Book 3, Chapter 80: Secret Python Cult’s Service

On the twentieth of May, Chen Chuan received a message from the Resolution Department asking him to head to the station for questioning.

It’s finally here, huh?

he thought.

He had thought that the Resolution Department would contact him within two days after he killed Zhao Qian, but quite a number of days had passed. Was it because they only found out about it now?

Just then, his Realm Pass beeped. When he saw that it was Ni Qianqian contacting him, he answered the call. “Officer Ni?”

“You received the department’s message to go for a questioning, right?” Ni Qianqian asked.

“I did. What are they going to ask me?”

“Zhao Qian, duh. Did you know he went missing?”

“He did?” Chen Chuan was quite surprised. He knew that Zhao Qian was dead, not that he went missing.

“Yup. They’re going to ask you about his disappearance. Didn’t you accuse him of hiring someone to assassinate you? Because of the bad blood between you two, some people in the department are suspecting you to be behind his disappearance,” Ni Qianqian said.

“I have nothing to do with his disappearance,” Chen Chuan said sincerely.

“Even if you do, it’s nothing. The evidence you provided is in our files, but those people don’t care about standing up for their own members. They only care about how to make use of it for their own benefit. They didn’t even offer you any words of comfort. Since they’re not treating you as one of their own, you don’t have to think of them as anyone of importance,” Ni Qianqian scoffed.

Chen Chuan already had an idea of what he should do, but he still asked, “Is there anything I need to pay attention to when they interrogate me?”

“Nothing. It’s not as if they can do anything to you. Let them ask their questions. You just have to answer,” Ni Qianqian replied.

“Got it. Thanks, Officer Ni,” Chen Chuan said.

Once the call ended, he changed his clothes and went to the Resolution Department’s headquarters in Martial Order District. The moment he stepped inside, he was brought to an office. The officer poured him a cup of tea and asked him a few questions in a rather friendly fashion, so the atmosphere was never tense.

In less than half an hour, he was released.

As Chen Chuan walked to his car, he said to Gao Ming, “I’m out. They asked the questions you mentioned but didn’t dive deep into them. It’s all as you deduced.”

“They questioned you so they could show that they did an internal investigation. That way, no matter who comes asking questions later, they will be able to answer them.

“Honestly, even if they had direct evidence, they wouldn’t reveal the results and target you, since they’re sponsoring you and Zhao Qian is already dead. Right now, you’re more valuable to them. When you reach the Third Limit, they’ll even pretend that this never happened.

“The Third Limit is a turning point,” Gao Ming said.

“It’ll happen soon,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

***

A middle-aged man with incredibly lively eyes stood in front of a window on a higher floor of the Resolution Department’s building. He was dressed in uniform and had a wide-brim hat. He was watching as Chen Chuan walked away.

“Director Wu, I’m sure he’s tied to Zhao Qian’s murder,” the person behind him said.

“Zhao Qian is already dead. Investigating this any further is meaningless. If he really did kill Zhao Qian, then we should be feeling lucky that we got ourselves a comrade full of potential,” Director Wu said.

“Is he really our comrade? I think he’s more likely to join the National General Affairs Bureau.” The person behind him was skeptical.

“Our comrades are people who share the same goals. It doesn’t matter which department they belong to. I can tell that he’ll return much more to the Resolution Department over the next few years than the resources we poured into him,” Director Wu declared.

The person behind him said nothing else.

“What did United Might say?” Director Wu asked as he watched Chen Chuan drive away.

“They haven’t responded,” the person answered.

“Then, it looks like they’ve decided to give up on Zhao Qian. Let’s close this case.”

Director Wu cast a glance at his Realm Pass. A photo of Zhao Qian’s head was on his screen. “Send a report to the higher-ups that we’ve confirmed Zhao Qian’s death. Then, put this on record and archive it.”

“Understood.”

***

While Chen Chuan was on his way back, Ni Qianqian contacted him. “Here’s some good news for you. The department decided to give you an extra Radiant Light session every month.”

“Why?” Chen Chuan asked, surprised.

“Carrot and stick routine, I suppose,” Ni Qianqian said with a pout.

Chen Chuan pondered over this before saying sincerely, “Please tell them to give me the stick more often, then.”

Ni Qianqian laughed at that. Knowing that she was easily amused, Chen Chuan waited calmly for her to stop laughing.

After a while, Ni Qianqian finally calmed down and said, “Anyway, let’s get back to business. The last exchange went well. Those kids can’t accept losing to you and want to win, be it barehanded combat or with weapons. As usual, if you fight them, we will pay you for it, and this time, we’ll pay more. Think about whether you want to go.”

“Okay. I’ll think about it,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

***

Ling Jianxing sat in the garden on the roof of the Arcane Palace. As he rapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair, he spoke to someone through his Realm Pass. “Yes, Zhao Qian went missing, but there aren’t that many coincidences in the world. I don’t care whether he did it with the help of medicine or whether he’s actually strong enough to do it. It just shows that he’s suited for our plan.”

He then watched a holographic image of a colorful bird flying past him before tucking its wings and landing on the ground. With a smile, he said, “Not now, obviously. It’s only when he actually reaches the Third Limit that he’ll have the right to see the truth.”

***

After returning to the dorm, Chen Chuan felt much more at ease. Zhao Qian wasn’t just a recent threat, but a continuation of the mess back in Yangzhi City.

His death meant that the curtains finally came down on this particular chapter of his life.

Still, he believed that someone had leaked his information to Zhao Qian. While he wasn’t sure of who the person was, he couldn’t help but think of someone.

He remembered Wu Ruo’s last warning, so he remained on guard.

There was also the matter with Shen Zheng’s sister. Now that Zhao Qian was dead, they should be able to find some clues about her whereabouts through his implanted Realm Pass. All of that relied on Wu Bei, though. If he couldn’t find anything, then Chen Chuan would have to think of something else. At the very least, without Zhao Qian as an obstacle, it would be easier to find her.

Over the next few days, Chen Chuan continued his daily training. Due to his assessment points going up, the university gave him access to many of the books that weren’t available to the public. Among them were records from the old era and some valuable, one-of-a-kind books. Whenever he was free, he would read them.

A day before his next day off, Mr. Ding, Cao Guiqi’s butler, contacted him.

“The young master has contacted the Secret Python Cult. Since the service is rather unique, they’ll send someone to meet you ahead of time. When will you be free? We’ll arrange a time for you to meet them.”

“I can see them tomorrow,” Chen Chuan said after giving it some thought.

“Tomorrow it is. Since it’s a day off, let’s schedule the meeting at 2 p.m.. Please drop by once you’re free,” Mr. Ding said.

“Got it,” Chen Chuan promised.

The next day, he drove to Motie Mountain in the afternoon. The Secret Python Cult’s representative had already arrived.

He was a handsome man with skin as fair as snow. His skin and neck were the only parts exposed, and Chen Chuan could see embedded lines clearly showing that he had implants. His eyes, too, were those of a snake, while his hair was tied up in a bun. If Mr. Ding hadn’t told him beforehand, Chen Chuan would have immediately thought that the representative was a woman.

The moment they met, the man introduced himself. “I’m Zuo Handan, member of the Secret Python Cult. With Mr. Cao serving as a referrer and guarantor, I will be in charge of providing our service to you.”

His voice carried with it a unique vocal phrasing, resonance, and rhythm, which made Chen Chuan think that he was a stage actor.

“I would first like to tell you that while this service has a high success rate, it’s still rather dangerous. If you aren’t careful or don’t have proper protection, you might die. That’s why we will provide you with all the information and will ask you to confirm whether you really want to proceed with the service after you’ve read through it.”

While speaking, he produced a scroll and placed it on the table before pushing it to Chen Chuan. “This is the information about the service. Please take a look. If you still want it, please sign on the scroll.”

Chen Chuan picked up the scroll, removed the knot, and opened it. It contained diagrams and words that told him about the origins of the service, as well as all the changes it went through.

Martial artists of the old era didn’t have the conveniences of the modern era, so they usually spent all their lives chasing after and fighting for secret medicine. In order to break free of those shackles, the Secret Python Cult came up with an idea of cultivating a den of unique snakes to aid with their training.

However, even as generations of cultists cultivated the snakes over a long period of time, they never achieved satisfactory results. It was only when the world moved into the new era and the Algae Sap Revolution began that they gained a breakthrough in biotechnology and perfected this form of training.

The scroll contained diagrams drawn using traditional, ancient techniques. The first was a colored diagram. It showed the progenitor of the Secret Python Cult heading into the mountains with a snake basket on his back to capture snakes.

The snakes were all highly stylized. Some were oddly shaped, others enormous, and a few even had wings. The progenitor was unable to win against them and had to fight long and hard before he could capture them.

The second picture showed how the progenitor refined the snakes. He fed them all sorts of rare medicine, gave them blood, used his own body to nourish them, and applied other methods from the old era.

The third picture showed a person being eaten by a snake.

In the fourth one, the snake was dead due to the person tearing it apart and coming out of it.

When Zuo Handan saw Chen Chuan reach this part, he said, “This is the snake metamorphosis method. The predecessors of the Secret Python Cult believed that snakes gained new life after shedding their skin. After shedding their skin eighty-one times, they would be struck by lightning and turn into dragons. If a person were to use a snake as their skin and metamorphose into it, they would gain the destiny of a snake.

“It’s just as you see. The service requires you to be eaten by one of our mutated snakes and stay inside it for a period of time to achieve the desired effects. Do you still want to proceed with the service?”