His body began to tremble violently beyond his control, all color draining from his face until it was left a deathly gray.
"Ah!"
A scream unlike any human sound, one filled with absolute terror, burst from his throat.
An Changqing immediately stepped forward, trying to steady him.
"Chairman Liu, are you all right?"
But the moment his hand touched Liu Tiancheng's shoulder, the man furiously shook him off.
An Changqing met Liu Tiancheng's eyes. Those murky pupils had lost all focus, leaving only utter, chaotic madness behind.
...
Getting back to the Liu estate was nothing short of a disaster.
Liu Tiancheng curled up in the corner of the chauffeured car, his body shaking like a leaf, murmuring unintelligible words through his muttering lips.
"Crazy, they're all crazy."
"They're all out to get me."
Long Ao was driving, glancing at Liu Tiancheng through the rearview mirror. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel in frustration, speaking out of pure irritation.
"I knew this would be trouble. Should've just let that woman stick a needle in him and be done with it."
Hong Yuan, clutching her massive battle-axe, rarely bothered to argue with Long Ao but lowered her voice and mumbled.
"What do we do now? Take him to the hospital?"
"Won't help."
An Changqing stared out the window, his face grim.
"Right now he doesn't trust doctors, doesn't trust anyone. He only trusts himself."
Chen Guan remained silent the whole time. In his mind, Baal was gleefully whistling.
"Poor bastard. Leapt from the trap of a honeyed den right into a cage called home. Now he sees ghosts in everyone. Heh heh heh. A real-life game of Werewolf, isn't it?"
The car pulled into the estate, and the old butler hurried over.
"Master, you—"
"Don't touch me!"
Liu Tiancheng shrieked, shoving the butler aside as he scrambled out of the car, his eyes filled with terror and hatred.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached.
Liu Chengjun strode out of the main residence with over a dozen fierce-looking estate guards following close behind.
Seeing the chaos on the grounds and his father's shattered state, the warm mask of civility on his face froze into a sheet of frost.
"Classmate An."
Liu Chengjun's voice carried no warmth at all, every syllable stiff. "So this is the level of protection you Qinghua elites provide?"
At this point, there was no point in pretending. No one actually believed his father had invited these people over just for a visit.
"My father only went out to clear his head. How did he end up like this!"
His tone was harsh, pointedly accusing An Changqing and the others of being the cause.
The guards behind him immediately fanned out, subtly surrounding Chen Guan and his group. The atmosphere crackled with tension.
An Changqing's expression didn't change.
"Young Master Liu, we just thwarted an assassination attempt against Chairman Liu."
"Assassination?"
Liu Chengjun let out a cold laugh. "All I see is my father losing his mind while the four of you walk away unscathed."
He stepped forward, his tone commanding.
"Your services are no longer needed here. Leave immediately. The Liu family will handle my father's safety ourselves."
Long Ao, already simmering with anger, couldn't hold it in any longer.
He stepped in front of An Changqing.
"What did you just say?"
The faces of Liu Chengjun's guards changed instantly.
Sixth rank.
Long Ao had quietly completed his advancement without anyone knowing.
Liu Chengjun's pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
The intel might be off, but so what? Even if he respected their backgrounds, their strength wasn't enough to derail his plans.
Long Ao cracked his knuckles, the joints popping with sharp snaps. He stared at Liu Chengjun and his guards, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Move."
"Or I'll knock every single one of you flying!"
Absolute strength brought absolute deterrence.
The Liu estate guards exchanged nervous glances, and not a single one dared to step forward.
After all, they were hired help. The strongest among them was only third or fourth rank. They weren't about to die for a paycheck.
An Changqing chose that moment to speak, his voice still gentle but carrying an unignorable weight.
"Young Master Liu, the assassin just failed. They could come again at any moment."
"If you send us away now and anything happens to Chairman Liu, I don't think that's a situation you'd want to deal with either."
Liu Chengjun's face darkened. He knew An Changqing was telling the truth. If he pressed the matter, these people would just call in reinforcements.
These men were far more troublesome than even twelfth-rank fighters. They couldn't be bribed, and they certainly couldn't be silenced.
His father really had played this hand brilliantly.
He forced his emotions down and slipped the familiar mask of grief-stricken filial piety back onto his face.
"Classmate An is right. I was too hasty."
He turned to Liu Tiancheng, his voice softening considerably. "Father, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll protect you."
At that moment, Liu Feiyu also hurried over.
"Father, big brother, what's going on?"
His face wore just the right amount of anxious concern.
Chen Guan's gaze swept over him, catching a faint trace of a smirk at the corner of his mouth that vanished in an instant.
So he's enjoying this too.
In the chaos, Liu Tiancheng, still in his frantic state, found an outlet.
Suddenly breaking free from everyone around him, he bolted toward the study like a wounded animal.
"Stay back! All of you!"
Bang!
A heavy, muffled thud echoed through the hall. The study door, made of a special reinforced alloy, was now locked from the inside.
Liu Chengjun's face changed completely.
"Father! Open the door! Father!"
He pounded on the door desperately, but all that came back was dead silence.
That study was the most secure fortress Liu Tiancheng had ever built for himself—an absolute sealed chamber.
An Changqing looked at the unmoving door and let out a soft sigh.
He turned to Chen Guan and the other two, speaking in a low voice.
"We're in trouble now."
"Mr. Liu has locked himself in. Until we figure out what's really going on, we're not going anywhere either."
His voice carried a hint of resignation. They had only been here for a day. How had things piled up so fast?
Night deepened, and the entire Liu estate fell into an eerie stillness.
In Chen Guan's room, he leaned by the window, staring at a forum thread only he could see.
[This is a classic setup for a locked-room murder, guys! Snowed-in mansion vibes!]
[Liu Chengjun deserves an Oscar for that performance. Best actor in a supporting role.]
[What if the assassin Su Qing was actually hired by Liu Chengjun all along? First plan fails, so he's already cooking up a second?]
[Place your bets now! I'm going with Liu Chengjun. That guy is basically a face-up werewolf.]
[I'm putting my money on Liu Feiyu. That kid gives off bad vibes. Besides, in mystery stories, the one who looks most like the culprit usually isn't the real culprit.]
A locked-room murder, huh?
Chen Guan pondered for a moment. In stories like this, the one who locks himself away usually ends up being the victim.
He closed the forum interface and left his room.
Chen Guan informed An Changqing and the others first, then made his way to the silent study. The guard standing at the door didn't stop him.
He raised his hand, knuckles bent, and tapped lightly on the cold metal door.
Knock. Knock.
Inside, there was nothing but profound silence.
Chen Guan didn't knock again. He turned sideways and pressed his ear gently against the alloy door.
The chill of the metal seeped through.
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.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
