Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Zhao Chengying rushed to steady Chen Ji with an almost panicked expression. Chen Ji saw what looked like a hand reaching towards him and instinctively flinched away, frowning as he asked, "Who are you?"

"Chen-ge, it's me." Zhao Chengying replied instinctively, then quickly realized something was amiss with Chen Ji. He waved his hand in front of Chen Ji's eyes, saw no reaction—Chen Ji's gaze remained fixed straight ahead. His breath hitched, and he turned to Fan Sen, his face darkening as he demanded, "Fan Sen, what did you do to Chen-ge?!"

As soon as he spoke, the music in the club ceased, and the men and women present, as if by unspoken agreement, stopped their conversations and stood still.

Fan Sen held his hands up placatingly. "Hey? This isn’t my fault. His eyes were already like this when I found him... He said he was going to see a doctor."

Only a few days had passed since their last meeting. Zhao Chengying cautiously asked, "Chen-ge, what happened to your eyes?"

"My eyes are fine, it's temporary." Chen Ji frowned and asked, "Are you... Xiao Zhao?"

The moment "Xiao Zhao" left his lips, several young men couldn’t help but chuckle—what kind of address was that? Zhao Chengying had been pursuing him for nearly two years, yet the other still called him "Xiao Zhao"? So it was still just a supervisor and subordinate? Nothing more?

One of the young men nudged Fan Sen. "Looks like you botched this one."

Fan Sen shrugged, unconcerned. "I just invited him here for a meal, what’s the big deal? At worst, I’ll send him back. I’ll even get him a private flight, how about that?"

Of course, that was assuming Zhao Chengying didn’t insist on keeping him.

Yun Shaoyang smiled faintly, his narrow eyes curving into sly, upward slits, making him look like a cunning old fox. "If Chengying doesn’t want him, I wouldn’t mind keeping him around for amusement."

Fan Sen raised an eyebrow and abruptly shifted away from him. "Don’t drag me into this. I didn’t hear anything. I may be shameless, but I’d never poach a brother’s love interest... Look at Chengying—he’s acting like a guard dog. If you try anything, he’ll definitely go off on you."

When a person loses their sight, their other senses become several times sharper. Chen Ji clearly heard their conversation, though Zhao Chengying remained completely unaware, his attention solely on Chen Ji. "Yes, it’s me, it’s me."

Chen Ji asked, his face expressionless, "Is it your birthday? Did you invite me here for a meal?"

Zhao Chengying hurriedly replied, "I’m sorry, Chen-ge. My friend acted on his own—I had no idea... I’m really sorry. I didn’t know. Should I take you back now?"

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment.

System Cat: [No way, no way—You think any of these people could be your benefactor? Honestly, I think the old Taoist master must have miscalculated.]

The scene felt all too familiar to System Cat. Setting aside everything else, wasn’t this just a rich young master forcing himself on his innocent boss? There were plenty of novels like that! I’ve read plenty of those! And this is supposed to be a benefactor? What kind of benefactor is this?

Fortunately, Chen Ji had the confidence to know he could escape, otherwise System Cat was sure he’d be panicking right now!

Chen Ji also thought System Cat made a good point. If the music started again, he’d get a headache in under five minutes. He nodded. "Alright. Can you ask your friend to return my phone first?"

Zhao Chengying looked at Fan Sen, who pulled the phone from his pocket and tossed it over. "Come on, Zhao-ge, he’s here already. At least let him stay for a meal. It’s so late now—he can’t leave right now. He’ll have to wait until morning, right?"

Taking advantage of Chen Ji’s blindness, he pointed at Chen Ji and mouthed: "Rare opportunity."

He then pointed to his own eyes, signaling that Zhao Chengying could offer to get his eyes treated—everyone knew how important eyesight was. The medical resources in that small, remote county couldn’t compare to those in S City. Zhao Chengying could arrange for top specialists to consult on Chen Ji’s condition, and wouldn’t that make Chen Ji owe him one?

Seeing his gestures, Zhao Chengying hesitated. Chen Ji watched them impassively, his phone vibrating incessantly in his hand. Zhao Chengying, about to speak, noticed the vibrations and said, "Your phone’s ringing."

He glanced at the screen, which showed the name "Zhang Cheng," and asked, "Want me to get it?"

Chen Ji indifferently let him press the answer button. As soon as he heard the word "Hello," he took the phone and held it to his ear. "Brother Zhang, what is it?"

Zhang Cheng had called on video, and in that brief moment, he had seen enough to understand the situation. "Hey, Xiao Chen, what’s going on? Why aren’t you home? Someone said they saw you being taken away. Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Chen Ji replied, "It’s nothing. A friend invited me to a birthday dinner. Another friend happened to be in the area, so they brought me along."

Zhang Cheng: "Alright, then come back soon. The one at your house is waiting for you. If you don’t return soon, they’re gonna lose it."

Chen Ji paused. Zhang Cheng was revealing a lot. "I’ve only been gone a day."

Zhang Cheng: "You’re not even in Y Province anymore."

"I see. We’ll talk later." Chen Ji hung up. The young men had been quietly listening to his conversation, and based on what they heard, they were now looking at Zhao Chengying with amused expressions.

—Sounded like there was someone at home.

Zhao Chengying opened his mouth, his throat too dry to speak. Before he could speak, Chen Ji said, "Happy birthday. I’ll be going now."

With that, he stood up and headed for the door—alright, he couldn’t stay here any longer. He needed to find a safe place to spend the night as soon as possible. The "one at home" Brother Zhang mentioned definitely wasn’t Chang Xu. If the Mountain Lord went crazy, he wasn’t sure whether it would target the people around him, but he’d be target number one.

He didn’t want to die, and he had no idea how much power the Mountain Lord still possessed. So he needed to find a place that could suppress it—a Taoist temple, a Buddhist monastery, anywhere with a real spiritual power. He could hide there for the night and avoid this crisis.

Maybe the benefactor the Elder Taoist Master mentioned was these young men bringing him to S City, where he could find a way to suppress the Mountain Lord?

"Who said you could leave?" Suddenly, a leg stretched out—it was Yun Shaoyang. Chen Ji saw it but pretended to be unaware, staggering as if tripped. Zhao Chengying grabbed his arm from behind, though it was unclear whether to steady him or stop him from leaving.

Chen Ji suddenly couldn’t help but laugh—he found it ridiculous. He felt like he had become some kind of prized object.

Zhao Chengying glared angrily at Yun Shaoyang before saying, "You can’t see, Chen-ge. Don’t push yourself. Let me get you a room to rest in, alright?"

Chen Ji tried to shake off his arm, but Zhao Chengying held on tightly. Chen Ji looked up, his unfocused eyes appearing unusually dark as they stared straight at him, though his tone remained gentle. "Xiao Zhao, I have things to do. You can just see me downstairs... and help me call a taxi."

"Chen-ge," Zhao Chengying insisted, "You can’t see. It’s dangerous for you to be alone in S City. Let me get you a room to rest in first, alright?"

"No need." Chen Ji asked, "Are you planning not to let me leave?"

Zhao Chengying dropped his arm like it was hot. Having worked with Chen Ji for nearly two years, he knew his temperament well. The more polite Chen Ji was, the more distant he actually felt. The last time Chen Ji spoke to someone in this tone, that person soon got cut out of his life.

Feeling his arm released, Chen Ji nodded. "No need to see me out."

A nearby server glanced at Zhao Chengying, who pointed at someone. "Please take him downstairs and help him call a taxi."

The server quickly agreed and hurried after Chen Ji, politely offering his arm for support. With someone guiding him, Chen Ji no longer needed to pretend to stumble and smoothly entered the elevator.

The elevator descended rapidly. Only then did System Cat speak: [I thought you wouldn’t be able to leave... I’ve already searched for nearby temples and Taoist monasteries for you. Should we go to the most famous one or the closest one?]

Chen Ji thought for a moment: [Plot a route to the most famous one, passing by as many other places as possible along the way.]

System Cat: [OK, I’ve already placed a ride-hailing order for you.]

It paused: [Actually, I don’t really understand. That Mountain Lord thing is probably similar to a ghost immortal—there’s no way you can defeat it. Since you’re doing fine in the temple anyway, if you really can’t bear to leave that dumb tiger, just keep it outside! The Mountain Lord can’t do anything to it anyway.]

So why did Chen Ji insist on leaving the mountain when he could have stayed? Why did he obediently follow those people onto the plane when he could have shaken them off beforehand? And now, knowing the Mountain Lord had gone mad, he found himself in such a difficult situation—one misstep, and Chen Ji could die.

Was it really necessary? Chen Ji clearly understood everything... So why was he doing this?

Chen Ji smiled: [I like Chang Xu.]

System Cat retorted: [You like him, so you’re planning to die with him for no reason?]

Chen Ji smiled without answering.

Ding—the elevator arrived. The server walked ahead and glanced back at Chen Ji—no wonder Young Master Zhao was so taken with him. He was truly beautiful to the core.

The club’s doors swung open, letting in a cold breeze. The server asked, "We’re outside now. Shall I help you call a taxi?"

window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: '6909b82653c30418d8ca4f40', id: 'pf-17365-1'}) It was rare for anyone to hail a taxi from the club, but the staff sometimes did so when working late. The server led Chen Ji to a relatively remote intersection. "Shall I see you into the car?"

Chen Ji had no intention of involving the innocent waiter: "No need, you can head back. I won't have any problems alone."

He even cracked a joke: "Ordinary people wouldn't target someone like me, a disabled person, right?"

The waiter couldn't help but laugh along, then quickly suppressed his smile—what a dark joke.

After bidding farewell to Chen Ji, he turned and left. Actually, he didn't go far; he watched from not too far away, afraid that if something really happened to Chen Ji, he'd be in deep trouble.

Shortly after, a car pulled up from down the street. The model made it clear it wasn't a ride-hailing car. Several men in black suits jumped out, and without a word, dragged Chen Ji into the car. The waiter, startled, instinctively ran towards Chen Ji's direction, but after just a few steps, he realized it was wrong; he should immediately call his superiors to inform Young Master Zhao that his person had been taken.

Just as he took out his phone, it was snatched away by someone. A man in a blue suit stood beside him, handing him a paper bag. The waiter looked down and saw it contained three stacks of hundred-yuan bills.

The man in the blue suit glanced up towards the surveillance camera, made a gesture, and then said with a smile, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Just pretend you didn't see anything."