheng was disregarding everything, accelerating madly. As long as he could get to Xiao Pang's place quickly, Ye Tiancheng felt it didn't matter.
All the way, Ye Tiancheng was using his true qi to accelerate. He couldn't care about anything else now; saving the person was more important.
He drove all the way and finally arrived at Xiao Pang's place. After Xiao Pang got into the car, he didn't waste any words and immediately directed Ye Tiancheng to Lin Xue's location.
Despite his plump appearance and simple demeanor, Xiao Pang was quite clever. He had specifically told Lin Xue how to find her. After a four-hour drive, they finally found her.
"Master, why are you here?"
Lin Xue was naturally surprised to see Ye Tiancheng. He usually wouldn't contact her without a reason, let alone show up so suddenly. There must be something big happening.
"It's a long story. I'll explain it simply..."
Upon hearing that someone had been captured, Lin Xue also became anxious. "The Seeker artifact needs true qi to operate. Otherwise, let me help you."
"That's what I was thinking too."
After the master and disciple discussed it, Lin Xue channeled her true qi to Ye Tiancheng, who was responsible for operating the Seeker.
However, what they didn't expect was that not only did they not find the person, but under the shroud of black energy, they saw some illusions. These illusions were terrifying, mainly depicting Liu Lanying trapped in a swamp, her hair disheveled, and her face smeared with blood.
Both of them were startled. At this critical moment, a face appeared. Ouyang Xinuo had found them.
"I know you want to find that Miss Liu, but you won't be able to. I said five hundred million. As long as you give me five hundred million in compensation, I guarantee I'll release Miss Liu. I won't hurt her; I can vouch for that."
Facing Ouyang Xinuo, Ye Tiancheng wished he could bite him to death, but he was utterly powerless.
At this moment, Ouyang Xinuo was feigning respectability, not like a villain at all. His attitude was even a bit humble. Dozens of subordinates stood behind him. Ouyang Xinuo was smiling at Ye Tiancheng, as if he had complete control and didn't take Ye Tiancheng seriously at all.
"You also know I don't have that much money. You're clearly making things difficult for me."
"It's alright. If you really don't have money, then don't save her. You have so many women anyway, so losing one Miss Liu shouldn't be a big deal for you. Just do as you please."
"You're counting on the fact that my true qi is insufficient, aren't you? That's why you're deliberately provoking me now. I can't eliminate evil forces because I'm too insignificant. It's all my fault."
Ye Tiancheng was very dejected at this moment, otherwise, he wouldn't have said these words. Perhaps it was his lack of strength that made him so indecisive. If he had been stronger, he would have instantly killed the opponent.
"Seeing your firm attitude, I won't try to persuade you. I just feel it's a shame about Miss Liu. Such a good village chief, a delicate beauty, with such a good personality and decisive in her actions. Following you is truly a waste. If I didn't like Miss Su, I might have considered taking you over."
After Ouyang Xinuo finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng finally couldn't hold back. A surge of true qi flew towards Ouyang Xinuo's face, but it was blocked by Ouyang Xinuo. The black energy was too powerful.
"Don't get angry. I'm already doing you a favor by even looking at these second-hand goods you've discarded. Do you really think I want to pick up your trash? I just think your taste is acceptable."
While Ouyang Xinuo was still babbling, Lin Xue couldn't control herself anymore. She had been waiting for Ye Tiancheng to speak, but since Ye Tiancheng remained silent, Lin Xue soared into the air, stepped on the tip of her umbrella, and unleashed a barrage of hidden weapons.
Lin Xue had cultivated well. She had expended a lot of true qi for Ye Tiancheng, but she could still fight against an evil force like Ouyang Xinuo.
The two fought fiercely. However, due to the enemy's numerical advantage, even with Ye Tiancheng's help, Lin Xue couldn't defeat Ouyang Xinuo.
Instead, she was subdued. During the final blow, Lin Xue's arm bone fractured with a crack, splitting open. Ye Tiancheng had to call a temporary halt.
"Ouyang Xinuo, you're not here to hurt people today. I know your intentions. You want to tell me about the five hundred million to save the person, and I've understood. I will raise the money. You should leave immediately and stop causing trouble here."
Ouyang Xinuo smiled sinisterly at Ye Tiancheng. "It seems you've truly become a coward. When I first met you, I never thought you'd become so incompetent. You're simply no match for anyone. It's truly pathetic. I even want to help you, but you're like mud that can't be plastered on a wall."
"Insult me as much as you want. I've said what I needed to say. I hope you won't continue to instigate trouble."
Ouyang Xinuo gave an evil smile, then suddenly remembered to ask Ye Tiancheng for money, saying that he needed to see some sincerity. He insisted on asking Ye Tiancheng for one million. Ye Tiancheng couldn't produce it, so he transferred fifty thousand from his account to appease him and send him away.
"Master, I'm really scared when you give them money like this. We're too cowardly. We should find a way to change the current situation instead of just giving them money."
"I know, but Xue'er, your arm bone is fractured. I need to apply some medicine to help your injury recover quickly. That money is external wealth. I just want you to recover your health quickly and don't want you to suffer because of your master's affairs."
Ye Tiancheng didn't want to say more to his disciple. The most important thing now was to treat his disciple's injury. At this critical moment, Xiao Shitóu appeared and gave Ye Tiancheng a bottle of divine water.
"I'm busy lately and really don't have time to help you. Master, you'd better not cause trouble. You've stirred up trouble now and can't resolve it. Well, big problems will arise sooner or later. Here's this bottle of divine water for you. It might help your disciple heal. I've said my piece, Master. Take care of yourself. I'm leaving."
It was this Xiao Shitóu who was rambling. Ye Tiancheng hadn't said anything yet, but the person had already disappeared. However, at least a bottle of divine water was left behind. Ye Tiancheng didn't know what this Xiao Shitóu was up to, but the divine water seemed to emit great spiritual energy and should be useful. If it could do something practical, Ye Tiancheng would welcome it warmly. He just hoped it wasn't meant to cause trouble.
"Master, you don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. It's just a minor bone fracture. I'll adjust my state immediately and won't let my condition affect my health."
"Alright, let's use some spiritual water. If you rely on yourself, it will take a long time to recover. If you use the spiritual water, it should accelerate the process. This Xiao Shitóu is quite reliable and has strong abilities. He can even bring plants back to life. I believe this Xiao Shitóu has a powerful healing effect, and the things he gives should be good for treating injuries."
This was why Ye Tiancheng trusted Xiao Shitóu so much. It was probably because that fellow had done things in the past that made Ye Tiancheng believe he had some ability. If it were any other useless person, Ye Tiancheng would worry if this so-called spiritual water would harm a person's body and wouldn't dare to use it casually.