Another Deal

"I still have something important to take care of."

In the blink of an eye, Chen Zhuo spoke up.

A thunderous bang rang out.

Huang Yuan'er's punch, carrying the force of a thousand jun, was stopped dead three inches from Chen Zhuo's forehead.

Though the fist never landed, its gusting force still pressed his skin inward.

Huang Yuan'er had put all his strength into that punch.

But at some point, Huang Tiansheng's hand had silently reached over and blocked Huang Yuan'er's fist.

"Second Uncle... what do you mean?"

Huang Yuan'er's face turned fierce, as if he were ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

"Good nephew, calm down."

The corner of Huang Tiansheng's mouth lifted. After all, the slap wasn't on his own face, and he remained quite composed as he said,

"He just said he still has something important to take care of. Let's see what it is first."

"Besides, he's been infected with my Corpse Puppet Gu. If I don't lift the curse, he'll remain a walking corpse forever."

"Whether to kill him or carve him up is entirely up to you."

Huang Yuan'er's expression shifted again and again at these words. He bottled up his rage, then could only snort and let go, stepping aside.

He was standing too close. He feared he might lose control and beat Chen Zhuo to death.

"Go take care of your important business. Do whatever you want, but when you're done, you must come back here."

Huang Tiansheng walked up to Chen Zhuo and patted him on the shoulder again.

To be absolutely sure, he secretly released two more Gu worms, which burrowed into Chen Zhuo's skin.

"Yes."

Chen Zhuo shuddered all over, then began to walk stiffly, one step at a time, toward the courtyard gate.

The three men didn't stop him. They simply followed at a distance, watching his back without blinking.

"Master Chen..."

People greeted Chen Zhuo along the way, but he ignored them and kept walking.

In the end, he went straight into the Dianshi Office.

"Oh no, he went to Sun Qifeng."

Some distance away, Huang Yuan'er panicked and was about to follow him inside, but Huang Tiansheng grabbed him.

"Don't rush. He's been infected with my Corpse Puppet Gu. Even Sun Qifeng won't be able to detect it or lift it. He'll come back out on his own."

"Once he does, we'll find out from him what he went in there to do."

Huang Tiansheng was confident.

Back then, he had spent more than half his fortune to buy these four Corpse Puppet Gu worms from a Blade-Catcher passing through the area.

Any martial artist below the Blood-Exchange realm who fell victim to his Corpse Puppet Gu would be caught between life and death.

How could a lowly White-Uniform Runner possibly have reached the Blood-Exchange realm?

He was certain Chen Zhuo would walk right back out on his own.

"You need to be more patient. You're always so impatient, which is why even now, Eldest Brother still doesn't trust you."

Even now, Huang Tiansheng couldn't resist lecturing and pressuring Huang Yuan'er from the lofty position of an elder.

Huang Yuan'er gave a cold laugh and said nothing.

"Interesting."

Registrar Wang glanced at the Dianshi Office with interest, then turned to them and said,

"I'm not interested in your Long River Gang's business. But once you've gotten to the bottom of things, you must hand him over to me. I'm very interested in what happened to him."

"There are too many eyes and ears around here. Given my position, I can't stay long."

With that, he left without waiting for Huang Tiansheng and Huang Yuan'er to respond.

Watching his slightly hunched back, Huang Tiansheng's lips curled into a sneer. "He's always got his eyes on other people's business."

Huang Yuan'er said nothing, but his desire to kill Chen Zhuo only grew stronger.

As soon as Chen Zhuo entered the Dianshi Office, the vacant look in his eyes cleared.

"Your face is pretty tough."

He shook his hand and headed straight for the room where the Dianshi was.

"Lord Sun."

As soon as Chen Zhuo entered, he saw Chief Clerk Sun, who was built like a mountain, sitting in a huge iron chair and reading at his desk.

Chief Clerk Sun didn't seem surprised to see him. He merely gestured for him to sit and had someone pour him a cup of tea.

Amid the swirling tea steam, Chief Clerk Sun slowly set down the book in his hand and looked at Chen Zhuo impassively.

"Those two men outside—you brought them here, didn't you?"

Chen Zhuo gave a slight nod, unsurprised.

Most matters in the Yamen couldn't be kept from the Dianshi, let alone the area outside the Dianshi Office, where countless eyes were secretly watching.

Chief Clerk Sun leaned forward slightly. "You've stirred up trouble, so you came here to take shelter? Or are you trying to play the old trick of setting a tiger against a wolf?"

He was blunt, but he wasn't wrong.

Chen Zhuo made no excuses or clever evasions. He simply nodded. "That's right."

"At least you're honest."

Chief Clerk Sun leaned his broad back against the chair again and smiled faintly. "I'll let you stay for an hour at most. Whatever trouble you have, deal with it yourself."

Chen Zhuo shook his head. "It won't take that long."

"Oh?"

Chief Clerk Sun looked at him, somewhat surprised.

He suddenly realized that he couldn't quite read this lowly White-Uniform Runner.

Was he putting on airs, or did he have a trump card and nothing to fear?

Chen Zhuo continued, "I came to see you in such a hurry today partly because I wanted to get away from those pests outside for a while. But there's something more important."

"Let's hear it."

"I want to make a deal with you."

The deal Chen Zhuo had in mind wasn't something he'd thought up on the spot. He had been mulling it over for days.

It was simply a stroke of luck that today's circumstances gave him the chance to discuss it in depth.

After all, the common enemy he and the Sun Family shared was waiting outside. With their enemy right before them, he and Chief Clerk Sun were bound to draw a little closer.

"A deal?"

Chief Clerk Sun smiled. "If Master Yan hadn't repaid the old favor he owed from years ago, you would've lost your head that day."

"Afterward, I helped you only because I remembered Master Yan's past kindness and because you seemed to have potential."

"What deal could there possibly be between you and me?"

Chen Zhuo nodded at this, acknowledging the point.

Their status and strength were too unequal. He wasn't qualified to make a deal.

Chief Clerk Sun shook his head and reached for the book on the table again, clearly dismissing him.

But Chen Zhuo suddenly shook his head and said, "I killed Zhou Sheng, and I was the one who exposed that residence in the Ghost Market in the north of the city."

The words seemed to come out of nowhere, but Chief Clerk Sun's hand froze abruptly as he reached for the book.

Chen Zhuo pressed on. "As for your help, you and Sun Fei have indeed helped me more than once. I'm grateful for that."

"Consider what happened at that residence a gift from me. It doesn't count as a favor."

He raised his teacup and took a sip before continuing. "All the hustle and bustle in the world comes down to profit. If I'm not mistaken, your struggle with the Long River Gang, Lord Sun, is over one thing."

"Demon Blood."

"You know about Demon Blood?"

Hearing those two words come from Chen Zhuo's mouth truly surprised Chief Clerk Sun.

"Demon Blood is crucial to martial artists."

Chen Zhuo didn't answer Chief Clerk Sun, but continued on his own. "But Demon Blood comes in both genuine and counterfeit varieties. False Blood is easy to obtain, but True Blood is hard to find."

At that, he paused and pointed toward Dangyun Mountain.

"If all you can get from that third-rank demon beast is False Blood, wouldn't that be a terrible waste?"

Chief Clerk Sun could no longer contain his shock. He rose to his feet.

Chen Zhuo's breath caught, as though a great mountain were pressing down on him.

"Lord Sun, don't get excited."