Chapter 36: The Most Expensive Things Are Free

Old Mo released the man, then grabbed a few more people from the villa for further interrogation, but the answers remained the same.

“Damn it, this is like seeing a ghost!” Chen Jiawang, upon hearing that the rusted items in the backpack were antiques, casually slung the pack over his shoulder and said, “Let’s go, it’ll be dawn soon.”

The three of them left the villa, resigned, and slipped quietly back to their car. After a sleepless night and more than ten hours on the road, even for three supernaturals, exhaustion was inevitable.

Chen Jiawang drove the car back to the compound, and the three gathered to analyze the situation. No matter how they discussed it, there was only one possibility: during the brief five minutes when they pretended to descend the mountain, the contents of the backpack had been swapped.

Those thousand or so gems were worth a fortune—at least several hundred million. Losing them was a tragedy in itself, but since the gems weren’t theirs to begin with, the real disaster was that they still hadn’t rescued the hostage.

Dejected, the three ate a bowl of noodles made by Tang Ziran, then trudged back to their rooms to catch up on sleep.

Saving a life was important, but they couldn’t forgo rest.

They slept straight through till noon. Shen Xin woke from a nightmare with a jolt, flying off the bed—literally—hitting the ceiling before crashing back down, thankfully uninjured.

He was only slightly startled, then with a long face, went downstairs, planning to call the kidnappers after lunch. To his surprise, as soon as he reached the main hall, he saw Shen Lan, Mo Ying, and Sister Dan, Tang Ziran, already eating.

“Hey, little sis, when did you get back?”

“Been back for over an hour. I heard you were sleeping, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

Shen Xin quickly ran over, grabbing Shen Lan’s arm and looking her over. Seeing her unscathed, he relaxed a bit, but still asked, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Good. And they didn’t bully you, did they?”

Shen Lan looked puzzled. “Bully me? Why would anyone do that? Mo Ying and I just went to Dragon City. How would we get hurt?”

“You went to Dragon City on your own? And why couldn’t I reach you by phone? Why go there in the first place?”

Shen Lan replied, “Brother, have a seat and eat, let’s talk while we eat. This isn’t something I can explain in a sentence or two.”

“Alright.”

So Shen Lan recounted what had happened over the past two days. After listening, Shen Xin felt completely duped.

According to Shen Lan, on their way back from the training school, they met some people who offered them a free lottery ticket. Mo Ying, on a whim, drew one and won the grand prize: three hundred thousand yuan, plus a complimentary two-day trip to Longshan Grand Canyon in Dragon City.

As for why their phones were unreachable, Shen Lan explained that those people had installed an app on her phone, claiming it would grant free access to the canyon.

If they hadn’t actually transferred three hundred thousand yuan to her, and several others hadn’t also won trips to the canyon, she wouldn’t have believed them.

Initially, Shen Lan wanted to go home to pack, but they were told everything would be provided—clothes, shoes, bags, all free.

So the two of them ended up having the time of their lives for over a day, and returned from Dragon City early that morning.

Shen Xin shook his head with a bitter smile. “Turns out the most expensive things are those that come for free!”

Shen Lan looked confused. “Expensive? We played for free for two days and got three hundred thousand yuan. Where else could you find something like that?”

Soon Old Mo came downstairs for lunch. Seeing Mo Ying, the iron-willed man nearly wept.

He kept repeating, “It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back.”

And just like that, the matter was inexplicably put to rest. The happiest of all was Chen Jiawang. When he sold the antiques in the backpack, he received over ten million yuan. Of course, he didn’t keep it all for himself, but split it five ways—each of them got two or three million.

Then there were the gems he’d mined in the cavern—dozens in all. Shen Xin had mined quite a few as well, but kept only about twenty, putting the rest into the backpack.

Shen Xin mulled it over and felt the whole affair was too neat, more like a targeted, premeditated kidnapping for ransom.

But he couldn’t fathom who would target him. In Ox City, he was hardly remarkable, and there were few who even knew him, let alone had the means to orchestrate all this.

Old Mo’s behavior shifted dramatically. Before Mo Ying was found, he was a bundle of nerves; after her return, he never mentioned it again and returned to his daily, relentless training.

Days slipped by, and soon it was time for Shen Lan to register at Dragon City University.

Unwilling to let her travel alone, Shen Xin hired a car to take her directly from Ox City to the university gate, only leaving once he’d seen her safely to her dormitory.

It wasn’t that he feared someone would bully Shen Lan—she was far from ordinary now.

Her awakened superpower was Metamorphosis; she could transform, and after transformation, her strength, defense, speed, and agility would all be greatly enhanced.

During her days at the compound, Old Mo had even given her targeted training. Now, even without transforming, she could handle three or five ordinary people with ease.

Arriving in Dragon City, Shen Xin thought of the Infinity Temple. Since he was here, he might as well pay a visit. After all, he’d already earned the temple’s enmity. It was better to understand one’s enemy—know them, and you’ll never lose a hundred battles.

Infinity Temple was located within the city, just north of the central park, accessible by a narrow alleyway.

Shen Xin circled the temple once, confirming its considerable size—over two thousand square meters. That might not sound like much, but in the heart of Dragon City, where every inch of land was precious, such a vast temple was no small feat.

He returned to the main entrance and saw a constant stream of worshippers coming to light incense. The parking lot outside was full, most people having come on foot.

Shen Xin hesitated at the temple gate for a long time, but in the end, he didn’t go in. There were over two hundred priests inside; if things turned violent, he wasn’t sure he could escape.

Though, admittedly, fleeing was his specialty.

At that moment, he thought how nice it would be to have his sister’s shapeshifting power—just not the version where she turned into a scaly mutant.

As he turned to leave, a figure emerged from the temple and fixed his gaze on Shen Xin’s retreating back, murmuring, “This man carries the resentment of Junior Brother Xuanming. It seems his death is closely tied to this one.”

The priest swiftly performed a secret hand sign, planting an almost undetectable mark on Shen Xin.

Once he was sure the mark was set, he turned back into the temple, opting not to confront Shen Xin yet. He would investigate further first.

Shen Xin, meanwhile, felt a fleeting discomfort in his body, but it quickly passed, and he thought nothing of it, strolling casually out of the alley.