One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Xu San, still impeccably dressed in a dark gray suit, sat behind a large solid wood desk, a stack of documents spread out in front of him, and a cup of tea still steaming beside him. Xu Si, on the other hand, was lounging lazily in the leather sofa in the reception area, legs crossed, toying with a silver Zippo lighter in his hand, clicking and snapping the cap open and closed, the flame leaping up and going out again and again, casting flickering light and shadow on his nonchalant face.

"Sit down." Xu San looked up, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, and his gaze was as sharp as a scalpel.

Nie Lingfeng pulled the still somewhat dazed Zhang Chulan to sit down on another sofa. Feng Baobao followed them in, closed the door behind her, and then stood with her back against the door, arms crossed, her empty eyes still fixed on Zhang Chulan, as if he were a moving specimen that needed close monitoring.

"Let me formally introduce it." Xu San put down his pen, interlaced his fingers on the table, "Na Du Tong Express Company. Its official identity is one of the largest private express delivery companies in the country, but its actual identity is—an official agency established by the state specifically to manage and regulate the 'Outcast' group."

"An extraordinary person?" Zhang Chulan repeated the word, tasting a rusty, unfamiliar sensation on his tongue.

"They are individuals with special abilities that transcend the scope of ordinary people." Xu Si picked up the conversation, twirling the lighter between his fingers. "Like you, like Xiao Feng, like that person at the door... um, Feng Baobao who has a special interest in animal behavior."

Zhang Chulan subconsciously looked at Nie Lingfeng.

Nie Lingfeng nodded calmly: "I am also an extraordinary person. What you saw last night was just the tip of the iceberg."

"Then my grandfather..." Zhang Chulan's voice was hoarse.

"Your grandfather's original name was Zhang Huaiyi." Xu San opened a yellowed file in front of him and pushed it towards him. "The 65th generation high priest of the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain, a disciple of the previous Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing. He was also one of the core participants in the 'Jiashen Rebellion' in 1944, and a member of the 'Thirty-Six Thieves'. And what he possessed was one of the 'Eight Extraordinary Techniques' that caused countless bloodshed back then—Qi Body Source Flow."

Zhang Chulan was stunned.

He opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with a wad of soaked cotton, and no sound came out. His mind was buzzing, and countless fragments of images flashed through his mind—his grandfather, hunched over, weeding in the vegetable garden; the warm touch of his rough hands on his head; the old folk tales he told under the summer night sky; his wrinkled but still kind eyes when he failed his exams…

That ordinary, gentle, even somewhat rustic old man from the countryside was... a high-ranking master of Longhu Mountain? What Jia Shen Rebellion? The Thirty-Six Thieves? The Source of Qi?

"Impossible..." he murmured, his voice as soft as a dream, "My grandfather was just a farmer... he couldn't even read properly..."

"A farmer?" Xu Si laughed, his smile laced with undisguised sarcasm. "A farmer could be hunted down by those mad dogs of the Quanxing Sect for half his life? A farmer could be dead for ten years and people would still be digging up his grave? Could a farmer's corpse hold the secret of the 'Eight Extraordinary Techniques,' which even the Quanxing Sect leader covets?"

Zhang Chulan's face gradually lost all color, turning as pale as paper.

"We need you to join NaDuTong." Xu San looked directly into his eyes, his gaze behind his glasses steady yet authoritative. "Feng Baobao and Nie Lingfeng will be responsible for your close protection and guidance. This way, you can use the company's resources to find out the true cause of your grandfather's death and his past, and you will also have the opportunity to track down your father's whereabouts."

"My father?" Zhang Chulan looked up abruptly, his voice rising, "My dad...didn't he run away with someone? My mom said—"

"Your mother doesn't know the whole truth," Xu San interrupted him. "Zhang Yude, your father, suddenly disappeared twelve years ago and has not been heard from since. We suspect that his disappearance is also related to your grandfather 'Zhang Huaiyi's' identity and the secret of 'Qi Body Source Flow'."

Zhang Chulan lowered his head, his hands clenched tightly on his knees, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the force, and trembling slightly.

A long silence fell over the office. Only the monotonous click of Xu Si's lighter and the low hum of the ventilation system could be heard. Sunlight from outside was cut into narrow bands by the blinds, casting long, slow shadows on the floor as time passed.

Every second felt like it was stretched out into an eternity.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Chulan raised his head, his eyes bloodshot from suppressing his emotions, his voice hoarse: "I...can I consider it?"

"Okay." Xu San nodded, but his tone left no room for doubt. "But we don't have much time. Quanxing has already set its sights on you. The news that 'Zhang Huaiyi's grandson possesses the Qi Body Source Flow' will spread throughout the supernatural community sooner or later. At that time, it won't just be Quanxing coveting you—orthodox sects, powerful families, rogue supernatural beings, foreign forces... You will become the focus of the entire supernatural world, or rather, the target."

Zhang Chulan clenched his teeth, his jawline taut like a fully drawn bowstring.

Xu Si stood up, stretched, and his bones cracked softly. "Alright, Xiao Feng, you stay here and chat with him, help him 'digest' his feelings. I'm going next door to interrogate that Liu family girl we caught yesterday—tsk, the direct descendant of the Liu family in Xiangxi, she doesn't learn the proper family skills, but insists on hanging out with those Quanxing bastards. Has her brain been squeezed by a door?"

He walked to the door, placed his hand on the doorknob, glanced back at Zhang Chulan, and gave a cold, unfriendly smile: "Give me an answer I 'hope' to hear before I get back. You know I'm not very patient."

The door clicked shut.

Only Nie Lingfeng, Zhang Chulan, and Feng Baobao, who seemed to have become a background figure, remained in the office.

The silence fermented and expanded in the air, almost gaining weight.

The light outside the window shifted another notch.

"Brother Feng," Zhang Chulan suddenly spoke, his voice so soft it was as if he were afraid of startling something, "Can I trust you?"

Nie Lingfeng didn't answer immediately. He leaned back into the sofa, looking up at the simple ceiling light, its light reflecting off his eyes like tiny specks of light. He thought for a moment, then slowly sat up straight, turning his gaze to Zhang Chulan.

"Chu Lan, we've known each other for less than a week." His voice was calm, almost cruelly so. "It's unrealistic to expect me to be completely open and loyal to you right now. I don't believe you'd risk your life for me—at least not now."

Zhang Chulan was stunned. He thought Nie Lingfeng would give a "yes" or "no" answer, or at least some reassuring promise. But he didn't expect such a... frank and almost cold analysis.

"Trust between people," Nie Lingfeng continued, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on his knee, "is not something you talk about, it's something you demonstrate through actions. If I told you today, 'Chu Lan, I treat you like a brother,' would you really believe me? You wouldn't. If you, Zhang Chu Lan, were that naive, you wouldn't have survived this long."

He paused, looking at the complex emotions surging in Zhang Chulan's eyes: "You're asking me now if you can trust me, but you already have the answer in your heart. You just need someone, someone who seems reliable and on your side, to help you confirm that answer."

Zhang Chulan's throat tightened; he wanted to retort, but found himself speechless.

Because Nie Lingfeng was right. He simply couldn't fully trust anyone—especially after his grandfather's grave was dug up, he was hunted down by a strange force, and he was dragged into this completely unfamiliar world of "superhumans."