Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 289: Why Bother?

Faced with Chu Tiancheng’s insane actions and the gun pointed at him, Lord Qin sneered disdainfully and said, “Heh, it seems you’ve prepared somewhat after all. Must you have done too many bad deeds to feel guilty? But preparation doesn’t mean it will work. Heh, you can’t possibly think that this pathetic little gun poses any threat to me, haha…”
Lord Qin’s arrogant words further enraged Chu Tiancheng, who was already furious. The moment Lord Qin finished speaking, several gunshots rang out—“Bang! Bang!”
Although the study was large enough, the sound of the pistols echoed loudly in the enclosed space.
Lord Qin didn’t move at all. The dark mist in front of him gradually dissipated with the gunshots, and at the same time, the crisp sound of bullet casings hitting the ground could be heard.
Chu Tiancheng was stunned. His hand holding the gun began to tremble. The opponent was sitting right in front of him, unharmed! Though he had anticipated this outcome, witnessing this miraculous feat—defying bullets beyond human limits—right before his eyes, he still couldn’t fully accept it. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.
“Want to try again?” Lord Qin asked in a condescending tone.
Faced with this cruel reality, Chu Tiancheng completely collapsed. Clutching the gun tightly, he let out a wild scream and fired wildly at Lord Qin until all the bullets in the magazine were used up. He still mechanically kept pulling the trigger, the gun barrel slowly pointing at Lord Qin…
Chu Tiancheng helplessly watched as the dark mist reappeared, realizing his frantic efforts were once again in vain. He slumped, utterly defeated.
“Given up this time, huh… Huh… Ah…” Before Lord Qin could finish his smug words, he was shocked to feel a severe pain in his shoulder blade, forcing him to cry out in pain.
At this turn of events, Chu Tiancheng was first stunned, then overjoyed. It seemed he had indeed been hit by a bullet. It appeared that even cultivators couldn’t completely resist modern weapons.

Just as Chu Tiancheng shifted from shock to joy, Lord Qin wasn’t as naive as he thought. The blow on his shoulder definitely wasn’t caused by that broken pistol; there must be someone else lurking nearby. So, his first reaction after being injured was to endure the pain and reach out to capture Chu Tiancheng, who was sitting not far away, as a hostage to handle any situation.

Unexpectedly, before he could move, he felt a massive energy instantly locking him in. Not only could he not move his body, but even the flow of his meridians and blood seemed to be controlled by this energy, leaving him frozen in place.

“What, who is it? How dare they ambush me like this! How despicable!” Lord Qin managed to ask with difficulty.

Chu Tiancheng, who was listening nearby, was completely confused and asked, “What ‘who’?”

“Hmph, Young Master Chu, stop acting innocent. You still have such a trick up your sleeve! Well, well, I never expected that while I spent my days hunting geese, a goose would end up pecking out my eye!” Lord Qin said resentfully.

Before Chu Tiancheng could ask further, a cold voice came from the door of the study: “Then stop thinking about hunting geese all day, and you won’t have any problems!”

With that, Chu Tianyu walked in.

Seeing it was his third brother, Chu Tiancheng was stunned again. He thought to himself, “What’s going on tonight? Why is the third brother here too? Am I too nervous? Am I dreaming?”

While Chu Tiancheng was thinking this, Lord Qin looked at Chu Tianyu, who was walking slowly toward him, with a puzzled expression. Although he couldn’t sense any energy from Chu Tianyu, his calm and composed demeanor, along with his casual tone, made Lord Qin frown and ask sternly, “Who are you?”

“Aren’t I the capable younger brother you mentioned, the one you intended to get rid of?” Chu Tianyu said with a smile, stepping closer to Lord Qin.

Upon hearing this, Lord Qin’s heart turned cold. Though he couldn’t detect any signs of cultivation in Chu Tianyu, his calm expression and teasing tone made him realize that the strange events happening to him were definitely related to him. Could it be that this other young master of the Chu family had reached a state where his vital energy was concealed—perhaps even using the energy of heaven and earth? Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to detect anything at all!

Thinking this, Lord Qin looked at Chu Tianyu again, his eyes filled with horror.

Chu Tianyu seemed to see the coldness in his eyes and smiled, saying, “Lord Qin, those who oppress others will eventually be oppressed in turn. I fully understand how you feel right now. But I wonder if you understand how my elder brother felt just now?” As he spoke, Chu Tianyu’s tone grew colder, causing Lord Qin to tremble again, which frustrated him greatly despite his battle-hardened experience. With his tough personality, it shouldn’t matter if he was captured or even killed—yet here, in front of this so-called Third Young Master Chu, he couldn’t muster any courage at all, a fact that left him utterly puzzled.

“Enough, I don’t want to waste more time with you. I need some time to talk with my elder brother!” With a smile, Chu Tianyu turned to look at his elder brother, who still looked terrified.

At that moment, Chu Tiancheng was filled with complexity. He didn’t know how to face his younger brother or what to say. Suddenly, Chu Tianyu turned like a phantom and appeared behind Lord Qin. With lightning-fast speed, he extended one hand and firmly pressed it against Lord Qin’s vital point on the top of his head. A surge of energy flowed out and penetrated into Lord Qin’s mind.

Poor Lord Qin hadn’t even had time to react; his mind had already been controlled by Chu Tianyu’s true energy. Vaguely, only one thought flashed through his mind: “It’s over. I’m dying at the hands of this kid…”

His thought was entirely correct. Chu Tianyu had taken advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration to seize control of his mind. Using the soul-searching technique taught by his senior brother Liu Xiangshi, he obtained the information from Lord Qin’s mind. Otherwise, these experts with innate energy, backed by their resilient nerves and strong wills, would never have been able to succeed so easily even if they tried—let alone with a high success rate!

This was also the result of Lord Qin’s past misdeeds. Instead of saying something sensible, he had dragged Chu Tianyu’s beloved women into this mess—equivalent to shouting “Go to hell” in front of the King of Hell—seeking death!

In no time, Chu Tianyu removed his hand from Lord Qin’s head. Lord Qin tilted his head, no longer showing any signs of life.

By now, Chu Tiancheng’s teeth were chattering. Not only was he worried about his own safety, but watching Chu Tianyu casually “kill” Lord Qin while chatting was already pushing the limits of his mental endurance.

“You, you, third, third brother, what, what are you doing?” As Chu Tianyu stepped toward him, Chu Tiancheng involuntarily stepped back, trembling.

Chu Tianyu looked at his elder brother’s current state and couldn’t help but recall how, half a year ago, his brother had been full of confidence and energy, talking to him about the ways of power. Compared to now, it was like night and day!
“If you don’t do anything shameful, you needn’t fear ghosts knocking at your door in the middle of the night. Brother, why go to such lengths?” Chu Tianyu shook his head in thought.