Chapter 168

“Dad…”

In the dungeon, Jian Changsheng slowly opened his eyes.

Dim, hazy moonlight filtered through the steel window above, like a patch of white snow spread on the damp ground. His gray, hollow eyes stared at the concrete ceiling for a long time before gradually regaining clarity and thought… It was like a computer that had been shut down for too long, slowly and erratically restarting amidst the buzzing of its worn-out parts.

He remembered: this was the hidden underground of the Constellation Merchant Guild, a strictly guarded forbidden area, a sturdy cell made of steel and concrete…

And he was a prisoner of the Constellation Merchant Guild.

“Constellation Merchant Guild… Yan family!!” Jian Changsheng lay on the ground like a corpse, his chest heaving violently, endless fury surging from his heart as if he wished to burn down the entire cell.

Ever since leaving the Ancient Military Treasury, his memories had been fragmented. First, he frantically paddled across the frozen sea, then fell into a coma, only to wake up on an interrogation table at the Constellation Merchant Guild, ready for soul-shattering torture to extract evidence… After that, it was one painful ordeal after another, each enough to tear his soul apart.

It was a pain Jian Changsheng had never experienced. Countless times, he felt he was about to lose himself to the torment of his soul, yet an unseen force always pulled him back. His will was reshaped through each fracturing of his soul, over and over again.

Jian Changsheng even felt that compared to the pain he endured, the oil cauldrons or *lingchi* in hell were mere child's play.

He furiously clenched his fists, then helplessly loosened them… He stared blankly at the hazy moonlight filtering down from above, and the thought of ending it all by suicide even crossed his mind.

No… he couldn't die yet. He had painstakingly regained his inherent talent, narrowly escaped death, but hadn't even begun his counterattack life, nor had he been able to go home and see his father. How could he just die here?

But what good would living do? The Constellation Merchant Guild already knew he had killed Yan Xicai; they would never let him leave alive. Perhaps endless torture awaited him until his soul was shattered and dissipated, leading to the most tragic death.

Just as Jian Changsheng was struggling, the moonlight filtering down from the dungeon ceiling flickered gently. Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, it seemed as if a mysterious hand was delicately plucking the silken strands of moonlight.

Jian Changsheng froze. He slowly turned his head, following the moonlight to a patch of white on the ground…

Tiny dust motes floated in the moonlight, and the image of a clown, shrouded entirely in shadow, appeared on the ground. Its joints were connected by fine threads to nothingness, like a controlled puppet. Its face was distorted and furious, its hands tightly clenching some of the threads, as if trying to tear them all apart.

In the upper left corner of the image, a vertical line of letters formed a pattern, ancient and mysterious—JOKER.

This was a playing card, a gray "Joker".

“This is…” Jian Changsheng's pupils slightly constricted when he saw the playing card.

He had once been an enforcer in Aurora City. Even with his low status, he had heard of an organization that used playing cards as their codenames… The organization's very existence was a taboo; their danger and madness were a threat felt by all realms.

The moonlight shifted, and the projected playing card was gently flipped over. On the patterns of its reverse side, a small line of text slowly appeared:

“To live, or to die?”

Upon seeing these characters, Jian Changsheng's mind reeled. He finally realized what he was truly facing… That forbidden organization was watching him?

Why?

Though he was merely being observed and not offered a chance to join, very few people could attract their attention. Jian Changsheng had long heard that the Twilight Society was sparsely populated and did not easily recruit new members. His Asura Path, naturally, wouldn't be the reason for their observation… While people on this path were rare, there were still a few in Aurora City, let alone a newcomer who had just embarked on the divine path.

So why would they notice him, imprisoned in this dungeon?

Was it because he had endured four rounds of soul-shattering interrogations? Or was it something else about him?

Jian Changsheng didn't understand, but he didn't need to, because the answer before him was obvious… Life or death? How could he choose the latter?

With almost no hesitation, he spoke in a hoarse, resolute voice:

“I want to live.”

The moment these three words left his lips, the playing card projection on the ground faded and vanished… There was no reply, no unusual phenomena, nothing happened at all, as if everything just now had been Jian Changsheng's hallucination.

In the deathly silence of the darkness, Jian Changsheng sat still as a statue in the center of the dungeon, gazing at that patch of moonlight, a beacon of salvation.

Creak—

The large house door slowly opened. Chen Ling followed Chu Muyun into a spacious Chinese-style courtyard.

"Is this your home?" Chen Ling's gaze swept over the rockeries, gardens, and distant pavilions, and he asked in surprise, "You have such a large property in Aurora City?"

Chen Ling was truly shocked. The last time he saw a courtyard of this scale was in his previous life, when he visited the Suzhou classical gardens… Back then, entry cost 70 yuan.

A courtyard like this would already be expensive in the Seven Districts, but in Aurora City, it signified an absolutely prominent family. He had expected Chu Muyun, as a Twilight Society member with a hidden identity, to live in some dark, secluded corner. He never imagined he would openly reside in such a luxurious mansion, a display of high profile far beyond his expectations.

Bai Ye followed behind him, arms crossed, a smile on his face.

"Doctor Chu usually deals with Aurora City's high-ranking officials and famous figures from all walks of life," Bai Ye explained. "Those people, seeking health and longevity, line up with piles of money, waiting for our Doctor Chu to work his magic. Otherwise, why would I always stick by this guy?

He's the only member we have in Aurora City with high status, substantial wealth, and the ability to openly flaunt it… Leeching off his benefits is much better than hiding in dark corners."

Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses and calmly explained, "There are many people in the Twilight Society more capable than me; I've just been embedded in the Aurora Realm for a longer time, accumulating some resources."

After speaking, he seemed to recall something and looked at Chen Ling.

"After what happened this time, your original identity is completely unusable. Perhaps you should consider arranging a new identity for yourself in Aurora City… That shouldn't be difficult for you."