Chapter 936: Desperate Resistance

“Should we call for backup?” Lin Dongxue asked, pulling out her phone.

“With tonight’s traffic, how long will it take them to get here? Contact the nearest police station!” Chen Shi replied.

Just as she dialed, footsteps echoed behind them. They turned to see Liao Chunhuang, disheveled and wild-eyed, striding in. “You… despicable people! Using that old Daoist to distract me, just for this!”

“Don’t move!” Lin Dongxue aimed her gun at him.

Liao Chunhuang’s face twisted in anger. He suddenly shouted, extending a hand toward Lin Dongxue, “Die!”

“Stop with the act!” Chen Shi said, “You’re a conman, not a sorcerer. Do you even realize how many lives you’ve destroyed?”

“Destroyed lives?!” Liao Chunhuang approached the cement altar prepared for the ritual, with Lin Dongxue’s gun trained on him. “You started this! Years ago, my wife and I were in love, but her brother tried to break us apart because I was poor! He locked her up, driving her to madness. She had no choice but to kill him to escape and be with me. But you police only saw her as a murderer, not the circumstances that pushed her! She was kind, gentle, my everything, and you took her away, locking her up with real criminals. I had to find a way to save her! I will succeed. I will!”

As he spoke, he drew a knife from his sleeve. “Drop the knife!” Lin Dongxue commanded.

Liao Chunhuang held the knife, his nostrils flaring. Chen Shi slowly approached him, “Just to get your wife out of prison, those five people had to die?”

“Isn’t this world like that? The lives of the poor mean nothing. Do you really care about them? For you, it’s just a job. Bury the dead, catch the killers! If I can’t see her in this world, I’ll wait for her in the next. No one can stop me!”

He thrust the knife toward his own chest. Chen Shi lunged, grabbing his arm. They struggled, Liao Chunhuang fiercely determined to kill himself. Chen Shi slammed him aside. Liao Chunhuang stumbled and dropped the knife, then bolted for the exit.

“Stop!”

Chen Shi caught him, pinned him to the ground, and cuffed him. Liao Chunhuang kept struggling, shouting, “What right do you have to interfere? You’re just ignorant mortals. You understand nothing!”

“Pathetic. At least your wife fought against her brother and ended up in prison. You, on the other hand, killed innocent people for a superstition!”

“The Five Elements Rebirth is real. Let me show you. I’ll prove it works!”

“Enough nonsense!”

Liao Chunhuang suddenly stopped struggling, slumped to the ground, and said, “The police have caught me. Go ahead!”

It didn’t sound like he was talking to Chen Shi. Searching him, Chen Shi found a phone in his pocket, still on a call. Furious, he demanded, “What did you just order?”

Liao Chunhuang laughed maniacally, “Soon, you’ll release me and agree to all my terms.”

Chen Shi realized, “Old Master Lu!”

He uncuffed Liao Chunhuang, dragged him to the wall, and cuffed him to a pipe, doing the same with his two disciples. With them secured, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue rushed to the ritual room.

Chaos had erupted there. Old Master Lu’s “new son” was holding a knife to his neck, facing off against the old Daoist, Sun Zhen, KK, and Wang Haitao.

The disciples were terrified, unaware of Liao Chunhuang’s secret plan to collect organs by hiring assassins.

The “new son” sneered, “You’re just in time. One for one. Release the master!”

Chen Shi coldly questioned, “Is resistance worth it? You were just an accomplice. Now you’re a hostage-taker. Do you realize the gravity of your actions? Let him go. Three… two…”

“Save it!” the “new son” shouted. “I’ve been to prison. Don’t try to scare me! Release him, or the old man dies!”

Old Master Lu, trembling, pleaded, “Don’t be rash. Take my son instead. He’s younger, more suitable.”

Wang Haitao added, “Take me instead. My father has a heart condition. He can’t handle this.”

The “new son” ignored them. Old Master Lu turned to the old Daoist for help, “Immortal, use your powers to subdue this ungrateful wretch.”

The old Daoist calculated on his fingers, “Ah!”

“What is it?” Old Master Lu was alarmed.

“This is your eighty-first calamity. Though I can help, I must not interfere. If you survive this, you’ll ascend to immortality after death.”

This absurdity seemed out of place, but Old Master Lu believed it, “Can I survive?”

The “new son” struck Old Master Lu with the knife handle, “Who are you calling a wretch, old man? You used to call me son so affectionately! I’ll tell you now. These people, this old man, they’re all conmen. You’ve been tricked, idiot!”

“Pure Huang Immortal is a fraud. I’m not. I am a true immortal,” insisted the old Daoist.

“Same trade, who are you fooling!”

Wang Haitao urged, “Let him go! I’ll ask Chen to reduce your sentence. Don’t be foolish. You can’t escape.”

The “new son” shouted, “Don’t you understand? Release the master, and I’ll release him!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll release him.” Chen Shi tried to de-escalate.

“And prepare a car.”

“Where will you go? Look at the traffic outside.”

“Then I want a helicopter on the roof!”

“Can you fly it? Plus, it’ll have ‘Police’ written on it. Is that your escape plan?”

“Don’t play games with me!”

Old Master Lu suddenly cried, “Haitao, I’ve wronged you. I’ve been a terrible father, making you suffer. Now that we’ve reunited, I’ve been a burden with my whims. You’d be a perfect successor. It’s time I handed everything over. But I’ve been greedy, wanting more. I’ve wasted my life, and now it’s all gone.”

Wang Haitao wept, “No matter what, you’re always my father. I respect you deeply. Having you as my father is my pride!”

“I’m not worthy… I’m not worthy…” Old Master Lu sobbed, clutching his chest. Suddenly, he sighed deeply. His eternally dissatisfied, scheming face transformed into a serene, saintly visage. “My time has come. Haitao, farewell!”

He shuddered, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, limp, in the “new son’s” grasp.