Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
Although Merit was nurturing him, Jiang Chenyi had indeed been pulled back from the brink of death.
Moreover, Merit couldn’t fully restore his body, so once Jiang Chenyi was out of life-threatening danger, the Supermarket stopped extracting Merit to heal him.
If they continued… even the small amount of Merit from the deal with the police would be completely depleted…
"So, basically, I’m at a loss this time, right?" Jiang Chenyi lay on the hospital bed, looking utterly defeated as he asked the Supermarket.
[Not exactly. If you complete the commission, there’ll be a surplus.]
Hearing this, Jiang Chenyi closed his eyes in pain—what difference did it make from being at a loss?
On the fourth day of Jiang Chenyi’s hospital stay, he finally entered the man’s room. The man’s spirits were surprisingly good.
Feeling Jiang Chenyi’s presence, he was especially cheerful: "Are you here to send me on my way?"
Jiang Chenyi pursed his lips and stared at him. Seeing this, Huo Yunxi sighed silently and left the room.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
After a long silence, Jiang Chenyi looked at the man’s body, his voice filled with regret and a hint of guilt: "Your bones… I’m sorry, I couldn’t retrieve them."
His eyes had been placed on the Perfumer’s body, and that was the only part Jiang Chenyi could recover.
As for the other bones, he would need more time to search, and he couldn’t guarantee he’d find them all.
[They’ve been turned into Magical Artifacts. It doesn’t matter anymore, it’s all the same.]
Upon hearing the man's words, Jiang Chenyi felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. When he had previously used the man to hear the voices of the past, he knew that the man's bones had actually been taken away by other Celestial Masters.
However, he wasn't entirely sure what they had been made into.
So, when they were still on the ship, he thought that as long as they found those Celestial Masters, they should be able to locate the bones.
Yet, after He Lianhua and Huo Yunxi thoroughly inspected both ships and interrogated all the Celestial Masters, they found no trace of them.
It was normal for He Lianhua not to find anything, but if it were truly a Magical Artifact, Huo Yunxi couldn't possibly have felt nothing.
Therefore, it was highly likely that the Celestial Master who took the bones was not among those people.
The man groped forward with his hand, and Jiang Chenyi quickly walked over to catch it: ["It doesn't matter anymore. If you ever come across them in the future, use them if you can, or destroy them if you can't."]
Jiang Chenyi slightly opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
"I'll go prepare some things." he finally said after a long pause.
The man's face bore a gentle smile, with a hint of anticipation.
After Jiang Chenyi left the ward, he let out a long sigh, and the calm on his face completely disappeared, replaced by extreme anger and a touch of sadness.
The anger was directed at those Celestial Masters, while the sadness was his emotion towards the man.
Huo Yunxi glanced at the ward behind him, sighed, and patted Jiang Chenyi's shoulder: "This is also his wish. Don't be sad."
Although they hoped the man would change his commission and continue to live, if living was a great burden for him, then... let it be as he wished.
Jiang Chenyi shook his head: "To be honest, I'm not really that sad."
His sadness wasn't about not being able to keep the man, but about not being able to give him a complete body.
From the very beginning, he had no intention of persuading the man to live on; he just wanted the man to leave without any regrets.
But now, it seemed that wasn't possible.
He rubbed his forehead, and after mentally preparing himself, Jiang Chenyi returned to the ward.
"Let's go to the courtyard."
They arrived at the small garden below the hospital.
The sunlight and temperature were just right. Although it was late autumn, the hospital was filled with evergreen trees, so it didn't look desolate.
The man closed his eyes, enjoying the long-awaited sunlight.
The sweet, metallic scent was no longer in the air; instead, it was replaced by a light, pleasant floral fragrance.
This was a joy he had never experienced in decades of being in the workshop.
Half an hour later, he held the mother-of-pearl inlaid box and the box containing the lotus-patterned jade that Jiang Chenyi had given him while smiling at the young man.
["Come on, I have no more attachments."]
Jiang Chenyi quietly walked over, placed his hand on the man's head, and then a faint golden light enveloped the man's body.
Then, under the gaze of Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi, the man's body dissipated like foam, bit by bit, under the sunlight.
In the end, only a wheelchair remained.
No, it wasn't just a wheelchair. Unexpectedly, a lotus-patterned peace knot appeared in Jiang Chenyi's hand, containing the man's last remnant of spiritual power.
After long years of imprisonment and exploitation, the man was no longer human but more like a Spirit, similar to Huo Yunxi.
He said, [The remaining power is all yours.]
A trace of sorrow appeared on Jiang Chenyi's face as he tightly grasped the peace talisman in his hand, his heart once again firming the resolve to find all the remaining bones of the man.
As for that black-robed man, he swore here and now: he would! He would definitely extract that person's soul from their body, and grind it into powder bit by bit!
And then, imprison it for eternity!
Huo Yunxi also looked at the peace talisman, and upon sensing the power within it, a thought instantly flashed through his mind.
However, he forcibly suppressed this thought and did not let Jiang Chenyi notice any hint of it.
For this commission, Jiang Chenyi only received a few thousand Merit Points, and considering the two abacuses he had previously expended... firearms, ammunition, and the like...
【In the end, the balance was 250 Merit Points.】
Hearing this number, both of them fell silent, as if it were mocking them for being fools.
Jiang Chenyi choked back a sob, but fortunately, at that moment, the Black Cat leaped onto his hospital bed, meowing sweetly and instantly soothing Jiang Chenyi's emotions.
"Forget it, forget it. At least we still have a cat! And it's a Spirit!"
Most importantly, this cat didn't need a litter box!!!
This Black Cat could eat anything, or not eat at all, but regardless of whether it ate or not, it didn't need to excrete.
No need for cat food, no need for cat litter, yet it still had the soft fur and little belly of a real cat!
Jiang Chenyi hugged the Black Cat before burying his face in its soft, chubby little belly and taking a deep breath!
"Good, from now on, I'll call you Wu Tuan!" Jiang Chenyi blurted out the Black Cat's name.
Upon hearing this name, the Black Cat paused with its green eyes staring intently at Jiang Chenyi for a long while, before finally letting out a very soft meow with its long tail curling around the young man's wrist.
However, this gentle, sweet, and well-behaved little kitten instantly bristled when Huo Yunxi reached out to pet it: "Meowrrrrr!"
‘Stupid human! Stay away from me!’
Huo Yunxi gradually narrowed his eyes and a faint silver glow appeared around him, but the Black Cat wasn't the least bit afraid and even opened its mouth to hiss.
‘Stupid human! Want to fight, huh?’
Just as the man and the cat were about to come to blows, a pair of hands suddenly pressed down on their heads.
As the householder/owner, Jiang Chenyi looked at them with a smile before asking word by word, "Want. To. Fight?"
Both of them instinctively shook their heads, and only after Jiang Chenyi withdrew his hands did they glare at each other resentfully before turning their backs on each other—out of sight, out of mind!
Jiang Chenyi propped his chin on one hand and watched their cat-and-dog-like discordant aura, and sighed silently in his heart.
On the fifth day of his hospitalization, Liang Yuanan and Liang Yin arrived in the ward.
Liang Yuanan entered with a cane, the octogenarian possessing a pair of clear, bright eyes.
Upon seeing Jiang Chenyi trying to get out of bed, the old man quickly stepped forward before gently pressing the young man down with one hand: "Stay lying down. I heard you were seriously injured during this mission."
Jiang Chenyi had always remained calm and composed no matter who he encountered, even Minister Pei. His gaze at the minister wasn't much different from how he looked at ordinary people.
But this time, facing this renowned agricultural scientist of China, he felt inexplicably nervous.
After all, this was the Father of Soybeans...
To be honest, even after successfully completing the transaction with Liang Yuanan, Jiang Chenyi still found it somewhat hard to believe.
People born and raised in this land seem to have an inexplicable obsession with food, almost as if it were genetically ingrained.
Therefore, most people feel a different kind of emotion when facing agricultural scientists like Liang Yuanan compared to other scientists.
"I want to thank you." the old man said with his wrinkled hand resting on the back of Jiang Chenyi's hand. The warmth from his palm traveled all the way to Jiang Chenyi's hand.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to see you as soon as I woke up. I went to check the data on the new season's soybean cultivation. Thank you for fulfilling my long-held wish."
He had been thinking about it for so long, researching it for so many years, and finally, on that day, the soybeans were successfully cultivated!
"If I hadn't met you, I would have surely died with regret." At this point, the old man's eyes grew moist.
Jiang Chenyi listened quietly. After the old man finished speaking, he deliberately emphasized one point: "The one who should be most grateful is not me, Old Man, but yourself. You saved yourself."
The medicine that cost 200,000 Merit Points, along with the thick Votive Power it contained, wasn't something that could save someone just because he wanted to.
"Besides, our transaction was fair. I gained quite a bit from you as well."
A full 60,000 Merit Points!
Liang Yuanan looked up into the young man's light-colored eyes, which were clear and transparent, allowing one to see straight through to the bottom.
Suddenly, Liang Yuanan understood what his granddaughter had meant when she said that the young man might not accept his gratitude.
He truly didn't seem to think it was his own accomplishment.
Liang Yuanan smiled.
He then fished out a small cloth bag from his person and pressed it into Jiang Chenyi's hand.
Seeing the young man about to refuse, he calmly explained, "Inside are the soybean seeds I cultivated this time, the result of decades of hard work. Yinyin said you wouldn't accept money, so I'm giving you a part of my life's work instead."
As he spoke, the old man winked at the young man: "But I can't give you all of it. The rest must be planted and distributed to the common people next year."
So it’s seeds...
This was the first time Jiang Chenyi had received such a "precious" gift, but he truly couldn’t resist the old man’s sincerity.
‘Come on, these are food seeds! And among the best ones at that!’
Seeing the sparkle in Jiang Chenyi’s eyes, Liang Yuanan knew he had chosen the right gift.
Old Master Liang didn’t stay in the hospital room for long—about an hour—before he left with his granddaughter.
After stepping out, he saw the Liang family members waiting at the end of the corridor.
Their expressions were far from pleasant, filled with tension, guilt, anger... a mix of everything.
The old man glanced at them indifferently, not even bothering to speak, and simply walked away.
Some of them hung their heads in guilt, while others cast greedy glances toward the hospital room in the distance.
What a pity.
It wasn’t until the entire group had left that the black cat, hidden in the shadows, slowly emerged.
Wu Tuan returned to the hospital room and let out a low growl at Jiang Chenyi. Just from the tone, it was clear that Wu Tuan wasn’t in a good mood.
"It seems Old Master Liang and the He family have shielded you from others’ probing." Huo Yunxi analyzed. "The He family might not be enough on their own, but the combined weight of Liang Yuanan, Gu Sheng, and Gu Qin is more than enough to intimidate others."
Especially since Jiang Chenyi had just helped the police solve two major cases and was currently in the spotlight.
Attempting to approach him for a deal at such a time would only draw unwanted attention to themselves.
Listening to Huo Yunxi’s analysis, Jiang Chenyi chuckled softly. "That’s why it’s better for us to leave as soon as possible."
He had helped the police catch the culprits, but what happened next—how they were judged or what punishments they faced—was no longer his concern.
With so many eyes watching, no one would dare to bail out those wealthy businessmen. And even if someone dared... he wasn’t afraid.
After all, they still had the Golden Thread around their necks!
That thing had been placed there by Jiang Chenyi from the moment he acted, and he had no intention of removing it. In fact, it couldn’t be removed—unless they sought the power of the Supermarket.
But even then, wouldn’t they still end up having to turn to Jiang Chenyi for help?
Whether it was the death penalty, life imprisonment, or a fixed-term sentence, Jiang Chenyi didn’t care much. In his eyes, those people were already as good as half-dead.
Naturally, Huo Yunxi didn’t object to Jiang Chenyi’s decision. "When do we leave?"
Jiang Chenyi patted his body and made the call. "The day after tomorrow!"
He was still a bit weak, but staying in the hospital wouldn’t do much good. Besides, it wouldn’t be long before his peaceful days came to an end.
When the day arrived and the doctors heard Jiang Chenyi was leaving, they instinctively tried to stop him.
But no one could sway the young man’s decision.
In less than an hour, the hospital room was empty, and the surveillance footage showed no trace of them.
Not long after they left, Gu Sheng and the others received a message from Jiang Chenyi.
"I’m off to help Little Huo Comrade uncover the mystery of his origins. See you next time, bye!"
Attached was a photo of the two of them on the plane, making it clear that they were already out of reach.
Gu Sheng and the others chuckled as they typed out the words "Bon Voyage" then returned to their rooms, announcing that they would not be receiving any guests during this period.
By the time others found out that Jiang Chenyi had left the capital and wanted to visit them to gather information, they were all turned away at the door.
The flight from the capital to Xiaocheng took four hours, and as soon as they landed, the biting cold wind nearly blew Jiang Chenyi's mind away!
It was already October, and in the northwest, the first snow would arrive in half a month or a month.
Jiang Chenyi was completely unprepared, so Huo Yunxi had to buy him a down jacket at the airport to keep him warm.
Otherwise, he would have to go back to the hospital soon after just leaving it.
Although, the down jacket was really expensive...
"Airport prices are like that. A bowl of noodles here can cost fifty or sixty yuan, so this down jacket is actually cheap," Jiang Chenyi thought, feeling the pinch as he considered the airport's prices.
However, halfway through their walk, they encountered trouble.
‘Hmm, this rhythm felt all too familiar.’
Jiang Chenyi looked at the knife-wielding hostage-taker in front of him, listening to the man's internal screams, and couldn't help but rub his ears. "This guy is really noisy."
Huo Yunxi, seeing the woman in a state of severe blood loss, immediately darkened his gaze, his eyes filled with danger as he stared at the man.
"She wanted to elope with someone! Why!" The knife in the man's hand had already pierced the woman's neck, and blood was flowing down her neck to the ground.
Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi exchanged a glance, and the tall man quietly moved from his original position.
A green light flashed on the Bell, and Wu Tuan followed closely behind him.
The surrounding armed police dared not push the man too hard, fearing that he might become too agitated and actually stab the woman in the neck.
At that point, it would truly be beyond saving.
Although they had already called for a sniper, given the victim's current condition... if the sniper didn't arrive soon, they would really have to prepare for her funeral!
Just then, a young man wrapped in a thick down jacket stepped out from the crowd.
"Your girlfriend didn't elope with anyone." he said with his beautiful eyes seemingly misted over, causing the man to momentarily lose focus.
But when the man regained his composure, he roared at him, "What do you know! You..."
"Did she tell you she's been busy lately? Did she say she would give you a surprise when she returned? Did she mention wanting to travel to Lucheng?" The young man's rapid-fire questions left the man stunned.
The armed police, initially thinking the young man was just a curious bystander, were about to shoo him away, but the unexpected effect of his questioning made them all hold back.
Jiang Chenyi was currently listening to the thoughts of the two—[I didn't elope... I was just discussing wedding rings with the designer... I wanted... to give him a surprise...], this was the woman's thoughts.
As for the man's... it was too noisy, giving him a headache!
Enduring the throbbing pain in his forehead, Jiang Chenyi took another step forward upon seeing the man's dazed expression.
"Did she ask you before what kind of elements you like? Did she ask if you like stars and the moon? Think about it, what is the most famous place in Lucheng?"
The man indeed followed his words and fell into thought, and the sharp blade no longer advanced.
The next second, the SWAT team saw a black cat that appeared out of nowhere behind the man and silently leapt forward!
The black cat bit the man's wrist, twisted its waist with force, and actually pulled the man's entire arm over.
Immediately after, an arm emerged from behind the man, grabbed the arm that the black cat had kicked away, twisted it back, and instantly, the man's screams echoed across the airport.
At the moment Jiang Chenyi saw the black cat appear, he rushed forward with the nearest SWAT officer, cradled the barely breathing woman in his arms, and before the SWAT officer could react, fed her a large gulp of Mountain Spring Water.
"You..." The SWAT officer didn't have time to stop him, but seeing the woman's complexion gradually improve, he confirmed that Jiang Chenyi meant no harm.
The man was pinned to the ground by Huo Yunxi's foot and howling in pain.
Other SWAT officers quickly came over to take control and immediately reported to their organization: "No need for a sniper, where's the ambulance? Has the ambulance arrived yet?"
Huo Yunxi didn't hesitate to release the man to the SWAT officers.
However, as he walked towards Jiang Chenyi, hearing the man's curses from behind, he suddenly turned around and gave him a hard slap.
This slap almost knocked the man unconscious.
The two SWAT officers holding the assailant naturally heard those words, so... when Huo Yunxi struck, one looked to the left, the other to the right, pretending they didn't see the assailant being hit.
Soon, the ambulance arrived.
Jiang Chenyi had just wiped the blood off his hands and was about to find a place to rest when one of the SWAT officers approached: "Sorry, we need you to come in for an investigation."
Huo Yunxi, seeing the young man's pale complexion, really didn't want to agree.
Jiang Chenyi squinted his eyes. Perhaps because he was not fully recovered, he felt quite tired after hearing too many thoughts.
Upon hearing the SWAT officer's request, he took out the Supervisor certificate he had obtained in the capital and handed it to the officer.
"Jiang Chenyi, Supervisor of the Celestial Masters Association. With this, it should be enough to prove I'm not a problem, right?" After saying that, he let out a big yawn.
Huo Yunxi immediately sensed something was wrong, pulled the black cat onto his shoulder, wrapped an arm around Jiang Chenyi's shoulders, and looked sharply at the SWAT officer in front of him: "He's not feeling well, I'll give you a phone number, you can contact me directly if there's anything."
Without waiting for the SWAT officer's response, he took Jiang Chenyi and strode away.
As they passed by, the black cat's nimble tail retrieved the Supervisor certificate from the officer's hand.
The SWAT officer wanted to chase after them, but the black cat's tail tapped his head, and he immediately froze.
By the time he recovered, the two and the cat were long gone.
‘So not only were these two not ordinary people, but even the cat wasn't an ordinary cat?’
"The Supervisor from the Celestial Masters Association...? Why would they come to the border?" The armed police officer grew increasingly troubled by the thought and decided to report the entire matter to his superiors
As for what the higher-ups think of these two, let them handle it themselves!
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