Archer Rhys glanced at the thugs surrounding him, then suddenly moved.

His movements were as swift and fierce as a wild beast, so fast that all anyone could see was a blur. Before they could even register what was happening, all they heard were the sounds of fists hitting flesh, bodies being sent flying and hitting the ground, and agonizing screams.

In less than ten minutes, all of Eugene Aldridge’s thugs were on the ground, unable to get back up.

Archer Rhys walked up to Eugene Aldridge, lifted his foot, and stomped on his chest. "Tired of living, are you? How dare you touch my people?"

"You... you... who... who are you?" Eugene Aldridge’s face was a mask of terror as he stared at Archer Rhys, a vague guess forming in his mind.

Archer Rhys pressed down hard on his chest, and Eugene Aldridge howled in pain.

Seeing that the thugs were all down, Grace Winslow finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked over. "Archer, what are you doing here?"

Archer Rhys’s gaze swept over her from head to toe. He only relaxed after confirming she wasn’t hurt. "I happened to have some business nearby. I saw the main gate was shut tight and guessed there might be trouble inside. I didn’t expect to run into you."

"Are you two okay?"

Hayley quickly waved her hands with a smile. "We’re fine, we’re fine! Future brother-in-law, it’s a good thing you came. Otherwise, we might have been in real trouble, especially my sister."

As she spoke, Hayley gave Grace a playful push.

Everyone in the family knew about the "thing" between Grace Winslow and Archer Rhys.

Although Grace had always insisted she didn’t plan on thinking about romance before graduation.

But the fact that she allowed Archer Rhys to get close was a signal and a hint in itself.

Perhaps Grace herself hadn’t even realized that her attitude toward Archer Rhys was special.

The bonds of their youth were not so easily forgotten.

"Good, as long as you’re safe." Archer Rhys nodded, his gaze falling back to Eugene Aldridge. "You’ve got some nerve. Forced sale? And you wanted to hold them against their will? What else were you planning to do? Speak!"

Blood trickled from the corner of Eugene Aldridge’s mouth. Seeing the look in Archer Rhys’s eyes, he panicked completely. His body trembled, and a puddle of yellow liquid slowly spread out from under him.

He stammered, "I... I... I wasn’t... wasn’t planning... on doing... anything."

"I... I was... wrong..."

"Wrong about what?" Archer Rhys kicked him again.

Eugene Aldridge spat out another mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.

Grace Winslow stepped forward worriedly and grabbed Archer Rhys’s arm. "Archer, don’t kill him. It’s not worth it for someone like him."

"Don’t worry, I won’t kill him. I know what I’m doing." Archer Rhys shook his head gently, his tone becoming noticeably softer.

The moment he heard the name "Archer Rhys," Eugene Aldridge had already guessed his identity.

There weren’t many people in Coronet with the surname Rhys, and even fewer named Archer.

And an Archer Rhys who was so young and capable... in all of Coronet, even in the entire country, there was only one.

He was just cursed with the worst luck. How had he managed to provoke someone this untouchable?

"Lord Rhys, I... I was... I was wrong. Please... please let me go..." Eugene Aldridge begged, sobbing.

Archer Rhys sneered. "Wrong? It’s too late to realize that now."

"You’ve done this sort of thing plenty of times over the years, haven’t you?"

Eugene Aldridge didn’t dare to speak.

Ever since the country’s economic policies were liberalized, he had indeed done this sort of thing quite often.

Even before that, he was involved in smuggling. He just did it secretively and had a few connections, so he was never caught.

If they were to really tally up his crimes, dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough to atone for them.

This time, he was truly terrified. "I was really wrong. I... I was just blinded by greed. I’ll never dare to do it again..."

"Go tell that to the police." Archer Rhys wasn’t buying it and gave him another kick.

It was only at this moment that Byron Sinclair was finally able to get in smoothly.

He took one look at the chaotic scene and was startled. "What happened? Archer, did you wreck the guy’s shop?"

"I was thinking of partnering with him."

Archer Rhys snorted. "Partner with him? He was planning to rob his own customers. Are you sure you’d have no problem working with him?"

Byron Sinclair quickly asked what happened. When he found out what Eugene Aldridge had done, he was so furious he went up and gave the man a couple of kicks himself. "Are you an idiot?"

"Did you really think this is still the old society, where money lets you get away with anything? This is the new era! What you did is illegal. You must have thought your life was too comfortable and just had to go looking for trouble."

After his tirade, his expression turned gloomy. "And here I was, hoping to find some good stuff. My grandfather’s eightieth birthday is coming up, and I wanted to get him a nice gift. There aren’t many major jade dealers left in Coronet."

"Young Master Sinclair, why would you need to partner with someone else for jade? The young lady right in front of you just cut open a top-tier Imperial Green jade! If she let even a little slip through her fingers for you, you’d be all set," a man nearby who knew Byron Sinclair couldn’t help but call out.

Byron Sinclair’s gaze fell on Grace Winslow. Then, with a delighted surprise, he asked, "For real? You really cut an Imperial Green jade?"

"It’s true, it’s true! That’s why Eugene Aldridge tried to rob them. Because they found an Imperial Green jade, he didn’t want to let them leave with it, and that’s what caused this whole mess. The thing’s still over there."

Hearing this, Byron Sinclair ran over to take a look. Holy cow, it really was Imperial Green jade! And such a huge piece, at that—over sixty centimeters tall and at least half a meter wide.

A piece this size wasn’t just big enough for bracelets; you could even carve a whole Jade Buddha from it.

He’d been worrying about what to get his grandfather for his eightieth birthday, and here was the perfect gift, ready-made.

"Comrade Grace, are you selling? I don’t need the whole thing, just sell me a small piece. I can’t afford the whole rock anyway," Byron Sinclair said, running up to Grace Winslow with a cheeky grin.

Grace Winslow subconsciously looked toward Archer Rhys.

After all, the man was Archer’s friend, so she had to show him some courtesy.

"Don’t mind me. If you don’t want to sell, just refuse him. We’re not that close," Archer Rhys replied, his face expressionless.

Byron Sinclair practically jumped. "Hey, what are you talking about, Archer? We grew up together! We practically shared the same pair of pants as kids! You can’t be so disloyal!"

"Not close," was Archer Rhys’s only faint, two-word response.

Grace Winslow couldn’t help but laugh. After a moment of thought, she said to Byron Sinclair, "I have plans for this piece. But we still have a batch of raw stones. If we open something good that you like later, I can sell it to you." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Byron Sinclair stared greedily at the Imperial Green jade. But since Grace had put it that way, he couldn’t exactly force a sale—not with Archer Rhys eyeing him like a tiger ready to pounce. If he dared to push it, Archer would probably kick him to death.

Byron Sinclair nodded. "Wow, you guys bought a lot. That’s impressive."

"Yep, and it only cost two thousand," Hayley chimed in from the side, unable to hold back her amazement.

Byron Sinclair froze, wondering if he had heard her correctly.

’What did I just hear?’

’They spent two thousand and gambled their way to an Imperial Green jade worth millions?’

’And they still had a small mountain of stones over there left to open. Just what kind of terrifying skill is this?’