CHAPTER 470: CHAPTER 467 [KNEEL TO THE END] (10,000-WORD CHAPTER)

Chapter 467 If You Kneel, Kneel to the End

"Let’s start with the grievances.

Logically speaking, we didn’t get any advantage in the Luo’s House matter.

That guy named Director Gai wasn’t killed by us, and Luo Dachanzi, despite his serious injury, didn’t seek revenge afterward.

So... if the other party came for revenge for Director Gai, then we’re taking the fall for someone else.

I think this kind of conflict is pretty stupid. Even if we killed the rat that sneaked into our house, we’d still be laughed at by the one who really killed Director Gai, calling us fools.

So, we need to figure out which side this sneaky rat is from first.

If they’re here for revenge for Director Gai, we can actually reveal the truth and make it clear we’re not the real culprits.

Of course, killing it is a given, but we can try to extract some information from it first; it might know something we don’t.

This way, we could catch the real murderer behind Director Gai’s death and find the bastard making us take the blame.

That’s the first point.

Secondly, if this rat isn’t here for revenge for Director Gai, then the situation becomes quite mysterious. If not for revenge, why come after us?

Maybe it’s still coveting the Luo family’s project?

Unlikely. How much benefit can that project bring? Risking their necks, provoking two Controllers? How much money can they make? Will they even live to spend it?

So, figuring out exactly which side this rat is from is the most important thing.

Then, we deal with the problem accordingly."

Yu Naitang, a pale-skinned loli with short black hair, spoke with eyes full of pride.

After finishing, she glanced sideways at Chen Nuo, as if to say: Aren’t you going to praise me?

"It makes sense, but it’s all nonsense," said Chen Nuo with a curl of his lip.

Alright, Ou Xiuhua had dragged Yu Naitang to the hair salon and had her white hair dyed black! Not just dyed black... but also cut short!

At this moment, Yu Naitang sported the most typical mushroom cut with neat bangs, common among elementary school girls in 2002.

She also wore an ugly, oversized sports shirt as her school uniform—it looked nearly identical in design to the one from No. 8 Middle School.

Well, pretty much all the middle and elementary school uniforms from this era had the same design. All kinds of athletic suits with different colored stripes.

On the left side of her chest, Yu Naitang’s school uniform sported a round logo with text.

JN District Wanjiayu Subdistrict Elementary School!

Well... it was the same school as Chen Xiaoye. This was a bit... Let me put it this way.

Chen Xiaoye was Chen Nuo’s sister, and thus Lu Xixi’s sister-in-law; they were considered the same generation.

Yu Naitang was Lu Xixi’s disciple, raised from a young age, both a foster daughter and a disciple, a junior.

By ethical standards, Yu Naitang had to call Chen Xiaoye "Aunt."

So, seven-year-old Aunt Chen Xiaoye was in the first grade, and eleven-year-old grandniece Yu Naitang was in the fifth grade...

"How is it nonsense?" Yu Naitang puffed up her cheeks, unconvinced.

Chen Nuo went right up to her and patted her head, messing up her bangs. "It’s nonsense, alright. You said we need to figure out which side it’s from, which means we must find out its background. If we could figure out its background, would I worry about not finding it? If its background were exposed, would it dare to mess with us? I’d chase it down to the ends of the earth. Our problem right now is that we don’t know anything about its background. The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light. So, everything you said is just pointless talk."

Yu Naitang muttered, "Are you taking out your frustration on a kid because you can’t find the person yourself?"

Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes. "Kid, did you do your homework? Did you memorize your textbook? Have you summarized the central idea of the essay by Lu Xun? Did you finish practicing the ’chickens and rabbits in a cage’ math problem?"

Yu Naitang’s face immediately fell.

Pouting, she looked at Chen Nuo with a pitiful expression. "Can we talk this over, and not make me do these childish, boring, idiotic tasks anymore? You know, it’s a total insult to my intelligence! If it really doesn’t work out, can we discuss the possibility of me attending a private school? How about a middle school, is that okay? I can even pay for it myself!!"

Chen Nuo laughed. "Forget it. If you want to enter middle school, you have to take the entrance examination first. In our country, ordinary people have to earn their way into good schools through exams."

"..."

Exactly. No matter how much of a genius you are, here you’ll have to go through the elementary school to middle school transition exam, middle school exams, and college entrance exams. They’ll make you go through the whole cycle! They’ll make you experience the intense pressure of exam-oriented education!

"If you really want to attend a private school, going to a middle school is also an option... How about No. 8 Middle School?"

"No!!" Yu Naitang screamed and hid behind Lu Xixi’s chair. "That’s your stronghold. If I went there, wouldn’t you just torture me to death?"

"Actually, Chen Nuo doesn’t really go to school much anymore," Lu Xixi, unable to bear it, chipped in.

"Then... it’s worth considering." Yu Naitang’s eyes lit up. "But if I go to No. 8 Middle School, you can’t control me! I’ll do whatever I want!"

"Sure, as long as you don’t cause trouble at school that requires calling your parents, everything else is up to you," Chen Nuo agreed readily, waving his hand.

He then stretched out a hand. "Sponsorship fee, twenty thousand."

"??? That expensive?!"

"US dollars."

"Do you have a conscience, Chen Nuo? You’re charging me twenty thousand US dollars for sponsoring a garbage school? That’s one hundred and sixty thousand Huaxia Currency! That’s enough for attending a top middle school!"

"Twenty thousand US dollars for one semester."

"FUCK!! Are you even human, Chen Nuo?! Why don’t you say two million?!"

Chen Nuo kept a straight face. "If you want to attend, it can be twenty thousand or even two million. It’s all the same to me."

"On what grounds?"

"Simply because the school director is my sworn sister."

Yu Naitang rolled her eyes. Only twenty thousand US dollars. The white-haired loli was a little rich girl, after all. She even had a side business dealing in Self-Healing Serum in the Underground World. In terms of wealth, she was richer than Chen Nuo.

"By the way, we should also look into that young assassin I killed," Chen Nuo said with a frown. "We can’t let that go either."

Yu Naitang thought for a moment and nodded her head.

Previously, neither Chen Nuo nor Yu Naitang had put much thought into the young assassin killed by Chen Nuo, and there was a reason for that.

One unwritten rule in the Underground World is that everyone earns their living on the edge of a knife, and accepting assignments is all about fate and fortune. Rarely does anyone seek revenge for a failed mission that resulted in death—unless there was a conflict of interest.

For instance, Chen Yanluo had erased the Abyss Organization in his previous life because they had cheated him, stealing his rightful earnings.

Otherwise, who has the time for a vendetta every day? Isn’t it better to simply take commissions, work, and earn money?

Besides, the reality in the Underground World is that the majority of Ability Users who take on assignments are lone wolves who typically lead solitary lives—becoming an Ability User naturally leads to drifting away from worldly affairs.

If a lone wolf dies, that’s it; there’s no one to seek vengeance for them.

Moreover, if there’s a team involved... generally speaking, the team would likely avoid seeking revenge—unless there’s a conflict of interest. Otherwise, if every failure led to retaliation, there would just be an endless cycle of vengeance, eventually collapsing the entire Underground World’s commission system. You lose someone, and if there’s someone more powerful behind you seeking revenge, you kill someone, and who knows, there might be someone behind the person you killed as well. Then everyone might as well be involved in a never-ending cycle of killing each other.

Furthermore... in Chen Nuo’s opinion, if the young assassin had a team behind him, they’d be even less likely to cause trouble—having a team means having assets and a base. Offending two Controllers?! Even if in Jinling you play hide and seek and manage to outwit them for a short while... Someday, if they find out, for a team with a home base that can’t just up and run away, it would be a disaster. Most teams wouldn’t act rashly out of pride.

However, the Underground World does have its share of madmen and iron-headed loners. There are those who are unafraid of death. Before Chen Nuo became a Controller himself, didn’t he openly insult the Star Sky Empress as an ’old woman’ on the forums? It goes to show that the deterrent effect of a Controller is useless against lunatics.

Just to be safe, it’s best to investigate anyway.

The problem is, it’s hard to investigate. The person is dead, the ashes scattered... When a Controller makes a move, it really leaves no trace. There’s nothing on this assassin that could be used to identify him.

The only clue is this young man’s ability, which belongs to Telekinesis.

In the Underground World, Mentalists were relatively rare, as Spiritual-type Ability Users were inherently less common.

Chen Nuo handed this matter to Yu Naitang.

That rat who slipped into Jinling City, after accomplishing a few things, got pretty crafty and quieted down.

Nothing happened the next day, and the third day remained calm as well.

It wasn’t until three days later that this person made a move again.

This time the trouble landed once more on Luo Dachanzi’s side.

In Boss Luo’s company, dozens of dump trucks were destroyed overnight, each one suffering the same fate—the engines were crushed into a lump of scrap iron by an invisible telekinetic force. That made them beyond repair; with the engines scrapped, it essentially meant the entire trucks were write-offs.

Beyond the fleet’s losses, the key issue was the delay it caused in the construction schedule. Even though Lu Xiaojun managed to borrow some dump trucks from industry peers at the last minute, it was after a lot of brain-racking and huge costs—and at this point, those peers could see that Luo’s House had gotten into trouble. First, there was an incident at the construction site, and then the entire dump truck fleet got wrecked. This move was aimed right at the jugular!

Three days into Yu Naitang’s investigation, well, how should one put it... It wouldn’t be right to say there was little progress, but rather it was completely useless.

There was no way to trace the origins of the young assassin, because there were too few characteristics: young, male, Mentalist. That’s all. With just these three traits, it’s actually hard to find someone in the Underground World. Especially since many Ability Users tend to lurk in the shadows, and you don’t even know how old they actually are, or even their gender.

Although Mentalists are not numerous, most of them stay below the radar, unseen—if it were easy to locate Mentalists, then the Wizard leading the Cultivator Association wouldn’t have had such a hard time searching for them all over the world back then.

What troubled Chen Nuo most was the investigation into the lead related to Director Gai.

Yu Naitang had investigated this lead. Director Gai had a name and a reputation, wealth and power, and even though he was a bit high-level for ordinary people to dig into, there were always those powerful intelligence-trading organizations in the Underground World. When Chen Nuo first obtained the Black Iron Level USB from the Octopus Monster, he had seen people selling videos of the Great Commander of M Country in the public domain.

But the results of the investigation left Chen Nuo a bit bewildered.

Director Gai... didn’t have much of a backing. He had business partners and powerful people he was in cahoots with—but it was all about interests and transactions, not deep ties. It’s unlikely that they would take revenge for his death. This person came from an ordinary business family in his early years, with some connections to officials, but not of a high level. In the twenty years of Huaxia’s economic boom, he rode the wave, adding his own efforts and talent, seizing several major opportunities, along with some good luck, to get where he is today. He had a vast network of relationships and knew how to utilize resources and take advantage of momentum. But to say he had solid backing, that really wasn’t the case.

And... the information received was that after Director Gai’s death, he left behind a fortune of over a billion. Now, three to four women and five to six children at his home were fighting tooth and nail over the inheritance.

If there’s anything suspicious, it’s that among Director Gai’s assets, there’s an investment from an overseas financial group whose investor seemed to have some connections in the Underground World. However, just as Yu Naitang began to investigate, the individual proactively reached out to Yu Naitang, expressing respect to "Her Majesty the Star Queen," conveying their regret that their investee had caused trouble in Huaxia for the Star Queen, stating it wasn’t their idea, and they even sent a gift of considerable value. They showed a very humble attitude.

"So, no one’s going to avenge Director Gai’s death?"

"Looking at Director Gai’s current network of relationships, there’s no force that would do such a thing. And to employ an Ability User for revenge... When it’s known that the opponent is a Controller, then the person hired cannot be of low power. If they are of higher ability, it involves a substantial reward. I monitored the flow of funds on Director Gai’s side—after his death, the assets hadn’t even been distributed yet; there’s been no significant capital outflow so far."

Chen Nuo sighed. "So it’s not someone from Director Gai’s side coming for revenge."

"Hence, ruling out other leads, the only one we had a grievance with that fits is the dead assassin."

Yu Naitang suddenly laughed. "That assassin was quite young... you didn’t kill the apprentice or illegitimate child of some reclusive old freak, did you?"

Chen Nuo frowned. "Old freak? Let me think, among the older and powerful Ability Users, is there a strong Mentalist..."

After a pause, Chen Nuo further asked, "So, how exactly did Director Gai hire that assassin in the first place?"

"Can’t find out." Yu Naitang shook her head. "There’s more than one transaction platform in the Underground World besides the Octopus Monster. Who knows where he found that Ability User. And now that Director Gai has died, it appears that his family, who are seemingly uninformed ordinary people, are left behind. His partners have already caved in to us and said they had absolutely no idea that Director Gai had hired Ability Users, so... However, there is still one clue; when Director Gai came to the hospital, he was accompanied by an Ability User who even recognized my teacher. We can start with this Ability User, try to find this guy."

"How do we find him?"

Yu Naitang smiled. "This guy mentioned that on the day he saw my teacher in London, it just happened to be when my teacher wiped out the Blade Knights. So, he might be from the Blade Knights, or have some connection to them. The Blade Knights have already disbanded, but a few lost souls remain, now scared to death of my teacher. I’ll go ask these people..."

Mr. Xiu had actually already fled to Thailand.

He found a vacation villa on the beach in Pattaya and hid out for a few days, all the while keeping an ear open for news from Jinling.

Upon hearing about the successive troubles of Luo’s House, Li Qingshan, and Xiao Guohua in Jinling City, Mr. Xiu also felt a bit sentimental.

This Dong Juan, he’s got some nerve. Indeed, madmen are not to be trifled with. However, this affair should have nothing to do with me now, whether Dong Juan ends up biting the dust in Jinling City, or after playing with the Controller, the Controller starts searching the world... That’s the madman’s problem now. I should be smoothly out of the picture. Moreover, thinking back on Dong Juan killing Director Gai, Mr. Xiu now feels that it actually benefits him. Otherwise, it would have most likely been traced back to me.

Therefore, in the next two days, the fear in Mr. Xiu’s heart gradually subsided, and he spent two good days recuperating in Pattaya.

He was pondering whether to run even farther away, maybe head to the Southern Hemisphere if needed. This season, it’s summertime in the Southern Hemisphere. Hmm... to Australia or New Zealand? Or maybe South America? Argentina is also not bad.

Then suddenly, that day, he received a message from an old friend with whom he hadn’t made contact for a long time. The message was sent through the internet.

After thinking it over, Mr. Xiu decided to call back.

No sooner had the call been answered than a booming voice came from the other side.

"Xiu, where are you?"

"..." Mr. Xiu felt a stirring inside but didn’t reply. Instead, he slowly said, "It’s been a long time since we’ve been in touch, so what’s the urgency in finding me? Is there something wrong?"

There was silence on the other end for a while, and then after what seemed like a struggle, the voice said in a grave tone, "Xiu, we are friends, but our relationship isn’t so close that I would die for you. So let me be frank with you, you really shouldn’t have messed with that woman! You know how terrifying she is, yet you deliberately provoked her? Now her student has come to me asking for your information. As a friend, the only thing I can do for you is to warn you in advance. But there’s no way I can shoulder this kind of matter for you. I’ll give you half a day to prepare, whether you choose to flee or do something else, that will be your own choice. At six o’clock tonight, I will reply to the other side’s message, telling them everything I know about you. I’m sorry, even though we’re friends, I’m more afraid of that woman—and besides, our relationship isn’t to the point where we would die for each other. Finally, good luck to you. Remember, six o’clock tonight! Before this event, you can decide for yourself how to handle it. If you’re planning to flee... you’d better clean up your tracks well."

The call was quickly ended.

Mr. Xiu was stunned!

Then he instinctively cursed out loud, "DAMN IT!!!! What has this got to do with me!! I’m just a damn hired hand!!!!"

The person who called was a friend from the Blade Knights, the ones who had once introduced Mr. Xiu to join the Blade Knights, except before he could officially join, the knight order was crushed by the Star Sky Empress.

Although Mr. Xiu was annoyed, he was well aware... This friend, making a call to tip him off at this time, even giving him a few hours of breathing room, was already very considerate.

The problem now is...

The Star Sky Empress was looking for him!

What... what should I do? Run? It’s not out of the question. But the issue is, the friend from the knight order will definitely disclose my detailed information. With that, I’d be completely exposed. I might run and get away temporarily, but what about after that? Will I live the rest of my life hiding? A top boss from the Underground World, how many resources could they mobilize to find me? If from beginning to end, they don’t know who I am, that’s a different story. But if they know... then truly, there will come a day when I’m found!

Mr. Xiu quickly weighed his options and then made a decisive decision!

I... kneel!!

He tossed aside the phone in his hand and rushed into the room, took out his computer, and plugged in a USB to log onto the Octopus Monster website. He thought about sending a private message to the Star Sky Empress, begging for mercy...

After a moment’s thought, before he typed anything, he stopped.

This won’t do!

Mr. Xiu’s original plan was to contact the Star Sky Empress online, plead for mercy, and then see how she reacted, to determine whether she intended to kill him. If her reaction was vicious, then he would run!

But...

Mr. Xiu took a deep breath, then closed his laptop and picked up the room phone.

"Front desk? Connect me to the hotel business center... I want to book a ticket to Huaxia, Jinling."

Since I’ve already knelt, might as well kneel thoroughly, especially since I haven’t really done anything to offend her. If I act too sneaky, it would only provoke her, better to be bold and take a gamble!

Mr. Xiu arrived at Jinling’s Lu Kou Airport the next afternoon.

Stepping out of the international arrivals exit, he immediately noticed a young man with delicate features standing at the exit, whose gaze quickly found Mr. Xiu and accompanied a smile with narrowed eyes. He even waved amiably before walking over.

"Mr. Xiu?"

Mr. Xiu withdrew his evaluating look and after a moment of reflection, asked, "Are you... sent by Her Majesty the Empress?"

Chen Nuo smiled. "Sort of. You messaged yesterday saying you were coming today, right?"

Mr. Xiu took a deep breath, his tone cautious. "Well... are we going to see Her Majesty the Empress now?"

Chen Nuo pointed outside with a smile. "Let’s head off first."

Mr. Xiu had no choice but to follow.

Outside, he was stunned.

This young man actually stood by the roadside, hailing a taxi?

Could it be that the great Star Sky Empress is so unimpressive? The person she sends doesn’t even have a car?

He got into the car without a word. The young man gave an address to the driver, and then coughed. "Don’t take a roundabout way, I’m a local."

Mr. Xiu still muttered to himself...

The Star Sky Empress would surely not stoop to taking a taxi. It could only mean the status of this little flunky she sent was too low! She sent such a lowly flunky to pick me up. Daring to return and kneel, did I kneel to the wrong person??

The car drove into the city in silence, and then in JN district, it stopped at the entrance of an old street.

Stepping out of the car, Chen Nuo pointed to a sign on the roadside. "There, that’s the place."

Mr. Xiu looked up and almost suffocated with frustration!

XX Youth Hostel

I’m a Destroyer-Level Ability User, a significant figure wherever I go! For how many years have I not stayed anywhere less than a five-star hotel! To stay in such a place? Well, when you’re under someone’s roof, you have to play by their rules! I’ll endure it for now!

Inside, at the front desk, a middle-aged woman with curly hair was lazily playing Minesweeper on a computer. She checked them in and tossed a rusty Key onto the counter.

"Hot water is available from 8 PM to 11 PM, don’t take a shower after that."

Mr. Xiu: "..."

He followed upstairs and entered the room.

Once inside, even with his rather good control of his energy, Mr. Xiu found it hard to keep his composure. Barely setting down his luggage, he pressed his emotions and asked, "Are we going to see Her Majesty the Empress now?"

"Ah? See her? No need for that."

Chen Nuo slowly sat down on a stool in the room, twisted open a bottle of mineral water on the table—checking the expiration date, it had two months left. Pointing at the bed, he said, "Take a seat, let’s have a chat first."

Mr. Xiu’s expression turned somewhat ugly. "We’re not going to see the Empress?"

"It’s the same if you talk to me," Chen Nuo said with a smile, which made Mr. Xiu really want to start a fight.

Then, Chen Nuo slowly smiled and said, "Let’s start with Director Gai’s background."

Mr. Xiu took a deep breath, relying on his years of restraint to suppress the anger in his heart.

Alright, I’m here to admit defeat, I’m here to kneel...

After steadying his emotions, he relayed some information about Director Gai, and at the end he didn’t forget to add, "Actually, I was previously supported by Director Gai, responsible for handling some shady troubles for him. But regarding the matter in Jinling, I actually didn’t lift a finger from beginning to end."

"Uh-huh, got it," Chen Nuo said dismissively, waving his hand as if uninterested. "So, tell me about the other Ability User."

"...Little White?" Mr. Xiu took a deep breath, his expression becoming serious.

"Oh, his name is Little White? Cute name," Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Go on, tell me about him."

Mr. Xiu was well aware that the other party had already figured out where to place their suspicions, and he didn’t dare to hide anything; after all, the reason he returned from this risky venture was to submit.

"I’m not very familiar with Little White, as he’s a newcomer and, moreover, I met him for the first time working for Director Gai. I’m not very clear about his past experiences. But, he... is he dead?"

"Yeah," Chen Nuo nodded briefly.

Mr. Xiu sighed, sounding a bit more sincere. "Actually, I suspected he might have died... when I couldn’t contact him, I knew he probably..." He chuckled bitterly. "After all, we hadn’t anticipated that our opponent was the Star Sky Empress. If we had known earlier, even if you gave me the courage, I wouldn’t have dared. No, no, I definitely would have stopped Director Gai from doing anything further."

Chen Nuo didn’t say anything and just looked at Mr. Xiu with a smile.

"That... actually, I do know a piece of news, but if I say it... you guys have to guarantee, oh wait, I hope the Star Sky Empress can guarantee my safety. Actually, I’ve really been wronged. Although I followed Director Gai, I didn’t make a move in the whole affair. Once I learned that you guys were the opposition, I immediately convinced Director Gai to cease his actions and leave."

"Alright, go ahead and tell me," Chen Nuo said.

"No, I need to have the Empress’s assurance first—I reveal the information, you must guarantee my safety."

"Fine, it’s guaranteed," Chen Nuo nodded quickly. "Speak up."

"It’s not that... you..." Mr. Xiu finally couldn’t resist. "I don’t need your guarantee! I need the Star Sky Empress’s guarantee!!"

"My guarantee is the same," Chen Nuo glanced at Mr. Xiu.

The same? Can it be the same?! You’re just a little underling who still has to call a cab when you go out!!

Seeing that Mr. Xiu’s expression was turning a bit ugly, Chen Nuo laughed, thought for a moment, took out his cell phone, and dialed a number.

The call connected quickly, and although there was some noise on the other end, Mr. Xiu listened intently, soon hearing the voice of a pleasant-sounding woman.

"Honey~ What’s up?"

"Well, this guy is really timid, says he needs your assurance you won’t kill him to talk."

"Then... you decide. Kill him or not, it’s up to you."

"Okay, got it. Hm? Where are you right now?"

"I’m out buying groceries. Mom’s working late today, so she asked me to shop for groceries and also to pick up Xiao Yezi on my way."

"Alright, we’ll talk when I get home tonight. Um, remember to buy some roast duck, I’m craving some meat."

"Got it. Finish up your business and come home early, and if you plan on killing anyone, remember to wash your hands before coming back."

Chen Nuo hung up the phone with a smile.

When he turned around... Mr. Xiu was sitting on the ground!

Chen Nuo looked at Mr. Xiu with a smile. "Can you speak now?"

KLAK KLAK KLAK KLAK KLAK...

Mr. Xiu’s teeth were chattering.

Chen Nuo sighed, came over good-naturedly, helped Mr. Xiu back to his seat, and even unscrewed a bottle of mineral water for him to drink.

"Actually, you are quite cunning and haven’t told the whole truth. You say you didn’t do anything from start to finish, but that’s a lie. Luo Dachanzi’s car accident was your doing, wasn’t it? That killer called Little White wasn’t that skilled; I’ve fought against him, and his Telekinesis was still a bit rough. Oh right, I forgot to tell you, I’m the one who killed Little White."

Seeing the smiling young man in front of him, Mr. Xiu gulped. "You, you, you... are you, are you the one, that, Yama? The husband of Her Majesty the Empress? The new Controller?"

No, boss! If you were the boss you should have said so earlier! What’s with the low profile?! Taking taxis, staying in this kind of dump?!

"Actually, I’m not afraid to tell you, I brought you here with the preparation to kill you in mind."

At Chen Nuo’s words, Mr. Xiu slid to the floor again!

"No, no, don’t be hasty," Chen Nuo said with a smile, waving his hand. "It’s just a precaution. This is an old street nearby, mostly demolished, with very few people left, and this dump of a hotel has almost no guests and a simple registration process. Killing someone here and disposing of the body would be unnoticed. But rest assured, I don’t want to kill you now. After all, you’ve been fairly honest with your confession, though you did hide some details about your own actions, but ultimately Luo Dachanzi didn’t die, right? Plus, you’ve capitulated, and killing you now would be a bit embarrassing to go through with."

Suddenly finding strength from who knows where, Mr. Xiu clambered up off the floor and sat down obediently, saying with respect, "I was blind before, not realizing you were Yama, Mr. Yanluo in person! If you have any orders or questions, I will spare no detail in telling you everything I know!"

Chen Nuo nodded, then stared at Mr. Xiu and slowly asked, "Who is the person who came to Jinling to cause trouble?"

"He... his name is Dong Juan."

"Dong Juan? That’s quite a classical nickname," Chen Nuo laughed.

Mr. Xiu hurriedly replied, "It’s not the ’Dong Weng’ from Huaxia’s traditional references, meaning host or elder, but ’Dong Juan,’ with the ’bird’ radical, the name of a bird species."

Chen Nuo raised his eyebrows. "A bird?"

"Hmm, this Dong Juan actually isn’t famous in the Underground World, but his strength must be formidable... As for how strong exactly, I’ve never really fought against him, and he’s a low-profile person, never letting others know the extent of his abilities. As far as I know, he seldom takes on jobs or accepts commissions, nor does he take action frequently. He has raised a few apprentices, who usually take commissions outside and make money for him. This Xiao Bai was a young apprentice under his wing, the first time assisting us with our operations."

At this point, Mr. Xiu quickly added a crucial piece of information. "Right! Director Gai was killed by him! Because Xiao Bai died, Dong Juan was very angry. He said his apprentice died while working for Director Gai, so there had to be an explanation from Gai’s side. Then, he killed Director Gai. This person’s abilities were likely of the Spiritual type; moreover, he had developed a set of very sinister skills, like the legendary voodoo arts, capable of killing from thousands of miles away with curses! That’s all I know, I really don’t know more than that."

Chen Nuo nodded. "Do you know what this person looks like?"

Mr. Xiu shook his head. "Never seen him. My interactions with him have always been through phone calls or emails. According to what Xiao Bai mentioned, Dong Juan doesn’t like to meet outsiders, especially not the Ability Users from the Underground World."

An expert Ability User living in seclusion? Chen Nuo nodded his head. No wonder he didn’t know this name then. The Underground World doesn’t lack well-known experts. But in this world, there are definitely those who have never mingled in the circles of the Underground World, unknown experts. Not to mention distant examples, like Wu Daodao’s wife from the Qingyun Sect, the middle-aged woman, is one such example. This middle-aged woman, whose skills from the Qingyun Sect allowed her to compete with Chen Nuo at full strength. And yet, there is no such person known in the Underground World. It’s conceivable that Dong Juan might also be of that type.

Lu Xixi held the groceries she had bought from the market in her hands, followed by Xiao Yezi holding an ice pop, and Yu Naitang who skipped school today — the little loli with now black short hair felt fully justified in skipping.

"If Chen Nuo can skip classes, why can’t I? In terms of knowledge reserves, I could beat him with one hand tied behind my back, a hundred times over! Moreover, I’m about to pay for middle school soon, why bother with primary school anymore?"

Alright then, Lu Xixi felt there was no fault in this reasoning.

As they reached their home’s entrance, Lu Xixi just unlocked the door and her face suddenly fell.

She stepped into the house first, glanced around the room, then turned to look at Yu Naitang and Chen Xiaoye, who looked leisurely.

"Little Candy~ It seems like a rat has been in our house."

"Huh?" Yu Naitang looked up, staring at her teacher.

Lu Xixi narrowed her eyes and pointed at the door. "Knowing that a rat sneaked into Jinling City, I took some precautions and used Telekinesis to put a bit of dust in the door crack. If an outsider stealthily opened the door to come in, the dust in the crack would have been scattered."

Without wasting a moment, Lu Xixi grabbed her phone to call Chen Nuo.

"Honey~ There’s been a rat in our house!"

After Chen Nuo hung up the phone, he looked at Mr. Xiu with a grave expression. "That Dong Juan, no, when you and Director Gai were operating in Jinling City, did you check the Luo family’s social connections? No, that’s not right... you don’t know me at all, which means you never found me..."

He couldn’t be bothered to explain anymore, so he left the baffled Mr. Xiu with: "I’ve asked everything I wanted to know. You can stay here or leave; you’re free to go at any time. However, you’d better leave a way to contact you, just in case I need to ask you something later."

Ou Xiuhua left work alone that day.

There was something going on at the property management company today; they had bought a batch of new equipment, and Hou Changwei had been sent out to fetch it.

Ou Xiuhua had been feeling quite uncomfortable at work these past few days. And of course, she was uncomfortable. In her own home, her son and daughter-in-law each had an annual income of over a hundred million! What about herself? Her annual income was less than ten thousand yuan. There were two billionaires at home. And there she was, going to work every day, cleaning, mopping, and wiping windows for others.

After revealing their income and assets, Chen Nuo and Ou Xiuhua had suggested she quit her current job—there were plenty of positions available for her at their car service center. If Ou Xiuhua wanted, the top financial position at the service center was hers for the taking.

But Ou Xiuhua had always refused to go because she actually had some misgivings. Her son was in business partnership with friends. It was one thing to place a family member in a job there. But to arrange a position in finance... when she herself had served time for an economic crime in the past. That was quite a sensitive issue! If you were in business with someone, and your partner hired a finance manager who had a criminal record for embezzlement, would you be happy about it?

But as things dragged on, especially after learning about the wealth of her son and daughter-in-law... Ou Xiuhua was beginning to have her doubts about the job she currently held.

It wasn’t that she was looking down on poverty and worshipping wealth, nor was it that she didn’t want to work knowing her family had money. Ou Xiuhua actually liked her job. She worked for her living and had enough for her needs.

But... Ou Xiuhua’s concern was... now that she knew her son and daughter-in-law were billionaires, if she continued to clean and wipe windows as a janitor here... people might talk, and she worried it would embarrass her son and daughter-in-law! Ou Xiuhua wasn’t afraid of much, but she was afraid of affecting her son adversely.

These past few days, she had thought about resigning several times. She hadn’t figured out what she would do after quitting, but she could resign first and then take her time to decide at home.

However, her relationship with Hou Changwei was becoming more certain, and the two were officially dating... She was actually a bit reluctant to give up the daily companionship of working together at the company.

And moreover... Ou Xiuhua was thinking, if it didn’t work out, she could wait until the end of the year when she and Hou Changwei would get their marriage license, and then resign. Actually, this is just the mindset of ordinary people. They have concerns about taking action and often hesitate. They know they need to do something eventually, but they just want to wait a bit longer. They don’t know what they’re waiting for, but they just want to wait.

After changing out of her work clothes and leaving the property company, Ou Xiuhua went downstairs and pushed her bicycle out.

There was an electric bicycle that Chen Nuo had brought home, but Ou Xiuhua found it too troublesome to charge, especially going up and down stairs. She also heard that there were many thieves stealing electric bicycle batteries nowadays! If she parked it outside the company, it could get stolen. Furthermore, Hou Changwei often gave her lifts recently, so she hadn’t used it much. Today, with Hou Changwei out fetching goods, Ou Xiuhua still rode her bicycle to work.

——Well, Ou Xiuhua was actually that kind of simple woman, deep down.

As she pushed her bicycle to the roadside, Ou Xiuhua just mounted it and glanced at the time, calculating that if she hurried, she could still make it home in time to cook dinner with Lu Xixi.

She was about to pedal off when she suddenly heard a voice calling from the side of the road.

"Xiuhua."

Ou Xiuhua was startled and turned to look to her left. She saw a person crouching by the greenbelt, smiling at her.

Suddenly, Ou Xiuhua felt a blur before her eyes, followed by shortness of breath. Her legs weakened, and she nearly lost her balance!