Chapter 1190: Half-Mountain Hotel

The process lasted a full two or three minutes before Chu Changqing stopped vomiting. He sat dazed on the ground, as if his thoughts had come to a halt.

Not to mention Chu Changqing, who experienced it firsthand, even onlookers like Lu Xun felt their scalps tingle.

"...Director Chen, is it done?"

"Yes," Chen Ling nodded slightly. "All the ink within him has been extracted by me. The superficial wounds aren't large; he should recover in a few days... hmm?"

Before Chen Ling finished speaking, he saw all the bloody holes on Chu Changqing's body begin to shrink at a visible rate. Within a few breaths, they had completely healed, leaving no trace of a scar.

Witnessing this, Chen Ling's eyes widened in astonishment. Even his and Jian Changsheng's Blood Robe might not heal this quickly. Chu Changqing was likely only at a third or fourth-tier level, yet he possessed such recovery abilities?

While his physical wounds healed quickly, his mental scars lingered. It took Chu Changqing a while to regain his senses. He slowly rose from the ground and spoke, sounding a little tired:

"Phew... thank you... Director Chen."

Although the process was painful, Chu Changqing knew Chen Ling was treating him. Now he was a normal person with completely unrestricted movement, so he naturally no longer needed the wheelchair.

Seeing how worn out he looked, Chen Ling spoke directly:

"No need to thank me. You should rest first. We can talk about other matters after you've recovered."

Chu Changqing's wariness towards Chen Ling had largely dissipated. He didn't try to push himself, nodding slightly before heading to the nearby bedroom.

It was evident he was truly exhausted. Even though the bedroom contained only a bare bed board, without even a mattress or pillow, Chu Changqing still collapsed and fell asleep, soon drifting into a deep slumber.

"Director Chen, would you like something to eat?" Yang Xiao asked, pointing to the food on the table.

"I won't be eating."

Chen Ling slowly walked onto the balcony and took a list from his pocket. It was the list of all guests who attended tonight's banquet, procured by Sun Buming.

If all went as expected, Ying Fu should have already made his move. The problem was, with so many names on the list, who would Ying Fu target?

Under the hazy moonlight, Chen Ling gazed at the many names, lost in thought.

In a deserted park, a somewhat gaunt middle-aged man walked across the dimly lit lawn.

"He should be right here..."

He muttered to himself, looked around, and then his gaze fell upon a stone pavilion not far away.

At this moment, an old man sat alone in the pavilion. Under the hazy moonlight, his shadow appeared mysterious and solitary.

The man immediately strode towards the stone pavilion.

"Mr. Han, is there something you needed to see me about at this late hour?"

Han Xiang slowly turned around. Under the moonlight, his eyes were as deep as an abyss. He gestured to a seat in the stone pavilion and said softly:

"Please sit. We can talk slowly."

Though confused, the man obediently sat down. Han Xiang held a high position and enjoyed considerable prestige within Bureau 749. Receiving a sudden invitation from him, the man naturally dared not be remiss.

"Li Huang, 33 years old. Ten years ago, your fiancée was imprisoned on suspicion of money laundering and eventually died of illness in jail..." Han Xiang seemed to know the man's situation intimately, as his first words hit a raw nerve.

The man's pupils constricted slightly, and he abruptly stood up.

"No, she didn't launder money!! She was framed and made a scapegoat... She didn't do anything!!"

"Is that so?" Han Xiang raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!!" The man seemed to recall something, his eyes filled with pain.

"The real money launderer was powerful and influential locally... Because my fiancée bore a 60-70% resemblance to her, she threatened my fiancée's parents and pulled strings to make her serve jail time in her place...

"I was on a mission out of town back then, and by the time I got the news, it was too late..."

The man's gaze fixed on Han Xiang, his brows furrowed tightly. His tone was cold. "Mr. Han... did you call me here in the middle of the night just to ask about this?"

"No." Han Xiang shook his head. "Actually, I wanted to introduce someone to you."

"...Who?"

Han Xiang turned his head to look into the depths of the dense woods, and the man's gaze followed.

From the dark woods, a figure slowly emerged. Ying Fu had removed his black-rimmed glasses, and his sharp eyes, under the moonlight, exuded an indescribable oppressive aura.

For some reason, the moment he saw those eyes, the man's heart trembled. Even his own divine path seemed affected, and an inexplicable sense of pressure weighed upon him like a mountain.

"Who... are you?"

Ying Fu stopped in front of the stone pavilion, slowly raised his hand, and pointed towards Li Huang's forehead.

A calm voice resonated in his ear:

"Follow me, and overturn this era..."

***

Wushan, mid-mountain.

On the dark, unlit mountain road, Shen Nan's figure slowly emerged.

He looked at the brightly lit hotel halfway up the mountain, not far away, and the more than ten black cars parked at its entrance, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

"It's already deep into the night. What is he doing here?"

Ever since the banquet ended, Shen Nan had been trailing Sun Zhongliang's motorcade. He wanted to know what was about to happen in Wushan. Besides preparing to ask directly, he also hoped to gather more information from Sun Zhongliang's movements.

But he didn't expect that Sun Zhongliang, who had been heavily intoxicated at the banquet, wouldn't return home to sleep. Instead, he went up the mountain overnight and arrived at this hotel, which seemed to have just been renovated.

Shen Nan recalled that this was supposed to be the venue for tomorrow's meeting. Surely, he wouldn't come here overnight just to scout the location, would he?

For the director of Bureau 749, there was truly no need for that.

Shen Nan pondered for a long time. After taking out the grotesque Nuo mask from behind him and quietly putting it on, he drifted towards the mid-mountain hotel like a light breeze.

Given Shen Nan's skill, it was not difficult to bypass the Bureau 749 staff outside and covertly infiltrate the hotel. He easily reached an outer corridor and moved slowly along the wall deeper inside.

Even though it was deep into the night, there were still numerous Bureau 749 staff members inside the hotel. They bustled about, carrying various documents, their expressions very hurried.

Seeing these people, Shen Nan's suspicions grew stronger. He vaguely guessed that Bureau 749 must be secretly preparing something.

He followed some of them and soon arrived at the central elevator lobby. He watched as the staff entered an elevator and pressed a button; the doors slowly closed. However, the screen above the elevator did not display a floor number but instead showed a red "errOr" message.

Shen Nan stood before these elevators, deep in thought.

This mid-mountain hotel was only four stories high, and its age suggested it should be quite old. Logically, it shouldn't even have elevators. Could they have installed new ones specifically for the meeting?

But the conference room was clearly on the first floor, and no one was staying here. What would they need elevators for?

A sharp glint flashed in Shen Nan's eyes. He raised a finger and lightly pressed the elevator call button.