Chapter 165: 165, Ren Xiaosu, you are a good person

In truth, Ren Xiaosu had no intention of striking Luo Ran's forehead; he merely wished to open the Shadow Gate beside him, to pull him away with a mere tug.

After all, their relations seemed amicable enough, and Ren Xiaosu harbored a certain reverence for Luo Ran and his soldiers, though he sought to rescue Xu Xuanxu, he had no desire to inflict significant harm upon them.

This strike upon the forehead was purely accidental, for was he not still struggling to master the Shadow Gate?

Yet, to let Luo Ran believe it was Luo Xinyu’s doing—that would be splendid indeed, for this girl and Yang Xiaomu had deceived him countless times; if the Qingshi Consortium could heighten their vigilance toward them, Ren Xiaosu would not mind striking Luo Ran’s forehead a few more times.

Ren Xiaosu ceaselessly closed and reopened the Shadow Gate, and in an instant, the Qingshi Consortium’s operatives grew anxious, fearing the gate might suddenly open beside them.

For a moment, the elusive Shadow Gate nearly threw the Qingshi Consortium’s forces into chaos—they had no idea where their hands might appear next!

Let alone them, even Ren Xiaosu himself did not know where the Shadow Gate would manifest in the next moment…

Ren Xiaosu mused with a touch of melancholy: the pinnacle of elusiveness must be when even he himself did not know where the Shadow Gate would emerge.

It had to be said, the Shadow Gate’s power was indeed formidable, leaving one defenseless.

The truth was, if Luo Xinyu herself wielded it, she might not achieve such an effect, for she could not open the Shadow Gate as many times as Ren Xiaosu did; she had always used it sparingly.

Yet Ren Xiaosu was unaware of this, believing the Shadow Gate consumed no spiritual energy.

Tang Zhou turned to Luo Ran: “Boss, what now?”

Luo Ran spoke with anguish: “See? See? This is the consequence of lacking transcendents among you—you all dismiss them so readily, yet not a single transcendent has emerged.”

Tang Zhou replied: “Mmm, we’ll try…”

Though Luo Ran had scolded them, no one took it to heart; after all, the old boss was just this way…

Luo Ran sighed: “Retreat, retreat—pursuing further might stir up demons and monsters.”

“Boss,” Tang Zhou asked doubtfully: “Could Xu Xuanxu also be a thug? Why does pursuing him summon Luo Xinyu?”

“Impossible,” Luo Ran denied: “Look at Xu Xuanxu’s plight—he’s clearly not a thug…”

“Indeed,” Tang Zhou nodded.

Only when he saw Luo Ran’s group retreating did Ren Xiaosu finally relax—if Xu Xuanxu was not captured, all would be well.

He glanced toward the direction Xu Xuanxu had fled and, after careful consideration, pursued him.

The great cauldron of Jing Mountain had been cast upon Xu Xuanxu, and Ren Xiaosu felt a pang of guilt—after all, the man had offended no one, yet became the Qingshi Consortium’s foremost wanted criminal. Though Ren Xiaosu had acted out of necessity, it did not mean he could rest easy…

The blame, surely, Xu Xuanxu would have to bear, but he deserved some compensation for it.

Ren Xiaosu searched from the rooftop and, upon finding Xu Xuanxu, discovered him hiding on a flat-roofed house, panting heavily, as if exhausted beyond measure.

He called softly: “Xu Xuanxu!”

Xu Xuanxu sprang up in alarm, and Ren Xiaosu quickly added: “It’s me! Ren Xiaosu!”

At this, Xu Xuanxu froze, then wore an expression as if he had seen a relative: “Ren Xiaosu, what are you doing here?”

“Cough, it’s a long story—I fled to here after the 113th Bastion collapsed, leaving me no choice,” Ren Xiaosu leaped onto the rooftop beside Xu Xuanxu and asked: “And how did you end up here?”

“Don’t ask,” Xu Xuanxu said grimly: “I intended to go to the 112th Bastion, but it too collapsed. Later, I went to the 111th Bastion, only to find the Qingshi Consortium had marked me as a high-priority target.”

In truth, Ren Xiaosu felt a kinship toward Xu Xuanxu, for they had once traveled together in Jing Mountain, though briefly, their bond forged in adversity ran deeper.

He said to Xu Xuanxu: “Then you fled here from the 111th Bastion—how did you encounter Luo Ran…”

This time, Xu Xuanxu was speechless: “I hid in a smuggling vehicle, which happened to be the one Luo Ran used to transport arms. Hey, those arms aren’t meant for you, are they? Who would’ve thought Luo Ran came here to hunt you—he’s brought so many weapons!”

To Xu Xuanxu, he couldn’t fathom why Luo Ran had smuggled so many arms here; in his view, with the 113th Bastion fallen, Luo Ran, as part of the Qingshi Consortium, should have returned to the 111th Bastion.

Xu Xuanxu did not know Luo Ran could no longer return to the Qingshi Consortium, for doing so would mean being placed under house arrest like Qing Shi.

Xu Xuanxu also did not know the chaos Luo Ran had wrought in the 109th Bastion, nor that Luo Ran was preparing to deal with the hidden members of the Huozhong Company.

Earlier, he had heard Luo Ran’s furious curses at Luo Xinyu, and he knew their smooth escape must have been aided by her.

In fact, before this, Xu Xuanxu had no idea Luo Xinyu was a transcendent, for he had never entered the blockade zone. Now, he realized she was far from ordinary.

Thus, at this moment, Xu Xuanxu instinctively assumed Luo Ran had smuggled arms to capture Ren Xiaosu and Luo Xinyu.

Xu Xuanxu worried: “You must find evading the Qingshi Consortium’s pursuit exhausting.”

Ren Xiaosu replied calmly: “Mmm, quite exhausting…”

“Why does the Qingshi Consortium pursue us so relentlessly?” Xu Xuanxu voiced his greatest doubt.

Ren Xiaosu’s expression grew peculiar: “I don’t know…”

At this, Xu Xuanxu pulled out half a steamed bun: “Are you hungry?”

For reasons unknown, Ren Xiaosu’s nose suddenly stung: “I’m not hungry, Xu Xuanxu—you’re a good man.”

In an instant, Ren Xiaosu nearly went to surrender to the Qingshi Consortium…

He drew a letter and a stack of cash from his pocket: “Take these.”

Xu Xuanxu was taken aback: “What are these?”

“Here are 5,000 yuan and a letter,” Ren Xiaosu said: “Take this letter to the 178th Bastion and find a man named Zhang Jinglin—he’ll give you a future.”

This was what Zhang Jinglin had once promised Ren Xiaosu, and now Ren Xiaosu bestowed it upon Xu Xuanxu.

Thinking of that Mr. Zhang, Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt Xu Xuanxu, a man of his sort, would surely shine in the northern frontier.

Ren Xiaosu’s cash was scarce, and though his business was slowly becoming legitimate, he had not yet earned substantial wealth.

Though he had melted down many gold bars, Ren Xiaosu could not give Xu Xuanxu gold—otherwise… Xu Xuanxu would guess the truth.

Xu Xuanxu asked curiously: “The 178th Bastion? I’ve been meaning to venture there—I don’t know who Zhang Jinglin is, but thank you in advance! Ren Xiaosu, you’re a good man!”

“Gratitude from Xu Xuanxu, +1!”

Seeing this gratitude coin, Ren Xiaosu’s heart grew complex…

Yet at that moment, several dark figures approached slowly from a distant rooftop. Ren Xiaosu scanned the surroundings and realized they were surrounded.

And among those surrounding them, he recognized none.

When those figures drew near, Ren Xiaosu spotted a small flame emblem on their chests.

The talking elbow said:

Today’s book recommendation: *Secret War Without Trace*, a legendary spy thriller—quality assured.