Although the medicinal pill had temporarily restored some of his depleted strength, his weakness remained, a condition the pill could not alter.
Thus, Chu Fan was unable to evade Nan Baixuan's pursuit and was soon intercepted by the young woman.
"Who are you?"
"Why did you appear and save me earlier?"
Nan Baixuan's eyes were fixed intently on Chu Fan.
After being dragged back upstairs by Nan Baishan, the more she thought about it, the more Chu Fan seemed familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
Considering Chu Fan's intervention to save her, she believed he must know her, otherwise, why would he have rescued her?
The diligent young woman, unwilling to be deterred, had defied Nan Baishan's obstruction and descended the stairs, determined to find Chu Fan and get a clear answer.
Upon hearing the questions, Chu Fan's heart relaxed. At first, seeing Nan Baixuan chasing him, he had thought she recognized him.
Facing the young woman's scrutiny, Chu Fan calmly replied, "I don't know you!"
"And I wasn't trying to save you; it's just that I have some dealings with that old man!"
Was that truly the case?
Nan Baixuan looked at Chu Fan, full of doubt.
If the young woman were to recognize him, it would surely lead to more entanglements.
Chu Fan, truly wishing to avoid further interaction, immediately made to leave.
"Hey..."
Nan Baixuan again blocked Chu Fan's path, saying, "No matter what grudges you have with that person, I feel you saved me, so let me treat you to a meal!"
Chu Fan shook his head.
"Then let me give you money, how about a million?"
Waves of weakness surged through him; this was the aftermath of unleashing his full power.
If he lingered any longer, he would likely collapse on the spot.
Therefore, Chu Fan didn't bother to utter a word, turning in a different direction and continuing to walk.
However, once targeted by Nan Baixuan, escaping was not so easy.
"Not enough?"
"How about two million!"
The young woman continued to block Chu Fan, determined to get to the bottom of things, as her intuition told her Chu Fan's claim of not knowing her was a complete fabrication.
Being blocked repeatedly, Chu Fan grew annoyed, fixing Nan Baixuan with a sharp glare.
"Aren't you being bothersome!"
"I've already said no, and if you spout any more nonsense, I'll twist your head off like his!"
As he spoke, he lifted the item he was carrying.
Nan Baixuan's face changed, and she trembled, "You... you're carrying that person's head?"
Earlier, she had indeed noticed the object Chu Fan was carrying, which was continuously dripping blood onto the ground, but she hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.
Now, seeing it, and judging by its shape, it did indeed appear to be a head.
She had not expected Chu Fan to be so terrifying, to have actually severed the opponent's head and be casually carrying it around.
This time, before Chu Fan could even make a move, the young woman, as if seeing a ghost, quickly fled.
"Why does he feel so familiar?"
After completely putting distance between herself and Chu Fan, Nan Baixuan stared at Chu Fan's receding back, her brows furrowed.
Her intuition told her it was impossible for Chu Fan to have coincidentally encountered the old man with whom he had a conflict.
The more she looked, the more familiar the back and the eyes seemed, yet she couldn't recall where she had seen them.
Chu Fan paid no mind to what the young woman was thinking.
He found a spot to wait, and before long, a car stopped ahead.
"Kid, are you injured?"
Cui Fu got out of the car and, seeing Chu Fan looking listless, asked with concern.
Chu Fan nodded and directly got into the car. Lying on the seat, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Seeing the old man still scanning him with a curious gaze, he nudged with his foot, kicking the ancient head into his hands.
Cui Fu frowned. Although he hadn't opened the wrapped item, as a Grandmaster, his sense of smell was acute, and he had already detected the scent of fresh blood.
Looking at the size and weight, he could generally guess that it contained a head.
An opponent who could drain Chu Fan so severely was, without a doubt, a formidable opponent.
Cui Fu's curiosity was instantly piqued.
"This..."
Upon seeing whose head it was, Cui Fu was so shocked that his heart nearly leaped out of his throat.
Before seeing clearly, he had never considered that Chu Fan would have engaged with Elder Gu, as Elder Gu was someone close to Chu Qingtian, and Chu Qingtian's relationship with Chu Fan was quite unusual; logically, there shouldn't have been any conflict between them.
Furthermore, even as a Grandmaster himself, an Eighth-Rank Grandmaster was still an unreachable, legendary existence.
Such a formidable figure had been killed by Chu Fan?
Cui Fu instinctively raised his thumb, his lips parting slightly as he silently uttered two words.
Afterward, he immediately drove Chu Fan back to the Treasure Pavilion.
...
Meanwhile, Chu Qingtian, seeing that Elder Gu had not returned and having received no information, felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
In fact, Chu Qingtian had a suspicion that Elder Gu might have intended to kill Chu Fan.
It was precisely because of this that he had spoken as he did when dispatching Elder Gu, hoping that Elder Gu, in consideration of their years of acquaintance, would not go to the extreme of killing Chu Fan.
Now that he couldn't contact him, he couldn't help but wonder if Elder Gu had indeed killed Chu Fan and, unable to face him, had simply disappeared.
After waiting for another two hours with no news, Chu Qingtian gave the order, and all the hidden personnel in Nanyun City, along with the War Emperor Hall, were mobilized.
Treasure Pavilion.
Cui Fu, who was squatting by the entrance chatting with someone, spotted unfamiliar faces suddenly appearing in the surrounding street corners. His vigilance immediately arose, and he turned back into the shop.
"Kid, there are many more people outside now, probably here to gather information!"
"Do you want to go upstairs?"
Chu Fan, who was resting on a lounge chair, opened his eyes and got up to go upstairs.
If his body had been able to support him, he would have gone to find Chu Qingtian for a good talk right now.
*Ding-dong...*
Just as Chu Fan went upstairs, the door to the Treasure Pavilion was pushed open by a stranger.
The man walked in, browsed the shop pretending to be interested, and finally negotiated a price for an item with Cui Fu. Finding the price too high, he then left.
Watching the departing man, Cui Fu muttered, "Amateur acting!"
He knew without a doubt that this person was here to gather information, trying to see if Chu Fan was in the shop.
Time flew by, and two days passed.
The entire Nanyun City was in turmoil. Chu Qingtian appeared haggard, not only due to the lack of news about Chu Fan but also about Elder Gu.
The longer there was no news, the more it suggested that something had happened.
Waiting was the most tormenting.
Tormented by the wait, Chu Qingtian took out his phone, preparing to mobilize more personnel to Nanyun City for further investigation.
At that very moment, his phone rang.
Seeing that it was from his confidant, the middle-aged man who had initially gone to find Chu Fan and asked him to see Chu Qingtian.
"What?"
"He's here?"
Upon learning that the Chu Fan he was searching for had voluntarily appeared downstairs and wanted to see him, Chu Qingtian was taken aback.
His son was safe, and naturally, he was happy.
However, immediately after, Chu Qingtian was filled with another layer of worry.
If Chu Fan was here, then where was Elder Gu?
Had he died?
The thought of the repercussions if Elder Gu were dead made Chu Qingtian's heart uneasy. He quickly instructed the middle-aged man to bring him up.
Upon seeing Chu Fan, Chu Qingtian anxiously asked, "Little Fan, where is Elder Gu?"
*Bang...*
Chu Fan casually threw the item in his hand onto the ground.
*Gurgle, gurgle...*
The object rolled to Chu Qingtian's feet, its outer wrapping coincidentally coming undone.
It's over...