My Ares Son-in-Law

Half an hour later, the three sat around the dining table. The shrimp dumplings on the blue and white porcelain plate were crystal clear, and the crab roe on top of the shumai glistened with oil. Zhou Keying had also cooked a pot of pumpkin and millet porridge, and its aroma filled the entire restaurant.

"How is it? My cooking skills are just as good as those in the teahouses, right?" Zhou Keying picked up a shrimp dumpling and handed it to Xiao Chen, her eyes full of anticipation. "How many points would you give me?"

"Thumbs up." Xiao Chen took a bite of the shrimp dumpling, and the fresh shrimp juice burst in his mouth. The taste was indeed authentic.

Zhou Keying immediately smiled and winked mischievously, "Which breakfast do you prefer, the one that Yu Yan and I made?"

Yun Yuyan also put down her chopsticks, looked up at Xiao Chen, and had a barely perceptible expectation in her eyes. She had specially learned how to make scallion oil noodles, which Xiao Chen liked, yesterday, and was worried that it wouldn't suit his taste.

Just as Xiao Chen was about to speak to resolve this dilemma, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"I'll go open the door." He breathed a sigh of relief; the doorbell had come at just the right time.

Standing outside the door was He Haiyue. She was wearing a black trench coat, her hair was a little messy, and the top button of her trench coat was buttoned incorrectly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was tightly clutching a brown paper bag in her hand. She kept looking back at the stairwell entrance, as if she was avoiding someone.

"Mr. Xiao, can I come in?" Her voice trembled, and her breathing was rapid, clearly indicating that she had run all the way here.

Xiao Chen's gaze sharpened slightly, and he stepped aside: "Come in."

He Haiyue glanced cautiously behind her to make sure no one was following her before quickly slipping into the house and locking the door behind her with a "click." Seeing Yun Yuyan and Zhou Keying at the dining table, she quickly nodded in greeting, then grabbed Xiao Chen's arm and said urgently in a low voice, "Mr. Xiao, I need a completely safe place. I have something urgent to tell you; it concerns lives!"

Xiao Chen had never seen He Haiyue so flustered. Knowing the seriousness of the situation, he immediately said to Yun Yuyan and the other woman, "You two eat first, I have something to take care of." After saying that, he led He Haiyue to the secret room in the basement.

The room was lined with soundproofing material, and the walls were decorated with subtle patterns. Xiao Chen turned on a wall lamp, and the warm yellow light dispelled the darkness: "It's safe here. Now, tell me, what exactly happened?"

He Haiyue nodded, her hands trembling as she unbuttoned her trench coat and pulled out a palm-sized copper piece from her inner pocket.

The copper piece was covered in dark green rust, with rounded edges and mysterious runes engraved on its surface. A faint dark golden luster could be seen in the gaps between the runes. As soon as the copper piece was taken out, the air in the secret room instantly became warm and moist, and even breathing felt comfortable. A pure spiritual energy entered through the nasal cavity.

Xiao Chen's pupils shrank sharply. The purity of this spiritual energy was higher than any rare treasure he had ever seen before! If he wore it while cultivating, the speed of his divine essence circulation would increase by at least three times! Even in his former cultivation world, such a treasure containing pure spiritual energy was extremely rare. How could it have fallen into the mortal world and ended up in He Haiyue's hands?

"Where did this come from?" Xiao Chen reached out and took the copper piece. As his fingertips touched it, a warm current flowed through them, and the runes seemed to be slightly heated. He immediately composed himself and asked in a deep voice. He Haiyue swallowed hard, her voice trembling even more: "Mr. Xiao should know that our He family is in charge of the underground auctions in the ancient city. The night before last, an old friend of my father's, Mr. Liu from Hong Kong, suddenly came with this copper piece, saying he wanted to entrust us to sell it at the auction the day after tomorrow, and specifically instructed us to keep it a secret. But yesterday at noon, Mr. Liu suddenly called to say he wanted to retrieve the copper piece and cancel the auction. My father naturally agreed, but we've waited all day and he hasn't come to pick it up."

She paused, her face turning deathly pale, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly: "This morning, my father went to the villa where Old Master Liu was staying, only to find... find that his whole family was gone! The doors and windows weren't damaged, but the villa was a complete mess. Next to the bodies of Old Master Liu and his family, there were black claw marks, the edges of the wounds charred black, as if they had been torn apart by something... Judging from the force of the claw marks, the perpetrator's strength was extremely terrifying, definitely not an ordinary martial arts master!"

“What’s even more terrifying is that,” He Haiyue’s voice trembled, her fingertips gripping the hem of her trench coat so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

My father investigated Old Master Liu's connections last night and discovered that everyone who had recently handled this bronze piece—whether an appraiser at the auction house or Old Master Liu's bodyguard—had all been mysteriously murdered! Their deaths were exactly the same as Old Master Liu's family's: torn apart by sharp claws, their wounds charred black! We've concluded that a mysterious force is frantically pursuing this thing!

She took a deep breath, as if she had made a tremendous decision, and presented the bronze piece to Xiao Chen with both hands: "With the He family's current strength, they simply cannot protect such a treasure, but we cannot just hand it over to someone else. After much consideration, my father believes that only you, Mr. Xiao, have the ability to protect it in the entire ancient city. I entrust this bronze piece to you for safekeeping. If... if the He family encounters any misfortune, this thing will belong to you, as a debt of gratitude owed to you by the He family."

As soon as she finished speaking, He Haiyue bowed deeply to Xiao Chen, her waist bent very low, her long hair falling over her shoulders, obscuring the redness in her eyes.

Xiao Chen frowned, his knuckles unconsciously tracing the edge of the copper piece, and said in a deep voice, "Then what are you going to do? What if those people can't find the copper piece and turn their attention to the He family?"

He Haiyue glanced at her watch; the hands pointed to 7:30, and the private jet was scheduled to take off in an hour. She forced a calm smile, but the tremor in her voice was unmistakable: "My father has already arranged the private jet. Our He family will be temporarily leaving the ancient city to seek refuge overseas for a while. Mr. Xiao, farewell."

She turned and walked towards the door to the secret room, her fingers just touching the cold doorknob when she suddenly stopped. As if remembering something, she abruptly turned around, rushed to Xiao Chen, stood on tiptoe, and gently planted a kiss on his cheek.

The kiss was light, carrying the faint scent of gardenias from her body, but it caught Xiao Chen off guard and left him stunned on the spot.

“Mr. Xiao, please forgive my rudeness…” He Haiyue took half a step back, her eyes reddening, her voice as soft as a sigh, “Consider this a farewell gift. Perhaps after today’s parting, we will truly never see each other again.”

She raised her hand to wipe her eyes, forcing a smile: "Knowing Mr. Xiao is the greatest fortune of Haiyue's life. Until we meet again."

The door to the secret room closed gently, and the footsteps faded into the distance. When Xiao Chen walked out of the basement, He Haiyue was no longer in the entryway. Only a faint scent of her fragrance lingered in the crack of the door, which was quickly overwhelmed by the aroma of porridge wafting from the dining room.

"Xiao Chen, who was that girl just now?" Yun Yuyan walked over with an empty bowl, asking casually, but her fingertips unconsciously gripped the rim of the bowl tightly, her knuckles turning white. Although He Haiyue looked flustered just now, she couldn't hide the heroic spirit in her eyes, quite different from the gentle temperament of the two girls. (End of Chapter)