Light Fortress
Chapter 143 - 131: The Ingenious Hand

Chapter 143: Chapter 131: The Ingenious Hand

"Teacher..."

Gu Shen let out a deep sigh of relief.

His emotions were extremely complex at the moment. The instant Chen Mei deployed the Time Slow Domain, Chi Huo pulsed at the center of his forehead.

Logically speaking, with Gu Shen’s current spiritual power, he shouldn’t have been able to react at all within the Time Slow Domain, let alone be aware that he had been "slowed down," but it was Chi Huo that brought him back to clarity.

If a reasonable explanation had to be found—

Then it could only mean that "Time Slow," a chaotic force, was also within the order that Chi Huo was rebuilding.

However, the power of Chi Huo only allowed Gu Shen to realize... that his time had been delayed.

What was worse, he had originally calmed his breathing and concentrated all his attention on the sniper rifle set up by Qi Lv in the distance. The moment the Purple Silver Bullet exploded into fireworks was also supposed to be when he counterattacked.

The Time Slow Domain.

Made it impossible for Gu Shen to retaliate.

He could only watch helplessly as the Purple Silver Bullet burst into flames and Chen Mei charged towards him.

Until the Time Slow Domain came to an end—

The "big gamble" Gu Shen left on the river bank also came to a close.

Gu Shen didn’t know if he was the winner, he had successfully confirmed his hypothesis, but only halfway.

Because indeed someone was watching him, the murderous intent targeting him at the river bank had been stopped at the last moment, but it was his own teacher who made the move.

Mr. Shu.

Gu Shen had initially speculated that the outcome would be influenced by Cui Zhongcheng’s maneuvers, leading to the cessation of tonight’s events at the river bank.

But the current situation exceeded Gu Shen’s expectations. He hadn’t thought that two council members of Da Du District would appear at the scene. Tonight’s farce was due to the internal discord within the Sincere Heart Association and, at its core, a dispute from the underworld which should have been resolved by the underworld itself.

The appearance of the two council members... suggested that things were likely not going to be simple.

Gu Shen looked around; the middle-aged man wearing the black woolen coat clearly was a pampered high-ranking figure. Even without speaking, he commanded an aura of dignity that inspired awe, and the woman with snow-white skin accompanying him on both sides was unmistakably another legendary figure in Da Du, just below the status of the lady herself, Ye Ningqiu.

What captured Gu Shen’s attention the most was the old man under the lady’s umbrella.

He wore a jet-black suit that looked somewhat shriveled, for the body it clad was very old. His face was hidden in the shade beneath the umbrella, only his withered hands were visible. Sitting in a wheelchair, he held onto the handles as if grasping the whole world.

The broken ice on the river surface reflected the supreme majestic authority that the old man held.

Hua Zhi, Zhao Family, Da Du’s power, status, and identity, all were the biggest decision-makers.

...

...

Even though Gu Shen had already guessed beforehand that the arrival of the two councilors tonight meant that matters were serious, he was still somewhat surprised when Mr. Shu started to speak.

First, he feigned a "flattered surprise" at Mr. Shu’s introduction.

Both prominent figures were, in fact, old acquaintances.

Gu Shen knew that they had actually reviewed his files... Saying this now might come across as rather pretentious, but it was the truth.

Although he didn’t know them, they certainly knew him.

The incident of breaking into the South Bay Building could be made into a big issue or left as a minor one. Gu Shen’s wariness towards Chen Mei stemmed from this guy’s disregard for rules; if he had been caught earlier, Chen Mei would act first and report later, and Gu Shen would not have had any recourse. Now, however, it was different, as Mr. Shu personally stepped forward and disclosed his identity as "disciple," adding the words "closely guarded" to emphasize his importance.

Councilman Chen’s status was extraordinary, he would not pursue "minor matters," and this kind of issue could only be addressed by Ye Ningqiu. If she wanted to continue the matter, then it would involve the issue brought up by Cui Zhongcheng.

Evidence.

The people on Councilman Chen’s side simply had no evidence.

The incident of Gu Shen breaking into the South Bay Building was executed too cleanly; the surveillance was damaged, no identification was left at the scene, and even using Spiritual profiling there wasn’t a trace of Transcendent logic to follow.

At this point, holding someone accountable was highly unlikely.

After tonight, there would be even less to say.

But what truly surprised Gu Shen was Mr. Shu’s words to Chen Mei... He glanced surreptitiously back at Cui Zhongcheng who was holding the wheelchair and saw Mr. Xiao Cui’s lips curved up ever so slightly with a smile.

Over the years.

Cui Zhongcheng had long suspected that the Changjiu Foundation had buried a landmine. Without evidence, he searched tirelessly, but in reality, this game had begun before Gu Shen even entered Da Du.

Once there was a clue pointing to the Compass’s owner, it was no longer just Gu Shen fighting alone.

Clearly, Cui Zhongcheng’s power set into motion immediately, and the Zhou Yu case was combined because someone must have provided sufficient argument.

Gu Shen instantly knew who that person was.

It could only be Judge Tang Qingquan.

In such a short time, to combine these cases and initiate a new action... Cui Zhongcheng’s efficiency was astounding. Gu Shen had thought he was fighting a lonely battle, but it now seemed there was a meticulous "god-level teammate" behind him.

That’s right.

In an instant, Gu Shen recalled the scene he had witnessed on the nineteenth floor of the South Bay Building. If the South Bay Building was connected to the owner of the Compass, then his breaking into the building and immediately being detected by Chen Mei could be explained.

Tonight’s deliberated meeting at the river bank didn’t even draw Chen Mei away.

It was too unreasonable... This guy showing up at the South Bay Building—could he be the Believer who entered the nineteenth floor?

This speculation might not be entirely correct, but the high probability that Chen Mei had established contact with the Compass’s owner was startling.

At that thought, Gu Shen couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

He felt that the opponent he faced at the moment... was truly too terrifying, with Chen Mei, a peak eleventh-level Transcendent, merely a pawn?

"..."

Facing the interrogation of Zhou Jiren, Chen Mei said nothing. He only turned his head slowly, looking deeply at his own father and at Ye Ningqiu beside him.

Ye Ningqiu slightly lowered her eyebrows and let out a soft sigh.

Chen San said, "Just tell the truth.

"I... have nothing to say."

Chen Mei turned his gaze toward Zhou Jiren and said indifferently, "No one taught me body techniques, I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

"Over the years, the Changjiu Foundation has challenged the council and disrupted order. As the East Province Grand Judge, I have always been investigating the whereabouts of the hidden organization behind it." Zhou Jiren glanced at Chen Mei, then walked up to Chen San, and said, "Councilman Chen, you should also be very clear about the behavior of those fanatics, no? They don’t care about their own life or death, only wanting to create panic and destruction."

"Of course I am aware." Chen San replied coldly, "Are you suggesting... that my son is such a person?"

"...I need to take him away," said Zhou Jiren calmly.

"Evidence," Chen San said somberly, "I need evidence."

"Very well."

Zhou Jiren raised his palm, and in an instant, hundreds of vines sprouted from the river bottom.

This scene was indeed startling.

Gu Shen watched intently... The last time he saw Mr. Shu make a move was during the subjugation of A-009, and the means he had employed then were far from being as grand as they were now.

Was there a bit of... a show-off?

These vines burst up from the river bottom, and the next moment they were about to rise from the surface of the water.

At this moment, the old man behind Chen San also made his move. He slightly slanted his body, pressed down with his palm, and the swirling droplets of the entire river instantly condensed into ice, with the ice surface rapidly spreading downwards, tending to solidify into an iceberg from the inside.

"Zhou Jiren... Are you intending to make a move against the councilman?" the old man’s voice was hoarse.

"Don’t be nervous," Mr. Shu said softly. "I am just thinking... of finding an uninhabited environment to have a good chat with Chen San."

The next moment.

"Boom—"

The wind howled.

Gu Shen felt himself being lifted. The river covering a hundred meters radius had all turned into an ice mountain, and this ice mountain was held aloft by a gigantic vine hand. After climbing high into the sky, the expression of Chen San’s old follower clearly changed. He pressed down with his palm again, trying to suppress the ice mountain, but he was only able to slightly slow its ascending momentum.

The withered palm applied a little more force.

The ice shattered.

The black-robed old man looked pale, as he stared unbelievingly at the relaxed East Province Grand Judge Zhou Jiren across from him... Countless droplets of water cascaded down like an inverted waterfall, seeping and falling through the gaps between the fingers from the wooden palm.

With the ice mountain encased in withered wood and crushed, it slowly landed back down.

Chen San furrowed his brows, and Ye Ningqiu’s expression turned rather ugly.

They probably had not expected a conflict to arise.

On the other side, Zhao Xilai seated in a wheelchair had his eyes low, his expression unclear, but the lady holding his umbrella seemed somewhat surprised as well. Only Cui Zhongcheng maintained his usual calm demeanor.

Witnessing this scene, Gu Shen pondered... In front of the two Dadu District councilmen, his teacher and the Titled strongman accompanying Chen San had clashed in a single exchange, and without a doubt, his teacher had the upper hand.

Originally he had thought this was simply showing off.

But now, it seemed there was a deeper meaning.

This seemed to be a warning, or perhaps a declaration?

His teacher was the East Province Grand Judge, and every action he took carried significant influence.

Gu Shen speculated that perhaps it was because of the recent impeachment incident, with many enemies still lurking within the Judgement Institute, eyeing his teacher’s position as Grand Judge. Tonight, Zhou Jiren made a move in front of the two councilmen, one was to "repay" Zhao Xilai for quelling the impeachment storm and second to show the outside world his strong stance.

From the calm on Cui Zhongcheng’s face... Gu Shen got the answer he wanted.

Cui Zhongcheng was indeed watching him.

The teacher’s intervention was very likely his doing. The situation had become too big to easily quell, and the teacher stepping in was one of the few choices to resolve the situation tonight, and it was a masterstroke.

"Please."

Zhou Jiren gestured with his hand, inviting Chen San to step forward.

The vines once more rose from the river bottom, this time forming a nearly ten-meter-wide withered wood palm that lifted the two of them up and gradually solidified into a spherical wooden ball.

Within the wooden ball, no one could hear what Zhou Jiren said to Chen San.

A very brief exchange.

It lasted less than five minutes.

The wooden ball opened up again into a palm, which slowly descended, placing both men back down.

Chen San appeared significantly more weary.

In the end, he looked at his son one last time, waved his hand, and spoke to the old man at his side.

"...Let’s go."