Volume One, Chapter 65: Lend You a Hand

With a single hand, Jiang Chen twisted Ye Qingfeng’s arm until it snapped, then sent him flying with a powerful kick.

Li Jingshou was drenched in cold sweat, paralyzed by fear, but the moment he saw Jiang Chen, all that terror vanished. “Brother, you’re finally back!” Li Jingshou cried out in excitement, wanting to throw his arms around Jiang Chen. But Jiang Chen kicked him away without much force.

Jiang Chen was furious—not only because Li Jingshou had acted on his own and risked his life, but even more because of Ye Qingfeng, that wretched dog who seemed to have grown tired of living. Jiang Chen had only been gone a few days, and already Ye Qingfeng had brought things to this point.

Even though Ning Rou was tied up, it did nothing to dampen her excitement. She’d always believed in her heart that Jiang Chen was alive, but now, seeing him standing before her, she could not hide her joy.

Li Jingshou lay on the ground, wailing, “Brother, not only do you refuse to praise me, you treat me like this? My heart is truly shattered.”

Jiang Chen sneered. “Save it. I already know you drugged Chongli. She’s awake now. When you get back, you’ll have to answer for it.”

Li Jingshou felt it might have been better if he’d just died—facing Chongli’s wrath would be mortifying.

Ye Qingfeng clutched his broken arm, cold sweat pouring down his face. Gritting his teeth, he forced his arm back into place and looked at the Gu Master.

The Gu Master shook his head in disbelief. “Impossible. He was definitely dead.”

Jiang Chen only smiled. “Your schemes are like children’s games to me. I wasn’t going to stoop to your level, but I didn’t expect you’d dare to set your sights on me.”

Ye Qingfeng rotated his arm and scoffed, “Jiang Chen, do you really think you’ll walk away alive?”

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes. “Did I allow you to speak?”

“What do you mean by that?” Ye Qingfeng demanded, pointing at him.

Jiang Chen turned to the restless Gu Master. “Was it you killing people for your rituals when I first came to Qing City?”

The Gu Master answered without fear, “Yes, it was me. What of it?”

Jiang Chen pointed at his own head. “I’m just here to take your head, nothing more.”

“How do you intend to prove my guilt? And even if you want to arrest me, only Section 509 has that authority. You can ask those two behind you if you don’t believe me.” The Gu Master had already recognized Xu Congcong and Black Dragon.

Xu Congcong and Black Dragon dared not say a word. The last person who mouthed off like that was still recovering in the hospital, with the doctor saying he’d need at least a year of rest and couldn’t even go to the bathroom without help.

Xu Congcong spoke awkwardly, “Brother Chen, it’s your call. Don’t mind us. If you kill him, we’ll collect the evidence later—it’s not impossible.”

The Gu Master was stunned. He’d never expected the people from Section 509 to operate like this. Was there no law? No justice?

He looked at Ye Qingfeng. “If we join forces, we may be able to take him down.”

Ye Qingfeng didn’t hesitate. “Together!”

In an instant, Li Jingshou felt a storm of murderous intent sweeping toward him. The pressure on the lawn plummeted; even at a distance, the oppressive force reached him.

The Gu Master scattered a handful of bone powder, and from the once-pristine lawn, pairs of hands began to claw their way to the surface.

Xu Congcong and Black Dragon instinctively stepped back as nearly a hundred corpses struggled out of the earth.

“So many… all their doing?!” Xu Congcong stared in disbelief at the bodies that once belonged to living people, now reduced to withered husks.

Black Dragon said, “These corpses are of varying ages—some five or six years old, others just a few days. I can’t believe the Shanshui Group would go this far!”

He had thought this was just a routine special case, but with so many lives lost, their superiors would likely come down personally and raze the Shanshui Group to the ground.

“Notify the captain immediately. Lock down the Shanshui Group!” Xu Congcong ordered, stepping forward.

But Jiang Chen gestured for them to stay back.

His face was ice cold. In that moment, he almost missed the days in the secret realm, when he could unleash his power without restraint.

From the jade pendant, Kui Niu’s voice sounded: “Go for it, kid! I’m rooting for you—take them out!”

Kui Niu had somehow conjured up snacks and crunched away, watching the battle as if it were a show.

“By the Three Pure Ones and Three Flames, grant me True Fire—burn away all evil spirits!”

A column of fire raced along the ground, the searing blaze igniting the dried corpses the moment it touched them.

Jiang Chen’s flames were no ordinary fire, but soul fire, designed specifically to incinerate evil and the undead. Anything tainted by darkness would be cleansed in an instant.

A screech rang out—their vocal cords long since decayed, the desiccated corpses could only produce shrill wails by scraping their throats.

Ye Qingfeng lunged from behind, his strike laced with fierce energy. Jiang Chen didn’t even turn his head; a flash of golden light erupted, and Ye Qingfeng’s body was instantly numbed by the force of the counterattack.

Unhurried, Jiang Chen flung Ye Qingfeng aside.

Ye Qingfeng steadied himself and shouted, “Jiang Chen! Do you know what will happen to the Ning family if you ruin the engagement ceremony? Ning Rou, do you want to see your family’s fortune destroyed?”

Ning Rou could hear the threat in Ye Qingfeng’s words. She lowered her head, unwilling to see Jiang Chen yield, but powerless to change the situation.

“Fortune destroyed? You think your petty schemes can outwit me?” Jiang Chen continued, “Go ahead, call your company.”

Ye Qingfeng hesitated, but pulled out his phone. The missed calls numbered almost a hundred.

Another call came in. Ye Qingfeng answered, only to hear panic from the other end.

“Chairman, our company’s been shut down. Su Chenglong’s group has bought out all our shares. I’m leaving—you’re on your own.”

The call ended with a series of beeps, leaving Ye Qingfeng’s heart in shambles. All hope was lost.

Staring at Jiang Chen, his anger grew. “I’ll kill you! How dare you set me up!”

Jiang Chen replied calmly, “Don’t make me laugh. Listen to yourself—how ridiculous do you sound? You say I set you up, but I don’t even know you. You’re the one who courted death. I give you a parting gift, and you blame me?”

“You! I’ll take you with me!” Ye Qingfeng charged, but Jiang Chen dodged with ease.

“Patricide, murder, countless other crimes—now you want me to die with you? I’ve never seen anyone so shameless!” Jiang Chen seized Ye Qingfeng’s hand. “Since you have no shame, I won’t be polite. Let me help you!”

A loud crack resounded.