Zhang Gunli and Huang Zennan

Sun Tiecheng had Gui Jianchou move the abacus further away. The moment the distance exceeded ten meters, Zhang Gunli's soul froze, unable to move. This was definitely not Zhang Gunli. But whose soul was it? Sun Tiecheng said to Gui Jianchou, "Call over your Dream Cultivator and Painting Cultivator ghost servants." Gui Jianchou turned back and called out, "A Chun, A Se, over to the Castellan." Two pretty women walked up beside Sun Tiecheng. Sun Tiecheng instructed the Dream Cultivator, "In a moment, put this man into a half-dream, half-waking state." A Chun nodded. Sun Tiecheng then said to the Painting Cultivator, "My memory isn't very good. In a moment, record everything you see and hear!" A Se hastily prepared her brushes. "Give me the abacus." Sun Tiecheng beckoned to Gui Jianchou, who brought the abacus back. Once the abacus was in Sun Tiecheng's hands and brought near Zhang Gunli again, Zhang Gunli slowly opened both eyes. As a departed spirit, Zhang Gunli's facial features had originally been somewhat blurry, but now they gradually sharpened into focus. His eyes fixed intently on Sun Tiecheng, opening wider and wider. A Travel Cultivator ghost servant under Gui Jianchou yelled toward his master, "Not good, danger! Get back!" Gui Jianchou didn't forget to warn Sun Tiecheng: "Castellan Sun, stay away from that soul!" The soul's eyes bulged outward, his forehead swelled, his cheeks caved in, and his entire form began to distort violently. Unrushed, Sun Tiecheng said calmly, "You're a living, breathing human being. A living person has to live well—how can you just go and blow up for no reason?" The soul's contortions slowed, but a surge of power still roiled inside him, on the verge of erupting at any second. Sun Tiecheng brought over a bowl of tea and poured it down the soul's throat. "Thirsty, aren't you? Have some water first. Doesn't that feel much better? Since you can drink water, you're a living human being. "Living people don't go blowing up. A living person has to live well. Finish this whole bowl of tea, and once you're done, we'll get you something to eat." No matter where this soul had come from, every living creature possessed an instinct for survival. He wanted to live. Seizing on this desire to survive, Sun Tiecheng laid down a ramp for him, and the soul's distorted figure gradually smoothed back to normal. Sun Tiecheng had Gui Jianchou prepare incense and candles, and told his men to fetch a plate of salt-baked chicken. The soul munched on chicken while savoring the incense smoke—satisfying his cravings and filling his belly at the same time. Seeing that the soul had recovered seventy to eighty percent of his strength, Sun Tiecheng asked, "What's your name, after all?" The soul replied, "I'm Zhang Gunli. Sun Tiecheng, you used to owe me money back in the day—how could you forget?" Sun Tiecheng chuckled. "You remember things from so many years ago? How much did I owe you again?" "Three hundred and sixty-three silver dollars! You owed me that money and never paid me back!" Sun Tiecheng took a sip of tea and thought carefully about the past. "Why wouldn't I pay you back? I shouldn't have been short on such a pittance, should I?" "How could you not be short?" The soul snorted coldly. "Back then, you weren't any castellan, and both our cultivations were stuck flat on the ground! "If I hadn't lent you three hundred silver dollars, what would you have used to build your fortune? How would you have opened restaurants, inns, and pleasure houses? How could you have ever built a City of Fools?" Sun Tiecheng said indignantly, "I borrowed three hundred silver dollars, and you wanted me to pay back three hundred and sixty-three?" The soul grew angry as well. "Are you talking nonsense with me? Shouldn't I charge interest? What was I supposed to live on?" Sun Tiecheng wasn't convinced. "You must be remembering wrong. As clever as I am, would I have needed to borrow money from you to get my start? I recall having quite a fortune before I even entered a pathway." "Fortune, my ass!" The soul sneered repeatedly. "Old Sun, you've spent all these years scheming to trick people, and now you've tricked yourself! Others might not know you, but do you think I don't? "Before you entered the pathway, you were a hunter wandering around the mountain ravines every day. You were timid and honest, afraid to speak to anyone. "Every beast you hunted went through my hands to be sold. "Right up until you turned sixteen, when you went to the town market for the very first time and saw that girl selling cotton—you craved her so bad you couldn't sleep for three nights! Did I get a single word of that wrong?" "No, you're fooling me," Sun Tiecheng waved his hand. "I remember being born into a wealthy family." "Wealthy family, my foot! Your old man was a hunter too, and he never touched a woman in his entire life!" "Bullshit! If he never touched a woman, where did I come from?" The soul scoffed. "He picked you up from a ravine!" Sun Tiecheng snapped in anger, "You're lying! Before I was born, I was an eldest young master in a wealthy household!" The soul laughed. "Now you're bringing up before you were born? Old Sun, you really have lied yourself into a stupor, always trying to paint gold onto your face." "If I'm painting gold, was your background any better than mine?" "I never claimed I had a good background! My father herded sheep for rich people. As soon as I was old enough to know better, I had to follow him herding sheep. I was poor. If I hadn't secretly sold our master's sheep, I never would have made my fortune! "I know I come from hardship, but I don't make up wild stories! Hardship is hardship, and I own up to it!" Sun Tiecheng waved his hand. "Let's put childhood aside for a moment. Let's talk about before you were born. I knew you before I was born, and I remember your nickname was Frog." The soul shook his head. "Quit your nonsense. How could there be anything from before someone was born?" "Why couldn't there be? Before I was born, I was a wealthy young master, and I always called you Frog. You even had a lover called Rabbit." The soul sneered. "I think you've gone mad. Who could remember things before they were born?" Sun Tiecheng said with utmost solemnity, "I can! If you can't remember, then you have to take my word for it. Before you were born, you were Frog." "I'm not Frog!" "You're Toad!" "Why do you say I'm Frog?!" "I saw with my own eyes that you were Frog!" The soul raged, "You saw wrong! Frog is Ge Jun! He's not me at all!" Having said this, the soul suddenly froze, murmuring to himself, "Who is Ge Jun? Why does it feel like I've met him before..." Sun Tiecheng said, "Let's leave Ge Jun aside for now. Let's talk about you. Are you Frog or not?" The soul looked blank and dazed, muttering in fragments, "I'm not Frog... Ge Jun is Frog... I'm terrified of Ge Jun." His voice changed. It was no longer Zhang Gunli's voice, turning sharp and shrill, with a flighty, erratic cadence. Sun Tiecheng coaxed, "Why are you afraid of him? We're good friends. If he bullies you, we'll beat him up together!" "We can't beat him... we can't win against him..." The soul turned his face toward Sun Tiecheng. "Who were you again?" Sun Tiecheng replied, "I'm your good friend! Your good friend who came from hardship!" "A good friend from hardship..." The soul fell into deep thought. "Do I have friends? Didn't all of you look down on me?" "I think highly of you. I genuinely treat you as my friend!" "It's useless even if you treat me as a friend." The soul shook his head repeatedly. "I'm a lower clansman. I'll be a lower clansman all my life." Gui Jianchou stood watching in disbelief, so dumbfounded he forgot what he was supposed to be doing. In the blink of an eye, this soul had turned into another person—shifting from Zhang Gunli into someone completely unknown. Zhang Gunli had indeed come from poverty, starting out as a shepherd before turning to usury; those familiar with him often mocked him about it. Yet now, he claimed he was a lower clansman. "Lower clansman" was terminology from the Inner States. How had he suddenly become an Inner States person? Sun Tiecheng continued chatting with the soul. The two conversed with open hearts, as if they truly were old friends reunited across lifetimes. "What's wrong with being a lower clansman?" Sun Tiecheng playfully punched the soul. "I'm a lower clansman too. I never felt that I lived a wretched life." "You never felt that way?" The soul let out a dry laugh. "Does what you feel matter? Do the upper clansmen ever look you in the eye?" Sun Tiecheng retorted indignantly, "Like I'd give a damn about them looking at me?" "You don't care, but I do! I'm the best fighter among my generation! Why should they look down on me? I want to be an upper clansman! I have to!" Sun Tiecheng scoffed. "You want to become an upper clansman? What, can you change your seed-blood?" "I can! I did! You didn't know?" The soul looked at Sun Tiecheng and declared, "I've already changed my seed-blood! My name isn't Huang Ze anymore, and I'm not that Grasshopper from before! My name is Huang Zennan! I am an upper clansman!" "Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Sun Tiecheng looked at the soul with open disdain. "You change your name, and that makes you an upper clansman?" The soul shook his head vigorously, leaning closer to Sun Tiecheng, and said earnestly, "It wasn't changing my name—it was changing my seed! I changed my seed-blood!" "Seed-blood can be changed?" "It can! But you have to accomplish a great task. If the task fails, they'll change me right back." "What great task?" The soul lowered his head. "I can't tell you." Sun Tiecheng tucked his hands into his sleeves and squatted down beside the soul. "Aren't we childhood friends? We were as close as real brothers! I only got my start because you lent me those three hundred silver dollars!" The soul stared blankly at Sun Tiecheng as two distinct sets of memories churned relentlessly in his mind. Originally, a sharp dividing line had separated the two. Yet Sun Tiecheng seemed to be holding a spoon, gradually stirring and blending the two streams of memory together. "Are we really good friends?" The soul looked at Sun Tiecheng, his tone shifting once more—neither as steady as Zhang Gunli's nor as flighty as before. "Of course! You were the shepherd, and I was the hunter!" Sun Tiecheng nodded firmly. "Yes... we're good friends." The soul nodded repeatedly. Within reasonable bounds, the two sets of memories had fused. Sun Tiecheng said, "If you've become an upper clansman, shouldn't you pull me up along with you? What did they have you do? Point me in the right direction too!" The soul's voice turned flighty and secretive again. In hushed tones, he whispered, "I'm only telling you this—you must never tell anyone else. If you want to become an upper clansman, you have to put your body into a furnace and burn it first." Sun Tiecheng listened intently. "And after the burning?" "After burning, it melts into liquid, and then it's recast." "And after it's recast?" "After it's recast, you're different. You become another person. Then your soul is burned again, just like the body. "Back then, the pain made me pass out. When I woke up, I had turned into someone else. I became Zhang Gunli. I remembered everything about him, so vividly, just as if it were my own past." Sun Tiecheng asked, "Then do you still remember your own past?" "At first, I still remembered. But later, an upper clansman arrived named Luo Shigang. "You know the Luo family—upper clansmen of high status. He gave me medicine. After taking it, I forgot everything. I couldn't even remember my own name." "And then?" "Then I remembered again. My name was Zhang Gunli, a moneylender, a man of Puluo Province. "At first, I thought people in Puluo Province lived wretched lives, but later I realized it wasn't wretched, because I was a Puluo native myself, born and bred. "I went out lending money, counting my loan slips one by one, demanding they pay me back. "Other people's money didn't matter so much, but I had to find a way to collect Feng Chongli's debt. I had to collect his money." The soul's tone became steady again, as if he had reverted back into Zhang Gunli. Sun Tiecheng asked, "Why was his debt so special?" The soul said with grave seriousness, "Special—his money was the most special of all! If he couldn't pay up, he'd have to introduce me into Xuehuapu. "Once I entered Xuehuapu, the great task would be halfway done! Then I'd gather all the intelligence on Xuehuapu, summon our people, and wipe Xuehuapu out! That would count as a tremendous merit, and from then on, I'd be an upper clansman!" Sun Tiecheng sighed. "So that's how it was. And did you manage to get into Xuehuapu?" "I couldn't get in! Before I even met Feng Chongli, I ran into Shen Rongqing. She... she was really..." Sun Tiecheng prompted, "What about her?" "She was gorgeous!" The soul drifted into reverie. "She was truly stunning. Not only gorgeous, but full of talent, just like Luo Lijun—a single glance and you'd never forget her. "I urged her, I couldn't bear to see her ruined, and told her not to take high-interest loans. What woman who borrows money from me ever manages to escape? "Yet she wouldn't listen. She insisted on borrowing cultivation from me to seek revenge against Ma Junyang. I took her seriously, so I lent it to her. I knew she couldn't pay it back! If she couldn't pay it back, she'd belong to me! "Someone like Luo Lijun was out of my reach in this lifetime, but Shen Rongqing would be mine. Truth be told, she's not a bit worse than Luo Lijun! She's even more talented than Luo Lijun!" Sun Tiecheng asked, "So you fell into their trap and got set up by He Jiaqing and Feng Chongli?" "What were they compared to me!" The soul snorted. "Others might not know me, but do you think you don't? I couldn't beat you, but could I possibly lose to them?" Sun Tiecheng said, "The key is that Gui Jianchou and Mu Yuejuan were there too!" "I wasn't afraid of those two either! The only problem was that my walnuts were lost, so I had no weapons left to use." Sun Tiecheng held up the abacus. "Didn't you still have this?" "That can't be used!" The soul lunged to snatch the abacus back, but Sun Tiecheng pulled his hand away, leaving him grasping at air. "Why can't this be used?" Sun Tiecheng asked. The soul pointed at the abacus. "Th-this... this abacus is my life! If this abacus is gone, my life is gone! If my abacus is taken away by someone else, I... I'll... I'll—" As he spoke, his eyeballs bulged out again. Sun Tiecheng hastily tried to soothe him, "Don't blow up! You can't blow up! A perfectly good living person, how could you just explode? "Whatever you do, don't blow up..." "Who are you?!" The soul's voice altered. The memories that had been blended together were torn apart once more. "I don't know you! Who on earth are you? Give me back my abacus!" The soul surged forward to seize the abacus, but Sun Tiecheng gave him no opening. "Brother, think carefully again. I'm that hunter!" "I don't know any hunter!" No matter how Sun Tiecheng coaxed, the soul's violent contortion showed no signs of stopping. This time, there was truly no keeping him. Sun Tiecheng said, "Don't be in a rush, brother. Hang on a bit longer. Living isn't easy, and living a little longer is always better. Watching you leave breaks my heart—I have to weep for you!" Even as Sun Tiecheng feigned weeping, he signaled the two ghost servants to pull back. With a wave of his hand, he ordered everyone inside the manor to evacuate. Once outside the residence, Gui Jianchou heard someone shouting from within the rooms: "I am Huang Zennan! I am an upper clansman! I am Zhang Gunli! I am a wealthy man! "I command wind and rain! I am a great figure! Luo Lijun followed me, and Shen Rongqing is mine too! They're so gorgeous, they'll all be mine—" The soul's shrieks started out shrill before deepening into a raspy, hoarse roar. His spiritual body swelled like froth, rapidly bloating until it filled the entire hall. Holding the abacus, Sun Tiecheng called toward the soul, "Brother, it's all yours! When you're dead, I'll burn a few extra paper figures to accompany you! Once you die, I'll give you this whole manor as compensation! But you can only blow up inside the house—don't go blasting outside!" With that, Sun Tiecheng carried the abacus and stepped away from the manor. Deprived of the abacus, the soul appeared to lose all conscious thought. His spirit continued expanding until, with a sharp crack, it detonated into smithereens. Sun Tiecheng's manor was flattened to the ground, engulfed in thick smoke and flying dust. Gui Jianchou stood frozen in place. Even now, he had no idea what had just occurred. Sun Tiecheng barked an order, "Ah Gui, weep! Tell all your ghost servants to weep for me!" Why weep? Since Sun Tiecheng had given the command, Gui Jianchou didn't dare hesitate. He wailed aloud, "Our house!" Sun Tiecheng kicked Gui Jianchou. "Why are you crying over a house? My childhood friend just died—doesn't your heart ache?" Gui Jianchou howled again, "Our childhood friend!" The ghost servants all burst into tears: "Our childhood friend is gone!" Sun Tiecheng ordered his subordinates to notify the entire city to weep for the childhood friend. The people across the city had no clue who this childhood friend was, but since the Castellan commanded weeping, they all wept along. They wailed for over half an hour while ashes drifted down from the sky. The false Zhang Gunli and true Huang Zennan had been reduced to dust and smoke, vanished into nothingness. Sun Tiecheng turned to A Se. "Did you paint everything that just happened?" A Se nodded repeatedly. "I've painted it all." Sun Tiecheng instructed Gui Jianchou, "Ah Gui, take A Se and go find Old Seven. Tell him to be on guard." "Understood!" Gui Jianchou prepared to set off. "Hold on a moment!" Sun Tiecheng stopped him again. Bringing out the abacus, he asked, "Do you recognize this item?" Gui Jianchou nodded. "I recognize it. It's an abacus." Sun Tiecheng gave him a swift kick. "Do I need you to tell me that? Do I not know it's an abacus? I'm asking what else it can do besides functioning as an abacus!" "It can also serve as a weapon—good for both offense and defense. If you tear off the abacus beads, they work as concealed projectiles, exceptionally nimble!" "Besides being a weapon, what else can it do?" Gui Jianchou knew what Sun Tiecheng was driving at, but without certainty, he dared not make wild guesses. "Just now, that Inner States fellow said this abacus was his life. As for what deeper secrets it holds, I can't say for sure." "Do you have any Craftsman Cultivators among your subordinates?" "I do. A Tie, come over and take a look." A ghost servant named A Tie took the abacus and examined it thoroughly for a long time. "There is a specialized craft technique inside it, but I can't determine what kind it is." "Your tier is still too low." Sun Tiecheng's expression turned solemn as he asked Gui Jianchou, "How many of Old Train's disciples do you know?" Gui Jianchou considered it. "I know most of them by name, but I don't have much of a relationship with any. If we're talking about someone familiar, there's a cart puller in Yaowanggou..." "That cart puller won't do. Even if he could tell, he might not tell you." Sun Tiecheng pondered again. "Make a trip to Black Rock Slope and find Tang Shijiang. Show him this abacus; perhaps he'll be able to see something." Gui Jianchou looked hesitant. "Tang Shijiang isn't an easy man to deal with. On his turf, I can't force him..." "No need to force him," Sun Tiecheng waved his hand. "Just tell him this thing came from the Inner States. He should be willing to lend a hand. That man knows how to distinguish between insiders and outsiders." "Very well," Gui Jianchou agreed. "Then should finding Old Seven wait for a bit?" Sun Tiecheng shook his head. "That can't wait either!" Seeing Sun Tiecheng anxious on both fronts, Gui Jianchou turned to A Se and said, "I'll head to Black Rock Slope. You take the paintings and find Old Seven yourself. Be extra careful on the road." A Se was unhappy. Ghost servants rarely operated alone. Some Demon Cultivators worried about losing control of their ghost servants, while ghost servants feared being abandoned by their Demon Cultivators. A Se was a beautiful woman appearing in her late twenties. Among the ghost servants under Gui Jianchou, her cultivation was modest and her combat strength weak. She belonged to the sort terrified of being discarded. Hearing Gui Jianchou tell her to go alone, she began sniffling and burst into tears. Gui Jianchou frowned. "Senseless woman, I'm giving you an assignment—why are you crying?" A Se said aggrievedly, "I don't know where to look for Li the Seventh." "First check around Lüshui City, then look in Xiaoyaowu. If you can't find him, go to He Yuxiu's territory and find Ye Jianhuang—ask her to help you think of something." Wiping her tears, A Se whimpered, "You just think I'm useless and don't want me anymore." Gui Jianchou coaxed, "You are useful! Among all the people under my command, you're the most useful! Don't be afraid—I'll have A Chun go with you." *** Inside the Chu family manor, Chu Huaiyuan sat in a chair, applying her makeup. Her makeup was as heavy as ever, especially her dark, deep eyeshadow. Once finished, she took a fedora from the vanity and placed it on her head. The brim tilted down, casting a shadow over her eyes and nose, leaving only her chin and lips visible. Watching from the side, Xiang Fenglan gave a light laugh. "You spent so much effort putting on that eyeshadow, and now the hat covers it all up. Didn't you just busy yourself for nothing? Who are you painting it for?" Chu the Second did not reply. Looking at the necklace around Xiang Fenglan's neck, she asked, "Who gave you that?" "I saved up money and bought it myself." "Do you know how much the jade pendant on that necklace is worth?" Xiang Fenglan hummed defiantly. "None of your business!" Chu the Second lifted the jade pendant and examined it for a moment. In the refraction of light, she caught sight of the character "Five." "Did you go see Ma the Fifth?" With blushing cheeks, Xiang Fenglan retorted, "No, I didn't." "Still playing stubborn!" Chu the Second said with faux malice. "Just wait until I tell Granny—see if she doesn't beat you to death, you flirtatious wench!" Xiang Fenglan snapped back, "Like you're not flirtatious? Who gave you that hat you're wearing?" Chu the Second grinned triumphantly. "Granny allows me to flirt with him! Granny hopes I'll flirt with him! Doesn't that just infuriate you?" As they bickered, Yang Yanzheng entered the room. "Second Miss, Young Master He—He Jiaqing—requests an audience." Chu the Second was taken aback. "What is he here for?" "He says it's regarding business matters and wishes to discuss them with Miss." "Have I ever had business dealings with him?" Yang Yanzheng shook his head; there certainly weren't any at present. Chu the Second had heard that Li the Seventh and He Jiaqing did not get along. Without hesitation, she said, "Tell him I'm ill and it's inconvenient to receive guests." Yang Yanzheng nodded and turned to head out, only to find He Jiaqing dressed in a long white robe, holding a folding fan, already standing at the top of the stairs. Chu the Second glanced at Xiang Fenglan, who had already drawn a fletched arrow from her waist. Yang Yanzheng called over Wen Hongyan, then looked toward He Jiaqing. "Young Master He, you're crossing the line here!" Fluttering his fan, He Jiaqing said with a beaming smile, "Everyone, don't be angry. I've come to see Miss Huaiyuan to discuss an urgent matter—I bear absolutely no ill intent." Chu Huaiyuan said, "Whatever you have to say, say it right there on the stairs." He Jiaqing glanced around. "That hardly seems appropriate, does it? What we're discussing involves confidential matters." Chu the Second shook her head. "There are no secrets between you and me. Anything you can tell me, they can hear; anything they can't hear, you don't need to tell me either." Seeing Chu Huaiyuan's unyielding stance, He Jiaqing had no choice but to state his purpose: "I want to buy the Paramount." Chu the Second lifted her hat brim and looked up at He Jiaqing. "What did you say?" "Don't be hasty. I know you value the Paramount dearly, but you must calculate the ledger carefully. You exhausted your family's foundation before—what was your goal in securing the Paramount? Do you really care so much about running that business? "Put bluntly, the Paramount is just a dance hall, restaurant, and hotel combined. Lüshui City is full of such establishments. The Paramount isn't the largest, nor is it the finest. "What you prized was its prestige, because the Paramount was Lüshui City's banner. But think carefully: is the city's banner still held by the Paramount? "Out of the dozen or so singing concerts held this year, Xiaoyaowu took half, the Peace Building took thirty percent, and the Paramount didn't even get twenty percent. Can that banner still stand? "All your star singers have left. Right now, the Paramount doesn't even have anyone who can hold down the stage. Even if you truly wanted to host a concert, wouldn't you have to beg Ma the Fifth to lend you talent?" He Jiaqing was speaking the truth. They were usually friends in private, but in business, Ma the Fifth showed no mercy. Over the past year, the Paramount had been squeezed mercilessly by Xiaoyaowu. Still, that gave He Jiaqing no right to meddle. Chu the Second said flatly, "What does that have to do with you?" "It has nothing to do with me," He Jiaqing closed his fan. "Everyone does business to make a profit. Huaiyuan, with the Paramount in your hands, not only will it fail to bring in money, it will drag down your own family assets." He wasn't wrong on that point either. For the past two months, the Paramount had been operating at a loss. Business in Qiqiu City had picked up and brought in good profits, but all of it had been used to plug the Paramount's deficits. Yet Chu the Second's stance remained unchanged. She continued staring up at He Jiaqing. "Whether it makes money or not, what does it have to do with you?" Opening and closing his fan, He Jiaqing spoke slowly, "Huaiyuan, we are old acquaintances. I came this time with a genuine desire to help you. "You hold a fifty-percent share in the Paramount. Transfer thirty percent to me and hand over management rights. Within three months, the Paramount is guaranteed to turn around, and you can simply sit back and collect your dividends." "Are you finished?" Chu the Second looked toward Yang Yanzheng. "Old Yang, see our guest out." He Jiaqing said, "Huaiyuan, I genuinely want to help you." Yang Yanzheng said, "Young Master He, please." He Jiaqing shook his head. "Huaiyuan, if you don't agree, I won't be leaving." A chilly gleam surfaced in Chu Huaiyuan's eyes. "What kind of place do you take this for? You say you won't leave, and that's that? Who do you think you are?" He Jiaqing raised his fan and made an inviting gesture toward Chu Huaiyuan. He was inviting Chu Huaiyuan to make a move. The chief guard, Wen Hongyan—a fifth-tier Body Cultivator—charged first. A mantis-like arm sliced straight toward He Jiaqing's throat. He Jiaqing stood motionless where he was. Wen Hongyan swung around in a half-arc, failing to touch him at all. She didn't even understand how she had missed. Before she could react, Wen Hongyan tumbled down the second-floor stairs on her own, collapsing into the first-floor hall, completely unconscious. Yang Yanzheng took a stride and arrived before He Jiaqing. He Jiaqing shifted slightly, appearing behind Yang Yanzheng, and made a snatching motion. "Travel Cultivator technique—I'll take it." With a casual flick of his hand, Yang Yanzheng was sent tumbling down the stairs as well. Xiang Fenglan shielded Chu the Second behind her and loosed the arrow in her hand. The arrow flew with astonishing speed, yet He Jiaqing simply reached out and caught the shaft securely. Xiang Fenglan shouted, "Scatter!" The arrow split from one into over a hundred, whistling toward He Jiaqing. He Jiaqing reached out to catch them, tossing them down the stairs one by one. Grabbing and throwing them in rapid succession, he discarded every single one of the hundred-plus arrows. Not a single projectile managed to injure him. Xiang Fenglan drew a second arrow, glanced back, and shouted to Chu Huaiyuan, "Run!" Judging solely by this display of skill, Xiang Fenglan knew clearly that she was no match for He Jiaqing. Even if two more Xiang Fenglans joined the fight, they couldn't land a scratch on him. There was only one way out: she would buy time while Chu Huaiyuan ran for her life. Chu Huaiyuan refused to flee. Summoning the magical artifacts inside the room, she prepared to fight He Jiaqing to the death. Suddenly, the fedora whispered into her ear: "Don't charge in. If you go at him, you die!" This was the fedora Li the Seventh had gifted her. After staying by Chu Huaiyuan's side for a month, it had begun speaking to her—rarely, but in a voice that closely resembled Li the Seventh's. Chu Huaiyuan trusted the hat implicitly, but with her people's lives on the line, she could not simply abandon them. As she hesitated, He Jiaqing spoke up: "Huaiyuan, don't do anything foolish. The Paramount is truly useless in your hands. Surrender it to me, and everyone will be happy—why make things difficult? "Truth be told, I pity you. You don't know how to run a business, yet you insist on clinging to face. But if you don't intend to give me face today, I have no reason to accommodate you. "I've said everything that can be said. If you still can't tell what's good for you, then I will—" *Bang!* A gunshot rang out. He Jiaqing ducked instantly. A bullet grazed the back of his head, tearing away a patch of scalp, and blood flowed. Who was that? Opening fire so abruptly? He Jiaqing flickered and reappeared downstairs. Another gunshot erupted, the bullet aimed straight for his heart. Having judged the bullet's trajectory, He Jiaqing caught the slug with his bare hand and tossed it aside. "Who is shooting? Come out and speak!" No reply came from the other side. He Jiaqing only heard the distinct sound of reloading. The direction of the reloading was different from the origin of the bullet—the shooter had changed positions. Only two shots had actually fired, but the assailant had pulled the trigger six times; four rounds had misfired. The fedora whispered, "He's here." Li the Seventh! A wild surge of joy swept through Chu Huaiyuan's heart, though she kept quiet. He Jiaqing waved his fan, assuming an air of leisure. "You think you can kill me with that gun? Isn't that a bit of a joke?" Li the Seventh replied, "Want to bet?" He Jiaqing glanced around. Yang Yanzheng and Wen Hongyan lay on the ground, while Xiang Fenglan and Chu Huaiyuan stood by the balustrade. "What do you want to bet on?" He Jiaqing smiled. "Bet the lives of everyone in this room?" "Do you dare bet?" *Click!* Li the Seventh cocked the hammer. He Jiaqing heard the sound, yet he still could not pinpoint the other man's exact position. That was the most perilous part. For a Thief Cultivator's perception to fail to detect the enemy's location made He Jiaqing abandon any thought of gambling, and he bolted straight out of the manor. Li the Seventh immediately gave chase. The street was teeming with people, and the two wove through the crowd so swiftly that no one could catch sight of their figures. Rounding a street corner, He Jiaqing stood quietly against the wall of a café, waiting for his pursuer to approach. Li Banfeng stood against another wall of the café, listening silently to his opponent's movements. He Jiaqing dared not act rashly, unaware of who had pursued him. Li Banfeng did not strike hastily either, unsure whether the man was truly He Jiaqing.