Chapter 190: PK

The hot spring that Jing Du and the others went to was the largest in the entire Muya Snow Mountain. There was a dedicated service area by the pool, providing on-demand ordering and beverage services at any time. Yu Shixue and Jin Shaoyu were both drunk and not in their right minds.

Yin Huaiyu picked up Jin Shaoyu's phone and beckoned to the waiter over there: "Come here, help me make a call, just say this..."

The entire hot spring pool was shrouded in steam; the ringing of a phone broke the silence—

"Hello? Shao Yu."

Ling Wu received a call.

"Hello, I am the front desk of XX Hot Spring. We found this phone next to the hot spring pool and are temporarily unable to contact the owner, so we dialed the emergency contact. Is it convenient for you to come over and pick it up?"

Ling Wu grew suspicious, his tone very cold: "How do you know I am at the Snow Mountain? Who handed the phone to you?"

The businesses on Muya Snow Mountain all had shares held by the Four Great Families; both safety and service were of the highest level. For a private item like a phone, Jin Shaoyu would certainly have kept it on his person. Even without a broadcast announcement, it should have been taken to the lost and found. Furthermore, how could this waiter be certain that he was also at Muya Snow Mountain?

"This..."

The voice on the other end of the phone was intermittent.

The waiter broke into a cold sweat, glanced in the direction of Yin Huaiyu, his eyes filled with a hint of pleading.

Jing Du peeled a lychee, not believing that such a childish trick could deceive Ling Wu.

Seeing the other person nod, the waiter finally dared to say: "It was a red-haired young master who told me to call you."

Yin Huaiyu hooked his finger and took the phone.

"Yin Huaiyu, what do you want to do?" Ling Wu asked: "Where is Shao Yu?"

Hearing his clean voice, Yin Huaiyu raised an eyebrow and bent his leg, resting it on the edge of the hot spring pool: "Don't worry, Shao Yu is just drunk. It's me who wants to see you, so I called you."

"Good brother, are you coming over now? You can take Shao Yu back to the hotel while you're at it."

Ling Wu asked: "What about Jing Du and the others?"

Yin Huaiyu looked to his side: "They're right here. I'll let Adu talk to you."

"Hello?" Jing Du said: "Ling Wu, it's me."

After a long silence, as if confirming something, Ling Wu said: "I'm coming over right now."

He took off his bathrobe, changed into a grayish-brown wool coat, wore a turtleneck sweater underneath, casually wrapped a scarf around his neck, and then opened the hotel door and walked out.

Ling Wu arrived at the location but did not find them, so he dialed Yin Huaiyu: "Where are you?"

"Don't be in such a hurry." The wind on Yin Huaiyu's side was strong, blowing his voice thin, yet his tone remained as lazy as ever: "Good brother, if you want to know where Shao Yu is, look toward the east."

"Do you see it?"

Ling Wu stood under the eaves and saw an abandoned church not far to the east, standing silent and heavy amidst the white snow, appearing mysterious and desolate...

"You're in the church?"

Yin Huaiyu: "You'll know when you get here."

Ling Wu pushed open the church door, and a scent of decay rushed toward him. The benches on both sides of the hall were toppled, the wooden surfaces rotting and cracked... collapsing as if unable to bear the weight.

Moonlight spilled onto the floor through the broken stained glass, forming irregular patches of light; the empty, quiet space felt somewhat eerie.

As soon as he entered, the door slammed shut with a boom.

"Bang!"

Ling Wu ignored the movement of the door and walked vigilantly into the church. Traces of murals remained on the walls on both sides, and one could vaguely glimpse their former vividness and liveliness, lifelike, as if whispering of God's mercy and salvation...

Where the altar had originally been placed, only an empty stone platform remained.

Yin Huaiyu sat there with his back to him. His trench coat dragged on the floor, his shadow stretched long by the moonlight. His silhouette blended into the quiet moonbeams, making him seem less restless. From the side, one could see the cigarette held between his two fingers, his posture leisurely as he puffed away.

It was completely out of place with the solemnity and sanctity of the church.

"You're here."

Hearing the movement, Yin Huaiyu stood up and looked at him.

Ling Wu's hands were tucked into his coat pockets, his feet standing on the light patches cast by the stained glass. His eyes held no pity, but were instead faintly dotted with a light similar to that of a cold-blooded animal: "Before I lose my patience, tell me where Shao Yu is."

"Look at you." Yin Huaiyu shrugged and spread his hands: "Ling Wu, deep down you think I'm a bad person, an unforgivable villain. At the slightest sign of trouble, you mercilessly pin the blame on me."

"Leaving me with no way to defend myself."

Ling Wu's expression was cold as he asked again: "Where is he?"

Yin Huaiyu did not rush to answer; he crushed the cigarette butt on the floor and looked at the church's stained glass.

That colored glass was quite old, the patterns depicting stories from the Bible, gradually peeling away under the erosion of time, leaving only blurred colors and incomplete figures, like fragments of old memories scattered in the corners of time.

He seemed to have finished admiring it, or perhaps he was just stalling for time.

Yin Huaiyu turned around slowly and answered: "I already sent people to take Shao Yu and Shixue back. They aren't in the church. I'm sorry to have made you come here for nothing."

Hearing this, Ling Wu didn't even bother to spare him a glance and prepared to leave.

"Click!"

Like the rhythmic sound of machinery, a cold, hard object pressed against the back of Ling Wu's head. He understood immediately what it was.

A gun!

Yin Huaiyu suddenly broke into a smile. He stood by the altar and said with a hint of regret: "Although Shao Yu and the others aren't here, you'll have to stay and keep us company."

Ling Wu remained calm: "You want to kill me?"

He tried to read some other meaning in Yin Huaiyu's eyes.

"Awu, that's a heavy accusation, I can't bear it..." Yin Huaiyu flipped his lighter with his thumb: "I just want to catch you and keep you by my side."

"Nothing more."

He spoke with lingering affection, like an intimate lover.

【Red-hair, are you trying to do a 'wallpaper love' trope?】

【Shao Yu, come quickly! Someone is snatching your brother.】

【Has Yin Huaiyu teamed up with Jing Du?】

【Both of them are full of bad intentions!】

【Normal romance is healthy, of course, but twisted relationships are truly exciting and stimulating...】

【The male supporting character isn't panicked at all, huh.】

【Our Magician is worth two people!】

【Next up is Ling Wu vs. Yin Huaiyu and Jing Du; bet on the left for a villa by the sea, bet on the right to lose everything.】

【Seriously, I just like the stimulating stuff. Wallpaper love is pretty good, and two of them is even better. Maybe I'm a bit of a pervert, but I'm actually starting to look forward to it.】

【To the person above, you have very heavy tastes.】

Following this, Jing Du's arm wrapped around his neck, and a voice reached his ear: "Don't move, Ling Wu, I promise I won't hurt you."

Jing Du?

The moment he heard this voice, Ling Wu made the judgment that the other party truly would not hurt him.

Then, he decisively bit down hard on Jing Du's arm, and while the other party was distracted by the pain, he slammed his elbow into his chest, created a small gap, grabbed his shoulder with a backhand, and used the strength in his waist and abdomen to throw him over his shoulder onto the ground.

"Bang!"

The incident happened so suddenly that not only Yin Huaiyu, but even Jing Du hadn't reacted in time.

Jing Du reacted quickly, propping himself up on the ground with his elbow, about to get up; he was still holding that cold, dangerous pistol in his hand.

Ling Wu was half a step faster than him, his trench coat carving a beautiful arc in mid-air; he kicked out with his long leg, the tip of his shoe making sudden contact with the gun body, the intense impact making the web of Jing Du's hand go numb and his wrist ache, the pistol kicked away by the powerful force for several meters, sliding rapidly across the floor and disappearing along the way under the scattered wooden chairs on both sides of the hall...

In an instant, it was nowhere to be seen.

Ling Wu turned around, looking down at the two people from a superior position: "With this kind of skill, you dare to lay a hand on me?"

He walked toward the outside of the church, unperturbed.

Yin Huaiyu, as expected, did not dare to draw his gun.

"Give it up. Since we tricked you into coming here today, even though the methods weren't honorable, there is no way we are letting you walk out of this church!"

What is the goal?

For what reason?

Ling Wu walked a few steps, his beautiful brows knitting together, feeling more and more that something was wrong; he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze cutting toward Yin Huaiyu like a knife: "You told him."

Who this "he" refers to goes without saying.

Yin Huaiyu looked at Jing Du, who had stood to the side and was calmly brushing off dust.