Che Rong's answer caught Li Chen completely off guard.
Of all the people Li Chen had suspected, whether Feng Mingzhu, You Renzhi, Zhen Zhuo, Lin Jiang, Mo Yuehe, or even Qi Yuetian, who was relatively friendly toward him and seemed well disposed toward him because of some past assistance, none would have surprised him this much.
After all, human hearts were fickle. Artisan Zhao had long ago taught Li Chen a principle by which a rogue cultivator should navigate the world: a person drifted through life like duckweed.
Put in simpler terms, no person or thing was truly reliable except oneself. All things were like flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water.
Yet throughout all that speculation, he had never thought to suspect a dead man. Who could have imagined that it would be Luo Changshan?
"You mean Luo Changshan isn't dead? He fooled everyone?"
Li Chen instinctively tightened his magic power, as though a hand had closed around Che Rong's throat.
Che Rong also knew that this was his last chance. If he wanted Li Chen to spare him, he had to genuinely convince him.
Against a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a measure of strength like Li Chen, simple threats and coercion would achieve nothing except angering him. He could only try to assess the situation and clarify its advantages and disadvantages from Li Chen's perspective.
"That's right. Valley Master Luo never truly died. You underestimated a Puppet Master and Master Artisan who had delved into the secrets of life and possessed extensive experience making human puppets."
"That's true. You're right. We underestimated that kind of Master Artisan!"
Li Chen fell silent for a while, then could not help sighing inwardly.
Even a foot could fall short, and an inch could have its strengths. Just as