Chapter 3: Old Chen Refuses the Beast

“Just this hunk of scrap? Low-grade trash. No thanks.”

The heavy, airtight doors of the Sanctuary slammed shut behind Shen Qinghe, the hydraulic hissing into a dull, grinding thud that echoed like the mastication of some massive beast. Morning light filtered down through the high, grimy skylights, casting murky shafts that cut through the air. Dust motes swirled in the beams, a chaotic dance much like the low-quality Beast Soul fragments stored within the facility. Boss Chen lounged lazily in the chair behind his desk, idly flipping a silver lighter open and shut. *Click, pop.* He shot a contemptuous glance at Tiedan, who was cradled in Shen Qinghe’s arms. His look suggested he was staring at a pile of unrecyclable garbage, a sarcastic smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth, as if he could deny the very existence of the beast’s value with a single sweep of his eyes.

Shen Qinghe tightened her hold on Tiedan and kept moving, her steps unyielding as she headed straight for the cluttered inventory shelves where the Beast Grass was stored. The air here was thick with a pungent mix of stale plant matter and engine oil. Tiedan shrank into a tight ball against her chest, his golden eyes wide with terror and reliance. His breathing was rapid, small paws digging desperately into Shen Qinghe’s fingers. She ran her fingertips gently over the rough fur on his spine, activating [Beast Language Resonance]. In an instant, a chaotic stream of data flooded her mind, carrying with it the immense, dormant evolutionary potential inside Tiedan and a deep, primal fear of the imminent violence. In this cold, industrial warehouse, it was just the two of them, a person and a beast, and they were the only source of warmth for each other.

“Set him down, Shen Qinghe.” Boss Chen finally stood up, his smile not reaching his eyes as he closed the distance, his leather shoes echoing hollowly against the concrete floor. “The impurities in this Beast Soul are off the charts. It doesn’t even pass a basic purification. My Sanctuary might be a wreck, but I’m not the trash can for dead weight. And that pathetic Beast Grass debt you owe? Consider it settled. Call it my cleaning fee.”

Tiedan let out a strangled, low whimper, his front paws clutching tightly at Shen Qinghe’s clothes. His body shook violently, the muscles under his fur coiled tight like a drawn bowstring. Shen Qinghe sidestepped, dodging Boss Chen’s outstretched hand with fluid, cold precision. His contempt didn’t even make her flinch; instead, a faint, icy smile touched her lips, the kind that never reached her eyes but cut through the air with chill.

“Boss Chen, per the contract, you’re supposed to pay the full valuation for the Beast Grass.” Shen Qinghe’s voice was quiet, yet it cut through the empty warehouse with startling clarity, bouncing off the metal shelving units. “In the time Tiedan was in my care, his Beast Soul purity increased by a full thirty percent. That’s a calculated increase in value. Are you trying to stiff me?”

Boss Chen’s face darkened. He snapped the lighter shut with a sharp click, the sound severing the last shred of polite pretense.

“Debt? Are you kidding me!” He waved his sleeve, cutting off Shen Qinghe’s words with impatient irritation, spittle flying as he leaned in close. “You Shen Qinghe can’t even get a real manager’s job. You aim high, miss every time. What do you have to show for it? I bet you’re just stalling to stay in my Sanctuary a few more days so I can bleed you dry of your last penny. In this industry, no one can force my hand. Not you.”

Shen Qinghe remained neither humbled nor arrogant. She held eye contact, staring down at Boss Chen’s averted gaze as her aura turned sharply colder.

“Debts are paid. It’s the law of the land.” Her tone was calm, but the pressure in her voice was inescapable, making the air around them feel stagnant and heavy. “If you refuse to accept the beast, I’ll go public with your books. I know exactly which high-tier Beast Grass cores you’ve been secretly skimming. Every transaction is in my black ledger. So, Boss Chen, do you really want me to hand this over to the Enforcement Squad?”

The blood drained from Boss Chen’s face. His previous swagger froze instantly, a flash of panic surfacing in his eyes. He leaned forward, lowering his voice but thick with threat, sweat beading on his temples. “Stop trying to scare me. Do you think I won’t just throw you in the waste dump right here?” Boss Chen ground his teeth. “Everyone knows the ghosts you’re carrying. I’ve been in this game for twenty years, Chen the boss. Do you think some little girl like you can intimidate me?”

Tiedan suddenly let out a low growl, a pressure radiating from him that defied his small size, a glint of gold deep in his pupils. Taking advantage of the shift, Shen Qinghe pulled a yellowed, parchment-like document from her coat. With a tap of her finger, a spectral map of high-tier Beast Grass locations materialized in the air between them, golden light flowing across the surface and illuminating Boss Chen’s stunned expression.

“These are the coordinates for the source points of the high-tier Beast Grass that Tiedan located last night.” Shen Qinghe swiped her finger through the holographic light, the brilliance harsh in the dim room. “These are the exact cores you stole. The proof is right here. The evidence is undeniable.”

Boss Chen stared at the shifting gold light, his eyes darting, pretending to be calm as he backed up a half-step.

“This... this is just a fake invoice. Me? Admit to it?” He tried to cover his inner waver with volume, his hand gripping the corner of his desk so hard his knuckles turned white. “Forgering Beast Grass vouchers is a serious crime, Shen Qinghe. You’re asking to die!”

Shen Qinghe sneered, closing the gap inch by inch.

“Then let’s have the Enforcement Squad inspect the goods. If they find no proof, I’ll voluntarily drop the debt. How about that?” The corner of her mouth lifted in a confident, victorious arch. “Wanna take the bet? Do you dare? Besides, I’ve got your secret ledgers in my pocket. If the Enforcement Squad comes in for a cleaning, I’d hate for us to end up in the same boat.”

Boss Chen, hit where it hurt, exploded in rage. He lunged at Shen Qinghe, trying to tear the critical Beast Grass voucher from her hand.

“I see how long you think you can hold out!” His face was contorted in a snarl. As he pounced, the air around him seemed to thicken with malice, a wind pressure reeking of blood rushing toward them.

Shen Qinghe didn’t move. Instead, Tiedan shot out from her arms, a flash of golden light striking Boss Chen and sending him flying. He crashed to the floor in a heap, the thud of his body hitting the concrete echoing through the room.

“Woof!” Tiedan landed on all fours, the faint purple shimmer in his ruffled golden hair pulsing weakly. His eyes were fierce; the [Master Protection] instinct radiated from him, a low-frequency vibration that made the heart skip a beat.

Shen Qinghe picked up the voucher, straightening her collar with deliberate slowness, as if the incident had been nothing more than a minor, forgettable hiccup.

“Boss Chen, was that little outburst recorded on the cameras?” Her voice was ice-cold, a chill that seeped into the bones. “Don’t think the back alley of the Sanctuary is off-camera. The Enforcement Squad loves investigating violent misconduct like that, don’t they?”

Boss Chen covered his trembling face, cold sweat leaking from between his fingers. His spine seemed to collapse, his body hunched over like a withered leaf stripped of its essence.

“Damn you... But I warn you! You’ll never see a single cent of that money!” He struggled to crawl up on the ground, his voice a desperate, guttural roar. “You might win today, but you’ll lose the future! The rules of this Sanctuary don’t answer to you!”

Shen Qinghe turned on her heel and left, her steps steady and purposeful. Behind her came the sound of Boss Chen’s bitter rage and Tiedan’s smug little bark. Outside, the wind picked up, carrying a single dry leaf across the silence.

“Let’s go, Tiedan.” Shen Qinghe stepped out of the main gate into the blinding morning light, squinting against the glare. “Some debts need to be cleared. And some karmic knots... need to be untied.”

Tiedan followed obediently, his golden tail wagging lightly. The warmth that surged through him from his master’s protective instinct chased away the lingering cold and fear.

At that moment, a sleek black luxury car rolled up to the entrance of the Sanctuary, the engine purring low. The door opened, and Lin Ao stepped out, his gaze sharp as a hawk’s, locking onto the person and beast.

Lin Ao didn’t speak immediately. He simply stood by the car, long fingers tapping a rhythmic, crisp pattern on the edge of the wheel. His tailored suit reflected the sunlight with a cold, sheen of black, clashing violently with the mottled, crumbling concrete around them.

Shen Qinghe paused, looking back without a hint of fear, even tossing in a dash of mockery. “Young Master Lin? What’s wrong, did Boss Chen’s grievances have nowhere else to go, so he sent you for a complaint?”

A faint crooked smile touched Lin Ao’s lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He walked closer, the click of his dress shoes on the pavement sharp and suppressed. As he passed Tiedan, the beast instinctively shrank his neck. While he still whimpered in a display of defiance, his body honestly ducked behind Shen Qinghe. Lin Ao seemed to sense the shift; a flicker of surprise crossed his face before he masked it instantly.

“A complaint?” Lin Ao let out a low chuckle. “That waste Chen Yuan. He can’t even keep a juvenile beast in check. He definitely needs a knock on the head.” He ignored Shen Qinghe’s sarcasm, his gaze shifting to the crumpled, then smoothed-out voucher in her hand. “But I’m not here today just to watch a circus.”

A warning bell rang softly in Shen Qinghe’s mind. She instinctively tightened her grip on the voucher. She sensed a pressure in Lin Ao’s aura that was different from his usual probing—a composure and certainty that only those who truly held power possessed.

“The purple fluctuation on Tiedan... it seems clearer than last night?” Lin Ao suddenly changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over Tiedan’s ruffled golden hair like a blade. “As far as I know, there aren’t more than three hosts in the entire city capable of triggering high-tier Beast Grass resonance like this. Miss Shen, what’s in your hands probably isn’t just some ‘low-grade variety.’”

The air seemed to freeze. Shen Qinghe’s fingertips went cold, but her face remained a mask of nonchalance. Boss Chen’s so-called “low-grade” was now being called “high-tier” by Lin Ao. The discrepancy was enough to shatter every judgment she’d made so far. Was Boss Chen motivated by greed, or by fear?

“You’re joking, Young Master Lin.” Shen Qinghe kept a stiff upper lip, trying to create distance. “The Sanctuary is about rescue. We don’t ask about origins.”

“If you don’t ask about origins, do you ignore the consequences?” Lin Ao pressed his advantage, stepping until they were barely a foot apart. “Shen Qinghe. Your father’s old case from the Shen Group remains unsolved. If Tiedan really is a high-tier Beast Grass seed, his awakening could shake the very power foundations of this city. Are you protecting the beast, or protecting yourself?”

The last line was a blade, slicing precisely into Shen Qinghe’s deepest vulnerability. Her father’s legacy, a mystery hanging over her head like the Sword of Damocles. Lin Ao had clearly seen her weak point, striking while she was defenseless.

Shen Qinghe took a deep breath, the cold in her eyes deepening. She stopped hiding. She stared straight into Lin Ao’s bottomless gaze. “Lin Ao, if you want Tiedan, ask him first if he’s willing.”

As if understanding his master’s determination, Tiedan let out another low roar. Purple light wove through his fur, instantly forming a weak but sturdy shield of light that enveloped Shen Qinghe at its center. Lin Ao’s pupils contracted violently. The playful expression vanished, replaced by a chilling intent to kill.

He raised a hand. Two bodyguards in black suits flashed silently out from both sides of the luxury car, the muzzles of their pistols instantly pressed against their foreheads.

“Take them.” Lin Ao’s voice was icy, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Wait!” From the distance, a police siren suddenly shrieked, tearing through the sky. Vehicles from the Enforcement Squad swept in like arrows, instantly surrounding the scene. Shen Qinghe’s lips curled in a faint, pale smile through the gun muzzles. “Lin Ao, did you think you were the only one playing the long game here?”

Lin Ao’s gaze turned frigid, his hands lowering the guns slightly. This game had only just begun.