"No matter when, always be wary of those with ill intentions, they're more terrifying than monsters."
"Thank you, I'll remember that."
"Good, now follow me."
Shen Ye asked in confusion, "Follow you? Isn't there a murderer about to come out from the Technique soon?"
"This place is about to be sealed off, more professional people are coming to deal with him, we must leave immediately," Qian Rushan said.
Shen Ye had no choice but to follow him downstairs, hurriedly leave the police station, cross two streets, and was picked up by a black car that had long been waiting by the roadside.
In the car.
"Where are we going now?" Shen Ye asked.
"I just got in touch with your parents and arranged a meeting place; you should come along," Qian Rushan said.
He opened a bottle of strong liquor and took a swig directly from the bottle.
"Why don't you stay and solve the police station's problem all at once?" Shen Ye asked.
"Me? No no no, the task Kunlun gave me was to kill one, and then to ensure your safe departure, the rest is for more professional people to handle," Qian Rushan said.
"From the power of that one strike of yours, killing another seems not too difficult," Shen Ye said.
"Don't ever think that way," Qian Rushan took another drink, "who knows what he'll bring out with him from the church's 'Anomaly'—"
"Right, do you know what an 'Anomaly' is?"
"I don't know," Shen Ye shook his head.
—Right now he was just a normal middle school student. If it weren't for the talking corpse, he really wouldn't know what an "Anomaly" was.
Qian Rushan explained the "Anomaly" and the "Catastrophe" again, and continued:
"I remember once there was a guy, who came out of the 'Anomaly' looking completely normal, but in fact, he was nothing more than a human skin."
"That human skin hid a monster that had never been recorded before."
"The monster slaughtered half a city district before its weakness was found, and it was killed on the spot."
"That's why I'd rather take murder jobs than have anything to do with the church's 'Anomalies'."
"—Everyone feels that way."
As Qian Rushan spoke, he suddenly flipped open his phone and dialed a number.
"Luo Feichuan... Mr. Luo, I just remembered someone, help me check on them."
"The name is Xiao Mengyu, check her relationship with Luo Feichuan."
Who knew what the person on the other end said, but Qian Rushan immediately sat up straight.
"Ah, that's bad."
He murmured softly.
Seeing his mood wasn't good, Shen Ye stayed silent and did not ask further.
Twenty minutes later.
The car stopped in front of a teahouse.
"I chose a new location," Qian Rushan said, "half a city district away from the police station—this is safe distance, generally speaking, there's enough time to escape."
Shen Ye sighed, "I didn't know before how difficult it is for humans to survive."
"Knowing life is hard means you've grown up," Qian Rushan patted his shoulder.
"Normal people don't know this?" Shen Ye asked.
"Usually, when faced with the church's Technique, normal people die without realizing anything, while we struggle for the continuation of human civilization," Qian Rushan said.
From afar, Shen Ye could already see his father Shen Shi'an and mother Zhao Xiaochang waiting in front of the teahouse.
"Dad, Mom!"
He got out of the car and waved at them.
His mother was radiant, and his father also showed a relieved smile as they both looked at him.
Qian Rushan also got out of the car and went forward with a smile to shake hands.
After some pleasantries, they entered the teahouse, found a private room, and sat down amidst cordial conversation.
"I've already told you both about the situation over the phone; this is the detailed contract, please take a look," Qian Rushan said with a smile that showed no sign of having just killed someone.
Shen Shi'an placed the contract Qian Rushan handed over on the table, without even glancing at it, he said:
"At this point, there's something that must be made known to Shen Ye, he needs to make a choice, then we'll look at this contract in detail."
Qian Rushan seemed to know what he was about to say, nodding repeatedly, "Of course, I'll step out for a cigarette, just call me when you're ready."
He stood up, left the private room, and politely closed the door behind him.
Shen Ye turned to look at his parents.
What are you talking about?
"Xiao Ye, mom and dad won't hide it from you, actually, your dad's side belongs to an offshoot of the Shen Family of Sanjin; strictly speaking, you are also a scion of a noble family," Zhao Xiaochang said.
The Shen Family of Sanjin?
Shen Ye felt it sounded familiar and immediately began to recall the history knowledge he had learned.
It seemed the history book mentioned it briefly.
The Shen Family of Sanjin was one of the several families with a legacy of Divine Spirits and Divine Artifacts in history.
But it wasn't detailed in middle school textbooks, and such knowledge would only be learned in high school.
"Your father was also a genius favored by all when he was young, but unfortunately, he went mad practicing an ancient Cultivation Technique, losing all his strength and was immediately treated coldly by the family," Zhao Xiaochang continued with a choke in her voice:
"In his despair, he left the family and came to this city to live on his own."
"He met me."
"Your grandfather arranged a marriage for him, but he refused for my sake, which angered your grandfather and led to him being completely abandoned by the family."
Shen Ye looked at his father.
—You also have such a melodramatic love story?
Shen Shi'an looked calm, caressing his wife's hand, and took over the conversation:
"So we started living a safe and content life and had a healthy growing child."
The couple looked at each other and smiled warmly together.
Shen Ye just felt like he was fed a mouthful of dog food by his parents.
No wonder Qian Rushan made up an excuse to leave just now.
He must have investigated his own family background. Leaving now was to give his family a chance to talk.
Perhaps he had a taste of dog food while investigating.
"Dad, Mom, besides showing off your love in front of me, is there anything else you want to tell me?" Shen Ye said irritably.
Shen Shi'an became serious and spoke:
"Xiao Ye, do you want to acknowledge your ancestors and return to the family to cultivate?"
"I can go and ask your grandfather."
Shen Ye thought back carefully.
Over the years, the number of times the family went back to grandfather's place was extremely limited.
Moreover, in his childhood memories, the only joyful thing was the brief time during the New Year when he played with kids from various families.
Now that he thought about it, every time they went back, his grandfather never gave his parents a warm welcome.
The other relatives were also very cold towards him.
Later, as he grew older, they almost stopped going back.
In his previous life, he was accustomed to desolation and solitude, living a life of loneliness until now, so he only wanted sincere kinship.
——Why would he return to such a cold-blooded family?
Zhao Xiaochang spoke up: "Xiao Ye, don't worry about us. If you want to return to the noble family, we could actually—"
"Mom, there's no need to say more," Shen Ye interrupted his mother directly, "I'm not going back."
"The noble family's legacy is something countless people yearn for but can never have. Xiao Ye, if you join the Human Martial Arts Group, you will never be able to access the family's secret legacy," Shen Shi'an said.
"Once your grandfather agrees, you can return to the Shen Family and at least have carefree provisions for life," added Zhao Xiaochang.
Shen Ye smiled and said, "Dad, Mom, I don't want you to beg anyone."
"I want to join the Human Martial Arts Group. This is the path I have chosen for myself, it has nothing to do with grandfather or the Shen Family."
"I will be able to support myself in the future, believe me."
His parents looked at him together.
He nodded firmly.
"You've really grown up," Zhao Xiaochang said, wiping away tears.
"Very good, just like me," Shen Shi'an said with satisfaction.
"You agree?" Shen Ye asked.
"We respect your opinion. After all, it's your life, your choice is what matters the most," Zhao Xiaochang said.
"Then I'll go call Manager Qian back."
"Okay."
It wasn't long before.
Qian Rushan returned to the private room and sat down next to Shen Ye.
"President Qian, I'm following you from now on," said Shen Ye.
Qian Rushan immediately beamed with a smile and took out a gold pen from his pocket, saying:
"Without hiding it from you, those of us in charge of regions also shoulder the responsibility for selecting talents, which is one of the aspects the Group values most."
"Shen Ye's talent is exceptional, and I have high hopes for him."
The gold pen was presented before Shen Shi'an.
Shen Shi'an read the contract once, then again, slowly signing his name and pushing the contract towards Zhao Xiaochang.
Zhao Xiaochang put on a pair of glasses and read the contract carefully, word by word.
"Do you still have to participate in the selections for The Three Prestigious Schools?" she asked.
"Yes, this is a very precious opportunity. He just happens to coincide with the entrance exams for The Three Prestigious Schools," Qian Rushan said.
"When will it be?" Zhao Xiaochang couldn't help but ask.
Qian Rushan smiled and explained:
"In fact, Shen Ye is the last participant I plucked from the multitude of people right before the deadline."
"The other candidates have already been confirmed."
"In a few days, there will be a notification, followed by a gathering for the exams."
Zhao Xiaochang became slightly excited.
That was, after all, the top three high schools in the world!
She tried to sound relaxed as she said to Shen Ye:
"No worries, Xiao Ye, just give it your best effort; the result isn't important."
Shen Shi'an's expression, however, became more complex, hesitating for a long while before speaking:
"Xiao Ye, I must tell you something."
"What is it?" asked Shen Ye.
"If you apply for the exams as a Scion of the Noble Family, you can get better resources and help, and your chances of getting into these three high schools are greater. If you want to go back, we'll apologize to your grandfather and ask for his—"
"Dad, there's no need to continue. I'll sit the exams on my own," Shen Ye said with a resolute tone.
Having been reborn, wealth can't buy my happiness. Now you want me to go back and deal with people's judgments again?
No way.
Even if I don't take the exams, just being a fishmonger in the market would make me happier!
——That is, once I've dealt with being hunted down.
"Alright," Shen Shi'an sighed and looked towards Qian Rushan, sincerely saying, "This exam will probably be very tough, so I ask President Qian to please take good care of my child."
"Definitely!" Qian Rushan said repeatedly. "Right now, I take care of Shen Ye, but in a few years, it might be Shen Ye who takes care of me."
After saying this, he burst out laughing heartily.
15 years old.
A Strength above 5, full marks in Agility, and also very strong spiritual power.
A clean identity, details thoroughly checked.
Actually, there was no need for him to sign this contract. Simply by returning to the Shen family, he might possess everything.
But this family had pride, which was why they were living a tight life.
In such moments, extending a helping hand and forming a connection with them meant that no matter what, it would never result in a loss.
Moreover, without discussing his identity, just successfully attracting such a talented youth was enough to add a bright spot to his own performance for the year.
If Shen Ye flourished even more brilliantly on his journey of growth—
As his referrer, his own status would rise along with Shen Ye's achievements.