Chapter Forty-Six: The Jade Pendant and the Bond of Mastery

Chapter Forty-Six

“Ah Ye, you’re here!” Mei paid no attention to the man lying on the ground, instead looking toward Ye Jingxuan, who stood nearby.

“Yes,” Ye Jingxuan nodded, casting a glance at An Ziyou at Mei’s side—whose expression was less than pleasant—before shifting his gaze to the thief on the ground. His toe pressed down on the thief’s twisted arm, and with a bit of force, the man let out an even more agonized scream, dropping the card he held.

Ye Jingxuan bent down, picked up the card, and with his foot moved upwards to the thief’s fingers, then stomped down without hesitation, grinding his toe in for good measure until the thief’s screams were hoarse with pain.

“Hey, isn’t that too much? He only stole your stuff! You’re not part of the base’s security team, how can you take the law into your own hands?” Xia Ke’er, unable to bear the sound of those screams any longer, stepped forward to admonish him.

Ye Jingxuan’s foot paused at her words. He looked up at Xia Ke’er. He said nothing, but the murderous intent in his eyes made her stumble back several steps, her face turning ashen.

With a cold snort, Ye Jingxuan raised his foot again and crippled the thief’s other hand before finally stopping. He surveyed the crowd; those with ill intentions shrank back, lowering their heads to avoid his gaze.

Once he saw they’d been cowed, he turned to Mei and asked softly, “What are you buying?”

Mei shook her head, seemingly oblivious to the lingering darkness around him. She pointed at Qu Wenjuan. “It’s not me, it’s Sister Juan who’s buying.”

Following her cue, Ye Jingxuan looked at Qu Wenjuan. She shrank back a step, stammering, “I—I’ll be done—very soon!”

“Hurry up,” Ye Jingxuan said mildly, then looked away, slipping the card back into the small bag on Mei’s back and smoothing her hair before standing by to wait.

Not daring to delay, Qu Wenjuan quickly settled the bill with the stall owner. Xia Ke’er, seeing her desired item being bought by someone else, wanted to protest but was stopped by Xia Kefeng, who shook his head and whispered something in her ear. Though her face was full of displeasure, she refrained from arguing further.

Qu Wenjuan spent all her credits and even borrowed ten from Mei, finally securing the jade pendant that, in the book, belonged to the female protagonist. Though it pained her to part with so much, she felt a secret satisfaction.

This day had proved that the protagonist’s aura wasn’t as invincible as she’d imagined! It renewed her confidence—this was a real world, and as long as she tried, she could survive well.

Mei’s mood was unaffected by the thief. When the thief reached into her bag, An Ziyou hadn’t noticed, but she had. She hadn’t intervened because she wanted to see who was behind the thief. Otherwise, what would a mere thief want with something like that? Mercenary cards didn’t store credits; besides recording member information, team rank, mission completion—most importantly, they were used for task handovers and claiming rewards.

Did someone not want them completing those missions? Or were they planning to claim the rewards with the card after the team succeeded? Or was it just an attempt to cause them trouble?

Turning these thoughts over in her mind, Mei continued to wander the market. With Ye Jingxuan, that living embodiment of menace, at her side, no one else dared approach them. So nothing else happened until they left.

When they returned to the Ye residence, they found Mo Chen and Lin Shaojie sitting on the sofa drinking water—they must have been back for a while.

“Little Mei, finished shopping? What did you buy?” As soon as they came in, Mo Chen flashed a lazy, wicked grin at Mei.

“Nothing much, just picked up a few of Xiao You’s old albums and posters. Where did you two go?” Mei asked as she leafed through her purchases.

Mo Chen looked at her, speechless—just how much did she like An Ziyou’s voice? The real person was right there, she heard him every day, and yet she still bought all those albums!

But speechless or not, Mo Chen recounted where he and Lin Shaojie had been. When the three of them entered the market earlier, they’d noticed several people tailing Mei and her group, so they kept their distance to observe what those people were up to.

Later, Qu Wenjuan and Xia Ke’er’s tussle over the purchase attracted a crowd, drawing in those followers as well. When the thief was caught by Ye Jingxuan, the others didn’t dare act and scattered.

Mo Chen and Lin Shaojie had then tracked these people. “The thief was from the Mad Wolf Mercenary Squad, which belongs to the Liu family at the base. As for the rest, they’re from various mercenary teams—either serving the Situ family or affiliated with the Wang family. In short, all these families sent people, partly to test our strength, partly to try and hinder our missions.”

“Just as I suspected!” Mei pursed her lips, unimpressed—she had hoped for something more useful, but that was all there was to it.

“I knew you must have noticed the thief. You let him act just to see who was behind him, right?” Mo Chen patted her head. With her vigilance and her space ability, it was obvious the thief’s success was intentional on her part.

“If I’d known it was just a few little shrimps behind him, I wouldn’t have let him near my bag!” Mei knocked Mo Chen’s hand away, clearly annoyed.

“Don’t worry, the big fish will bite eventually!” Mo Chen consoled her, then changed the subject: “So, what was this precious thing you were fighting over?”

Since he and Lin Shaojie hadn’t been close by, they didn’t know the details—just that the group had been bidding higher and higher for something.

At his question, all eyes turned to Qu Wenjuan. Mei, Ye Jingxuan, and An Ziyou knew what she had bought, but not why she was so determined to get the jade pendant.

Did it have some special significance?

Qu Wenjuan, seeing the attention on her, took out the jade pendant and laid it in her palm for everyone to see.

“This doesn’t look like much. The quality is pretty ordinary. Was it really worth fighting over?” Lin Shaojie leaned in for a look, even more perplexed.

“This is a spatial artifact. There’s a space inside, and once you recognize it as its master, you can use it!” Knowing that, even if she explained, none of those present would contest it, Qu Wenjuan revealed the pendant’s true function.

“That amazing? Hurry up and claim it as yours, let’s see how it works!” Lin Shaojie’s eyes widened with excitement, urging her on.

The others watched curiously, eager to see how one would bind a spatial artifact, something none of them had witnessed before.

Mei was curious as well. In her original world, there was a similar concept, but she didn’t know if it worked the same way here.

Feeling their silent anticipation, Qu Wenjuan pricked her finger and squeezed out a few drops of blood onto the pendant. The blood didn’t slide off, instead seeping rapidly into the jade. Everyone’s eyes grew wider.

But after a long moment, nothing else happened. They looked up at Qu Wenjuan as if to ask, silently, Was that it?

Qu Wenjuan herself was baffled. In the novel, it was written that when Xia Ke’er dripped her blood on the pendant, after absorbing it, the pendant turned into a streak of light and entered her body, causing her personal space to expand.

Could it be that only the protagonist’s blood could bind the pendant? No—she’d rather smash the thing than let the protagonist have it. She refused to let her return to her original fate!

With that thought, Qu Wenjuan placed the pendant on the table. “Maybe my blood isn’t suitable. Why don’t you all try? Let’s see who the pendant will acknowledge. We’re all on the same team—whoever gets it, it’s still within the group!”

No one objected to her suggestion.

Lin Shaojie, being impatient, was the first to prick his finger and drip blood on the pendant. It absorbed his blood, but nothing happened.

Then Ye Jingxuan, An Ziyou, and Mo Chen each tried in turn. The pendant drank in all their blood—still, no reaction.

At last, the pendant was pushed in front of Mei.

Mei looked at it and asked, “Are we sure we’re doing this right? Maybe we didn’t give enough blood? Why hasn’t it worked for anyone?”

“You haven’t tried yet,” Mo Chen joked. “Maybe you’re the lucky one.”

“I’m not trying. I already have a space; this thing is of no use to me. You should think of another way.” Mei shook her head.

Spatial artifacts might be precious in this world, but to her, they were useless. She already possessed a top-grade space formed from the seed of the Tree of Life, full of vitality. Spatial artifacts were common in her old world—she could even make a few simple ones herself. Why would she care about some unresponsive pendant?

She reached out to push the pendant back to the others. But just then, something strange happened.

The instant her fingers touched the pendant, it suddenly glowed. Startled, Mei snatched her hand back, but the pendant floated into the air and darted after her.

Unwilling to let some mysterious object attach itself to her, Mei dodged quickly, but the pendant seemed fixated on her, chasing relentlessly.

“What’s going on?” Lin Shaojie stared, dumbfounded.

Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan were startled as well, but quickly stepped in to block the pendant. Any thoughts of claiming ownership were gone—the pendant’s behavior was far too bizarre. The most important thing now was to keep it from touching Mei.