High-level martial arts: Invincibility starts with basic archery.

Chapter 291 Demanding an Explanation (Please Subscribe)

Headquarters base.

In a quiet room.

On the north wall hangs a calligraphy scroll with the character "禅" (Zen) written on it, the strokes vigorous and powerful.

Below the calligraphy and painting, there is a table with an incense burner on it. Sandalwood incense is burning in the burner, and wisps of white smoke are emanating a faint fragrance.

This is not ordinary sandalwood, but a calming incense. The fragrance emitted after it is lit can calm the mind and prevent people from going astray.

In addition, it can accelerate the circulation of internal energy within a martial artist, making it very effective during meditation and breath regulation.

Shi Tao sat cross-legged on the cushion, facing the incense burner, his eyes closed, with white steam rising from above his head.

Ling Yu sat in the back, also cross-legged, circulating his true essence to absorb the medicinal power of the True Qi Pill.

Suddenly, his eyelids twitched a few times.

Ling Yu slowly opened her eyes.

Just then, my right eyelid twitched a few more times.

"What happened?"

He frowned slightly; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

As the saying goes, a twitching left eyelid means good fortune, while a twitching right eyelid means bad luck. My right eyelid is twitching nonstop, which means something bad is about to happen to me.

This is quite puzzling.

You should know that the place he is currently in can be considered one of the safest places in Jiangnan City. To put it bluntly, even if Jiangnan City falls, he, who is hiding here, may not necessarily be in any danger. Therefore, what kind of disaster is about to befall him?

Thinking of this, Ling Yu's lips curled up. What "left eye twitching means good fortune, right eye twitching means bad luck" is all old-fashioned nonsense. Only a fool would be disturbed by such things.

He looked up at the calligraphy and painting in front of him and wondered if Xiao Hong had arrived in Anshan City yet.

It's several thousand miles from Jiangnan City to Anshan City, but with his abilities, nothing should happen.

If we get there, we should be able to find that alchemist named Chen Fan. He's just a mere early-stage Qi Refining martial artist. Taking him away would be a piece of cake.

Once you get back, you absolutely must find a secluded place; otherwise, if word gets out, things will go very wrong.

As long as the secrecy is kept, he will have countless high-grade True Qi Pills to consume in the future, and it is not impossible for him to surpass his master's realm one day.

"What's wrong? You seem distracted?"

Just then, Shi Tao's voice rang out.

Ling Yu was startled and hurriedly lowered his head, saying honestly, "Master, I suddenly felt a bit agitated, so I opened my eyes to rest for a while."

"Yeah?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Tao opened his eyes.

He then slowly said, "The circulation of true essence is a very tedious thing. If you still can't calm down, you can go out for a walk to clear your mind."

"Master, I have settled down again now."

Ling Yu smiled.

"Um."

Shi Tao nodded, without giving it much thought.

Even he would feel a sense of unease when he was in seclusion, but in recent years, as his mental strength has grown stronger, this has become a very rare occurrence.

"Master's intuition is indeed very sharp."

Ling Yu closed his eyes, secretly relieved, but also secretly alert.

After kidnapping Chen Fan, he was given countless high-grade True Qi Pills to consume, which was naturally a good thing. However, it was also easy for his master to discover something amiss, so caution was still advised.

Just as he was about to restart his internal circulation, a faint cell phone rang in the quiet room.

The two opened their eyes at the same time.

Shi Tao let out a breath, then stood up, walked to the table, and picked up his phone.

"Chang Fei?"

His pupils dilated slightly, and he thought to himself, "Could it be that Elder Tang and the others have already learned the improved True Qi Pill alchemy technique so quickly?"

Otherwise, why would Chang Fei have contacted him while he was in seclusion?

He answered the phone and smiled, "Chang Fei, has Elder Tang and the others made any progress in refining the pills?"

"no,"

Chang Fei glanced at Chen Fan watching on the screen, took a deep breath, and said, "President, I have something not good to tell you. I hope you are mentally prepared."

Shi Tao's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Alright, go ahead and speak."

"President, is Ling Yu with you right now?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

Shi Tao glanced at Ling Yu, whose eyes were also filled with doubt.

Was it Uncle Chang who called Master?

Did they mention me on the phone? Otherwise, my master wouldn't have suddenly turned around and looked at me.

He felt a sudden unease for no reason. Remembering the uncontrollable twitching of his right eyelid earlier, he wondered if some real trouble was coming his way.

But I haven't done anything to offend anyone during this time. And I've basically been by my master's side and haven't left at all, so how could trouble have come looking for me?

Wait, could it be that...?

Ling Yu's eyes widened suddenly. Could it be that something went wrong with Xiao Hong?

No way?

"Okay, President, since Ling Yu is right next to you, why don't you turn on speakerphone so he can hear what I'm saying?" Chang Fei said.

He needs to explain this matter clearly.

Otherwise, Brother Chen's trust in headquarters will plummet to rock bottom, and nothing can salvage it.

"Gulp."

In the conference room in Anshan City, Xiao Hong swallowed hard.

Is Ling Yu here too?

So, in a little while, he'll be facing off against the enemy?

If he could, he wouldn't want things to have come to this point, but unfortunately, he has no choice now.

Sun Wei was extremely nervous, his palms were sweaty.

Chen Fan remained silent, waiting quietly.

After a moment, Shi Tao said, "Tell me first, what exactly happened?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Hong breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly, Shi Tao did not agree to Chang Fei's request to put the call on speakerphone so that Ling Yu could also hear it.

That situation, while unavoidable, could at least be delayed for a while.

Chang Fei gave Chen Fan a wry smile and said, "Chairman, do you remember what I told you about Brother Chen on the phone yesterday?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"As I said before, Brother Chen was unwilling to go to headquarters, and headquarters understood and did not force him. But today, someone broke into the Anshan City branch under the name of headquarters, trying to forcibly abduct Brother Chen and make him a privately refined high-grade True Qi Pill."

"What?!"

Shi Tao let out a gasp.

The sound was so loud that even Chen Fan and the other two on the other side of the screen could hear it clearly.

"Are you... are you telling the truth?"

Shi Tao suddenly realized something and glanced at Ling Yu behind him.

Based on Chang Fei's request to turn on speakerphone so that Ling Yu could also hear it, he could easily guess that what Chang Fei was talking about now was probably closely related to Ling Yu.

"President, if possible, I also hope this matter is false."

Chang Fei sighed heavily, "That's not true. The person who broke into the Anshan City branch has already been caught on the spot by Brother Chen."

"Who is it?"

Shi Tao's tone turned cold, and it seemed as if the temperature in the entire quiet room dropped by more than ten degrees.

"Xiao, Hong."

Chang Fei uttered two words.

In an instant, Xiao Hong's face turned deathly pale. Although his pressure points had been sealed, his hands and feet still trembled uncontrollably.

It's over.

Sweat poured down his face, and eventually the news reached the president's ears.

From now on, he'll be in deep trouble.

"Xiao Hong?"

As Shi Tao murmured the name, the image of the latter appeared in his mind.

Ling Yu, standing behind him, nearly had his heart leap out of his mouth upon hearing the name.

Could it be that Xiao Hong made a mistake?

Otherwise, why would Uncle Chang bring him up now, if not at some other time?

But... but shouldn't this be the case?

Ling Yu was covered in cold sweat.

Even if Xiao Hong made a mistake, his identity shouldn't have been exposed, right?

I repeatedly told him to keep his identity a secret, because if this kind of thing were exposed, not only would I be in big trouble, but he would also be in serious trouble.

So even if he failed to kidnap Chen Fan, there was no way the other party would know his identity, right?

The most important question is, why did he fail? Xiao Hong, a mere early-stage Qi Refining Realm martial artist who spends a lot of time refining pills, couldn't even succeed?

"Yes, Chairman, Xiao Hong was caught red-handed by Brother Chen and his pressure points were acupunctured. He's in the Anshan City branch's conference room right now, video chatting with me. I'll have him tell you what happened again," Chang Fei sighed.

Shi Tao was silent for a moment, then said, "No need. I already know what happened. Xiao Hong is simply audacious and reckless."

"Alright, you'll handle this matter. Whatever demands Brother Chen makes, headquarters must do its best to meet them. As for Xiao Hong, bring him back to me, and I'll take care of him."

Because Chang Fei was on speakerphone, every word Shi Tao said reached the ears of everyone present.

Xiao Hong immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Being able to return to headquarters was great news for him. Most importantly, according to the chairman, this matter was over and there was no need to confront Ling Yu.

Sun Wei frowned slightly.

President, does this mean it's over?

After all, he almost died, and President Chang hadn't even mentioned that Ling Yu was the mastermind behind it all.

However, things have come to this point, which may be the best outcome. In order to quell Brother Chen's anger, the headquarters will surely offer a lot of good things.

However, based on his understanding of Brother Chen, if the latter just let it go like that, he wouldn't be Brother Chen.

"President Shi, I think you should listen to what Xiao Hong has to say about this matter."

Chen Fan's voice suddenly rose.

Instantly, everyone—on and off the screen, on this end of the phone and on the other end—fell silent.

Even Chang Fei was sweating profusely at this moment.

Because he could tell that Chen Fan was determined to get an explanation this time, and he wouldn't back down even if the other party was the president.

(End of this chapter)