Chapter 42: Always Stirring Up Trouble

Jin Hu felt streams of blood seeping into his nose, followed by a sharp pain in his ears. Even though his entire body could harden, with eyelids tough enough to block bullets, his eardrums remained a fatal weakness. He needed no other means; the corrosive property of the Blood Prison alone bored holes through his eardrums.

Jin Hu howled in pain and, with one arm, swung a car at Gu Changqing. Gu Changqing quickly ducked, the car soaring over his head like a missile and smashing into another pillar, where it instantly shattered into countless pieces.

After hurling the car, Jin Hu glanced over and saw that Xu Sheng was motionless, his entire body dissolving into a pool of blood. Shock and horror gripped Jin Hu’s heart. What was this bizarre power? Xu Sheng and the other man had only exchanged a single blow before separating, yet now Xu Sheng was nothing but blood on the ground. The power the other possessed was beyond terrifying.

Fear and dread consumed Jin Hu, especially as he felt more of that blood invading his body. He sensed his organs melting, his innards turning to sludge. He doubled over, vomiting mouthful after mouthful of blood.

Panic clouded his mind, and he turned to flee.

“Where do you think you can run?” Gu Changqing sneered. Did Jin Hu still think he could escape at this point?

Jin Hu’s face was mottled and scarred from the corrosion, though these were minor wounds compared to the blood that had invaded his ears and stomach. His internal organs were nearly dissolved.

Sure enough, Jin Hu had barely made it twenty meters before collapsing, clutching his head, writhing on the ground, and vomiting blood in great gouts. In moments, he was still.

Xu Sheng, too, was reduced to a puddle of blood, which steadily diminished, condensing into a dozen crimson threads that flew back to Gu Changqing’s hand. Each wisp of blood was absorbed into Gu Changqing’s body and transformed into spiritual energy.

All that remained on the ground were scraps of clothing and a few scattered items.

Gu Changqing tilted his head, rolling his neck and joints until a chorus of cracks rang out. He had to admit, the speed at which his spiritual energy was increasing was truly exhilarating.

Suddenly, the clatter of hurried footsteps echoed as a group of people—security guards and residents from upstairs—rushed down to the parking lot.

The commotion had been immense, almost like an earthquake.

But the fighting was over in a flash, so by the time they arrived, the parking lot looked like a battlefield. Numerous cars were smashed into scrap metal, and debris and tires littered the ground.

In the midst of this wreckage stood a tall, imposing man, twisting his neck and flexing his bones.

On the ground, half a man was dissolving into a pool of blood.

Everyone who saw this scene was dumbfounded.

Gu Changqing cast a glance their way, his gaze sharp as a blade. The onlookers felt as if a knife hovered at their throats, unable to utter a word.

“Security Bureau!” Gu Changqing fished through his pockets but couldn’t find his credentials. Though he’d been reissued a badge after joining Chongming, he rarely carried it, usually leaving it in his car.

No matter, he thought—he was from the Security Bureau; who would question him?

The group dared not speak.

Within seconds, Jin Hu too dissolved into a pool of blood, which then surged together like a crimson python and flew back into Gu Changqing’s palm. The sight made everyone’s eyes widen even further.

The blood essence from Jin Hu was even greater—after all, he was a level-four Awakened, equivalent to someone at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refinement, nearly half as strong as a high-ranking Feather-level wraith.

Gu Changqing converted Jin Hu’s blood essence into spiritual energy, his inner reserves swelling again. The spiritual energy he’d absorbed from the puppet master, Jin Hu, and Xu Sheng now surpassed the total for the entire first layer of Qi Refinement.

As his power grew, Gu Changqing should have been elated—if not for the sight of his own red sedan, now reduced to twisted scrap.

Jin Hu was dead, but now the question loomed: would the insurance company pay, or would the Security Bureau? Someone had to cover the loss!

Raising his head, Gu Changqing saw the onlookers still standing there in a daze. He barked, “What the hell are you all standing around for? Don’t you know to call the Security Bureau?”

He strode over and tore the mangled door off his ruined sedan with one hand, then waved at a security guard. “Come here! Help me get everything out of the car!”

The car door was so warped that even a crowbar would have struggled to pry it open. Gu Changqing’s casual display of strength left the bystanders stunned.

The security guard, face ashen, glanced around and then edged over.

“Check if there’s anything personal left in the car or the trunk. Get it all out for me.”

Gu Changqing found a briefcase filled with stacks of cash, then walked over and tossed the few belongings left by Xu Sheng and Jin Hu into the bag before pulling out his phone to call Gao Wenxin.

“Director, it’s me! I was attacked by people from the Earth League!”

“Are they still alive? Of course not!” Gu Changqing grinned grimly as he looked around, his smile fierce enough to make the security guard flinch.

“Xu Sheng, and Jin Hu!”

“They probably have a few more accomplices, don’t they?”

There were three more in this group of Awakened, but Gu Changqing had no intention of waiting for them to come after him. Better to strike first than wait for trouble.

Though those three were no pushovers, Gu Changqing had powerful backing.

“They tried to recruit me into the Earth League… and then we fought!”

“It’s been a long time since anyone’s dared to act so arrogantly in front of me! Director, if they dare come looking for trouble, they clearly don’t respect you at all! Can you let that slide? Next thing you know, any random punk is going to think he can mess with you!”

“Mess with you! Right on your head! Can you stand for that?”

“We have to show them the might of Chongming!”

On the other end of the call, Gao Wenxin was rubbing her temples.

Gu Changqing had already given her one surprise a few days ago, and now here was another. He’d actually killed Xu Sheng and Jin Hu—one a level-three Awakened, the other level four, both formidable in their own right.

Especially Jin Hu—while Gao Wenxin didn’t think much of him, his strength was no small matter. The news left her a bit taken aback.

Gu Changqing never failed to surprise her. He just had a knack for stirring up trouble.

He acted as he pleased, had already clashed with the Guards before, and, judging by his attitude, Gao Wenxin wouldn’t be surprised if he started a fight with them one day.

Now he was entangled with the Earth League and had even killed two of their members.

…

After a short wait, personnel from the Security Bureau arrived and cordoned off the parking lot.

“Colleagues!” Gu Changqing flashed his Chongming badge. The officers on the scene were familiar faces—after all, the previous incident in the Garden District had also been in Qingjiang, and his own residence was here as well.

Of all the people from Chongming that day, he had made the deepest impression on the officers.

“Wraith?” one of them asked with a frown. Lately, wraiths seemed to be everywhere.

“Awakened. You handle the cleanup; Chongming will take care of the rest.”

Gu Changqing’s mind was on another issue. “And my car—who’s going to pay for it? I still have monthly installments! Get the insurance company down here!”

Once he’d given his instructions, Gu Changqing signaled to the security guard to help him carry his things upstairs, only letting him go at the door.

Back in his room, Gu Changqing examined the items left by Xu Sheng and Jin Hu.

Two small bottles released faint wisps of spiritual energy as soon as they were opened—Qi Circulation Pills, but the scent was off, and the energy content was far less than the ones he received from logistics.

Clearly, these were inferior.

Xu Sheng had left behind a dagger, only thirty centimeters long. Gu Changqing drew it out to inspect it—a sheen of blood-red light coated the blade, exuding a sinister aura.

It was a spirit weapon, forged from the remains of some wraith.

He tossed it aside; it was inferior to the Blood Sovereign’s jade blade, but perhaps he could trade it in at logistics for something useful.

Next, he picked up a metal box and opened it to reveal a human ear—an unusually large and peculiar one, studded with metal pieces.

When Gu Changqing picked it up, the severed end of the ear instantly grew flesh, attaching itself to his palm.

Suddenly, all kinds of sounds flowed through the ear into his body: the noise of cars on the street, faint whispers, though the voices were very quiet.

Gu Changqing, curious, tore the ear from his palm and pressed it behind his own ear. Once again, the severed flesh fused with the skin behind his ear.

Now he could hear the traffic outside, a neighbor’s conversation, footsteps in the hallway, even the elevator—a whole world of sound.

“So that’s how it works,” Gu Changqing’s eyes lit up, finding the object quite fascinating.

It was a bone-conduction sound receiver.

Clearly, it too was a spirit device, crafted from the remains of a wraith.

And Gu Changqing had just the use for it.

Suddenly, he found Xu Sheng and Jin Hu to have been rather generous, their gifts not small at all.

A pity, he mused, that fate is jealous of talent—these two died so young.