Chapter 74: A Chance Encounter (4th update, I want everything)

The sky had long since turned dark.

Most of the snow from the daytime had melted, but not all of it.

The time when snow melts is the coldest.

Chen Shu was bundled up thickly, wearing thermal underwear and long johns underneath, along with a baseball cap and a cotton mask. Looking like an ordinary person without any cultivation, he walked slowly forward along this road by the river, shivering from time to time as he took out his Mobile Phone to snap a couple of photos of the night view by the river.

Occasionally, he would stand still to send two messages to Qingqing.

Walking any further would mean he was almost out of the city.

There were neither many nor few cars on the side of the road. According to group members, they always liked to check for drunk driving here. He didn't know how the group members knew this, but there were no traffic police checking today.

Perhaps because it was too cold, there were very few pedestrians on the road.

"Buzz buzz!"

Gate of All Wonders: Black SUV, equipped with a bumper, with a sticker of a self-driving route map on the side.

Qingcai Keke: You can see that clearly?

Gate of All Wonders: It took a lot of effort.

Grandma Always Says: They have a Daoist treasure, that's why they get paid so much.

Qingcai Keke: Wouldn't that mean it can be used for peeping?

Qingcai Keke: /Fear

Gate of All Wonders: It cannot.

Grandma Always Says: Hahaha, to peep, you'd at least need to be at the Ninth Stage. I don't know if the result seen at that time is the same as what you see normally, but in any case, the information obtained by people from the Daoist or Buddhist Sects is not transmitted in the form of specific images or sounds, but as some kind of mysterious revelation that requires special interpretation. However, if he were to use it to peep at us, he could still distinguish whether we are male or female.

Qingcai Keke: Truly terrifying.

Grandma Always Says: Don't worry, little junior sister. If he used it to peep at your personal information to satisfy his own desires, his Dao heart would collapse.

Gate of All Wonders: Indeed, do not worry.

Qingcai Keke: Alright.

Qingcai Keke: So, have you all left yet? Brother Gate of All Wonders said Zhao Haojiang wouldn't leave the city until late at night.

Grandma Always Says: Leaving immediately.

Nameless Person: I'm already on the subway!

Qingcai Keke: Then I'll head out too. I booked a shared car; it's too cold, so I'll drive over and then find a place to park and observe.

Nameless Person: Junior Sister Qingcai, take care and stay warm!

Qingcai Keke: You too, Brother Nameless!

Grandma Always Says: /Dazed

Qingcai Keke: You too, Brother Grandma!

Grandma Always Says: /Awkward

Chen Shu turned off his Mobile Phone and continued walking forward; he was almost at the suggested location provided by the group members.

He looked around and searched carefully. He did not choose the location suggested by Grandma Always Says, but instead found a hotel not far away—the kind of simple lodging meant for people passing through Yujing or those whose license plates couldn't enter the capital. He booked a room and then went to the roof.

Hmm, the view was barely acceptable.

Furthermore, this stretch of road was not in a surveillance zone.

Returning to the road below, he took advantage of the sparse traffic to quickly draw several Runes on the road surface, forming a simple but useful one-time small Formation.

He returned to the roof.

Because the evening rush hour had passed, and it was remote, the traffic was becoming increasingly sparse.

Chen Shu stared intently at the road below.

He had already studied the three routes out of the city from Jixiang Garden.

This main road had the most surveillance. Because artificial intelligence technology was more advanced in this world, many artificial intelligences had already appeared in ancient times, so using surveillance to identify criminals was a relatively common method.

But covering one's face was basically enough.

The route from Grandma Always Says was smaller with less surveillance; one could either leave the city directly or take that road to detour to other places to leave the city.

The route from Nameless Person was the best for being the shortest way out of the city.

In truth, it was really hard to say which route Zhao Haojiang would take.

Who knew what he was thinking?

If not for the help of the Daoist Sect, the Yujing police probably still wouldn't know Zhao Haojiang was hiding in Jixiang Garden, and every route felt like it had its own reasons for him. And under normal circumstances, if such cases did not cause a very severe impact, they would not request help from the Daoist Sect.

The requirements of the Daoist Cultivation System were also quite harsh. The number of core disciples was limited to begin with, and those with high cultivation were even fewer. The country was so large, and there were plenty of more important and difficult things that required them, such as matters concerning national security and international competition.

Furthermore, Daoist disciples also needed to cultivate.

They had to advance toward their ideals.

Sometimes they also had to obey the Emperor's summons to descend the mountain and defend the country.

In the history of this country, the Buddhist and Daoist sects, after being magically modified by Shengzu, had always been indigenous sects that maintained a good cooperative relationship with the Imperial Family and had always played an important role in the continuation of the country and the nation. It was just that they were different from the Royal Court; the Royal Court was loyal to the Yiguo Imperial Family, while they were loyal to the country and the nation. They would only descend the mountain to face the enemy when foreign enemies invaded. If the dynasty decayed and the country split internally, they would remain neutral.

Finding a drug trafficking ringleader took two days, which really delayed their cultivation.

Chen Shu waited bitterly while letting his mind wander.

Although it was night, the streetlights were bright. He had learned a small Spell to enhance his vision, which allowed him to see very far away clearly.

Occasionally, when there were no cars, he would lower his head to chat in the group.

Grandma Always Says: How is it on your end?

Nameless Person: Nothing found.

Qingcai Keke: My eyes hurt from looking! Brother Grandma, come blow on them for me!

Grandma Always Says: Blow what, focus on watching!

Qingcai Keke: *Whimper*

Chen Shu revealed a smile on the rooftop.

Grandma always says: @Gate of All Wonders

Grandma always says: Has Zhao Haojiang set off? Where has he reached? Which road is he taking?

Gate of All Wonders: I can only glimpse things that have happened in the past, and it takes a very long time to prepare, a very long time to interpret, locate, and search; stop asking me.

Grandma always says: /What a piece of trash.

Chen Shu also twitched the corner of his mouth; it would be better to just let Qingqing help find him.

Upgraded version of the Heavenly Human System.

Low-end version of the Heavenly Human System.

The difference in quality is immediately clear.

Chen Shu hunched his shoulders on the rooftop; it was a bit cold.

Two hours later, as the night grew deeper and the temperature continued to drop, he exhaled a puff of hot air, which condensed into white smoke.

Looking up, the waning crescent moon hung at the edge of the sky, thinner than a dog's tooth, only a tiny sliver left.

Such a night is quite quiet.

When he looked down again, he saw a black SUV driving over; he had seen the sticker on the car body while it was still far away, and as the car drew closer to the hotel, the sticker became clearer—it was a winding road trip map that ran across the entire car body.

There was one and only one car, just right.

Looking at the person inside the car.

Mask, hat, all complete, but the style of President Zhao could still be vaguely discerned between the brows and eyes.

President Zhao is in such a sorry state.

Chen Shu opened his Mobile Phone like lightning, long-pressed the dialogue box, pasted, and sent.

Qingcai Keke: At my place.

Immediately staring fixedly at that car, just as it was about to reach the place where he had drawn the Rune, Chen Shu reached out a finger, a burst of Spirit Power shot out, and activated the Rune.

"Boom!"

The car tires deflated, and the chassis was damaged.

"Screech!"

A piercing sound of brakes, the vehicle skidded and drifted, even slightly hitting the guardrail on the side of the road.

The person in the car did not hesitate and ran as soon as they got out.

This also made Chen Shu heave a sigh of relief; he was afraid of misidentifying the person, and if that happened, no matter how he explained it, once found by the police, he would likely have trouble.

Seeing Zhao Haojiang burst into extremely fast speed and run far away, he was just about to jump down to follow and harass him a bit, but suddenly sensed something, so he stopped his movements and instead looked consecutively in two different directions.

In one direction, a figure was approaching rapidly, the speed extremely fast; it felt like if it weren't for the flight ban in Yujing, they could have completely flown up.

The other direction was exactly the direction Zhao Haojiang had left in.

A figure had appeared there at some unknown time.

That figure was tall and slender, comparable to Qingqing, and what was striking was a pair of long legs, because they were really long. She held a Sword in her left hand; with the help of a Spell to magnify vision, one could vaguely see that it seemed to be a very simple Sword. She stood there quietly holding the Sword, as if waiting for Zhao Haojiang.

Zhao Haojiang sensed something was wrong and changed direction temporarily.

Just at this moment, that figure suddenly drew her Sword, and as she struck, she threw it; that Long Sword then spun through the air toward Zhao Haojiang.

Silent and swift.

"Shh!"

Zhao Haojiang did not notice at all, and his back was pierced through by the Sword.

Only then did that figure start to take steps, slowly walking toward Zhao Haojiang, like the moonlight tonight, quiet, unhurried, and calm.

Walking to the front of Zhao Haojiang, she gripped the hilt and pulled it out.

"Shh..."

Fresh blood spurted out.

At this time, Zhao Haojiang was not yet dead; instead, he turned his head and asked, "Are you that Moonlit Nüxia?"

"You are full of evil..."

"What do you want?"

The Moonlit Nüxia did not pay him any mind, but instead raised the Long Sword in her hand again, only letting out a voice, then continued speaking to herself following the previous sentence:

"I hereby sentence you to death."

"For what? Because I traffic drugs? Or because of those people with Loans? They are just a bunch of the weak; I am naturally stronger than them. Isn't the survival of the fittest the law of this world?"

"The greatest inequality is birth, the greatest equality is death."

"Hahahaha, fine then, kill me if you want. Life is like a dream, one should act recklessly; I, Zhao Haojiang, have lived a wonderful life this time around. Even if I die here today, it's worth more than most people in this world. Come on, come on..."

"Mengyue Sect..."

"Shh!"

A sword thrust down, entering through the eye socket and exiting the back of the head.

Chen Shu's eyebrows twitched.

Being too far away, he couldn't hear what was said over there, but the scene was clear to see.

Quite bloody.

Just at this time, the anonymous person had also arrived nearby and was searching for Zhao Haojiang, so he took out a camera treated with Dark Silence, placed it in its original position, then quietly lowered his body to hide behind the rooftop guardrail and slowly left this place.

Returning to the room, lying on the bed, he took out his Mobile Phone.

Connecting to the camera, the image appeared—

The anonymous person had already found Zhao Haojiang; the movements were fast, but by this time Zhao Haojiang was already dead, and the Moonlit Nüxia had also disappeared.

Chen Shu took an extra look at the anonymous person.

This group member had an average build, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin; at least for now, he appeared to be male.

Immediately, he thought of the Nüxia of the moonlit night...

How could she have happened to appear here?

Furthermore, her methods were far too bloody. If she wanted Zhao Haojiang dead, handing him over to the police would have been the same; a death sentence would likely have been unavoidable. That way, she would not have shouldered the crime of murder and might even have received a 500,000 reward, yet she had directly taken action and killed him.

What kind of mentality is this...

Could it be because Zhao Haojiang saw her true face?

Of course, it is also possible that to her, she has already killed too many people, and one more makes no difference; she also does not care for that 500,000. Under the influence of killing intent, a slightly vicious mood prompted her to thrust this Sword, making one unable to help but think of ancient Cultivators.

Just at this moment—

The camera was tampered with.

The image suddenly began to rotate.

Amidst the rotation, a woman wearing revealing clothing and a strange, sci-fi-looking mask flashed across the screen.

Now, what left the deepest impression was not those long legs, but that mask: it seemed to be made of metal, completely covering her entire face, to the point where one could not even see her eyes; one eye was a circular hole emitting white light, while the other was a long vertical slit emitting blue light.

It was the first time Chen Shu had seen such a mask.

It was extremely futuristic and sci-fi.

But because the mask fit her face almost perfectly, one could still discern a certain petite delicacy from the contours of her face; at the very least, it was an oval face.

The image disappeared completely.

Chen Shu pursed his lips; this Nüxia wouldn't come looking for him, would she? He had never heard of her causing trouble for ordinary citizens; even those thugs who had truly harassed others, she had only severed their hands.

Fortunately, there were no abnormalities thereafter.

Opening the Ancient Cultivation Group—

Nameless Person: I found Zhao Haojiang, but he has already been killed by someone!

Grandma Always Says:?

Grandma Always Says: It definitely wasn't the little junior sister.

Grandma Always Says: Did you see who did it?

Nameless Person: I didn't see clearly, but I vaguely sensed an aura; it was likely quite powerful, perhaps on par with the group owner, but they couldn't beat me.

Grandma Always Says: What are you acting all cool for? Do you know that the thing I hate most in my life is a show-off!

Nameless Person: I am just stating the facts.

Grandma Always Says: Get to the point.

Nameless Person: There was a piercing Sword wound on his back, but the fatal wound was a Sword wound from his eye to the back of his head!

Grandma Always Says: It must have been that idiot Nüxia who did it!

Grandma Always Says: It's almost certainly her!

Grandma Always Says: Damn it, so infuriating!

Nameless Person: Let's ask Junior Sister Qingcai!

Nameless Person: @Qingcai Keke

Chen Shu looked at this group and fell into deep thought.

The Nüxia of the moonlit night arrived too coincidentally; if she had the ability to find Zhao Haojiang in the vast sea of people in Yujing, she would have found him days ago, yet it happened just now. And she just happened to come to Yujing from Jianzhou; it was all a bit too coincidental.

Chen Shu carefully scrolled through the group list once more.