Bestowing a Name

On the South Slope, tree shadows swayed beneath the moonlight, which fell upon the two men and one rat, adding a touch of desolate chill.

"Snow Without Trace!"

A demon was behind him, and an immortal—or something like one—seemed to be ahead. Gritting his teeth, Zhao Er pushed his movement technique to its utmost limit. At this moment, escape was his only thought. While low-level cultivators were not necessarily stronger than martial artists, Zhao Er did not dare gamble on it. You never knew what strange methods a cultivator might possess; one careless misstep, and you could lose your life.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen could not help shaking his head.

The last time Zhao Er had visited him, he had brought plenty of gifts and spoken with great courtesy. Jiang Chen's impression of him had not been bad.

Under normal circumstances, even if he later fell out with the Third Chief and killed him, Zhao Er might not necessarily have been unable to survive—perhaps even live better—so long as he knew what was good for him. Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong road and come to the South Slope at precisely this time.

"Since you're already here, stay."

Murmuring softly, Jiang Chen activated his ability.

At that instant, it was as though demonic music had poured into his ears. Zhao Er's mind wavered involuntarily. This was Soul Bewitchment. At the same time, a powerful force erupted behind him and, catching him unprepared, struck him down heavily.

After suffering such a blow, Zhao Er's vision went black, and he fell straight to the ground, no longer able to resist.

Woo, woo, woo! Having succeeded in its sneak attack, Rat Prodigy let out a sound of wild delight.

At this moment, it stood spiritedly with Zhao Er beneath its foot, overjoyed, exactly like a lapdog impatient to claim credit and beg its master for a reward—except it was somewhat larger and its face somewhat more ferocious.

"You're quite the clever one."

Jiang Chen's gaze shifted as he looked at Rat Prodigy.

In truth, after Rat Prodigy completed its transformation, the wooden cage could no longer hold it. Jiang Chen had known this all along. He had even stopped locking it, wanting to see how Rat Prodigy would behave.

Unexpectedly, when Zhao Er infiltrated today, Rat Prodigy had taken the initiative to guard the home upon discovering him. Its failure to flee could be explained by fear and terror, but such proactive behavior was rather strange.

"This rat seems to possess a natural affinity for me."

After considering it carefully, Jiang Chen arrived at a possibility.

The next instant, he beckoned to Rat Prodigy.

Rat Prodigy's eyes immediately lit up. Without the slightest hesitation, it dismissed its giant form and rushed toward Jiang Chen.

Yet after drawing close to Jiang Chen, it seemed to sense something. A trace of fear flashed through its eyes, but after hesitating for a moment, it still came to Jiang Chen's side.

"As expected, it has a natural affinity for me. This affinity does not come from bloodline—it is more like something rooted in the soul."

Looking at Rat Prodigy, crouching by his feet and wanting to approach him but not daring to, Jiang Chen fell into thought.

"Very well. From now on, you shall be called Rat Prodigy. I hope you truly are clever enough to become a genuine prodigy among rats and live as long as possible..."

After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Chen casually gave the rat by his feet a name. Though the name had been chosen casually, it meant Rat Prodigy was no longer merely an experimental rat. After all, experimental rats did not need names.

After naming Rat Prodigy, Jiang Chen walked forward and grabbed the unconscious Zhao Er by the collar. Zhao Er had first been struck by his Soul Bewitchment, then rammed by Rat Prodigy. He had now completely lost the ability to resist.

"Good thing he isn't dead. Otherwise, that would have been a little wasteful."

After checking Zhao Er's condition, Jiang Chen nodded. A second-rate expert's vitality truly was rather tenacious.

"It's a pity I have no way to control people, and I can't trust you. Otherwise, I could have let you go back."

Carrying Zhao Er, Jiang Chen walked step by step toward the newly established simple Mouse Garden. From that day onward, the Mouse Garden had its first experimental subject that was not a rat.

In truth, Jiang Chen had no particular desire to kill Zhao Er. Unfortunately, Zhao Er should never have come to South Mountain to spy on him. With his current strength, Jiang Chen was not afraid of his identity as a cultivator being exposed, but the longer it could be delayed, the better. It would save him quite a bit of trouble. All he could say was that curiosity killed the cat.

Under Jiang Chen's instructions, tonight's events caused no disturbance. Apart from people like Stone, who attended him closely and were relatively alert, no one else knew that anything had happened.

The next day, the sun rose as usual. Golden Sand Valley remained calm, without the slightest ripple.

Zhao Er's arrival had been a secret. The only person in Golden Sand Valley who knew was Qian Wen. Moreover, Zhao Er had always acted alone, so Qian Wen did not find his disappearance strange. He merely assumed Zhao Er had completed his task and returned to Wooden Fish Island to report to the Third Chief.

The thought that Zhao Er might have met with trouble never crossed his mind, because he knew Zhao Er's strength well. Among the River-Sweeping Bandits, aside from the three chiefs, no one else could possibly kill Zhao Er in a one-on-one fight. To kill him, they would have to lay an ambush in advance and gather people to surround and slaughter him. After all, not only was Zhao Er no weakling, he was also particularly skilled in movement techniques.

And compared with Zhao Er's whereabouts, what concerned Qian Wen more at this moment was how to further increase Golden Sand production and prepare a way out for himself. Although Zhao Er had not told him anything before, from the Third Chief's suddenly voracious appetite and repeated urging, he had already sensed that something was amiss.

"Perhaps I should raise the stakes and see whether there might be an unexpected harvest. If something truly happens to the Third Chief, never mind worldly possessions—even my own life won't be safe. At worst, it's only women and money."

Unease filling his heart, Qian Wen looked in a certain direction and made his decision.

At the same time, in another direction, with Skinny Monkey's introduction, Wang Yuan finally met Jiang Chen.

"Head Chief, these are the accounts of Qian Wen embezzling Golden Sand. Please inspect them."

Arriving before Jiang Chen, Wang Yuan did not beat around the bush. He directly presented a carefully prepared account book. Through indirect inquiries, he had gained a certain understanding of Jiang Chen's temperament, so he chose the simplest and most direct approach: he immediately laid out his trump card.

Jiang Chen seemed not to have heard him at all and continued savoring his tea.

When Jiang Chen gave no response for a long while, Wang Yuan, bent at the waist and holding the account book in both hands, could not help feeling somewhat uneasy. What he had done this time was a desperate gamble. If he won, he could avenge his hatred; if he lost, he would die without even a place for burial.

"I heard that you and Qian Wen are not only sworn brothers despite different surnames, but also friends who would live and die together. I'm very curious—why would you do this?"

Jiang Chen finally spoke as he set down his teacup, his gaze falling upon Wang Yuan.

At those words, an intense hatred that Wang Yuan could not suppress surged up from the depths of his heart.