Qin Jianwei

That evening, as the final bell rang and the school day ended, Li Mei stopped him before he could leave.

"Come with me," she said. Han Chen nodded, following her to the teachers' office.

Inside, only the 4 investigators he had met earlier remained. A quick sweep with his spiritual sense confirmed there were no hidden intruders or surveillance devices. He pulled up a chair and leaned back. "So, what's the verdict?" he asked casually.

Li Mei, acting as their team's representative, stepped forward.

"Sir, you've been officially cleared as a suspect. The higher-ups accepted the device logs and confessions as evidence. However, ..." She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Our group leader doesn't see it that way. He said, 'The effort it took to brute-force into his system, and activities without leaving a trace --it's beyond a student, or least he is a one in a million genius or someone backing him. If he pursued a career in computer science, we could offer him a job early. But the amount of trouble he caused us…' " She trailed off, looking uneasy.

Han Chen chuckled. "Flattering."

She sighed. "Besides, the investigation is stuck. Initially, you were a strong suspect, but now there's no concrete evidence against you nor anyone."

The team members looked exhausted—haggard from sleepless nights, shadows of anxiety etched onto their faces. Their spirits had been pushed to the brink, weighed down by an unseen torment they couldn't even articulate.

"Didn't your current state raise suspicion?" Han Chen asked, narrowing his eyes. "Your leader should have noticed something was off." "No, sir!" they nearly shouted in unison. "We were careful! I can't go through that pain again… please."

Han Chen studied them for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively. "Relax. I have no reason to kill you. Besides I would know." He pointed toward Li Mei. "But I will erase and modify your memories. As for her, I'll deal with her later."

A collective sigh of relief filled the room. All this while, even if they want to, any trace of hesitation in their heart to rebel or criticize was instantly met with unbearable pain.

For months, they had been living in fear --fear of something they couldn't fight nor surrender, couldn't even explain. Finally, it would be over.

One by one, Han Chen performed the spiritual technique, wiping away the trauma imprinted on their souls and erasing the recorded memories from their minds. The Gu worms he had planted were retrieved, and as a reward for their cooperation, he left behind a small boon, ensuring their subconscious would view their months of suffering as nothing more than misplaced caution.

The memory revision was seamless ---no inconsistencies, no chance for recall, after all it was one of the most specialty skill in previous life, a must have to avoid conflicts.

By the time he was done, their recollection of the interrogation was as it should have been --long, frustrating, but ordinary and clueless and last months were spent in the name of further observations and profiling others. He didn't stay there to appear in sight as they recovered.

Li Mei dismissed them, and they left without hesitation. When the door closed behind them, she turned to him, her voice softer than before. "What about me?"

Han Chen tilted his head, studying her. "Do me a favor, and I'll reward you. Don't worry about the insect -- already took care of it. You'll get an upgrade."

He left it there inside her but made it dormant and consoled falsely by putting up a retrieving gesture. Han Chen wouldn't take unnecessary risks.

She stiffened slightly at his words but didn't protest. After all, the memory of it crawling to her mouth was played over and over in her dreams giving her sleepless nights. She even felt grateful hearing these words from the one made her in the situation. He saw through all her emotions and mental journey through the spiritual sense but didn't bother to do anything about it.

Unlike mortals, Han Chen now had the spiritual power to attach a soul brand to himself. For a cultivator like him, it was a minor expense. But for someone like Li Mei, tearing even a fragment of her soul would have severe consequences. Instead, he devised a workaround --an intricate runic structure infused with his spiritual qi.

He traced the rune onto her forehead, his spiritual energy weaving through her following an esoteric technique. A counterpart master rune took form on his own forehead, linking them together.

"This should do it," he murmured, stepping back to examine his work. The rune would remain invisible to ordinary sight in a moment.

Its range spanned nearly twice the planet's radius, ensuring their connection would hold no matter where she went. It had little offensive function, soul grab --nothing more than soul squeeze and penetrating that induces mental agony. But that was enough.

The memory of past torment, coupled with the fear of his presence, would keep her in line. 

A moment later, the rune faded from view.

Li Mei's eyes fluttered open hearing the omnidirectional voice, but she saw his lips remained sealed. And yet, she still heard his voice.

A tremor ran through her.

She swallowed hard.

< Why.....just why, are you doing this? Given your power you have shown us, I don't think even Grand masters can detain you? Why are you even blackmailing me? >

< Because the alternative is too much work ... I can locate you, read your thoughts, communicate with you, and if necessary, make you dead. So, be obedient.> His tone was almost indifferent.

A pause

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and left, sending him preliminary digital records before she disappeared from view. A few minutes down, < Fu** you, may you rot in h##, die bastard, torturing me like this...>

He squeezed her soul for a brief moment to induce a mental pain, and let it go. < Agh... Sorry, it was a test. A test, ok...> She cried over at a distance.

...

A week has gone by. Li Mei had many information exchanges with him. Eventually, she was interested in knowing more too, after looking into his profile seeing all those information secret agencies collected. Somehow, she even took risk to get information above her agent level even.

At one night, as Han Chen sifted through the information, one name kept catching his eye—Qin Jianwei. He wrote all info obtained together like placing missing pieces of puzzles on his PC. The more he dug, the more intriguing --and unsettling --the story became.

Qin Jianwei, now 22, was born into a prominent family that blended martial arts legacy with business prowess. His father's connections tied him to the nation's elite, giving him a head start in life. But in his earlier years, Qin Jianwei had been little more than a spoiled rich kid, utterly obsessed with his fiancée.

He showered her with gifts, bent over backward to fulfill her every desire, and seemed content to play the role of a lovesick fool. She took it for granted also while simultaneously avoiding all his advances. That was, until two years ago, when something changed --dramatically.

Almost overnight, the doting lover turned cold and distant. He cut ties with his fiancée without explanation, even demanding she return the lavish gifts and benefits she'd received from him. But that was just the beginning.

In a matter of months, Qin Jianwei transformed into a completely different person. He purged disloyal employees, rooted out hidden threats within his companies, and aggressively expanded his empire. It was like watching the protagonist of some urban fantasy novel rise to power—except this was real life.

His ascent was almost too perfect. His influence grew rapidly, and his network of connections deepened. His business ventures flourished, attracting powerful allies—many of whom were women. High-ranking executives, CEOs, even seemingly ordinary high school girls seemed drawn to him by fateful and seemingly coincident events.

Appearance and personality more dignified, far from the previous persona; Stranger still, large sums of money with impeccable legal backgrounds began appearing in his accounts. It was as if fortune itself had decided to favor him.

Then there was the incident with Chen Guó, his business rival. Rumored that Chen had attempted to assassinate Qin Jianwei via hitman, but nothing was ever proven. No evidence, no arrests or news—just silence.

Meanwhile, Chen Guó's life unraveled. Dirt was dug up on his private life, and he faced relentless business retaliation from other elites. He was forced to resign under mysterious circumstances, his reputation in tatters.

Even Qin's ex-fiancée tried to reconcile, her family coming to apologize and beg for a reinstatement of their business alliance. But Qin didn't even grant them a meeting. He sent them away without a second thought. To outsiders, his success was enviable, even awe-inspiring. But to Han Chen, everything about it felt...off.

The pressing thing is though, was Qin Jianwei's recent alliance with Yue Lan's family and company. On the surface, it was framed as a mutually beneficial partnership. But Han Chen couldn't shake the feeling there was more to it. With Qin's immense wealth and connections, what could he possibly stand to gain from such an alliance?

Sure Yue Lan's current position seemed well, but it was still out of proportions to the corporates he is vested. Not to mention, was it purely business, or was there something else at play? Love interests, perhaps? The thought made Han Chen's stomach churn.