As If Hollowed Out...

"What? Fan'er was abducted on the road?"

Upon hearing this news, Chen Xin's expression shifted drastically. He barked, "How were you watching him?"

"With more than half of the elders and nearly ten Spirit Douluo present, you couldn't even keep an eye on one person!?"

The many elders who had participated in the wedding procession lowered their heads one by one, their faces flushed with embarrassment at Chen Xin's rebuke.

To put it bluntly, they had been inactive for too long and had grown lax, assuming that with Chen Jianjun presiding, no one would dare lay a hand on them.

"Supreme Sect Master, it is my dereliction of duty. I failed to protect the Sect Master. Please punish me!"

The Third Elder knelt in the center of the Seven Kill Sect's main hall, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles, his voice trembling.

Behind him, nearly ten elders who had joined the procession knelt in a row, heads bowed, not daring to let out a breath.

Chen Xin stood to the side, and upon hearing the Third Elder's report, his face changed instantly as he roared, "How were you watching him? With more than half of the elders and nearly ten Spirit Douluo present, you couldn't even keep an eye on one person!?"

His voice echoed through the main hall, shaking dust from the rafters until it rained down.

The elders dared not retort, only bowing their heads and silently accepting the reprimand.

"The Young Sect Master is right; it is our dereliction of duty."

The Third Elder spoke with difficulty, his voice filled with shame. "The beast tide came too suddenly, and the state of those spirit beasts was very wrong—they were completely fearless of death..."

"Excuses!"

Chen Xin cut him off. "Just because the spirit beasts were acting strangely, you were helpless?"

"Then what use are you?!"

The Third Elder opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words and knocked his head heavily against the floor.

Chen Jianjun, the Supreme Sect Master, remained far more composed.

He sat in the main seat, fingers tapping lightly against the armrest, his expression unreadable, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Enough."

After a full two and a half minutes of silence, Chen Jianjun spoke calmly, "All of you, rise."

"Supreme Sect Master..."

"Rise."

Chen Jianjun's voice was not loud, but his tone allowed for no questioning. "What is done is done; assigning blame will not fix the situation."

The elders exchanged glances before carefully standing up, hands hanging at their sides, eyes fixed on their own noses and hearts.

"How is Fan'er now?"

Chen Jianjun asked.

The Third Elder replied hurriedly, "After the Sect Master returned, his consciousness was unclear, and he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow."

"Ling... er, the Sect Master's wife is taking care of him."

Chen Jianjun nodded. "You may withdraw for now and go take good care of Fan'er."

"During his recovery, there must not be any more mistakes."

"Yes!"

The nearly ten elders retreated with expressions of shame, each silently swearing to protect Chen Fan well during his recovery; otherwise, they would truly have no face left to show.

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance, and the heavy doors of the main hall were gently closed.

In the vast hall, only the father and son, Chen Jianjun and Chen Xin, remained.

"Father."

Chen Xin gritted his teeth, his voice heavy with suppressed rage. "This matter must be investigated thoroughly!"

"Fan'er has only just taken his position, and he encounters something like this—and during his own wedding procession, no less! This is a blatant slap in the face to our Seven Kill Sect!"

"Oh?"

Chen Jianjun picked up his teacup and blew gently at the foam, his expression indifferent. "Then who do you think it was?"

Without a second thought, Chen Xin blurted out, "It must be Spirit Hall, unwilling to let things go!"

"Who else could it be but Spirit Hall?"

"Father, don't forget, we originally intended to propose marriage to the Saintess of Spirit Hall, but Qian Xunji rejected it outright. He only begrudgingly agreed to marry off a Cardinal because you were there to provide him with a way out."

"He must be deeply resentful!"

Chen Xin already knew that Chen Jianjun had initially intended to propose to the Saintess of Spirit Hall, only to be sternly refused by Qian Xunji.

Therefore, he had every reason to suspect that Qian Xunji had orchestrated this deliberately.

"Heh..."

Hearing this, Chen Jianjun's hand holding the teacup paused slightly. He looked up at his son, and upon hearing his confident, rambling answer, he rolled his eyes in speechlessness.

When a person is truly speechless, they really do end up laughing.

"Xin'er."

"Father?"

"What do you think they would gain if Spirit Hall were behind this?"

Chen Xin was stunned. "Gain? Gain... a show of force against us?"

"A show of force?"

Chen Jianjun set down his teacup and slowly stood up. "Qian Xunji is a man I don't know well, but anyone who can reach the position of Pope is no fool."

"He just entered into a marriage alliance with us; what benefit would he gain by turning around and slapping us in the face?"

Chen Xin opened his mouth to retort, but found he could not speak.

"Furthermore."

Chen Jianjun stood with his hands behind his back, his back to Chen Xin, his voice flat. "If it really were Spirit Hall who made the move, do you think they would have left any survivors?"

"That beast tide was fierce, yet not a single elder was injured. They only abducted Fan'er... and then released him."

He turned around and looked into Chen Xin's eyes. "Don't you find that strange?"

Chen Xin frowned. Upon careful consideration, something did indeed feel wrong.

If Spirit Hall had done it, given their strength, they could have easily slaughtered the entire wedding procession, or at the very least, taken Chen Fan hostage.

Yet, the result was that Chen Fan had gone missing for a day and a night, only to be found completely unharmed.

What was the point of going to such great lengths?

Chen Xin could not figure it out.

"Then... who could it be?"

Chen Jianjun did not answer, merely waving his hand. "Stop thinking about it for now. I am going to check on Fan'er."

With that, he strode out of the hall.

Chen Xin watched his father's retreating figure, his brow furrowed into a deep frown, his mind a chaotic mess.

Chen Fan's courtyard.

Ling Yuan had just finished wiping Chen Fan down and was carrying a basin of water outside when she looked up and saw Chen Jianjun walking through the gate with his hands behind his back.

She hurriedly set down the basin and bowed. "Senior."

Chen Jianjun waved his hand. "Since you have married my nephew, you may address me as Uncle, just as he does."

Ling Yuan was startled, then quickly nodded. "Uncle."

"Mm."

Chen Jianjun nodded, his gaze passing over her to look into the room. "Has Fan'er woken up yet?"

Ling Yuan nodded, her voice soft. "He woke up midway to use the washroom, then fell right back asleep."

Chen Jianjun said nothing more and stepped into the room.

Ling Yuan, knowing her place, did not follow. She simply closed the door gently and stood guard outside.

Inside, the light was dim.

The curtains were drawn tight, with only a few weak slivers of light squeezing through the gaps to cast thin spots on the floor.

Chen Fan lay on the bed, covered by a thin quilt, his breathing even and heavy, as if he were in a deep sleep.

Chen Jianjun walked to the bedside, looked down, and his brow immediately furrowed.

Chen Fan's face was haggard and weary, filled with a look of listlessness.

His eye sockets were sunken, and thick, grey-blue dark circles hung beneath his eyes, as if he hadn't closed them for days and nights.

His lips were pale and parched, the edges cracked and peeling, as if he hadn't had a drink of water in a long time.

The skin on his face was loose and sagging, his tear troughs and nasolabial folds were exceptionally prominent, and his skin looked shriveled and stiff. He looked as if he had aged ten years.

Seeing this, Chen Jianjun, a man of experience, felt his pupils constrict slightly. He immediately realized this looked like...

Excessive indulgence?

His expression turned rather strange.

That would mean that during the time Chen Fan was missing, he had been...?

Could this be... too inconceivable?

Chen Jianjun withdrew his gaze and remained silent for a moment, his mind racing.

If that were the case, what was the goal of the person who abducted Chen Fan?

It wasn't to kill him, it wasn't for ransom, but rather...

Shaking his head to clear these chaotic thoughts, Chen Jianjun reached out, took Chen Fan's hand, and slowly channeled his soul power into him to nourish his body.

The gentle soul power flowed into Chen Fan's body like a trickling stream, nourishing his withered frame.

Chen Fan's tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and his breathing became a little more steady.

Two and a half minutes later.

Chen Fan slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was unfocused, taking quite a while to sharpen. He still felt an indescribable exhaustion and drowsiness throughout his entire body; his bones felt as if they had been dismantled and put back together, leaving him sore and weak.

Yet, upon seeing Chen Jianjun, he still struggled to sit up, his voice raspy as he spoke, "Uncle..."

Chen Jianjun pressed him down as he tried to rise, his voice gentle, "Don't move, lie down."

Chen Fan lay back down, his throat as dry as if it were smoking, "Uncle... what happened to me..."

"You were abducted. Do you remember?"

Chen Fan furrowed his brows, struggling to recall, but his mind felt like a bowl of mush.

"I... I only remember falling to the ground, feeling a chill on my back, and then I didn't know anything else..."

He paused, his voice tinged with a sense of bewilderment, "My mind is a blank slate; I can't remember a thing."

Chen Jianjun was silent for a moment. He did not probe further into that aspect, instead changing his angle of inquiry, "Fan'er, do you have any thoughts or guesses regarding the mastermind behind this?"

Chen Fan was stunned, shaking his head after a moment, "I... I have no leads for the time being."

Seeing Chen Fan in this hollowed-out state, Chen Jianjun knew it was not the time to ask questions, so he nodded slightly, "Rest well first."

"If you have any thoughts, come find me at any time."

"What did you say?"

"You lost them?"

Inside the Pope Palace.

Qian Xunji was sipping hot tea when he saw Yue Guan and Gui Mei approaching, trembling and shaking. He frowned, and upon seeing the two of them drop to their knees with a thud, he listened to their shivering report.

When he finished listening, he was completely stunned, "No, you two are eighty-ninth-level Spirit Douluos about to be promoted to the Elder Hall, and now you're telling me that you managed to lose track of a mere child like Dong'er, who is barely a Spirit Saint?"

"Your Holiness, I, we..."

Just as the two of them wanted to offer excuses, Qian Xunji had no patience left to listen and waved his hand to interrupt, "There is nothing to say. Get out and go to the Penalty Hall to receive your punishment!"

"...Yes."

Watching this pair of clowns leave, Qian Xunji was speechless. Just as he was about to stand up, he saw Demon Bear Douluo rushing over, "Your Holiness, it's a disaster!"

"What happened?"

"The Seven Kill Sect's wedding procession was ambushed!"

"What!?"