Encounter

As Chen Qiming interrogated his subordinates, Lu Chengchuan walked out of the club building.

As he stepped through the entrance, a group of people approached from ahead. Lu Chengchuan paid them no mind, but when they drew near, two of them spotted him.

"You?!"

"Cousin?"

Two voices reached his ears. Lu Chengchuan looked over and saw two familiar faces.

His cousin Lin Qingyu, and Qin Sheng, a disciple of the Giant Elephant Style. Seeing the two of them together, Lu Chengchuan was quite curious about what was going on.

"You know each other?" Lu Chengchuan asked.

"We met yesterday. Brother Qin, you know my cousin?" Lin Qingyu had only come over to say hello. She had not expected Qin Sheng to know her cousin as well.

"We've met once..." Qin Sheng was also surprised to learn that Lin Qingyu and Lu Chengchuan were relatives.

"What's going on with you two?" Lu Chengchuan asked again.

Lin Qingyu was about to speak, but after remembering something, she closed her mouth again.

Just as she was preparing to make up an excuse, Qin Sheng stepped forward. "The authorities have set up an Ability Bureau. They recruited quite a few Espers, and your cousin and I happened to be assigned to the same team."

Everyone looked at Qin Sheng with subtle expressions, as though he had said something he should not have. Then they looked at Lu Chengchuan to see how he would react.

Lu Chengchuan showed no reaction. He was somewhat surprised that Lin Qingyu had become an Esper, but it was hardly anything strange. He quickly put it out of his mind.

"I see. I still have things to do, so I'll be leaving."

His reaction and tone were calm. The others could not make sense of it. Did this man not know what Espers were?

Qin Sheng, however, knew a little. This big brother was not an Esper, yet he was even stronger than one. Thinking back to their spar that day, he still felt phantom pain in his chest.

Lu Chengchuan left, his figure disappearing from everyone's sight.

Once he was gone, Lin Qingyu immediately asked Qin Sheng, "Brother Qin, why did you tell my cousin all that? He's not from the Investigation Bureau."

The others were curious as well. Qin Sheng was not the sort of loudmouth who blabbed everything to outsiders.

"Your cousin is no ordinary person, though I don't know the specifics either..."

After joining the Ability Bureau, his master had told him a few things. He knew there were many special departments besides the Ability Bureau. Lu Chengchuan might not belong to one, but he definitely had ties to a special department.

His words left everyone baffled. He said the man was extraordinary, yet could not explain what was extraordinary about him. Wasn't he just trying to fool children?

Qin Sheng saw the expressions on their faces and felt somewhat helpless, because he truly did not know.

Lu Chengchuan returned to the rented apartment. His mother had already cleaned the place, and when she saw that he had come back safely, Huang Yuyun hurried over to check whether he was hurt.

"I'm fine. A sum of money will be transferred to your card in the next few days. Find a better place when it arrives. Don't live here anymore."

With the six million in compensation, considering Anyang City's cost of living, it was enough for his mother to live well. Once the money reached her card, Lu Chengchuan would have her move somewhere better.

"Money? What money?" Huang Yuyun was utterly confused.

Hadn't he said he was going to settle the issue with the loan sharks? Why would money be transferred to her card?

"Compensation. Six million. Use it to find yourself a good place to live."

"Xiaochuan, you didn't do anything illegal, did you?" Huang Yuyun's heart tightened. How could six million in compensation suddenly appear out of nowhere?

"Mom, don't worry. I'll be fine," Lu Chengchuan reassured her.

His mother was getting old, and some of her ways of thinking could not be changed. He did not tell her what he had done, only promised that nothing would go wrong. Neither he nor the money would be a problem.

A few days later, as Lu Chengchuan was wondering where to find monsters, an unfamiliar number called him.

He assumed it was an advertising call and casually hung up. But soon, the same number called again. Lu Chengchuan glanced at it and answered.

"Is this Mr. Lu Chengchuan?"

A steady male voice came through the phone. Lu Chengchuan did not recognize it.

"Who are you?"

The person on the other end seemed to know he would ask that and immediately replied, "I'm Gu Mingwei. Back on Tianxiang Avenue, you saved me and my family."

"Gu Mingwei... I remember now. Is something the matter?"

Lu Chengchuan remembered who he was, but wondered why the man was calling him. They had already paid the three million, and quite some time had passed. Why was he suddenly calling today?

"Mr. Lu said before that you liked martial arts. Over this period, I found a few martial arts manuals and would like to invite you over to take a look."

Martial arts manuals? He wanted him to go over and take a look?

Gu Mingwei had actually gone looking for martial arts manuals. Lu Chengchuan had merely mentioned it casually without much hope, yet the man had truly found some and even wanted him to inspect them.

Since that was the case, Lu Chengchuan gladly accepted.

Gu Mingwei said he would send someone to pick him up. Lu Chengchuan did not refuse, gave him a location, and about an hour later, a luxury sedan slowly pulled up.

Lu Chengchuan sat in the back seat as the scenery on both sides rolled past. The sedan drove into a villa district.

The driver pulled into the courtyard of a villa. Gu Mingwei had been waiting at the gate for some time, and when he saw the car arrive, a delighted smile spread across his face.

A man and a woman stood beside the gate as well. They were both Gu Mingwei's children.

Gu Chengjian did not know why his father was so happy. He had rarely seen his father stand at the gate to welcome someone personally. He did not understand, but Gu Wangshu beside him knew who was coming.

The sedan stopped. Just as the driver was about to get out and open the door, Lu Chengchuan opened it himself.

"Mr. Lu, it's been a long time!"

As Lu Chengchuan stepped out of the car, Gu Mingwei hurried forward to welcome him, without a trace of his usual airs. Since their father had gone to greet him, the two children naturally had to come forward as well, though Gu Chengjian was still full of questions.

So this was someone even younger than him. What did his father mean by all this?

"Xiaojian, this is Mr. Lu Chengchuan. Mr. Lu was the one who saved us before." As Gu Mingwei greeted him, he did not forget to introduce him to his children.

"Mr. Lu, this is my son, Gu Chengjian."

"Hello."

"Hello, hello."

Lu Chengchuan greeted them, and the brother and sister hurriedly responded. Their father was being so enthusiastic that they did not dare give him a cold reception.

"Please, come in!"

After the pleasantries, Gu Mingwei invited him into the villa.

Everything had long been prepared inside the villa. Tea and pastries of every kind were laid out. Apart from them, only a butler was in the living room. Gu Mingwei warmly led Lu Chengchuan to the sofa.

"Xiaojian, bring those books over."

After sitting down, Gu Mingwei did not say anything else and immediately told his son to bring over the martial arts manuals.

Gu Chengjian answered and turned to the study to retrieve them.

Before long, he returned carrying three blue-covered books. These three books were the martial arts manuals Gu Mingwei had collected during this time. To build some connection with Lu Chengchuan, he had spared no expense.

"Please take a look. Are these genuine?"

After buying the books, Gu Mingwei had read through them several times and even had his children practice for two days. Perhaps the time had been too short, but they had not developed anything special.