Chapter 52

In the night, the headlights' beam shot forward as the car sped toward Baozhi District; inside the cabin, Zhou Shuo and Liu Yanyan chatted off and on, and Liu Yanyan told Zhou Shuo something: the golden light spell and thunder arts that Zhang Chulan knows are both renowned secret arts of the Jiangxi Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion.

"Celestial Master's Mansion?" Zhou Shuo was a bit surprised; the golden light spell and thunder arts belong to Daoism, which he could tell, but he never expected that this skill actually belonged to the Celestial Master's Mansion. In this world, he hasn't slacked on his studies—the Celestial Master's Mansion is a top-tier power among the anomalous peoples, and the current sixty-fifth Celestial Master, Zhang Zhiwei, is one of the Ten Elders of the anomalous peoples. Yet how did Zhang Chulan come to possess the Celestial Master's Mansion's secret arts?

"That kid surnamed Zhang, he does come from the Celestial Master's Mansion, maybe that's correct, but he isn't a descendant of the Qi Body Source Line, is he?" Zhou Shuo glanced slightly backward; Zhang Chulan was currently tied up in the car's trunk, and this fellow's background seems far more than just hidden that much.

"I don't know." Liu Yanyan drove, shaking her head slightly; she was also very curious about this.

"Interesting, let Lu Liang give him a thorough interrogation later; under his Soul-Clarity Technique, nothing can stay hidden." Zhou Shuo curled the corner of his mouth; although the decadent aura was a bit strong, secrets kept surfacing, and this somewhat collapsed protagonist template is back again!

"After interrogating him, what then?" Liu Yanyan gripped the steering wheel, glancing slightly backward, hesitating as she asked; if it were before, she would never have asked such a question, only thinking about how to join All Nature, but now she wonders what will happen to Zhang Chulan after the interrogation.

"Given Lu Liang's personality, there's an eighty percent chance he'll be turned into an idiot, and given Xia He's habits, his fate could be ****." Zhou Shuo's face suddenly took on a strange look; the people of All Nature are certainly no pushovers.

"That Xia He..." Liu Yanyan, upon hearing, suddenly thought of that woman from All Nature, and couldn't help frowning.

"All Performance Four Madness, how much do you know!" Zhou Shuo said, likewise becoming interested; All Performance Four Madness, this is what he heard from Lu Liang, and these days he has been pursuing its cultivation, without time to ask, and momentarily forgot.

"You don't know anything about All Nature at all?" Zhou Shuo glanced at the girl concentrating on driving from the corner of his eye, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "You don't even know the famous figures of All Nature, sis—are you sure you're a fan of All Nature?"

"I've been cultivating at home for the past ten or so years, even my studies were at home." Liu Yanyan blushed a little; now that someone compares, she can already feel her former rashness and chuunibyou.

"Then you used that trick on Zhang Chulan quite vividly—did you learn it from novels or TV dramas?" Zhou Shuo glanced sideways; lessons were all at home, damn, no wonder you could think up that kind of seductive tactic only found in novels, and yet that guy Zhang Chulan fell for it—erm, his name might hint at something.

Faced with Zhou Shuo's words, Liu Yanyan instantly felt embarrassed, unable to reply, and the car she was pressing the accelerator on began to speed up, rushing forward in the night.

"Drive slower, by the way, do you have a driver's license?" Zhou Shuo felt the car's forward speed, couldn't help twitching his mouth, and at the same time recalled something: sis, do you have a license to drive?

"It's the middle of the night anyway, there's no police around." Liu Yanyan indicated it didn't matter.

"I'm just afraid you'll hit someone; slow down, your driving couldn't have been learned at home, could it?" Zhou Shuo urged to reduce speed.

"Of course not; before I was fifteen, I was always learning corpse‑driving, and after sixteen I had already left home." Liu Yanyan, speechless, slowed the car; she wasn't truly inexperienced—after fifteen she could leave home, right?

"So, how old are you this year, and have you thought about your future life?" Zhou Shuo wasn't surprised by Liu Yanyan's words; past events need not be considered, now we must think about the future.

"Future life?" Liu Yanyan blinked, a little dazed by the question.

"You'd better think it over: All Nature is not a place of kindness; once you enter, you might never be able to leave; if you ever meet the family members you used to dislike again, what kind of situation would that be? Watch the road!" Zhou Shuo looked at the dazed girl, giving a rational reminder while suddenly shouting; the car jolted with a boom, and a muffled sound came from the trunk.

"But... but besides going to All Nature, where else could I go?" Liu Yanyan gripped the steering wheel, looking at the pitch‑black road lit by the headlights, feeling a bit panicked—could she even go back?

"Do you still remember what I told you last time?" Zhou Shuo looked at the somewhat dazed Liu Yanyan.

"Your prediction was off." Liu Yanyan came to her senses, immediately objected, saying she found it hard to join All Nature; although her first mission had indeed failed, Zhang Chulan was now in her hands.

"As for your chances of joining All Nature, I was indeed wrong, but I think that if you join All Nature, your outcome will definitely not be good, and it might even drag me down." Zhou Shuo lifted his gaze slightly, speaking frankly; this girl had previously imagined teaming up with him in All Nature, but her little cleverness simply doesn't apply there—All Nature only respects strength.

"So what?" Liu Yanyan looked at the guy in the passenger seat whose gaze was lifted, feeling a bit stifled but not actually angry, because she had already vaguely sensed the abnormality of All Nature—that Lu Liang, a little lunatic, and Xia He, also not quite normal.

"So, I plan to leave you a way out; what that way out is, I won't tell you for now—you'll find out later. I hope you can return home honestly when the time comes." Zhou Shuo gazed thoughtfully at the distant night‑city.

"Cut the crap, stop pretending you're doing this for my own good." Liu Yanyan looked at the man in the passenger seat, a sudden surge of irritation rising; dirty words spilled out unbidden—always the same, always the same, 'for your own good,' arranging a way out for you, but you lot have no idea what I actually want.

"I'm not your elder, and I've never been doing this for your own good—I just don't want to feel guilty about myself; at least I've gained some knowledge from you." Zhou Shuo glanced at the agitated girl, his mood very calm; Liu Yanyan's skin is wheaten, her features are lovely—otherwise he couldn't have trapped that kid Zhang Chulan, but she's still quite a bit short of the flower‑like sisters.

"..." Liu Yanyan felt a flush of heat on her face, as if a volcano were about to erupt in her heart.

"We're almost there." Zhou Shuo gazed at the settlement looming ahead in the night; hearing this, Liu Yanyan couldn't help but calm the agitation in her chest and focus on gripping the steering wheel.

The car drove to the abandoned residential area where they first met Lu Liang; a business vehicle was already parked in the square, and as the car approached, Lu Liang leapt down from the roof of the business vehicle, then stood there waiting for the car to stop, a faint smile on his face as he uttered a question.

The car drove to the abandoned residential area where he first saw Lu Liang; in the square, a business vehicle was already parked there; and on top of the business vehicle, as the car approached, Lu Liang leapt down, then stood there waiting for the car to stop steadily, his face bearing a faint smile, his mouth uttering an inquiry.

Faced with Lu Liang's question, Liu Yanyan said nothing, opened the cabin door, then opened the trunk, exposing the bound Zhang Chulan for the approaching Lu Liang to inspect.

"Where's Xia He? She's not here." Zhou Shuo looked at the approaching Lu Liang, involuntarily glancing around—Xia He wasn't present.

"What, you miss Elder Sister Xia?" Lu Liang looked at the youth with his hands and feet bound in the trunk, smiling and giving a slight nod, while giving Zhou Shuo a look that said 'I understand'; it's hard to imagine that a boy of only fourteen or fifteen could comprehend such things.

"I'm just curious; speaking of which, I still don't know some of the seniors in the organization, and you kid haven't told me anything either?" Zhou Shuo looked at Lu Liang's expression without refuting, and with a slight smile inquired about the personnel of All Nature.

"That's my fault, though this matter might have to be postponed a bit—Elder Sister Xia went out today to find us another place to stay, so she didn't come over. Uh, speaking of which, I just forgot something: Miss Corpse‑Driver, welcome to join our All Nature." Lu Liang didn't reject Zhou Shuo's request, and at the same time seemed to suddenly remember, turning his head to look at Liu Yanyan and smiling as he welcomed her.

"This is my fault, however this matter probably needs to be postponed a bit; Xia Jie went today to find us another place to stay, so she didn't come over; um, speaking of which, I actually forgot something, Corpse-Chaser Miss, welcome to join our All Performance." Lu Liang did not reject Zhou Shuo's request, and at the same time seemed to suddenly remember, turning his head to look at Liu Yanran, smiling and expressing welcome.

"And then? Is there anything else after that?" A flash of light passed through Lu Liang's glasses.

"Tell me, what's the real way to join All Nature?" Liu Yanyan held her breath, trying not to erupt; even if she were stupid, she knew she was being played.

"Actually, joining All Nature is simple: as long as you outwardly declare yourself a member of All Nature, we will recognize it, and the outside world will also acknowledge your claim." Lu Liang gazed at the girl, smiling eerily; knowing the truth, what will you do?

Indignant, excited, ashamed and angry, even furious—Lu Liang had made several guesses in his mind, yet none of them appeared on Liu Yanyan; she simply stood there, her face reddening to a purplish hue, then flushed red, and said nothing—All Nature was far from what she had imagined.

"Uh, okay! For now we're on the same side—let's handle the important things first." Lu Liang looked at Liu Yanyan, whose complexion kept changing, feeling a bit embarrassed for no reason, but also not knowing what to say, so he could only turn his head toward the bound fellow in the trunk.

"It's Zhang Chulan, right? Then I won't untie your mouth—I'm Lu Liang of All Nature, and I have some things I want to ask you, so I won't stand on ceremony."

As the words left his mouth, Lu Liang's expression turned evil; Zhang Chulan lay in the car's trunk, inexplicably feeling a tremor of fear, for he noticed that the boy's gaze upon him was like that of a glutton eyeing food, and immediately the boy's right hand reached out, wrapped in a layer of rising vapor—this guy isn't a normal person?

The rising vapor floated up from his right hand, forming a palm‑shaped mass; as Lu Liang's probing hand moved, it drifted toward Zhang Chulan in the trunk, and when this vapor settled on him, Zhang Chulan's own body spontaneously ignited with a blue flame, his whole person enveloped in the vapor, his viscera began to churn, his seven apertures started to involuntarily expand, as if something were about to surge forth from within.

"Very well, let me…." Lu Liang released the vapor from his right hand, gazing at the youth completely wrapped in blue flame, a satisfied smile on his face—but before he could finish speaking, his waist tensed sharply, pulling him back from Zhang Chulan in the trunk, and the ground beneath him erupted in a cloud of flying dust.

"Very well, let me…." Lu Liang released a fiery aura from his right hand, looking at the youth wrapped in blue flames all over, a satisfied smile appeared on his face, but before he could finish speaking, his waist tightened sharply, increasing the distance from Zhang Chulan inside the carriage, and at the same time the ground he stood on erupted with a burst of flying dust.