Chapter 185: Darkness Under the Lamp

The wailing cold wind brushed across the hills. In the jungle, a dilapidated doghouse stood alone.

Jian Changsheng curled up inside the doghouse, covered by a stained blanket, tearing into a piece of bread with all his might. That was his lunch for the day.

After his uncle's relief, Jian Changsheng finally didn't have to rummage through trash cans for food. Although he couldn't be considered full every meal, at least he wouldn't starve.

He wiped the breadcrumbs from the corners of his mouth, stuffed them into his mouth one by one, picked up the water bottle on the side, took a few gulps, and let out a long breath.

"I'm alive..." Jian Changsheng muttered to himself, watching his body gradually return to normal.

[Blood Garment] is, after all, one of the core skills of the [Asura] path. After resting in the doghouse for a day, Jian Changsheng, who had been on the verge of death, had basically returned to normal. His vigorous vitality repaired his body's deficiencies, and his skin began to regain its color.

Most importantly, after several soul-shattering evidence searches, his mental power had been honed to a terrifying degree. Unknowingly, he had actually broken through the first stage and entered the second stage... From the time he stepped onto the divine path until now, it had only been ten days. Completing a promotion in such a short time was an earth-shattering existence, even looking at the entire history of Aurora City.

Jian Changsheng's confidence, which had been ruthlessly shattered by Chen Ling, finally returned a little... Sure enough, he was still a genius; he was just born at the wrong time.

Full and satisfied, Jian Changsheng's thoughts became active. He looked at the swaying forest leaves outside the doghouse and fell into deep thought.

Two days had passed since he escaped from the Star Chamber of Commerce, and those people outside should still be searching for his tracks... Although hiding in the doghouse could avoid their eyes and ears to the greatest extent, hiding like this forever wasn't a solution.

What's more, the mysterious man who saved him from the dungeon had also said—"Risk your life... show us your value, and perhaps we will give you a new opportunity."

That mysterious person had the ability to save him from the dungeon, so naturally, he would have the ability to take him away. Since the other party didn't do that, combined with what he said, Jian Changsheng could roughly guess that this was all an "assessment" aimed at him.

Whether he could join the Twilight Society might depend on his actions over these few days... Jian Changsheng didn't think the Twilight Society would be interested in a coward hiding in a doghouse for several days.

Therefore, he had to take action.

Jian Changsheng pondered for a long time and already had an idea in his heart. He walked out of the doghouse, used the blade at his waist to cut his fingertip, and a drop of scarlet blood naturally overflowed from the wound...

Jian Changsheng flicked this drop of blood toward a distant rooftop. The drop of blood broke through the air rapidly. As Jian Changsheng formed a seal with his hands, his figure disappeared instantly, and the next moment he appeared directly at the location of the blood drop, landing steadily on the deserted rooftop.

Jian Changsheng looked back; the doghouse was already hundreds of meters away, and the pedestrians on the road didn't notice anything unusual. After all, no one would look up to notice a drop of blood breaking through the air.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

This was the second skill of the [Asura] path that Jian Changsheng naturally mastered after being promoted to the second stage: [Blood Drop Top].

Unlike [Blood Garment], which brought tenacious vitality, [Blood Drop Top] brought Jian Changsheng the power of instantaneous movement. With this skill, Jian Changsheng's already impressive self-preservation ability was improved by another large margin. This was also his greatest reliance for daring to act during the day.

Jian Changsheng wore a set of tattered black clothes and wrapped most of his face with bandages, making it impossible to see his appearance. His figure kept breaking through the air following the blood drops, and soon he arrived at a bustling street.

Jian Changsheng hid in a blind spot on a rooftop, his bandaged gaze looking at the magnificent building standing not far away, his eyes narrowing slightly...

That was the place he had escaped from, and also his nightmare—the headquarters of the Star Chamber of Commerce.

Running away blindly was meaningless. Jian Changsheng chose to take the initiative. With his strength, he certainly couldn't shake the massive power of the Star Chamber of Commerce, so he could only hide here for the time being and look for opportunities... Those Star Chamber of Commerce members who were sent out to find him probably wouldn't expect that he was hiding right across from the Star Chamber of Commerce, secretly monitoring them.

Jian Changsheng's gaze fell on the entrance of the Star Chamber of Commerce, at the figures coming in and out, and he muttered to himself in his heart:

"Those few wearing gray shirts are servants of the Yan family. At this time, they should indeed be going out to purchase ingredients for tonight... The fourth young lady, Yan Liuyan, just returned. She must have been out all night again, picking up men and getting dead drunk... That long-haired one is... oh? The vice president of the Silver Moon Chamber of Commerce? Could it be that the Silver Moon Chamber of Commerce is encountering some difficulties in its operations again?"

Jian Changsheng knew these figures coming in and out like the back of his hand. He grew up in the Yan family since he was a child and knew the situation here best. He only needed to take one look at some people to know what they were there for.

Jian Changsheng hid patiently in the dark, remaining motionless until the sky gradually darkened. In the evening, the vice president of the Silver Moon Chamber of Commerce left the Star Chamber of Commerce. Just when Jian Changsheng thought he would gain nothing today, a sneaky figure walked out silently from the side door of the chamber of commerce.

At this time, there were very few pedestrians on the street, and the figure walked along the shadows, seemingly afraid of being seen by others.

Jian Changsheng noticed the abnormality of this person instantly. Just looking at the back, he couldn't tell who this person was, but he could be sure that this guy definitely wasn't doing anything good by going out... Jian Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately used [Blood Drop Top] to follow.

……

At night, a series of urgent knocking sounds rang out in the courtyard.

Chu Muyun raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Ling in surprise. "It's only been a few hours... is Wen Shilin's efficiency this high?"

"...I don't know."

Chen Ling got up and walked toward the gate.

Wen Shilin had said last night that he would solve the press card issue for him, so Chen Ling hadn't done anything all day, just quietly reading and resting in the courtyard. He didn't expect that someone would come knocking just as the sun had set.

Chen Ling pushed open the door and was slightly stunned to see the person outside.

It wasn't Wen Shilin who came, but the thug leader who had been "hired" by Chen Ling before. Seeing Chen Ling actually push open the door from this "mansion," the thug leader was also stunned for a moment, and his gaze toward Chen Ling became increasingly fervent.

Chen Ling had given them the address before, just to facilitate contact. The thug leader had followed the address and found it was a large mansion, and had doubted himself for a long time... In his impression, Chen Ling didn't seem to be very rich, and even the hiring fee had to be paid at the end.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Chen Ling asked in confusion.

"Boss." The thug leader's expression became serious. "We found something..."

……

……

Sorry, brothers. I originally planned to resume three updates a day after returning from Beijing yesterday, but I didn't expect to start coughing and running a high fever on the way back. I must have caught something in Beijing... This chapter was written while I had a fever. One chapter is already the limit. I can only try my best not to break the update... I hope I can break the fever and resume normal updates. Sorry, sorry~