The Impostor

Zhou Zhe desperately clawed at the large hand gripping his throat;

but that hand never budged, like a hydraulic press!

His face had turned red from suffocation. Along with terror, his eyes held confusion...

Why... why would Chu Yuan dare to kill someone!?

He had such a bright future ahead of him. Was he really willing to throw it all away just because Zhou Zhe had provoked him a few days ago?

Zhou Zhe's status was too low for him to know that Li Chen had already died;

so right now, he couldn't believe what was happening;

He couldn't believe what was happening, no matter how he looked at it.

From the inner room, Zhou Zhe's mother had also been startled awake. She ran out in her pajamas and at once saw her husband lying motionless on the ground;

and her son, about to be strangled to death by that little bastard...

She let out a terrified scream, then collapsed helplessly to the floor.

"Mom... run..." Zhou Zhe forced three words out of his throat, but his voice was as faint as a mosquito's and was completely drowned out by the woman's piercing screams.

Just as Zhou Zhe was falling into total despair, a sharp flash of cold light shot in from outside the door, heading straight for Chu Yuan's back!

Zhou Zhe saw Chu Yuan's expressionless face twitch. Chu Yuan immediately threw him to the ground, and somehow a dagger had appeared in his hand. He slashed backward!

Clang!

The shrill clash of metal scraped repeatedly against his eardrums, making him feel sick;

but he had no time to worry about that. He scrambled away from Chu Yuan and made it to his mother's side, shielding her behind him.

At the same time, he looked expectantly toward the door. Someone had come to save him!

Who was it!?

To his surprise, the figure who appeared was wearing a First High School uniform;

when Zhou Zhe got a good look at his face, he was once again stunned... another Chu Yuan!

His gaze darted back and forth between the two Chu Yuans...

Chu Yuan caught the long sword as it returned to his hand, then looked at the impostor before him with a hint of murderous intent. "Who are you?"

The conflicts between him and Zhou Zhe, and between him and Li Chen, had been minor squabbles;

but the real culprit had come to ruin his life!

Of course Chu Yuan wanted to kill him!

Unexpectedly, a strange smile spread across the other man's face. Then he spoke in a voice identical to Chu Yuan's: "I'm Chu Yuan! Who are you? How dare you impersonate me..."

His expression shifted a moment later, as if he had realized something;

he put his full weight into his step, smashed through the window, and leaped out!

Naturally, Chu Yuan wasn't about to let him get away so easily. Almost instinctively, he moved to pursue him!

But just then, the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears;

Chu Yuan's thoughts stirred, and he quickly weighed his options.

The only people who could have noticed something was wrong here and arrived so quickly were the authorities!

If he pursued the culprit now, he might catch him, but he could just as easily fail!

Staying here, on the other hand, would be better proof of his identity!

The real one was right here... didn't that prove someone had impersonated him?

But he couldn't just let the other man escape...

He reached the window in a single step and looked down. A figure was fleeing at breakneck speed, almost blending into the darkness;

Chu Yuan channeled his magical power, and the long sword trembled in his hand!

Wind-Riding Sword Control Art: Swift!

A streak of cold light shot from his hand like a spear piercing the stars!

Carrying a fierce killing intent, it howled toward the fleeing figure...

"Don't move!"

"Put your hands up!"

Several uniformed figures rushed in, raising their pistols and aiming them at Chu Yuan...

"So, you're saying that after hearing of Li Chen's death, you realized someone was deliberately framing you;

then you remembered your earlier dispute with Zhou Zhe... so you came here ahead of time to lie in wait?"

"That's right." Chu Yuan glanced at Zhou Zhe. "Isn't he a witness?"

Zhou Zhe froze, then looked at Chu Yuan with reddened eyes and gritted his teeth. "You knew all along! And you got here early!"

"That's right."

"Then why didn't you act sooner? Why didn't you save my dad?" Zhou Zhe shouted.

Since Chu Yuan had arrived early, and had the ability to fight that fake Chu Yuan;

why hadn't he acted sooner!?

Chu Yuan looked at Zhou Zhe without expression, then shook his head and said softly, "I'm just like you, a student who's only been cultivating for a few days;

I'm not that capable."

"Bullshit!" Zhou Zhe cursed. "You did it on purpose!"

"Why would I do that on purpose?"

"Because I provoked you! You held a grudge!"

Chu Yuan looked at him quietly. The Public Security Bureau captain who had asked the questions shook his head as well;

in his view, Chu Yuan might indeed have deliberately stood by and let the man die, but given his conduct and courage, it was unlikely that his motive had been that minor clash with Zhou Zhe.

He had probably wanted Zhou Zhe and his mother to see the fake Chu Yuan's face!

Otherwise, if Chu Yuan had acted earlier, the fake might have fled at once...

Then there would have been no eyewitnesses, and Chu Yuan's word alone wouldn't have convinced anyone.

Still... how could a mere high school student have such a calculating mind?

He was responsible for following up on Li Chen's death, so he knew quite a bit about Chu Yuan;

but now it seemed that the information on paper might not be entirely reliable...

"Even so, we can't rule out the possibility that you staged the whole thing."

Chu Yuan suddenly smiled;

"So you think an ordinary high school student like me;

could find an Internal Breath Realm Warrior to help me put on an act...

and that neither your Public Security Bureau nor the Li Family of the province could uncover any information about it?"

The captain didn't answer. He merely said, "An ordinary high school student wouldn't have the ability to drive off an Internal Breath Realm Warrior!

Until we catch the real culprit, we can't completely clear you of suspicion."

Chu Yuan said sarcastically, "Why not just suspect that I'm an Alien Race spy while you're at it?"

The captain was a little irritated by that;

but before he could say anything, a female officer beside him snapped, "You're right! I do suspect that you're an Alien Race spy!

Come with us to the bureau for questioning!"

The captain's expression changed. He barked, "Xiao Yuan! Shut up!"

"Captain! He's just a murderer..."

"Hmph! Chu Yuan is a member of the Great Qin Super-Grade Blue Cloud Project!

His father died in the war against the Alien Race invasion ten years ago!

And you people think you can casually convict the son of a hero, even branding him an Alien Race spy!?" A stern voice came from the doorway.

Chu Yuan looked toward the door and greeted him. "Principal."

"Principal Qi! I absolutely didn't mean that!" The captain stood at attention, looking uneasy...