Chapter 48: Who Isn't Walking on Thin Ice?

Chapter 48: Who Doesn't Walk the Precipice

The moon sets, the sun rises; the sun sets once more.

It wasn't until the following evening that Li Jun finally left the Jiaofangsi, head held high, chest thrust out, under a gaze mingled with both love and hate.

One must admit, the conglomerate's service was impeccably thorough; the moment Li Jun stepped out the Jiaofangsi's doors, he spotted a dedicated car sent to fetch him.

Inside the vehicle waited a full set of brand-new martial attire and weaponry, of the same grade and specification as before.

However, Li Jun did not head straight to the Shudao Logistics Security Department to report in; instead, he had the driver take him back to the Chicken-and-Goose District.

The instant his figure appeared on the Crow Clinic's surveillance cameras, Crow Hua, beaming from ear to ear, hurriedly rushed to open the door.

"Supervisor Li graces us with your presence; our humble clinic truly shines with splendor."

"We know each other inside out; don't you go embarrassing me."

Li Jun traversed the crowded, narrow corridor with practiced ease, eyeing the newly added medical equipment in the workshop, and quipped, "Old Hua, haven't seen you in days, and your assets are growing by the day."

"Don't say I'm just flattering you; it really is thanks to your reflected glory."

Crow Hua laughed, "Ever since Kuang Qingyun rose to power, the Paoge Association hasn't neglected our business; they send at least four or five wounded a day, the consultation fees pouring in until our hands go soft."

Kuang Qingyun.... The Paoge Association....

Li Jun subconsciously touched his neck, where a Yazi tattoo had once been inked, but now not a trace of it remained.

Regarding the Paoge Association, Li Jun's feelings were a tangled mess, so complex he couldn't find the words to describe them.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Paoge Association was nothing but a cliquish, xenophobic, ruthless gang of the Awakened.

But on Nine Dragons Street, the "Troubled Waters Paoge" was never a derogatory term; nearly every young person took pride in being able to ink a Yazi upon their neck.

Shoulder to shoulder, repelling external threats and pacifying internal strife.

A Paoge family never drags its feet, never slacks off.

This bond of comrades, comprehensible only to the Awakened, always brings a knowing smile in retrospect.

Yet Zhao Ding's scheming machinations filled Li Jun with deep wariness.

Though Zhao Ding was now dead, Li Jun felt a lingering shadow in his heart.

Li Jun suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and changed the subject, asking, "Where's your granddaughter?"

Crow Hua glared, his face full of vigilance, "What are you asking that for?"

Li Jun deliberately raised a brow and smiled, "Guess."

"Guess my ass, Li Jun, you turtle son of a bitch."

Crow Hua flew into a rage; instantly, dense clicking sounds came from the ceiling as a firepower matrix flipped down, countless red dots locking onto Li Jun.

"You're pulling a gun on me over a joke?" Li Jun shouted, facing the red lights, his face flushing red with anger.

"Who's joking? Look at that lecherous mug of yours; you're definitely up to no good."

"If I were up to no good, I'd go to the Jiaofangsi; why would I come to your broken clinic?"

"With your net worth, you can afford the Jiaofangsi?! Pfft!"

Just as the two were at sword's point, a hair bun suddenly popped up from a corner piled with junk in the workshop.

Crow Duoduo walked out, dragging a dripping, severed arm.

The girl walked straight to a massive freezer, tossed the severed limb inside, casually wiped the blood stains on her mamian skirt, and only then looked at Li Jun.

"What do you want."

Crow Hua and Li Jun locked eyes, and instantly the tension defused, flags lowered and drums silenced.

Li Jun cleared his throat, his expression turning serious: "I want you to help me check my genetic status."

"Fine, consultation fee: fifty thousand."

Crow Duoduo nodded, asking indifferently, "About to collapse?"

Li Jun scratched his head, "No, it should be fine now."

"You've advanced to Martial Dao Sequence Eight?!"

Crow Duoduo looked at Li Jun with utter shock, Crow Hua equally slack-jawed; the workshop fell into dead silence, only the firepower matrix above quietly flipping back up.

The speed of Li Jun's advancement truly exceeded their imagination; the first time he came, he was just an ordinary person, how long has it been since he reached Martial Eight?

Since when did the Martial Dao Sequence advancement speed surpass the Weapon Path?

"Get up here, or I'll skewer you!"

Crow Duoduo kicked away the clutter around the operating table with one foot, slapping the table hard.

Li Jun suppressed the rising aversion and discomfort toward machinery in his heart, and obediently lay down.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Crow Duoduo stared at the gene structure and blood analysis results displayed on the medical equipment, muttering to herself, "It really is Martial Eight."

Crow Duoduo whipped her head around, staring fixedly at Li Jun, "How did you do it."

"A bit of talent plus countless sweat."

Li Jun spouted a random lie, while secretly heaving a sigh of relief.

From Crow Duoduo's expression, it was clear the risk of his genetic collapse had truly been dispelled.

"Don't feed me that ghost-fooling bullshit; how did you really do it."

Li Jun looked at Crow Duoduo, bristling like a puffed-up alley cat, and couldn't help but frown deeply.

This was the first time he had ever seen this girl reveal such intense emotion.

"Duoduo, we just treat illnesses; don't pry into other people's business."

Crow Hua suddenly barked a reprimand, then looked at Li Jun with an apologetic face, "You know how obsessed this girl is with the Martial Path; she must have taken a blow seeing you progress so fast, don't mind her."

Li Jun looked at the struggling expression on the girl's face; he could sense Crow Duoduo seemed to have something she wanted to say to him.

But since she didn't speak it, he wouldn't take the initiative to ask.

He wasn't afraid of trouble, but he disliked uttering the words "powerless" to others.

After all, he too was merely walking the precipice right now.

"It's fine."

Li Jun's tone was calm; he bent down to pick up the fallen card reader, fished out the bank card Gu Yong had given him, and swiped the consultation fee.

Crow Hua's smile was strained, "Thank you for your patronage."

The atmosphere was clearly no longer suitable for staying; Li Jun didn't dilly-dally, striding straight out.

After Li Jun left the clinic, Crow Hua waved his hands, and the anti-bugging devices and Spiritual Sense jammers placed in the workshop activated simultaneously.

"Old man....."

A low call escaped Crow Duoduo's lips, her voice trembling, carrying a faint sob.

Crow Hua let out a long sigh, his back to the girl, not turning around.

"Duoduo, I know what you're thinking, but back then, so many Martial Seven and Martial Six experts in our sect couldn't change the outcome of its destruction; a single Martial Eight from him truly won't make a difference."

"Therelationship between us and Li Jun, to put it nicely, is a bond forged through life and death; to put it bluntly, it's merely holding leverage over each other."

"If he were still just a Martial Nine, we could still check and balance each other. But Li Jun is a Martial Eight now; we can no longer blackmail him. Once he penetrates the true meaning of the Red Blooded, even this lot of Embroidered Guards in Chengdu Prefecture probably won't be able to touch him."

"So let's not ask for too much; just maintain this shallow friendship properly. If that fatty comes knocking to recruit you as an Embroidered Guard, he can help us fend him off."

Crow Duoduo said aggrievedly, "I never thought to coerce him; we can totally cooperate with him. There's still so much left in the sect..."

Crow Hua shook his head. "Li Jun isn't someone so easily swayed."

"A man like him, treading on thin ice every moment, struggling to survive—he is the most cautious of all."

Crow Hua's tone suddenly grew heavy. "It's my fault too. If you hadn't inherited my trash genes, with your understanding of flesh and blood and your aptitude for martial arts, your advancement wouldn't be any slower than his, Li Jun's."

Crow Hua's lips trembled; his already withered frame hunched even further.

Crow Duoduo slowly walked over, reaching out to gently embrace this self-reproaching old man.

The girl's cheek rested on Crow Hua's shoulder as she whispered, "It's alright, Grandpa. I'll definitely find another way."

The old man reached out and patted her head. "Ah, peace and stability beat everything."

Crow Duoduo gave a soft hum, yet the light in her black pupils did not waver in the slightest.

................

Li Jun, his face full of gloom, had just stepped out of the Crow Clinic when he saw a figure in a cyan robe leaning against the wall.

Kuang Qingyun raised a hand to wipe the bloodstains from his brow, grinning broadly with unrestrained mirth.

"Well now, since you've become a Supervisor, you don't even go home anymore?"