480: Chapter 480 Lin Chuqiao's Revenge, Midnight Horror

"Could something have happened?"

Second Young Master Chen Xuan looked at his phone screen, his expression growing even gloomier.

Seeing this, the other members of the Chen Family exchanged glances, and the sound of whispered discussions gradually spread.

Lin Chuqiao's eyes flashed slightly as she gave a light cough to attract everyone's attention.

Immediately afterward, she pressed her fingertips together and silently calculated, as if divining some profound hexagram.

Her breathing grew light and slow, and her entire being entered an ethereal, mysterious state.

A moment later, her eyes snapped open, her expression shifting slightly as she spoke in a hurried tone:

"Not good, Chen Qiming is likely facing a bloody disaster, and... it seems to be related to that evil spirit!"

"What?!"

Second Young Master Chen Xuan was horrified, blurting out almost immediately.

Fang Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately asked:

"Where is he now?"

"I... don't know."

Cold sweat broke out on Second Young Master Chen Xuan's forehead, and his voice trembled slightly:

"However, Qiming usually likes to stay at Haoting Hotel, where he has long-term rented a suite. If he's not at home, he generally goes there to rest."

"Let's go, to the hotel."

Fang Cheng made a decisive choice, turning around and walking straight out.

Lin Chuqiao, Bailing, and Pan Wendi followed closely behind.

Seeing this, Second Young Master Chen Xuan immediately instructed the other Family members to stay in place and wait for news temporarily, bringing only a few top experts from within the Family as he hurried to catch up.

The group quickly walked out of the hospital and headed straight for the vehicles in the parking lot.

Second Young Master Chen Xuan drove personally, Pan Wendi sat in the front passenger seat, and Fang Cheng, Lin Chuqiao, and Bailing crammed into the back seat.

The vehicle started, the engine roared, and it quickly drove into the midnight streets.

At this time of night, there were few vehicles on the road. Second Young Master Chen Xuan pressed the accelerator to the floor, and the speed soared.

Streetlamps flashed backward like shooting stars, and the neon lights and shadows flickered rapidly across the glass.

Inside the car, it was silent, the atmosphere slightly solemn.

Fang Cheng quietly turned his head, leaned close to Lin Chuqiao's ear, and lowered his voice:

"Are you really sure?"

Warm breath blew against her earlobe, causing Lin Chuqiao's ears to turn slightly red, but she quickly returned to normal.

She turned her face to the side, the distance between the two so close that they could almost feel each other's breath.

Lin Chuqiao blinked craftily and likewise spoke in a low voice:

"I'm not too sure, I just feel that guy's aura is dark and his physiognomy exudes an evil air. People with crooked minds like him are the most prone to attracting filthy things, so going over to scare him a bit isn't a bad idea."

Fang Cheng was amused to the point of laughter, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

Lin Chuqiao stuck out her tongue, her eyes carrying a bit of vengeful smugness.

Bailing beside them pretended not to hear anything, merely pressing her lips together to hold back her laughter.

Outside the car window, the night was as deep as ink, even starlight obscured by heavy clouds.

Just a few kilometers ahead, the towering building of Haoting Hotel had already vaguely come into view.

...

On the 39th floor of Haoting Hotel, inside the presidential suite.

The dazzling crystal chandelier was not turned on; only a few wall lamps cast dim light, outlining the luxurious contours of the room.

Scattered across the carpet were a woman's high heels and a man's shirt, and several wrinkled undergarments were thrown on the sofa.

The bedroom was permeated with a rich fragrance of perfume, mixed with the scents of alcohol and hormones.

That spacious bed was large enough for five or six people to sleep on.

At this moment, Chen Qiming was lying on the bed, snoring away.

He wore only a pair of shorts, revealing a fair physique lacking muscle definition, his chest rising and falling slightly with his breathing.

On both his left and right sides lay a woman.

Both were very young, with pretty faces and fiery figures, wearing revealing nightwear that exposed large areas of snow-white skin.

One woman's arm rested casually on Chen Qiming's chest, while the other was curled up at his side, breathing evenly and sleeping soundly.

On the bedside table was a stack of scattered hundred-yuan bills, along with an opened box of condoms.

The phone discarded nearby had its screen lit up, several missed call notifications particularly conspicuous in the dark.

"Mn..."

Chen Qiming suddenly frowned, uttering a murmur in his throat, his eyelids fluttering as he slowly opened them.

The outline of the ceiling appeared blurry in the dark, and the headache brought on by a hangover made his temples throb painfully.

After easing the dizziness, he reached out for his phone and squinted to check the time.

3:04.

As for the several missed calls popping up on the screen, he didn't pay them any mind at all.

It was nothing more than his Family members asking where he was again, urging him to go back to the Secret Realm and stay there.

Having finally escaped from that ghost place, how could he be worthy of his current 'escape from the tiger's mouth' if he didn't spend a few more days being Xiaosa and partying?

Chen Qiming licked his dry lips, without disturbing the warm and fragrant jade beside him, lifted the silk quilt, and got out of bed.

Stepping barefoot onto the soft wool carpet, he swayed before steadying himself.

Then he walked slowly to the living room, took a bottle of ice water from the bar refrigerator, unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and chugged more than half the bottle in gulps.

The ice-cold liquid slid down his esophagus, finally quenching the burning heat within his internal organs.

Chen Qiming let out a comfortable burp, preparing to turn around and return to the room to continue sleeping.

But an inexplicable chill suddenly came from behind him, like a block of ice pressed against his spine.

His movements stiffened, and he instinctively turned his head to look at the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.

The heavy velvet curtains isolated the city's night scenery outside, with not a shred of light filtering through.

Yet for some reason, he always felt that behind the curtains, something was watching him.

Hallucination?

Chen Qiming swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his fingers holding the water bottle tightening slightly.

Hesitating for a moment, he ultimately couldn't resist the trace of bizarre curiosity deep in his heart, and stepped forward.

He reached out his hand, grabbed the edge of the curtain, and gave it a fierce yank.

Swish—

The curtains slid to one side, and a dazzling night view instantly rushed into his eyes.

The lights of thousands of homes were like scattered stars, and the neon lights of distant tall buildings shifted in brilliance on the glass curtain wall, adorning the entire sleeping city like a dream.

Chen Qiming stared out the window for a few seconds; there was nothing there.

Afterward, he breathed a sigh of relief, smiling self-deprecatingly—he really had drunk too much.

Just the split second he was about to turn and leave, a voice seemed to drift from a very distant place, yet rang out clearly in his ear.

"Qiming..."

That voice was very soft, very ancient, carrying an indescribable sense of familiarity.

Chen Qiming's whole body stiffened, and the mineral water bottle in his hand dropped onto the carpet with a snap, producing a muffled sound.

He whipped his head back, his pupils abruptly contracting.

Right on that floor-to-ceiling window glass reflecting the city's night view, I don't know when, a blurry figure had appeared.

That figure stood right in front of him, its outline hazy, as if separated by a layer of thick fog.

His facial features could not be seen clearly; one could only vaguely see a hunchbacked physique, wearing a long robe, with gray hair.

"Who... who is there?"

Chen Qiming's voice was dry and trembling.

"Qiming, it's me."

The voice sounded once more, this time carrying an indescribable affection.

Chen Qiming's breathing grew hurried, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

This voice... was extremely like his deceased grandfather.

Back then, he had watched with his own eyes as his grandfather's remains were sent into the Black Building to be sealed up; how could it be possible...

"Qiming, my good grandson..."

That voice carried a coaxing tone, like an invisible pair of hands gently stroking his Soul.

Chen Qiming's gaze began to grow dazed, his pupils gradually losing focus.

His lips parted slightly as he murmured:

"Grandpa... is that you?"

"It's me."

The voice grew increasingly gentle: "Grandpa is outside, so cold, so cold... Qiming, open the window and let Grandpa in, alright?"

Chen Qiming nodded blankly, as if guided by invisible threads, and walked toward the ventilation window at the side of the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Grandpa... I'm a bit scared..."

His hand touched the cold metal handle, and his whole body shivered.

"Don't be afraid, Grandpa won't harm you, hurry up, hurry and open it..."

The voice grew urgent.

Chen Qiming gritted his teeth and finally pushed the window open with force.

Click—

The moment the window opened, a chilly, bone-piercing wind poured in fiercely.

Whoosh—

That wind was extremely unusual, not like a natural night breeze.

It seemed to blow from Hell, scraping against his skin with a stinging pain akin to knife cuts.

The cold instantly pierced through flesh and blood, seeping into his bone marrow.

Chen Qiming's eyes widened abruptly, his pupils contracting violently, his mouth open, yet unable to utter any sound.

An ice-cold and evil power was crazily pouring in along his opened pores.

His face began to distort, his facial features spasmed, blue veins bulged on his forehead, and his whole person stiffened in place.

That power was full of aggressiveness, like a venomous snake rapidly traveling through his blood vessels, occupying every inch of flesh and blood in his limbs and bones.

I don't know how long passed before the trembling of his body finally stopped.

Chen Qiming slowly raised his head, his gaze turning cold and unfamiliar.

Then, he lowered his head, raised his own hands, slowly clenched them into fists, and loosened them again.

Repeating this several times, as if familiarizing himself with this brand-new shell.

Then, he raised his head and looked at the floor-to-ceiling window.

The glass reflected a young face, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, yet carrying a bit of a prodigal son's frivolousness and indulgence.

Chen Qiming—no, he should now be called Xuanzhen, the corners of his mouth hooked into a bitter smile.

"Fortunately, of the child Gu insects planted back then, a few still retained some vitality, otherwise this old man really would have suffered Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering..."

An aged, hoarse voice spat out from his mouth, completely different from Chen Qiming's original vocal cords.

Xuanzhen walked over to the sofa and sat down, lowering his head in thought.

"The village definitely cannot be returned to..."

He muttered to himself, his voice low and hoarse:

"Professor Ye Zhiren destroyed my mother Gu insect, and certainly won't let off the other villagers who had spells cast on them. Those child Gu insects... cannot be kept safe."

Speaking up to here, he paused for a moment, a trace of desolation and lingering fear flashing in his eyes.

"Sigh, I never expected that this old man, who traversed the world for a lifetime, would actually have a day where I degenerate into a lonely ghost."

Amidst his melancholy sigh, Xuanzhen couldn't help but picture the scene when transmigrating through the Void Realm in his mind.

The boundless darkness, the piercing cold and loneliness that pierced the Soul, and that vague, flickering sound of summoning.

Causing him to unconsciously shiver all over, his face turning pale.

That feeling was like being locked in a coffin that could never be opened, suffocating to death alive, yet not dying quickly.

Even in death, true liberation could not be obtained.

He could only forever endure that suffocation and despair, plunging into Hell.

Xuanzhen shook his head, the hatred in his eyes raging like fire, but it was quickly replaced by helplessness.

Forget it, in my current state, let alone revenge, being able to completely occupy this Physical Body without suffering backlash is already satisfying.

"Furthermore, Utopia probably cannot be returned to either..."

He muttered softly, making calculations in his mind.

Now Old Master Chen Hongye's Physical Body had been destroyed, disrupting the master plan formulated by Utopia. Returning would inevitably result in severe punishment.

If it were before when his strength was still intact, he could still bear this little punishment.

But now he was practically a cripple, having already lost any footing within the organization.

He knew Utopia's rules very well; people who lost their utility value never had a good ending.

This was precisely the reason why he hadn't actively contacted the organization.

Thinking of the ruthless methods hidden beneath that lord's seemingly warm and genial face...

A chill rose on Xuanzhen's back, and the thought of playing turtle and hiding away grew even firmer.

He slowly turned his head to look at those two youthful and beautiful Physical Bodies in the bedroom, a trace of greed involuntarily leaking from his eyes.

"Even if this old man cannot recover his strength in the future, being a wealthy scion who throws money like dirt and peacefully enjoying decades of worldly pleasure wouldn't actually be bad..."

Before his words fell, a voice full of anger and fear suddenly rang out in his mind:

"Bastard! You are not my grandpa! Get out of my body right now!"

Xuanzhen's expression instantly turned ferocious, blue veins throbbing violently at his temples.

His left pupil contracted violently, while his right eye turned turbid, the two eyes seemingly looking in different directions, as if two consciousnesses were fiercely pulling at each other within his body.

"Sigh, this old man has actually fallen to the point where he can't even suppress a waste of space..."

He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse.

The next second, his head snapped up, a fierce light flashing in his eyes as he shouted sternly:

"Shut up!"

This angry roar echoed in the air and also resounded directly through his mind, like a thunderclap exploding.

Chen Qiming's consciousness was instantly suppressed, as if pressed into the abyss by a giant hand, unable to utter any sound ever again.

Xuanzhen panted heavily, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

He knew this was only temporary.

Chen Qiming's consciousness was still there; it was just forcibly suppressed by him.

Once his Mental Energy weakened, the other party could counterattack at any time.

This Physical Body did not yet entirely belong to him.

Xuanzhen's heart was filled with stifled anger and unwillingness.

If it were a day ago, with his Divine Soul intact and his strength still existing, how could he possibly have fallen into such a distressed plight?

"Young Master Chen, what's wrong? Who were you talking to outside?"

The two women in the bedroom were awakened by the angry roar just now, rubbing their eyes and asking lazily.

Xuanzhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, forcibly suppressing the restlessness within his body, and gave a perfunctory reply:

"It's nothing, I had a nightmare. You guys keep sleeping, I'll be right over."

As he spoke, just as he wanted to get up and return to the bedroom, a hurried knocking suddenly sounded outside the suite.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Third Brother, are you alright? Open the door quickly!"

It was Second Young Master Chen Xuan's voice.

Xuanzhen's heart sank abruptly, the color on his face instantly draining away, turning deadly pale once more.

With his current state, if Second Young Master Chen Xuan recognized him as a counterfeit who had usurped the nest, he likely wouldn't have the slightest bit of resistance.

"Qiming! It's me, I'm your cousin, open the door quickly and let us in!"

Following closely after, another anxious voice rang out.

What should he do?

Xuanzhen's heart beat wildly without stopping, and the cold sweat seeping from his forehead grew even more abundant.

You must know that with this tiny bit of Mental Energy he had left, it was utterly impossible to once again transmigrate through the dark Void Realm and choose another target for Possession.

But if he stayed, facing the members of the Chen Family who possessed the Spirit Pupils ability, there was a high probability that his anomalies would be seen through.

After all, he hadn't completely devoured Chen Qiming's consciousness or thoroughly achieved Fusion with this Physical Body.

Just as he was hesitating and caught in a dilemma, a crisp female voice came from outside the door:

"Not good, I sense that the evil spirit's aura is growing stronger, you guys hurry up and make a move!"

"Move aside, move aside, it's time for me to show off my skills!"

An eager male voice rang out, carrying a bit of excitement.

The next second, bang!

Accompanied by a loud crash, the thick wooden door of the hotel suite was kicked open directly with a foot.

In an instant, wood chips splattered and flew everywhere, and several figures burst in in response.

Their gazes quickly locked onto Chen Qiming standing in the center of the living room.

It was precisely Fang Cheng, Lin Chuqiao, Pan Wendi, Bailing, as well as Second Young Master Chen Xuan and other top experts within the Chen Family.