Tea Gathering

The next afternoon, Chen Chuan stepped out of his quarters and met up with his two squad members before heading to the location of the tea gathering. Although the invitation had been extended only to him, guests were permitted to bring a few people along. When Yuan Qiuyuan learned of the invitation yesterday, he had expressed a desire to come. Considering that they were a squad and would very likely be transferred to Chen Bitong's side together in the future, Chen Chuan simply invited Qin Qingque along as well. When the three arrived, many people were already there, gathered in small groups with drinks in hand and chatting. These attendees, both men and women, all wore junior officers' uniforms. They were likely the ones who had arrived by train. What they shared in common was their youthful appearance, and an unmistakable air of military scions clung to them. Chen Chuan could discern from their fields that quite a few among them were fitted with implants—clearly not the conventional path of a fighter. This further affirmed his earlier assessment: these people were not juniors seeking Chen Bitong's guidance, nor did they particularly need it. They were representatives sent by a certain faction to show support and back Chen Bitong publicly. As for why this location had been chosen for the meeting, it was because in a few days, Chen Bitong would leave the Confluence to take a vacation in Center City. This was his final stop before departing the Confluence. Yuan Qiuyuan looked around and saw long tables laden with exquisite refreshments and fine drinks, a sweet, rich aroma filling the air. These were high-quality goods never seen in the outpost's dining hall, undoubtedly brought in specially from Center City by train. Recognizing the traits of these military scions, he asked Qin Qingque beside him, "Enforcement Officer Qin, do you recognize anyone here?" Qin Qingque shook her head. "No." The people present noticed Chen Chuan and his companions as they entered. While there were many people here, few were as young as Chen Chuan while already wearing the uniform of an enforcement captain, so his arrival immediately drew many gazes. The handsome officer walked over and shook Chen Chuan's hand. "Hello, Captain Chen. I'm Zhan Yi." Chen Chuan glanced at his uniform and epaulets; he too was an enforcement captain, though about a decade older than Chen Chuan, appearing to be in his thirties. "Hello, Captain Zhan," Chen Chuan replied. Zhan Yi said, "My teacher would like to see you. Please follow me." Chen Chuan said, "Thank you for the introduction, then." Turning back to give a word to his two teammates, he accompanied Zhan Yi over to Chen Bitong. The man was currently speaking with Garrison Guard Lai Wu, surrounded by several garrison officers and staff officers of standing, though, just like yesterday, not a single one of the outpost's primary commanding officers had shown up here. "Teacher, this is Captain Chen," Zhan Yi said as he stepped forward to Chen Bitong. The officers and staff officers also turned to look over. Chen Bitong looked Chen Chuan over and said, "Young man, we met yesterday." Hearing this, the people around were somewhat surprised. Met yesterday? When had that been? As far as they knew, once he entered his room yesterday, he hadn't stepped out again. Chen Chuan knew he was referring to the contact between their spiritual fields yesterday. He said, "I was indeed present when we welcomed Instructor Chen yesterday. I didn't expect Instructor Chen to spot me from so far away." Only then did the crowd understand. Chen Bitong said slowly, "An outstanding young talent can be noticed at a glance, even in a crowd." At this moment, a garrison staff officer smiled and said, "Instructor Chen truly has an eye for talent. This Captain Chen is the hero who brought down the Iron Demon a few days ago, resolving a major trouble for our outpost sector. A rare talent indeed." An officer asked curiously, "Captain Chen, how did you defeat the Iron Demon? The report wasn't very detailed. Since you're here today, could you tell us about it?" The people around showed interested looks as well, and several nearby young officers gathered closer. To be honest, most of them had little interest in specific fighting techniques, nor could they understand them. They gained their power directly through implants. High-grade implants had fewer side effects and were hard to discern from the outside. Aside from the exceptionally gifted, most people preferred the convenient shortcut over bitter, grueling training and cultivation. Still, that didn't stop them from being interested in battles against formidable foes, especially one that had occurred right before them, where one of the participants was an enemy of considerable renown like the Iron Demon. Seeing Chen Bitong's gaze turn toward him as well, Chen Chuan said, "There's nothing to hide about that." He briefly described the events of that day: being ambushed at night, choosing to take the initiative and strike back, and ultimately defeating the Iron Demon in head-on combat. He didn't embellish or exaggerate the story at all, recounting it plainly and straightforwardly. Told this way, it sounded rather ordinary. However, at the end, he placed special emphasis on the role of the Intelligence Department. "If not for the Intelligence Department's deceptive intelligence, the Iron Demon wouldn't have returned so readily to fight us. So in my view, at least half the credit belongs to the Intelligence Department." A staff officer present spoke up: "That was probably because Captain Chen's squad was the only one pursuing him at the time, so the Iron Demon thought you were easy prey." He turned toward the crowd with a smile. "Yet he never imagined that Captain Chen's strength would be so formidable, and in the end, he was the one who fell." With that, he raised his hands and clapped lightly, and those around politely joined in. To tell the truth, many present were disappointed, because from Chen Chuan's description alone, it lacked the thrilling spectacle they had imagined, with none of the excitement they hoped for. Standing to the side, Zhan Yi noticed something else. "Captain Chen, I heard you say that a mutation occurred on the Iron Demon at the end?" Chen Chuan said, "Yes. His mutated tissue grew beyond the surface of his body, granting him tough defense and strength. However, because of this, his body became uncoordinated, making his overall performance worse than before." At this point, Chen Bitong spoke up: "The Iron Demon was likely a yaogui." "A yaogui...?" Zhan Yi frowned slightly. The staff officer chimed in, "Captain Zhan has been abroad for a long time and has only just arrived in the Confluence, so you might not be familiar with the situation here. The old imperial clan of the Confluence joined forces with yaogui long ago. In the past, they would bestow yaogui status upon certain clan descendants deemed worthy of grooming, allowing them to gain superhuman power. "Well, active activation, as it's called. Supposedly, this activation technique is controllable, allowing the person not only to retain their original sanity, but also to gain even greater potential. "Now, however, the situation seems to have shifted somewhat. It's no longer just clan members—enfeoffed warriors below them who are held in high regard can also undergo activation modification. They regard this as a great honor. "Still, my guess is that the Iron Demon hadn't undergone activation for long, or perhaps there was an issue with the technique and it wasn't integrated properly, which led to that problem." A young officer seemed quite interested in yaogui and couldn't help asking, "Staff Officer Fa, does our Great Shun possess this kind of technology?" Staff Officer Fa smiled and replied, "Our Great Shun government would never do such a thing. As for certain corporations, it's hard to say—they most likely conduct research on it in secret." He didn't seem inclined to dwell on the topic, turning to Chen Chuan with a smile. "Fortunately, Captain Chen dealt with this Iron Demon. Otherwise, once his degree of integration increased, he might have grown into an even more formidable opponent down the line." Applause broke out once more, slightly warmer and more genuine than before. Just then, a discordant voice chimed in: "Captain Chen, I noticed in your report that during your pursuit of the Iron Demon, you spent a night in the wilderness and used an esoteric ritual to ward off the Confluence's nocturnal anomalies. That's no small feat. It seems Captain Chen knows quite a bit about esoteric rituals." The crowd turned to see a tall officer in a disciplinary department uniform standing there. Wearing round-rimmed glasses and with his hair parted, he looked at Chen Chuan with a smile. Seeing this man raise such a question, the onlookers exchanged glances, teasing smiles appearing on their faces. Esoteric rituals were closely scrutinized within Great Shun, and some rituals were explicitly banned. Yet Chen Chuan understood them. Where had he learned them? Had he ever joined any cults? Chen Chuan answered calmly, "I do know a bit. Back when I was at school, I came into contact with some anomalous cases and was commissioned and looked after by the Esoteric Censorship Department, so I learned a little about this field. In fact, if I hadn't subsequently been admitted to Center City Wuyi, I might have gone to work for the Esoteric Censorship Department today instead of coming to the Confluence to fight." "Is that so...?" The tall officer stared at him for a moment, smiled again, and said no more. Chen Chuan then looked toward Chen Bitong, took two steps forward until he was right before him, and said, "Instructor Chen, may I ask you a question?" Chen Bitong wore a half-face mask, the wrinkles on his exposed face deep and etched. He appeared to be a stern, imposing man on the surface, but his tone was mild as he said, "Captain Chen, you may ask whatever you wish." Chen Chuan said, "When I fought the Iron Demon, I found that he had some sort of intuition regarding impending danger. The outpost also knows that he was often able to avoid the most hazardous areas. I would like to ask: was this ability a fighting skill, or did it stem from his identity as a yaogui?" Hearing him ask this, the others grew intrigued as well, eager to hear an explanation. However, Chen Bitong did not answer the question directly. Instead, he said, "Captain Chen, after I return this time, I will focus on resting and recuperating in Center City. With the financial backing of some friends, I will probably open a training and guidance class. If Captain Chen has the time, you may come visit me there. At that time, I will give you an answer." Chen Chuan looked at him. Setting aside factions and underlying complications, this man undoubtedly possessed genuine mastery. If he could learn something from him, it would only benefit him. So he said, "Instructor Chen, I will be there."