CHAPTER 924: CHAPTER 468:

On the charred lawn, a few pieces of charcoal were still burning, occasionally bursting with sparks.

The heavy boot soles stepped on them, making a soft "pop" sound.

The charcoal fire extinguished instantly, leaving only wisps of blue smoke dispersing.

Fang Cheng stepped forward slowly, his gaze calmly confronting Chen Hongye.

"You know me?"

"Hehe."

Chen Hongye smiled lightly upon hearing this, his gaze sweeping over Lin Chuqiao and the others behind Fang Cheng.

"You and those two girls, aren’t you the taskers sent by Naihe Bridge?"

He leisurely licked away the remaining blood stains with the tip of his tongue, his crimson pupils exuding a cruel intent.

"If it weren’t for this fire waking me up ahead of time, I had already set up a trap, waiting for you to come tonight and willingly become my blood feast."

"That way, I could have a good dinner; no need to meet so hastily and impolitely like now."

As he spoke, he suddenly laughed deeply.

That laughter was long and sinister, like a bone-chilling wind, or like a ghost whispering by the ear, making everyone’s heart tighten.

Fang Cheng’s face showed no trace of fear, only calm scrutiny.

Then he spoke again, his tone steady:

"Do you know Crow and Professor?"

"Who?"

Chen Hongye’s smile faded, and he was clearly taken aback.

"A man in his thirties, tall and thin, with a long face and two mustaches on his lips."

Fang Cheng briefly described, eyes tightly fixed on any subtle change in Chen Hongye’s face:

"Another one, around fifty, wears glasses, has a refined demeanor."

After Chen Hongye heard this, he smirked and decisively replied:

"I don’t know them, are they taskers from earlier batches?"

"If they’re those unlucky guys, perhaps they’ve already died by my hand and become my food; who would remember such trivial ants."

His tone was disdainful, as if discussing insects that could be crushed at will.

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng’s brow slightly furrowed.

Originally, out of caution, he didn’t want to intervene in this conflict prematurely.

The evil spirit residing in Chen Hongye’s body was an unknown case, with unpredictable and vicious methods.

The Chen Family, as a renowned noble family in Tian Nan Province, had so many people die consecutively, yet still hadn’t detected its trace.

It clearly indicated that this evil spirit had some extremely special spiritual power, able to beguile people and manipulate consciousness without anyone noticing, its whereabouts mysterious and elusive.

Moreover, through the Scavenger’s Eye, he found Chen Hongye’s corpse was just a soulless shell, unable to detect any mental wavelength that belonged to a living person.

This likely meant that the evil spirit inside was simply using Chen Hongye’s body as a puppet, leveraging his former Family Head status and influence to act.

Therefore, even if this body was destroyed, it might not completely capture the hidden evil spirit’s true form.

Fang Cheng recalled Jiang Chen, who similarly had a dead body but an undying soul, and those spiritual bodies encountered in Night City, understanding such enemies couldn’t be underestimated and acted upon rashly.

He thought that his uncle and Professor, tracking from East Capital to Tian Nan Province, might know more about the inner workings, or have a way to pinpoint the evil spirit’s true form, preferably joining forces to deal with it.

However, the evil spirit had already begun to wreak havoc with Chen Hongye’s corpse, while his uncle and the others hadn’t appeared.

This caused a deviation in Fang Cheng’s original speculation, making the situation more complex.

After pondering for a while, he still couldn’t figure out his uncle’s whereabouts and plans.

Concerned for his uncle’s safety, Fang Cheng had no choice but to step forward, deciding to personally force the evil spirit to reveal his uncle’s location, or obtain some key clues.

But instead, the opponent flatly denied knowing them.

Fang Cheng’s brow knitted tighter, lost in thought.

Chen Hongye kept staring at him, his crimson gaze flickered slightly, as if trying hard to recognize something.

"Kid, why do you look... so much like someone?"

He spoke slowly, his tone carried a sense of recollection and scrutiny.

"Especially the way you furrow your brow in contemplation now, exactly akin to that person."

Fang Cheng was slightly stunned upon hearing this, showing a look of confusion.

Chen Hongye squinted his eyes, his tone gradually becoming more assertive:

"No mistake, you definitely resemble him, apart from being taller and stronger, your appearance is almost carved from the same mold..."

Saying so, his eyes suddenly brightened, his voice carried a hint of probing:

"Fang Shijie, is it you? You’re still alive?"

"What did you say?!"

Upon suddenly hearing this monster mention his long-dead father, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but tremble.

The composure he maintained was instantly shattered, eyes filled with incredulous astonishment.

His eyes widened, staring intensely at Chen Hongye, trying to discern any detail from that charred face.

"Wrong, wrong... sleeping too long, the mind’s a bit dull."

Chen Hongye then shook his head, his self-mutter carried a touch of mockery, as if recalling some amusing past.

"That guy should have died in that fire long ago, how could he possibly still jump around like me, appearing before me..."

His crimson gaze once again fell on Fang Cheng, seeming to suddenly understand something.

"So... you’re that Fang’s son?"

Fang Cheng didn’t admit it, but asked in return:

"What’s your relationship with Fang Shijie?"

His tone suddenly rose, voice tinged with suppressed urgency:

"How do you know how Fang Shijie died?!"

Chen Hongye’s playful arc on his face expanded a bit, seeming to enjoy Fang Cheng’s lapse, deliberately keeping silent.