Free Web NovelChapter 191: Chapter 191: I Almost Never Saw You Again
The dim room was lit by a ceiling lamp that barely glowed.
Seeing the skill trigger, the two men carrying the sedan tried to attack Jiang Che first.
The two were both carriers and bodyguards.
Although perhaps the person inside the sedan didn’t need their protection at all.
"Stop. This is my brother," the voice inside the sedan softened, and he didn’t stop Jiang Che’s outstretched hand.
Brother?
The two carriers froze at once; they’d never heard that their master had a brother.
Jiang Che gently lifted the curtain. When he saw the person inside, it felt as if a hand gripped his heart viciously. He gasped for air, his face turning a blackish purple.
He curled up painfully on the ground, clutching his chest.
At this moment, the dungeon trembled. Outside, people only felt an eerie change in the dungeon’s aura. They gazed deep into the mental hospital; the oppressive force grew, as if something was forming inside.
"Should we pull out for now? It might trigger a stage soon."
"This fight’s getting out of hand. Better back out, so we don’t get caught in it."
"Who do you think will win?"
"What if Jiang Che dies? We’ll be left in the dark with zero info."
...
The crowd outside babbled as they retreated from the Red Pearl Mental Hospital, gathering in the Dark Forest.
With their current level, the Dark Forest wouldn’t attack them. In fact, as they all stood outside together, the forest beyond the gates withered a little more.
Leng Feng seized Long Yun by the collar, dragging him helplessly into the woods.
He clamped down on Long Yun’s throat, killing intent blazing in his eyes.
Long Yun started gasping for breath, his face turning bruised purple as he struggled frantically, and only then did the others rush to intervene.
"Brother Leng, sure, Brother Long Yun made mistakes, but he’s not exactly wrong."
"Someone suddenly rose to such a rank—I’m suspicious too, just how did he do it?"
"So many died at that Six-Star Pond, yet only that group survived?"
...
The group argued heatedly over Jiang Che’s strength. Among them, even Long Yun had been felled with a punch. Other than Leng Feng, none of the rest could face Jiang Che on equal footing.
"Except for Mr. Ren, there’s no one qualified right now."
"I doubt they’ll really fight to the death—worst case someone gets badly hurt. If Jiang Che really is clean, you just need to step up at the end and comfort him."
They kept offering Leng Feng advice. To them, Jiang Che was definitely suspect.
"Aren’t you all missing something here? What about what the master just said: ’Long time no see.’"
"He’s met Jiang Che before?"
Someone in the corner cut in, frowning in confusion.
"Maybe they met in an earlier dungeon? Apart from the first dungeon...the later ones were all Mr. Ren going in alone..." Someone spoke hesitantly, but everyone understood the hint.
At first, back when Mr. Ren was basically cannon fodder, he always entered dungeons attached to others.
Once he got stronger, no one knew his dungeon destinations anymore.
"You’ve got it wrong. Ever since Dungeon 9 descended, our master’s never entered a new one."
"He and Jiang Che aren’t from the same era. They couldn’t have met!"
"So, does that mean...they knew each other before?"
Knew each other before?
Hearing this, Long Yun only felt a chill on his back. He suddenly realized, they’d never known who Mr. Ren was—where he came from, who he used to be.
Back when he was weak, nobody cared to dig into his past.
After that string of events, no one even dared investigate his name, lest he found out and became displeased.
He gazed up at the rising wall, straining to catch any sounds from within, but there was only silence.
All he sensed was the churn in Jiang Che’s dungeon aura—something horrifying seemed to be taking shape.
He kept patting his chest, murmuring to calm himself—impossible, impossible.
If the two knew each other, why would Jiang Che’s dungeon feel like it was fighting back? Why would they even be fighting?
At that moment, Jiang Che was curled up, his eyes glowing blood-red, locked on the man inside the sedan.
The round jar wore a full suit of clothes, but the sleeves and pant legs were slack—one look was enough to see his form now.
"Brother Xiang, who—who did this to you?" Jiang Che reached out, wanting to touch, yet afraid to lay a hand on that jar’s smooth surface.
His chest ached; his whole body shook uncontrollably.
"Who do you mean?" The man inside the sedan hopped down beside Jiang Che; the ceramic thudded dully against the floor.
As he spoke, an illusory hand appeared and stroked Jiang Che’s head.
A stab of pain shot through Jiang Che’s skull. He opened his mouth, but could only remain still in the end.
The two sedan carriers stood at the back. It was the first time they’d seen their master step out on his own.
The energy-forged right hand that had torn so many apart now patted Jiang Che’s head gently.
"I don’t know," he said, patting Jiang Che’s head. "All those people at the hospital said I could leave—I went for a final checkup, and when I woke up, I was like this." He shook his head, trying hard to remember how he’d changed.
Jiang Che clenched his fists, recalling the files he’d found before.
He’d been anesthetized and sent to the operating room. After that, the entire hospital’s people were transferred into the dungeon.
Humans inside a dungeon wouldn’t bother with all this—it could only be the work of some evil spirit.
Jiang Che’s trembling body slowly calmed. His voice was raw with pain and resolve. "Brother Xiang, I’ll look into this. I’ll find out which evil spirit did this to you."
"Look into what? You should look for your own family first. Have you found them yet?"
"I’ve been searching everywhere for you out there, but not a word."
"At first I couldn’t move, wanted to help but was stuck. Later, I heard they said you could get stronger in the dungeon, so I let them take me along. Then I could finally get around by myself." As he spoke, arms and legs appeared on the jar’s surface.
Now he filled out his clothes, looking just like anyone else.
"Your brother broke his promise, huh? Said I’d help you find your family once I got out, and look at me now." He glanced around the illusory room, conjured moments ago from Jiang Che’s subconscious.
The familiar furnishings snapped him back to those days inside the mental hospital.
"Everyone in the hospital’s dead, right? I only found out later—this place was never any good."
"You don’t blame me for not taking you away, right? It was safe here. Out there was just too dangerous."
"Later when that SSS-ranked dungeon descended, I didn’t make it back in time. I hated myself so much—never helped you find your family. Never saw you again."
