Book 3, Chapter 124: Trip To Old And Familiar Places

The upperclassman who saw Chen Chuan first asked excitedly, “Are you back because of the summer holidays?”

“Yes. I just returned yesterday,” Chen Chuan answered.

When the dormitory supervisor saw the puzzled expressions of the new students around them, he grinned. “This is a senior of yours. Here’s a hint: He’s the one who received the recommendation to go to Central City last year.”

Last year? Central City?

The students’ eyes lit up.

“You’re

that

Chen Chuan!”

The students became incredibly fired up, and their eyes filled with adoration.

Chen Chuan’s incident had caused a major ruckus. Newspapers devoted several articles to talking about it, and since he was the first commoner student in decades to make it to the main campus in Central City, his feats became a motivational story. The students who wanted to get into Martial Valor University saw him as their model.

While the students preparing for the follow-up exam had never met Chen Chuan before, they had constantly heard about his feats through other people and the upperclassmen, so they were all thrilled to see him.

They also felt lucky. If they hadn’t come today, they wouldn’t have been able to see this senior of theirs.

Chen Chuan smiled and said, “I hope that you’ll be able to pass your follow-up exam and have a chance to study at the main campus.”

“Thank you, Senior Chen! We’ll work hard!” The hearts of the fifteen- and sixteen-year-old teenagers lit up with fighting spirit.

Chen Chuan went up to the dormitory supervisor and asked, “Sir, are Luo Kaiyuan, Feng Xiaoqi, and Wei Dong around?”

“Luo Kaiyuan went back home for the holidays. As for Wei Dong, he has been going on missions with Wu Han lately. Feng Xiaoqi is around, but he’s busy helping with the follow-up exam registration tomorrow,” the dormitory supervisor replied.

Chen Chuan nodded at that.

The dormitory supervisor pointed up. “Why don’t you go up and wait for a bit? I still have your room key with me, and your room has been empty all this while. It’ll stay empty until next year. You can even move back in if you want to. The university management had reserved that room for you.”

Chen Chuan could understand why the university management would do that. If things had progressed normally, he would have only graduated after finishing his studies next year.

He shook his head. “No need. You should give my room to someone suitable.”

The dormitory supervisor laughed at that. “One might show up in the future, but right now, you’re the only one qualified to live in that room. The other students won’t move into your room even if you asked them to.

“Anyway, let’s not talk about these things. They’re trivial matters. You’ve moved to Central City for half a year. How does it feel over there?”

“I’ve seen a lot of things. If I didn’t go there, I would have never known just how big the world outside is, but the lights there are too dazzling. They’re so colorful that it feels like they’re about to invade my very soul. The stairs there are also really high. If I’m careless, I might just end up falling,” Chen Chuan said cryptically.

The dormitory supervisor gave a nod to that.

He could understand what Chen Chuan was saying, unlike the students around them.

At that moment, Chen Chuan took out a packaged gift and handed it over. “I didn’t manage to bring anything good back for you, but please accept this gift.”

The dormitory supervisor didn’t reject it and just grinned. “I’ll gladly accept it, then.”

Chen Chuan exchanged a few more words with him, but since the dormitory supervisor was busy, he said, “I’ll let you get back to your work. I’ll be leaving now.”

He said goodbye to the other students and left while they saw him off.

Upon leaving the dormitory, Chen Chuan thought about visiting Feng Xiaoqi, but after giving it some thought, he decided not to. Feng Xiaoqi was busy right now and was probably not going to be able to step away. If Chen Chuan went to see him, he was only going to end up bothering his friend.

It would be better to find a time and ask Wei Changan, Ren Xiaotian, and his other team members to come out for a meal.

He then walked to the parking lot.

Perhaps it was because of the strong emotions stirring in him due to visiting his former university or perhaps it was due to his good mood, but after taking a stroll around the campus, the intimidating aura he exuded became much more subdued.

After he got into his car, he drove out of the university and stopped by the road near a phone booth to make a call. A moment passed before a pleasant voice entered his ear. “Hello, who’s this?”

“Senior Sister He, it’s me, Chen Chuan.”

“Chen Chuan? It’s the summer holidays now... So, you’re back in Yangzhi City?” He Nan figured it out quickly.

“Yes. I’d like to visit you, Mr. Lei, and Xiao Ying some time. Would you have any free time?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Lao Lei will be ecstatic once he learns that you’re back. He hasn’t been busy lately, and he’s free during the next day off. You can drop by then. Remember not to bring anything with you. Lao Lei doesn’t like that,” He Nan said with a chuckle.

“Alright.” Chen Chuan then exchanged a few more words with her before hanging up.

***

Once the dormitory supervisor was done with his work and sent off the excited students, he removed the packaging of Chen Chuan’s gift and found that it was a photo album.

It had photos of Central City that Chen Chuan had taken himself. Among them were the Arcane Palace, Split Waves Valley, the city tram stations, and Black Orchid Co.’s abandoned building. At the very end, Chen Chuan had handwritten a small note.

For you, Sir.

-Chen Chuan.

The dormitory supervisor smiled at that. The photos weren’t the most precious gift, but the words were. He had to make sure to put the album away safely.

***

Chen Chuan went to a newspaper stand next to the phone booth and bought some newspapers before reading them in the car. He had become used to Central City’s swift dissemination of and search for information, which made the slow pace of Yangzhi City alien to him.

If he wanted to know anything, he had to ask professionals or specialists. The information he could glean from newspapers wasn’t complete.

Since it was almost noon and Chen Chuan had told Yu Wan that he wasn’t going back home for lunch, he found Han’s Family Restaurant. Chen Chuan took a look inside and discovered that the restaurant had quite a number of customers, which meant that business was pretty good.

A family of three was busy serving the customers. A girl of around ten years old was helping her parents. She might be young, but she moved with practiced ease.

Chen Chuan got out of the car and removed his hat before entering the restaurant.

A middle-aged man with graying temples and a face full of wrinkles wiped his hands with a cloth and walked out of the kitchen when he saw Chen Chuan. He smiled and asked, “What would you like, Officer?”

Chen Chuan checked out the menu on the wall and ordered a few dishes. Upon sitting down, he commented softly, “I heard that your beef is really nice.”

“You came to the right place. Our beef is the best. One moment.” The middle-aged man took his order and went to the kitchen to cook.

In almost no time at all, the girl came over with Chen Chuan’s order and placed his food on the table. “Are you from Martial Valor University?”

“Why do you ask?” Chen Chuan wondered as he looked her in the eye.

“I’ve seen the people from Martial Valor University before. Some of them are as tall as you are,” she replied.

“Do many of them come here to eat?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Yeah, and they all say that they’re my brother’s friends.”

As the girl spoke, the middle-aged man quietly wiped the tables without saying anything.

“I’m your brother’s friend too,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

“Really?”

“Really,” Chen Chuan replied seriously.

“Xiao Lan. Stop bothering the boy. Help me serve the others,” the middle-aged man said.

“Got it, Daddy.”

Chen Chuan took out a pair of chopsticks from the tin and took his time tasting the food. The beef was really great. It was almost like the one he had that day when he finished his follow-up exam, but this was fresher and had a lot more flavor.

After finishing his food and paying for his meal, he left the restaurant and drove out of the downtown area. As he headed north, he turned on the radio to listen to the news.

Most of the news was about the citizens’ lives, but after a while, news about the resistance group popped up again. The news broadcaster even said that the Constabulary was about to do a raid on the resistance group’s bases outside the city.

While he was talking to Nian Fuli yesterday, his uncle had mentioned that while the Blood Scars Gang and Black Orchid Co. had collapsed, the resistance group still remained, though they weren’t as extreme as before. They were also no longer active in Yangzhi City.

Instead of saying that the villagers outside the city were now the resistance group’s bases, it would be more accurate to say they had taken the initiative to arm themselves against the armed forces in the wilderness. Since the people in the city refused to protect them, they decided to protect themselves.

The Constabulary knew this, which was why they didn’t cause them trouble.

But the new head instructor was bothered by this and repeatedly urged the Constabulary to raid them. Guan Yuming was still arguing about this with him.

According to Nian Fuli, the head instructor was once part of the country’s special operations committee, so he had taken up his position in the constabulary while having a lot of power. He was also building up his own team.

After driving for around twenty minutes, Chen Chuan parked his car near a river bend. Then, he looked ahead. He hadn’t come to his old home for more than half a year, but it looked the same as before.

With the key in hand, Chen Chuan opened the door. The moment he stepped in, he saw an extra shadow on the floor, as if there was someone standing next to him.

He ignored it and went inside to grab some cleaning supplies, then went around the house. After that, he turned on the algae-fuel generator in the basement before boiling a kettle of water and brewing a cup of tea for himself. Once he was done, he took out a chair and sat down under the eaves.

It was almost August, so the weather was hot, but since there were a lot of trees and a stream in the area, it was cool under the shade.

Chen Chuan drank his tea slowly and enjoyed this unique peace.

While he had received an address from his parents, he had not visited it in Central City. He felt that he wasn’t strong enough for that yet.

If someone with malicious intent was watching him, he might end up in trouble if he went there. Now, though, he was a Third Limit martial artist. After going back to Central City, he would first gather some necessary information about that place, then go there and check whether there was anything for him there.

This place was the intersection point of Chen Chuan’s death and new life. The Chen Chuans of two parallel worlds had merged into one here. As Chen Chuan continued sitting under the eaves, the aura he released gradually subsided, and he appeared like any other average person once more. But his eyes sparkled more brightly than before.

After finishing his tea, he looked at his feet. There was only one shadow. The extra shadow he saw earlier was just a figment of his imagination.

Chen Chuan stayed in his old house until 5 p.m., then got up and put everything back in its place. Then, he cleaned up, locked the door, and left while the wind blew against the trees and the water flowed down the stream.