Chapter 247: You Are Free

Chen Che's expression was grave, his gaze shifting between his palm and Su Xiao's face.

He understood what Su Xiao had said, because his body was filled with a feeling so miraculous it could not be described in words.

This Contract Technique was different from the contract Chen Che had established with Shen Qi; it was as if an invisible force had bound Su Xiao firmly to him, unable to break free even in the slightest.

Su Xiao still appeared to be a free person, but in reality, her identity had long been entangled with invisible threads, and Chen Che was the master controlling these threads.

At this moment, Su Xiao was a marionette with self-awareness in Chen Che's hands; though the body grew on her, it no longer belonged to her.

Chen Che pondered, and suddenly, a thought stirred in his mind; Su Xiao's body shuddered, and she walked slowly to stand before Chen Che.

Chen Che was stunned; his original intention was to try issuing an order to Su Xiao to study the specific mechanism of this Contract Technique, but he had not expected that without saying a word, just by a thought, he could transmit the command to Su Xiao, and she had immediately carried it out.

Chen Che looked at Su Xiao, and Su Xiao also looked at Chen Che, only her eyes were filled with nervousness, bitterness, and despair.

She had not expected this Contract Technique to be so vicious, that the control would transfer to Chen Che upon the death of Fang Shaokun.

She had escaped one man, only to fall into the hands of another; for her, regaining her freedom would ultimately remain a luxury.

Chen Che read the emotions in her eyes but did not say anything more; this situation was indeed beyond his expectations, and could be considered a pleasant surprise.

People's mouths were never reliable, but now with the Contract Technique, he had eliminated the concern that Su Xiao might turn against him.

"Help me leave this place."

Chen Che said.

Su Xiao said with a cold face: "Do I have the right to refuse now?"

Chen Che was silent.

Su Xiao sighed and said: "The northeast corner of the Fang Family courtyard; if you climb over from there, there is a forest behind it. With my status, taking you there should not be a problem, but if you encounter any sharp-witted Fang Family members blocking the way, you will have to rely on yourself."

"That is enough."

Chen Che nodded: "Lead the way."

The two maintained the posture they had when they arrived, once again leaving the side room one after the other, heading toward the northeast corner of the Fang Family's back courtyard.

………

Fang Shifeng jumped down from the roof, knitting his brows and racking his brains.

Fang Jixian walked over at this moment and asked: "Did you find him?"

Fang Shifeng shook his head: "That bastard is too good at hiding; I've practically dug three feet into the ground, but I just can't find him."

"This person must not be allowed to escape."

Fang Jixian exhorted.

"He hurt Shaokun; even if not for anything else, I will not let him go."

Fang Shifeng said viciously.

Fang Jixian glanced at Fang Shifeng and said: "Lord Vermilion Bird has sent word. That Mrs. Lu who escaped is a person from the Inspection Bureau."

"What?!"

Fang Shifeng was suddenly shocked, his eyes widening, and he asked with a panicked face: "Then what should we do?"

"Lord Vermilion Bird has already informed the Alliance Leader; the Inspection Bureau will not come to search, but we must provide an explanation."

Fang Jixian's expression was complex as he said slowly.

Fang Shifeng guessed something and shook his head vigorously in refusal: "No! Father, you cannot hand over Shaokun! That is my own son, your own grandson!"

"If there were no other way, why would I hand over Shaokun!"

Fang Jixian sighed: "Tonight's events were caused by him, so it is reasonable for him to bear the consequences. At a time like this, we cannot be indecisive, or the entire Fang Family will be abandoned by the Alliance Leader!"

Fang Shifeng's fists clenched until they creaked; a tiger does not eat its own cubs, and asking him to hand over his own son to die was simply impossible!

At this moment, a servant came to report in a panic: "Patriarch, Eldest Young Master, the Young Master, he... he..."

Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng were both shocked, saying in unison: "What happened to the Young Master?"

………

Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng rushed to the side room without stopping, where they saw the corpse of Fang Shaokun.

"No! No!! How could it be like this? How could it be like this?!"

Fang Shifeng touched Fang Shaokun's cooling corpse, roaring hysterically.

"What exactly happened?"

Fang Jixian's breathing was heavy as he shouted angrily.

The subordinate guarding the side trembled as he explained: "We... when we were patrolling, we found the corpses of the guards here, and then we discovered the Young Master..."

"Trash! Trash! You bunch of trash!"

Fang Shifeng's eyes were blood-red, filled with grief and indignation; he slapped the subordinate to death with one palm and roared: "Keep looking for me! If you can't find the person today, none of you will live!"

The subordinates were greatly shaken and immediately dispersed to continue the search.

Fang Jixian pulled the furious Fang Shifeng back and said: "Calm down, and think carefully about how he came here without anyone noticing."

Fang Shifeng's chest heaved violently, his eyes splitting with rage, unable to calm down no matter what.

Fang Jixian sighed, called over the servant who had been patrolling earlier, and asked: "Did anyone come here before?"

"The patrol saw that the Young Mistress had brought a stranger and had come this way before."

As soon as the words fell, another servant came to report: "Patriarch, Eldest Young Master, the Young Mistress and a stranger have gone toward the back courtyard."

Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng looked at each other and immediately ordered: "Everyone move out, you must stop them!"

"Bitch! I didn't expect it to be that bitch Su Xiao! I should have slaughtered her along with the Su Family back then!"

Fang Shifeng was furious, mobilizing his True Qi as he rushed toward the back courtyard.

Fang Jixian did not follow, but turned to look at Fang Shaokun's corpse, sighing: "Do not blame Grandfather for being heartless; this is your duty as a member of the Fang Family."

………

Fang Shifeng brought the entire Fang Family to the northeast corner of the back courtyard, but they were a step too late; aside from the corpses of a few servants and messy footprints, there was no one in sight.

"No! Impossible!"

Fang Shifeng could not accept that Chen Che and Su Xiao had just run off like that; he did not even know what Chen Che truly looked like!

The pain of losing his son and having no way to exact revenge filled him with grief and indignation, as if his entire being were about to be torn apart.

"I want him to pay with his life, I want them to pay with their lives!!!"

Fang Shifeng roared wildly at the sky, and from his bloodshot, ferocious eyes, two lines of frantic, bloody tears streamed down.

Chen Che and Su Xiao, who had already escaped into the woods, turned to look back; Fang Shifeng's hysterical roars could be heard faintly, startling the insects in the forest into a commotion.

Chen Che curled his lips into a faint smile; escaping the Fang Family meant the crisis was resolved.

Apart from Su Xiao, no one in the Fang Family had ever seen his true face; after leaving the Fang Family, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack for the Fang Family members to try and find him—they would never find him.

Su Xiao watched Chen Che silently and asked, "Where are we going now?"

Chen Che turned his head to look at her; perhaps due to the existence of the Contract Technique, this woman behaved very submissively, and even though Chen Che had not used the Contract Technique to force her obedience, she had followed him very obediently along the way.

Speaking now, she did not say anything about begging to be let go, but instead asked where they were going.

It was as if she had already resigned herself to her fate, or perhaps she believed that even if she begged for mercy, Chen Che would not let her leave.

In her heart, men had always treated women as accessories, and Chen Che was no different from Fang Shaokun and the others, not to mention that there was no friendship between the two of them.

There was truly no reason for him to let go of a beauty who had been delivered to him for free.

"I am going to find a friend of mine, as for you..."

Chen Che gazed at her; dappled moonlight leaked down from the leaves above, falling upon her stunningly beautiful face, giving her a cold and detached sense of beauty.

Chen Che held two fingers up to his lips with one hand and channeled his Artisan Technique; Su Xiao's body shuddered, and the circular pattern on her chest emitted a flash of light before completely extinguishing and disappearing.

It was as if a pair of scissors had cut the invisible threads binding her; her body belonged to her once again, and she was no longer anyone's marionette.

"You are free."

Chen Che glanced at the spot on his palm where the pattern had vanished, took one last look at the stunned Su Xiao, turned his back, waved his hand, and walked away.

Su Xiao stared blankly at the receding figure, unable to react for a moment.

She touched her chest, unable to believe that Chen Che had actually undone the Contract Technique just like that and given her her freedom!

She gazed at the figure that was walking further and further away, gradually disappearing from her field of vision; her previously stern, pretty face softened, her eyes curved, and the corners of her lips quietly curled into a moving arc.

In this dim forest, her smile was like a lily blooming in the dark night, possessing a soul-stirring beauty.

She murmured softly, "So, there are still good men in this world."