Since Ye Bai had afternoon classes, he asked Da Hui to watch over the house.
Da Hui waved from the doorway, holding the lightning cat in his arms.
The big gray fur, which had originally turned white, turned gray once more.
At this moment, Ye Bai could sense the immense vitality radiating from Da Hui.
However, it quickly stabilized again. Ye Bai gave Da Hui a meaningful glance and then took the Qianbian Silkworm with him to school.
Although he didn't know Da Hui's current level, Ye Bai was certain that Da Hui's strength was far from ordinary—regular cats and dogs wouldn't stand a chance against him.
If anyone tried to cause trouble, Da Hui could easily handle them.
When Ye Bai arrived at the school gate, he was stopped.
He Qingyuan reluctantly followed a middle-aged man out of a car.
The man resembled He Qingyuan greatly and seemed to be his father.
He patted He Qingyuan on the back and said, "Go on. Don't delay. What did I tell you before we came here?"
"You have to say it clearly—word for word!"
Then, the middle-aged man looked seriously at Ye Bai. "I'm He Guangda, He Qingyuan's father."
"I brought He Qingyuan here today to apologize to you."
"He acted without our consent, using his connections to attack you. I've already given him a stern reprimand."
Ha, so they're putting all the blame on He Qingyuan now. Ye Bai didn't need to think too hard to realize that a brat like He Qingyuan wouldn't have connections at the city management office. The He family clearly acted behind the scenes. But since He Qingyuan exposed it in public, their reputation took a major hit.
Now, they had no choice but to pin the blame entirely on him.
"He Qingyuan, apologize now!"
He Guangda patted his son's shoulder again. He Qingyuan blushed and mumbled something like a mosquito: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have threatened you."
He Qingyuan felt deeply humiliated.
"I didn't hear that," Ye Bai said teasingly.
He Qingyuan clenched his fists, veins bulging on the backs of his hands—he was clearly angry but had no choice.
"…Sorry. Sorry."
He repeated louder, his face stiff, then turned and walked away.
"Tch, this kid," He Guangda muttered.
"By the way, since He Qingyuan has apologized, let's talk about the invitation letter from the Longteng Auction House."
He Guangda adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, a flash of shrewdness in his eyes.
This, clearly, was the real reason he came.
"He Qingyuan stole that invitation from me and showed it off to his classmates."
"It wasn't his to use as a wager in the first place."
"He lost the bet, and we won't go back on that—our He family values its reputation."
Ye Bai rolled his eyes. Everything he said just proved how shameless the He family could be.
But He Guangda ignored Ye Bai's expression and continued, "How about this—we offer 100,000 Alliance Coins in exchange for the invitation letter?"
"That's enough to cover your entire senior year of high school."
He pulled out a check, freshly written.
The numbers were clearly visible. Ye Bai could cash it at any bank window.
"Not interested." If Ye Bai hadn't recently earned a million Alliance Coins, he might have considered it.
The Longteng Auction House was a complex place. He didn't want to reveal his ability to perceive hidden truths.
He Guangda's offer no longer impressed him.
Ye Bai's smile faded. "If you have a third-level Sun Stone, then I might consider it."
"Otherwise, I'll just attend the auction myself."
Ye Bai smiled lightly.
What a cunning little fox, He Guangda thought bitterly.
But at this point, Ye Bai held all the leverage. He Guangda had no choice but to concede.
Otherwise, the He family would become a laughingstock in Jiaying City.
Fortunately, he had a third-level Sun Stone, supplied by one of his subordinates.
Though rare, especially since most of their family's contracted beasts were earth-elemental, the invitation was more important.
He took out a beautifully crafted box from his beast space and handed it to Ye Bai.
Ye Bai accepted the box and opened it. The third-level Sun Stone shone with dazzling golden light.
After verifying its authenticity, Ye Bai stored it in his pet space.
"This is the invitation to the Longteng Auction House. Our business is concluded."
With that, Ye Bai waved and walked toward the school gate.
He Guangda straightened his collar and adjusted his glasses again. Behind the lenses, his smile didn't reach his eyes.
What a sly little fox. Getting something out of me won't be that easy next time.
He turned back and got into the car.
As soon as the door closed, He Qingyuan looked at him with a stubborn expression.
"Qingyuan, you made three mistakes this time," He Guangda said calmly. "First, you let your excitement get the better of you and used the invitation as a wager."
"Second, you abandoned that Boxing Rabbit in public—even though it can use Frenzy, a rare skill."
"Third, you revealed our family's plan. That dealt a huge blow to our reputation."
"This time, you needed to be taught a lesson."
"Luckily, I used a valuable item to trade for the invitation letter. Otherwise, we would've brought shame on the entire He family."
He Qingyuan flushed red with frustration. "Ye Bai humiliated us. Shouldn't we retaliate?"
He Guangda smiled slowly. "I had someone investigate. The lease on Ye Bai's training house is about to expire."
"We'll buy the property and kick him out. Then we'll make sure no one else rents to him."
"What do you think of this plan?"
"It'll keep him busy for a while—a little punishment for crossing the He family."
"You should learn from me. Use real strategy. Don't rely on those childish tricks."
"If you want to strike, crush them completely."
"In Jiaying City, no one can trample on our He family."
He Qingyuan replied with cold arrogance, "Understood."
After entering the school, Ye Bai went straight to the library.
He vaguely remembered reading about the Gift of Clairvoyance in one of the books.
But just as he turned to the right page, a librarian took the book away—it had been requested by an important person.
He wasn't sure if it was still in its original place.
Ye Bai retraced his steps, remembering the book's shelf number.
Sure enough, a weathered, yellowed book sat in the corner.
Ye Bai pulled it out and quickly flipped through the pages.
Thanks to his photographic memory, he instantly memorized its contents.
Under the effect of his gift, the words seemed to leap off the page and burn themselves into his mind.
Ye Bai's expression suddenly turned thoughtful.