Chapter 76: Chapter 75 He Ziyun

"Oh?" He Ziyun was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected Ling Chen to make such a choice. "On this chessboard, the 'pawn' has the lowest status, and its abilities are limited. It risks its life only to serve others, without any freedom. Why would you choose it?"

"Mr. He, sometimes you need to look at things from a different perspective. Although its status is not high, it bravely moves forward, and whoever stands in its way meets their end. It is capable of slaying both gods and Buddhas; nothing can stop its advance. Given the right opportunity, it can still become a 'General', ending the game. The most important thing is, it never backs down."

Hearing this, He Ziyun’s eyes gleamed, and he looked at Ling Chen thoughtfully, a faint smile appearing on his wrinkled old face. "You’re right; I’ve learned something new. You just said that was the old you, so what about now?"

"Now..." Ling Chen thought for a moment, then pointed to the 'chariot' on the chessboard, "Now I should be like it, advancing and retreating at will, unbridled, without any restraint."

He Ziyun nodded, then abruptly changed the subject: "Are you curious about the origins of those people from last night?"

Ling Chen shrugged nonchalantly, "Mr. He, you have the right to choose whether to speak or not, and I have the right to choose whether to listen or not. I admit I’m curious, but I don’t want to meddle too much."

"But you’ve already interfered. Last time, those people kidnapped Little Hua, and it was you who took action to save her, foiling their operation. And last night, it was you again who helped, resulting in their failure. Regardless of what you think, those people will definitely target you and consider you one of the Qingyun Martial Arts Hall."

Ling Chen couldn’t help scratching his head. Whether it was rescuing Little Hua or what happened last night, both incidents were somewhat coincidental; since he came across them, he couldn’t just ignore them. If those people considered him an enemy, there was nothing he could do.

"Mr. He, let’s not talk about the other things for now; I am actually quite curious about something else."

"What is it?"

"Last night I killed six people." As he said this, Ling Chen stared directly into He Ziyun’s cloudy old eyes, hoping to detect some subtle changes.

"I know." He Ziyun’s tone was bland, his eyes showing no fluctuation.

"Don’t you find that strange?"

"Strange? Strange that you could kill so many people and still seem so normal? Or strange about your friend?" He Ziyun smiled slightly, speaking meaningfully: "Ling Chen, there are many things in this world that don’t need to be delved into deeply; you’ll naturally understand when the right time comes. Do you get my meaning?"

"I understand."

How could Ling Chen not understand? This old fox spoke so much nonsense just to tell him, "Don’t ask now; even if you do, I won’t tell you."

Meanwhile, in another bedroom within the Martial Arts Academy.

Tang Yuan was sitting on the toilet in the restroom, reporting the situation to someone on the phone.

"Boss, this is what happened. The identities of those people are still unclear, but they seem to have considerable influence. With such a group suddenly appearing in the country, I thought it was necessary to report to you."

"I’ll have someone investigate this matter; don’t worry yourself with it too much, focus on completing your mission. By the way, what’s the name of the master of Qingyun Martial Arts Hall?"

"According to Ling Chen, it seems to be He Ziyun."

"He Ziyun? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before... Wait!" The tone of the person on the phone changed suddenly, their voice rising several degrees, "Are you sure his name is He Ziyun?"

"Yes."

"It can’t be a coincidence, could it actually be him?" The person on the other end mumbled to themselves.

Tang Yuan couldn’t help asking, "Boss, do you know who he is?"

"He is... Why am I telling you this? Don’t ask what you shouldn’t; just do your job. That’s it, I have other matters to attend to; I’m hanging up now."

As the call ended, in a secret underground base located on the outskirts of Beijing, a middle-aged man with an average appearance and a crew cut, about thirty or forty years old, pocketed his phone and quickly entered an elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, two red beams of light projected from the top of the elevator, scanning the middle-aged man’s body. After over ten seconds, the red light disappeared, and an instrument slowly extended from the elevator button panel.

The middle-aged man leaned his head forward, aligning his retina with the instrument’s center, while also pressing his thumb onto the fingerprint scanner. Shortly after, the screen displayed the words "Identity Confirmed."

Pressing a button, the elevator began to descend slowly, all the way down to the fifth sub-level.

Exiting the elevator, the middle-aged man dashed to an office without even knocking and shoved the door open to enter.

Inside the spacious and bright office, a man in his sixties, with nearly white hair, was sitting at his desk processing documents. Seeing the middle-aged man hastily barging in, the older man frowned slightly, set down his pen, and said with clear displeasure, "Han Bing, how many times have I told you to knock before entering? Why are you acting just like that brat Ling Chen, with no manners at all?"

The middle-aged man named Han Bing gave a wry smile, "General, save your lectures for later. I have something much more important to report."

"What is it?"

"Tang Yuan has found He Ziyun’s whereabouts in East Sea City."

"What?" The older man stood up sharply, pressing his hands on the desk and leaning forward, enunciating every word, "Even though I’m quite old, my ears still work well. If I heard you correctly, you just mentioned He Ziyun?"

"General, it is indeed him."

The older man pondered for a moment, "We have never mentioned He Ziyun in front of the team members. How could Tang Yuan know of his identity?"

"The matter is complicated. To be precise, it has a lot to do with Ling Chen."

"Ling Chen? How did that kid get involved? Hmph!" The older man said irritably, "That rascal is trouble wherever he goes. Spill it, what exactly happened?"

Well aware of the General’s temper, Han Bing did not dare to dilly-dally and promptly recounted what Tang Yuan had told him.

The older man listened and then slowly settled back into his chair, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the desk, creating a 'tap tap' sound.

"Han Bing, what do you make of this matter?"

"General, since those people have gone to Mr. He, I’m afraid... I’m afraid it’s connected to the past."

Hearing this, the older man heaved a sigh, "I never thought that after all these years of hiding, we couldn’t avoid it. I thought we had completely eradicated that power back then. I didn’t expect it to resurface."

"General, now that the situation is clear, should we get involved?"

The older man pondered for a while, then waved his hand, "No need for now, just keep a close watch. Besides, isn’t that rascal Ling Chen in East Sea City? Since he has formed a relationship with He Ziyun, he won’t be able to stay out of it even if he wants to." Saying this, he couldn’t help but laugh, "Last time, that brat wouldn’t heed my plea to stay and insisted on leaving the service. It aggravated me so much I couldn’t sleep for days. Now look, after all his struggling, he’s still fallen into the pit."

...

"Achoo!"

Ling Chen touched his nose; in this scorching heat, why was he suddenly sneezing?

As he was wondering, his phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

He pulled out his phone and hurriedly answered the call, "Hello, President Liu, what brings you to call me today?"

"Ling Chen, I have a favor to ask of you." Liu Xiyao’s voice was as pleasant as ever.

"Tell me, I’ll help if I can."

"I’ve received an invitation to a dinner party, but I can’t make it back to East Sea City since I have work that isn’t finished here. You’re a shareholder of the club; it’s just as good if you represent me."

"That..." Ling Chen hesitated.

"It’s just a formality; it won’t take much time."

"Since you put it that way, then okay, send me the time and place, and I’ll be sure to attend."

"One more thing, don’t forget to prepare a suit since it’s a formal occasion; you can’t be too casual. If you don’t have one, go buy a new set, and I’ll reimburse you later."

"Okay, no problem."