Chapter Ninety-Three: Disappearance

As the days slipped by one after another, another half month vanished, and it was September 16.

Yet on that day, the tide of corruption did not arrive as expected. It seemed the age of rampant evil spirits was truly drawing to a close, and people could finally breathe a little easier.

Van Bei's strength continued to rise with remarkable speed. With the support of three hosts, together with the accumulation of experience, insight, and the return of spiritual power, his cultivation advanced without a hitch.

He examined his progress once more. In the world of his consciousness, the phoenix tree sapling had grown steadily from a mere hand's breadth to more than a man's height.

That pace was already astonishingly fast. Compared with Lang Sheng, who had toiled for years yet was only about half a meter tall, it was almost miraculous.

This was the advantage of starting late, the advantage of wealth and resources.

The phoenix tree's entire body now bore the texture of bronze, and some of the newly sprouted leaves had begun to show a faint silver-white sheen.

In contrast, his skill in controlling spiritual substance was also improving rapidly.

The mist armor he had refined could now do more than ward off impact and heat; it had gained the ability to resist poison, filtering and absorbing many toxic substances, including but not limited to poisonous gas and venomous liquid attacks.

Just after checking his cultivation progress, Van Bei heard the crackle of the walkie-talkie.

He answered it, and it was Housekeeper Huo on the line.

"Mr. Fan, Mr. Lin and his people suddenly said today that they are leaving. They are packing up right now, and they have urgently informed us to move as well, either to seek shelter from Lin Zhongqing in Copper Fortress, or to find Li Xing at the Silver Chamber of Commerce. Should I contact the people from the Stellar Chamber of Commerce right away?"

Her voice was full of alarm.

At those words, Van Bei was startled. What had happened?

He gave a few instructions, telling her to contact the Stellar people at once, then hurriedly got up, took Whitey with him, drove out of the shelter, and headed to the bend in the road where the Stalwart Stone Chamber of Commerce stood near the valley exit.

When he arrived, he saw people moving important belongings, while two large trucks were parked by the roadside.

Lin Zhongshi was at the entrance of the chamber of commerce, personally directing the work. It seemed his injuries had fully healed, and his face now held a trace of urgency.

"Quick, quick. Don't take those burdensome things. Xiao Zhang, help your sister Hong sort the documents."

"What's this, Brother Lin? Have I been such a poor host that you must relocate in such haste?" Van Bei asked as he stepped forward.

When Lin Zhongshi heard this, his handsome face showed a hint of helplessness and a trace of shame.

Seeing Van Bei approach to speak, he stopped what he was doing and said with an apologetic expression, "I'm truly sorry, Brother Fan. We may have dragged you into this."

"What do you mean?" Van Bei's heart tightened as he thought of Lin Zhongshi's background.

Lin Zhongshi looked around, then invited Van Bei into a room in the chamber of commerce that had not yet been emptied.

After the two sat down, he began to explain the reason.

It turned out that Lin Zhongshi had moved from the northern lands to develop on the territory of the Silver Chamber of Commerce for a rather complicated reason.

He had been chosen by some unknown existence to serve as its agent.

If that were all, it would not have been so bad. There was always something to gain from being an agent.

The key was that this unknown existence was cruel and vicious, delighting in war and slaughter. It had chosen Lin Zhongshi because it valued his fighting spirit and stubborn backbone; once granted power, a man like that was the easiest to cultivate into a first-rate warrior.

The first thing it wanted Lin Zhongshi to do was annihilate an innocent settlement. Not only that, it had even more vicious and more brutal plans for him to carry out.

How could Lin Zhongshi possibly agree to such a thing?

After all manner of maneuvering, he had no choice but to accept the terms of the Silver Chamber of Commerce, duel with his own elder sister, and obtain the protection of the great boss behind them. Only then was he able to relocate into Van Bei's Phoenix Singing Valley and live there.

That was exactly what had happened. When Lin Zhongshi had once been attacked by that existence, the strike had been blocked by the mysterious great boss.

What followed was the duel between brother and sister. Then, after more than a month of peace, just when he thought all was calm, members of his team sent on commission work brought back news: that existence had not given up. Since it could not intervene directly, it had sent three people to hunt Lin Zhongshi down.

"Those three are not my match in a direct fight. But each of them is ruthless and cruel, with no bottom line at all. I had heard their names in the northern lands before. If anyone crossed them, they would be watched day and night, and everyone connected to that person would be dragged into the matter..." Lin Zhongshi said with deep hatred.

"I see." Van Bei frowned deeply.

"Yes. We only wanted to settle in one place and manage our affairs properly. But they keep pressing us step by step, refusing to leave us any peace," Lin Zhongshi said with a long sigh. "If I had known, I should never have settled on your land, Brother Fan. I should have gone straight to the great silver city. Even though I would still have been a puppet, at least the people of the Silver Chamber of Commerce have slightly higher moral standards."

Indeed, Van Bei agreed wholeheartedly. This was an age of comparing the lesser evil, when ordinary people could only cling to life beneath the covetous eyes of those unknown beings, choosing to attach themselves to the less merciless ones in hopes of survival.

Fortunately, he was no longer ordinary. His own existence was destined to be nobler, and more mysterious, than those unknown beings.

"Uh, since you were in the northern lands at the time, why didn't you seek help from your family?" Van Bei asked.

"Alas, it's a long story. In any case, I didn't want to drag them down, and I didn't want to rely on them either." Lin Zhongshi brushed it aside.

Van Bei immediately understood. Lin Zhongshi had wanted to make it on his own, to prove to his family that their judgment had been wrong. Yet in the end, not only could he not build any accomplishment for himself, he might even bring trouble upon his family because of himself. How could he accept such an ending?

Many people leave their hometowns and never wish to return because they have fared poorly, preferring escape over facing it. Much less someone like Lin Zhongshi, a man of stubborn pride; he would probably rather die silently out there than ask his family for even a little help.

"Then where do you plan to flee now?" Van Bei asked.

"I want to settle first at the Silver Chamber of Commerce. They just lost a deputy manager, and a few days ago they sent me an invitation to go for an interview and apply for the post," Lin Zhongshi said with deep apology. "As long as I become one of that great boss's people, the power they possess should be enough to kill those three and force that existence to completely abandon the idea of targeting me. If so, Brother Fan, your safety will no longer be a problem, and in the future you can still return to this foundation."

Yes, that deputy manager's opening was arranged by me for you.

Van Bei thought this to himself. Fate truly made a jest of things, one link after another.

Two unknown beings had taken a liking to Lin Zhongshi in succession. This showed that his talent was absolutely no worse than anyone else's; it was only that some relentless overachiever in his youth had been far too good at showing off and had eclipsed him.

In truth, after all this tempering, his character and endurance were far above his sister's. If Lin Zhongqing did not have the system, her future accomplishments would most likely not surpass his.

"I see. Brother Lin is indeed a man of integrity. I hope everything turns out as you predict," Van Bei said sincerely. "I'll pack up right away and take my people to Copper Fortress nearby. It has become the territory of the Stellar Chamber of Commerce, and it is a fully enclosed stronghold. Safety should be assured."

He had already killed one Wu Zicheng before. That man was a lone operator with no backing, and the people from the Silver Chamber of Commerce had only used him to test Lin Zhongqing. He died, and that was all there was to it; no one would stand up for him.

If he were to kill these three as well, this place of his would be thoroughly marked by that evil existence, leaving him no peace day or night.

There is only a thousand days of being a thief; how can one guard against thieves for a thousand days?

He was not some hot-blooded youngster. In two lifetimes combined, he was already more than fifty years old. Of course he could not be so stubborn-headed. Besides, he no longer lived off this foundation... It would be far easier to seek shelter beneath a great tree.

Van Bei and Lin Zhongshi reached an agreement, then hurried out of the room to act separately.

As they left the chamber of commerce and came onto the road, they heard a proud female voice from the air.

"Stone, you're becoming more foolish by the day. Faced with such a thing, you don't come to me, and instead throw yourself into a pit. Foolish younger brother, have your former resolve and backbone simply vanished like this?"