240: Chapter 240 Abolishment, Cleanup

Chen Ran first knocked out Yan Feng, then looked around.

The shattered ground, the collapsed stone table, the scattered gravel—all of them bore witness to the brief yet intense clash that had just occurred.

Although the commotion had been kept within a very small range, after all, it was a full-force strike from a Martial Artist at the Return to Truth Realm, so the tremors still spread more than a dozen zhang away.

Chen Ran moved his Divine Thought, and the [Heavenly Net] instantly covered a distance of several hundred zhang around him.

As expected.

People in several nearby residences had already been awakened, scrambling up from their beds in a panic; some had even pushed open their doors, peering in this direction with trepidation.

"Was that an earthquake?"

"That noise just now..."

"It seemed to come from another courtyard."

Chen Ran frowned slightly.

His figure flashed, turning into a lingering shadow as he swept out of the courtyard gate.

The first household on the east side.

A man in his thirties was standing in the courtyard wearing only an unlined garment, his face full of uncertainty and suspicion, muttering something, seemingly intending to go out and check.

Chen Ran appeared behind him without a sound.

The man was completely unaware, still talking to himself: "This early in the morning, how..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

A hand pressed lightly against the back of his neck.

The man's body stiffened, then his eyes rolled back, and he slumped down softly.

Chen Ran caught his body, laid him gently on the ground, turned around, and swept toward the next household.

The second household on the west side.

A couple was standing at the doorway whispering.

"Husband, do you think a thief might have broken in?"

"It's possible, I'll go take a look..."

Chen Ran's figure flashed, and he appeared behind the two of them.

The same technique, the same spot.

Two figures slumped down almost simultaneously.

Chen Ran expressionlessly dragged the two back into the room and casually closed the door.

Immediately after, the north side, the south side...

Every resident who had been awakened and might have noticed the anomaly was, without exception, locked onto by Chen Ran using the [Heavenly Net] and then knocked unconscious one by one.

It took no more than dozens of breaths in total.

All the households nearby that showed any activity were all knocked out by him without anyone knowing.

After finishing all this, Chen Ran returned to the courtyard.

His gaze fell upon the reclining chair in the corner of the courtyard.

There, Grey Wolf was still lying quietly, his brows slightly furrowed, his aura fluctuating in strength, clearly on the verge of waking from his dizziness and could regain consciousness at any moment.

Chen Ran walked up to him and reached out to check his pulse.

It was still stable.

He nodded slightly.

Although his strike just now was extremely fast, he hadn't used heavy force; he had only stunned his Divine Soul, causing him to fall into a brief coma.

Given Grey Wolf's Physique as a Martial Artist of the Return to Truth Realm, this dizziness probably wouldn't last long.

Chen Ran concentrated his attention and activated his Divine Thought again.

An invisible strand of Divine Thought, like silk or thread, silently entered Grey Wolf's Sea of Consciousness.

Grey Wolf's body trembled slightly, his brows furrowed even tighter, but his aura stabilized again, clearly indicating that the dizziness had been forcibly prolonged.

Chen Ran withdrew his hand and turned to look at Yan Feng.

This person's Meridians throughout his limbs and bones were completely severed, his body covered in blood, his face as pale as paper, and his breath was as thin as a gossamer thread.

If not for Chen Ran intentionally holding back, this person would have already died on the spot.

Chen Ran leaned down, grabbed Yan Feng's neck with one hand, and lifted him up as if he were a chick.

Yan Feng's eyes were tightly shut; he had already passed out.

Chen Ran's Divine Thought swept over him, confirming that his Divine Soul was still intact, and only then did he nod with satisfaction.

He turned and looked outside the courtyard.

His figure flashed and disappeared.

...

...

Ten miles outside the capital city.

A desolate Mass Grave.

This place was originally a public mortuary on the outskirts of the capital, specifically used for storing unclaimed bodies.

Later, for unknown reasons, the mortuary was abandoned, corpses littered the ground, and over time, it became a Mass Grave.

Ordinary people avoided it at all costs, and even Martial Artists of the Jianghu were rarely willing to stay here.

At this moment.

Sunlight spilled onto the dilapidated grave mounds, reflecting eerie white bones.

Even in broad daylight, it appeared exceptionally eerie and sinister.

A cold wind blew, withered grass swayed, making a rustling sound, like the whispers of ghosts.

At the end of the line of sight, an old locust tree stood crookedly in the center of the Mass Grave, its trunk long since withered, its bark mottled and peeling.

Only a few withered branches reached out into the air, like withered arms, baring fangs and brandishing claws, as if trying to grasp something tightly.

It is unknown how much time had passed.

Yan Feng's eyelids trembled slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view were those grave mounds and the eerie white bones scattered on the ground.

Yan Feng's pupils contracted suddenly, his whole body trembled, and he sat up abruptly.

Intense pain instantly radiated from his Dantian, like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart, making him let out a muffled groan, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

He looked down at his Dantian.

The True Qi within his body had long since dissipated without a trace, his Meridians were severed inch by inch, and his whole person was as weak as a candle in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment.

Yan Feng's face was deathly pale, his hands clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, blood dripping through his fingers.

Ruined.

He was ruined.

His cultivation at the Peak of the Return to Truth Realm, decades of bitter training, all destroyed in an instant.

Yan Feng trembled all over, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair.

"Awake?"

A cold voice rang in his ear.

Yan Feng looked up abruptly and saw the young man standing quietly under the old locust tree, turned sideways to him, his face hidden in the shadows, making it hard to see clearly.

"This is the Mass Grave, with no one for ten miles around; it's a good place for you."

Yan Feng stared intently at Chen Ran, his voice hoarse: "You... who exactly are you?"

"Me?"

Chen Ran's mouth curled into an arc, and he said indifferently: "Aren't I the person you were trying to catch?"

Yan Feng trembled.

He certainly knew that the person in front of him was Chen Ran.

But what he didn't understand was why the mere seventh-rank minor prison guard mentioned in the intelligence would have such terrifying strength.

This wasn't right.

This intelligence was completely wrong.

Yan Feng gritted his teeth and said: "You are clearly only at the seventh rank, why..."

"Who told you I am at the seventh rank?"

Chen Ran interrupted him, his voice still indifferent.

Yan Feng was speechless.

Chen Ran stepped forward, looking down at Yan Feng from a height, and slowly said: "Now, I ask, you answer."

"If you answer to my satisfaction, perhaps I can leave you with an intact corpse."

"If you are not honest..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the piles of white bones around him, and said meaningfully: "This Mass Grave doesn't mind having one more corpse right now."

Yan Feng felt a chill run through his body.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back.

Chen Ran was not in a hurry, just watching him quietly.

After a long time.

Yan Feng took a deep breath, his voice hoarse: "What do you want to ask?"

Chen Ran said indifferently: "Why did you attack me?"

"Who sent you?"

"What is the purpose?"

Three questions, concise and clear.

Yan Feng was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "Since you could anticipate me in advance, you must also know who is behind me."

Chen Ran raised his eyebrows slightly: "Cao Yong?"

Yan Feng nodded, his voice low: "That's right."

"Lord Cao ordered me to pressure the Lin family into submission, using you as a Breakthrough point, to capture you alive, and use this to threaten the Lin family into bowing down."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Ran's eyes.

It really was Cao Yong.

That henchman of the Chief Grand Secretary.

Chen Ran's expression remained unchanged, and he continued to ask: "Besides you, who else is there?"

Yan Feng was silent.

Chen Ran did not urge him, just watched him quietly.

After a long time.

Yan Feng sighed, his voice hoarse: "There are two others, both with cultivation at the Return to Truth Realm, but they are not responsible for this matter; they are responsible for dealing with other noble families."

"If I succeeded, they would cooperate with me to take you to the Cabinet."

"If I failed, they probably wouldn't come to help me..."

He gave a bitter smile and did not continue.

Chen Ran's eyes narrowed slightly.

This Cao Yong really had a grand plan; to get to him, he didn't hesitate to send a subordinate at the Peak of the Return to Truth Realm.

Chen Ran focused his attention on Yan Feng and then activated his Eye of Investigation.

The [heavenly book of prison suppression] quietly appeared,

Chen Ran's gaze fell on the pages of the book.

There, lines of text were slowly emerging.