Why did you provoke me?

The long-haired man went out, seemingly greatly motivated by the lame man's words.

Indeed, all their calculations boil down to living a long and comfortable life.

Yu Meng returned to her residence and, without checking what Ba Wang had brought back, washed up and went to bed. She was quite tired after a long night.

She slept until she got hungry, then she got up. It was already broad daylight outside.

The tyrant and the little black cat were squatting on the table, with a black, prismatic object between them. It wasn't very big, and it was long and thin, with pointed ends.

"What's this?" Yu Meng reached out and picked it up. "Is this what you brought back last night?"

Both the tyrant and the little black cat turned to Yu Meng at the same time. The little black cat even nudged Yu Meng's hand with its paw.

"You got these? You gave them to me?" Yu Meng asked in surprise. It was as if she regarded them as talking companions.

The little black cat nodded, and the tyrant's tentacles nodded in response.

"How did you get it?" Yu Meng asked casually.

The Overlord looked at the little black cat, and the little black cat's body instantly disintegrated, a single line rapidly splitting into many fine threads.

Then the thin threads coiled up what Yu Meng was holding and lifted it into the air. The Overlord's tentacles took it, and then the lines returned to the shape of a little black cat.

"This is so complicated. I'm sorry to have troubled you all." Yu Meng patted each of their heads.

Yu Meng covered the unknown object with both hands, and her ten fingers began to move rhythmically.

When encountering something good, peeling back its layers seems to be ingrained in Yu Meng's very bones.

In just a moment, the dough was peeled off. A black droplet quickly took shape in her hand.

Looking at the sun, it wasn't colorful, only a deep black. It was like a black hole, sucking in all the sunlight.

Yes, Yu Meng's right eye clearly saw that the sunlight was being absorbed by it. The surface seemed to have a thin layer of light.

Yu Meng looked at the things on the table again; they were still the same. She tried again, but didn't peel off the dough.

The Overlord tentatively extended its tentacles, and Yu Meng smiled, "Take it if you want it. This one is mine now." After saying that, she shook the black droplet in her hand.

Ba Wang understood and quickly rolled the items into his small backpack.

After having breakfast, Yu Meng started strolling around in crowded areas. She also planned to buy some local specialties to take back as gifts for Niannian.

And you know what? I actually heard some rumors. Everyone said, "I'm only telling you about this, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone else."

Hey, you don't know me, I'm the most tight-lipped person. I promise I won't tell anyone else, but family and friends aren't just strangers.

In the end, Yu Meng also found out.

The Jing family didn't know what was going on, but the delivery truck that had been delivering vegetables to their house was returned, because the vegetables weren't fresh.

What's the big deal? My brother has been bringing them wine all year round, and he didn't even go in today, saying it was enough.

Squads dressed as Jing family guards appeared on the streets. These reports quickly disappeared.

There wasn't anything major happening; they just asked people to stay home unless absolutely necessary, since the Jing family had lost something and it wouldn't be good if they were invited for questioning.

They have been making a living on the Jing family's territory for many years, and they are very cooperative with the Jing family.

Yu Meng followed the crowd back to her small hotel. But most people didn't go back to their rooms; instead, they gathered in the lobby.

Yu Meng found a corner to sit down. She wanted to hear whether it had anything to do with her.

Around noon, the latest news came in.

A convoy is coming; they seem to be important people.

Your news is outdated. The latest news is that three planes have arrived. I heard they brought in some important figures from Kyoto!

A weak voice sounded, "By the way, what exactly went missing? With such a big commotion, won't it cause problems for us living here?"

The hotel owner quickly came out to explain, "My little shop has been open for over ten years, there's absolutely no problem staying here." He looked around at the people, "But there's a condition: you really weren't involved in this."

The people around breathed a sigh of relief. "We haven't even crossed that territory, how could we possibly get involved?"

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Yu Meng returned to her room. She packed her things and checked out at the front desk.

The shopkeeper looked at her hesitantly, "Young lady, if you leave now, it will arouse suspicion."

Yu Meng smiled, "I just came to buy some things for my sister. I've already bought them, mostly food. I was planning to leave today anyway, you can ask my aunt if you don't believe me. I told her yesterday that I would stay one more night before leaving, but there are a lot of people now, so I thought I'd tell you a day in advance so you could make arrangements."

The proprietress nodded in agreement. "She did say that if it weren't for the commotion this morning, and her curiosity leading her to go out for a stroll, she would have left long ago."

"Yes, I originally wanted to check out, but the aunt went out to see what was going on, so I followed her. That's why it's been delayed until now." Yu Meng spoke very softly. After all, the Jing family's affairs were no laughing matter.

"You," the boss glared at his wife, "you've really got some nerve, daring to watch the Jing family's commotion."

He turned to Yu Meng and said, "Little girl, for our own good, please go through the side door of my house."

Yu Meng nodded, "I'll listen to Uncle."

The proprietress led Yu Meng outside, saying, "Little girl, the market is just past this alley, and there's a bus station there."

"Thank you, Auntie. I'll stay at your house again next time I come."

"That's great. I'll show you around then."

Yu Meng avoided the landlady's gaze, changed her clothes, and then got on the bus that was about to depart. She didn't even ask which stop the bus was going to.

Yu Meng's thought was, let's leave quickly. If what we're looking for really was what Ba Wang brought back, then the Jing family definitely won't find it.

She'd be in trouble if some smart person suggested checking on outsiders.

Yu Meng was unaware that her idea was absolutely correct. At 1 p.m., small teams were conducting checks throughout the entire Jing family's territory.

At this moment, Yu Meng herself had no idea where she was. Everything that happened behind her was no longer her concern.

Chen Ming arrived by car and explained his purpose, but the Jing family did not invite him in.

He remembered his father's words and did not mention the long-haired man.

The Jing family spoke rather politely, saying, "There has been a change of events at home, and we can't attend to matters outside for the time being. Please, Chen Ming, go and visit other families."

Chen Ming certainly wouldn't force the issue; that wasn't his original purpose for coming.

After exchanging pleasantries, the Jing family politely declined Chen Ming's offer to help.

Chen Ming stood by the car, his head aching. He didn't know where to pick up his husband.