Chapter Thirteen: An Acquaintance

The July sky is as fickle as a woman's mood—bright and sunny one moment, and in the next, without warning, a wild storm sweeps in. The rain comes and goes in a heartbeat, and the air left behind, aside from a lingering dampness, is tinged with an extraordinary freshness.

Chen Hongxu lifted the enormous banana leaf he'd used to shield himself from the downpour, gazing up at the sky after the rain, now stretching above like a vast blue porcelain tile. His spirits seemed to lift along with the clearing clouds. Drawing his gaze down, he glanced at Fan Caobao, who was also holding a banana leaf but looked every bit the drowned rat. With a laugh, Chen said, "Don't tell me you can't project your inner energy?"

Of course, Chen Hongxu knew Fan Caobao couldn't—if he could, he wouldn't look so bedraggled. But his words weren't meant to mock; sometimes, a subtle display of strength only serves to emphasize one's own presence.

As expected, Fan Caobao's eyes, in addition to showing embarrassment, shone with a barely perceptible glint of fear. He irritably stripped off his soaked shirt and tossed it aside, muttering complaints that Chen Hongxu couldn’t quite catch.

The two had only been in the mountains half a day before they encountered someone else, evidently with the same intentions—an old acquaintance of Chen Hongxu's: Gu Jisong.

Having been forewarned by his martial spirit, Chen Hongxu was still secretly surprised to see Gu Jisong approaching. In his memory, Gu was not particularly powerful, but his ability to read the situation was impressive. Now, seeing the man so disheveled was both amusing and puzzling; Chen Hongxu couldn't help but wonder how things had come to this.

Gu Jisong had spotted them from afar as well. He paused for a moment, then slowed his pace, stopping only five or six meters from Chen Hongxu and Fan Caobao. With a sheepish smile, he said, "Well, fancy running into you here. What a coincidence."

What a coincidence, indeed. By Chen Hongxu's estimation, Gu had likely run out of options for finding another black card; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risked so much to try kidnapping Xue Xi, the Xue family’s darling.

Chen Hongxu frowned, deep in thought, while Fan Caobao, after glancing at him, immediately tensed up and assumed a defensive stance. After all, if someone could make this outwardly composed, inner-energy-wielding young man so cautious, he must be formidable.

A seasoned player, Gu Jisong, saw the suspicion written all over Fan Caobao’s face and knew he’d need to explain himself. He was already somewhat at odds with Chen Hongxu, and the last thing he wanted was to unwittingly provoke a promising but unpredictable blond youth. That would be a costly mistake.

"Chen," Gu began, "back when I tried to grab the black card, yes, I was acting out of self-interest. But now the government has officially granted me a black card. The Xue family didn’t truly suffer any losses last time, so why not let bygones be bygones? We’re on someone else’s turf now—if we fight to the bitter end, it’ll only benefit outsiders."

"The government gave you a black card?" Chen Hongxu asked in surprise.

As Gu Jisong pulled out his black card in proof, Fan Caobao, still in his defensive stance, scoffed and explained, "He’s telling the truth. Whenever backup team members retrieve a black card and exchange it for merit, the government sometimes chooses to award black cards to certain promising individuals or families. This time, so many people are needed for the Japan mission that anyone with a reputation who can be recruited is likely to show up."

"So it’s actually pretty easy to get a black card?" Chen Hongxu asked incredulously. After all, he’d played a critical role in defending the Xue family's black card and had heard plenty about the ruthless tactics some people used to snatch them.

"It depends," Fan Caobao replied with a hint of pride, tilting his head as if waiting for Chen to ask which family he belonged to. "Someone as strong and talented as you would have no problem, but there aren’t many like you. It’s hard for individuals. As for families, the government usually gifts a few black cards each cycle to top-tier clans, helping them grow stronger for the country’s benefit. But we’re talking about the very best families—there are only a handful in the whole country."

Having cleared up a few doubts, Chen Hongxu merely grunted, then turned to Gu Jisong, who also seemed to be hearing this for the first time. "You’re here for the Blacklist mission, aren’t you? Why do you look so battered?"

Chen Hongxu had no intention of letting Fan Caobao flaunt his background; at this moment, he needed to gather people around him to complete his task. When he couldn’t fully trust those around him, he had to remain the core figure. If others learned of Fan Caobao’s family and saw an opportunity, they might rally around him instead, pushing Chen to the margins. He’d experienced that loss of control before and had no wish to repeat it.

With Gu Jisong now on board and after some explanation, Chen Hongxu learned that Gu was far from a pampered heir like Fan Caobao. Well-informed, indifferent to the possibility of mission failure, Gu had actually joined the team assaulting the headquarters of the Hanatori clan.

As for the Hanatori clan, everything Su Xiaoxiao had provided on them was shrouded in mystery. Chen Hongxu had always regarded them with a certain awe. After all, every force has its strengths and weaknesses. For a clan seemingly weak on the surface to stand against the Watari family and even align themselves with the Haruhi Shrine—it meant their strength was not to be underestimated.

From Gu Jisong, he learned that most of the Haruhi Shrine’s top priests and main powers had traveled to Europe, leaving the place vulnerable and ripe for attack. Still, with its ancient heritage, even if only a seemingly powerless high priest remained, their strength was formidable, and the Shrine’s hidden aces were rumored to be terrifying indeed.

"Who’s there?" As Gu Jisong tried to probe Fan Caobao’s background and Fan himself wore his pride like armor, Chen Hongxu suddenly barked a low warning. Both men turned, puzzled, to see that Chen had already darted far ahead.

Fan Caobao, who had already witnessed Chen Hongxu’s externalized inner energy during the torrential rain, tensed up but was not especially surprised to see him now wreathed in a red aura, every muscle braced.

Gu Jisong, who had fought Chen just months earlier, looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Back then, if he hadn’t given it much thought during the fight, he’d certainly analyzed their strengths afterward, and concluded, as did Situshan, that they were evenly matched.

But how long had it been since then? Gu Jisong blinked, finally understanding why this blond-haired youth of mysterious background seemed so eager to ingratiate himself with Chen Hongxu.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous crash, Chen Hongxu flipped backward, bracing himself with one hand on the ground, and slipped back to the others’ side.

Moments later, a burly man stepped out from the dense forest. He said nothing, staring fixedly at the five-fingered handprint Chen Hongxu had left on the ground, taking a long, deep breath.