Several burly men were closing in on Zhou Jing'er, one of them grabbing the item she was holding.

Zhou Jing'er bit down hard on the back of the man's hand.

"Damn, you dare bite me!" The man was furious and plunged the knife in his hand into Zhou Jing'er's abdomen.

Ye Guichen's pupils contracted, sensing something bad was happening. He shot out like a cannonball, rushing to the men, taking down all of them in a few swift moves.

The men never expected someone to appear so suddenly and strike so fiercely; each had their ribs or limbs broken and were quickly incapacitated.

"Big brother, big brother, the thing, the thing..." Zhou Jing'er, seeing Ye Guichen, was overjoyed even in her weakened state and pointed to one of the men.

Ye Guichen's eyes tightened. He turned around and snatched a small box from the man's hand.

The men, terrified by Ye Guichen's ferocity, didn't dare to stay any longer.

"Damn, we'll be back!" They shouted threats as they limped away quickly.

Ye Guichen placed the box in Zhou Qing'er's hand, "You're hurt, don't talk."

Zhou Qing'er managed a weak smile, "Brother, I'm fine, fine..."

As she spoke, Zhou Qing'er's head tilted, and she fainted.

At this moment, a figure appeared at the alley's entrance.

Seeing the blood on Zhou Qing'er's abdomen, the figure staggered forward, "Girl, girl, are you okay?"

The newcomer was none other than Zhou Huairen.

At this moment, Zhou Huairen looked disheveled, his clothes torn, covered with dust, and even some bruises on his face.

He had seen Ye Guichen from afar and witnessed everything, understanding that Ye Guichen hadn't intentionally failed to save his granddaughter but simply didn't have the time. He felt sorrowful, "Mr. Ye, it's all my fault that Qing'er is hurt."

"Alright, let's talk later. We need to get to the hospital." Ye Guichen said, quickly pressing several acupuncture points on Zhou Qing'er's body to stop the bleeding.

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhou Huairen, despite his own injuries, agreed hastily and followed Ye Guichen to the hospital.

Fortunately, there was a hospital nearby, and once Zhou Qing'er was in the emergency room, Ye Guichen could finally catch his breath.

Zhou Huairen, his eyes red, curled up on a bench outside the operating room, hitting his head in frustration, "It's all my fault, if it weren't for me, Qing'er wouldn't be in this situation."

Ye Guichen sat beside Zhou Huairen, "Mr. Zhou, what happened?"

Zhou Huairen glanced at Ye Guichen, sighed, and wiped away his tears. Seeing no one else around, he took out the fist-sized box that Zhou Qing'er had been holding.

Though the box was small, it was made of fine nanmu wood, now stained with blood, evidently from Zhou Qing'er.

Zhou Huairen held it in his hands, choking up, "It's all because of this thing. If I had known, I would never have taken it."

Between sobs, Zhou Huairen recounted the whole story.

He said that some days ago, a rustic-looking man came to his shop with a jade pendant, wanting to sell it.

Originally thinking the man was a fraud, Zhou Huairen just happened to be in the shop and took a casual look at the pendant, only to be shocked.

Upon careful inspection, Zhou Huairen was amazed to find that the pendant was a genuine antique, at least a thousand years old and very valuable.

He quickly spent twenty thousand yuan to buy it and casually asked the man how he obtained it.

The man said he found it while hunting wild boars on a mountain, but no matter how Zhou Huairen pressed, the man wouldn't reveal the exact location.

Zhou Huairen had to let it go, thinking that was the end of it, but today, when he and his granddaughter took the pendant to an antique appraisal exhibition, a group of people suddenly appeared, trying to steal it.

Fearing the pendant would be stolen, Zhou Huairen, without thinking, handed it to Zhou Qing'er, telling her to run.

No one expected the assailants to be so ruthless, even resorting to knives.

If Ye Guichen hadn't shown up in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"How could I know this would happen to Qing'er? If I had known, I would have never taken this pendant!" Zhou Huairen regretted deeply.

Ye Guichen, however, asked curiously, "What kind of jade pendant would make someone want to steal it so badly?"

"Oh, Mr. Ye, take a look. It's this one." Zhou Huairen had a very good impression of Ye Guichen. He had left early during the last birthday banquet due to some issues but had intended to have a good chat with him after the event.

He had no suspicion towards Ye Guichen and opened the nanmu box directly.

Ye Guichen glanced inside.

His pupils contracted sharply: Snake Head Mountain Jade Pendant?

Ye Guichen was about to take it for a closer inspection when the emergency room door suddenly opened.

Zhou Huairen immediately closed the box and hurried to the entrance of the emergency room, "Doctor, how is my granddaughter?"

The doctor, recognizing Zhou Huairen, took off his mask and said, "Mr. Zhou, your granddaughter's internal organs are injured. We've done our best..."

"Boom!" With the doctor's words, Zhou Huairen felt the world spinning as he staggered backward.

Ye Guichen, quick to react, caught Zhou Huairen and pressed on his philtrum to wake him, "Mr. Zhou, are you alright?"

"Qing'er..." Zhou Huairen couldn't hold back his tears, rushing towards the emergency room but was stopped by the doctor, who advised, "Mr. Zhou, please don't be agitated. You need to take care of your health."

"Doctor, Qing'er is gone. Why should I still live?"

He was devastated.

Those around could only shake their heads and sigh.

White-haired people sending off the black-haired - the most heartbreaking thing.

"Damn it! Damn it! I'll kill those bastards!" Zhou Huairen's eyes were red, his body emanating a fierce aura of vengeance, clearly hating the assailants intensely.

Ye Guichen pressed down on Zhou Huairen's shoulder, "Mr. Zhou, please calm down. I'll go check on Qing'er."

"You?"

Zhou Huairen, feeling Ye Guichen's calm yet firm grip, suddenly realized how his grudge had been somewhat suppressed. His eyes brightened.

Yes, when he nearly died in the mall, it was Mr. Ye who had saved him.

"Okay, okay, Mr. Ye, please." Zhou Huairen, grasping at what seemed like his last hope, quickly agreed.

As Ye Guichen was about to enter the emergency room, the doctor frowned, "You can't go in."

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