Ye Tiancheng and the little fox quickly left a message for Nie Chongyang and the others, informing them of their actions, and then hurried back to the hotel.
Coincidentally, Lin Yanshu was not at the hotel at this time, having gone out for some business. Many of the people Lin Yanshu had brought with her had also left, presumably with her.
However, some people remained.
This was likely because Lin Yanshu and her party were expected to return, and her elder sister, Lin Yanqin, was still here and could not be left unattended.
This situation conveniently allowed Ye Tiancheng and the little fox to proceed.
They could directly approach Lin Yanqin, who was much easier to talk to. Perhaps they could even glean some useful information from her.
Since Lin Yanqin had run away from home with the Kunlun Mirror, she was likely to have some understanding of the mirror. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng and his companion might not leave empty-handed.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox went to Lin Yanqin's room. Just as they were about to knock, they heard an unusual commotion.
Strangely, there was no one guarding Lin Yanqin's room. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox initially thought this might be a brief gap between guard shifts.
However, they then noticed that the guards were not approaching the area at all. Combined with the sounds coming from Lin Yanqin's room, this struck them as odd.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox exchanged a glance and stopped their actions.
They were no longer in a hurry to knock and enter.
While eavesdropping was not exactly honorable, these were special circumstances. They had to prioritize rescuing the person and could not afford to be concerned with etiquette.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox employed some subtle techniques to listen to the sounds within Lin Yanqin's room.
They heard a strange male voice outside Lin Yanqin's room. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were certain that they had never heard this voice before since they had known Lin Yanqin; it was an entirely unfamiliar voice.
They even faintly heard someone say "ge."
The two of them suddenly understood.
It was highly probable that the person with Lin Yanqin in the room was her illegitimate half-brother, the bastard son her father had at the beginning.
Perhaps Lin Yanqin had specifically dismissed the guards so that she could discuss matters with her brother that she did not want others to know.
This would explain why no one was stationed outside her room.
The specifics of their conversation were impossible to discern clearly. Lin Yanqin and her brother were likely being extremely cautious, discussing topics they wished to keep private, and speaking in very low voices. This made it difficult for Ye Tiancheng and the little fox to understand what they were saying.
After listening for a while, they gathered that the conversation between Lin Yanqin and her brother was likely related to the death of Lin Yanqin's mother, her ruby pendant, and the Kunlun Mirror.
Lin Yanqin and her brother had a significant disagreement, and it seemed they could not reach a consensus. Occasionally, when their emotions got the better of them, their voices would rise slightly, allowing Ye Tiancheng and the little fox to piece together fragments of information from their hushed sentences.
Eventually, the argument between Lin Yanqin and her brother subsided. Then, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox heard the sounds of the siblings parting ways on bad terms.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were startled. They had intended to hide, but they hadn't expected Lin Yanqin's brother to be so unconventional. Instead of leaving through the main door, he seemed to have climbed out the window, based on the sounds from the room.
Confirming this, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox looked at each other.
After processing the information they had just overheard and waiting for a moment, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox knocked on Lin Yanqin's door.
Upon hearing the knock, Lin Yanqin called out from inside, "Who is it?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "It's me, Ye Tiancheng, and my brother Ye Li. We have something to see you about."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's voice, Lin Yanqin immediately came to open the door. Soon, the door to Lin Yanqin's room opened before Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng and the little fox standing outside, Lin Yanqin slightly moved aside, inviting them in. She then asked, "What is it that you need to see me about?"
After entering the room, Lin Yanqin closed the door behind them. Ye Tiancheng then said to Lin Yanqin, "We have a very important matter, and we have no choice but to seek your help. We brothers hope you can do us a favor."
"We truly cannot think of anyone else who could help us with this matter besides you, Miss Lin."
Lin Yanqin was greatly surprised by Ye Tiancheng's words.
She said, "Mr. Ye, you are too kind. You have helped me so much before, and you have saved my life on multiple occasions. Please, just tell me what you need help with, and I will not refuse."
Ye Tiancheng paused before slowly saying to Lin Yanqin, "The situation is truly unusual."
Lin Yanqin was taken aback.
She asked, "What is it? Is it really only me who can help?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "Perhaps there are others in this place who can help, but you are the only one whom we brothers trust."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, Lin Yanqin quickly said, "Then please tell me directly, Mr. Ye. I will certainly not refuse, as long as I can truly help."
Ye Tiancheng nodded and then said to Lin Yanqin, "Miss Lin, you know about the mirror in your family, don't you?"
Lin Yanqin asked, "Is it related to that mirror? Has something gone wrong? I recall my brother already decided to give the mirror to you two gentlemen."
Lin Yanqin's statement was not meant to express any objection.
She was aware of the matter and genuinely believed that handing the mirror over to Ye Tiancheng and his companion was acceptable.
Ye Tiancheng said, "Previously, we were entrusted by the head of the Lin family. He said he would give us the mirror or help us destroy it, leaving the decision entirely to us. Afterward, we went to the place he indicated."
"However, something unexpected happened, and the mirror disappeared."
Hearing this, Lin Yanqin gasped.
"...The mirror is gone?!"
Lin Yanqin was clearly very concerned about the mirror's whereabouts. She might not have minded Ye Tiancheng and his companion taking the mirror, but she seemed to fear other outcomes.
Ye Tiancheng nodded and told Lin Yanqin, "After discovering this yesterday, we informed the head of the Lin family. But today, feeling unconvinced and that we had not properly fulfilled your commission, we went to look again."
"This time, we found the mirror in a different location, but..."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng say that the mirror had reappeared, Lin Yanqin visibly relaxed. However, as she heard the latter part of Ye Tiancheng's sentence, her heart tightened again.
Lin Yanqin asked, "But what?"
Ye Tiancheng then said to Lin Yanqin, "However, some other complications arose, which forced us to seek you out, Miss Lin."
"After we rescued you, Miss Lin, you know that we had two other companions. At that time, my brother Ye Li and I were separated from them and have not been able to find any trace of them since."
"However, this was our own affair, and we did not want to trouble you. Besides, they are not fragile individuals, and we believed they would be fine. So, we didn't mention it, believing we would eventually reunite."
"But today, when we discovered the mirror, although it finally appeared, it was not in the cellar of the hotel as the head of the Lin family had said."
"Instead, it was in the place where you, Miss Lin, had previously resided."
"It was after our fruitless search in the cellar that we discovered it while searching through the ruins."
"However, we couldn't be sure at first if that mirror was yours, Miss Lin. But upon touching it, images appeared within the mirror, and those images were of our two companions."
"The images in the mirror indicated that our two companions were in grave danger. But before we could do anything further, the images in the mirror vanished, and we could not make them reappear."
Ye Tiancheng's expression was both sincere and uneasy, his worry evident on his face.
He said, "We are brothers who have shared life and death together. How can we stand by and watch them fall into peril? We don't know if what the mirror reflected is real, but we dare not gamble on even a one-in-ten-thousand chance."
"Given the mirror's condition, we can only assume that such a miraculous occurrence could only be attributed to your mirror, Miss Lin."
"Therefore, we wish to find you, Miss Lin, to confirm the whereabouts of our two companions and how we can find and help them."
"We are not asking you to risk yourselves with us, but if you could just tell us the way, that would be enough."
"As for everything else, that is our own responsibility and will absolutely not burden you, Miss Lin!"
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, Lin Yanqin's expression shifted repeatedly.
Finally, Lin Yanqin murmured in disbelief, "How could this be? Did he lie to me? Has he already used that mirror?"
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were very perceptive. As long as Lin Yanqin did not volunteer the information, they would not inquire about what she meant by "he."
However, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox suspected that the "he" Lin Yanqin referred to was her illegitimate half-brother.
Lin Yanqin was lost in thought for a moment, then her expression became resolute. She reached into her collar and pulled out a chain, from which hung a ruby pendant.
She unclasped her necklace and handed it to Ye Tiancheng.
Lin Yanqin said, "Mr. Ye, I never expected our family's affairs to involve you. This was not my intention. You have all helped me so much, and I will certainly help you with this."
"You can try this pendant."