Book 3, Chapter 159: After The Fight

The sun had already risen over Blue Reed Lake. Hu Ying’s SUV chased after Chen Chuan and Xu Xianwen all the way to the lake.

When they passed by the areas where Chen Chuan and Xu Xianwen fought, the carnage made Hu Ying gasp in amazement, and he took time taking photos and filming it all.

He also saw a broken weapon stuck in the ground, but the two parties involved were no longer anywhere to be seen. He kept searching for them with the destruction pointing him in the right direction. When he arrived at the lake, the driver was forced to stop the car.

Wind blew across the lake, causing the reeds to sway. Rustling sounds came from everywhere. Hu Ying looked around in the car before saying into his Realm Pass. “We’ve chased the two martial artists to this place. Based on the tracks, they came to this lake. Could it be—”

While he was walking, ripples appeared on the water not too far away. Then, someone walked out of the water, and Hu Ying’s words died in his throat.

Chen Chuan walked out with the Frost King Saber in one hand and Xu Xianwen’s head in the other.

Once he reached the bank, the water on his body evaporated. Wisps of white steam rose from his skin.

The morning sun shone on the lake and lit up half of Chen Chuan’s body. The fog on the lake behind him dissipated slowly.

Hu Ying trembled while watching him. Shock filled his system, but he wasn’t the only one who felt that. Everyone watching through his Realm Pass ignored everything else around them and just focused on Chen Chuan.

The sound of propellers appeared above them. A small airship belonging to the Resolution Department arrived, along with multiple armored cars.

Chen Chuan was standing by the lake in dry clothes. He looked up and saw birds flying south.

Hu Ying shuddered and snapped out of his daze. He stepped out of the car with the intention to interview Chen Chuan, but for some reason, his legs were filled with lead, and he couldn’t move them no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t even move his mouth, even though he had a wealth of things to say.

Come on! Move! Legs!

He tried to stand up, but even when his cheeks turned red from effort, his body refused to listen.

Footsteps came from behind him, and he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder. “Please leave, Mr. Hu. The Resolution Department needs to work here, and we can’t let any details be revealed to the public.”

Finally, Hu Ying found his voice, and he said, “I’m a reporter. I have the right to—”

The person grabbed an area on his back, which made his voice leave him, then dragged him away by the collar.

“Officer Chen!”

Once the Resolution Department officers saw Chen Chuan, an investigator ran over and checked him from head to toe. “Are you okay?”

His eyes then shifted to the head Chen Chuan held.

“I’m okay,” Chen Chuan replied. Then, remembering that Xu Xianwen had a bounty on his head, he handed the head over. “This is Xu Xianwen. Take him back.”

“Oh! Okay.”

The investigator quickly picked up Xu Xianwen’s head with both hands.

Meanwhile, Chen Chuan walked to where he had cut Xu Xianwen’s spear in two and picked up the pieces from the ground. This was his most valuable spoil thus far.

While it was broken, he should be able to find someone from the Resolution Department to fix it, since they offered this service.

Even though the spear had more collectible value while broken, Chen Chuan was going to put it in his collection room in the future, so he should make sure that it was whole.

Just then, the small airship drew closer. When it was right above Chen Chuan, a ladder was lowered from it, and Guan Ziyang came down.

He first gave orders to secure the area and chase away all unrelated people from the area. Then, he walked over to Chen Chuan and said, “Thank you for your hard work, Officer Chen. I’ll report your achievements to the headquarters.”

Chen Chuan thanked him and asked, “How are things at Motie Mountain?”

“Don’t worry. We’ve assigned officers to keep watch over the area. Motie Mountain’s security guards have also taken over defending the manor. Even if the entire Viper Order came, they wouldn't be able to get in,” Guan Ziyang assured him.

“That’s good. Captain Guan, I’m done here, so I’ll be going back to the manor to continue my mission,” Chen Chuan declared.

“That’s more important. I’ll get a car for you,” Guan Ziyang said seriously.

“Thank you, Captain Guan.”

***

Two men stood on a thick tree and watched the officers from the other side of Blue Reed Lake. One of them was a well-built man in his thirties wearing the Resolution Department’s uniform. “Looks like we won’t need to fight.”

The other was a young man in his early twenties, but he showed no respect to the other man. “You make it sound like you could have won against Xu Xianwen if you joined the fight, Lao Wan.”

Lao Wan wasn’t mad at all. “I’m confident because you’re here too, Xiao Lu. If you joined the fight, we could put up a decent fight against Xu Xianwen.”

“I don’t think so. Those from the Secret Python Cult, even former members, are all great swimmers. If Xu Xianwen had jumped into the water like he did just now while fighting us, would we have been able to catch up to him? Or even the others?

“This Chen Chuan guy sure is bold. I would have given up when Xu Xianwen dove into the lake. I wouldn’t have jumped in like he did.”

“There’s a reason why the department is pouring so many resources into him. He’s different from us.” Lao Wan sighed.

To that, Xiao Lu said, “Martial artists like us talk with our fists. If he’s this strong, then it’s only right for him to get those benefits. I’m fully on board with that.”

***

Chen Chuan took the Resolution Department’s car and returned to Meng Shu’s manor. The security guards were in their positions. The Viper Order members were either shot dead or captured. Upon seeing Chen Chuan, the guards saluted him with barely contained excitement.

He gave them nods in response and went all the way to the basement, where he contacted the people inside with his Realm Pass. “The ambushers are dead or captured. You can come out now.”

Then, he recited a secret code.

It was something they had prepared in advance with Meng Shu. After all, messages passed through Realm Passes could be faked, and only with a secret code could Meng Shu be sure that Chen Chuan was the one talking to her.

After a while, the metal door was pushed open.

Perhaps it was due to Chen Chuan paying attention to the movement behind the door, but his eyelids twitched, and he sensed everyone inside. He was able to detect every person, aside from Meng Shu, since she seemed to be wearing something that made her presence faint.

This was an ability Chen Chuan had gained while fighting against Xu Xianwen. It seemed like some sort of mental perception, but it could also be an ability that every Third Limit martial artist had.

The door opened from inside. Meng Shu and Yan Yi came out while escorted by three security guards. Since their Realm Passes were connected to the outside, they knew that Xu Xianwen had been killed. Even so, they followed orders and didn’t come out of the basement until Chen Chuan returned.

Yan Yi believed that since they had set up the plan beforehand, they had to follow it. This was also the best way to make sure no accidents happened. Too many plans failed when they were just one step away from success, after all.

Meng Shu agreed with it, being always on board with suggestions she believed were correct. Right now, she trained her eyes on Chen Chuan and said seriously, “Thank you.”

“I’m just doing my job,” Chen Chuan said with a smile.

“Miss Shu, Mr. Chen, let’s talk in the living room,” Yan Yi said, and Meng Shu agreed with a nod.

The group reached the living room, and the three security guards went outside. Yan Yi then said, “Mr. Chen, based on the information we have, the Viper Order is the strongest group working under Meng Huang. Now that you’ve gotten rid of them, Meng Huang can’t threaten us for the time being. The situation is beginning to tilt in our favor.”

On the surface, Meng Huang had nothing to do with the Viper Order. There wasn’t any proof of them even being connected, but everyone knew that Meng Huang was the one who sent them. Now that they were taken out, it would be a huge blow to Meng Huang.

The fence-sitters would surely think that since Meng Shu had gotten rid of Meng Huang’s strongest force, she may be able to get rid of Meng Huang himself next.

He would certainly have a hard time protecting himself now. How many would be willing to continue siding with him?

Even if they weren’t thinking about this, Meng Shu had still proven that she was strong enough to defend herself. The succession competition was going to go on, and the fence-sitters could continue waiting and watching from a distance.

Just then, Yan Yi received a notification on her Realm Pass. She took a look before flashing Meng Shu a smile. “I’ve received word from some members of the Meng family. They’re trying to curry favor with you.”

“Please send a nice reply back,” Meng Shu said.

“Of course. They’re still useful, after all,” Yan Yi said before turning to Chen Chuan. “Of course, this is all thanks to your strength.”

At the end of the day, all of this was due to how intimidating Chen Chuan’s strength was.

With strength, they had power and the right to speak.

More than ever, Yan Yi felt that she had made the right choice convincing Meng Shu to hire Chen Chuan. She felt really fortunate that such a powerful martial artist was friends with her master. That was the only reason why he had agreed to protect them.

But Chen Chuan knew that things might not be so easily resolved. If Meng Huang had really contacted an existence from the other world, this matter had definitely not come to an end yet.

The Resolution Department had merely assigned him the role of a security advisor for Meng Shu, though, so he wasn’t going to do anything unnecessary, not unless he got further instructions.

“Big Sis Yan, reward and promote those who took part in the defense today,” Meng Shu said.

“I’ll do it right now,” Yan Yi said. She had thought about it, but if Meng Shu was the one who said it, then the meaning behind the action became different.

Meng Shu then turned to Chen Chuan. “Didn’t you say that you brought some friends along to help? I’d like to thank them as well.”

“Sure,” Chen Chuan agreed.

Meng Shu immediately transferred a sum of money to Chen Chuan’s bank account. As for Chen Chuan himself, she also transferred a huge bonus to him in the name of the company. This was the reward for a security advisor, but that didn’t need to be said.