The Rat Shows Itself

Chen Jue returned to Happiness Estate, opened the porcelain jar, took out a jin of unhusked spirit grain, and placed it in a cleaned clay pot.

If he were refining the "Spirit Sprout Pill" by ancient methods,

Chen Jue should have used living water from the source to rinse the spirit grain, then set up the "Spring Breeze Turns to Rain Array" to preserve the pure air of the Hour of the Tiger, allowing a great amount of water essence to cling to the grain husks and achieve the effect of "water spirit soaking the seeds, stirring life into bloom."

But with the progress of society and technology, "living water from the source" could now be replaced by an endless supply of "tap water," while the "Spring Breeze Turns to Rain Array" for preserving the Hour of the Tiger's pure air was not even as effective as a thermostatic humidity-controlled chamber bought online.

Since Chen Jue intended to try refining Spirit Sprout Pills, he had naturally ordered a modified thermostatic chamber online in advance.

Using the free tap water from his old uncle's home, he rinsed the spirit grain in the clay pot.

After that, he needed to wait three days. Once the grains had absorbed their fill of water-aspected spiritual energy, sprouted crystalline roots, and produced pale gold, translucent spirit buds, he could pluck the buds and take the roots for the next stage of steaming and fermentation.

After completing the preliminary preparations for refining the Spirit Sprout Pill, Chen Jue followed his usual routine and first circulated his Five Elements Internal Art, squeezing every last drop of blood and vitality from himself.

Then he worked on the Wind-Splitting Saber Art and Roaming Dragon Body Technique, before finally practicing the Six Directions Saber Art, never wasting a moment that could be used to grow stronger.

At around six in the evening, He Yuanshan returned home with an unusual expression on his face.

"What is it, Uncle?"

Chen Jue, who had been practicing his saber forms, noticed that something was wrong with his old uncle's expression and asked in surprise.

He Yuanshan did not answer. As he shut the door, he signaled to Chen Jue with his eyes—someone had been following him.

Without changing expression, Chen Jue moved to meet him. Just as the security door was about to close, his body suddenly shot out with leopard-like speed. He rushed through the doorway and pounced on a furtive black shadow at the stairwell.

"You!"

The shadow was a thirty-year-old young man. Startled by the tall figure that had suddenly charged out, he instinctively turned to flee.

But how could his turning speed compare to Chen Jue's straight-line pounce?

Chen Jue moved like a phantom. In an instant, his hand shot out and clamped tightly around the back of the man's head.

"Lord Chen! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!~~"

The shadow recognized Chen Jue at a glance. He shuddered violently, his bones turning to jelly as he dropped straight to his knees.

He Yuanshan stepped closer. After exchanging a look with Chen Jue, he dislocated the man's limbs and dragged him into the room.

"You followed me all the way to my home. Don't you have something to say?"

He Yuanshan took out a small knife gleaming with cold light from the kitchen and waved it before the young man's eyes.

"It has nothing to do with me! The Fourth Boss sent me to find out where Lord He lived. Other than that, I didn't do anything!"

As the blade swayed back and forth over the artery in his neck,

the young man, whose nerves were nothing special, trembled like chaff in a sieve. Before the two of them even needed to ask, he spilled everything himself.

"You know me? You're one of the Rat Gang's surviving remnants?"

Chen Jue looked at the terrified young man on the floor with interest.

"Besides the Fourth Boss you mentioned, which other bosses of the Rat Gang are still alive?"

A dense killing intent swirled in Chen Jue's eyes.

His earlier guess had been completely correct. The Rat Gang did indeed have surviving remnants, and they were even plotting in secret to take revenge on Chen Jue's relatives and friends.

"Lord Chen sees all! I saw your Gods and Devils-like form at Wutong Restaurant! It left an unforgettable impression on me for the rest of my life!"

"So after the Rat Gang was destroyed, I chose to turn over a new leaf!"

"But yesterday, the Fourth Boss, Du Kui, came looking for this lowly one and threatened my family..."

"Under the Fourth Boss's tyrannical pressure, I had no choice but to obey his orders. That was why I followed Lord He today..."

The young man wept bitterly, looking exactly like a little wife forced into prostitution.

Chen Jue's heart was as hard as iron, and he was unmoved. He stepped on the young man's hand and said coldly, "Who cares whether you were forced or not? If you want to play tricks, we don't mind letting you suffer a little more."

Working with Chen Jue, He Yuanshan plunged his knife into the young man's shoulder. The pain immediately made him scream and howl, cold sweat pouring down his body.

"I ask, you answer. If you dare say one unnecessary word, I'll mince you into ten thousand pieces!"

Chen Jue crushed one of the young man's finger bones beneath his foot. The ten fingers were connected to the heart, and the pain nearly made him pass out.

"Besides the Fourth Boss, which other bosses of the Rat Gang are still alive?"

"Only the Fourth Boss! Only the Fourth Boss!" The young man's voice trembled as tears and snot streamed down his face.

A glint flashed through Chen Jue's eyes. If the Rat Gang had only one low-ranked boss left alive, that was undoubtedly good news.

He continued, "What kind of innate physique does your Fourth Boss have? How strong is he?"

"The Fourth Boss is at the sixth level of true qi. He has a water-fire innate physique, cultivates the Azure Waves Shoot the Sun Art, and practices the new martial art Ejecting Flying Needles."

Chen Jue casually searched online for the new martial art Ejecting Flying Needles, only to be startled by its description.

According to the martial arts forum, although Ejecting Flying Needles was merely a mid-grade concealed-weapon martial skill with a fixed upper limit, its attacks were exceptionally stealthy and sudden. Its lethality was therefore far from insignificant, allowing it to crush opponents of the same level in combat power.

"Where is he now? How do you contact and meet up with him?"

Chen Jue put away his phone and asked the most critical question.

A flicker of hesitation appeared in the young man's eyes.

Chen Jue caught it sharply. His foot pressed down again, crushing another of the man's fingers.

"Ah!"

The young man trembled all over from the pain. No longer daring to conceal anything, he confessed, "To avoid the authorities' attention, the Fourth Boss is temporarily staying at my house. My home is at 178 Wutong Alley..."

After the sharp pain passed, he seemed to regain a little rationality and begged, "Every wrong is mine alone. Just go kill the Fourth Boss. Please don't kill my wife and children—they're innocent..."

Chen Jue fell silent at those words, but He Yuanshan clicked his tongue. "Instead of worrying about us killing your wife and children, you should worry whether that beast Du Kui might do something to them while you're away..."

"I heard before that Du Kui was a vile customer Hualiu Alley deeply despised. The women he played to death numbered no fewer than ten, if not a dozen..."

He Yuanshan's words made the tortured young man stiffen all over. As though he had thought of something horrifying, his face instantly turned white as paper, and he became utterly dazed.

"How should we deal with this man?" He Yuanshan asked Chen Jue, making a throat-slitting gesture at the same time.

"I'll take him to Wutong Alley tonight. He can serve as our knocking brick."

"Are you sure about this?" He Yuanshan was somewhat worried.

The Rat Gang's Fourth Boss was, after all, a sixth-level true qi powerhouse. His nephew had only just entered the true qi realm, yet he was about to kill someone across so many minor realms. It was truly unbelievable.

"Don't worry, Uncle."

"Unless it's necessary, I won't take risks. And I definitely won't fight a battle I'm not sure of winning."

Chen Jue crouched down and knocked the young man unconscious with a chop to the neck.

"I'll trouble you to keep an eye on him, Uncle. After midnight, I'll take him to Wutong Alley."

He Yuanshan made an "OK" gesture and dragged the man into the bathroom...