Chapter 286: Chapter 285: Are You That Chen Fan? (Please Subscribe)
But until now, he hadn’t received any call from the headquarters at all.
What was strange was that this person seemed to know a lot about Chen Fan. If he wasn’t from the headquarters, then where could he be from?
"No, this whole situation feels weird."
Sun Wei decided he should call Chairman Chang to verify this situation.
Better safe than sorry. If Chairman Chang confirmed that this person was indeed sent by him, it wouldn’t be too late to take him to see Chen Fan.
The two of them entered the elevator, and Sun Wei led him to a room on the second floor.
"Senior, Brother Chen lives here. Please wait a moment."
Sun Wei said with a smile, turning around to knock on the door.
"Brother Chen? Brother Chen?"
He called out a few times but got no response from inside.
"Could it be that he’s not in?"
Sun Wei knocked on the door a few more times, still getting no response.
Suddenly he slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, I just remembered, Brother Chen went out hunting this morning and hasn’t come back yet,
Senior, how about you come to my office and have a seat? I’ll give Brother Chen a call and have him come back as soon as possible?"
Sun Wei’s face was filled with an apologetic smile, but he was incredibly anxious inside.
Chen Fan was in the alchemy room doing alchemy. Even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t appear here.
So he intentionally brought this person here, hoping to use the opportunity to make a call and buy some time.
Sun Wei wondered if his acting was good enough to fool the other party.
"Is that so?"
Xiao Hong spoke and then fell silent for a moment before asking, "Then why didn’t you remember that when we were downstairs?"
"Senior, I’ve just been too busy and forgot," Sun Wei laughed it off, "Don’t worry, if you can’t wait, I can call Brother Chen right now. If he hears about this, he won’t take long to return."
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone.
It was also good to inform Brother Chen about this matter in advance, so if he didn’t know, he could contact Chairman Chang himself.
But just as he pulled out his phone, his arm was grabbed by the person in front of him.
"S-Senior?"
Sun Wei looked up, confused.
"No need."
Xiao Hong held his hand tightly.
There was no way he would give Sun Wei the chance to make a call before things were settled; otherwise, it would be easy to leave a clue. This time, if things went wrong, it would be tough to succeed again in the future.
Besides, was Chen Fan really not in the branch office at this moment?
Perhaps not.
"Sun Wei, do you think it’s possible that Chen Fan didn’t go out but is somewhere else in the association?"
Xiao Hong stared dead into his eyes, "For instance, in the cultivation room, or perhaps in the alchemy room?"
When the words ’alchemy room’ were spoken, a flash of panic crossed Sun Wei’s eyes.
"Hahaha, how could that be?"
He quickly regained his composure and laughed it off, "I’m really not mistaken this time. Brother Chen truly went out to hunt. I’m not lying when I say he is our branch’s most diligent fierce beast hunter."
"You’re lying."
Xiao Hong’s words sent Sun Wei into a cold sweat.
"Lying? Senior, what are you talking about?"
Sun Wei forced a smile, "Weren’t you looking for Brother Chen? I’ll call him right now, and you can speak to him directly."
But Xiao Hong acted as if he hadn’t heard and continued, "He’s currently in the alchemy room, isn’t he?"
"Boom."
Sun Wei’s mind buzzed.
He had been seen through? When? Was it when the alchemy room was mentioned?
"Seems like I guessed right."
Xiao Hong’s voice was icy.
Before entering the elevator, he had keenly noticed a slight change in Sun Wei’s demeanor after he inquired about his identity to no avail.
To others, this tiny change might be negligible, but not to Xiao Hong. As a Meridian Refining Martial Artist who had connected the Eight Extraordinary Meridians two months ago and was just a step away from the True Essence Realm, he missed nothing.
The subtle shifts in an Entry Force Martial Artist’s attitude were impossible to miss.
Thus, when Sun Wei knocked on the door and claimed to have forgotten, Xiao Hong had already become suspicious.
Latterly, when he mentioned the alchemy room, Sun Wei’s transient panic almost betrayed him.
Combine that with the fact that Chen Fan was indeed a very skilled alchemist, and it was only reasonable that he would spend a lot of time in the alchemy room, wasn’t it?
"So tell me, where is the alchemy room? Don’t tell me there isn’t one here."
"There is an alchemy room, but senior, Brother Chen is really out hunting. He isn’t in the alchemy room." Sun Wei responded with a bitter smile, trying to pull his arm back, but it wouldn’t budge.
The unease in Sun Wei’s heart grew stronger.
Wasn’t it normal to call Chen Fan and communicate this beforehand? But this person in front of him seemed to want to prevent that at all costs.
Such behavior wasn’t typical, was it?
A flash of frostiness came into Xiao Hong’s eyes, "I’m short on time and can’t afford to play games. This is your last chance: tell me where the alchemy room is, or take me there now, or I promise you will regret it."
"Senior, you?"
Sun Wei’s eyes widened.
This was a blatant threat!
This guy, was he really sent by headquarters? Was he really sent by Chairman Chang to take Brother Chen away?
He had a bad feeling that something would go wrong if he took this person to Chen Fan.
"You really are one to never give up, are you?"
Xiao Hong sighed, exerting a bit more force on Sun Wei’s arm, and several strands of blue-green true qi flowed into Sun Wei’s body.
"What did you do to me?"
Sun Wei was shocked, looking at his arm in terror.
Something was moving beneath his skin as if it could break out any moment. Within a split second, that something was spreading from his arm to his entire body, making its way through him. It felt like power, but the sensation was far more pronounced.
Could this be true qi?
"What did I do? You’ll know soon enough."
Xiao Hong’s lips curled into a smile.
"So, so cold."
Suddenly, Sun Wei shivered. He felt the strands of true qi turn cold as ice, freezing his blood vessels.
What terrified him most was that these cold strands moved through his body, freezing everything in their path.
Sun Wei’s body shook uncontrollably, and frost formed on his eyebrows and beard, his face turning deathly pale.
"Cold? That’s right.
Xiao Hong sneered, "Under the influence of my Profound Yin True Qi, how could you not feel cold?"
"Profound Yin True Qi?"
Sun Wei looked at him in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe that this man wasn’t from headquarters. They were all from the Martial Arts Association. Why would he do this to him?
Just because he didn’t immediately take him to see Brother Chen? But he had said he’d call first! Could this guy not wait for even that?
"Yes, Profound Yin True Qi." Xiao Hong’s face twisted with a sinister smile, "Initially, I didn’t want things to escalate to this point. If you had obediently taken me to him, I would’ve simply taken him away. But you had to play smart, so don’t blame me for this."
"Anyone who falls victim to my Profound Yin True Qi will first feel a chilling cold that seems to freeze their insides. For someone like you, merely an Entry Force Martial Artist, you’ll be frozen to death within minutes."
’What... do you... want? Who...who are you?’
Sun Wei gritted his teeth, trembling, "You’re not from Chairman Chang, are you? Who are you really?"
"Hehehe, you’re right. I’m not from Chairman Chang," Xiao Hong chuckled, "But it’s impossible for you to know my real identity."
"The feeling of having Profound Yin True Qi invade your body is terrible, isn’t it? If you want to suffer less, then quickly take me to see him."
"You!"
Sun Wei did his best to hold firm.
This guy was certainly up to no good.
Taking him to see Brother Chen would be like leading a lamb to the slaughter.
Even though he knew this resistance might be futile – anyone in the association could point out where the alchemy room was – he couldn’t betray his friend.
"So you’re still not getting it, huh?"
Feeling provoked, Xiao Hong’s face darkened, "Oh, I forgot to mention that the true qi I infused also carries cold poison. If I let it activate, your innards will liquefy, and you’ll die in agony. Want to experience that?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wei’s face changed drastically.
The thought of his organs turning to blood was enough to send shivers down his spine.
"Looks like you’ve got a brain. Now take me there."
Xiao Hong was satisfied with Sun Wei’s expression, "Once I find Chen Fan, I’ll retrieve the true qi from your body. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll just ask others where the alchemy room is."
Sun Wei hesitated, using all his remaining strength to say, "Brother Chen... really isn’t in the alchemy room." He sighed inwardly.
Brother Chen, I’ve done all I could.
I hope you’ll be able to survive this situation.
"Fine. Seems like you need to be taught a final lesson!"
Xiao Hong’s face turned vicious.
Since that was the case, he would eliminate this obstinate man.
"Are you the one looking for me?"
A figure suddenly appeared at the stairway.
"Brother Chen!"
Sun Wei’s eyes lit up before turning anxious, "Brother Chen, run! You need to run!"
Chen Fan, however, seemed unfazed, locking eyes with the masked man in front of him.
"Oh? So you are Chen Fan."
Xiao Hong’s face lit up with glee.