The Old Man... Is Hungry

"Benefactor, I don't want anything more to do with my father. I'll just consider him dead."

Li Muyun spoke softly. "Benefactor, could you agree to one more little favor?"

"If it's a little favor, then of course I won't refuse. Go ahead."

Chen Han had a very good impression of Li Muyun. She had once helped him a great deal, and now that she was in trouble, he would naturally help her as much as he could.

"Thank you, benefactor. I just want to stay here, and then trouble you to find me a job."

Chen Han lowered his eyes in thought, then decided it wasn't appropriate. "You can stay here, Miss, but as for getting a job... that won't do."

"Ah, why not?"

Li Muyun asked, blinking her big eyes.

"Since things have come to this, I won't hide it from you. I've made quite an enemy of the Black Mountain Gang. That night, I even let two people who knew about it escape. They don't know my real identity, but they know you."

Chen Han continued, "So you can't show your face right now. Otherwise, I'm afraid both of us could be in danger."

Li Muyun's delicate body trembled slightly as fear crept across her face. "Benefactor, I'll do whatever you say."

Anything I say...?

Chen Han shook his head, banishing the improper thoughts from his mind.

"You don't need to do anything. Just stay here and make sure no one else finds you."

After temporarily settling Li Muyun in, Chen Han left. As he was going, Li Muyun took his hand and begged him to stay the night.

But Chen Han was a man of firm resolve. He left without looking back.

The main reason was that he feared the Gu inside him. Who knew whether it could be transmitted through sex?

At that very moment, in a secluded part of Black Monkey City, a hunched old man was walking slowly.

He looked frail, as if a gust of wind could knock him over, yet the look between his brows was chilling. It was the gaze of someone who had killed countless people.

The old man slowly came to a small courtyard. It was brightly lit, and the men who looked like ordinary servants were actually Dark Force martial artists.

Looking more closely, there were even Transformation Force experts among them!

Few people knew that this seemingly inconspicuous residence was the Black Mountain Gang's headquarters.

"Sir, you're back after taking care of things."

Several Transformation Force martial artists noticed the old man. They came out of the rooms with their backs bent, hurried forward, and greeted him with deep bows.

One of them had a pockmarked face and a head of unkempt hair. He was the little old man Chen Han had unexpectedly encountered earlier that day.

"Mm..."

The old man replied casually, unconcerned.

"Sir, someone's killed a great many of our brothers recently. In less than a year, four of the Seven Sha have died. Sir, you must get justice for us!"

One of them cried out, then dropped to his knees.

The old man's hair was so long that it obscured his face, but everyone could sense his gaze darkening. In an instant, they all felt an inexplicable chill shoot straight through their heads.

"Little Six, have you found out where this person came from?"

His voice was hoarse and deep, like some man-eating fiend from the road to the Yellow Springs.

"N-no... We haven't. This person covered their tracks very well. The bodies of the brothers who died were beaten to pieces, so we couldn't find a thing.

"We don't even know whether they were all killed by the same person."

"Good, good, very good... You've done well..."

The old man suddenly laughed. His laughter was icy and merciless, sending a bone-deep chill through the air.

The man who had spoken didn't understand. "S-Sir, why are you laughing?"

"I'm laughing at myself for raising a few useless dogs like you..."

As he spoke, his aged hand, covered in liver spots, clamped around the man's face like an iron vice.

"S-Sir, spare me..."

The old man paid no heed to the pleas of his Dark Force peak subordinate. With a thought, he drew the man's crimson blood and vital energy out of his body and absorbed it all.

The Black Mountain Gang's underling was in unbearable agony. His pupils shrank to pinpricks. He wanted to let out a bloodcurdling scream, but not a sound came out. Like a loach caught in someone's grip, his body writhed violently.

But gradually, his body went limp. His flesh sank in, his eyes bulged, and he looked just like a dried corpse.

Hiss...

The old man released the corpse of his subordinate, whose eyes remained open in death. He drew in a long breath and let out a sound of satisfaction, as if savoring the moment.

The Black Mountain Gang's experts didn't dare raise their heads. Even the little old man—whose pockmarked face had made even Transformation Force martial artists lower their heads—looked timid and cowed.

Disdain for the dead man showed in their eyes. A useless wretch deserved to die.

The old man didn't spare the gruesome corpse another glance. He went straight back to his room.

The only thing the others heard was a ghostly, distant voice: "Find this person within half a month. I want to meet them myself... And bring the seven remaining useless wretches here... The old man is hungry..."

"Yes, sir."

They answered as one.

The next day, at the Chen Mansion.

"Clan Elder Chen Shanhe, I'm truly sorry. Something unexpected came up, so I can't take a position with your branch."

Chen Han clasped his hands and bowed apologetically.

"What?!"

Chen Shanhe, who had quite liked Chen Han, sprang to his feet. Surprise and confusion filled his eyes, and a few breaths later, anger appeared on his face.

"Nephew Han, you agreed to this in person just yesterday. How can you go back on your word?"

Chen Han was helpless. How could he not have anticipated this situation?

But what could he do? The person who had come to find him was a close friend he had grown up with.

After transmigrating, Chen Han had inherited the original owner's memories. And Chen Lei had helped him a great deal afterward, treating him like a brother. Chen Han just couldn't bring himself to turn him down.

"Clan Elder Chen Shanhe, I'm truly sorry..."

Chen Han offered no excuses. He clasped his hands and bowed once more, apologizing again.

Chen Shanhe's face shifted between green and black. Several times, he nearly cursed aloud, but each time he swallowed the words.

In the end, it all turned into a long sigh. "So be it. If you insist on taking that seat, I can't stop you. I only hope you won't regret it later..."

With that, Chen Shanhe left.

Chen Han's gaze tightened, but he didn't take the matter too seriously.

Chen Shanhe was a clan elder with considerable standing in the family. Now that Chen Han had thoroughly offended him, he would surely target Chen Han while handling day-to-day affairs and secretly trip him up.

But Chen Han wasn't afraid. With his current strength, he could meet soldiers with generals and stem the water with earth. Chen Shanhe's underhanded tricks couldn't cause him too much trouble.

"Still, I have to be careful. If you spend enough time walking along the river, your shoes are bound to get wet. I've offended too many people. One careless mistake, and I could end up in a ditch."

Chen Han warned himself inwardly.

After a full day of fist training, dusk settled. Chen Han returned home and saw that many new things had appeared there, all elegant and impressive—and clearly expensive.

Wearing a new silk outfit and hiding her hands behind her back, Shen Yue came to him with a beaming smile. "Big Brother, do you think my new clothes look nice?"

Chen Han looked her over. It was a simple outer robe in blue and white, just right for a young girl in the bloom of her youth like Shen Yue.

"Mm, it looks nice."