Chapter 1537: Letter

Jian Changsheng was gone.

He was dead drunk, so drunk that he was staggering as he walked... Before leaving, he pointed at Chen Ling's nose and said drunkenly:

"Red Heart, you just wait for me..."

"I'll definitely catch up to your footsteps..."

"When I come out of the Ancient Path of the Military Dao... I... *hic*... will make you look at me with new eyes."

Jian Changsheng had said these words eight hundred times. Every time he was serious, and every time he really did bring Chen Ling surprises... After saying this, Jian Changsheng turned and left, staggering.

The black leather jacket vanished into the night. Jian Changsheng's figure was a bit unsteady, but every step he took was as firm as a mountain.

By the time Jin Fugui returned, it was already dawn.

Jin Fugui walked over from afar with a pair of thick dark circles under his eyes, limping. He looked like he hadn't slept all night and was still acting paranoid, looking around—who knew what he had experienced last night.

When he returned and saw the mess under the bridge hole, he froze for a moment.

He subconsciously turned his head to look for someone:

"Where's Spades 6?!"

"Spades 6! Get up and clean up!"

"...He's already gone." Chen Ling's voice came from the side.

"...Gone? He... he didn't stay for long, did he?" Jin Fugui was a bit confused. He scratched his head and couldn't help but mutter, "Did I give him too much work? Was I too harsh?"

"No, it was his own reason."

Chen Ling sat up from the bed and looked around... Jiang Xiaohua was still in the dirt, and Sun Bumian was still sleeping. He seemed to be the first one awake.

"Oh... right! Lord Red King! There's something I must report to you!" Jin Fugui suddenly became serious.

"What?"

"There seems to be a ghost wall in the Tianxue Domain! I was trapped all night last night before I could run out!"

Chen Ling: ...

"Oh~ that sounds dangerous." Chen Ling patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll investigate it thoroughly."

After brushing off Jin Fugui, Chen Ling walked into a nearby alley. After confirming that no one was around, he took out a disc from his bosom... As the disc unfolded, a haggard figure appeared before him.

It was Mr. Han.

"I promised you before to set you free... Now, you can go." Chen Ling said calmly.

Mr. Han looked around, his gaze toward Chen Ling seeming a bit surprised:

"I thought you would go back on your word."

"I always keep my word."

Chen Ling paused for a moment. "However, don't say I didn't warn you... The world outside is no longer the world you know. Even if you are the leader of the contemporary Medical God Dao... you might not be able to change anything."

Mr. Han frowned slightly. He had been recuperating in the disc for so long and really didn't know what the situation was outside, but he naturally wouldn't believe everything Chen Ling said. Perhaps that was just an excuse Chen Ling used to keep him.

"Regardless, thank you to the Twilight Society for saving my life, and thank you for Mr. Chen's care during this time... If there's anything I can do in the future, I will definitely help."

Mr. Han spoke very sincerely. After all, if it weren't for the Twilight Society, he would have been a corpse long ago, and Chen Ling had indeed kept his promise to set him free. There was no hatred between the two sides; on the contrary, Mr. Han owed the Twilight Society a big favor.

Mr. Han's mental energy had only recovered less than half, but as long as he was given more time, he would eventually recover to his peak, or even prove the Dao as a Medical God Dao demigod.

When that time came, he would repay this favor.

After sending off Jian Changsheng and Mr. Han, Chen Ling was just about to leave when Liu Qingyan's voice suddenly sounded from behind:

"Lord Red King."

"What is it?" Chen Ling looked back.

"There's been an accident." Liu Qingyan's silhouette emerged from the shadows. "Just received news that one of our Twilight Society members... has gone missing."

Chen Ling's brows furrowed:

"Who?"

"Diamonds 8."

"It's him...?"

In Chen Ling's mind, the image of that young man wearing a gray classical long gown and gold-rimmed glasses immediately appeared... Chen Ling had interacted with him before; he seemed to be a ghostwriter for letters, exuding a faint scent of ink.

This Diamonds 8 was different from most other Twilight Society members; his personality was very introverted and low-key. Even other Twilight Society members rarely interacted with him. Chen Ling remembered that when he was "visiting incognito," he had followed him for two days and hadn't managed to strike up much of a conversation.

"I remember his strength was average, and I didn't arrange for him to go to the God Dao Treasury for any missions... How did he suddenly go missing?"

"I don't know. His regular contact hasn't been able to reach him for a long time. They reported him missing today, but even if my master personally used moonlight to search, he couldn't find him last night."

"Even the Gray King couldn't find him?"

Chen Ling's gaze gradually became solemn.

Although Diamonds 8 was a peripheral figure, based on Chen Ling's judgment of him, he shouldn't have betrayed the Twilight Society. If that was the case, then he had likely already...

"Where was the last place he appeared?"

"It was the meeting in the Lingxu Domain. After the meeting ended, he should have crossed the Gray Realm to return to the Cangyun Domain... But after that, he was never seen in the Cangyun Domain again." Liu Qingyan paused for a moment. "We cannot rule out the possibility that he was killed in the Gray Realm."

"The Gray Realm..." Chen Ling nodded slightly. "I'll send my subordinates from the Abyss of Ghost Mockery to look for him. If he was killed in the Gray Realm, there should be some clues left behind."

"Hmm."

Chen Ling returned to the bridge hole. Sun Bumian had already gotten up, but Jiang Xiaohua was still in the dirt—who knew if he was awake and didn't want to come out, or if he was even awake at all.

Sun Bumian saw that Chen Ling's expression was a bit ugly and couldn't help but ask:

"What happened?"

Chen Ling briefly explained the situation. Sun Bumian was a bit surprised. He had joined the Twilight Society for so long and didn't have much of an impression of this Diamonds 8, and it had been a long time since a Twilight Society member had gone missing.

Chen Ling awakened the small centipede hidden underground and gave it some instructions. The small centipede then dove into the ground and disappeared to who knows where.

Just then,

Jin Fugui, who was cleaning up the hotpot table and chairs, suddenly gave a light "huh."

He looked puzzled as he flipped over the stool Chen Ling had been sitting on. After fumbling around for a long moment, he peeled something off from a blind spot on the underside of the stool... He turned the object over in his hands several times, his expression becoming incredibly strange.

"...A letter?"

"I don't remember there being a letter stuck to the bottom of these stools when I picked them up?"

Chen Ling, who had been talking to Sun Bumian, paused slightly when he heard the word "letter." He walked forward, looking puzzled:

"What letter?"

Jin Fugui glanced at the recipient written on the corner of the envelope and blinked... then handed the letter to Chen Ling:

"Lord Red King... this seems to be for you?"