Chapter 240: Handling
Chapter 240: Handling
Old Qi once again headed towards the chaotic houses, and in no time, he returned with two men.
Leading the way was a robust man, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, accompanied by a smaller man who seemed more astute. Both of them had noticeable implants on their bodies.
Especially the burly man, who wore only a sweatshirt on his upper body, revealing his shoulders and one arm as implanted limbs. Dressed like this in this weather, it was clear he had no martial arts background.
As they approached, they scrutinized Chen Chuan with cautious and vigilant eyes.
"Is this the person you said could solve the problem?" The small man, upon seeing Chen Chuan, seemed dissatisfied. "He's so young. Can he really solve it?"
The burly man remained silent, only staring intently at Chen Chuan.
Old Qi casually replied, "It was agreed upon beforehand. If the problem isn't solved, we won't accept any payment. What are you worried about? If you don't trust us, we'll leave, and you can wait. The reward you offered isn't much, and it'll take more than ten days for us to come back."
The small man wanted to say something, but a large hand rested on his shoulder, stopping him. The burly man, gazing at Chen Chuan, said, "I believe in him."
The small man, surprised, said, "Brother Chong..."
The burly man, looking at Chen Chuan, said, "Little brother, I'm entrusting this matter to you."
Chen Chuan nodded.
Old Qi was quick to react and immediately led the way, saying, "Follow me, Chen. It's this house."
The small man watched as the two of them walked away and turned to ask, "Brother Chong, do you trust them?" He couldn't understand why Brother Chong, who had been standing with him just a moment ago, had changed his attitude so quickly.
Brother Chong explained, "I've trained at a martial arts gym and can recognize that the young man is at least a Second Limit Fighter..." He added another sentence to clarify as the small man looked a bit dazed.
"He's almost at the level of our gym's master."
The small man finally understood, "Brother Chong means that the young man is as skilled as Master Jin?"
He was both skeptical and astonished. The gym master he had seen was incredibly powerful; a gentle push from him could topple a wall, and a casual flick of his foot could move a car.
Brother Chong, being well-traveled, said, "It's not surprising. Talented individuals like him find it easy to make money. There's no need for them to come here and politely negotiate with us."
The small man, convinced by these words, nodded in agreement. Indeed, with such abilities, there was no need to deceive them. Teaching martial arts would earn them more, and even if they resorted to robbery, there was little the small man could do to resist.
At this moment, Old Qi led Chen Chuan to the house. Chen Chuan glanced at his Second Self and paused, saying, "Old Qi, you can go back. I'll handle this myself."
Old Qi agreed and added, "I'll wait for you where I was."
Chen Chuan nodded and approached the shanty house. He knocked on the door, but there was no response.
Sensing the signs of dematerialization from his Second Self, Chen Chuan spoke, "Xiao Man, you should be able to hear me. I'm an elder sent by your neighbor to resolve this issue. May I take a look at the situation? I feel that burning your brother's body might not be necessary."
After a brief wait, a voice came from behind the door, "Are you lying to me?"
"In fact," Chen Chuan said, "burning your brother's body might not be a good idea. His corpse may not burn at all, but I'll need to examine it to know for sure."
After a few minutes, the door opened a crack, and a pair of eyes scrutinized Chen Chuan before glancing outside. Satisfied that he was alone, the door opened wider, "Come in."
Chen Chuan entered and saw a frail teenager with dark circles under his eyes, looking nervous. He held a shovel in his hand.
Chen Chuan noticed stronger signs of dematerialization on the Second Self's body and turned to look at the closet, asking, "What's in there?"
"Nothing much, just some clothes I usually wear," Xiao Man replied.
Chen Chuan walked over and opened the closet door, causing Xiao Man to freeze. Inside was a mannequin wearing his brother's clothes, resembling him closely.
"This is..." Xiao Man was confused, not remembering such an item in their house.
"Xiao Man, did you bury your brother?" Chen Chuan asked.
Xiao Man nodded vigorously.
Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "Go and check if your brother is inside."
Xiao Man, startled, felt a mix of fear and confusion. He hurriedly grabbed a shovel from the wall and ran to the backyard, soon followed by the sound of his labored breathing as he dug.
Chen Chuan stood still, not moving from his spot. If his guess was correct, he couldn't directly intervene; he could only let Xiao Man handle it himself.
After more than ten minutes, a startled cry came from the courtyard.
Chen Chuan followed the sound and saw Xiao Man kneeling beside a pit, with a shovel discarded to the side. Xiao Man was frantically searching inside, saying, "My brother, my brother..." He glared at Chen Chuan angrily and pointed, "You, was it you? Did you take my brother away?"
Chen Chuan patiently said, "Calm down. If someone took your brother away, there's no need to seek me out."
Xiao Man froze for a moment, then stood up and spun around in place anxiously, saying, "Then where is my brother? Where did he go?"
Chen Chuan looked at him and asked, "Do you want to hear the truth?"
"I want to hear it! Tell me quickly!" Xiao Man's face was filled with worry.
Chen Chuan said, "According to the records, your brother died in a gang conflict ten days ago. You received and confirmed the news the next day, but three days later, you discovered that your brother had come back to life? Is that right?"
Xiao Man nodded.
Chen Chuan asked, "Where did you find your brother on the third day?"
"At home," Xiao Man replied.
Chen Chuan made a sound of acknowledgment and turned to Xiao Man, saying, "Then, did his gang send his body back?"
Xiao Man's hands began to tremble.
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "It seems they didn't. Your brother's body was never returned, so what you saw wasn't your brother. It was always the one you just saw in there." He looked at the wardrobe across the room and the dummy model inside.
Xiao Man cried out, "Impossible! That's my brother! I'm sure of it..."
Chen Chuan had encountered similar things before, like the puppet that replaced Director Lei's son. However, the nature of this one was different. That puppet confused people's spiritual senses, but this one was a genuine urban legend.
Despite this, both individuals shared the same emotions for their loved ones.
Chen Chuan spoke slowly, "Because your brother never returned, you couldn't bring yourself to believe he was dead. You still held onto the hope that he would come back to life one day. And then, 'he' appeared, taking your brother's place."
"But 'he' isn't real. Your brother's body might still be out there. Perhaps you should continue your search, instead of focusing on a fake."
Xiao Man's face was covered in tears as he looked up at Chen Chuan and asked, "Big brother, is what you're saying true?"
Chen Chuan replied seriously, "Xiao Man, you're smart. You should know that I'm not wrong."
Xiao Man became a little flustered, but after a moment, he wiped away his tears and asked, "Then big brother, what should I do about this...?" He pointed to the wardrobe.
Chen Chuan said, "Just bury it. This is a legend, and although you're safe for now, if this thing continues to exist, everyone will die because of it, including you. But you might be the last."
Xiao Man shuddered, suddenly feeling tense. "But, I buried it before... didn't I?"
"You saw it as your brother then, and you didn't truly want it to leave you. So even if you buried it, it would still be by your side."
Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "Now that you know and have confirmed that it isn't your brother, only you can eliminate this legend by burying it yourself. Others can't do it, and there's no other way to handle it."
Xiao Man straightened his weak chest and said, "If that's the case, I'll do it." He ran to the wardrobe, pulled out the dummy model, and struggled to move it towards the backyard.
Chen Chuan didn't offer to help because Xiao Man had started this, so if he wanted to resolve it, he had to do it himself. Chen Chuan couldn't interfere.
In reality, if Xiao Man also died, there was a chance this legend might be dispelled. If no one ever came to deal with it, it was hard to say what might happen in the future.
This was the best solution, as this legend had taken on the role of Xiao Man's brother. If Xiao Man died, it might trigger the legend's activation.
Moreover, this dummy model didn't appear here for no reason. Xiao Man hadn't seen it before, so it must have been brought by his brother.
Why did his brother bring it back?
Chen Chuan recalled the dummy's appearance and couldn't help but think of a possibility, but it was pointless to pursue it now.
After a while, as the sound of shoveling dirt came from the backyard, the dematerialization signs on the second self gradually weakened.
He dealt with the Haunt to stimulate the Altered Organ, but it also depended on the type of Haunt. This particular Haunt couldn't be captured, and its current impact on the outside world wasn't strong enough to cause any harm. Otherwise, the people outside wouldn't be able to survive, so he didn't think too much about it.
After a long time, Little Man emerged, covered in mud. His emotions seemed to have stabilized, and he said to Chen Chuan, "Big Brother, I've buried it. Is that all?"
Chen Chuan replied, "It's done, Little Man. You did well."
Little Man said, "Thank you, Big Brother."
Chen Chuan patted his young shoulder and said, "Little Man, you're very brave. Let's go out and tell them that the matter has been taken care of."
"Okay!"
Chong Dage and Old Qi had been waiting outside for over an hour, but there had been no sound from inside. The little guy kept muttering, "Is it okay?"
Old Qi couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, but on the surface, he appeared confident. However, this wasn't entirely an act, as he had personally witnessed Chen Chuan's abilities at Wu Yi Academy, and he believed nothing would go wrong.
"The door's open!" the little guy shouted.
Chen Chuan stood behind Little Man and walked out with him. He nodded at Old Qi, who secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Little Man walked up to Chong Dage and said apologetically, "Uncle Chong, Big Brother Ding, and Auntie Hua, I'm sorry."
The little guy said, "Oh, Little Man, don't say that. When your brother was around, he took good care of us. We understand how you feel, but..."
Little Man wiped his nose and said, "Big Brother Ding, my brother told me that he wasn't my brother. I won't bother you all again."
Chen Chuan said, "The anomaly has been dealt with. You can wait a few days to confirm and then pay the commission."
"No need," Chong Dage said solemnly. "Little Man is with you, and we trust you."
Old Qi stepped forward at the right moment and said, "So, shall we proceed as we discussed earlier?"
Chong Dage replied, "Of course." He instructed Little Ding, "Little Ding, give them the remaining payment."
Little Ding grumbled and took out a stack of cash from his back pocket, handing it over. At Old Qi's request, they had gathered the money in cash to avoid using the platform, ensuring that the transaction data wouldn't be traced.
Old Qi took the money, counted it, and confirmed the amount. Then, he remembered something and reminded them, "Remember, once you send the money to the commission platform, don't try to get it back. You won't be able to retrieve it. If you do, you'll get into trouble, and I might as well. Let's go."
Chen Chuan nodded to everyone, then to Little Man, and left with Old Qi. Soon, they got into a car and headed back the way they came.
Chen Chuan took out a small notebook and a pen, thought for a moment, and wrote down the words "Emotional Attachment." This was his habit; he would record the Haunts he encountered and organize them into files, just like Cheng Zotong.
At this moment, Old Qi was also feeling pleased. Although the money wasn't much, it proved Chen Chuan's abilities, and they could take on more commissions in the future. He said, "Chen, how about a 70-30 split?"
Chen Chuan replied, "Let's just split it evenly."
The payment was important, but relatively speaking, if the Haunt could be utilized by him, that was even more valuable than earning money. After all, if the Haunt could stimulate the Altered Organ, the saved medicaments would be worth more than the payment.
Old Qi thought for a moment and said solemnly, "To be honest, Chen, I'm short on money right now. I'll agree with a thick skin, and I'll find a way to repay you later... Well, where are we going now?"
Chen Chuan said, "It's getting late. I'll head back to the academy first."
"Okay, I'll send you back."
Less than half an hour after they left, an armed off-road vehicle arrived and parked at the shanty area.
A man in a radiance suit, with his hair standing on end, asked from inside the car, "Is this the place?"
"Yes, it's here according to the commission."
"This broken place, hurry up and finish the job so I can get back for dinner."
"Yes, sir."
As the car door opened, a man with a sinister look and a baseball cap stepped out. He carried a knife and headed towards the house where Little Man lived.
...
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(End of Chapter)
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