It's almost midnight.

In the bright moonlight, a family of four is walking quickly.

In the distance, the fire is getting bigger and bigger, and the whole car is engulfed in flames.

Fortunately, it's in a rural area, remote and late at night, with no one noticing at all.

While passing a river, Chen Dawei decisively threw the license plate into the river.

After walking for half an hour, the group finally arrived at the town, but before finding a place to stay, they were stopped by a patrol officer on the road.

"What are you doing so late?" A patrol officer asked, sweeping around with a dim flashlight.

Thankfully, they had already rehearsed their story and were mentally prepared for such a situation. Chen Dawei forced himself to remain calm and said, "The car broke down on the road, and we're looking for a place to stay overnight."

The officer looked at the group, some big, some small, each carrying luggage, speaking in the local accent, and didn't suspect anything. Instead, he warmly suggested:

"At this hour, it's hard to find accommodation. Try knocking on the door of a small motel. The owner might open the door!"

"Thank you very much, then we won't bother you anymore. We'll get going!"

"Okay, be careful on the road. The security has been a bit off lately. Yell if you encounter any trouble; we usually patrol nearby." The officer said.

The group, having had a fright, quickly left the area.

Chen Shouyi finally noticed that Mrs. Chen, who was usually dominant at home, was actually weak inside. Faced with such a scene, she was completely stunned just now, her expression stiff.

Thankfully, Father Chen had a strong heart.

Otherwise, it'd be up to him, but he's ultimately not an adult, which might arouse suspicion.

Luckily, everything turned out fine without incident.

Next, the group went to several motels and finally got one to open the door.

The motel owner was an old man. He lit a candle and pulled back the curtains to glance at the four of them before opening the door, grumbling: "Coming to sleep so late! How many rooms do you need?"

"Three rooms!" Chen Dawei said.

"A total of 120, plus a 100 deposit. By the way, candles cost extra; how many do you want?"

"Three, and give me two lighters." Chen Dawei said.

"That'll be 330 in total. The price of candles has gone up recently. If you want hot water, take it from here. The bathroom is in the hallway. Take this candle with you." The old man said.

Throughout, the old man didn't mention anything about ID cards, which relieved everyone.

...

With a motel costing only 40 per night, naturally, there was no need to expect much quality or sanitation.

However, for Chen Shouyi's family, at this moment, any place to sleep was enough, and they wouldn't dare ask for more.

Chen Xingyue's room.

Mrs. Chen, holding Chen Xingyue's hand, said, somewhat worried: "Don't overthink things, sleep early, everything is over now."

"Yeah, once things settle down, we'll open a restaurant again, and everything will be just like before." Chen Dawei said.

Chen Xingyue nodded vigorously, her eyes somewhat moist: "Mom, Dad, Brother, I'm okay now, you should sleep early too."

Mrs. Chen and Father Chen said a few more words before getting up to leave.

Chen Shouyi also returned to his room.

He lay back on the somewhat smelly bed, sighing slightly.

Just a day ago, he was still thinking about how to completely resolve the hidden dangers of the spatial passage, clean up all the barbarians' canoes, and find Zhang Xiaoyue. A day later, he was forced to hide shamefully in a small, unknown town in another city.

Life never progresses according to your plans.

He felt like a rootless duckweed, drifting with the slightest breeze or wave, nowhere to rely on.

Ultimately, it was because he had no social influence.

He has the strength of a martial artist but lacks the corresponding social status of one. His words are worthless. If he were a registered martial artist, would cultists dare deal with his family so openly? There'd be no need to hide so sneakily, afraid of being exposed.

It's the cultists who should be afraid of exposure, not the other way around!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel aggrieved.

Unfortunately, he's not only not a registered martial artist, but not even an apprentice.

From an age perspective, he's still a minor with no political rights.

"I wonder when the martial artist apprentice exams will resume."

It's not that Chen Shouyi didn't want to take the martial artist exam directly, but only through the apprentice could he qualify, and martial artists aren't tested in small cities like Dongning or Ping Hill. He'd have to go to the Jiangnan Province Martial Arts Branch to take the exam.

...

At this point, he finally remembered the Shell Lady.

Since she got restrained, he hadn't checked whether she was injured.

He immediately took the briefcase, unzipped it, and found her sleeping soundly.

He took out the Shell Lady, untied the straps, and peeled off the tape on her face.

"Damn giant, you woke me up." The Shell Lady was startled awake and shouted angrily.

As a being from another world, the Shell Lady's sleep duration is quite long. Sleeping seventeen or eighteen hours in one stretch is typical for her.

Chen Shouyi originally thought she would mention nearly being crushed to death earlier, yet she was annoyed about being woken. It seemed she was perfectly fine.

Indeed, otherworldly beings are remarkably resilient.

"Aren't you hungry?"

The Shell Lady thought for a while and said: "Hungry!"

That's it then.

Chen Shouyi took honey from his backpack and mixed it with hot water.

The Shell Lady's thoughts are simple, anger comes quickly and subsides quickly as well. She stood on the bed curiously observing the surroundings: "Giant, why has your sleeping place changed again?"

Chen Shouyi didn't want to answer that sad question and placed the spoon on the bedside table:

"Eat quickly, then go back to sleep!"

The Shell Lady immediately moved her little legs, ran over, and jumped onto the bedside table.

After she finished eating, Chen Shouyi placed the Shell Lady on the edge of the bed against the wall, blew out the candle, and lay down on the bed.

He closed his eyes, practiced "Entering the Quiet to Refine the Self."

Then, despite his fatigue, he entered the memory space to review the battle with the man in black.

Initially, this fight seemed easy, but in reality, it was extremely dangerous. Any slight relaxation or mistake could have resulted in his death.

Even now, viewing the battle from a third-person perspective, he felt cold sweat as if he were walking along the edge of hell.

Compared to the life-and-death sniper duel with the Barbarian Clan Leader, this cold weapon combat was undoubtedly more thrilling, with no opportunity for respite.

This black-clad man's swordsmanship was unbelievably skilled, each move made with instinctive ease, transcending any formal posture. The sword forms were blurred, with smooth and natural transitions between moves, showing tremendous power with every motion.

He watched for a while and immediately immersed his mind into the body of the man in black.

The first feeling was a slight weakness, much weaker than his own body.

The second feeling was harmony. The body was incredibly coordinated, as if the muscles were oiled, allowing every subtle action to mobilize all muscles.

Clearly, the man in black's control over body muscles was at an amazing level, completely instinctual.

In fact, to become a martial artist requires meeting two basic standards: having a body that meets the martial artist's physical strength and completing the muscle refinement stage of the "Entering the Quiet to Refine the Self." He had long achieved the former but still lacked in the latter.

Of course, of the two standards, only the first is mandatory while the second one is just the path to achieving a martial artist's powerful combat capabilities.

Someone like Chen Shouyi who can already kill a martial artist in one-on-one combat is undoubtedly a martial artist.

He carefully experienced this sense of precise control over all muscles and soon couldn't resist the fatigue of his mind, falling into a deep sleep.

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