Hikaru gave a slight smile and shook his head, as if rejecting some assumption Zhao Guizhen had made.
This caused Zhao Guizhen to feel a faint sense of relief—
perhaps Hikaru didn't actually harbor any animosity toward him.
But the next words out of Hikaru's mouth plunged him into an icy abyss.
"There's no particular reason," Hikaru said casually.
"I just didn't like the things you've done.
And killing you happens to be convenient for me."
He spoke with the ease of discussing the weather,
as if what he had just said was a trivial matter.
Zhao Guizhen's pupils shrank, panic surging through him like a tidal wave.
He tried to open his mouth and beg for mercy—
only to realize in horror that he couldn't move a muscle.
It was as if an invisible force had locked him in place.
Then, the world around him blurred.
Some unknown power pulled him into a hellish nightmare.
And just like Wang Bing before him, Zhao Guizhen now experienced the joy of all eighteen layers.
His eyes quickly went blank,
and the breath of life faded from his body.
With his death, the wicked technique he had practiced—Sevenfold Soul Cluster—was naturally broken.
Seven young souls drifted out from Zhao Guizhen's body.
The moment they appeared, they rushed furiously toward his corpse,
seeking vengeance.
But being spirits, they could not touch the physical world.
After a few futile attempts,
they gave up, full of unwillingness.
Then they turned to Hikaru and bowed deeply.
They had no words,
but their eyes were full of gratitude and reverence.
Slowly, they began to fade.
With a gentle wave of his hand,
the laws of reincarnation bloomed in Hikaru's palm.
Under his power, these children would reincarnate into good homes in their next lives—
and live happy, peaceful lives.
All of this took place on the level of souls.
To those with mortal eyes,
none of it could be seen.
To Fu Rong and the others,
all they saw was Zhao Guizhen's body suddenly going rigid and then collapsing—lifeless.
They had no idea what had truly occurred.
But the sight doused their righteous fervor for rescuing Ma Hongxian
like a bucket of cold water dumped over their heads.
As Hikaru turned his gaze slowly toward them,
they all instinctively lowered their heads,
unable to meet those eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Then Hikaru smiled lightly and spoke.
"No need to be nervous. This is a law-abiding society.
I won't do anything to you."
Fu Rong nearly choked on the irony.
Say that again while looking at Zhao Guizhen's body, and maybe I'll believe it.
But on the surface, she nodded repeatedly,
feigning full agreement.
Hikaru, as if reading their thoughts, continued:
"Zhao Guizhen's health was always poor.
Dying suddenly like this isn't too surprising.
Do I look like I did anything?"
Fu Rong thought for a moment.
Indeed, Hikaru hadn't touched Zhao Guizhen once.
She even began to doubt herself...
...What a load of crap.
'You literally said, just now, that killing him was convenient!'
Fu Rong fumed inwardly.
'Now you're blaming his death on poor health? Do you think we're idiots?!'
Lost in her internal monologue,
she didn't notice Hikaru glancing at her with a mischievous smirk.
When she finally looked up and met those all-seeing eyes again,
her heart skipped a beat.
Hikaru spoke evenly:
"You're Fu Rong, right?"
Fu Rong nodded stiffly, nervous and confused.
How does he know who I am?
Then she heard the words that felt like they came from the depths of hell:
"ICBC, 150,000. China Merchants Bank, 100,000.
Lu Zhong Bank, 200,000.
Credit maxed at 30,000..."
Every word hit Fu Rong like a hammer to the chest.
Her world collapsed in an instant.
She had thought she could start over in Biyu Village,
leave the shadows of her past behind.
Yet now, Hikaru had effortlessly exposed everything.
She wanted nothing more than to vanish into the ground.
"Stop! Please stop! I get it—I was wrong! Just let me go!"
She couldn't take it anymore.
Her voice cracked with desperation.
She couldn't bear the thought of Hikaru airing more of her secrets,
especially not in front of Hari Chagai, who was also from Biyu Village.
Thankfully, Hikaru had no intention of pushing further.
He cut off his words at her plea.
Fu Rong let out a breath of relief.
She knew he held enough dirt on her to destroy her reputation.
The gleam of amusement in Hikaru's eyes confirmed it.
If he wanted to air her relationship history for all to hear,
she'd never recover.
At that moment, Chen Duo leaned close to Hikaru, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
She clearly wanted to know more.
Fu Rong's heart leapt into her throat.
And sure enough, Hikaru began to explain Fu Rong's romantic past—
in detail.
"She dated a few guys—all jerks."
"That wouldn't be so bad… if she didn't have the mindset of a romance-addled fool."
"She expected nothing from them, got swindled out of a ton of money.
What I read out loud just now? Her debts."
Chen Duo tilted her head, confused.
She didn't yet understand romantic feelings.
She only sensed that Fu Rong had been deceived.
Meanwhile, Hari Chagai stared at Fu Rong with a look that screamed:
"Didn't expect you to be that kind of person."
Fu Rong wanted to crawl into a hole.
She hunched over, burying her face in her arms like an old man with a flip phone.
After this round of public embarrassment, the tension finally eased.
In the original plot, Qu Tong had killed off any excess witnesses during the Ma Hongxian abduction.
So Hikaru had no plans to drag Fu Rong and the others into it.
They had done nothing evil,
nor had they wronged him.
There was no need to get them killed.
So after letting them go,
Hikaru left with Chen Duo.
At the same time, Chen Duo relayed Ma Hongxian's status back to the Company.
The truth was, the Company had long been aware of Ma Hongxian—
they simply hadn't intervened yet.
The reason was simple:
Qu Tong had planted a mole among the Company's upper ranks.
If not for Chen Duo's unexpected interference,
the development of the Body Refinement Furnace would likely have continued to completion without issue.