Chapter 327: Who Doesn't Want to Be the Host (1/10, for Alliance Leader

This, this guy isn't going to turn into a sociopath, is he…

I heard that a lot of people who suffer huge blows end up with extremely extreme personalities…

Looking at Bai Shixiong's corpse, Fang Yue was a bit dumbfounded.

He checked Bai Shixiong, and sure enough, he was already dead.

G-goodness, how brutal…

But strangely, the corner of Bai Shixiong's mouth bore a bizarre smile, which made Fang Yue a bit uneasy.

"You… Sigh, he knew quite a lot of things, and you just killed him like that…"

Fang Yue still had a pile of questions to ask Bai Shixiong; who would have thought Bai Xiaoya would be so ruthless.

But Bai Xiaoya said nothing, only turning her back to Fang Yue, gazing into the distance, not knowing what she was looking at.

"Mr. Fang… Fang Yue, I feel like this whole life of mine has been nothing but a joke."

"It's not that bad, it's not that bad. Maybe Bai Shixiong was lying, and your dad didn't deceive you."

Fang Yue said, while searching Bai Shixiong's body at the same time.

This Bai Shixiong was quite a pauper; apart from cigarettes and a lighter, the only things on him were a phone and a black badge, which had some value.

The phone was password-locked; he'd need to find another way to unlock it.

The black badge was the size of a regular chest badge, with a black base, some decorative patterns drawn on it, and a line of text written on it.

【Shadow Society】 Outer Sect Thirteenth Path.

This was probably an identity proof, so Fang Yue kept it for now.

"A lie?"

Bai Xiaoya turned to look at Fang Yue, her expression calm, just like when he first met her, yet somehow a little different.

When he first met Bai Xiaoya, she merely treated everything around her with a calm, gentle attitude.

But now, it was a deathly stillness.

What lay hidden beneath that deathly stillness, Fang Yue didn't know, but judging from how Bai Xiaoya had smashed someone to death with a phone in a fit of fratricidal rage… it was most likely boundless fury.

"Fang Yue, everything Bai Shixiong said was true. I've already accepted that fact, so you don't need to comfort me anymore. That slap earlier was already enough to sober me up.

I've always been a pragmatic person; I just couldn't accept that kind of fact at the time, that kind of shock, that's all.

Right now, I'm speaking to you in a very calm state of mind."

Uh… even if you say so, this kind of bitter, deeply personal topic is still family business; we shouldn't be gossiping about it, right?

So Fang Yue kept making "mm-hmm" sounds in response.

"So what do you want to do now?"

"Father… Bai Su'e deceived me, but he did indeed raise me.

Gratitude and grievance cancel each other out; we should each be at peace and let bygones be bygones.

But all the good things he gave me were built upon the premise of scheming to frame me.

That makes me very conflicted."

Bai Xiaoya's calm tone was as if she were talking about someone else's business.

"So what you mean is…"

"I'm going to see him."

"You know where he is?"

"I don't, but A Ming probably does."

A Ming — that guy is one of Bai Su'e's people.

Fang Yue's mouth twitched slightly.

Regardless, staying at this crime scene was always improper.

The two quickly headed back, discussing what to do once they met A Ming.

However, they discovered that after they left, Bai Shixiong's corpse was gradually dissolving like sulfuric acid corroding something, and at the same time, a puff of smoke was slowly rising into the air.

The pure white clouds were infected by that puff of smoke, quickly turning black, with faint thunder rumbling and lightning flickering.

……

"Oh right, I found these two things on Bai Shixiong's corpse."

On the way, Fang Yue showed Bai Xiaoya the phone and the Shadow Society badge.

"I can unlock the phone; as for this badge… it should be an identity symbol."

Bai Xiaoya took the badge, lost in thought, then looked up and asked: "How much do you know about 【Shadow Society】?"

"I only know it's an underground organization, with a huge structure, deeply rooted in Jianghai City."

"I only know that much too. 【Shadow Society】 acts low-key and mysteriously, rarely letting anyone catch a trace. I never thought its claws stretched so far — even Bai Su'e is one of their people."

Just as the two were talking about this, Fang Yue suddenly felt the tip of his nose getting a bit damp.

Drip, drip…

He looked up at the sky.

Drops of rainwater were falling down.

After a momentary daze, Fang Yue nearly got scared into turning tail and running.

Fortunately, at the last moment, he immediately came to his senses — he was in reality, and rain in reality was no big deal.

"What's wrong?" Bai Xiaoya asked, puzzled.

"N-no, nothing, I just forgot to bring an umbrella."

"Jiangyun Temple is just ahead. If we walk a bit faster, we can get there and take shelter from the rain."

Saying so, the two quickened their pace, but the rain in the sky began to pour harder and harder, escalating from Light Rain drifting down to Heavy Rain pouring down nonstop.

Black clouds blotted out the sun, dimming the light around them as if it were deep night.

Boom!

Boom!

The crack of thunder and flash of lightning rang out from the Black Cloud.

……

Shadow Society, District C branch.

Luoshuang, who had been drinking coffee, suddenly raised an eyebrow.

Of the four candles burning on her desk, one went out for no reason.

"Bai Nian is dead? What a hassle — now I have to go recover the cursed object myself."

She had been about to log into the game to contact someone and amuse herself, to see what the fellow who'd reached out urgently last night wanted to say, but then this happened.

But just as she was about to stand, her expression suddenly changed, and she pulled out the timepiece vibrating in her pocket.

On the timepiece, a single marker like a thermometer was rising rapidly.

"The Ghost-Degree Line… he actually detonated that cursed object at the end, that madman!"

Her expression shifting several times, Luoshuang sighed and sat back down. With the cursed object detonated, though it was more troublesome, she no longer needed to make the trip.

This matter was no longer hers to handle — she just had to report it upward.

Besides… the United Hand Society was probably even more anxious than they were.

……

United Hand Society, District C branch.

Beep beep beep!

In the otherwise calm branch building, the alarm bell suddenly blared violently.

Qiu Dugu, who had just returned from an all-nighter and was resting with his eyes closed, snapped them open.

"A Ghost-Degree Line alert? The location is… Jiangyun Temple!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Qiu Dugu called Smoky Ma Shaoku, then rushed there himself first.

……

A few minutes earlier.

Jiangyun Temple.

The monk Huishan craned his neck to look outside.

"You all said, why hasn't Bai Shixiong come back yet? The abbot's been rushing us for half a day now."

The others chimed in one after another.

"Right, right, he's been gone so long."

"Speaking of which, who were those two people? Bai Shixiong didn't seem to know them, but after seeing the Jade Pendant he suddenly called them aside to talk. What do you think… could they be Bai Shixiong's relatives? Here to acknowledge kin?"

"No idea. Bai Shixiong is a very mysterious person, but his Buddhist attainments are already extremely high — the abbot himself has praised him often — and yet Bai Shixiong is still so young. If I had Bai Shixiong's Buddhist attainments, the next abbot would be in the bag."

The others, hearing Huishan's ambition, shook their heads repeatedly.

"Don't say such things, don't say such things."

Huishan pursed his lips, knowing these companions all wanted to be abbot themselves — they just didn't dare say it.

(End of chapter)