Book 4, Chapter 258: The Death Of Noise When The Tide Recedes

The battle by the lake in the residential area of the soldiers had already ended, but the people were still filled with shock. The aftermath of the fight between Chen Chuan and Aunty Bai was just too surprising.

Even if a lot of them had fought in battles before and some of them had even seen videos about martial arts masters, it was behind a screen. This was a completely different experience from seeing it with their own eyes.

A long time passed, and wind blew. Some of the drenched people started shivering.

They had no idea what had happened, but they had an inkling that the higher-ups of their Central City were carrying out some sort of operation, and this was just a segment of it. Since they had too little information, they could only guess about it.

Many of them had tried to contact the world outside with their phones, but they never got any response. Clearly, the phone lines had been intercepted, and it made some of them panic.

They tried to drive away, only to find that the roads leading into Central City and the base had been locked down. The roads to the peripheral cities were still open, though. However, it would take longer to go to those places, information was less accessible there, and they were much less protected.

This caused many of the residents to feel uneasy. Aside from being worried about themselves, they were more worried about their relatives serving in the army.

Just then, some of them thought of something and turned to Han Kuang. Wanting to get some information from him, they tried to walk toward him, only to find that their feet were stuck to the ground from fear. After a long while, one of them finally summoned his courage and went up to Han Kuang. “Lao Han... Military Advisor Han, i-is Director Chen...”

His voice dipped even further. “Director Chen is your nephew, isn’t he? D-Do you know what’s going on?”

“I don’t,” Han Kuang said with a shake of his head.

The person didn’t believe him, but when Han Kuang refused to give him any answers, he couldn’t do anything about it. After all, Han Kuang’s nephew was standing right there by the lake. All he could do was laugh awkwardly before leaving in a panic.

“Xiao Qian, go back first. I’ll go check on Xiao Chuan and ask him what’s going on,” Han Kuang said.

“Alright.”

Nian Qian was much calmer than everyone. Compared to the families living here, he had actually gone to the island nations and fought in battles. He composed himself and said, “Don’t worry, Uncle.”

Han Kuang cast him a glance before grunting and shooing him away. “Go.”

Then, he walked to the lake. Many people saw him and started craning their heads to look while discussing it in whispers.

Chen Chuan had returned to the training ground. The cement building was really sturdy. The aftershocks from the battle hadn’t affected it at all. Only the plants around it had snapped and fallen on the ground. The ground in front of the entrance was also wet.

He went to the empty hall and poured himself a warm drink before going to the wide-open entrance to sip it.

He had used some energy in the fight, but since a fellow faction member had asked him to cooperate, he was sure that he was going to get compensated later. That was why he hadn’t thought much about the energy he was going to spend in the fight.

Just then, he saw Han Kuang walking toward him, and Chen Chuan greeted him. “Uncle.”

When Han Kuang saw how relaxed Chen Chuan was, he felt a myriad of emotions in his heart. He simply couldn’t connect this smiling young man with the powerful martial arts master from the fight.

The closer he got to Chen Chuan, though, the more he noticed just how thoroughly ruined the area was. If Chen Chuan and Aunty Bai hadn’t chosen to fight by the lake, he couldn’t tell what would have happened to the entire residential area. Even so, the place was a mess. When he walked over, his feet sank into mud, leaving behind small pits.

He checked Chen Chuan and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Uncle.” Chen Chuan smiled.

Han Kuang looked over at Aunty Bai lying on the other side of the lake. She was wrecked. “That’s Security Advisor Bai. Is she going to be okay?”

“She’s fine too. Martial arts masters are really tenacious,” Chen Chuan replied.

Han Kuang was stunned. You call that fine? Half her body’s gone!

He shook his head. He didn’t understand anything about martial arts masters, but he knew that he shouldn’t apply the rules of normal human beings to them.

“Could you... tell me what’s going on?” he asked after turning back to Chen Chuan.

“As long as you’re not involved in anything, you’ll be fine. All you need to do is wait. The results will be out soon. You should tell Aunt Jie, Aunt Wan, Uncle Fuli, and my cousins to not worry too,” Chen Chuan said instead of answering.

Han Kuang understood what he meant and was shocked. It’s really because of that?

As a military advisor skilled in analyzing information, he had sensed that certain things were off over the past few days. He just wasn’t expecting either side to launch an operation this quickly and suddenly. One of the major participants was even standing in front of him right now, and he was his nephew.

But when he thought about it more, he found that it made sense.

He had told Yu Jie that a single martial arts master could rival an entire army. When that “one-man army” showed up somewhere, they were always going to intimidate the people in the area, which would cause a chain reaction.

He sucked in a deep breath. “Since you’re okay, I’ll be going back home.”

“Okay. By the way, Uncle. I’m here. Nothing will happen,” Chen Chuan said to reassure him.

Han Kuang nodded earnestly and walked back the way he came.

Chen Chuan took another sip of his drink and cast his eyes in the direction of Shannan Road’s Central City.

Based on what he understood over the past few days, the political situation in Shannan Road wasn’t that different from the one in Jibei Road. Its municipal government and the Department of Administrative Affairs governed the city while locked in a fight for power. This time, the Department of Administrative Affairs had attacked, but they didn’t strike at the municipal government. Instead, they targeted the largest combat force in Shannan Road—its garrison.

From the bits and pieces Han Cheng told him, there was a huge problem with it.

Chen Chuan didn’t know the situation well, but he could guess that Aunty Bai was a major obstacle for any operation.

Chang Shuyu’s main request was for him to hold Aunty Bai for a time after meeting her so that it would be easier for them to launch the operation.

The chances of Aunty Bai coming to see him were really high. After all, if an unfamiliar martial arts master came to stay outside their Central City for a long time, he was bound to make people uneasy. Most likely, they would send their martial arts master to meet them and learn about the situation while also intimidating him a bit to make sure nothing went wrong.

In Chen Chuan’s eyes, Chang Shuyu and the Department of Administrative Affairs had acted decisively. The moment they saw a chance, they took it, and since they attacked so quickly, the other parties and organizations with business ties with the garrison couldn’t react in time. When they finally realized what was going on, the entire matter would be over.

Chen Chuan waited until the sun started setting before seeing an airship fly over. When it was close by, it started descending. Several people jumped down. The leader held a briefcase in his hands.

He was a Third Limit martial artist. When he landed, he immediately saw Aunty Bai lying on the ground, and he sighed in sympathy before composing himself and walking to Chen Chuan. After bowing to him, he said, “Fellow Faction Member Chen, I’m Jiang Kui, Mr. Chang’s mentee.”

Jiang Kui was clearly part of the purity faction, so he nodded in response and asked, “Are things settled on your side?”

“Yes. Mr. Chang is grateful for your help and asked me to give this to you,” Jiang Kui said and handed the briefcase to Chen Chuan.

Knowing that this was the reward for his help, Chen Chuan took it. The briefcase was rather heavy compared to the other ingredients or medicines he had received as compensation. Surprise flickered in his heart. He had a feeling that whatever he got was definitely out of the ordinary.

“Where’s your mentor?” he asked.

“Mr. Chang wanted to see you, but he had been away from the merged space for too long, so once he was done here, he went right back. He asked me to apologize on his behalf for him not being able to thank you personally,” Jiang Kui said.

Chen Chuan nodded in understanding. Shannan Road was located at the center of the Great Shun Republic and had a huge population. The imperial army still plagued its merged space too, so if Chang Shuyu left the merged space for even a while, there was a chance that the conqueror general would attack. This would result in massive casualties for the Great Shun Republic’s military.

He cast a glance at Aunty Bai and asked, “Before you came here, did Fellow Faction Member Chang tell you how to deal with her?”

“Yes. He gave us instructions,” Jiang Kui replied.

“Okay,” Chen Chuan said. Many of the soldiers’ families knew what had happened here, and among them were definitely those from the National General Affairs Bureau. They would have already sent a report to their command. That was why Jiang Kui had come here prepared.

After a swing of his arm, two people behind him went to Aunty Bai. When they saw how battered she was, they cast Chen Chuan a reverent glance before apologizing to Aunty Bai softly. Then, they took out a long needle wrapped in spirit flames and stabbed the center of her eyebrows.

Once they were done, they sighed in relief.

Some of the tension bled from Jiang Kui’s shoulders as well. He bowed to Chen Chuan and said, “Fellow Faction Member Chen, we’ll be leaving now.”

“Say hello to Fellow Faction Member Chang for me,” Chen Chuan said.

“Of course,” Jiang Kui said earnestly.

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