pjbooks Chapter 14 onwards will teach you some new and interesting things.
Chapter 14 onwards will teach you some new and interesting things.
The fire at the Liu family's house burned for an entire night.
The flames illuminated half of Jiangzhou's sky, waking countless people from their sleep. They opened their windows and looked at the towering flames in the northern suburbs, a nameless fear rising in their hearts.
What place is that?
That's the Liu family.
One of the most prominent Awakened families in Jiangzhou, with a history spanning three generations, the family head Liu Mingxuan is an S-level powerhouse who has been famous for twenty years.
Such a thing was actually burned to the ground?
Fire trucks and the Awakened Ones Affairs Bureau's emergency response team arrived almost simultaneously, but the fire was frighteningly intense. Ordinary water evaporated instantly when poured on it, and even the chilling aura of the ice-type Awakened Ones couldn't extinguish the seemingly ordinary yet inextinguishable flames.
The fire extinguished itself just as dawn was breaking.
It wasn't extinguished, but rather burned until there was nothing left to burn.
When the first investigators stepped into the ruins of the Liu family home, everyone fell silent.
The hundred-acre mansion has been reduced to scorched earth.
Pavilions, terraces, artificial hills, ponds, and precious flowers and plants—all were reduced to ashes. Even more horrifying, there wasn't a single corpse left.
It's not that there are no dead people, but that the corpses, along with their ashes, have become one with the ruins, making it impossible to distinguish which were once people and which were once objects.
"This...this is something that can be done by human power?"
A young investigator muttered to himself, his notebook falling to the ground with a thud.
No one answered him.
Because nobody knows the answer.
...
At 7:00 AM, in the conference room of the Major Crimes Investigation Division on the third floor of the Jiangzhou Branch Bureau.
Su Ze sat in the main seat, the ashtray in front of him already overflowing with cigarette butts.
He rarely smoked, but he made an exception today. The coffee on the table went cold and was refilled repeatedly, but he didn't drink a drop.
On the projection screen was a panoramic view of the Liu family ruins taken by a drone.
"Casualties?" His voice was hoarse.
The technician swallowed hard: "It's impossible to calculate."
"What do you mean?"
"It's just... impossible to count." The technician tapped a few times on the keyboard, pulling up another set of data. "The Liu family has 127 registered members, 89 guards, and 53 servants, totaling 269 people. Furthermore, according to eyewitnesses in the area, Lin Zhenting, the head of the Lin family, led people into the Liu family's territory last night, but..."
"But what?"
"But the entire Lin family has returned without any casualties. Lin Zhenting sent word this morning through his connections: when they arrived last night, the Liu family's house was already on fire. They didn't enter the core area and saw nothing."
Su Ze remained silent.
I didn't see anything?
That's a lie.
But he didn't press the matter. He knew that for a powerhouse like Lin Zhenting to say "I didn't see anything" spoke volumes.
"What are the results of the on-site analysis of residual spiritual energy?"
The technician's expression became even stranger: "It was sent to the General Administration's Technical Center, and they've just sent back preliminary conclusions."
He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"The technical center concluded that extremely faint residual energy existed at the scene, but it could not be classified into any known Awakened's spiritual attribute. It was not ice, fire, lightning, wind, earth, light, or darkness, nor was it a mutated composite attribute. In their words, it was a... completely unfamiliar energy system."
The meeting room was deathly silent.
Su Ze closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at the sky gradually brightening outside the window.
"What's going on with Jiang Chen?"
"The monitoring team reports that Jiang Chen returned home at 11:20 PM last night and did not leave again. His mother went out to buy groceries at 6:30 AM this morning and returned at 7:20 AM. Everything is normal."
everything is normal.
Su Ze pondered these four words and suddenly felt they were somewhat absurd.
All signs now indicate that Jiang Chen was responsible for the destruction of the Liu family, and the bombing a few days ago was also his doing.
In any case, Jiang Chen can no longer be allowed to continue like this.
The Liu family was once a top family in Jiangzhou. Now that the entire family has been wiped out, rumors will surely spread. Even higher levels of government have taken notice of the situation. If they cannot provide an explanation, more and more troubles will follow.
"It seems we have no choice but to meet Jiang Chen."
Meanwhile, at the Lin family...
Lin Zhenting sat in his study, the tea in front of him had gone cold.
He didn't sleep all night.
The scene from last night kept replaying in my mind. The young man stood before the ruins engulfed in flames. He admitted to crippling Lin Feng, downplaying it as if brushing away a speck of dust.
What did I say?
"If I have the opportunity in the future, I will personally collect this debt."
Looking back now, that statement was utterly ridiculous.
Get it back? With what can you ask for it back?
Liu Mingxuan's remains could not be found.
"Father."
The study door was pushed open, and Lin Feng walked in, leaning on his cane. His face was still pale, and his injuries had not fully healed, but the fear in his eyes was even deeper than it had been a few days ago.
"I heard... the Liu family is gone?"
Lin Zhenting looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.
Lin Feng swayed and had to grab the door frame to steady himself.
"Is it...it's him?"
Lin Zhenting nodded again.
Lin Feng opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He recalled that night at the celebration banquet, when he stood in front of Jiang Chen, looking down at him and saying those words—
"You're nothing but a piece of trash right now."
"Kneel down, kowtow to me and Ruyan, apologize, and then get out of here as fast as you can."
A bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.
He looked up abruptly: "Father, then...then what if he...?"
"Won't."
Lin Zhenting interrupted him, his voice tired but resolute.
"If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it that night. He spared your life so he wouldn't seek revenge later. Besides..."
He paused, then looked out the window.
"He doesn't respect you at all."
These words were blunt, almost cruel. But Lin Feng felt no anger upon hearing them, only a sense of relief at surviving a calamity.
"So... what do we do next?"
Lin Zhenting remained silent for a long time.
"From today onwards, no one in the Lin family is allowed to provoke Jiang Chen, discuss Jiang Chen, or approach Jiang Chen's family. You should focus on recovering from your injuries. Once you're healed, cultivate diligently and become a useful member of the country. From now on, if you see Jiang Chen, avoid him."
Lin Feng lowered his head: "I understand."
Although he was unruly, he now knew that his father was right.
That person is someone they can't afford to offend.
...
That night, in Jiang Chen's room.
He lay in bed, scrolling through his phone. The class group chat had been silent for a long time; those classmates who used to mock him now didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.
He browsed the news and found that the Liu family's incident was trending, but the official report only said it was an accidental fire. The comments section was full of doubts, but there was no substantial revelation.
It seems that the matter has been suppressed by the authorities. Of course, it is obvious who did it, and the truth will come out easily.
Jiang Chen was about to put down his phone and go to sleep when Wang Kai's message came through.
"Brother Chen!!! Are you asleep!!!"
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and replied, "No."
Wang Kai replied almost instantly: "I was released today! They asked me a lot of questions, but I answered exactly what you said I should and shouldn't say!"
Jiang Chen chuckled. This guy was actually quite nice to him.
"Okay, go to sleep early."
"Brother Chen, there's something I want to ask you..."
"explain."
"Did you... really kill so many people?"
Jiang Chen stared at the message and remained silent for a few seconds.
In the millennia-long cultivation world, he had killed more people than all the awakened beings on Earth combined. For him, killing was merely a means, not an end.
But Wang Kai is different.
Wang Kai is just an ordinary kid who has awakened a C-level life skill. His biggest wish is probably to find a stable job after graduation, get married, and live a peaceful life.
People like that shouldn't get involved in these things.
"Wang Kai," he typed.
"exist!"
"It'll be good for you to stay away from me from now on."
After the message was sent, there was a long silence on the other end.
Just as Jiang Chen was about to put down his phone, another message came from Wang Kai.
"Brother Chen, no."
"You're my brother. No matter what you become, you'll always be my brother."
Jiang Chen stared at the words on the screen, remaining silent for a long time.
Having lived in the cultivation world for a thousand years, he had witnessed countless acts of deceit, betrayal, and betrayals driven by self-interest. The concept of true affection had long since faded into oblivion in his heart.
But these few lines stirred something deep within him that had been dormant for a long time.
He recalled that a thousand years ago, when he failed to awaken, and his so-called friends all distanced themselves from him and mocked him. Only Wang Kai sent him a message of condolence, and a few days ago at the Emperor Hotel, he stood firmly on his side.
"Kai Zi, in a few days I'll teach you something new. Go to sleep tonight."
"OK!"
On the other end, Wang Kai seemed to vaguely understand something.
Putting down his phone, Jiang Chen didn't intend to go to sleep. Instead, he looked out the window, sighed softly, and then instantly appeared on the roof of a house not far away.
The bright moonlight cast a long shadow of Jiang Chen. Su Ze, who was standing in front of him, was slightly taken aback. He had no idea when Jiang Chen had appeared behind him!