Zhu Yan continued observing.
He couldn’t read minds, so making deductions was naturally difficult. But one thing was certain: Director Jin was a suspicious man in a position of power.
He was probably wary that the Seer was holding something back. He might even blame the Seer for not giving a complete prophecy, which had resulted in Jin Rongxu getting hurt.
Most people judged others by their own standards.
If that was the case, then Director Jin was absolutely the kind of person who put his own interests above everything else.
Wearing Guan En’s face, Zhu Yan spoke hesitantly.
“Director, actually, I have an idea.”
When Director Jin nodded, he continued.
“The Seer said that you and Captain Jin shouldn’t go in person, or there would be losses, and that we should have someone else take the students to investigate.”
“Doesn’t that mean she believes the Hunter will attack you—and only you?”
That was indeed what it meant.
Captain Jin nodded, signaling for Zhu Yan to continue.
“If everyone puts on protective gear and uniforms, how will the Hunter know who’s who?”
…
Downstairs.
Zhu Zeyu, who had been leaning against the wall in idleness all this time, finally straightened up, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door to Jin Rongxu’s office.
After only a few minutes of persuasion, Director Jin readily agreed to his proposal.
To avoid blowing their cover, Zhu Yan suggested that Director Jin not ride in the same vehicle as the students, claiming that it was to “prevent the Hunter from spotting him.”
In reality, it was to keep him away from the real Guan En.
With Director Jin’s matter more or less settled, Zhu Zeyu could finally face Jin Rongxu without a guilty conscience.
Jin Rongxu was seated behind his desk.
The office lights were off, making his expression look particularly dark and terrifying.
“Zhu Zeyu, there’s a very serious question that you still haven’t explained clearly to us.”
Zhu Zeyu wasn’t about to argue with a dying man.
“You can read my memories.”
“The Hunter finds you with pinpoint accuracy every time.”
Jin Rongxu completely ignored his defense and began talking to himself.
“And every time you go out alone, you also manage to find the Hunter with pinpoint accuracy. Tell me—why is that?”
Jin Rongxu’s office had a strange layout. His desk was against the wall, with a projection clock directly behind his head.
Zhu Zeyu glanced at the time.
All this stalling had taken them to nearly half past one.
If he dragged things out much longer, Director Jin would be on his way to the grave.
Zhu Zeyu lowered his head and thought for a moment, staring at his nose and contemplating his heart.
“Captain, I think it’s because I’m relatively intelligent.”
He raised his head and gazed at Jin Rongxu with complete sincerity.
“Look, I find the Hunter with pinpoint accuracy every time. And every time I run into him, the instance ends shortly afterward.”
Zhu Zeyu was actually too lazy to bother with Jin Rongxu.
But with the captain’s authority looming over him, he had no choice but to answer.
Left with no alternative, he could only make something up.
“I think I’m practically the strictest father in the entire instance. Captain, following me is your good fortune—”
Slap!
Jin Rongxu slammed his hand onto the desk.
Seeing Zhu Zeyu wisely shut his mouth, he sneered and continued interrogating him.
“Zhu Zeyu, you’re working with the Hunter, aren’t you?”
“You think my ability is just for show? So many of the things you do are completely out of line. They don’t match your supposedly honest and straightforward way of thinking at all!”
Come to think of it, that was true.
His thoughts might be, “I’m going to turn,” but somehow the steering wheel would end up sending him flying into the sky.
There was something both reasonable and absurd about it.
Jin Rongxu stared at Zhu Zeyu, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
But Zhu Zeyu only looked back at him with bright eyes, as though he couldn’t understand his anger or the questions he was asking.
“Captain, do you study the zodiac? We Aquariuses are just like this. We’re basically Martians.”
“Captain, since you like secretly peeking into other people’s thoughts so much, are you a Scorpio? That Hunter is doomed for getting stuck with you. Scorpios are especially petty and hold grudges—”
Bang!
Jin Rongxu nearly slammed the desk in half.
“Shut up!”
Zhu Zeyu fell silent.
Jin Rongxu suddenly stood up and put on his coat. Then he grabbed a pair of silver silk gloves from one corner of the desk and roughly pulled them onto his hands.
After making a loud clatter as he busied himself, he clamped down hard on Zhu Zeyu’s shoulders.
Their eyes met, and Zhu Zeyu immediately began muttering with a remorseful expression. “Sorry, Captain. I thought I’d saved your life. They say a life-saving favor should be repaid with—”
“Shut up!!”
Zhu Zeyu fell silent again.
Jin Rongxu pressed down on his shoulders and forced him toward the door, his voice squeezed out from between clenched teeth.
“You’re going to the Mourning Hall with the other students right now. Get moving!”
1:40 p.m.
Elsewhere, “Guan En” stood outside Director Jin’s office, simultaneously sending out a strand of mist to keep watch over the situation below.
The students had already begun boarding the vehicles one after another. The real Guan En was directing them at the front of the bus.
From Director Jin’s office, this spot was in a blind angle. Anyone inside couldn’t see what was happening below at all.
“Director Jin.” Fake Guan En knocked respectfully on the office door. “Would you like me to arrange a private vehicle for you?”
“No need.” Director Jin’s voice came from inside. “A private vehicle would be too conspicuous. The Hunter would notice it with even the slightest bit of attention. I’ll call Captain Zheng, who’s in charge of this operation, and go with him.”
Since he no longer needed to worry about it, Zhu Yan said nothing more.
“Then I’ll go on ahead, Director. I’ll be responsible for leading the students. You can observe from the side. There’s no need to let me know which one is you.”
Director Jin gave a vague “Mm” and said nothing else.
The footsteps of Fake Guan En gradually faded into the distance. But just as he reached the end of the corridor, his body dispersed into mist. He activated his invisibility and silently slipped back into the office.
As if he were going to let that happen.
Director Jin was such an important target. Of course he had to keep a close eye on him!
…
Meanwhile, Jin Rongxu pressed the elevator button with one hand while gripping Zhu Zeyu tightly with the other.
“You piece of shit. I’m going to find out exactly what the hell you are… If I discover even the slightest evidence that you’re colluding with the Hunter, you’re finished… Take off your Savings Silver Ring and give it to me!”
Zhu Zeyu’s Savings Silver Ring had originally been extorted from Feng Qiang.
There were only a small number of potions inside, along with weapons appropriate to Zhu Zeyu’s identity. Nothing else suspicious.
Zhu Zeyu sighed and removed the ring, handing it to Jin Rongxu.
“Captain, remember to give me 200 bone coins. I remember that’s what it cost. That’ll cover my lodging fees for quite a while—”
“I told you to shut up!”
Whenever money came up, Jin Rongxu became like a rabid dog.
He stuffed the ring into his pocket, a cold smile appearing on his face.
“Don’t worry. If there’s nothing new inside, we’ll return it to you after we finish checking it.”
The elevator stopped on the first floor.
Jin Rongxu shoved Zhu Zeyu out of the elevator and escorted him all the way to the bus. But he showed no intention of getting on himself.
“I’ll have Guan En keep an eye on you.”
Zhu Zeyu turned his head and saw the corners of Jin Rongxu’s mouth slowly pulling upward into an utterly sinister smile.
“You’ll be the first one whose account we check.”
“Zhu Zeyu, you’d better behave yourself.”
The vehicle started moving.
Guan En grabbed Zhu Zeyu by the arm and pulled him onto the vehicle, gesturing for him to sit in the front row.
“Captain Jin isn’t in the best mood,” he explained gently, patting Zhu Zeyu on the shoulder. “Try to understand. Don’t take it personally.
“You’re the first one to be examined. Once it’s over and they find nothing wrong, this whole thing will be behind us.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
