Chen Chuan’s brows furrowed tightly.
Ji Siyu had been kidnapped.
And the target was clearly him.
In this Black Rock City, the only person he had recently offended was Zhang Yunfeng.
Besides him, Chen Chuan couldn’t think of anyone else who would resort to such low-handed methods.
The danger of going there was unknown; the opponent had set a trap and likely intended to take his life.
Was it worth risking his life for a wife who was usually as cold as frost toward him?
Chen Chuan felt conflicted.
But if he didn’t go, wouldn’t that be too heartless?
After all, they were husband and wife.
And the reason Ji Siyu was so cold toward him was mainly that he had been too much of a bastard and scum in the past.
"I’ll go take a look," Chen Chuan finally made his decision.
"If it’s within my capability, I’ll save her. If the trap is too dangerous, then she can’t blame me."
He took a deep breath and, without further delay, hurried alone toward the ruined temple ten miles outside the west gate, as directed in the letter.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned ruined temple in a desolate area west of the city.
Ji Siyu slowly woke up and immediately found her hands bound.
She looked around and saw three men with lecherous gazes eyeing her maliciously, their mouths spewing foul and unbearable language.
An unprecedented surge of fear instantly gripped Ji Siyu’s heart.
She wasn’t afraid of death, but she feared something far more humiliating than death.
She forced down the panic in her heart and struggled to maintain a facade of calm. Her cool voice rang out in the ruined temple:
"Who are you? If you’re after money, release me. The Ji Family can give you a reward far exceeding what your employer paid."
She paused and deliberately emphasized her tone:
"I am Ji Siyu, the legitimate daughter of the Ji Family of Black Rock City."
"If anything happens to me here today and the matter is exposed, you won’t have it easy either."
Hearing this, the three kidnappers exchanged a look. The leader, a man at the Ninth Level of Martial Dao, sneered:
"Young Miss Ji, save your breath."
"We know your identity very well. Our employer already gave instructions. We brothers only want money, not beauty, and we certainly don’t dare take your life."
"Our target, from beginning to end, has only been that trash husband of yours, Chen Chuan."
"As long as you cooperate obediently, once he arrives, we will naturally let you leave."
Hearing Chen Chuan’s name, Ji Siyu’s heart sank abruptly.
The target is Chen Chuan?
Could it be?
An absurd and chilling thought uncontrollably surged into her mind.
Could this be a play directed and acted by Chen Chuan himself?
Deliberately finding people to kidnap her, then having himself heroically appear to save her, all to win her favor and restore his long-gone image?
If that were truly the case, then Chen Chuan was truly despicable and shameless to the extreme.
Ji Siyu sneered even more in her heart, and the frost on her beautiful, transcendent face grew even thicker.
In her view, Chen Chuan was trash; if the three of them wanted to kill him, they didn’t need to kidnap her, Ji Siyu, at all.
So she felt this was just an act.
Except this act was full of holes...
Outside the ruined temple, Chen Chuan arrived quietly.
He didn’t rush in blindly but stopped at a distance.
He closed his eyes slightly, then suddenly snapped them open. Deep within his pupils, profound runes seemed to flash and vanish.
Eye of Wisdom!
Activate!
The walls of the ruined temple seemed to become transparent in his eyes, and the situation inside became clearly visible.
Three kidnappers; two of them had blood-qi intensity around the sixth level of Martial Dao.
The leader had a thick aura, clearly possessing a cultivation at the Ninth Level of Martial Dao.
And Ji Siyu, who was bound to the side, seemed to have suffered no substantial harm other than being frightened.
Chen Chuan quickly calculated in his mind:
"Three people, two at the sixth level, one at the ninth level."
"I am now at the Ninth Level of Martial Dao. Even if I can’t win, retreating in one piece should be no problem."
Having confirmed the risks were manageable, Chen Chuan no longer hid his presence. He stepped out from his hiding place and walked straight to the entrance of the ruined temple.
"I’m here."
He spoke calmly, his voice breaking the dead silence of the wasteland.
The people inside the temple all looked over at the same time.
When Ji Siyu saw that Chen Chuan had actually come alone, a flash of extreme surprise crossed her beautiful eyes, which was then covered by that ’as expected’ suspicion.
She watched coldly without saying a word, wanting to see how this play would continue to be performed.
"Heh, Young Master Chen, you’re quite a man of your word."
The kidnapper leader at the Ninth Level of Martial Dao grinned savagely.
Chen Chuan’s gaze swept over the three as he asked directly, "What is your purpose? Who sent you?"
"Purpose? Naturally, it’s to take your life!" The kidnapper leader waved his hand impatiently. "As for who sent us, you’re a dead man; there’s no need to know so much."
Chen Chuan’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Ji Siyu. "Since the target is me and has nothing to do with her, let her leave first."
The kidnapper leader seemed to have expected him to say this and chuckled. "Fine, the employer didn’t say we should make things difficult for Young Miss Ji. Young Miss Ji, please."
They were actually letting her go so readily?
Ji Siyu’s conviction that this was an act became even firmer.
She shook her wrists free as they were untied.
She stood up and didn’t even spare Chen Chuan a glance, as if he were merely an insignificant stranger.
She walked straight out of the temple with decisive steps, without the slightest lingering attachment.
Watching her cold back disappear into the wild grass without a single backward glance, a bitter smile couldn’t help but appear at the corner of Chen Chuan’s mouth.
He knew Ji Siyu disliked him, but he hadn’t expected her to loathe him to such an extent that she was unwilling to give even half a shred of concern.
Husband and wife for a time, yet so cold-hearted.
Once Ji Siyu’s figure had completely vanished, the playful expressions on the three kidnappers’ faces instantly turned into savage Killing Intent.
"Kid, die!"
The three acted with great coordination, striking simultaneously. Sword shadows and blade lights, carrying chilling Killing Intent, attacked Chen Chuan from three different directions.
Although Chen Chuan was prepared, these three kidnappers clearly did this kind of killing and looting often; their combat experience was extremely rich, and their coordination was seamless.
The two kidnappers at the sixth level of Martial Dao were responsible for flanking and harassing.
The true killing move came from the fierce assault of the leader at the Ninth Level of Martial Dao.
Chen Chuan pushed his Ninth Level of Martial Dao cultivation to the limit, his fist winds whistling as he barely managed to defend.
However, two fists are no match for four hands. Under the coordinated siege of the three, he was soon covered in wounds.
With a tearing sound, his sleeve was slashed by a blade, drawing a trail of blood.
Immediately after, his back took a hard punch. A sweetness rose in his throat, and he almost spat out blood.
In just a short time, Chen Chuan’s clothes were torn and he was covered in blood, looking incredibly disheveled.
"Hehe, kid, stop struggling! Just die obediently, and your grandpa here might give you a quick end!"
Seeing victory in his grasp, the kidnapper leader laughed triumphantly.
Chen Chuan’s eyes were cold, and his mind raced.
With conventional means, it would be impossible to end this well today.
He couldn’t hide it anymore!
"Pay-to-win system, consume one hundred thousand gold tickets to increase the concentration of the Primordial Purple Radiance Ancestral Dragon Bloodline!" Chen Chuan chanted in his heart.
[Ding! Consumed 100,000 gold tickets. Primordial Purple Radiance Ancestral Dragon Bloodline concentration increased to 10%.]
A terrifying power, several times more vast than before, erupted from the deepest parts of Chen Chuan’s body like a slumbering ancient dragon awakening.
"Roar!"
A low, dragon-like roar escaped from Chen Chuan’s throat.
Under the impact of this power, the already tattered clothes on his upper body instantly disintegrated into fragments.
Following that, scales that were crystal clear and emitted a faint white-gold luster emerged from under his skin at a visible speed.
A wild, domineering, and peerless aura swept through the entire ruined temple.
"What?"
The three kidnappers were stunned by this sudden change.
Feeling the Soul-shuddering aura emanating from Chen Chuan, their faces were filled with terror.
After stimulating his Bloodline Power, Chen Chuan felt his body filled with infinite strength, and the injuries he had sustained previously seemed to have lessened by more than half.
His gaze turned cold, and his figure flickered like a ghost.
Bang!
Bang!
Crack!
With his speed and power surging, the battle instantly became one-sided.
The two kidnappers at the sixth level of Martial Dao didn’t even see Chen Chuan’s movements before their heart vessels were shattered by fists imbued with dragon power, and they fell dead.
The kidnapper leader was terrified and fought back desperately, only to have his throat crushed by Chen Chuan’s claw.
Looking at the three corpses on the ground, the white-gold dragon scales on Chen Chuan’s body slowly faded away.
That powerful sense of strength receded like a tide, replaced by a severe sense of weakness and pain throughout his body.
He panted heavily and slapped his forehead in annoyance. "Damn it, I forgot to leave one alive for questioning."
After dealing with the three, dragging his scarred body, Chen Chuan finally returned home.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, he saw the hall brightly lit by candles.
Ji Siyu was sitting there with a cold expression, gracefully sipping tea.
She was perfectly unharmed from head to toe, with not even a strand of hair out of place, as if that heart-stopping kidnapping had never happened.
Seeing her like this, and then thinking about how he had fought a bloody battle and nearly lost his life for her, while this woman didn’t care at all and didn’t even have a word of greeting.
The anger and disappointment accumulated in Chen Chuan’s heart finally became uncontrollable.
He walked into the hall, staring straight at Ji Siyu’s cool and transcendent face, his voice hoarse and carrying a hint of suppressed pain:
"Ji Siyu, do you hate me that much? So much that even though I might have died because of you, you didn’t even deign to give me a single glance when you left?"
"Is there really not even a shred of husband-and-wife sentiment between us?"
Ji Siyu put down her teacup and raised her eyes. Her gaze was as cold as a blade, carrying undisguised disgust:
"Chen Chuan, stop this nauseating act of yours."
"Those three people—didn’t you find them to act in a play with you?"
"Using such a childish and ridiculous method just to win my sympathy and restore your image?"
"I’m telling you, it’s impossible!"
"There has never been any marital affection between us—not before, not now, and certainly not in the future."
"Doing this only makes me find you even more disgusting and loathsome."
Every word pierced the heart; every sentence was like a blade.
Chen Chuan was stunned.
He looked at Ji Siyu’s certain and contemptuous expression, and suddenly, all the words he wanted to use to explain were blocked in his throat.
He only felt a bone-chilling coldness spread from the bottom of his heart, accompanied by a sense of immense absurdity and self-mockery.
So she had always thought this way.
So in her heart, he wasn’t just trash, but such a contemptible scoundrel.
The color drained from his face, finally turning into a smile that was incomparably desolate yet relieved.
He nodded, his voice low and devoid of any emotion. "So that’s how it is. I understand."
After saying that, he didn’t look at Ji Siyu again.
Dragging his scarred body, he silently turned, walked back to his room, and gently closed the door.
The sound of the door closing wasn’t loud, but it was like an invisible barrier, completely separating two worlds.
Ji Siyu looked at his slightly staggering back and the closed door, and a strange feeling inexplicably flashed through her heart.
But it was soon covered by her inherent prejudice and aloofness.
"Hypocrite!"
She snorted coldly and also got up to return to her own room.
The next morning, Ji Siyu went to Qingyun Academy as usual.
On the way, she vaguely heard several early-rising passersby discussing in low voices.
"Have you heard? In that abandoned ruined temple ten miles west of the city, three people died."
"Yeah, their deaths were gruesome. I heard it was like they were torn apart by some wild beast."
"The officials have all gone there. Who knows who did it?"
Ji Siyu’s footsteps came to a sudden halt, and a storm of shock surged in her heart.
The ruined temple?
Three people died?
Could it be that those three kidnappers from last night really died?
It wasn’t an act?
An unbelievable thought surfaced in her mind.
Were those three killed by Chen Chuan?
But isn’t Chen Chuan a piece of trash who can’t Cultivate?
How could he possibly kill three vicious kidnappers?
Those were kidnappers with Martial Dao cultivation.
But if it wasn’t him, who else could it be?
Could there really have been a third party involved?
All sorts of doubts instantly filled her mind.
She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately unable to suppress the shock and doubt in her heart, she turned and walked quickly toward the ruined temple west of the city.
She had to go and confirm it for herself.
When she arrived at the ruined temple, the government bailiffs had already set up a cordon, and there were some commoners around watching the commotion.
Ji Siyu saw the situation inside the temple.
The three corpses lying on the ground were indeed the three kidnappers who had kidnapped her yesterday.
Their deaths were extremely gruesome, as if they had undergone an incredibly brutal battle.
At this moment, Ji Siyu froze on the spot, and for the first time, intense upheaval and confusion appeared in her cool eyes.
"Could it be that I really wronged him?"
She looked at the three corpses and thought back to Chen Chuan’s appearance yesterday—covered in wounds, returning in such a disheveled state—and his final bitter and desperate gaze.
A clear answer seemed to be on the verge of emerging.
She stood there in silence for a long time, letting the cool morning wind blow against her sleeves and hair.
"I’ll ask him clearly when I go back tonight."
She pursed her lips and made a decision in her heart.
For the first time, because of that husband she had always regarded as trash, that cool face was tinged with a complex and indefinable color.