Chapter 118: The Peril of the Chen Family

Chen Chuwan’s cherry-red lips fell open, and for a moment, her face was utterly blank.

The reason Jiang Yu had seemed vaguely familiar was that restrained, otherworldly aura about him. It was remarkably similar to the immortal depicted in the portrait hanging in the Chen ancestral shrine.

At that moment, she suddenly understood. In the past, whenever they passed the Chen ancestral shrine, everyone would glance inside from a distance. That portrait hung in the most conspicuous place.

That was why, upon seeing Jiang Yu for the first time, they had felt as though they were looking at someone they encountered every day.

“How is that possible? The figure in the portrait has the bearing of an immortal, while Jiang Yu is only eighteen or nineteen. It’s impossible. He absolutely cannot be the person in that painting. That portrait has hung in the Chen family for more than two hundred years, worshiped day and night by every generation.”

No matter how she looked at it, Chen Chuwan refused to believe such a theory. It was simply too shocking to contemplate.

Chen Kun gave a bitter smile. “Sister Chuwan, no one knows the origin of that portrait. Once, I heard my father say that the immortal in the painting was Grandfather’s friend. Grandfather painted it himself and hung it in the ancestral shrine so that his descendants could kneel before it and pay their respects for generations to come.”

Chen Chuwan shook her head forcefully, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her fists. Raising her voice, she said, “Chen Kun, don’t joke about the immortal portrait in the ancestral shrine.”

The atmosphere in the room gradually grew oppressive.

Chen Kun lit a cigarette. Smoke veiled half his face as his low voice sounded once more.

“Do you remember that night? Jiang Yu once asked me whether I knew someone named Chen Shanhe?”

The old friend Jiang Yu spoke of was most likely Chen Shanhe, the Imperial Overlord who had once shaken all of China—the grandfather of the Chen family’s descendants.

“Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know once we reach the Chen family.”

Chen Chuwan did not wish to discuss the matter any further. The more they spoke of it, the more horrified she became. Her heart was pounding wildly, long since stirred into a storm.

Full of questions, Chen Kun returned to his room. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, then called home.

“Hello, Uncle Chen. Does the Chen family know someone named Jiang Yu?”

Uncle Chen answered decisively from the other end of the line. “No. What’s wrong?”

Chen Kun shook his head. “Nothing.”

Uncle Chen was the oldest member of the Chen family. His cultivation had reached the peak of the Transformation Force realm, and he could step into the Grandmaster realm at any moment. If the Chen family knew Jiang Yu, Uncle Chen would certainly be aware of it.

“Perhaps I’m overthinking things.”

Relieved, Chen Kun lay back down on the bed.

…

Early the next morning, everyone washed up and prepared to set out for the Chen family.

The Qin girl had changed into another outfit. Her appearance was striking, her figure slender and graceful, and her long legs were nearly worthy of a professional leg model. Her hair fell over her shoulders, framing bright eyes and pearly teeth, while a trace of resentment lingered in her gaze.

“Jiang Yu, are you planning to keep me as your mistress?”

Her voice carried a cold laugh, and she mocked him without the slightest restraint.

Jiang Yu answered calmly, “You’re not qualified to be my mistress. If you keep prattling on, I won’t mind finding some homeless man on the street and stuffing his socks into your mouth.”

The image immediately sprang into everyone’s minds. The Qin girl shrank her neck in fright and did not dare retort.

There was no denying that, among ordinary people, this woman’s beauty was on par with that of some major celebrities. With her powerful background and alluring figure, she surely had no shortage of admirers.

Most of the women Jiang Yu knew were beauties.

That was because the majority of them were martial artists from the secular world. Their physiques were already different from those of ordinary people, and under the nourishment of spiritual essence, their figures, skin, and features became smoother and fairer.

In the secular martial world, beautiful women were far more common than in the ordinary world. Almost any woman one happened to meet would have a lovely face and a curvaceous figure.

After bidding farewell to An Ya, they began their journey back to the Chen family.

Zhou Xu arranged a luxurious sport-edition Range Rover. It was spacious enough to seat all four of them comfortably. The Qin girl became considerably more obedient. She knew that she had no chance of escaping Jiang Yu, so she abandoned those unrealistic thoughts.

Perhaps because she knew Jiang Yu would not kill her, she chattered incessantly along the way, taking every opportunity to mock and provoke him. In the end, Jiang Yu threatened her viciously, and only then did she wisely fall silent.

Chen Chuwan, meanwhile, kept examining Jiang Yu from head to toe, missing no detail, as though she intended to uncover every secret he possessed.

Unfortunately, the young man before her was unfathomably deep. His expression remained as calm as still water, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not discern his true nature. It was almost as though beneath that youthful skin dwelled a soul that had lived for thousands upon thousands of years.

They stopped frequently along the way. Jiang Yu was especially fond of the local delicacies they encountered, and whenever they came across something appealing, he would stop the car and take everyone out for a meal.

The scenery and food along the route delayed their journey considerably. Jiang Yu did not appear anxious in the slightest. Whatever he did, he moved at an unhurried pace, nearly driving everyone to desperation.

Feeling that she had been “mistreated,” the Qin girl followed behind the others, wishing she could glare Jiang Yu to death.

In everyone’s eyes, Jiang Yu was now merely a lazy, carefree young man without the slightest air of authority. How could anyone see in him the ruthless figure who had slaughtered the three great clans beside Cold Pool?

The Chen family was located in East Continent Province, where martial arts had flourished since ancient times. In bygone days, the region had been known as a barbarian land. Along the streets, boxing gyms and combat clubs could be found everywhere.

As Jiang Yu walked through the city, he even sensed the auras of several Condensed Force experts.

Compared with the northern regions, East Continent had far more secular martial artists. When blades and swords declined during the late imperial era and firearms rose to prominence, people had assumed that the number of martial artists would gradually decrease. Yet in modern times, they discovered that this community had not diminished at all. Instead, it had become a popular pursuit.

Seeing Jiang Yu lost in thought, Chen Chuwan seemed to guess what he was thinking and said, “Secular martial artists hold a very high position in society. Wherever they go, they are treated as honored guests. It has practically become a prestigious profession.”

“In an age when even a single pistol can threaten someone’s life, the power to decide life and death and face a hundred opponents alone has naturally become something ordinary people aspire to.”

Jiang Yu understood. Even so, such people remained a minority.

Not everyone could enter the world of martial arts. Countless people spent their entire lives wandering outside its gates, while those who truly managed to cross the threshold were exceedingly rare.

Every Condensed Force expert had been forged through extraordinary perseverance, wisdom, and talent.

As for an ordinary person like Professor Song, if he had not happened to come into contact with martial artists this time, he might never have discovered their existence in his entire life.

When they reached several international metropolises in Central Province, the number of secular martial artists Jiang Yu sensed increased dramatically. There was roughly one Condensed Force expert for every thousand people.

Most of them, however, were merely at the Condensed Force stage. Transformation Force masters were rarer than giant pandas, and Jiang Yu encountered only two or three.

According to the Qin girl, Nine Cauldrons City alone had seventeen bodyguard companies. Some were mercenary organizations active overseas, while others employed lay disciples who had come from places such as Shaolin and Wudang.

Jiang Yu asked curiously, “What about the secular martial artists?”

The Qin girl curled her lips. “Do you have any idea how exalted their status is? To hire a martial artist as a bodyguard, you must first prove your wealth and obtain a letter of recommendation from someone you know. The annual salary offered to a bodyguard cannot be less than five million, and that is for the weakest Condensed Force experts.”

Jiang Yu nodded. The wealthier and more powerful a person was, the greater the dangers lurking around them.

Years ago, the son of that tycoon from Hong Kong had caused headlines about the crime of the century precisely because he had not brought a bodyguard with him.

Two days later, they arrived at a county near Nine Cauldrons City. The Chen family was located nearby, in the Yandang Mountains.

Members of the Chen family had been waiting for them. Several Chen youths were gathered there, ranging from eight or nine to seventeen or eighteen years old. Among them was a young girl standing gracefully in a snow-white dress, her smooth calves exposed beneath the hem.

They leaned against a BMW convertible sports car, chatting animatedly.

As expected of a secluded clan—even the seven- or eight-year-old children possessed a faint trace of spiritual energy within them. They were still unimaginably far from reaching the Condensed Force realm, but their foundations were already extraordinary.

“Sister Chuwan, you’re finally here!”

The girl threw herself into Chen Chuwan’s arms and repeatedly rubbed her nose against a certain part of her body, earning envious looks from everyone present.

“Chen Xiao, you little minx! Where are you putting your hands?”

When facing Chen Xiao, the usually cold Chen Chuwan revealed a rare smile, her tone filled with affection.

Another young man stepped forward and said quietly, “Sister Chuwan, members of the Han family, the Zhang family, and the Black Sheep Bodyguard Company have all arrived at our home.”

At those words, the smile on Chen Chuwan’s face froze.

“That quickly? When the tiger is away, the monkeys proclaim themselves king. If my father, Chen Jianyan, hadn’t been seriously wounded, how could these clowns have dared to run wild?”

As she spoke, Chen Chuwan could not help glancing at Jiang Yu.

Ever since Chen Shanhe had disappeared and Chen Jianyan had been injured, the Chen family had fallen into decline and stood on the verge of ruin.

“Let’s go take a look,” Jiang Yu said indifferently.

Thirty years later, the Chen family was in peril.

“Old friend, I’ve come to see you!”