Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 127Book 3, : Substitute Teacher

Nian Fuli might be a constable brigade commander, but he didn’t have a car, unless he received one when he had to go on an operation. Since they had to go to the headquarters, once they left the alley, Chen Chuan offered to drive them over.

The moment Nian Fuli got into the car, he noticed that it wasn’t the base model. “Is this car modified? It even has armored plates installed, right?”

“Yeah. A friend of mine modified it,” Chen Chuan said.

“That’s not cheap. You must have spent a lot of money on it.”

“He didn’t charge me anything.” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Nian Fuli was quite surprised. “That’s a good friend you have there.”

“Yeah, he is,” Chen Chuan said.

Since there weren’t a lot of cars on the road and this was considered an emergency, Chen Chuan stepped down on the accelerator. In less than half an hour, they arrived at the headquarters at the Eternal Treasure District.

After learning about the situation, Chen Chuan went with the Constabulary to where Che Lie had died.

Meanwhile, he wondered about how he got killed. Usually, Third Limit martial artists could only be killed by someone of the same level. Still, that didn’t mean they were the only ones capable of doing so.

The raccoon stone tablet he carried around was one such thing. He could kill someone remotely with it, but was there anyone in Yangzhi City with a weapon like that?

If there was, then no one in Yangzhi City was truly safe.

The motorcade left the city and reached the scene of the crime in less than an hour. Chen Chuan recognized Cai Hamlet, which was Guan Xiaohui’s home. The place was deserted.

Che Lie had died in a small grove less than five hundred meters away from the hamlet. He lay between two trees, and when they arrived, they were almost unable to recognize him. His head was missing.

An old man was inspecting his corpse.

Chen Chuan had met this coroner before. The old man had been in charge of inspecting the Mutual Aid Group members Chen Chuan had killed.

When they arrived, some of the constables in the area immediately recognized him. “Isn’t that Xiao Chuan?”

“Who?” the constable next to him asked.

“Brigade Commander Nian’s nephew. Have you forgotten about the incident last year?”

“Ah! You’re right! I remember now. It’s him, huh? Didn’t he go to Central City?”

“We can’t call him Xiao Chuan anymore, can we? Look at his uniform. He must be an officer in Central City now,” someone else added.

“You’re right. We have to refer to him with a proper title.”

Chen Chuan approached Che Lie’s corpse and looked at it. Che Lie’s limbs had been broken by forceful blows, and the cut at his neck was clean, so Che Lie was most likely beheaded after he died.

His limbs showed no signs of recovering after they were broken, so he must have received a fatal wound to the head and was then beheaded so that no one could tell precisely how he was killed.

To think that the man who strutted around yesterday, surrounded by constables and brimming with arrogance, would now be lying here in such an undignified state.

Chen Chuan got the gist of what had happened. According to the constables who came with Che Lie, they had received news last night from the informant in the hamlet that the residents were getting ready to leave.

Upon hearing the news, Che Lie decided to bring a squad with him to intercept them. When they were about to reach the hamlet, Che Lie said that the cars were moving too slowly due to the horrible road condition and got out to run over ahead of the rest.

When the constables arrived at the hamlet, they found the place deserted and Che Lie nowhere to be found. So, they left a small unit in the hamlet while the others tracked down the residents.

The residents had left in a hurry into the mountains. Since it was late at night too, the constables could not catch up to them and had to report back to the Constabulary about the failed mission.

Since none of the constables had been attacked, this matter didn’t get much attention from the Constabulary. After all, the weapons the residents possessed weren’t good enough to let them stand against the Constabulary. Besides, the hamlet was already deserted.

Then, once the sun rose, a constable went to the grove to relieve himself, and it was then that he noticed a corpse resembling Che Lie. At this point, he realized that things were off, and he immediately informed the Constabulary about this.

A captain asked the coroner, “Can you tell whether this is really Head Instructor Che?”

He just couldn’t believe it. While no one liked Che Lie and most of them hated and feared him, Che Lie was undoubtedly strong, so the captain wondered whether this corpse was someone else that simply resembled him.

“I’m sure of it,” the coroner answered, completely unfazed.

“And he’s definitely right,” Chen Chuan piped up. He had shaken hands with Che Lie the day before and been in close contact with him. Even without a head, Chen Chuan was sure that this was Che Lie himself.

He looked around and noticed some crumpled branches and trodden leaves, but no signs of fierce fighting. “This should be the primary crime scene, but...”

“But what?” the captain asked. Clearly, he valued Chen Chuan’s opinion.

“The fight lasted for a really short time. Head Instructor Che was killed the moment he met the murderer. He didn’t manage to put up any sort of resistance,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

The captain was shocked and asked, “Are you sure?”

Chen Chuan met him in the eye and said slowly, “As an officer of the Resolution Department and a Third Limit martial artist, I’m sure. I’m also willing to be held accountable for my words.”

Everyone fell silent for a long while.

The captain finally snapped out of his daze, and respect shone in his eyes. Then, he said to the constables around them, “Stop daydreaming and put Officer Chen’s statement into the report. Move Head Instructor Che’s corpse into a car as well. We’re going back.”

Since the hamlet was deserted and they had no idea where the residents had gone, there was no longer any need to perform the raid. Besides, if there was a powerful martial artist standing against them, the constables were pretty much powerless to do anything.

After Chen Chuan returned with the motorcade, he went to Guan Yuming and told him about the situation. He had been thinking about lending a hand, but after exchanging a few words with Guan Yuming, he learned that he had submitted a request for reinforcements from the top brass, and the person they sent to help was going to arrive soon, so there was no need for him to stay. Once he said goodbye to Nian Fuli, Chen Chuan left the headquarters.

He had agreed to meet up with Ding Jiao and his friends today, and it was almost time for their gathering. So, Chen Chuan composed himself and put this matter to the back of his mind before hurrying to meet his friends.

They asked about each other’s lives before going kayaking on a lake. After they had lunch, Ding Jiao brought out a few motorbikes from his shop, and they drove around the city before going to the new amusement park to ride on the roller coasters. Then, they went to watch two new movies after dinner.

While the movies here weren’t as lively as the ones on the Realm Pass, Chen Chuan got to watch them with his friends and enjoy the atmosphere.

By the time they finished, it was already past 10 p.m.. They left the movie theater and went back home after agreeing on a time and date for their next gathering.

They would have never dared to imagine this half a year ago, but after Black Orchid Co. and the Blood Scars Gang collapsed, Guan Yuming took over as the chief of the Constabulary and cracked down on crime. The law and order in the city became much better, which was why people felt safe to walk down the streets or drive on roads now, even though it was already late at night.

This wasn’t even the bustling southern part of the city. The lights practically never dimmed at night in that region.

After parting ways with Ding Jiao and his friends, Chen Chuan drove back home. The moment he parked his car and got out, he sensed something and turned around to take a look, only to see someone walking over from the entrance of the alley.

Through the streetlights, he could see a gentle, elegant middle-aged man in a suit.

Chen Chuan immediately recognized him.

“Mr. Wen?”

The man was Wen Tong, the former head instructor of the Constabulary.

Wen Tong gave him a nod and a smile. “Officer Chen.”

The moment Chen Chuan heard him refer to him via his title, he figured out what had happened and asked, “When Chief Guan said that someone will take over Head Instructor Che’s position, was he referring to you?”

“Yes. Since Head Instructor Che is dead, the top brass sent me here to clean up the mess. Before anyone suitable takes over, I’ll serve as the head instructor,” Wen Tong said.

He observed Chen Chuan a little and lamented, “When Brigade Commander Chen brought you to me to study martial arts, I thought that you weren’t talented enough and rejected you. I really misjudged you.”

Chen Chuan knew that Wen Tong had actually had a good read on him. Chen Chuan had started learning martial arts later than everyone else. Without his second self, he would have had a hard time competing with those who studied martial arts from a young age.

“I’m still thankful that you gave me those sincere suggestions,” he said.

As Wen Tong watched Chen Chuan, he smiled. “While I wasn’t able to teach you back then, I can still make up for lost opportunities.”

Then, he dropped a bomb on Chen Chuan. “Lao He got your telegram.”

The revelation blindsided Chen Chuan.

While still smiling, Wen Tong said, “Your teacher needs to be physically present to teach you how to use the martial arts techniques that complement the Furnace Breathing Technique. He knew that I’m in Yangzhi City, so he asked me to teach them to you.”

He extended his hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. Wen Tong, part of the purity faction and temporary head instructor of Yangzhi City’s Constabulary.”

At this point, Chen Chuan understood what was going on. He went over and shook Wen Tong’s hand before saying, “Well met, Mr. Wen. I’m Chen Chuan.”

“I can spare from three to four hours to teach you every day and will need up to ten days to teach you the main martial arts techniques. Are you okay with that?” Wen Tong asked.

“Of course,” Chen Chuan answered firmly.

“Well then, whenever you’re free, come find me. Judging by the current situation, I won’t be leaving Yangzhi City anytime soon,” Wen Tong said.

“Got it. Thank you, Mr. Wen.”

With that, Wen Tong left.

After Chen Chuan parted ways with him, he went back home, but as he continued walking, he suddenly remembered something.

Wen Tong seemed to have a clear grasp of Yangzhi City’s situation and mentioned that He Xiaoxing knew that he was here, which was why he had asked him to teach Chen Chuan. But Chen Chuan had only sent the telegram yesterday. Did that mean that Wen Tong was in the city before then?

Chen Chuan had also heard that Wen Tong could split people’s heads. When he linked it to how Che Lie had died, he wondered whether these two things were connected.

But he immediately shook his head. No matter what the truth was, it had nothing to do with him. He didn’t intend to dig any further into this matter and find out the truth.