From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"I'm not injured, just a little weak. I should be fine after a few days of rest."

"Very good."

"Gu Chengze is very cunning. He arranged for Cui Nong to live in another household, where she was looked after and cared for by two village women."

Immediately afterwards, Zhe Liu recounted how he rescued Cui Nong.

Before tonight, Chen Shi had made arrangements: he would be in the open, acting with Gu Tingshu, while Zhe Liu would be in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to rescue Cui Nong.

Of course, if the opportunity arises, I'll kill Gu Chengze while I'm at it!

Zhe Liu arrived at Huai Shu Zhuang before Chen Shi and his group did.

Fu Fenghui fought a fierce battle with the man in the yellow robe. As a result of the battle, the two thatched huts collapsed instantly. Only Gu Chengze was seen, but Cui Nong was nowhere to be found.

Zhe Liu then guessed that Cui Nong was being held in another place.

But it shouldn't be too far off.

Sure enough, after a search, Cui Nong was found in another courtyard about 20 meters away.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"I interrogated the two village women who were guarding her, and Gu Chengze did not touch Cui Nong's body."

"Well."

Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, but upon hearing the news, he did feel a sudden sense of relief.

"By the way, did you find out anything about the identity of that man in the yellow robe?"

"no."

"All right."

Although somewhat disappointing, this was to be expected.

A fifth-rank grandmaster is not someone Gu Chengze can easily win over. There must be another reason why he helped Gu Chengze and even lost his life in the end.

But his specific background and origins are not something he would easily reveal.

"There's also good news."

Zhe Liu spoke again, without waiting for Chen Shi to ask, and said directly.

"Gu Chengze is dead."

"Dead?!"

Chen Shi's eyes widened instantly, a mixture of surprise and astonishment.

It took him a while to come to his senses and confirm.

"Did the elder kill him?"

"Yes."

Zhe Liu nodded and then explained the situation.

After rescuing Cui Nong and temporarily placing her in a safe place, Zhe Liu immediately returned to Huai Shu Village, just in time to catch Gu Tingshu annihilating the remaining members of the Fufeng Society.

Because Gu Tingshu was present, she had no opportunity to attack Gu Chengze, so she remained hidden in the shadows. Until another unexpected event occurred, and the elders appeared with their men.

Chen Shi led Gu Tingshu to break through the encirclement, but they were once in danger. Zhe Liu wanted to show herself to save them, but she kept a distance to avoid being discovered. The situation on the field was changing rapidly, and there was no time to react.

Fortunately, Jin Bingren activated his Burning Longevity Divine Body, briefly delaying the elder and giving Chen Shi a chance to escape.

"Ranshou Divine Body?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi looked surprised.

"A divine body that can burn through its lifespan?"

"Hmm, a divine body that temporarily and greatly enhances strength at the cost of lifespan. Very strong. I didn't expect Jin Bingren to have this kind of divine body. The Jing'an Marquis's mansion is indeed full of hidden talents."

Zhe Liu nodded and continued.

"After Jin Bingren and the others were defeated, the elders were originally going to chase after you, and I was prepared to intercept them. At that moment, Li Changying arrived."

"We've finally arrived."

Although everything had already happened, Chen Shi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, Chen Shi, upon learning that the elder was also recruiting, guessed that the elder's target might be Gu Tingshu. If so, he feared he would be implicated.

Therefore, Chen Shi sent Zhe Liu to Gegang County overnight to secretly inform Li Changying.

Li Changying has 600 elite soldiers. Gegang County is only 40 or 50 li away from Yongqiu City. If they travel day and night, they should be able to catch up.

But even as the elders attacked, Gu Tingshu was already in grave danger, and Li Changying and his men did not appear. Chen Shi thought something had happened to him.

Fortunately, it was only a little late, but it finally arrived.

"Li Changying brought all six hundred elite soldiers with him. Although the elder was highly skilled, he dared not fight head-on and could only retreat. Before leaving, he killed Gu Chengze with a single palm strike."

"Are you sure he's dead?"

Chen Shi quickly asked another question, since he was still a little uneasy since he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

"Brains splattered out."

Zhe Liu nodded and uttered four words softly.

Upon hearing these four words, Chen Shi was completely relieved.

His brains were spilling out; there was absolutely no way he could still be alive.

Although the situation was urgent, with the elder's cultivation level, killing an eighth-rank Gu Chengze would indeed be enough with a single palm strike.

"First, he plotted to kill Gu Tingshu, but the plan failed. Even while fleeing, he still tried to kill Gu Chengze..."

After a moment's thought, Chen Shi couldn't help but smile slightly. This elder seemed to have a grudge against the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion as well.

Chen Shi couldn't help but be curious about his true identity.

However, Chen Shi did not intend to investigate the elder's true identity.

Knowing the elder's true identity is meaningless to him at the moment.

Moreover, as the saying goes, the more you know, the faster you die. Once the elder's true identity is known, the elder will definitely regard him as a threat and try every means to get rid of him!

An elder of the Fufeng Association, a fifth-rank grandmaster—what's the difference between making an enemy of such a person and courting death?

"It's dawn."

As they spoke, the east began to lighten, and the sky gradually brightened.

"Well, it's finally dawn."

Chen Shi glanced outside and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

After a night of turmoil, and at one point on the verge of death, thankfully, everything turned out alright in the end.

Moreover, although the situation spiraled out of control due to the involvement of Gu Tingshu and the elders, it ultimately unfolded as Chen Shi had planned.

While rescuing Cui Nong, kill Gu Chengze!

It was in this very room that Gu Chengze gave Chen Shi that task, and from that moment on, it was like a sharp sword hanging over Chen Shi's head.

Now that the threat has finally been eliminated, Chen Shi can finally live in peace.

"Don't kill him!"

Just then, Cui Nong's panicked shouts suddenly came from inside.

Chen Shi rushed into the inner room and saw that Cui Nong had already sat up from the bed.

His expression was flustered and his eyes were cloudy, as if he were having a nightmare. When he saw Chen Shi, he was stunned. After a moment, his eyes gradually cleared and he realized that he was not dreaming.

"Chen Lang".

With a shout, two streams of tears instantly flowed down her cheeks.

Chen Shi strode over and pulled Cui Nong into his arms.

"I am here."

"I dreamt that Gu Chengze wanted to kill you."

"Don't worry, everything's alright now."

Chen Shi kept comforting Cui Nong, gently patting her back.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Cui Nong's emotions gradually calmed down.

Looking outside, Zhe Liu was nowhere to be seen. As usual, he had quietly retreated, like a shadow silently guarding Chen Shi.

"Is Gu Chengze really dead?"

"He's dead."

"So everything's fine from now on?"

"right."

Chen Shi nodded, smiling as he stroked Cui Nong's hair.

"From now on, we can live our lives in peace."

"That's wonderful."

Cui Nong nodded, then burst into tears of joy again. After a moment, she stopped crying, looked up at Chen Shi, her face full of affection.

"From this day forward, I belong to you completely."

"Um."

Chen Shi responded softly, thinking to himself that it was time to get back Cui Nong's indenture.

"Chen Lang".

Cui Nong spoke again, her voice barely audible, tinged with shyness.

"Shouldn't we celebrate properly?"

"Um?"

Chen Shi was slightly taken aback. Looking at Cui Nong, who looked as sickly as Xi Shi, he found her quite charming.