A Dragon Trapped in Shallow Waters Inside the Detention Center

Jinling City Detention Center.

Ye Chen had been in here for three days.

In those three days, he hadn't said a single word to anyone.

There were a total of six people locked in the detention cell.

Besides Ye Chen, there were two brawling thugs, a middle-aged man caught for drunk driving, a thief who stole e-bike batteries known as Skinny Monkey, and a Baldy suspected of fraud.

Ye Chen rested in the corner with his eyes closed.

He was using this method to maintain his peace of mind, preventing himself from being consumed by anger and resentment.

He knew he had to stay calm.

Impulsiveness wouldn't solve any problems.

It was just fifteen days.

He just had to endure it.

Once he got out, he still had the Medical Immortal's inheritance and his martial arts skills. As long as he was alive, there would be a chance to stage a comeback.

But a place like a detention center was never somewhere one could stay quietly.

Hey! New guy!

A voice came from opposite him.

Ye Chen didn't open his eyes.

I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?

Still no response.

Smack!

A foot kicked the iron bed in front of Ye Chen, shaking the entire frame.

Ye Chen opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him was the larger of the two thugs, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a face full of fierce flesh and a green snake tattooed on his arm.

The thug with the snake tattoo was named Ma Long, a small local tyrant in the Gulou Street area, who had been brought in for breaking two of someone's ribs in a KTV brawl.

He had been in the detention center for almost a week and was feeling restless all over, looking for a soft persimmon to pinch.

Ye Chen looked gentle and weak, and since he was brought in for illegal medical practice, in Ma Long's eyes, he was just a powerless nerd.

The easiest kind to bully.

Are you that fake miracle doctor from the internet?

Ma Long crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at Ye Chen condescendingly, a provocative smile on his lips.

I saw your video, laughed me to death. A peerless miracle doctor without even a qualification certificate, hahahaha!

The Skinny Monkey next to him joined in the jeering.

Exactly! Miracle doctor my ass, more like a scammer! Got locked up, huh? Serves you right!

Ye Chen didn't speak.

His gaze rested calmly on Ma Long, as if looking at a noisy fly.

What? Not convinced?

Ma Long stepped closer, reached out a finger, and poked Ye Chen's forehead.

Let me tell you, in here, your outside tricks don't work. Miracle doctor or not, once you step through these doors, you're my subordinate. My absolute subordinate. Listen—

Before he could finish his sentence.

Ye Chen moved.

No one saw clearly how he struck.

They only heard a muffled thud, and Ma Long flew backward like a kite with a broken string, his back slamming heavily against the wall before sliding down to the floor.

He clutched his stomach, his mouth wide open, his face turning a purplish-red, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Ye Chen had punched him in the abdomen.

The force was precisely controlled to avoid internal injuries but sufficient to incapacitate.

The precise control of a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

For this punch, he had held back ninety percent of his strength.

If he hadn't, Ma Long would already be a corpse.

The entire cell was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Skinny Monkey was scared silly, shrinking in the corner, shivering, a dark patch forming on his crotch.

The middle-aged drunk driver turned his face to the wall, pretending he didn't exist.

The fraudster Baldy directly hid under his quilt.

Ye Chen retracted his fist and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes again.

From beginning to end, his expression hadn't changed at all.

As if he had just reached out and swatted a mosquito.

The detention cell returned to silence.

But this silence didn't last long.

Ten minutes later, a guard rushed in with two duty officers.

Ma Long had recovered some strength and sat on the floor, pointing at Ye Chen and howling.

He hit me! Guard, look! He hit me!

The guard looked at Ma Long, then at Ye Chen resting with his eyes closed in the corner.

Ye Chen, someone has accused you of assaulting a fellow detainee. What do you have to say?

Ye Chen opened his eyes and replied flatly.

He attacked first.

Bullshit! Ma Long jumped up. I just said two words to him, and he—

Enough.

The guard coldly interrupted Ma Long.

No matter who started it, fighting in the detention center is a violation. Ye Chen, according to regulations, your detention period is extended by five days.

Ye Chen's eyebrow twitched.

Extended by five days.

That meant he had to stay here for twenty days.

Twenty days!

Ye Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the surging anger.

The guard left with his men.

Ma Long was transferred to another cell.

Before leaving, he glared viciously at Ye Chen, but his calves were trembling, and he didn't dare say another word.

The cell quieted down once again.

Ye Chen sat alone on the iron bed, looking at the pale light above.

He suddenly felt very tired.

Not physically tired.

But mentally exhausted.

A powerful Martial Arts Grandmaster, locked in this small iron room, unable to even freely respond to a street thug's provocation.

Because hitting someone meant extending his detention.

If he hit too hard, he would go to prison.

And he couldn't go to prison.

He still had revenge to take.

He still had people to see.

So he could only endure.

A dragon trapped in the shallows.

Nothing more than this.

...

The next afternoon.

The iron door of the cell opened.

The guard poked his head in.

Ye Chen, someone sent you some things. A newspaper and some clothes to change into. They've been checked, no problems.

He placed a plastic bag at the door and left.

Ye Chen walked over and picked up the bag.

Inside were indeed two clean shirts and a pair of pants.

There was also a copy of today's Jinling Morning Post.

Who sent it?

Ye Chen couldn't figure it out.

He had no friends in Jinling.

The Zhao family wouldn't come. His master couldn't be contacted. Su Qingxue had deleted him.

With doubts, he unfolded the newspaper.

Front page.

A huge color photo occupied half the page.

The moment Ye Chen's eyes fell on the photo, it felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over him.

Cold from head to toe.

The photo showed a luxurious private dinner party.

Crystal chandeliers, flowers, red wine glasses.

In the center of the frame stood two people.

Shen Fei wore a perfectly tailored black suit, holding a wine glass with a faint smile on his lips.

Beside him.

Su Qingxue.

She wore a white evening gown, her long hair draped down, her makeup exquisite.

She was smiling at Shen Fei.

Not that kind of polite, social smile.

But a very natural, relaxed smile with a touch of tenderness.

Ye Chen had never seen Su Qingxue smile like this.

In front of him, Su Qingxue was always cold, aloof, and restrained.

Her smile seemed to be locked away in a place he couldn't reach.

But now, that lock had been opened by another man.

The headline below the photo read boldly:

Shen Group's Young Master Shen Fei's 30th Birthday Banquet. Su Group's CEO Su Qingxue Attends Dressed to Impress. The Two Act Intimately, Suspected to Have Reconciled.

The accompanying text was even more piercing.

According to insiders, Shen Fei recently injected a large sum of capital into the Su Group, helping it survive its bankruptcy crisis. Su Qingxue's attitude toward Shen Fei has also undergone a noticeable shift. The two were inseparable at the banquet, frequently whispering to each other, with highly intimate interactions.

"Previously, Su Qingxue had caused quite a stir with the Shen family over the broken engagement. Now, it seems that Jinling's most highly anticipated golden couple has buried the hatchet..."

Ye Chen's hands, holding the newspaper, trembled violently.

His gaze was dead fixed on that photo.

Fixed on Su Qingxue's smiling face.

Fixed on the gentle look in her eyes as she looked at Shen Fei—a look he had never received.

It felt like he had been stabbed in the chest.

It wasn't pain.

It was emptiness.

A massive, unfillable sense of emptiness spread from his heart, swallowing all his reason and composure.

Su Qingxue.

The first person he met after coming down the mountain.

The person he risked his life to protect.

He didn't hesitate to offend the Shen family, subdue the Zhao family, and use his master's connections, all for her.

And now.

She was smiling.

Smiling beside another man.

Smiling while he was locked up in a detention center, left with nothing.

Smiling so beautifully.

So gently.

So unfamiliarly.

Ye Chen squeezed his fingertips so hard that deep creases formed in the newspaper.

His lips trembled, his eyes turned red, and the veins bulged all the way from his neck to his forehead.

"Ah!!!"

A low, angry roar erupted from the depths of his throat!

Ye Chen tore the newspaper!

Tore it to pieces!

Tearing it piece by piece, as if wanting to shred every single word, every smile, and every gentle gaze on it!

The shredded paper fluttered to the ground.

Ye Chen stood amidst the shredded paper, his chest heaving violently like a wounded, trapped beast.

The several people sharing the cell all shrank into the corner, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The scene of Ye Chen knocking out Ma Long with a single punch yesterday was still vivid in their minds. No one dared to cross him at this moment.

Ye Chen's fury lasted for three whole minutes.

Then it slowly subsided.

He squatted down and picked up the shredded paper piece by piece.

When he picked up the piece with Su Qingxue's smiling face, his movements paused.

Only half a face remained on the fragment.

A curved eye, half an upturned mouth.

Ye Chen stared at that half face for a long time.

Then, crumpling it into a ball with the other fragments, he threw it into the trash can in the corner.

He sat back down on the iron bed.

Closed his eyes.

But everyone saw that beneath his closed eyes were two tear tracks.

He was crying.

Silently.

A martial arts grandmaster would not cry.

But today, Ye Chen cried.

The detention room was suffocatingly quiet.

No one spoke.

Only the fluorescent light overhead emitted a buzzing electrical sound.

...

Meanwhile.

In the Shen family villa, west of Jinling City.

Shen Fei sat in the living room, the exact same newspaper that Ye Chen had received lying on the coffee table in front of him.

He turned to the front page and looked at the photo.

The photo was taken very well.

The angle, lighting, and composition were all just right.

Su Qingxue's smile was captured very naturally.

Of course, he had specifically arranged for a photographer to take it in the first place.

Yesterday's so-called birthday banquet was held by Shen Fei on a whim. The scale was not large, with only a dozen people invited, purely to take this photo.

Su Qingxue did not know this photo would be published in the newspaper.

She had merely smiled unconsciously at the banquet because of something Shen Fei said.

Just that brief moment was caught on camera.

Then it was arranged to be on the front page.

Then it was sent into the detention center.

Delivered right into Ye Chen's hands.

Every step was meticulously designed.

Shen Fei put down the newspaper and picked up his teacup.

The system panel pulsed quietly in his field of vision.

[Child of Fortune Ye Chen sees the newspaper in the detention center, suffering severe mental trauma!]

[The crack in his Dao heart has expanded!]

[Ye Chen's Fortune Value: -500]

[Current Fortune Value of Ye Chen: 4770 -> 4270]

Shen Fei took a sip of tea.

Four thousand two hundred.

Not even halfway there yet.

No rush.

There were still sixteen days left in the detention center.

In these sixteen days, he could do a lot of things.

Shen Fei stood up and walked towards the door.

Ling Shuang and Ling Xue were already waiting there.

The two had changed into casual clothes. Ling Shuang wore a black turtleneck sweater and trousers, while Ling Xue wore a gray hoodie and jeans.

Even such plain attire could not hide their country-toppling beautiful faces and the fierce aura radiating from their bodies.

"Ready?"

"Ready to head out anytime."

Ling Shuang nodded in reply, while Ling Xue stretched her wrists beside her, a hint of excitement in her eyes.

Shen Fei picked up the car keys.

"Let's go."

"To the Antique Street."

The three walked out of the villa and got into the black G-Wagon.

The car drove out of the gate and merged into Jinling's traffic.

On the system panel, a line of golden text slowly emerged.

[S-Rank Opportunity Warning!]

[One of the core opportunities of the Child of Fortune Ye Chen—the ancient alchemy treasure Xuanhuang Cauldron. Current location: Jinling Antique Street, Jubao Pavilion antique shop, third shelf of a dusty wooden rack in the corner of the store.]

[Time until Child of Fortune Ye Chen is released from prison and senses the Xuanhuang Cauldron: 16 days]

[Recommendation: Intercept immediately!]

Shen Fei steered the wheel with one hand, his gaze falling on the rapidly receding streetscape outside the car window.

A sixteen-day window.

He only needed one hour.

The G-Wagon rolled over the streets of Jinling, heading in the direction of the Antique Street.

Ye Chen was still licking his wounds on the iron bed in the detention center.

And his last chance for a comeback was being snatched away by someone else.

Destiny never waits for anyone.

Especially not for losers.