Chapter 46: Money Fell from the Sky

The large office was even more silent now. The square-jawed young man and Master Pei sat wordlessly, holding their wine glasses, drinking listlessly.

Suddenly, both realized that tonight’s wine tasted truly awful, a bitter tang lingering on their tongues.

“Cheng?” It was Master Pei who finally broke the silence.

“Forget it, let’s hold off on him for now.” The square-jawed young man put down his glass in frustration. “He might be here to challenge us—let’s try to send him off with kind words.”

Chu Tianfeng’s strength was far beyond their imagination. Even if he felt unwilling, there was nothing they could do. They knew Tosa’s abilities well—an expert at the intermediate stage of internal force, yet before Chu Tianfeng, he hadn’t lasted more than a few moves.

In other words, Chu Tianfeng was at least at the late stage of internal force, perhaps even at its peak.

Frankly, with Chu Tianfeng’s skills, even if he wanted to take down their Wushi Hall, it wouldn’t be too difficult.

“Understood.” Master Pei also set down his glass.

“Pick a couple of our best men to tail him. At the very least, find out where he comes from.”

“Rest assured, Young Master Cheng. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

In truth, Master Pei disliked Chu Tianfeng even more, especially the way he grinned so shamelessly when he saw money.

Chu Tianfeng’s grin was indeed shameless. In the lounge, gazing at bundles of banknotes, he could barely contain his glee.

He’d bet seventy-seven thousand. At ten-to-one odds, he’d netted seven hundred seventy thousand. Including his principal, his final appearance fee, and the bonus from the last bout, his fortune now stood at eight hundred fifty-eight thousand—a windfall overnight.

Master Pei even gifted Chu Tianfeng a suitcase to carry the cash. Of course, the suitcase wasn’t a free gift; it had a tracking device installed inside.

Chu Tianfeng seemed not to notice. He dragged the case away in high spirits, bid farewell to Master Pei and the others, and even slapped Master Pei on the shoulder, promising to return next week when a new champion was crowned.

Master Pei thought bitterly, If I could beat you, I’d have killed you myself.

Hua Wu had wanted to continue following Chu Tianfeng, but Lin Qian forcibly kept her back. That night, Lin Qian asked several more times about Chu Tianfeng, but Hua Wu kept her lips sealed, unwilling to say more, forcing Lin Qian to give up.

When Chu Tianfeng left the lounge, he didn’t see Hua Wu or Lin Qian. Though puzzled, he didn’t inquire further. He left the club, got into a car that Master Pei had arranged, and, amidst a corridor of farewells, vanished into the night like a wisp of smoke.

This scene was observed by disciples from the Huangshan and Hengshan sects, who were keeping watch outside the club. They became even more convinced that Chu Tianfeng belonged to the Mojin Sect.

In fact, Chu Tianfeng knew he was being tailed, but for now, he couldn’t shake them and didn’t bother to try. He returned to the city center, found a hotel, and enjoyed a hearty meal.

The next morning, Chu Tianfeng went to the bank, deposited most of the cash into his account, keeping only one hundred fifty-eight thousand on hand. As for the suitcase, he casually left it with the bank.

Leaving the bank, he remembered his agreement with Liu Zhijian from the previous night. He hailed a taxi and headed towards the Kaidi Hotel.

Although he was no longer short of money, that eleven thousand yuan was the hard-earned savings of his former self, and he was determined to reclaim it. No one deserved an easy win, least of all a deadbeat like Liu Zhijian.

Several blocks before the Kaidi Hotel, Chu Tianfeng got out of the cab.

He had no choice; there were too many tails behind him. He decided to take them on a stroll around the city. After such a good night’s sleep and a heavy breakfast, he thought he might as well walk it off.

The disciples from Huangshan and Hengshan, having “confirmed” his identity the night before, thought little of him. The two followed closely behind, never more than five meters away.

Chu Tianfeng, in fact, planned to use these two to intimidate Liu Zhijian, so he was quite satisfied with their devoted “bodyguard” service.

After several busy streets and winding alleys, he finally spotted the golden gates of the Kaidi Hotel—and Liu Zhijian, with his gold tooth gleaming at the entrance.

Chu Tianfeng approached Liu Zhijian at a leisurely pace, intending to startle him with a little scare.

But the closer he got, the more uneasy he felt.

Using his spiritual sense, he noticed several suspicious individuals nearby. Some pretended to play with their phones, some feigned phone calls at the roadside, others simply passed by as pedestrians.

But they all shared one trait: each had a handgun tucked at the waist, some even bore handcuffs.

Liu Zhijian’s smile was forced, his eyes shifty—not the main point, but telling. As he looked at Chu Tianfeng, he also kept glancing at a man on the phone nearby.

Chu Tianfeng, well-versed in such ruses, instantly deduced that Liu Zhijian had called the police the previous night, and all these “passersby” were undercover officers.

His mind raced for a solution.

Escape!

But how to escape? He had to plan carefully. He doubted he could outrun bullets, not after suffering once before—he had no desire for a repeat.

As he hesitated, his pace slowed. The disciples from Huangshan and Hengshan closed in, now less than three meters away.

Hearing their approaching footsteps, inspiration flashed in Chu Tianfeng’s mind.

He swiftly formed a hand seal, then suddenly spun around and charged at the two disciples.

“Run! It’s an ambush!” Chu Tianfeng shouted.

The two disciples were baffled, unsure what Chu Tianfeng was up to, thinking perhaps he was toying with them.

He was, in fact, toying with them. He grabbed both by the arms and dashed off, yelling as he ran, “Run! Split up and run!”

The poor disciples, both merely at the basic internal force level, were as helpless as chicks in Chu Tianfeng’s grip, unable to resist.

There were also Mojin Sect members tailing Chu Tianfeng, but knowing his abilities, they kept their distance and thus avoided the ensuing chaos.

Seeing their bait had bolted, the undercover police signaled each other and gave chase.

Some even drew their pistols, shouting after Chu Tianfeng, “Stop! Stop or I’ll shoot!”

Chu Tianfeng ignored them, sprinting desperately with his two living shields.

The disciples from Huangshan and Hengshan, now fully aware of Chu Tianfeng’s overwhelming strength, were terrified. Hearing the police shouting behind them, they could hardly contain their fear.

“Senior, please let me go!” the Huangshan disciple begged in tears.

“Senior, we can run on our own!” the Hengshan disciple wept as well.

“Alright, since you insist.” Hearing the sound of guns being cocked behind him, Chu Tianfeng shoved the two away and bolted ahead.

The two disciples heaved a sigh of relief and fled in opposite directions without a word.

But after only a few steps, they both felt a sharp pain in their chests and had to stop, leaning against a roadside tree.

“Don’t move! Hands up!”

The police, unconcerned with their pain, immediately pointed several pistols at their heads.

“It’s not our fault, we’re innocent!” protested the Huangshan disciple.

“Save it. We saw you together. If you weren’t involved, would he have risked his life dragging you along?”

“It really has nothing to do with us, we don’t even know him,” the Hengshan disciple pleaded.

“Shut up.” A police officer pulled out his radio. “Unit 110, the main suspect is fleeing. We’ve caught two accomplices. Over.”

“We’re not accomplices!” the Huangshan disciple shouted.

“Tell it to the judge.” The officer kicked him. “Cuff them!”

Chu Tianfeng had infused their chests with vital energy to use them as scapegoats.

But he had underestimated the police.

Only one squad chased the disciples; another group stayed hot on Chu Tianfeng’s trail.

Seeing the plainclothes officers’ pistols behind him, Chu Tianfeng grew uneasy.

He deliberately ran toward the crowds, forcing the police to hold their fire.

Soon, Chu Tianfeng darted into a narrow street teeming with pedestrians and vendors, some even wandering into the road, vying with cars for space.

At the intersection stood two patrol officers. Seeing Chu Tianfeng being chased, they drew their pistols to block him.

Chu Tianfeng panicked, quickly pulled out a wad of cash from his bag, and shouted, “Money from the sky! Come quick, everyone!”

At the sound of free money, people rushed out to see. Chu Tianfeng, not stingy, hurled ten thousand yuan at the patrol officers.

A flurry of pink banknotes fluttered above their heads, like a cloud of butterflies.

The officers shouted, “Police business! Back, all of you!”

The people paid them no heed, surging toward the flying cash and surrounding the two officers.

“Uncle Policeman, could you move? You’re blocking my fortune!” someone shouted.

“Uncle, you’re stepping on the money—could you move, please?” a little girl called out on tiptoe.

“Why don’t you grab a few too? Times are tough for everyone,” an old man advised kindly.

“He’s a good man—must’ve known I couldn’t afford groceries!” someone sighed.

“If only he’d thrown more, he ran too fast,” someone else lamented.

Chu Tianfeng dashed past the two officers, even making a face at them.

The officers could only shout after him, half-laughing, half-crying.

“Stop right there!”

“This is dirty money! Even if you pick it up, you have to hand it in!”

On hearing this, the crowd clutched the bills and scattered at once.

By now, the pursuing officers arrived, uninterested in wrangling with the townsfolk. They pushed through the throng and charged into the street.

But when they entered, they froze collectively.

There was the culprit, scattering bills as he ran.

The alley, already narrow, was now choked with people scrambling for money. Some even came to blows over a single note.

“Let go, or I’ll teach you a lesson!”

“Zhao Laosi, I’ve had it with you. If you take that hundred yuan, we’re through!”

The officers looked at each other, then all stared helplessly at Chu Tianfeng’s retreating figure as he whistled away into the distance.