Chapter Forty: Doubts

Beep… beep… beep…

His phone rang. A call was coming in.

It was Zhang Hui.

“It’s fine now. Mm, don’t worry, he didn’t chase after me when I ran. Seemed like he went after someone else instead,” Chen Jin said, hefting the stripped-down man in black and making his way toward the nearby Baibu Creek while answering the call.

The moment he hung up, Chen Jin sensed that he was being watched again.

That chilling sensation came from the forming ghost of the man in black.

The ghost stared at Chen Jin with fierce resentment in his eyes, but Chen Jin paid him no mind. He stopped at the edge of Baibu Creek, lifted the corpse, and hurled it heavily into the stream. It flew more than thirty meters and landed squarely in the middle of the black waters.

Baibu Creek was rather wide, perhaps because Ge Hong had once expanded it with his powerful magic. To reach such heights of cultivation was truly remarkable—mightier than any earthmover from Lanxiang… Though, if Ge Hong heard such a comparison, he might just blacken both his eyes in outrage.

Chen Jin gazed at the inky waters flowing away. By morning, the body might well have washed out to the Pacific.

As for the ghost of the man in black, he let it drift as it pleased. After all, neither could harm the other; the divide between them was wider than a mere chasm—it was another dimension altogether.

So, no matter how the ghost glared with hatred, Chen Jin remained unconcerned.

He walked back under the bridge and found Chen Lan and Lin Qing slumped unconscious against the pillar. He immediately called his father, asking him to send someone to fetch them home.

Both electric scooters were now fit for the scrapyard. It was lucky Chen Jin himself was tough as nails; anyone else would have been as helpless as tofu in chili oil at the sight of the mangled wrecks.

Chen Jin then wiped away the bloodstains from the ground. Thankfully, the fight hadn’t been too fierce, or cleaning up would have been much harder.

If the two had really gone all out, they might have destroyed the bridge’s foundation itself. Whether that would have brought the whole bridge down, Chen Jin wasn’t sure, but from its structure, it seemed unlikely.

About half an hour later, a car arrived along the dirt road.

It was Chen Jin’s father. He rushed out, anxiously checking if Chen Jin was hurt, then looked at the wrecked scooters and the three unharmed youths. Though bewildered, he still breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly loaded the unconscious Chen Lan and Lin Qing into the car and drove them home.

All the way, Chen Jin’s father muttered on and on. Chen Jin didn’t mind, responding whenever needed. He’d long outgrown his rebellious phase and understood the worries of his parents, so he accepted their nagging with bowed head, admitting fault, and taking it all as wisdom to pass on to his own children one day. This was the passing of culture, the flame of civilization burning quietly in every household, while countless children would, in turn, suffer the same fate.

The mixed vital energy Chen Jin had cast at Chen Lan and Lin Qing would only keep them unconscious for an hour—not too long.

Chen Jin had only resorted to this as a last-ditch measure, fearing he might die at the hands of the man in black.

Around seven o’clock, the car reached home, and the two girls began to wake up.

Seeing their dazed expressions, Chen Jin simply explained that the two scooters had accidentally tangled together and slid down a slope by the bridge onto the roadside, knocking the girls out—though the scooters were a total loss.

He even offered to buy Lin Qing a new one.

Chen Lan, hearing this, became unexpectedly enthusiastic, urging Chen Jin to take Lin Qing out to buy the scooter right away, not even pressing for details about the “accident.”

“Big brother, the future of our family is in your hands. For the sake of the Chen family, offer up your body,” Chen Lan whispered mischievously in his ear.

“Mm, hmm?!” Chen Jin was baffled.

Could Lin Qing be the child of some powerful family? Like Lin International Bank or something?

“Big brother, for your happiness, our family’s happiness, and the happiness of all humanity—go forth, stud of the Chen clan…” Chen Lan’s words grew more outrageous by the second.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Let’s eat first. Lin Qing, will you join us?” Chen Jin ruffled Chen Lan’s newly cropped hair—she’d cut her waist-length hair short just last week.

“I… I’ll eat at home…” Lin Qing tried to decline, embarrassed.

“Come on, eat with us! The food’s from Wang Family Restaurant,” Chen Lan insisted, grabbing Lin Qing before she could leave.

“You’ve come all this way, you should stay for dinner,” Chen Jin’s father added kindly.

“All right… I’ll just call home and let them know,” Lin Qing agreed, unable to refuse an elder’s invitation.

“Seize the opportunity…” Chen Lan whispered slyly.

Chen Jin could only sigh in exasperation.

The staff from Wang Family Restaurant had been waiting at the Chen family’s door. Their service was impeccable—after all, this meal cost a small fortune, and both the food and the service had to be excellent.

With the help of the housekeeper, the restaurant staff laid out the dishes and tableware, bowed deeply, wished them a pleasant meal, and departed.

Being wealthy had its perks.

For ordinary people, these dishes would easily be enough for four. But Chen Jin needed the nourishment to refine his vital energy. Still, he could now draw energy from the world itself, and he had over a dozen energy spheres stored, so the food was more a pleasure than a necessity.

After dinner, Chen Lan noisily insisted that Chen Jin take Lin Qing to buy a new electric scooter.

Lin Qing tried to refuse, but Chen Lan pulled her along, saying, “My brother’s loaded—we’ll buy the most expensive one!”

Then Chen Jin’s father drove the three of them into town to buy the scooter, catching a ride since he still had a meeting to attend.

Buying the scooter was quick and easy—any problem that could be solved with money was no problem for Chen Jin.

Lin Qing was genuinely embarrassed to accept, but could not withstand Chen Lan’s enthusiasm.

During the process, Chen Lan pointed at Chen Jin, who was still paying, and said so many things that Lin Qing finally accepted.

After seeing Lin Qing home, they returned themselves.

Chen Jin gave Chen Lan a searching look.

“Are you… all right in the head today?”

“What? I’m perfectly normal,” Chen Lan replied, puzzled.

“Normal? What’s with Lin Qing, then?” Chen Jin asked seriously.

“Her? She’s my underclassman. We get along well, that’s all. Why?” Chen Lan retorted.

“Your underclassman? Then why do I feel like you have some ulterior motive toward her?” Chen Jin pressed.

“Me? What could I possibly want from her?! I’m done talking to you.” Chen Lan pouted and stomped upstairs.

Chen Jin didn’t chase after her, just watched her leave, feeling more perplexed than ever.

After all, his sister had never been this close to him before. Ever since they’d returned from the old town square, her attitude had done a complete one-eighty.

Strange, truly strange.

Had they been body-swapped?

Better not to overthink it.

…