Chapter 37: Little Sister Gu’s Raid
Little Zhao trailed behind Miss Gu as they stepped out of the Extreme Net Café, entering a dimly lit alleyway. They ventured ten paces in before she came to a halt and turned to face him.
A sense of unease crept over Little Zhao as he furrowed his brows. “Uh… You dragged me into this secluded place—got something confidential to say?”
Miss Gu remained expressionless, her delicate face as still as a calm lake. Instead of answering, she reached out towards the nearby wall.
—Crack!—
Her slender, fair fingers plunged into the red brick as if it were tofu!
Little Zhao’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
With a light tug, Miss Gu pulled a brick loose. Holding it in both hands, she gently rubbed it together. The solid brick crumbled into dust, cascading down like drifting snow.
All the while, she gazed at him with serene intensity.
Her voice, sweet yet light as a whispering breeze, carried a subtle edge. “Don’t be nervous. I’m not here to frighten you. I just need a favor.”
Little Zhao swallowed hard. “Sis, just say the word. What do you need?” He lifted his hands in surrender. “I ain’t got cash on me. My most valuable possession is these Yeezy sneakers I’m wearing—bought ’em last month, only my second time wearing ’em. If you like ’em, I’ll take ’em off for you.”
Miss Gu shook her head. “I don’t rob people. I just need Chen Yan’s address.”
Little Zhao blinked. Chen Yan’s address?
“He… he got a grudge with you?”
Miss Gu nodded lightly. “Mm-hmm.”
“…”
Without hesitation, Little Zhao turned on his heels and sprinted away—only to feel a sudden tightness at the back of his neck. “Whoa—holy—!”
With one hand, Miss Gu hoisted him effortlessly back into the alley.
“I only need his address.”
Little Zhao gritted his teeth, his face suddenly exuding righteous defiance. “He saved my life! I, Zhao Shan He, am a man of unwavering loyalty. I would never betray a friend. I—”
Miss Gu studied him, then raised her thumb in genuine admiration. “A true man of honor. My apologies.”
The next second—
Little Zhao let out a bloodcurdling scream as his body shot skyward like a cannonball!
Miss Gu vanished in a blur, reappearing mid-air to catch his collar, then hurled him back toward the ground.
Just as he was about to crash, she caught him once more, tossing him back up before he could touch the earth.
Little Zhao’s screams turned hoarse. His eyes rolled back, his breath ragged. Though he was lean, he still weighed a good sixty or seventy kilograms—yet in Miss Gu’s hands, he was no heavier than a ragdoll.
“Still a hard man? Ready to talk?” Miss Gu asked, her voice eerily calm.
Little Zhao trembled like a leaf. “A-a-are you even human?!”
Miss Gu merely shook her head. Then, gripping him once more, she prepared to throw him again.
“Wait! WAIT!” Little Zhao shrieked.
She paused. “Willing to talk now?”
Trembling, he nodded frantically. “I… I actually don’t know where my bro lives now. He moved recently—I haven’t been to his new place.”
“Then what do you know?”
Little Zhao blinked. “Uh… He’s twenty-two, just graduated half a year ago, single, doesn’t smoke or drink—”
“Something useful.”
“Useful, useful…” Little Zhao’s eyes darted. “He likes tall girls with… ahem, prominent features. He also has a thing for feet. He’s a hardcore manga reader. Introduced me to stuff like Secret Teachings and Beautiful New World…”
Hearing this, Miss Gu’s expression turned slightly red in the shadows.
[Big legs and feet, huh?]
[Hmph, that brat from the Chen Family really isn’t a good person!]
[And what’s this about Secret Teachings and New World? Sounds fishy!]
She pursed her lips, but an idea sparked in her mind. This man seemed to know Chen Yan rather well. Perhaps she should press for more details.
“What else?”
“Uh, uh… He’s 1.8 meters tall, blood type A, a Leo. He sucks at PUBG, always dies as soon as he lands. Messes up combos in TFT. Absolutely hopeless at League of Legends. Also, on his Douyin account, he secretly follows a dozen…”
Miss Gu maintained her blank expression. “Go on… Hm?”
Her gaze abruptly snapped toward the distant sky—
Sword Qi?!
… A Sword Cultivator? In this world?
Her eyes gleamed with intrigue.
Just now, for the briefest moment, a trace of Sword Qi flickered and vanished in that direction…
Curious, Miss Gu almost made a move to investigate. But then she glanced at Little Zhao.
Forget it. Judging from that brief surge, the so-called sword cultivator was probably just breaking into the realm. Nothing special.
Business came first.
—
Meanwhile, Chen Yan stood frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded.
That Little Kid Brother… was gone. Just like that.
Gone peacefully.
When the countdown ended, the man simply conjured a Grand Treasure Sword, cleaved the very heavens apart, and—whoosh—vanished in a streak of light.
A Tribulation Crossing grandmaster, a Guardian of the Way…
Gone!
Vanished!
Still, it wasn’t a complete loss.
In that last moment, as the Eastern Sea Senior ascended, Chen Yan had the quick wit to raise his hand, shouting, “Senior! How do I use this jade thumb ring?!”
Halfway through his ascent, the old master sent down a piercing ray of Sword Qi, sweeping over Chen Yan’s body.
Then, a voice, tinged with shock, echoed in his ears—
“Such a divine artifact! This object is not of this world. You must—”
The words had barely left his lips before the figure vanished into the Heavenly Gate, swallowed by the vast unknown beyond.
Chen Yan’s chest tightened with frustration. Gone. Just like that.
“You couldn’t say it earlier?! You had to wait until there were only ten seconds left?!”
Had he known, he could have asked a few more questions! The emerald thumb ring—what was its purpose? Countless mysteries in cultivation—he could have sought guidance! But now, the chance was lost.
And that last sentence—”You must…” Must what?!
Must discard it? Must shatter it? Must devour it?!
Chen Yan’s head throbbed with regret.
His gaze swept across the dense mountain forests. Where in the world was this place? Was this still Jin Ling Prefecture? That boy had soared into the heavens, leaving him stranded. How was he supposed to return home?!
With no other choice, Chen Yan retrieved his phone. Dead. Either the battery had drained, or it had been damaged during the earthquake.
He cursed a few times, but in the end, he could only resign himself to fate. Determining a rough direction, he began to walk away from the forest, step by step.
—
In a narrow alley, Miss Gu held Little Zhao’s phone.
The boy obediently recited his unlock code.
She hadn’t been idle these past days. Observing the boss lady and customers at Extreme Net Café, she had grasped the basics of using a phone.
She opened WeChat, extracted Chen Yan’s ID, and sent him a message:
“I’m taking your phone for now. Since I can’t let you alert anyone, I had no choice but to use a little trick on you. Don’t worry, the worst you’ll suffer is a headache for a day or two.”
With that, she lightly exhaled onto Little Zhao’s face.
Two minutes later, Little Zhao groggily climbed to his feet, shivering in the cold alley.
“Huh? How did I end up here?”
Then, his face darkened. Had he been knocked out and robbed?!
Patting his pockets, his suspicions deepened. His phone was gone!
Fine—just an old phone, nothing valuable.
His payment passwords were secure.
But… his WeChat was still logged in!
And worse…
His browser history!
—
Chen Yan walked for a full half-hour before emerging from the forest. Another twenty minutes along a highway led him to a small town. There, he found a modest inn and inquired about his location.
As expected, he was over a hundred kilometers from Jin Ling Prefecture.
With a few courteous words, he borrowed the innkeeper’s charger, plugged in his phone, and even secured a loan for a steaming bowl of instant noodles.
After a harrowing seven days of inhuman survival, the first sip of hot broth should have been heavenly—
But it wasn’t. He had lived on instant noodles for a week!
Barely managing to finish the bowl, he powered on his partially charged phone, used his digital ID to register for a room, and paid for two nights, along with the meal.
With a borrowed charger in hand, he ascended the stairs, returning to his room.
The grime clung to his skin, unbearable. He wasted no time drawing a bath, scrubbing away days of filth, and finally collapsing onto the bed, utterly drained.
Just before sleep claimed him, he checked his phone.
A message from Zhao Shan He.
[Zhao Shan He: Chen Yan, where are you staying? Drop me your address—I’ll visit if I get the chance.]
Chen Yan frowned. What did Zhao Shan He want?
Not bothering to overthink it, he sent his villa’s address and tossed his phone onto the nightstand, switching it to silent mode.
Exhaustion took over.
—
But within ten minutes, Chen Yan’s eyes snapped open.
A single, sharp cry escaped his lips before his entire body erupted with energy!
The Vital Energy Circulation Method activated on its own, surging through his meridians at a frenzied pace!
An overwhelming flood of qi surged into his body from some unseen source, a force so immense it felt like the weight of Mount Tai crashing down upon him!
He felt as though he were a mere soybean, tossed into the grinding maw of a millstone, crushed and refined by endless waves of qi.
Gritting his teeth, he endured the excruciating force—
His cultivation surged, step by step, reaching new heights!
The karma from aiding Lu Si Si—finally, the heavens had decided to return what was owed!
The tribulation hadn’t killed him—so now, fate paid its debt in full!
Pain wracked his body, yet exhilaration filled his heart. He couldn’t help but laugh—
Between gasps of agony, his joyous laughter echoed through the room.
“Hahaha—ow, damn it!”
The conflicting cries painted a bizarre symphony of suffering and triumph.
Finally, exhaustion overtook him. His vision went dark, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
What he did not know was that, as soon as he lost consciousness, a golden radiance erupted from his forehead, flooding his body. The light lingered for an entire minute before slowly fading away.
—
Meanwhile, Miss Gu stood in the spacious villa, surveying its luxurious decor.
No one was home. Yet the radiant warmth of the floor heating enveloped the entire space, a stark contrast to the frigid night outside, where temperatures had plunged below freezing.
“The Chen Family certainly lives in comfort…”
Her thoughts turned to her own struggle—scraping by, half-starved and cold.
She slept beneath the stars while he feasted on four-course meals?
The very idea brought tears to her eyes.
She searched the villa, finding talisman materials and remnants of formations.
So he wasn’t home. No matter.
She had his residence. He would return eventually.
She would be waiting.
Just as she mused over her plans, a voice thundered from outside:
“You sneaky little rat hiding inside—come out! Your granddaddy’s here to teach you a lesson!”
Miss Gu’s expression turned ice-cold.
Ever since she had honed her cultivation, who had dared to insult her?
The last man who did so—his grave now bore three feet of wild grass.
And that was merely his cenotaph.
Because there had been nothing left to bury.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation