Chen Hanlong scoffed and headed for the door after addressing his two companions.
It was the woman, clad in a professional white dress that showed off her slender waist and hips, that paused briefly when she walked past Chu Xun.
Chu Xun didn"t say a word and watched them leave through the gla.s.s doors.
"What bad luck!"
Chen Hanlong couldn"t quite quell his anger.
"Chairman Chen, be careful…"
The woman suddenly cried out and shoved him aside.
Chen Hanlong staggered forward. Before he could regain firm footing, he heard a loud booming sound.
Then came a pained screech.
By the time he looked up, he immediately turned ashen-faced and his legs became weak.
The woman who pushed him was trembling on the ground.
The man next to Chen Hanlong was lying in a pool of blood, partially crushed under the enormous Chinese letter for Tian.
Tian, of course, referred to Tianyuan.
The four Chinese letters that spelled out Tianyuan Corporation were made from steel, each more than two meters tall and as heavy as fifty catty. They were secured with screws with a diameter of fifty centimeters that penetrated deep into the top of the building. Even a Level 12 gale wouldn"t shake it, yet it had fallen at a time like this.
If that woman hadn"t pushed him, Chen Hanlong would have become minced meat.
He looked up and saw that the character "Tian" was missing from the Tianyuan Corporation signage.
A chill ran up his spine all the way to his brain. Chen Hanlong shivered. It seemed to him that the three other letters in this signage were tottering as well. They looked like they would fall and crush him at any time.
He suddenly remembered the young man"s words and subconsciously turned to look at him. He happened to meet Chu Xun"s eyes through the gla.s.s doors.
Furor swept over the entire building.
The employees in the tower were stretching their necks for a closer look after hearing that something had happened downstairs.
Coincidentally, the mental inst.i.tution workers arrived at the same time.
Instead of capturing the so-called mental patient, they saved the man crushed under the Tian signage. They became a makeshift ambulance and sent him to the hospital immediately.
Chen Hanlong"s legs went as soft as noodles, prompting him to fall to the ground.
That was all thanks to the tremendous fright that he received. When the pa.s.sersby lifted the Tian signage, he saw that the victim"s legs were severed. The terrible impact of the signage had snapped the victim"s bones in half, causing his blood to outflow like a river.
The last thing that the two security guards worried about now was Chu Xun. They rushed over to help Chen Hanlong get back on his feet. This was their golden opportunity to flatter him.
Chu Xun was invited to a luxurious reception room.
Chen Hanlong and his female companion walked in supported by the security guards.
When he saw Chu Xun, he ordered the guards to leave and stepped forward. Then, with a loud thud, he landed on his knees in front of Chu Xun.
"I, Chen Hanlong, was blind for not recognizing your greatness and offending you. Please save me, Sir."
Chu Xun kept silent, but secretly found this to be funny. Chen Hanlong hadn"t planned on kneeling, but his legs must have gone limp and forced him into his current position.
Sure enough, his aging face reddened after the words left his mouth. He immediately climbed up and sat on a nearby sofa to mask his awkwardness.
Chu Xun turned to look at the pale-faced woman and asked, somewhat curiously, "Do you carry a jade pendant or something similar with you?"
The woman was stunned. Upon second thought, she hastily took off her necklace.
It was just as he had expected. The pendant of the necklace was made from jade.
Chu Xun took the jade pendant from her and looked at Chen Hanlong. He said indifferently, "It seems that your life isn"t meant to be terminated yet."
He knocked the pendant with his fingers.
Under Chen Hanlong and the woman"s shocked gazes, cracks began appearing on the jade pendant until the entire piece disintegrated.
"This jade pendant must have been enchanted. To put in your terms, it has gone through an eye-opening ceremony. Jade is capable of purifying filth in the first place and it"s even blessed with the eye-opening ceremony. That"s the reason this woman is able to react so quickly to save your life."
"My grandmother got this jade pendant from the Fortuitous Karma Temple. She told me it can help me avert disasters and reduce harm," the woman said.
"Thank you!" Chen Hanlong bowed to the woman. If it wasn"t for her, he would have died.
"Chairman Chen, you"re too polite!" The woman hastily stood up, looking somewhat bashful.
The understanding that dawned on Chu Xun was reflected in his eyes. It seemed that this woman had a crush on Chen Hanlong. However, he wouldn"t do something as silly as playing matchmaker for them both.
"I have some questions for you," Chu Xun told Chen Hanlong.
"Please ask, Sir."
Chen Hanlong wouldn"t dare to put up airs now. He hastily replied in fear.
"I want to ask you about two people. One is Chu Tianhe, the other is Liu Ran. Do you know their whereabouts?"
"Sister Liu Ran? You"re here to find Sister Liu Ran?"
The woman cried out in surprise before Chen Hanlong could reply.
"Do you know where they are?"
"Of course! Sister Liu Ran was the one who helped me climb the corporate ladder," the woman replied, somewhat smugly. "I was her PA when I first joined the company. Without her, I wouldn"t be in my current position today."
The woman realized that she overspoke as soon as the words left her mouth. It left her feeling a little awkward.
"Why are you looking for them, Sir?" Chen Hanlong asked in a timely manner.
"They"re my parents."
"Huh?"
Chen Hanlong and the woman were stunned.
"You"re Sister Liu Ran"s son?" The woman looked at Chu Xun in suspicion. She considered for a long time before saying, "You don"t look like her at all!"
"What do you mean, I don"t look like her?" Chu Xun subconsciously retorted.
"Sister Liu Ran had a photo on her desk. When I asked her about it, she said it was a photo of her son named Chu Xun. But you don"t look like him at all!" the woman replied honestly.
"I"m Chu Xun in the flesh!"
In the beginning stages of cultivation, one would wash away his essence and cut away his marrow, shed his mortal body and develop new bones. There would surely be changes in one"s appearance. But he didn"t have to give these two an explanation.
Chu Xun"s gaze shifted to the woman. "What is your name?"
"Bai Jing!" the woman immediately replied.
Chu Xun nodded.
"Do you know where my parents are?"
Chen Hanlong and Bai Jing shook their heads.
"Liu Ran and Manager Chu never contacted me again after their resignation," Bai Jing said.
Chu Xun"s expression didn"t change much. This was well within his expectations, but he was still feeling ill at ease after hearing it.
"If that"s the case, I"ll be taking my leave."
Chu Xun stood up to leave.
Chen Hanlong stood up in a panic. "Please stop, Sir! I hope you"ll forgive my mistake and save me."
Chu Xun didn"t want to concern himself with this, but upon second thought, he might need Chen Hanlong"s help in the future. He nodded.
"I need to take a look at the rooftop."
"This way, Sir!" Chen Hanlong hastily led the way.
The three of them came to the rooftop.
Chu Xun narrowed his eyes. The murderous aura that enveloped an area of a dozen meters or so had manifested into a tangible force and was charging in their direction.
Chen Hanlong felt deeply uneasy as soon as he stepped on the rooftop. It was as if there was a sharp blade pressing against his neck. This feeling was so vivid that it made his blood freeze over. His face instantly turned pale and he didn"t even dare to move.
Bai Jing was better off, but she was experiencing gooseb.u.mps all over. Her face formed an unnatural expression.
"Do you feel it?" Chu Xun asked Chen Hanlong.
Chen Hanlong immediately nodded and asked, his voice carrying a tinge of panic, "Sir, what exactly is happening?"
Chu Xun didn"t know either. The only reasons he could see the enormous blade formed out of the murderous aura were his cultivation and mastery of the technique of Evocation of Heavenly Secrets.
But he was no detective.
The rooftop ought to be filled with sunlight and fresh air, not plagued by the manifestation of such thick murderous aura?
"Think carefully. What has happened in the past few months?"
Chen Hanlong and Bai Jing exchanged looks, their expressions very unnatural. Even so, the both of them shook their heads.
"Since you won"t talk, then prepare to die!" With a sneer, Chu Xun turned around and walked away. To be frank, he didn"t care at all whether Chen Hanlong lived or died.
"Please stay, Sir. I"ll speak, I"ll speak…"
When Chen Hanlong saw that Chu Xun was going to leave, he became so panicked that his forehead was sweating. He hastily called out for Chu Xun.
"I"m afraid you would laugh at me for this, for it was rather embarra.s.sing," Chen Hanlong said hesitantly, opening his mouth only after pondering for a long while. "Last month, one of our female employees jumped from this place."
"For what?" Chu Xun didn"t believe that people would take their lives for no good reason.
"It"s that d.a.m.ned Old Liu"s fault…"
Chen Hanlong told him the whole story.
The victim was a married woman named Chen Wan. She was an employee at the company with beautiful, ostentatious looks. Old Liu was one of the company"s board members and an old leech who favored young married women.
The beautiful Chen Wan happened to catch his eye. At the board meeting last month, Old Liu was so outrageous in his l.u.s.t that he drugged and raped her.
There were no secrets in this world. This incident became widespread in the company. Somehow, Chen Wan"s husband got wind of this and divorced her.
Unable to bear the disgrace, Chen Wan chose to jump from the company"s rooftop.
"Old Liu? Is it the man who was with you earlier?"
"That"s him!" Chen Hanlong said.
Chu Xun sneered. He had thought that the man was an innocent victim, but it seemed that he had simply received his just punishment.
However, if it was Old Liu"s fault, why would the karma befall Chen Hanlong?
"Were you involved in this incident?" Chu Xun asked, staring at Chen Hanlong coldly.
"I…" Chen Hanlong dared not to hide the truth. He sighed and explained, "After Chen Wan died, her family made a fuss at the company. I was worried that they would affect the company"s reputation, so I ordered some men to chase them out of Gujiang City."
So that was what happened!