Chapter 160: Chapter 159 Qianyuan Skill (Please Subscribe)
Upon hearing Chen Fan’s words, the person’s face suddenly revealed a trace of panic and hurriedly said, "I, I don’t know."
"You don’t need to be nervous, I don’t mean anything else."
Chen Fan spoke, "I just want to ask, why isn’t the old man here? I noticed that he is always here."
"Oh, that’s it."
Upon hearing this, the stall owner immediately sighed in relief, looked at Chen Fan, shrank his neck, and said, "I just saw that this spot was nice and no one was occupying it, so I came here. As for why the old man didn’t come this morning, I truly don’t know."
"So, he hasn’t been here all day?"
Chen Fan frowned.
It shouldn’t be. With the old man’s personality, even if he knows no one will be fooled, he would still appear here against all odds, waiting for his destined person.
"Oh, is it him?"
At this moment, some people nearby also noticed the situation here.
"I remember, this person has come here several times, hasn’t he?"
"Yes, every time he comes, he seems to be here specifically looking for the old man. If I remember correctly, he came here once yesterday afternoon."
"Right, at that time he pulled out two or three hundred bucks. The old man smiled so broadly that his mouth was crooked."
"Really don’t know if the old man had some dog shit luck or if this guy is really a fool who likes being cheated."
"Probably just a fool."
The surrounding murmurs reached Chen Fan’s ears. He turned around, terrifying many of them, making their faces turn white, before they pretended not to know anything, looking around aimlessly.
"Does anyone know why the old man didn’t come today?"
No one answered.
Everyone acted as if it had nothing to do with them and ignored the situation.
It’s evident, with the old man’s temperament, his relationships couldn’t be good. He’s lucky enough not to have offended others.
So, Chen Fan directly took out 10 yuan from his pocket, raised it, and looked around, saying, "If anyone knows where the old man lives and takes me there, this money is theirs."
Immediately, the scene went silent.
Soon, a young man in his twenties raised his hand and shouted, "Brother, I know, I will take you!"
"I know too!"
A middle-aged woman, unwilling to be outdone, said, "I also know where the old man lives. I can take you there, just give me 9 yuan."
"Eight yuan! Give me eight yuan, that’s fine!"
"I know too, I only need five yuan!"
"You all!"
Upon hearing these words, the initially agreed young man nearly exploded with anger.
He was clearly the one who responded first, but this group of people is so shameless! Are they even humans!?
"Alright, you then."
Chen Fan pointed to the man who asked for five yuan.
Although he didn’t lack money, frugality is a virtue.
"Hehehe."
The man’s face immediately showed a proud smile and he reached out his hand, wanting to take the money.
"Don’t worry, I’ll give you the money when we get to the location."
Chen Fan glanced at him.
"Alright, alright."
The man grinned, "Relax, brother, the old man’s place is only a few houses away from mine, very close."
Saying that, amidst the envy, jealousy, and hatred from the crowd, he led Chen Fan northward.
The path became increasingly remote.
The surroundings also became dirtier and messier.
There were a lot more people.
"Brother, it’s just ahead."
The man smiled.
Chen Fan looked ahead, it was a shantytown with roughly hundreds of households.
The houses were low and run-down, closely connected, with door-to-door distance less than one meter, very narrow. The ground had plenty of water ponds, potholes, and corners filled with garbage.
The air also carried an indescribably unpleasant smell, making one want to vomit.
Even though they were in Song Family Castle, this place felt like another world compared to Yang Xiaochun and the others’ residence.
Compared to his own village, the difference was staggering.
At this moment, many emaciated people sat at their doorways, looking at Chen Fan with curiosity, greed, and fear in their eyes.
"Brother, when we go inside, be sure not to show your wealth, otherwise, some bad things might happen." The man kindly reminded.
Even though this is Song Family Castle, there are no guard team members maintaining order here. Even if someone dies, no one would investigate.
If Chen Fan pulls out tens or hundreds of yuan, the outcome would be obvious.
He led Chen Fan, passing house after house, finally stopping in front of one house with its door slightly open, inside was quiet.
"Brother, this is the place."
The man rubbed his hands.
Chen Fan extended his hand and knocked on the door.
"Bang bang! Bang bang!"
The sound was loud.
"Who’s there?"
A rather displeased voice sounded from inside the house.
Chen Fan slightly nodded, yes, this voice belongs to the old man.
He pulled out five yuan and handed it to the man.
Instantly, the crowd around stared with wide eyes.
The man received it with countless thank-you’s and eagerly said, "Brother, if you need to find someone else later, feel free to tell me, don’t worry, the price remains the same."
"No, just this one."
After finishing, he pushed the door open and walked straight inside.
Inside, the lighting was poor, very dim, and the smell was unpleasant.
"Who are you?"
The old man’s voice sounded again, angrier, "How can you just walk into someone’s house like that? Don’t you know trespassing is illegal?"
"Enough, you do nothing but illegal things yourself, yet you have the audacity to accuse others."
Chen Fan spoke, his gaze falling on a bed in the north, where the old man lay half-sitting against the wall.
"Young man? Is that you?"
The old man was stunned, then emotionally excited, seemingly wanting to get up from the bed, but the next second, a heart-wrenching scream echoed inside.
"What’s wrong with your leg?"
Chen Fan approached the bed, looking at the old man’s right leg.
"Nothing, nothing."
The old man’s face twisted, his complexion was deathly pale.
"Nothing?"
Chen Fan looked puzzled, "Could it be broken?"
After a while, the old man recovered from the pain and replied, smiling bitterly at Chen Fan, "Last night when I came back, I wasn’t careful and broke my leg."
"Really?"
Chen Fan scanned the surroundings.
He found broken bowls scattered on the floor, shards everywhere, and other small miscellaneous items, very chaotic.
The old man’s face flashed with panic and quickly changed the topic, "Young man, why did you come?"
"I didn’t see you at the stall, so I spent some money to get someone to bring me here. You need to reimburse me for the money."
Chen Fan said.
"I don’t have such..."
He was about to start pitying himself but froze, his eyes widening in disbelief, looking at Chen Fan, "Young man, you specifically came to find me? Did that mean... that?"
"Yes."
Chen Fan nodded, "This morning, my elder went to Anshan City."
"Gulp."
The old man swallowed hard, his thoughts racing with anxiety.
"And what next?"
Chen Fan didn’t speak, pulling out the small box the old man initially gave him from his pocket.
The old man was stunned, then self-mockingly smiled,
"So it wasn’t accepted? No surprise."
"It wasn’t that it wasn’t accepted, but there was no one there at all."
Chen Fan slowly said, "My elder said when he arrived, 601 was empty, even the door was removed. The walls at the entrance and inside were covered with debt curses."
The old man was struck by lightning, his voice trembling, "Are you saying they ran into trouble?"
"Don’t know."
Chen Fan shook his head expressionlessly, "According to neighbors, that family moved away two or three years ago, maybe to another city."
"Do you know which city they moved to?"
The old man asked anxiously.
"Don’t know," Chen Fan glanced at him, "Why, are you planning to find them?"
"No, no,"
The old man shook his head furiously, "Just asking randomly, no other intentions."
Chen Fan placed the box on the nearby table and said, "I did this for you, so it’s time for you to keep your promise and give me the two martial arts you promised."
The old man smiled bitterly upon hearing this, "Of course, I was worried about what if you came and couldn’t find me. Thankfully, those two secret manuals are in the cabinet over there, on the 2nd floor. You can see them as soon as you open it."
Following his finger pointing, Chen Fan walked over to a cabinet, crouched down, opened the 2nd floor, and indeed, two ancient manuals lay quietly inside.
He took them out, "So these are the ones."
"Yes, the first one is the Inner Power Heart Method, said to enhance a martial artist’s true qi massively; the second is an archery technique, might be just right for you. Anyway, you read it, asking me is useless as I don’t understand."
The old man looked at the manuals with a weak expression.
Chen Fan’s gaze fell on the cover of the first one.
[Qianyuan Skill]
Three bold and powerful characters.
He opened the first page, the pages were yellow, the writing neat, highly likely to be genuine.
He carefully read.
According to the pages, this [Qianyuan Skill] is a cultivation technique focused on qi cultivation and refining one’s body. With prolonged practice, not only can one enhance inner true qi, but the recovery speed would also be far superior to martial artists of the same realm.
After quickly browsing through it, Chen Fan looked at the skill bar,
[Qianyuan Skill: Completely Ignorant (0%), not unlocked, unlocking condition: Meridian Refining Realm]
Chen Fan sighed in relief.
The old man did keep his promise, giving a genuine one.
Though cultivation requires the realm to reach meridian refining, which is achievable, tonight he will reach transforming force.
Only one step away from the Meridian Refining Realm.
He closed the manual, his heart filled with anticipation for the second one, as the old man said it was an archery technique.