Chapter 158: Investigate

When Chen Chuan returned to his room, he called the Constabulary and told them about the attack. It was rude of the crossbowman to shoot him.

After washing up, he went to bed.

The next day, after he finished training, he called Cheng Zitong to discuss the Head-Splitting Monster, but their conversation didn’t answer his questions. Instead, it just gave him more.

A little past 9 p.m., his phone rang.

He picked up the phone receiver and heard Ren Shu’s voice. “Mr. Chen, the Blood Scars Gang sent another person here. Apparently, the Head-Splitting Monster killed another of their leaders, and they want us to go to the site.”

Chen Chuan’s heart stirred. “Where is it?”

“It’s the underground fighting ring of the Blood Scars Gang at the intersection between the Sealed District and the Great Plain District. It’s not far from Martial Valor University.”

Chen Chuan found the location familiar and asked, “What’s the name of the dead leader?”

“Fu Shouxin.”

Him?

Chen Chuan nodded. He had met Fu Shouxin before. On his second mission with Ren Xiaotian, they were tasked to bring back the daughter of a rich man, and Ren Xiaotian had brought his gun out to force Fu Shouxin to make the daughter leave. To think that the Head-Splitting Monster targeted him...

Chen Chuan switched his train of thought and said, “I’ll go take a look.”

After hanging up, he pondered it for a while before he called the Constabulary of the Sealed District. Then, he grabbed the Frost King Saber and left the university.

When he arrived at the gate, he found Xiao Wei already waiting for him. Chen Chuan got into the car. A little over ten minutes later, they arrived at the underground fighting ring.

It was only 9:30 p.m., but the underground fighting ring was brightly lit, and the square was filled with more than a hundred cars. The members of the Blood Scars Gang either sat or stood around them. All of them wore clothes with five bloody gashes on their chests and carried knives and guns.

Xiao Wei was shocked by the sight and asked, “What should I do, Mr. Chen?”

“It’s fine. Just drive through them,” Chen Chuan answered calmly.

“Okay,” Xiao Wei answered and slowed down a little while heading over. When the gang members saw them, some of them surrounded them, but someone soon called for them to stand back. A well-built man with a naked upper torso and an undercut walked over.

Chen Chuan asked Xiao Wei to stop the car and got out. The man sized him up before gesturing at him with his chin. “You Mr. Chen?”

“That’s me,” Chen Chuan answered.

“My boss has been waiting for you. Come with me.” The man beckoned him over and walked into the underground fighting ring.

Chen Chuan turned back. “Mr. Wei, please head back first. I’ll call you once I’m done.”

Xiao Wei didn’t offer to stay. “Alright, Mr. Chen.”

With the Frost King Saber in hand, Chen Chuan entered the underground fighting ring, which was filled with even more gang members. They seemed to be split into two groups. One of them was squatting at a corner, while the other group was watching over them. They even occasionally went over to kick them.

“Who’s your boss?” Chen Chuan asked.

“It’s the Five Claws of the Blood Scars Gang. Haven’t you heard of them?”

“I did,” Chen Chuan answered.

The Blood Scars Gang had some companies, but at the end of the day, they marketed themselves as a violent group. The Five Claws were the five best martial artists in the gang. Apparently, some of them had been lecturers in Martial Valor University.

The man pointed up. “My boss is Zhuo Bao of the Five Claws.”

Chen Chuan had only heard about the existence of the Five Claws and never bothered to learn about who they were, so he just hummed in acknowledgement. The man seemed quite displeased at his indifference and grumbled under his breath. He then hurried upstairs to the place where Chen Chuan and Ren Xiaotian had last met Fu Shouxin.

“He’s inside.” He then opened the door and said, “Boss, he’s here.”

A man in his thirties slouched against the left side of the sofa. His arm rested on the armrest, and he held the space between his thumb and index finger open beneath his nose.

He wore an unbuttoned dress shirt to show off his sturdy chest. Five bloody gashes were tattooed over his heart. When he heard the man call out to him, he didn’t turn his head around, but he did look straight at Chen Chuan. The cold glare in his eyes gave him a dangerous air.

Zhuo Bao stared at Chen Chuan for a while before he said, “Since you’re here, come and take a look.”

The man who had brought Chen Chuan over turned to him as well. “Mr. Chen, since the boss is asking you to take a look, please go.”

Chen Chuan walked in and cast a glance at the corner. There were a few more members of the Blood Scars Gang squatting there. Chen Chuan ignored them and headed over to the person sitting on the single-seated sofa across from Zhuo Bao.

The man had both his hands on the armrest. His head was thrown back, his mouth wide open, and the top half of his head split open.

The man was, of course, Fu Shouxin. He still wore a presentable suit, and his leather shoes were polished until they shone bright. He had even polished his nails.

Chen Chuan took a cursory glance at the corpse before going behind the sofa and looking down. His skull was empty. It was almost the exact same as the photos, except for one thing—there were some traces of blood in his skull.

Hmm... what did Fu Shouxin say before we parted ways? That he didn’t want to see us again? I suppose he fulfilled his promise in some sense. He really is a man of his word,

Chen Chuan thought.

He stared a little longer at Fu Shouxin’s empty skull before asking, “When did you discover the body?”

The man quickly realized that the question was directed at him, and he shouted at the gang members in the corner. “He asked you a question! When did you discover the body?!”

“T-Two hours ago,” one of them replied.

“Two hours ago,” the man repeated.

Chen Chuan observed Fu Shouxin’s body a little more. He had indeed died not too long ago. Chen Chuan turned to his second self but found no traces of him blurring out.

Up to this point, all the supernatural beings he encountered hurt him in a unique way, which made his second self blur out to various degrees. Yet Chen Chuan saw none of that here. Was it because the supernatural being was no longer around?

Still, he had only ever been able to examine the corpses from photos. This time, while he was observing Fu Shouxin’s corpse, he could see that the head was split from within, not from outside, like what he believed. It was as if Fu Shouxin’s brain had run out on its own. This matched the unique way supernatural beings operated, since this couldn’t be explained through logical means.

“Did he go anywhere before this?” Chen Chuan asked.

“He asked you a question!” the man immediately roared at the gang members.

“No. The boss has been here the whole month. He never left.”

“Has anyone come to visit him the past month, then?” Chen Chuan asked.

Before the man could yell again, the gang member quickly answered. “Yes! The other leaders of the gang came. They drank and watched the tournaments together.”

Zhuo Bao turned to him and asked, “Who were they?”

“Mr. Han, Mr. Tie, Mr. Xiao, and Mr. Liu...”

The other gang members listed a few more names, and in total, there were seven people.

Chen Chuan asked a few more questions and learned that three of the visitors were the leaders whom the Head-Splitting Monster had murdered. Was this a coincidence or something more?

Did they run into someone during the gathering? If that were the case, were the ones still alive up on the chopping block too?

While that was his guess, Chen Chuan didn’t warn the Blood Scars Gang about it.

It wasn’t easy to get confirmation about this. Also, it wasn’t as if the Blood Scars Gang themselves wouldn’t think of it. In any case, while not all of the Blood Scars Gang were human scum, they still weren’t good people, especially the leaders. Even if they were shot, no innocent life would be lost.

Chen Chuan continued staring at the skull. For some reason, his instincts told him that this wasn’t the doing of a supernatural being. He couldn’t pinpoint the reason behind it; he just had a feeling.

There was one way to verify it.

Whenever a supernatural being was involved by bothering a person or an object, one could take out an object left behind by another supernatural being and expose it to whoever or whatever was possibly affected within a certain timeframe. If there was even the slightest bit of reaction, then a supernatural being was indeed behind whatever weird thing happened.

The reaction’s strength was determined by how powerful the supernatural being that left the object was.

This was a method used by supernatural-extermination experts, who didn’t have a second self to test for damage. While it didn’t have a 100% accuracy rate, it was an effective method for proving a supernatural being’s involvement.

Chen Chuan had brought something along with him.

He took out a lock of hair, which had been left behind by the source of the Flying Heads, from his pocket. After tying it around his finger a few times, he reached into Fu Shouxin’s head.

When the man, who had brought him inside, saw him do this, he grimaced. The eyes of the other gang members also flew wide open. Only Zhuo Bao showed no reaction.

Chen Chuan waited for a while before pulling his hand out. The hair showed no reaction.

After this, he was certain that the case wasn’t related to a supernatural being. It would be impossible to find the culprit through methods used to locate supernatural beings.

If that were the case, this case wasn’t within his jurisdiction.

He put the lock of hair away and said, “I don’t think a supernatural being is behind this. If you want to find the culprit, it’s better for you to think about who you’ve offended recently.”

He picked up the Frost King Saber and started heading out. The man at the door was a little flabbergasted. He looked around and scratched his head. “Are you leaving already?”

When Chen Chuan was almost at the door, Zhuo Bao suddenly said, “Wait.”

While he was sitting, Chen Chuan had been unable to tell, but once he stood up, he found that Zhuo Bao was almost the same height as he was.

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time, and you’re leaving after that one sentence? Don’t you think you’re looking down on us?”

“I’ve already given you my answer: A supernatural being isn’t behind this,” Chen Chuan said.

Zhuo Bao beckoned to the man, who immediately handed him a cigarette and lit it up for him. After taking a drag, he exhaled. “I don’t care whether it’s the fucking Head-Splitting Monster or something else. Since you’re an expert, find the culprit!”

Chen Chuan turned to face him and said calmly, “I think there’s a misunderstanding between us. I’m not here to solve your problems, nor am I here to find the culprit for you. I’m interested in supernatural beings. The gang’s problems have nothing to do with me.”