Of course, there was regret.
Su Cha didn’t get to personally witness the aftermath of the auction. He began to blame Shen Ningze for being thoughtless—why hadn’t he prepared another space-folding device for them to inherit?
At this moment, the auction hall was a complete mess.
Security guards were stationed inside and outside the hotel. When the Flower Demon clan initially sealed off the hotel, the other guests had been cooperative. Now, their patience had run out. Someone stood up and picked up their bag. “I have other matters. I won’t be staying.”
Su Yeling stood near the auction stage, his head lowered, making it impossible to read his thoughts.
“No need to rush. The final auction item hasn’t ended yet.” His cold voice surprised everyone. After all this chaos, he still wanted to continue the auction?
Su Yeling walked onto the stage, using the auction table to block the awkward bloodstains on his pants.
He placed the demon bead in front of him. “Starting bid: two hundred million.”
It had previously been one hundred million. He had just doubled the starting price.
Before anyone could question him, Su Yeling slowly said, “You all witnessed the methods of the intruder just now. His demon bead holds significant research value.”
Su Yeling openly admitted that the demon bead belonged to Su Cha. There was no point in denying it.
The mocking looks from the crowd softened a little. That he could still think about raising the price—was it better to admire his composure or call him ruthless?
Still, his words did stir some renewed interest among the bidders regarding Su Cha’s demon bead.
“Two hundred and thirty million,” someone quickly called out.
“Two hundred and fifty million.”
Su Yeling’s expression didn’t change as he watched the crowd bidding. He subtly nodded toward Xia Yu, signaling her to leave now.
Xia Yu exited through the back door, with Li Hou following behind her. “Su Yeling’s composure and tactics are impressive, but…”
Xia Yu said, “Brother Ling said the injury was on his leg. I believe him.”
“Where he’s injured is secondary. After this scene, his chances of winning the Bureau Chief election are pretty much gone.”
If things had gone smoothly, Su Yeling would have become the Chief of the Demon Management Bureau, and both sides could have jointly pushed to remove territorial boundaries and fully integrate humans and demons. Of course, they also knew that humans and demons could never fully coexist in peace—urban violence would surely spike—but once the new system was in place, as its architects, their influence and status would be unmatched.
As long as the big picture could be maintained, why not pursue such enormous benefits?
Xia Yu’s phone had been vibrating nonstop for the past half hour. Some were messaging to ask what had happened, some were family calling. When she went online, she saw—thanks to Xue Li—that the rumors spreading were even more outrageous than what had actually occurred. Some gossip accounts had even made up stories about her having an illegitimate child and secretly giving it away.
Finally, Xia Yu could no longer maintain her calm facade. In a burst of anger, she directly smashed her phone.
The loud crash drew the attention of the search teams. Li Hou tried to calm her down, “Those trashy gossip accounts will be handled. The car is waiting outside.”
…
In the private booth.
Before finalizing the subway ad placements, Ji Tianjin had gone out briefly and returned with a bag of medicine. “Take off your clothes.”
Even though the weather was warm, both of them were still wearing jackets to cover the wounds caused by the turbulence inside the space-folding device.
Underneath, their white shirts were dotted with blood. Su Cha always buttoned his shirts meticulously, and as his long, slender fingers undid the top buttons, they brushed against his Adam’s apple a few times.
“Hiss—”
The fabric had stuck to some of the blood, and pulling it away made Su Cha frown.
Ji Tianjin sat behind him, doing his best to ignore Su Cha’s perfect waistline as he began disinfecting the wounds.
Even now, Su Cha was still checking the news in real time. Moments earlier, on a whim, he had launched a poll: Do you think Su Yeling is truly finished?
Tens of thousands had already voted “Yes,” and the number was still rising.
“Just ruining his reputation is already letting him off easy,” Ji Tianjin said. “This is only the beginning.”
When it was time for Ji Tianjin to be treated, Su Cha switched places and started applying medicine to him. Ji Tianjin’s injuries were even more serious, and Su Cha suddenly felt that, indeed, they were being too lenient on Su Yeling.
Suddenly, the booth door was pushed open without warning. There was no killing intent, just light, unsteady footsteps. The two of them simply turned their heads to glance at the intruder.
Earlier, when Su Cha booked the booth and made those shameless comments, the attendant had already been suspicious. When he saw the other man come back with a bag of medicine and gauze, he felt something was definitely off. After hesitating, he had come to check. He saw the trash can full of bloodied shirts and cotton swabs. Su Cha sat behind Ji Tianjin, most of his body obscured, his shoulders covered by silver hair, but it was obvious that neither of them was wearing shirts.
The attendant: “…”
His hair nearly stood on end. “If you want to do that, go to a hotel! If you keep this up, I’ll call the police!”
Do what?
Su Cha raised an eyebrow, realizing they were misunderstood but couldn’t be bothered to explain. “Okay, we’ll be careful.”
His gentle, clear voice made the attendant unconsciously swallow hard. Even though he couldn’t see Su Cha’s face clearly, he still inexplicably felt enchanted.
The next second, he felt a piercing chill. His rising excitement was instantly extinguished. Ji Tianjin’s gaze was cold and deep. “Anything else?”
The attendant instinctively shrank his neck. “Nope.”
As he turned to grip the door handle, he couldn’t help but add, “Just don’t kill anyone.”
The door closed again. Su Cha put on his jacket and shrugged. “Isn’t it boring if no one dies?”
Ji Tianjin sat by the computer, efficiently spreading Su Yeling’s videos across the entire country. While typing, he said, “A direct assassination would have a low success rate.”
They were, without a doubt, talking about killing Su Yeling.
Su Cha replied, “That kind of death doesn’t suit him.”
He deserved to die in a more humiliating way.
Leaning back in his chair, eyes half-closed, Su Cha was clearly plotting how to truly crush Su Yeling. Ji Tianjin hadn’t planned to interrupt, but still asked, “The Flower Demon clan and the Xia family—weren’t they supposed to be mortal enemies?”
He had always thought the key point was the forbidden interspecies romance, but after seeing online discussions that afternoon, he realized it also involved a massacre.
“Back then, humans and demons were utterly hostile. It wasn’t just about the Flower Demon clan and the Xia family. It was a coordinated purge by human exorcists, and many demon clans were wiped out. Humans paid a heavy price too.”
Su Cha lowered his gaze. “The Flower Demon clan could have escaped, but the Xia family used the token Su Yeling had given Xia Yu as a love keepsake to find their stronghold.”
Ji Tianjin’s hand paused. “How did they track it?”
They were fugitives now—if there were special tracking methods, they needed to prepare in advance.
“A pair of soulmate bells that can sense each other’s location.”
Ji Tianjin fell silent.
Su Cha had already shut his mouth right after saying that, because if he continued, he’d probably start cursing. After a moment of calm, his expression turned complicated: “Times change so fast. Who would’ve thought that now we’ve reached a point where humans and demons are discussing whether to even have territorial boundaries anymore?”
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but Ji Tianjin could feel the heavy sorrow behind it—like everything was mocking the past suffering they’d gone through.
“As for others, whatever,” Su Cha regained his composure, his voice cold. “But those brave lovers, the ten elders of the Flower Demon Clan, and those few from the Xia family’s main house—not a single one of them should think they can escape.”
Ji Tianjin patted his head lightly. “A few more wouldn’t hurt.”
“Ji Tianjin,” Su Cha suddenly called his name.
Ji Tianjin softly replied, “Hmm?”
Su Cha said, “I really wish I could rely on my dad right now.”
Far away, Cyril, can you hear my call?
And wherever that d*mn system is—you’ve been calling me your ‘brat’ all this time, yet forget about the promise of a hundred-square-meter bed, your ‘brat’ is now reduced to living in an internet café.
Ji Tianjin thought for a moment, then took out his communicator and motioned for Su Cha to come closer.
Su Cha leaned over, confused.
“Show the wound more.”
Continuing his previous recording, Ji Tianjin carefully documented every ‘tragic’ moment of Su Cha’s.
When he was done, he handed the device over. “Take some for me too.”
“Later, you can show yours to your teacher,” Ji Tianjin said. “I’ll show mine to my dad.”
Su Cha: “…Impressive that you can still think of your father at a time like this.”
Ji Tianjin flipped through the photos they just took, then suddenly kicked the trash bin into an inconspicuous corner and used his spirit power to pulverize the bloody shirts and cotton swabs inside.
“There are a lot more patrols on the streets now.”
He expanded his spirit sensing range. “Someone’s conducting a search.”
The search range even covered Nanjiang District, a demon-restricted zone, which showed just how furious Su Yeling and the Xia family must be.
Su Cha said, “The most dangerous place is the safest. Xia Yu is actually a bit more meticulous than Su Yeling. The ones doing the search now are probably the Xia family’s demon hunters.”
As he spoke, someone entered the internet café.
For someone as powerful as Su Yeling, it would be hard to conceal themselves from his spiritual sensing, but it was enough to fool ordinary demon hunters.
At the front desk, the internet café manager was honestly answering questions: “No suspicious people, just a couple playing a bit wildly.”
The demon hunter knocked on the door of the private room.
Ji Tianjin had his collar half open and lazily asked, “What’s up?”
When they realized they couldn’t see the faces of the two inside clearly—and that they were both men—the demon hunter’s eyes showed a trace of suspicion. “Can you show some ID?”
Ji Tianjin sneered: “Who do you think you are?”
The Xia family’s demon hunters wore a standard uniform. If someone wasn’t even a little afraid of them, they either had powerful backers or no brains at all. But people with backgrounds usually didn’t hang out in internet cafés.
Just as the demon hunter was raising his guard, Ji Tianjin casually added, “I know you’re looking for a demon. Just test our identities directly.”
As a major demon-hunting family, identifying demons was their specialty, and they had specialized testing equipment.
The demon hunter handed over the device. “Put your hand in.”
Ji Tianjin did as told. Instantly, all seven indicator lights lit up. The demon hunter’s expression shifted, and his previously arrogant attitude instantly vanished.
“My turn.” Su Cha cooperatively put his hand in too—again, all seven lights lit up.
This was the most precise detector, capable of testing both bloodline and talent.
All seven lights on.
What did this mean?
Not only were they human, they were top-tier humans.
“Sorry to bother you.”
The demon hunter left without hesitation.
Just outside the private room, his usually quiet companion couldn’t help but whisper, “They’re definitely pure-blooded humans. With such strong talents, they’re probably from some big family. But why would they come to an internet café?”
“Must be a special kink.” Right before leaving, curiosity got the better of the demon hunter, and he asked the café manager, “How wild were they playing?”
The manager replied, “The kind with heavy bleeding. They even went to buy gauze and medicine midway.”
The demon hunter sucked in a cold breath, his face full of disbelief.
