The sky gradually darkened.

Mrs. Chen lit the candles and pulled down the rolling shutter, complaining:

"Business is getting worse and worse; no one even comes to dine anymore."

"What more do you want? So many people have lost their jobs; earning just a little is already good enough." Chen Dawei put down the food, wiped his hands on his apron, and said.

"I don't know why today, my eyelids keep twitching, and I feel uneasy. Do you think there could be problems with our loans? If we can't recover them, we're in trouble."

Jiangnan has always valued commerce, and the underground finance scene is quite prosperous. The returns are often much higher than bank interest, and Chen Shouyi's family naturally invested their extra money into it.

"Why not go collect it on another day; losing some interest is a minor issue. In this situation, who knows when things will recover? The risk is a bit too high!" Chen Dawei said worriedly.

"If we wait any longer, it'll be too late. I'm going to take it back tomorrow." Mrs. Chen immediately said; she's always been decisive in her actions.

She walked to the stairs and shouted loudly: "Are you two going to stay in your rooms and skip dinner? Hurry up and come down!"

...

In the darkness, Chen Shouyi opened his eyes, changed into black clothes, grabbed the long sword from the table, and opened the door.

At that moment, the door next door also opened, and Chen Xingyue, with reddened eyes, walked out.

In just a few hours, she became much more haggard and also quieter.

"Brother, you…" Seeing the sword in Chen Shouyi's hand, she exclaimed in surprise.

She was surprised by her brother's decisiveness and puzzled about the sword's origin.

"There are already people watching outside. They might kill us later; are you afraid?" Chen Shouyi said calmly: "As for how I got this sword, don't ask too many questions."

"Brother, I'm not afraid. They all deserve to die!" Chen Xingyue hesitated, then said coldly.

Remembering her two tragically killed friends, tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickly turned back to her room, also retrieving her alloy sword.

...

The two of them descended the stairs one after the other.

"Why are you carrying swords?" Chen Dawei was startled to see them: "And Shouyi, when did you buy that sword?"

Chen Xingyue didn't speak.

"Dad, let's eat first, and I'll explain later." Chen Shouyi forced a smile.

Mrs. Chen, being more observant, noticed her daughter's swollen eyes and sullen face, as well as her son's forced smile and evasive words. Noticing the swords they carried, a bad feeling crept up:

"What did you do to your sister? If you don't explain, there will be no dinner!"

It's no wonder Mrs. Chen was suspicious; seeing their demeanor, anyone would think something was amiss.

What's going on here?

Even though Chen Shouyi was brimming with murderous intent, he was at a loss hearing his mother's scolding.

On the other side, Chen Dawei also became serious and asked sternly: "Shouyi, you two…"

"Dad, Mom, what are you talking about?" Chen Xingyue couldn't help but interject.

"Then why are you carrying swords?" Mrs. Chen, seeing Chen Xingyue's reaction, finally felt she might have misunderstood and became a bit embarrassed.

Chen Shouyi, with a head full of black lines, felt that without a clear explanation, there would be no way to eat dinner. He glanced at the closed rolling shutter and said seriously:

"Dad, Mom, something big has happened."

Influenced by Chen Shouyi's grave expression, Mrs. Chen and Chen Dawei felt a chill in their hearts. Chen Dawei quickly asked: "What happened?"

"A lot of people died nearby today; you should know about it!"

They immediately nodded; this matter had already spread like wildfire nearby—how could they not know?

"Xing Yue was there too, but she luckily escaped. Later, she reported it to the police and leaked information. By the afternoon, there were people watching outside." Chen Shouyi explained the situation in a general sense.

"Tonight, we must leave Dongning City!"

Seeing Chen Xingyue also nodding, Mrs. Chen became a bit flustered. Even though she was shrewd and capable, she was still an ordinary person: "How could there be such lawless people? Can't we call the police?"

"Calling the police won't help; it can only solve immediate issues, not long-term ones. They're all madmen." Chen Shouyi unequivocally rejected the idea, then turned to Chen Dawei: "Dad, is there enough gas in the car?"

"Yes, there is! After refueling last time, I haven't driven it. It can run for a few hundred kilometers without a problem."

Chen Dawei felt that he couldn't appear useless in front of his wife and children, and he calmed himself, saying: "We should indeed leave Dongning City; we must let go when necessary. The safety of the family is more important than anything, even if it means living a hard life for a while."

"But what about the people monitoring us?" Mrs. Chen asked worriedly.

"Mom, leave them to me." Chen Shouyi said calmly.

With that, he instantly drew the long sword, and with a light "zing," it gleamed like lightning. Before the others could even see clearly, the sword had been returned to its scabbard.

The next moment, a corner of the dining table suddenly fell to the floor due to gravity, making a crisp sound.

The surroundings fell into silence.

Chen Xingyue's eyes widened in astonishment. She had already sensed that her brother was strong in the afternoon but never imagined he could be this powerful.

Even she couldn't quite see how he sheathed the sword.

"Brother, are you… a Martial Artist now?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Almost there!" Chen Shouyi replied.

In such a crisis, he couldn't care to hide his abilities; the stronger he appeared, the more reassured his parents would be.

Listening to their conversation, Mrs. Chen and Chen Dawei glanced at each other, then at Chen Shouyi, feeling as if they barely recognized their own son.

"Shouyi, are you really a Martial Artist?" Mrs. Chen still couldn't believe it.

Meeting their excited gazes, Chen Shouyi nodded.

It's not quite bragging to say that; at least in terms of physical condition, he far exceeded Martial Artist standards long ago.

Mrs. Chen felt both excitement and relief; the power of a Martial Artist had long been embedded in people's minds, and each one of them was regarded as a figure above the ordinary, rare even in all of Dongning City.

She then began to worry about something else: "At that time, you must not impulsively kill anyone."

"Don't worry, Mom; I'll just knock them out." Though Chen Shouyi already harbored a killing intent, he said that to reassure his parents.

Chen Dawei snapped back to the present and hurriedly interrupted:

"Now's not the time to chat; let's eat first!"

"Yes, yes, and the luggage too."

...

The atmosphere at dinner was a bit tense; except for Chen Shouyi, no one had much appetite.

Mrs. Chen ate a few quick bites and immediately dragged Chen Dawei to pack their luggage.

It's hard to leave behind family possessions, especially since they didn't know when they could return, so they needed to take many things along.

A dozen minutes later, both of them carried large bags down the stairs.

"I've packed your clothes, Shouyi. Why is there a bow under your bed?"

"Mom, don't ask for now. I'll explain later." Chen Shouyi said, feeling a headache coming on.

Chen Xingyue noticed the oversized giant bow and the large pile of practical arrows in her dad's hands; she turned her head, sneaking a glance at Chen Shouyi as if he were a monster.

Brother, what have you been doing secretly lately?

"Mom, did you take my briefcase?" Chen Shouyi suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked.

"Yes, I stuffed it into your backpack with your clothes!"

What?

Chen Shouyi's face turned to surprise, and his scalp went numb. He immediately put down the bowl and walked quickly over: "Mom, let me handle it. Let's see if anything's left behind!"

Soon, he took the backpack, feeling it stuffed to the brim with items.

Could the Shell Lady have been crushed?

He turned away from the others, quickly opened the backpack, and began to pull out clothes from inside. Finally, with bated breath, he retrieved a severely squeezed briefcase from the bottom.

He took a deep breath and quickly unzipped it.

Seeing the Shell Lady, although pressed into a look of terror, still unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief.

"That really scared me."

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