The Slap Rings Out Again

"Lord Wang."

Chen Zhuo released his grip, calmly tucked the Inheritance Manual back into his robes, and then offered a salute with a blank expression.

"Master Chen, you certainly seem relaxed and at ease."

Before Registrar Wang could speak, Huang Yuan'er suddenly popped out from behind him, eyeing Chen Zhuo with a mocking smile.

Chen Zhuo did not respond; instead, his gaze shifted to a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair standing beside Huang Yuan'er.

This man bore a striking resemblance to Huang Yuan'er, with an exceptionally broad back that looked almost as if it sprouted a pair of fleshy wings.

There is demonic aura here...

Chen Zhuo's nostrils flared slightly, as if he could smell a scent of blood and decay.

No, it was two distinct demonic auras!

The decay came from the middle-aged man, while the scent of blood originated from Huang Yuan'er.

Altering one's blood with demonic essence, are we...

Chen Zhuo's eyes fell upon Huang Yuan'er, though he looked away almost instantly.

He observed him at a glance.

Huang Yuan'er's once smooth face was now adorned with a string of whiskers, making him appear much older, yet his eyes held a strange, demonic glint.

Interesting. Refusing to be a proper human and choosing to be a beast instead...

"I am but a mediocre man, lacking the strength to truss a chicken, fit only for the kitchen. Naturally, I cannot compare to the busy life of Squad Leader Huang."

Facing Huang Yuan'er's earlier mockery, Chen Zhuo did not hold back in the slightest.

Even with Wang Mingyuan standing right there, he showed no fear.

Since the two were already mortal enemies, there was no need to show restraint—not in action, and certainly not in words.

"You..."

Huang Yuan'er was rendered speechless, his expression turning exceptionally ugly.

Registrar Wang suddenly took over, changing the subject: "Did you go to the Ghost Market yesterday?"

Chen Zhuo nodded slightly, showing no surprise.

For these three "big shots" to come looking for him together, it could only be about that residence.

"Heh..."

Registrar Wang gave a cold laugh, his face turning grim as he stepped aside without asking further questions.

Though he had moved away, his gaze remained fixed on Chen Zhuo's face, making no attempt to hide his scrutiny.

After his blood transfusion, Chen Zhuo had attained the Immaculate Body, his skin becoming even more delicate and smooth than before. Feeling Registrar Wang's burning gaze, a surge of killing intent rose sharply in his heart.

Old bastard...

"I am Huang Tiansheng, the second-in-command of the Long River Gang."

The middle-aged man introduced himself while walking toward Chen Zhuo with a tiger-like stride.

"Long River Gang?"

Chen Zhuo asked, feigning confusion.

Huang Tiansheng nodded slightly and stopped only when he reached Chen Zhuo.

Chen Zhuo looked straight ahead, tilting his head slightly: "The Long River Gang... what does that have to do with me?"

As soon as these words left his lips, Huang Yuan'er let out a cold sneer, but before he could speak, Huang Tiansheng stepped in.

He smiled faintly: "I do not know why you harbor such hostility toward my Long River Gang, little brother. If we have done anything wrong, I hope you can be magnanimous."

Chen Zhuo looked at Huang Tiansheng with surprise, then swept his gaze over Huang Yuan'er, and chuckled:

"Hostility? What hostility? I am just a cook; the second-in-command is joking."

Compared to Huang Yuan'er, this Huang Tiansheng was on a completely different level of craftiness.

"Hahaha... it is all a misunderstanding. My Long River Gang believes in harmony as the key to wealth when doing business."

Huang Tiansheng laughed heartily, his large hand patting Chen Zhuo's shoulder in what seemed like an unintentional gesture.

Chen Zhuo did not dodge.

It was not because he couldn't, but because the scent of decay he had smelled earlier had, without him noticing, appeared on his own body.

Right on the back of his neck.

The next moment, he felt a very slight stinging sensation on the back of his neck.

It felt as if a foreign object was struggling to burrow into his flesh.

Had it not been for his Immaculate Body, he would never have noticed it.

For the possessor of the Immaculate Body, not even a feather can land, nor a fly alight.

Every one of his forty-eight thousand pores was, in its opening and closing, one of his "eyes."

"The Second Master is right, harmony brings..."

Chen Zhuo vaguely knew what that foreign object truly was.

He calmly rippled his skin, wedging the object between his flesh and membrane, and as he coordinated with Huang Tiansheng, his eyes turned vacant before he could even finish his sentence.

His entire person seemed to have transformed into a wooden puppet.

Registrar Wang cast a curious gaze his way, and as he pondered, a trace of inexplicable amusement and desire unconsciously surfaced on his face.

Huang Yuan'er's expression was hideous; a murderous intent surged in his heart, and he subconsciously shifted half a step forward before immediately stopping himself.

"Don't touch him."

Huang Tiansheng glanced behind him, and when he turned back, the smile on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth:

"Have you ever been to that hidden residence in the center of the Ghost Market, and did you kill Zhou Sheng while you were there?"

"No."

He actually hadn't?

Huang Tiansheng glanced at Huang Yuan'er, frowned in thought for a moment, and then, still unwilling to give up, asked:

"Then what did you go to the Ghost Market for yesterday?"

Chen Zhuo, like a wooden statue, replied word by word:

"Under the guise of running errands, I went to the Ghost Market to buy demon blood from the Old Blind Man."

Demon blood?

Upon hearing these two words, not only Huang Tiansheng, but the other two men were also visibly moved.

In their eyes, a White-Uniform Runner like Chen Zhuo was, in terms of status, almost no different from a rustic peasant.

In this world, demon blood was considered an excellent aid for martial arts cultivation, yet most low-level martial artists only knew of pills brewed from herbs, like the Blood Vitality Pill.

As a mere White-Uniform Runner, how could Chen Zhuo possibly know about demon blood?

"It seems this boy has had other fortuitous encounters."

After a moment of contemplation, Registrar Wang looked at Chen Zhuo with a different kind of light in his eyes.

Before, it was desire; now, it was greed.

"No wonder he had the gall to go against me; so he was just accepting handouts from someone."

Huang Yuan'er sneered repeatedly.

Huang Tiansheng frowned. Although Chen Zhuo's answer surprised him, it still wasn't the answer he wanted.

He asked again: "On your way to buy the demon blood, did you go anywhere else?"

Chen Zhuo replied dully: "I did."

"Where did you go?"

Huang Tiansheng's breathing grew slightly rapid.

"I went to the latrine three times, bought two large steamed buns, and also bought three fish..."

Chen Zhuo spewed out every trivial detail like a ledger, dumping it all out at once.

"Stop!"

Huang Tiansheng let out a sharp shout, finally halting Chen Zhuo's rambling.

After some thought, he decided to change his line of questioning.

"When you went to buy the demon blood, were you secretly planning to do something big?"

"Yes."

This answer immediately brought an excited smile to Huang Tiansheng's face.

"Good. Then let me ask you again: was this big task to kill someone, or to rescue some girls?"

This time, Chen Zhuo did not choose to answer immediately; instead, he took stiff steps and slowly walked up to Huang Yuan'er.

Just as the three men were puzzled, Chen Zhuo suddenly raised a hand and slapped Huang Yuan'er directly across the face.

With a crisp "slap," five finger marks instantly appeared on half of Huang Yuan'er's face.

Before his stunned gaze, another "slap" rang out.

The other half of his face suffered the same misfortune.

"This is the big task I wanted to do."

Huang Yuan'er widened his eyes in disbelief, feeling the burning pain on his face.

After a moment of shock, a surge of fury erupted in Huang Yuan'er's heart, rushing straight to his crown, his round face twisted by the flames of his rage.

"I... am going to kill you!!!"