"Sister Zhong, something happened tonight." Su Xuan began after his call with Zhong Huilan connected. "That guy who escaped from you came to kill me, and he brought an old man with him."

He proceeded to give Zhong Huilan a detailed account of the evening's events, though he naturally omitted many of the more sensitive details.

When she heard that Su Xuan had nearly defeated the old man in the traditional jacket, only for him to escape, Zhong Huilan couldn't help but say, "What a pity."

"Sister Zhong, they aren't ordinary figures from the martial world. Their skills are unbelievably formidable. If you run into them, be careful," Su Xuan warned her, before adding something that left her silent for a long time. "Sister Zhong, if I kill those two, is there a bounty on them?"

He asked tactfully. At first glance, it sounded like he was offering to help Zhong Huilan. But wasn't he also looking to solve his own problems? He couldn't search for Alice with peace of mind until those two were dealt with. He refused to just sit back and wait for them to strike again; he had to be proactive.

"There is!" Zhong Huilan said after a long pause. "But you must be extremely careful. Don't let anything happen to you!"

"How much is their bounty?" Su Xuan asked.

"..."

Su Xuan laughed. "We'll talk about it later. I'm going to sleep."

After hanging up, Su Xuan looked down at the object in his hand. It was the dashcam from his car. If everything went as expected, it should have captured Wei Junhao and the old man, since they had been circling the vehicle looking for him. He turned it on and checked. Sure enough, images of the two men were there.

He transferred the images to his phone, immediately forwarded them to Chen Yuesheng, and then gave him a call.

"I need to find these two people. Do you have a way?" Su Xuan asked.

"Finding people couldn't be simpler," Chen Yuesheng said confidently. "Our security system has facial recognition. Many businesses and countless surveillance devices on the streets are purchased from our company. As long as they're on the network, our servers can connect to them remotely." He paused before continuing, "Brother Su, if those two dare to walk around outside and get caught on one of our cameras, I'll be able to find them the moment they're spotted!"

"Great!" Su Xuan felt a wave of relief. "Thanks for your help."

"Brother Su, let me ask," Chen Yuesheng said, his voice laced with concern. "Did these two cause trouble for you? Do you want me to just have them captured and brought to you?"

"No, that's not necessary." Su Xuan felt a surge of gratitude. Chen Yuesheng truly was a loyal friend, but I can't let him take such a risk. "Just tell me their whereabouts. That's all I need."

"Alright then!"

After hanging up, Chen Yuesheng forwarded the images from Su Xuan to his technicians. They imported the facial features into the system, and instantly, the city's countless surveillance devices became like eyes searching for the traces of Wei Junhao and Jiang Guinong.

「Meanwhile...」

In a dilapidated neighborhood slated for demolition, a figure staggered toward one of the buildings as if drunk.

"Damn it! How did I fail to kill him?!"

The man was Jiang Guinong. After entering his rented room, he went straight to the bathroom to wash the wound on his shoulder, sending blood gushing down the drain. He then fetched a needle and thread, clenched his teeth against the pain, and stitched the wound himself before collapsing onto the bed, his face pale. As he looked around the empty room, his anger and desolation grew.

I wonder how my martial nephew, Wei Junhao, is doing... Jiang Guinong murmured to himself. He had fled in such a rush that there was no time to bring Wei Junhao with him. He was truly terrified of the two figures who had charged toward him at breakneck speed! And with Su Xuan possessing such incredible power, Jiang Guinong knew that if he hadn't escaped, he would be dead.

Exhaustion and pain soon dragged him into a deep sleep. He didn't know how much time had passed when the door was suddenly pushed open.

Jiang Guinong jolted awake and sat up, calling out, "Who's there?"

"Martial Uncle Jiang..." a feeble voice answered. "It's me, Wei Junhao."

The light flickered on, revealing Wei Junhao leaning against the wall in the doorway. He looked like a pathetic, down-and-out beggar.

Jiang Guinong rushed over and helped the pitiful-looking Wei Junhao to the bed. "You escaped on your own?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes!" Wei Junhao said, catching his breath. "Luckily, you gave me that antidote pill in time, or I would've died right then and there. That kid's poison is incredibly potent!" His face still held a trace of resentment as he added, "Martial Uncle, how could you abandon me and come back alone?"

Jiang Guinong said nothing, simply showing Wei Junhao his freshly stitched wound.

Wei Junhao gasped, and the resentment on his face faded considerably. "Martial Uncle, you... you were almost killed by him?"

Jiang Guinong nodded. "That kid's prowess... far exceeded my expectations! And he wasn't alone. He had two helpers, and each one was at least as strong as me. If I'd escaped even a moment later, you'd be burning joss paper for me on the anniversary of my death."

Hearing this, the last of the resentment on Wei Junhao's face vanished, replaced by a creeping fear. "It seems we were too reckless," he murmured, his voice trembling. "We didn't understand his background at all. He's... he's not nearly as simple as he seems!"

Jiang Guinong nodded. "He's plenty complicated on the surface, too!"

Wei Junhao nodded in agreement. "He's quite handsome, not just ordinarily so. I got jealous just looking at him!"

The corner of Jiang Guinong's mouth twitched. "I'm not talking about his looks. Didn't you say he's a wealthy tycoon? He looks even younger than you, yet he's so rich. There must be a powerful backer supporting him!"

Wei Junhao's mouth fell open. "Is it possible... that he's also from the mountains?"

"There's almost no doubt," Jiang Guinong said, looking at Wei Junhao's horribly disfigured face. "Did you know he can control objects with his mind? My wound was from a knife he controlled from a distance. Who from the mundane world can do that?"

Wei Junhao shook his head. "No one."

Jiang Guinong gritted his teeth. "The problem is, we don't know which sect or school he belongs to. We're at a serious disadvantage!"

Wei Junhao suddenly remembered something. "Did he take the map?"

Jiang Guinong hesitated for a moment before flatly denying it. "He said he didn't. He said he couldn't care less about some worthless map and chasing an illusory destiny when he has more than enough good fortune of his own to enjoy!"

Unaware that his martial uncle was coveting Su Xuan's fortune for himself, Wei Junhao mulled this over. "Then who took the map? Could it have been that Zhong woman who captured and interrogated me?"

"Don't worry about the map for now," Jiang Guinong said. "Let me stitch up your face."

At the mention of his face, Wei Junhao winced, sucking in a sharp breath. "I'll have to trouble you, Martial Uncle!"

Half the skin on his face had been blown off by Su Xuan's attack.

As Jiang Guinong began stitching his face, Wei Junhao spoke in a despairing tone. "Martial Uncle, I'm disfigured now. I probably won't be able to woo Qi Li, right?"

"If I can't win her over..."

"Then I'll just have to force myself on her!"

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