Chen Jing's Beloved, Immortal's Leap

After finishing his conversation with Su Yunong, Luo Bin left the café and went upstairs to the theater pavilion at the center of Qunyu Garden.

There was more than one performance hall here; the entire building was divided into several sections. As Luo Bin ascended the stairs, he immediately spotted Hu Junzhi standing two meters behind Chen Jing.

"Brother Luo, the second young master he..."

Hu Junzhi turned and gestured with his chin toward Chen Jing, who was sitting on the viewing platform beaming with joy. Two women wearing the uniform of "Ping City Women's Normal School" were laughing so hard at his jokes that their bodies trembled like flowers in the wind.

Luo Bin shook his head with a smile.

This brat—so he was here accompanying his sweetheart and had called him over just to be a third wheel...

He waved at Hu Junzhi, then gestured to Zhang Huai, who was ogling a woman's legs in the distance, before heading toward an adjacent performance hall.

But before he had taken more than a few steps, a damp, cold, clammy sensation washed over him. It wasn't strong—more like a frog slowly being boiled alive—something an ordinary person wouldn't notice...

Luo Bin's skin instantly prickled with goosebumps. The passive ability of his [Water Ghoul · Phantom] talent surfaced invisibly, allowing him to keenly detect this change in the Qunyu Garden pavilion...

"Why did Qunyu Garden suddenly become so damp and cold?"

He swept his gaze over the crowd, which was sometimes sparse and sometimes dense. Everyone's expression was normal, as if they hadn't been affected at all.

His senses could keenly detect the change in humidity, but Luo Bin didn't find it uncomfortable. Instead, he felt a kind of enjoyment, like a fish that had been away from the pond for too long...

Being released back into the water, the cells in his body were cheering and rejoicing.

Luo Bin suppressed the tremor in his body and walked forward.

"Why is the dampness fading?"

He took a few steps back, and the sensation became clear and strong again.

Luo Bin subconsciously looked at Chen Jing, who was laughing and chatting with the two women. A trace of unease rose in his heart. He glanced again at Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi, who were keeping watch in two separate spots, and felt slightly reassured.

So he got up and walked to the adjacent hall, absentmindedly listening to the performance of a young dan actress on stage, her figure graceful and her voice round and smooth like pearls...

After a while.

The damp sensation suddenly vanished without a trace. Luo Bin was slightly startled. He got up and ran to the adjacent hall, only to find Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi watching the women on stage with great interest...

"Where's A-Jing?!!"

Hu Junzhi turned around and saw it was Luo Bin. A lecherous grin spread across his face: "The second young master went to handle some business at the restaurant next door."

Luo Bin took two steps closer, his voice turning cold: "What kind of business?"

"Hehehe, you know, the kind of business between a man and a woman..."

Upon hearing the answer, Luo Bin didn't think twice. He suddenly accelerated and charged down from the upper floor, shouting back as he went: "You two still not looking for him? Those two women are trouble..."

Hu Junzhi knew Luo Bin's abilities well. In the ten-plus days Luo Bin had been in seclusion, he had often called him and Zhang Huai to Qufang Garden for sparring. If he hadn't been controlling his strength every time they exchanged blows...

Neither he nor Zhang Huai would have been able to walk around by now.

Seeing Luo Bin so serious, their expressions changed drastically. They knew something was wrong and hurriedly chased after him.

Luo Bin followed the damp sensation and pursued outward.

If his guess was correct, this subtle change in his physical senses was caused by another water-attributed Demon Specter. Since it shared the same affinity for water essence as the Water Mountain Ghoul, he could perceive it...

Exiting Qunyu Garden, he found himself on a snack street. Wife cakes, roasted sweet potatoes, red bean pancakes—vendors' cries rose and fell in succession.

It slightly interfered with Luo Bin's perception...

The street was packed with people, and there was no trace of Chen Jing to be seen.

He calmed his mind and focused on sensing that dampness, then quickly walked into a shop with a coarse cloth curtain covering the entrance. Inside, a hazy, damp mist wafted out from behind the curtain that met his eyes.

Luo Bin sensed a faint yet intense dampness. After mentally preparing himself, he charged straight in.

"Ah—"

"Pervert! A man just ran into the Ladies' Bathhouse!"

"Someone, quick!!"

"..."

Luo Bin was slightly speechless. The yin energy dissipated without a trace over those pale, naked bodies.

Amid the scolding and shouting of the women in the bathhouse, he knew better than to fight a losing battle. He quickly retreated and ducked into an alley.

Inside the bathhouse, a delicate woman who had just finished bathing watched Luo Bin's fleeing back with a teasing smile and murmured:

"Not much guts, this 'guardian' the Chen family chose. This lady's body—how many men would die for it? Even the eldest young master of the Jiang family couldn't get it, and you didn't even take a second look...

Oh well, once I deal with Chen Manqing and the Chen family falls into chaos, I'll come collect you, little brother...

And that bitch Su Yunong—I wonder what scheme she's cooking up now?"

Outside the bathhouse.

Luo Bin saw Zhang Huai running over from another street, breathing heavily.

"Brother Luo, I couldn't find the second young master..."

Luo Bin's heart sank. That damp sensation had already become extremely faint. He carefully distinguished between the moisture of water vapor and the essential yin-dampness, then said in a grave tone:

"A-Jing has already been taken far away... I don't know if it's the Sun family, the Jiang family, or someone else."

"Notify the family head. Prepare for a search."

Zhang Huai understood the gravity of the situation. He pulled out his car keys, drove out the vehicle Chen Jing had arrived in, and sped straight toward the Chen Residence.

Hu Junzhi, a Martial Master at the Golden Skin Pass—though only at the initial stage—possessed endurance far beyond ordinary men. By now, he had already scoured several surrounding streets, yet found not a single trace of Chen Jing.

"What do we do, Brother Luo..." Hu Junzhi's voice carried a hint of panic.

Luo Bin's eyes flickered. "They went through all this trouble, setting up a honey trap to kidnap A'Jing. It must still be because of his status as the Chen Family's young master. A'Jing has never trained in martial arts, and he's still a youth—he wouldn't know many of the Chen Family's core secrets."

"That means the other side intends to use Chen Jing to scheme for other gains. For now, he shouldn't be in mortal danger..."

"Keep searching!"

After calming Hu Junzhi, Luo Bin began heading north of the city. Rickshaws came and went along the roadside. He casually hailed one, pulled a few silver coins from his suit jacket, and tossed them over.

"To the east of the city..."

"Right away, young master. Sit tight..."

The puller was a young man, lean but with clear, spirited eyes. Seeing Luo Bin's attire, he dared not slack off and promptly tugged the rickshaw eastward.

Luo Bin sat in the rickshaw, weighing his thoughts.

Chen Jing absolutely could not come to harm. He served as a bridge between himself and the Chen Family...

In terms of conduct, character, and temperament, there was nothing wrong with him. A second-generation scion of a great family, yet he had humbled himself to seek out talent and offer help when Luo Bin was treading carefully.

These debts of gratitude, Luo Bin dared not forget.

Most importantly, one of the Eight Great Miraculous Arts from the previous dynasty—the "Yellow Court Inner Landscape"—still depended on the Chen Family's channels to obtain... Chen Jing, raised from childhood by Chen Tianren as his successor, held a position in the Chen Family akin to a "crown prince."

If the "crown prince" was in danger, then the "foundation of the state" was shaken.

A sense of urgency tightened in Luo Bin's chest. "Master, please hurry..."

Sure enough, as they neared the east of the city, that damp sensation grew clearer again.

The scenery on both sides of the rickshaw slowly receded. In some places, he could faintly see members of the "Black Sheath Gang" in their black uniforms—the new recruits Luo Wendi had reorganized and taken in—pacing and patrolling their respective territories.

Luo Bin immediately called the rickshaw to a stop, smoothed the wrinkles on his suit, and strode quickly toward this Black Sheath Gang stronghold.

A lean man stepped forward to block him, barking, "This is a Black Sheath Gang branch. Bystanders, step back."

Bam!

Luo Bin raised his right foot, his polished leather shoe slamming fiercely into the lean man's abdomen. The man instantly flew backward, his entire body tracing a graceful parabolic arc as it skimmed across the ground...

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of the man's mouth... His gaze at Luo Bin held not only terror but also a trace of venomous resentment.

At that moment, the men behind him surged forward, but a deep, resonant voice rang out, halting them in their tracks.

"Brother Luo?!"

Ruan Pei stepped forward, dressed in a long gown and mandarin jacket.

"Master Ruan, the second young master has been kidnapped. Gather the brothers and start searching immediately!"

Ruan Pei's brow twitched. "What?"