Three days later, through the mediation of the Blood Mark Gang's solicitor and the payment of a hefty temporary restraint fee, Zhuo Bao was released from the constabulary.
Due to intentional stalling on the constabulary's part, his severed arm had already missed the optimal window for reattachment. Furthermore, during his custody at the constabulary, injured though he was, he had been thoroughly worked over through various overt and covert means. As a result, he looked exceptionally haggard and dispirited now.
Once he got into the car sent to pick him up, an elderly man seated in the back saw him keeping silent, looked at his bandaged stump, and advised, "If the hand can't be reattached, then forget it. We'll swap in an implant for you. I guarantee it'll work even better than before, and it won't affect your combat effectiveness in the slightest."
He signaled the driver up front to set off, then added, "Still, what happened to you? Getting taken down by a Wuyi student of all people? You're one of our Blood Mark Gang's Five Claws, the company's marquee name. Don't you know how humiliating this is? I've already had it suppressed for now. Don't mention this matter again in the future."
Zhuo Bao curled his lip, revealing an unhinged smirk. "I'm going to kill that punk."
The old man shook his head. "Put it out of your mind. I looked into him. The kid's uncle-in-law is a brigade captain in the constabulary, and he himself is on the high-level radar there. If you touch him, the constabulary will definitely make things difficult for us."
Zhuo Bao turned his head, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the old man as if he might erupt into violence at any second. "Uncle Han, you mean to say we just let this go?"
Uncle Han looked back at him and said in a heavy voice, "Lately, the gang is up to its neck in trouble. Aside from the Iron Chain Gang, another power has their eyes on us, and there are people lurking in the dark eager to jump in and take a bite out of us. Don't stir up trouble for me right now. Once the gang settles the outside affairs, you can look for an opportunity, and I won't stop you then."
Meanwhile, as soon as Zhuo Bao was released, Chen Chuan received notice from the constabulary, informing him that while the man was under temporary restraint, if he appeared before Chen Chuan again and engaged in any provocation or aggressive behavior, Chen Chuan could kill him on the spot without bearing any responsibility.
Chen Chuan thanked the officer who brought the notice, though he paid it little mind. Had it not been to avoid exposing his unlimited defense license, he would have killed Zhuo Bao right then and there.
As for retaliation from the Blood Mark Gang, setting aside the fact that they could barely take care of themselves right now, even if they truly came, so long as no guns were drawn, they would merely serve as practice dummies for honing his techniques.
There was simply no comparison between ordinary people and fighters. With his mutated tissue growing steadily stronger, the gap between him and regular folk was widening further and further; they could not be mentioned in the same breath at all.
Compared to the Blood Mark Gang, what he needed to be more wary of right now was the Mutual Aid Society.
Around noon that day, Cheng Zitong came over. After sitting down, he said to him, "Xiao Chuan, I had someone ask around. Bureau Director Lei's information is very accurate. Last time, due to the water pollution incident, quite a few officials in administrative departments were removed from their posts, so many officials have been reshuffled recently. Liu Zhan has been actively pulling strings as well.
"Though his transfer won't happen so quickly, that's only in terms of formally assuming the post. The transfer letter might come down ahead of time. Once he has that document in hand, he might consider his promise void."
Chen Chuan nodded. He understood. A bureaucrat like Liu Zhan had made that promise entirely for Bureau Director Lei's sake. What was more, the Foreign Affairs Bureau had previously been held in check by the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau, forcing him to heed Bureau Director Lei's reactions. Once transferred away, he would no longer care about any of that.
As Bureau Director Lei had put it, the man would most likely use the matter to advance his own interests, in which case the confidential evaluation would probably be leaked to the Mutual Aid Society immediately.
Cheng Zitong said in a low voice, "I will keep an eye on things over there. There shouldn't be any major changes before the end of the month, so you can go about your affairs with peace of mind. The day before yesterday, I sent a telegram to Old He's side. No reply yet—he might still be cultivating. I sent another letter to him by post; he should see it within the next couple of days."
Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "Teacher, I'd like to try taking on that urban legend commission. That way I can also give the company an answer."
"That urban legend..."
Cheng Zitong immediately knew which one he was referring to. Because there was no prior precedent and it was rather difficult, the two of them had discussed it multiple times before.
He said, "Your approach is right. If the Mutual Aid Society moves against you this time and you can't handle it, you'll have no choice but to head out and lay low. You indeed need to settle things properly with the company. If you can resolve this urban legend, you'll have done right by them."
Although this urban legend seemed far from simple, he had confidence in his student, so he did not stop him. He merely gave a few words of advice and pointed out some things to keep in mind. After giving these instructions, he stood up. "All right, I have business to attend to, so I'll be off. Wait for my call regarding Old He."
Chen Chuan agreed. After seeing Cheng Zitong off, he began making preparations to deal with the urban legend.
His desire to seek out that urban legend was not merely to give the company an answer; he also needed to boost his combat capabilities as much as possible.
In particular, he needed to increase his overlap time as much as possible.
He did not yet know what kind of enemy he would face, but the Mutual Aid Society was certain to gather all kinds of intelligence on him to make meticulous, targeted arrangements. An increase in overlap time could effectively boost his odds of victory.
Last time, executing the unlimited defense license assessment had added more than an hour of overlap time, bringing his total overlap time to over four hours.
Defeating Zhuo Bao a few days ago, on the other hand, had only added a quarter of an hour—a rather limited increase. That was because the man hadn't exerted much pressure on him, unless he had chosen to forgo weapons and contest him barehanded.
Yet even if he were to do it again, he wouldn't do that. If he could defeat an enemy simply, he would use the simplest method possible rather than choose anything else.
However, only by encountering a stronger opponent and defeating them could he effectively increase his overlap time. From the look of things, the company's urban legend commission was a suitable target.
Still, he had to make some preparations and bring suitable tools along.
Over the next day, he spent his time preparing, while also calling the company to inform them that he would be taking on the commission.
Upon arriving at his destination, Chen Chuan knew that many villages and settlements did not appear on maps. In particular, those somewhat far from the city and smaller in scale were never marked, for most of these people were not recognized by Yangzhi either.
Looking from a distance, the houses here were very old. Like settlements elsewhere, they bore the distinct style of the Great Expansion era, with original watchtowers and blockhouses converted into storehouses.
After entering the village, he tried asking around. When the villagers heard that they had come to deal with the urban legend in the mountains, they found it quite extraordinary and gathered around in droves to watch. Ever since the last team that attempted to eliminate the urban legend failed, no one had come for many years, to the point where the villagers themselves had grown accustomed to its existence.
An old man who seemed to be the village chief asked dubiously, "Young man, can you people truly solve it?"
Xiao Wei the driver said, "Don't doubt it! Expert Chen here is the one who took care of the flying head. That was a commission issued directly by the Administration Bureau!"
"The flying head!" At the mention of that, the way the villagers looked at Chen Chuan changed at once. After all, the Flying Head Cult had a long history in these lands, and its reach and influence were far greater and more renowned than the legend in their parts.
If he could take care of the flying head, he could surely resolve the thing on the opposite mountain as well. After all, this urban legend had plagued them for many years. In the early days, the villagers had pooled money to post a commission, but after several failures, no one was willing to accept it anymore. If they could live normal lives, who would want to coexist day and night with an urban legend?
The villagers thus warmly arranged for a hunter to guide them.
There was only one trail leading into the mountains. A vehicle could only drive along the initial stretch; further in, the car could not go any farther, leaving the rest of the journey to be made on foot.
Chen Chuan told Xiao Wei to head back to the village and wait while he followed the hunter deeper into the mountains. Over two hours later, they arrived atop a high slope. The hunter pointed toward the opposite mountain peak. "Expert Chen, it's right over there. That temple. Back in my uncle's time and my grandfather's time, they guided people up there."
Chen Chuan said, "Thank you. You can head back now. I can make the rest of the way on my own."
Seeing that he was all alone, the hunter felt truly uneasy. "Expert Chen, are you sure you don't need any help? If I go back to the village and give the word, I can easily round up more than a dozen capable hands from around the neighborhood."
Chen Chuan patted his sturdy shoulder. "Head back. I'll take care of the rest."
The hunter said, "Then take care of yourself."
Once the hunter had departed, Chen Chuan gazed at that mountain peak, recalling the intelligence regarding this urban legend.
This urban legend was known as the "Mountain Ghost," and its history stretched back a long time. There was an account of it in the Legends of the Three Mountains, which recorded that amidst Mount Xie stood a divine shrine. Originally, it enshrined a deity, but at some unknown time, someone had replaced it with the statue of a monstrous ghost.
Two children went to play in the shrine and returned claiming that the statue's eyeballs could move. When the villagers learned of this, they believed the mountain god was manifesting, so they eagerly offered sacrifices. The Mountain Ghost "fed through its belly, chewing upon them like sweet confections."
At first, the villagers were overjoyed, thinking the mountain god had shown its grace. But who could have foreseen that this Mountain Ghost not only devoured the offerings, but also ate the people who brought them? What was more, on one or two nights each month, it would descend upon the village to feast on human flesh.
Thus, whenever night fell, every household barred their doors and windows tight, praying that their turn would not come. Yet even so, none left the village settlement.
Because this place was so remote, those hiding in the mountains did not have to pay taxes or perform corvée labor for the authorities. They preferred to endure the risk of being devoured rather than move down the mountain.
The legend concluded with the villagers dispersing and, eventually, a group of people from an esoteric cult arriving to bind and confine the Mountain Ghost—a recurring cast of protagonists in the Legends of the Three Mountains.
When the Republic was established, new villages were built once more upon the previously abandoned land. For the first few decades, all was well, until someone discovered a Mountain Ghost temple in the mountains, and the horrors of the past repeated themselves.
However, today's villagers were different from those of the past. After all, having arrived during the Great Expansion era, they were a hardy and fierce folk. Realizing something was wrong, they immediately mobilized men and arms to surround and eradicate it, even hiring people on commission. In the end, though, every attempt ended in failure, and very few who went up ever returned.
Down to this day, as soon as night fell, the nearby villagers would leave livestock out in the village while retreating to distant blockhouses themselves to avoid being preyed upon by the urban legend.
Yet even with such precautions, over the past twenty-odd years, the dozen or so villages originally surrounding Mount Xie had ceased to exist one after another, most of the inhabitants having succumbed to strange illnesses.
After learning of this, Chen Chuan had kept pondering resolving this urban legend. Previously, he had felt his capacity for self-preservation was still insufficient, but now that he had reached his current level...
After observing for a while, he was just about to set off toward that peak when he suddenly sensed something. He raised his hand and glanced at his wrist, where a strand of the flying head's hair was tied. Right at this moment, it stirred with a faint reaction.
He pondered for a moment and realized this was likely because he had patted that hunter earlier. Quietly lowering his hand, he looked toward that mountain peak once more. Tightening his grip on the Xuejun Saber, he strode off in that direction.
Chapter 160