Chapter 1648: Chapter 1950: In Name Only
While speaking, the bedroom door next to the living room was suddenly pushed open by someone. Immediately afterward, a long-haired woman in sexy pajamas walked out. Leaning against the door frame with a lazy expression, she glanced at Guo Halong before shifting her gaze to Zhu Hong on the sofa.
"Darling, it’s so late, and you’re still not sleeping?" The woman’s voice was soft, carrying an irresistible allure.
"Coming." Zhu Hong smiled and stood up from the sofa.
Seeing this scene, Guo Halong wisely kept silent and quickly retreated. At this moment, if Ling Chen were here, he would surely be surprised to find that the woman’s appearance was identical to Nanrong Wanqing.
...
Back at the hotel, everyone spent the night, and the next morning, Ling Chen and his group flew back to East Sea City.
Although the trip to Yangcheng wasn’t exactly smooth, it wasn’t completely fruitless either. At least they had dealt with Guo Halong from the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Back at Dragon Tiger Hall, Ling Chen barely had time to rest before a series of matters piled up on his desk.
Looking at the thick pile of documents in front of him, Ling Chen touched his nose with a slightly bitter smile. He had only been gone for a day, yet so many issues had accumulated. After brewing a cup of tea, Ling Chen called Kaelina over. With Zhu Qing absent, Kaelina was responsible for collecting all this intelligence and materials, so she was most familiar with the situation.
"Two major events happened in the Martial Arts world over the past couple of days."
Ling Chen smiled and said, "I was gone for just one day, yet two significant events occurred. It seems the current situation is truly unpredictable."
"One event concerns the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Yesterday afternoon, they announced complete seclusion, cutting off all external contacts and not participating in any disputes. As for when they might come out of isolation, that’s still uncertain."
Upon hearing this, Ling Chen’s expression changed. What does this mean? Could it be that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion is planning to run away? Founded for hundreds of years, nothing like this has ever happened before. What exactly is Su Mei trying to do? Although the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion suffered consecutive blows with heavy losses, there’s no need to act like deserters; this would greatly impact their reputation.
"Did the people monitoring the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion report any news?"
Kaelina nodded and said, "The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion is now under strict lockdown, refusing to see anyone, and all their disciples stationed outside have returned. Personally, I think this decision is the best move for the moment. Though their reputation might be affected, it buys them some breathing space. Moreover, with the Martial Arts world becoming increasingly chaotic, they can watch and wait for the right moment to intervene, protecting their strength while gaining the greatest benefits."
"That makes sense, but this isn’t quite typical of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s style." Ling Chen paused and then asked, "What about the second major event you mentioned?"
"The Martial Arts Association is practically defunct now; all its members have been disbanded."
"So quickly?" Ling Chen was a bit surprised. Although he had anticipated the Martial Arts Association’s demise, he thought with Tong Zhentian at the helm, it would last a bit longer.
"Two days ago, members of the Martial Arts Association were invited to handle a dispute, but one of the factions involved simply ignored the Association’s authority and directly eliminated those sent there. Because of this incident, the Association’s members no longer dare to get involved in these disputes and chose to leave."
"So, it seems Elder Tong should return now." Ling Chen breathed a sigh of relief. At this critical juncture, Tong Zhentian’s return is undoubtedly a good thing, alleviating some of the burden on Ling Chen. To be honest, the events of recent times have weighed heavily on him, making him unsure of his direction. Although he wants to rest and recuperate, preserving strength, they just won’t let him catch a break. Not only that, he can’t retaliate when wronged and can only swallow his frustration, making him uncomfortable.
"Kaelina, keep a close watch on the movements of the Heavenly Dragon Sect and Dangyang Sect lately; these two forces are the main enemies of Dragon Tiger Hall at the moment."
"I know." Seeing Ling Chen looking a bit weary, Kaelina said with concern, "You should take a break and rest, don’t overexert yourself."
Ling Chen said with a bitter smile, "I wish I could, but I can’t find the time to rest now. Anyway, you go ahead and get busy; I’ll take a break after handling everything."
After watching Kaelina leave the office, Ling Chen finished the pile of work, then leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and contemplated the next steps for Dragon Tiger Hall. Just then, his phone suddenly rang from his pocket.
Ling Chen took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes. Why is she calling me?
With the call connected, before Ling Chen could utter a "hello," he heard the other party demanding, "Ling Chen, what’s going on between you and my sister?"
"Miss Su, what are you talking about?"
"Ling Chen, don’t play dumb with me. Don’t you know? Be honest, did you and my sister have a falling out?"
"Nothing of the sort, who told you that?"
"I have my own sources. Where are you right now? I’m at Chunhui Restaurant on Jinlan Road; come over and explain things to me in person." With that, before Ling Chen could respond, Su Lin had already hung up.
This girl... Ling Chen shook his head helplessly. Looking at the time, it was already twelve o’clock, just in time for lunch.
Without delay, Ling Chen drove alone to Chunhui Restaurant, as mentioned by Su Lin. As soon as he entered, he saw Su Lin sitting in the northeastern corner of the restaurant’s lobby, holding a cell phone with a cup of tea beside her. Ling Chen walked straight over and greeted her with a smile.
Seeing Ling Chen appear, Su Lin gave him an annoyed glance and pointed to the seat opposite, saying, "Order whatever you want; today I’m buying."
"Oh! How generous."
"When have I ever been stingy?" Su Lin put away her phone and asked, "Straight to the point, what’s going on between you and my sister? I heard from Nanrong Hao that something’s off with your relationship."
Ling Chen smiled slightly and said, "I knew it must be Nanrong Hao who told you that. Okay! Both of you stop worrying unnecessarily; there’s nothing going on between me and your sister. Besides, even if there were, it’s between the two of us."
"You think I’m concerned about you? I’m worried about my sister; I don’t want her to be hurt because of this situation."
"Your sister is a businesswoman, not as fragile as you imagine." At this point, Ling Chen changed the topic and said, "I heard from your sister that not long ago, you found a job, so how come you have time to come back to East Sea City today?"
"The work is wrapped up now, and my unit arranged for us to take some time off. Originally, I wanted to go out and relax, explore a bit, but ran into an annoying person and lost interest, so I decided to come back instead."
