After savoring this cup of tea, Ye Ming seemed to understand the person before him a little better.
This cup of tea, whether from its taste or aroma, was almost indistinguishable from the first.
The only difference lay in the change of flavor after it entered the mouth.
The first cup was initially bitter, then sweet.
This one, however, was only bitter.
No!
To be more precise, the bitterness at the beginning could only be called "bitterness." But after careful tasting, a hint of "astringency" could be discerned.
This bitter and astringent sensation was like knowing the process would be painful, yet still persisting in one's choice. Even if the final outcome was still painful, there would be no regrets.
This!
This was the determination Li Zhirou wished to convey.
"Yes! This is my determination!"
As Li Zhirou spoke these words, it was evident that her mood at the moment was far from the calmness she displayed.
Her words revealed a sense of unwillingness.
"It seems that what happened to you must have been unfortunate!" Ye Ming swirled the tea in his cup, his tone melancholic. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be meeting with a dangerous person like me alone!"
That's right!
To Li Zhirou, Ye Ming was undoubtedly a dangerous figure at this moment.
Especially after some veiled information was revealed in their last phone call, which was enough to put her on Ye Ming's blacklist.
Some matters had not yet reached the stage where they could be brought into the open.
"Yes! I am gambling!"
Li Zhirou's gaze was resolute. "Especially after you went to find Mo Zhaoge, I decided to place my bet on you."
Mo Zhaoge?
"Why bring her up so suddenly?"
At this, Ye Ming looked directly into her eyes, his tone suddenly turning cold.
For some reason, he had a feeling that Li Zhirou knew something.
"Seeing your reaction, I know it's as I suspected!" Li Zhirou did not evade his gaze. "As expected, you also noticed that girl's extraordinary qualities!"
"What?"
Li Zhirou used the word "also."
This indirectly proved that she also knew Mo Zhaoge's identity.
"What else do you know?"
At this point, Ye Ming's tone was not just cold, but his gaze also held a chilling glint.
The surrounding temperature seemed to drop with it.
At this juncture, Li Zhirou understood clearly. If she failed to gain Ye Ming's trust from this point on, she might very well perish here.
Even though everything up to this point was within her predictions.
What about the future?
That was an unknown.
"Mr. Ye! What I know might be more than you imagine!" Li Zhirou showed no fear and said, "The key is, what do you want to know?"
She was demonstrating her sincerity.
"Alright! I ask you, what do you know about Mo Zhaoge?"
Ye Ming calmed his overactive emotions and asked in a cold voice.
This question was crucial.
If Li Zhirou truly knew about Mo Zhaoge's identity as a "Ling," did that imply she also knew about the existence of the "Immortal Path"?
"Regarding that girl, I know she is a very special kind of person! So special that she can drive many people mad," Li Zhirou said solemnly.
A special person!
Hearing this answer, Li Zhirou seemed unaware of the existence of "Ling."
Upon receiving this news, Ye Ming felt a sense of relief, yet also a hint of disappointment.
"Who are the 'many people' you are referring to?" Ye Ming asked again.
"Since you've asked about this, I think it's necessary to introduce you to what the real Kyoto is like!"
The real Kyoto?
Did it mean that what he was seeing of Kyoto now was merely superficial?
Subsequently, through Li Zhirou's brief explanation, Ye Ming finally understood the true face of Kyoto.
Everyone knew that in the current structure of Kyoto, apart from the official realm, it was controlled by the Four Great Clans.
The Li Clan, to which Li Zhirou belonged, was one of them.
In fact, according to Li Zhirou's explanation, the "Four Great Clans" could also be called the "Four Prominent Clans."
The subtle difference between "Prominent" and "Bright" seemed to reveal a colossal secret.
That's right! The "Four Prominent Clans" were like the character for "Bright."
They were merely on the surface!
Behind them, there existed four other families.
They were known as the "Four Hidden Clans."
In this Kyoto, the combination of the Four Prominent and Four Hidden Clans was its true face.
At the same time, Li Zhirou also explained who the "many people" she mentioned earlier referred to.
They were precisely the members of the Four Hidden Clans.
"Are you saying that the reason you could discover Mo Zhaoge's peculiarities was because the Four Hidden Clans gave you a very special item?"
From Li Zhirou's previous statement, Ye Ming learned that Mo Zhaoge was not discovered by her alone.
"That's correct!"
Li Zhirou took out a stone, as white as jade, with no impurities.
Not only that, but it was also emitting dazzling rays of light.
Li Zhirou had not noticed it before.
But upon seeing this scene, she was completely stunned.
Because this stone had always been in a dull state before. But for some reason, at this moment, it was radiating brilliance, exuding a divine aura.
"This..."
Li Zhirou's hand holding the stone began to tremble uncontrollably. Her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief.
This was the second time she had seen this stone glow.
The first time she saw it was when it reacted with Mo Zhaoge.
She never expected it to light up again at this moment.
"This is an Immortal Spirit Stone!"
Ye Ming looked at the glowing stone in Li Zhirou's hand. The shock on his face was no less than Li Zhirou's.
He was all too familiar with this kind of stone.
Because the King of Gods Tokens he had sent to the six Kings of Gods, including Ryan Sent, also had such a stone embedded in them.
Now, he had actually encountered one here.
Then, if Immortal Spirit Stones were sent to members of the Four Prominent Clans, could it be that...
Thinking of this, Ye Ming fell into silence.
Li Zhirou did the same.
For both of them, some time was indeed needed to process this information.
...
Meanwhile.
At the Dawn Auction House in the capital.
Less than ten minutes remained until the auction that had attracted countless gazes.
At this moment, people were already entering the auction seats.
The Dawn Auction House lived up to its reputation as the largest auction house in the capital. The auction seats alone could accommodate two thousand people.
This was a testament to its immense scale.
However, for today's auction, the attendees were expected to break the Dawn Auction House's all-time record. Therefore, its internal staff had already been busy.
In addition to the auction seats, the auction house also had ten private auction boxes.
Currently, in box number five, a man in a black coat was observing the auction seats below.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Lord Shadow!"
Upon hearing this sound, Ying Qianshi withdrew his gaze and personally opened the door.
"Hmm! The Divine Master hasn't come?"
After opening the door, Ying Qianshi did not see Ye Ming's figure.
But before he could react, a powerful fist strike came towards his forehead.