Chapter 65: 65. Newly Arrived, Soul Leaving the Body

In the spring breeze, the blind youth leaned on his blade and carried his shield, standing where he was.

Every sound in the surroundings, every piece of data passing through the walls, surged in from all directions and fell into his perception, with nowhere to hide.

Seeing that the guards blocking the way in front had all been crushed, Song Cheng suddenly raised his head slightly; his gaze pierced through layers of walls and houses, seeing a piece of data—"Strength in the teens, Favorability only 20"—fleeing outside the An Family estate.

"Huazi, someone is climbing over the wall to leave the estate on the west side."

Song Cheng said.

As soon as these words fell, the Third Uncle's face turned slightly pale.

This Third Uncle was named An Kai.

At this moment, he suddenly shouted: "We're all family, why are we fighting? Break it up, break it up!"

The guards had already been scattered; only a few remained, trembling as they retreated while barely defending themselves. Upon hearing this, they all hurriedly ran away.

This Third Uncle An continued: "Eh, forget it, forget it, we are all family. You, the son-in-law, have a hasty temper too. Come, come, come, let's all go inside."

Song Cheng leaned on his blade and did not move.

He did not move, and surprisingly, everyone behind him did not move either.

Ling'er stuck out her tongue and said: "Third Uncle, you only call us family now that you can't win? Isn't it a bit too late?"

In Third Uncle An's eyes, Ling'er was just a lowly maid who could die at any time, so he ignored her completely.

At this moment, he looked behind Song Cheng again and shouted with a smile: "Wang Da Xiansheng, come on in."

Having been through so much, Wang Da Xiansheng had long since seen the situation clearly; he simply waved his hand—thanks for the invitation, but he wasn't coming.

Third Uncle An hurriedly looked at Zhao Hua, who was running into the distance, and said: "That... that hero, where are you going?"

Zhao Hua ignored him entirely and flew off into the distance. Before long, a few sharp sounds of fists and kicks rang out from afar, and a moment later, Zhao Hua dragged over a scrawny but sharp-eyed guard and threw him onto the ground.

The guard's eyes rolled around, and he cried out hoarsely: "Assault, assault—"

Before the words could finish, a faint woman's voice drifted over from afar.

"Take him down and interrogate him."

An Chenyu had returned.

The guard was stunned and glanced at An Kai, just about to say something, when An Chenyu said coldly again: "Think carefully before you speak. Whether it is the truth, a lie, or just perfunctory words to stall for time, I can tell. If I hear anything other than the truth..."

The cold and glamorous noblewoman, like an iceberg, rested her chin on her hand slightly and thought for a moment before saying: "Cheng San, your indenture is with my An Family, so... if I kill you, the government won't care."

After saying this, she glanced at Song Cheng, then looked at Zhao Hua standing beside Song Cheng, and said faintly: "Huazi, you handle it. If he doesn't tell the truth, just kill him; there is no need to hesitate."

"Also..."

She swept a glance toward the distance, "Anyone causing trouble, arrest them all the same."

Zhao Hua said respectfully: "Yes, Sister-in-law."

In his eyes, his Big Brother was a god-like figure. And he and Liu Jun had come this time naturally so that the Water Bird Martial Arts Hall could continue its legacy and blossom elsewhere.

During the time they had come to Hanping Prefecture, he had also roughly understood the characteristics of the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce and knew that his Big Brother didn't really manage things, so naturally, he followed the arrangements of his Sister-in-law.

An Chenyu was icy.

Zhao Hua looked refined and usually gave people a very polite feeling, but when his gloominess showed, it was extremely sinister, making people feel he was not to be trifled with.

In an instant, the whole scene fell into a deathly silence. Those words, devoid of a trace of warmth, were like a cold, ruthless ice blade hanging over everyone's heads, making it hard to breathe or speak.

Soon, the guard named Cheng San, who had been thinking of being sly and lazy, was taken away by Zhao Hua.

And An Chenyu and Song Cheng were the first to walk into the mourning hall where the coffin was placed; only then did those elders of the An Family dare to follow them in.

The Ruyi Chamber of Commerce's rise was the work of their ancestors; in the beginning, everyone had been diligent, conscientious, and hardworking.

But by the time it reached An Chenyu's generation, it was already the fifth, and decay had long since set in. They were greedy for pleasure and short-sighted. Among these so-called elders from top to bottom, many only thought of infighting and splitting the benefits, with no desire for the An Family to develop.

To put it bluntly, they felt that was the An Family head's business to consider; they only wanted to make money and get more family assets. What did anything else have to do with them? As for the entire An Family collapsing, let it collapse; anyway, if the An Family collapsed, they wouldn't have, and they could run away with the money and still live comfortably and securely.

An Chenyu knew this clearly.

However, before the funeral procession was even finished and the burial site finalized, Cheng San had already confessed everything on the other side.

This Cheng San was the confidant of the An Family's Third Uncle, An Kai.

And Third Uncle An was quite steady; upon learning of the Old Master's death, he felt not a shred of grief and immediately thought that An Chenyu would return to seize power.

On one hand, he arranged for family members to stand with him and then applied pressure from the perspective of "elders"; on the other hand, fearing it wasn't enough, he hid a trump card.

This trump card was: if he couldn't beat An Chenyu, he would have Cheng San run to the Mountain and River Martial Arts Hall to have them back him up. As for the price, it would be the entire An Family defecting to the Mountain and River Martial Arts Hall, offering a large amount of money every year from then on.

The opportunity was that Third Uncle An had previously known a disciple of the Mountain and River Martial Arts Hall, which was just enough to establish a connection. Third Uncle An thought it out well: if the An Family wasn't his, then no matter how much money there was, it had nothing to do with him; if it really didn't work out, giving the An Family to the Mountain and River Martial Arts Hall would at least allow him to save face.

When An Chenyu heard this report, she felt her understanding of the bottom line had been refreshed.

Wasn't this just selling out the family and being a traitor? She had thought Shi Yi was a one-off, but she hadn't expected the Third Uncle in the family to be waiting there too.

The Young Miss was so angry her delicate body trembled.

That night, she presented the evidence and enforced family law, breaking both of An Kai's legs and throwing him into the Ancestral Hall to reflect. When she returned to her room, she lay in Song Cheng's arms, venting the bitterness in her chest.

Her iceberg only melted at this moment.

Like winter passing and spring arriving, the spring water flowed murmuringly.

Not until everything was spent did she quietly and tightly entwine herself around the youth's strong body.

In the darkness of the air, there were low, deep breaths and exhales.

And no matter how strong, determined, or ambitious a woman was, she ultimately hoped to have someone worth relying on by her side.

"An Jie, do you feel better?" the youth asked in the darkness.

The Young Miss sighed, then panted, and only then said: "I feel better."

After asking, she said again: "Little Song, what about you?"

"I do too," the youth replied.

Seeing that both parties to the contract had clearly expressed their satisfaction, the Young Miss finally set her heart at ease.

Song Cheng added: "An Jie, you were quite wild just now."

An Chenyu said, "It's different from usual, isn't it?"

Song Cheng nodded.

It was more than just different; it was as if she were two completely different people.

One was a cold and glamorous career woman, calm to the extreme, like an iceberg; the other was a hysterical madwoman.

When the two of them were good before, it had never been like this; he figured recent events must have agitated Young Miss, causing her to appear calm on the surface while her heart was in desperate need of release.

That was why she had been so wild, so lost in passion while engaging in intimacy with him.

An Chenyu asked earnestly again, "Then, is it okay for me to scream and shout like that?"

She did not want her partner to feel uncomfortable because of her unbridled release.

If Song Cheng said it was not good, she would suppress herself and correct it next time.

Song Cheng smiled and said, "An Jie is my wife, so anything is fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

Only then did An Chenyu let out a soft sigh of relief; exhaustion washed over her, and she pressed her soft body against Song Cheng, slowly falling asleep. Young Miss was asleep, but Song Cheng was not.

A newcomer to this place, his Soul was about to leave his body.

A Prefecture City is not like a county town; he was full of unfamiliarity with everything here, and furthermore, there were existences above the Form Realm here; he had to go and see clearly.

The jianghu is like a jungle.

If you cannot see the danger, you must go and confront the danger.

As for whether you live or die, that is just a matter of luck.

Therefore, for Song Cheng, "opening the map" and "mastering information" were matters of the utmost importance.

Moreover, the location where Hanping Prefecture is situated is not considered safe; heading south is the most secure choice.

The young man gently pried open the warm, fair leg draped over his waist and abdomen and moved to the side.

Then he closed his eyes and focused his mind.

His Soul ascended the Ghost Tower, leaped through the nine levels, and exited his body.

A Soul capable of roaming in the daylight flames is naturally already strong enough to travel freely at night without needing to worry about the time.

His Soul broke out of his body, drifted out through a crack in the window like a flat sheet of paper, swayed with the night breeze, and then, like a small boat riding the wind and waves, soared upward before quietly patrolling toward the distance.

Lines of data and favorability ratings suddenly appeared in Song Cheng's eyes.

Song Cheng thought of Huahaifang, where White Camel Manor was located, being nearby, and his heart stirred as he carefully approached it step by step.

(End of this chapter)