However, his hand had just raised halfway when it froze.
He saw a ray of moonlight piercing through the clouds, just right passing through the window and spilling onto the wooden floor at his feet... As the light and shadow danced, two characters slowly emerged.
"Go back."
Below these two characters, a playing card was reflected.
It was a gray JOKER, a gray [King].
The moment he saw this card face, Chu Muyun's pupils contracted. He immediately lowered his arm, and the dagger slipped into his sleeve like a snake, vanishing without a trace.
A dark gray cloud drifted over with the wind, blocking the hazy moonlight. The line of characters on the floor faded away as if they had never existed.
Chu Muyun took a deep look at Chen Ling, who was sound asleep, then turned and left.
As he gently closed the door, the room fell into a deathly silence.
Seconds later,
from the shadows in the corner,
Chen Yan, wearing pajamas, stepped out slowly.
The teenager's scarlet eyes stared fixedly in the direction of Chu Muyun's bedroom. In his hand, he somehow held a blood-stained bone-scraping knife.
As Chu Muyun's bedroom door closed completely, the teenager's eyes drooped and closed. When he opened them again, the icy killing intent had been buried deep in his eyes.
The ethereal aurora surged outside the window. Chen Yan slightly turned his head and looked at Chen Ling sleeping on the bed.
"Brother... good night."
He murmured to himself.
As the words fell, his figure quietly passed through the wall and returned to his own room.
Meanwhile,
in the office of the Enforcers' Headquarters in District Three,
"Brother Ma, there's news from Bingquan Street," a three-striped enforcer said hurriedly as he walked in.
Ma Zhong raised an eyebrow. "What did they say?"
"Um..."
The enforcer hesitated for a moment. "They cursed very harshly."
Ma Zhong: ?
"Why? Is the blockade still not lifted?"
"No, they said you're unethical, not only breaking the promise yourself but also sending someone to insult them." The enforcer added, "It's the probationary enforcer you assigned to support Bingquan Street... It's said that the people from Black Axe Tavern were beaten by him, and Bone Knife is furious."
"Probationary enforcer?" Ma Zhong asked in confusion. "Who is it?"
"One is called Wu Youdong, and the other is Chen Ling. Wu Youdong has been scared by those people and voluntarily quit the enforcer exam. The one who hit people is Chen Ling."
"I seem to remember... Isn't he the kid from Han Shuang Street whose parents were driven mad by the disaster?"
"Yes, that's him."
"He could beat up the people in Black Axe Tavern?"
"I can't believe it either, but that's the fact." The enforcer paused and asked cautiously, "Brother Ma, do you think... could he have received [Divine Favor]?"
Ma Zhong didn't answer. He frowned and stuck a cigarette between his lips. The enforcer immediately stepped forward and lit it with a lighter.
"Could it be that District Three is going to have another enforcer?" Ma Zhong exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Currently, among the five enforcers in District Three, three are on our side... But if another one appears, it will be troublesome." The enforcer muttered, "He beat the people from Bingquan Street, so he must know something. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to join us...
Rather than letting him grow up and become Han Meng's helper, why don't we take action early and..."
Ma Zhong sneered. "Chang Lin, Chang Lin... your vision still needs some serious polishing."
The enforcer called Chang Lin was taken aback.
"Am I wrong?"
"You're not wrong, but your perspective is too narrow." Ma Zhong flicked the ash from his cigarette and said calmly, "Even if this kid has obtained [Divine Favor], he's still only at Rank 1. It'll take a long time for him to pose a threat to us.
Instead of targeting him, we should shift our focus... and solve the problem at its root."
"You mean... Han Meng?"
"Before Han Meng arrived, District Three was ours. Back then, our operations were the largest among the seven districts—even today's Bingquan Street was only half our size... But ever since this guy parachuted in as the Chief Enforcer of District Three, he cleaned up the district, cut off our financial lifeline, and forced us to rebuild connections in Bingquan Street from scratch."
Ma Zhong's eyes gradually turned icy. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"He's the Chief Enforcer of District Three. We usually have no chance to act, but now things are different..."
"Why are they different?"
"When would a four-striped enforcer die in District Three?"
Chang Lin pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up as if he'd realized something. "A Disaster?"
"The Chief Enforcer of each district is a critical position. If anything happens to them, Aurora City will definitely send someone to investigate. We couldn't touch him before, but now we have a ready-made 'murderer'... one that just so happened to appear in District Three, once defeated Han Meng head-on, and then vanished without a trace!"
Ma Zhong sneered. "Kill Han Meng and make it look like a Disaster attack that killed them both. Not only does this eliminate the major threat above us, but it also justifies lifting the blockade on District Three and resuming trade with District Two immediately... this way, the anger from Bingquan Street will also subside."
"But what if the Disaster shows up again after this?"
"Who can prove that the one that appears later is the same one now?"
Chang Lin was stunned, then couldn't help but sigh,
"Brother Ma, you're still the mastermind!"
"Now that Han Meng is injured by a Disaster and isn't as strong as before, if we plan carefully, he's as good as dead." A flicker of killing intent flash in Ma Zhong's eyes. "Call Lao Tao over too. Let's discuss this thoroughly..."
"Got it... Oh right, what about Chen Ling?"
"Him..." A flash of cunning crossed Ma Zhong's eyes. "Don't let him interact with those Bingquan Street people anymore—we don't need more trouble. Find a pretext to let him join the enforcers. Once we deal with Han Meng, we'll be his superiors.
Then, we can handle him however we want, right?"
"Understood."
"Morning, bro."
As Chen Ling pushed open the door, he saw Chen Yan sitting in the living room, who turned around with a smile to greet him.
"Up so early?" Chen Ling asked in surprise.
"Couldn't sleep last night, so I got up early to memorize some lines." Chen Yan held up a handwritten playbook in his hand and said seriously.
Chen Ling nodded and was about to wash up and go out when Chu Muyun also pushed the door open.
"You're the one getting up late today."
"...Hmm."
Chu Muyun replied casually, with dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept all night either.
"Does your exam end today?" Chu Muyun seemed to remember something.
"Yes, today's the last day."
"Come on, bro!" Chen Yan made a cheering gesture. "You'll definitely become an enforcer!"
"I hope so." Chen Ling smiled.
After yesterday's incident, Chen Ling no longer held out hope of passing the enforcer exam... For ordinary people like him and Wu Youdong, relying on their own efforts to become enforcers was as difficult as ascending to the sky.
What's more, he had beaten up the people from Black Axe Tavern yesterday, completely making an enemy of Enforcer Ma Zhong in District Three. The other party would surely not let him get promoted.
But even if he couldn't become an enforcer... harvesting some expectation points in Bingquan Street would be nice?
Chen Ling stroked his chin and thought so.