"Master, I'm leaving."
Lin Chen knelt on the ground, kowtowing three times towards the elder who had his back to him in the prison cell.
"Go. There's no feast that doesn't end. Remember what I told you."
Lin Chen nodded solemnly.
If it weren't for his master in the past three years, he would have died long ago.
It was his master who taught him all his ultimate skills and guided him onto the path of cultivation.
The path of cultivation was as difficult as ascending to heaven, divided into several major realms: Qi Nourishment, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Void Return, Mahayana, and True Immortal.
Each realm was further subdivided into lower, middle, and upper tiers.
Lin Chen was currently in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
"Master, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself."
Lin Chen rose, cast a reluctant glance at the elder, and turned to walk away.
He reached the end of the corridor, and a sigh echoed in his ears: "A golden dragon is no ordinary thing in a pond; when it meets the wind and clouds, it will transform into a dragon!"
He stepped outside.
The warden, who had been waiting for a long time, walked over with a smile. "Mr. Lin, have you finished bidding farewell to the elder?"
"Mm."
"Mr. Lin, I'll escort you out."
"Warden, thank you for your care these past two years."
"Mr. Lin, please don't say that. You are a great benefactor to my entire family. If it weren't for you, our family would have been ruined!" the warden said sincerely.
Lin Chen smiled without a word. The warden's wife had suffered from a serious illness, and no matter how many renowned doctors they sought, they couldn't cure her. It was Lin Chen who, with his needles and medicine, pulled her back from the brink of death.
From then on, the warden treated him like an honored ancestor.
As they walked, whether it was the prison guards or the inmates, they would respectfully address Lin Chen as "Mr. Lin."
The warden watched, deeply moved. Lin Chen was even more respected in prison than he was. He had clearly become the boss here.
He knew why. Besides the fact that many inmates had benefited from Lin Chen's miraculous healing, he never used his power to bully others. Whenever there were disputes, they would ask Lin Chen to mediate.
As for the troublemakers who defied Lin Chen, such as assassins and extremely ruthless mercenaries, they had all been thoroughly subdued by him. Now, the mere mention of Lin Chen's name made them tremble.
In short, Lin Chen was a legend in the prison!
About ten minutes later, they arrived at the main gate.
"Mr. Lin, I'll escort you this far."
"Mm, take care!"
Lin Chen bid farewell to the warden and walked out under his gaze.
A gentle breeze blew.
Lin Chen's lips curved. "The air outside is so much better!"
Without any delay, Lin Chen bought a ticket and boarded the car heading home.
Around eight in the evening.
Lin Chen stood at the door and knocked.
Less than a minute later, the door opened.
Looking at the woman he had longed for day and night, Lin Chen called out softly and excitedly stepped forward.
Qin Wanru frowned and instinctively dodged.
Lin Chen was stunned for a few seconds, thinking that perhaps after such a long separation, Qin Wanru had become a little distant. He didn't dwell on it, taking out a stack of letters and a hand rope from his pocket.
"Wanru, these are the letters you wrote to me. This hand rope was given to me by you on Valentine's Day. It was these that accompanied me through the long nights and days for the past three years. Now that I'm back, we can finally be together."
Upon hearing this, Qin Wanru's expression turned ugly. She bit her lip and said sternly, "Enough! Stop talking. We're over."
Lin Chen felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his mind exploding.
It took him a full two minutes.
Lin Chen took a deep breath, stared at Qin Wanru, and asked word by word, "Why?"
Just as Qin Wanru was about to speak, a domineering and cold voice came from behind, "I'll tell you why!"
A man in pajamas swaggered over, shaking his head and ears arrogantly.
Upon seeing the man's face, Lin Chen's body trembled violently, and memories surged back like a tide.
Three years ago, he and Qin Wanru were an enviable couple, deeply in love, and on the verge of marriage.
Everything changed drastically one night. He went to a KTV to pick up Qin Wanru and saw her being harassed by a man. He immediately stepped forward to help, and after a fight, he rescued Qin Wanru.
The next day, however, he was arrested for aggravated assault and sentenced to three years.
The man standing before him now was Zhang Tao, the one who had harassed Qin Wanru three years ago and the culprit who had caused him to be imprisoned.
At this moment, Zhang Tao walked over, put his arm around Qin Wanru, and looked down at Lin Chen condescendingly. "Time flies. I'd almost forgotten today was your release day. What do you think? Surprised to see me?"
Seeing this scene, Lin Chen's face turned completely dark. He had spent three years in prison, thinking that after his release, he and Qin Wanru could be together and live a good life. But he never expected this. Reality was truly cruel.
Lin Chen clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Qin Wanru, tell me, why?"
Qin Wanru, unfazed, met Lin Chen's gaze. "Lin Chen, Zhang Tao and I are together. He can give me everything I want. Can you?"
These words were like a sharp dagger piercing his chest. Lin Chen was in so much pain that he clenched his fists tightly. He had no regrets about going to prison for three years to save Qin Wanru.
But now, the Qin Wanru he had longed for day and night was with Zhang Tao, his mortal enemy. How ironic, and how devastating it was to him!
Seeing Lin Chen's state, Zhang Tao felt incredibly pleased. He walked up, patted Lin Chen's shoulder, and sneered, "You're like a cockroach, kid, so tenacious. They couldn't kill you in prison, and now you're out. I'll play with you slowly."
Hearing this, Lin Chen's eyes flickered with cold light. He could kill Zhang Tao without anyone knowing right now, but he didn't want to. Zhang Tao wanted to play slowly, so he would play along.
"By the way, I'm really curious. Is there something wrong with your 'manhood'? You've been with Qin Wanru for so many years and haven't touched her. I got a great bargain. Do you know how fair Wanru's skin is, and how good her figure is? Haha!"
Lin Chen's heart ached. He glanced coldly at Qin Wanru. He had made such a request before, but Qin Wanru had refused, saying she wanted to save her best for their wedding night.
Now, thinking back, it wasn't that Qin Wanru wanted to save it for the wedding night, but rather she had her own plans, or perhaps the price wasn't right, and she wasn't willing to give everything.
"Lin Chen, we're over. Three days from now is Zhang Tao's and my wedding. I hope you can come and attend, to mark a perfect end to our past relationship," Qin Wanru said coldly.
"Alright, I will definitely be there in three days. I'll bring you a big gift then."
Lin Chen's expression was calm. As he spoke, he tore all the letters to shreds and tossed the hand rope aside like garbage.
His heart was dead. It was not worth being sad over a woman like Qin Wanru.
Seeing this, Zhang Tao's expression changed drastically. In his mind, Lin Chen would be furious upon hearing this news and might even attack him, allowing him to send Lin Chen back to prison for a few more years. But he never expected Lin Chen to show no reaction.
Qin Wanru was also taken aback. She had said this to make Lin Chen give up, fearing he would continue to make trouble. But now, Lin Chen was too "calm," and he had even torn up the letters and thrown away the hand rope in front of her.
A sense of unease suddenly gripped her. She felt that the current Lin Chen was a stranger. She couldn't quite articulate what had changed.
After a minute.
Qin Wanru shook her head and sneered. She felt she was overthinking things. How could a powerless and recently released loser like Lin Chen compare to Zhang Tao?
"Lin Chen, if you want to live well, apologize to Young Master Zhang. I'll put in a good word for you, and maybe he'll let you go."
Apologize to Zhang Tao? Did he deserve it?
Lin Chen remained silent, sneering inwardly.
Qin Wanru was angered. "Darling, let's go inside. There's no need to waste time with him here."
"Mm, let's go back and do what we need to do. Oh, tonight we're going to play something exciting. You'll have to cooperate well later and make me happy, and I'll buy you the bag you want."
Zhang Tao said, patting Qin Wanru's plump buttocks.
Qin Wanru gave him a charming glare. "You're so bad!"
"I'm bad, but do you like it?"
"Yes."
"Hahaha..."
Lin Chen watched everything coldly. He knew Zhang Tao was deliberately trying to provoke him and would never let his scheme succeed.
"Playing with your woman right in front of you and not even daring to fart.
Truly useless!"
Zhang Tao snorted inwardly, feeling that crushing Lin Chen would be as easy as crushing an ant, and it was too boring.
He kissed Qin Wanru, then took a few steps forward. He suddenly turned back and said to Lin Chen, "Lin Chen, you must come to my wedding in three days! Don't be a coward, or both Wanru and I will be very disappointed..."
"In three days, I will be there."
Unbeknownst to them, Lin Chen subtly flicked his right hand, casting the 'Nightmare' spell on Zhang Tao and Qin Wanru.
Didn't they want to have a good time?
He would grant them their wish!
"Oh, and by the way, here's some news. Hurry home and check on your mother. She's living at 13 Poverty Street. If you're too late, you might not see that old hag anymore, haha!"
Hearing the "bang!" of the door closing,
Lin Chen's face turned extremely grim. He gritted his teeth, formed a hand seal with his right hand, and instantly vanished from the spot.
"Mother, your son is back. Please, you must be alright!"