Chapter 85: Yuan Chenyang Returns With Successive Shocks
“Nonsense.” Emotions surged in Zhang Hongbo’s eyes as he asked the final question, “If I hadn’t come, would you have taken them away, making me hesitate and forcing me to protect you?”
“How could that be…” Zhang Feng immediately denied it, but before he could finish, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down stiffly, lifeless.
“Father…” Zhang Hengyu’s expression was dazed as he watched his second uncle collapse.
“Father, what exactly is going on?” Zhang Yunqing asked urgently, a bad premonition lurking in her heart.
“He… colluded with the Cult of the Strange God.” Zhang Hongbo lowered his head, looking at the body on the ground, its chest still rising and falling slightly.
“What?” Zhang Yunqing’s heart shook violently, suddenly realizing.
She had subconsciously excluded those related to Zhang Hongbo from suspicion.
“Was it discovered by Yang Yan and the others?” Zhang Yunqing couldn’t help asking.
“Even worse…” Zhang Hongbo sighed: “It was discovered by Old Xia.”
Zhang Yunqing’s face paled, suddenly feeling waves of chill from the shadows around her.
“I am no longer the South Wind City Lord.” Zhang Hongbo added.
Zhang Yunqing felt no surprise, but Zhang Hengyu beside her murmured in shock: “Father…”
Zhang Yunqing glanced over and saw his dazed expression, immediately feeling annoyed at his incompetence, “You…”
“Hengyu…” Before she could finish, Zhang Hongbo interrupted.
Zhang Hengyu looked up blankly, but saw an unprecedented tenderness on his father’s face, saying with relief: “You did well; a pure heart may not be without benefit.”
Me?
For some reason, Zhang Hengyu’s vision blurred; it had been a very, very long time since he heard praise from his father.
“Build a good relationship with Su Chen…” Zhang Hongbo couldn’t help saying, but then shook his head: “Forget it, just follow your heart.”
“Su Chen?” Zhang Hengyu felt dazed.
Seeing their confusion, Zhang Hongbo didn’t hide it and said bluntly: “Su Chen is already Old Xia’s student.”
“He…” Zhang Yunqing paused, Su Chen’s face appearing before her eyes; she couldn’t help saying: “How could that be…”
“Body, mind, Double Crimson Gold.” Zhang Hongbo was concise.
“Double, Crimson Gold!?” Zhang Yunqing was stunned, as if struck by lightning.
“Double Crimson Gold? No wonder…” Zhang Hengyu suddenly understood.
“Let’s end the chat here; there are still some loose ends to handle.” He looked at his younger brother again, reluctance in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by coldness.
“Don’t go anywhere.”
Watching her father leave, Zhang Yunqing still found it unbelievable; sitting on the sofa, it was a long time before a wry smile appeared on her face.
Old Xia’s student indeed carried a curse-like implication, but he was ultimately the Chief Judge’s student.
In South Wind City, he still stood above everyone!
“Quite decisive…”
In the shadows, Xia Hanshi’s figure vanished.
………
Zhou Xian pinched his nose and found the hidden priest in the sewer; seeing his miserable state, he was startled:
“Priest, what happened? What happened to you?”
“What’s the situation on your side?” The priest’s pitch-black pupils stared coldly at him.
Mentioning this, Zhou Xian felt a chill: “I first sent two people in to probe, but the development was strange, so I didn’t dare act; I watched nearby for a few hours and sure enough, saw Zhang Hongbo’s subordinate appear…”
“Good thing I was cautious and didn’t act rashly, or I’d have been caught like turtles in a jar.”
“You’re really smart.” The priest’s tone rippled.
“And you…” Zhou Xian instinctively stepped back.
“Not long after you left, Xia Hanshi came to the Trade General Warehouse with Ying Feng’s people and Zhang Hongbo.” The priest said hoarsely, “They came suddenly; I had no preparation, all my subordinates died in battle, and I escaped using the power of the Holy Image.”
“They came knocking?” Zhou Xian was shocked, “How could this be? That’s absolute top secret; there must be an insider leak.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought too.” The priest nodded, “I was just about to ask you to help analyze it.”
“Hmm… Could it be Zhang Feng?” Zhou Xian immediately got into character, pondering and shaking his head: “No, he’s an insider but also a Follower; he couldn’t leak it.”
“Then this is trouble; all who knew about this are Followers, so it should be nearly impossible to leak.”
“Wrong, there’s one more who isn’t a Follower.” The priest slowly stood up.
“Hm…” Zhou Xian was slightly stunned, his face changing drastically, “You suspect me!?”
“What else?” The priest countered, “According to your own analysis, the only one who could possibly leak it seems to be you.”
“Absolutely not me!” Zhou Xian said firmly, quickly explaining, “I have no reason to do it, and even if I did, why come back? To court death?”
“I don’t know.” The priest shook his head, “But I’ve lost trust in you; you have only one path: become a Follower, or… die.”
Unnoticed when, the surroundings were enveloped in Darkness, even the stench disappearing.
Zhou Xian’s face turned ashen, knowing he had no choice, and immediately said: “I am willing to become a Follower of Our Lord.”
The priest paused slightly, suspicion rising in his heart: Really not him?
“Come forward.” He called.
Zhou Xian took a deep breath, stepped forward, half-kneeled before the priest, and lowered his head.
“…Our Lord in the rift, Holy One of the sevenfold chains, eye that peers into hearts…”
As the low chant continued, everything around blurred; Zhou Xian involuntarily looked up, the priest had vanished, replaced by a black vertical pupil.
“Our Lord…” He shouted involuntarily, a flash of fanaticism in his eyes, “Only today do I believe in Our Lord; my myriad sins cannot be washed away.”
The priest paid no mind, staring fixedly at him, “Zhou Xian, before believing in Our Lord, did you leak the Trade General Warehouse news?”
“No.” Zhou Xian still shook his head, “Though I hadn’t recognized Our Lord’s greatness then, I didn’t betray.”
“Really not…” The priest suddenly became dazed; he had been certain it was Zhou Xian, but now he was a Follower and couldn’t lie.
Then who exactly leaked the news?
The priest temporarily suppressed his doubts and looked at Zhou Xian: “Now we must act even more cautiously; I’ve used part of the Holy Image’s power, making it hard to summon Our Lord’s descent again; we need to replenish strength…”
“Refugee Area.” Zhou Xian gave the answer immediately, “Dense population, lax management; with careful setup and timing, we can complete the goal before South Wind City notices.”
The priest nodded in satisfaction; regardless, now only two knew, so it was safe.
………
【Wind and Thunder Emissary: 15%】
【Mystic Mind Master: 10%】
【E-grade Gale Body Tempering Method—Proficient: 60%】
【E-grade Void Star Meditation Method—Beginner: 90%】
Glancing at the Panel, Su Chen exited the Gravity Chamber, went to the washroom to rinse off his sweat, and stood before the mirror, cyan wind flows surging from various parts of his body.
“The upper-tier profession of Gale Hunter, Hurricane Warrior, is only Third Order Middle Tier; intensity too low.” Su Chen’s thoughts wandered; this was info he got from asking Yang Yan.
“Even with Strange God’s Power interference, beyond the promotion requirements, difficulty will surely exceed Upper Tier to Top Tier; Ying Feng should have better professions; see if there’s a replacement then.”
Soon, his body was blown clean and refreshed; the body in the mirror grew more toned; Su Chen looked appreciatively a few times, then carefully switched to “Heituo Follower” state and sensed carefully.
“Why is that Heituo Statue keeps moving.”
After escaping from Old Xia, these past few days, the Heituo Statue’s coordinates kept moving, stopping no more than half an hour each time.
“No way to notify Old Xia about this…” Su Chen was quite conflicted.
The first lock-on could still be faked, but chasing like it had a tracker was too much.
“According to Yang Yan and them, the Heituo Statue was heavily damaged last time, and summoning Heituo definitely requires staying fixed in one place; it should still be searching for a spot now.”
“Hurry up and stop somewhere; then I can make up a story.” Su Chen grumbled inwardly, opened the wardrobe, and picked out a proper outfit.
It was just noon, and he had ended Training early because Old Yuan was back today.
Cyan scales wandered on his skin surface, soon covering his whole body, then he put on an outer shirt.
…
In the Inspection Department mid-level Parking Lot, a Hover Car slowly stopped; Yuan Chenyang, with a grave expression, got out and looked up at the still majestic building.
Though only gone for about two months, he wasn’t sure if the current Inspection Department was still loyal to him.
He knew Zhang Hongbo’s methods well.
“Not sure what the urgent matter is; Zhang Hongbo and Special Envoy Ying Feng jointly issued the order for me to return.” Yuan Chenyang speculated inwardly.
The official info he knew was only that Exploration, City Patrol, and Inspection Departments were now jointly acting in the city, with big movements.
“Minister?”
A patrolling Guard spotted Yuan Chenyang and shouted in disbelief a few times; Yuan Chenyang waved it off and entered the building.
“Minister…”
“Minister…”
Greetings continued along the way; Yuan Chenyang responded to each, heading straight to the top floor.
Sun Tai, drenched in sweat, had just arrived at the Parking Lot and heard the Minister had gone up; he sighed, “I wanted to personally tell him this good news first.”
But then he thought of Su Chen, his expression changing slightly, “Forget it; let the Minister learn it himself.”
………
“Everyone’s here?”
Yuan Chenyang didn’t knock and directly pushed open the door to his former Office, seeing Zhang Hongbo by the porthole, and Yang Yan and Gu Bing on the sofa.
He immediately grew wary, a series of bad predictions flashing in his mind.
Emergency recall, strict vigilance; no matter how you look, it didn’t seem good—maybe someone would come in and pin him down soon.
“You’re back; must have rushed on the road.” Zhang Hongbo turned, a familiar mild smile on his face.
“Your and the Special Envoy’s joint emergency order; I didn’t dare delay a moment.” Yuan Chenyang put on an official demeanor: “What exactly is the matter?”
“You two, come announce it?” Zhang Hongbo looked at Yang Yan and Gu Bing.
