One person: Lu Jin, do I look like your master?

The extremely faint, almost imperceptible spatial distortion around him proved that the cultivation was still ongoing.

Chapter 16 Chen Duo

Over the next few days, Wang Xuanru completely integrated into the rhythm of Liupanshui, a small city in southwestern China, and rarely went out.

Aside from his daily check-in at fixed times—which still only yielded some small items to aid his cultivation or a negligible amount of money—he spent most of his time...

They all stayed quietly in their hotel rooms, focusing wholeheartedly on refining their own rebirth through three stages.

Having reached his level of cultivation, the accumulation of sheer "quantity" is no longer the primary concern; what matters more is the understanding of "quality" and the exquisite control over power.

He was immersed in sorting out and understanding his own "Qi", as if the hustle and bustle of the outside world was isolated by an invisible barrier.

However, late that night, when all was quiet and even the city's most persistent neon lights seemed to have dimmed, Wang Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, trembled slightly with his closed eyelashes.

His extraordinary sensitivity allowed him to detect an unusual movement coming from afar outside the window.

It wasn't the usual traffic and noise, but a kind of... hurried, chaotic running sound containing a faint yet unique energy fluctuation.

And the roar of car engines that followed closely behind, clearly indicating a pursuit.

Wang Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright, without the slightest trace of the confusion one might feel when waking from meditation.

He quietly approached the window, parted the curtains, and looked in the direction of the sound.

Below, on a relatively quiet street, a figure was seen running frantically at an abnormal speed, stumbling and falling, appearing panicked. It was a woman.

Not far behind her, a seemingly ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, van was shining its glaring headlights.

It stayed close behind, the engine roaring loudly, the car was going very fast, and the driver was quite skilled, keeping up with the woman who was fleeing ahead.

Most strikingly, three large characters were clearly printed on the side of the van—

"Connects everywhere?"

Wang Xuan softly uttered the name, raising an eyebrow slightly, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

This is the legendary "Nadutong Express Company," a logistics company in name only, but a special organization that actually governs the domestic non-human order.

This was the first time since he transmigrated that he had come into such close contact with the "official organization" in the world of "Under One Person".

Judging from this situation, are they on a mission? Apprehending a rogue individual?

Wang Xuan became interested.

After all, aside from Xia Liuqing and Granny Jinfeng, this was only the second time he had encountered a "living" supernatural being, and it happened in such a dynamic conflict setting.

He decided to go and see for himself how the "order maintainers" of this world operate.

Without hesitation, Wang Xuan gently pushed open the window, and the night breeze instantly rushed into the room.

With a swift movement, he floated out of the window like a weightless feather, landing steadily in the shadows of the street below without making a sound.

The next moment, his figure disappeared into the night like a ghost, and he slowly followed the direction in which the two pursuers had vanished.

His speed may not seem fast, but he always manages to stay just right behind, neither losing track of others nor easily being spotted by vehicles or runners ahead.

The chase had clearly intensified. The running woman seemed quite familiar with the terrain, deliberately choosing narrow, secluded alleys to try and shake off the vehicles behind her.

The minivan that was supposed to be "All-in-One" was also extremely aggressive. Taking advantage of its relatively small size and the driver's excellent skills, it gritted its teeth and rushed into the alley, causing a commotion.

Soon, the chase and escape took them out of the city's edge and plunged into the dark, undulating, and densely vegetated mountains and forests on the outskirts of the city.

Upon reaching this point, the van could no longer proceed—there was no road ahead for vehicles to travel on.

Like a falling leaf, Wang Xuan silently swept up to the canopy of a large, leafy tree, perfectly concealing his presence, and looked down at the situation below from his high vantage point.

The van's blinding headlights, like two lightsabers, cleaved through the darkness of the forest, locking onto the woman ahead, who was slowing down due to exhaustion and leaning against a tree trunk, panting heavily.

The car door was pushed open with a "whoosh".

The first to jump down were two employees dressed in standard NTD uniforms. Their movements were efficient, their expressions were alert, and their bodies were filled with aura, clearly indicating that they were experienced combat personnel.

Immediately afterwards, a petite figure stepped out of the car at a leisurely pace.

She was also wearing the uniform from Nadutong, but her hat was pulled down low, obscuring her full appearance.

Her steps were steady, even carrying a calmness that seemed out of place with the tense atmosphere around her.

However, when Wang Xuan, perched in the treetop, clearly saw the girl's profile and overall demeanor, a slight tremor ran through him, and a hint of surprise crossed his mind.

"Hmm? Chen Duo?"

He recognized the girl. She was Chen Duo, a temporary worker with a special identity and tragic fate in the original story.

Meeting her here was somewhat unexpected, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

This is the South China region, which is Liao Zhong's area of ​​responsibility. As a temporary worker under him, it is perfectly normal for Chen Duo to carry out arrest missions.

"This scene... looks somewhat familiar."

Wang Xuan stroked his chin, trying hard to recall fragments of his long-faded memories from his past life.

"The woman being pursued by Chen Duo's team... fled into the mountains..."

By linking several keywords together, a plot gradually becomes clear.

"Could it be... that the woman Chen Duo is chasing is that unlucky guy who stole Ma Xianhong's magic weapon?"

Wang Xuan muttered to himself, his tone tinged with uncertainty, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Too much time has passed, and he can no longer remember many details, but he vaguely remembers that one of the important triggers for the start of the Chen Duo chapter was that Chen Duo unexpectedly encountered Ma Xianhong, the village chief of Biyou Village, while carrying out a mission.

Ma Xianhong's appearance seems to be related to a woman who stole his things and was being hunted down by the company.

"Heh, if that's really the case, then Ma Xianhong, that troublemaker, will probably be making his appearance soon."

Wang Xuan thought to himself.

Wang Xuan had a rather complicated impression of Ma Xianhong.

To be fair, this guy is a true technical genius, the successor of the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements.

But he really is a troublemaker, or rather, an "idealistic" guy who's almost an "idiot."

Almost every move he made was precisely treading on the company's red lines.

Moreover, he is a person who has no sense of propriety. Yes, no sense of propriety. He would give away something like the Divine Hundred Refinements without a second thought.

As techniques for creating chaos, giving away the Eight Extraordinary Skills indiscriminately is not a good thing.

Chapter 17 A noble horse can expel all external forces from its body.

How would you evaluate Ma Xianhong?

That seems biased. He is not the kind of villain who harbors evil intentions and enjoys doing evil. On the contrary, he can even be described as "upright" and "righteous" at heart.

He will treat those he approves of with sincerity, be willing to provide protection, and even share his treasured magical artifacts and techniques.

He has his own set of rules and an "idealistic" blueprint, and he is willing to work hard for it.

However, you absolutely cannot say that he is smart, or rather, his "smartness" lies entirely in his cunning and scheming, while he is "foolish" when it comes to interpersonal relationships, overall strategic considerations, and risk assessment!

It's the kind of "stupidity" that makes onlookers so angry they want to jump up and down, wishing they could crack open his head to see if it's full of gears!

He acts entirely on impulse and personal whims, almost never considering the consequences or taking things into account. He's like a spoiled child with godlike technical skills.

They only think "I want to do this" and "I think this is right," but never consider "Can I bear the chain reaction that will be triggered after doing this?"

Just like in the original novel, out of a sliver of pity or "righteousness," he took in Chen Duo, who was desperate.

The act itself may have contained an element of "goodness." But what happened after he took them in?

Have you ever considered what kind of resources your company would use to track down a lost temporary worker?

Have you ever considered whether his Biyou Village can withstand the wrath of the company's top management?

He simply felt that "she needed help," and then he did it.

That's not something Ma Xianhong needs to consider.

This kind of extreme irresponsibility and "naiveté" of living in one's own world ultimately harms both oneself and others.

Wang Xuan stood quietly atop the treetop, like a detached observer, surveying the unfolding situation below.

Seeing the car stop and the pursuers closing in, the panicked woman was driven by her survival instinct. She mustered all her strength and stumbled as she fled desperately deeper into the forest.

Below, the petite figure wearing a hat—Chen Duo—did not wait for instructions from her teammates behind her; she seemed to have received some kind of unseen command.

Or rather, her modus operandi is that simple and direct—if the target flees, then pursue them.

She strode forward, unhurried yet remarkably steady, into the dark forest, her figure quickly swallowed by the dense shadows of the trees.

Liao Zhong (although Wang Xuan couldn't see his face clearly, he could guess that he was the person in charge of South China) and the other employees of Na Du Tong who stayed behind did not rush in immediately.

Liao Zhong was holding a device that looked like a tablet computer, which clearly displayed Chen Duo's real-time location (most likely using a positioning device on Chen Duo's body). They seemed to be more accustomed to this mode of "remote command" plus "location monitoring".

Wang Xuan stopped paying attention to Liao Zhong and the others. His gaze was fixed on the direction where Chen Duo had disappeared. His figure floated down from the treetop like a ghost and landed silently.

Then, with a speed far exceeding that of Chen Duo and that woman, it silently followed.

He felt a little complicated.

If we're talking about the most passionate and inspiring chapter in "Under One Person," Wang Xuan would say it's the Tang Sect chapter, a tragic epic that combines national integrity with the methods of supernatural beings.

But if we're talking about the most frustrating and unsettling chapter, so far, it's definitely the Chen Duo chapter.

The story of a girl who was never treated as a human being and ultimately chose death as her last act of self-determination is filled with suffocating tragedy.

In the original work, Lao Meng once painfully questioned:

Why does Chen Duo have to die? Isn't there any other way?

Feng Baobao answered in her uniquely straightforward and even cruel way: "She's just unlucky."

These words sound cold, but in a sense, they reveal a helpless kind of "fate".

From the moment she was chosen by the Medicine Immortal Society and trained into a Gu-body Saint Child, her tragedy seemed to have been destined.

She is out of place in this normal world; her very existence is a mistake, a bug that needs to be "dealt with."

Wang Xuan's gaze sharpened in the darkness.

"But that was before I came into this world!"

"Now that I'm here and know her fate, if I just stand by and watch everything repeat itself without doing anything, what's the point of me having traveled this far and gained this cultivation?"

"If I didn't come, Chen Duo died; if I came, Chen Duo still died? Then what was the point of my trip?!"

This idea, simple and direct, represents his most fundamental attitude—intervention! Change!

Moreover, as a cultivator, one cultivates power and refines one's true nature.

It emphasizes having a clear conscience and a clear mind.

If someone has the ability but chooses not to help and allows tragedy to unfold before their eyes, this incident will inevitably become a thorn in their side, an obstacle hindering their future advancement.

"I'm afraid my resolve to follow the Dao will be disrupted!"

This is the most fundamental reason.

However, Wang Xuan remained extremely calm. He knew that now was definitely not the best time to make a move.

Forcibly taking Chen Duo away was extremely easy for him. With his cultivation at the third level of the Reverse Life Realm, snatching her from Liao Zhong and a few ordinary employees would be effortless.

After taking her away, how do we solve her fundamental problem? That's the crucial question!

The root of Chen Duo's tragedy lies in the fact that she is not a "Gu Master," but the "Gu" itself!

It is a "Gu-bodied Holy Child" created by the Medicine Immortal Society using inhumane methods!

The most primal and deadly "primal Gu" resides within her body.

These poisons are not foreign substances, but are closely integrated with her own life force, relying on the Qi she generates as sustenance, and deeply rooted in her internal organs and meridians!

As long as she is alive and continues to generate Qi, the primordial Gu will continue to grow and strengthen, eroding her and threatening everything around her.

This is an unsolvable vicious cycle!

Unless she dies, the Primal Gu will never disappear.

This is the fundamental reason why the company ultimately determined that she "must be dealt with," and it was not entirely out of indifference.

In the darkness, a subtle yet confident smile curved the corners of Wang Xuan's lips.