Chapter 332: Clouds in the Sky (6/10, for Alliance Leader

The black clouds in the sky?

The charred corpse?

Qiu Dugu looked at the sky in confusion, but couldn't make out anything.

Boom!!

At that moment, a clap of thunder exploded.

Fang Yue's expression immediately shifted, and he looked up at the sky with worry.

The lightning happened to strike far away, hitting someone who hadn't yet escaped Jiangyun Temple.

On the spot, the corpse turned charred, collapsed, and then… quickly climbed back up.

Letting out a roar, it charged toward them.

"See, this is the thing—this is what you need to deal with!"

Without Fang Yue needing to say anything, Qiu Dugu was already observing the Charred Corpse. He had witnessed its birth with his own eyes, so he was already half-convinced by Fang Yue's words.

The Hair Tree's long blades hacked over, and in just a few strokes they sliced the fragile Charred Corpse into several pieces, resolving it easily.

"Even if the strange thing was created by the black clouds in the sky, that doesn't mean you're not a suspect. If you're truly innocent, don't run. Once I've dealt with this matter, I'll come find you for questioning."

Qiu Dugu found it very strange that Fang Yue knew him, because he had never met Fang Yue before.

Seeing Qiu Dugu about to leave, Fang Yue hurriedly stopped him.

"Just killing those Charred Corpses is useless—the clouds in the sky are the key to creating them. That kind of lightning, after killing a human, will directly transform them into a Charred Corpse. Unfortunately I can't fly, otherwise I'd want to go up and see what's inside."

"So that's how it is."

After hearing Fang Yue's information, Qiu Dugu frowned. His hair wrapped him into a ball shape, and then the ball grew roots.

The roots began growing upward like a great tree, pushing the ball toward the sky, and in no time it vanished into the Black Cloud.

Fang Yue was momentarily stunned. He knew the Black Cloud hung much lower than other clouds, in a low-altitude state, but he hadn't expected Qiu Dugu to be so decisive—wrapping himself in hair and charging straight in.

After some hesitation, Fang Yue didn't climb up the great tree Qiu Dugu had left to 'go to the sky.' Instead, after A Ming returned, he brought Bai Xiaoya and him back to hide under the eaves of Jiangyun Temple.

Looking toward the room where A Ming had been rescued earlier, the walls inside were stained red with fresh blood, corpses piled together—no survivors left.

During this time, Fang Yue saw the Hair Tree on the ground was still moving on its own, like a ladder, probably because something had been discovered up above.

"Why are we waiting for him here?"

Bai Xiaoya asked expressionlessly.

"Qiu Dugu—that's Qiu Dugu. Did you forget I need to get to the bottom of the parchment matter? His partner Ma Shaoku wanted my parchment, set up a trap, and tried to kill me. If I expose Ma Shaoku here, won't things become much simpler?"

"…Up to you."

During this time, Fang Yue told A Ming about Bai Xiaoya and Bai Su'e.

A Ming was immediately devastated.

When asked about his stance, A Ming hesitated and said: "I won't take part in the young miss's and the boss's struggle. If the young miss needs my help, you can find me anytime—I definitely won't leak any information to the boss."

Fang Yue stroked his chin: "Brother, that stance of yours is the most dangerous one. Even if our side doesn't mind, Bai Su'e's side will still see you as a fence-sitter who leans both ways—you won't please either side, you know."

"…Both sides are people important to me. I can't bring myself to completely help one side, or turn a blind eye to the other." A Ming said painfully.

Fang Yue shrugged, deeply sympathizing with someone who needed to worry over something so serious. He glanced at Bai Xiaoya, but she showed no reaction at all—as if no matter what A Ming did, she couldn't care less.

Just as the three of them were chatting up to this point, the Hair Tree ahead finally showed new movement. It began trembling violently. Just as Fang Yue and the others were puzzled, with a whoosh a human figure dropped down from the tree, from the Black Cloud.

Fang Yue hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to catch the figure, sparing it from being smashed to death on the spot.

A glance at the figure confirmed it was Qiu Dugu.

This time Qiu Dugu was in bad shape. When he fought Fang Yue, he only had a bit of fresh blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, but now his entire mouth was full of flowing fresh blood, his eyes were rolling back, as if he could pass away at any moment.

"An Alliance civil servant, and this useless?"

Fang Yue clicked his tongue, saying somewhat discontentedly.

But he didn't realize that it was actually because he had suddenly grasped a very crucial piece of information, which was why he felt Qiu Dugu was weak.

That was physical strength.

When Fang Yue Synchronizes with his game character, in reality he possesses the genuine strength of a post-Heaven Second-rate Realm!

Yet everyone else, in essence, is still an ordinary person! Most people, with an ordinary person's constitution, use uncanny objects—and that's how they become Alliance civil servants, how they become strong!

In other words, what's strong isn't the person, but the uncanny object.

And Fang Yue is strong as a person, but the only uncanny object he has—the parchment—can't boost actual combat power, so it's the same as having none!

These two are completely different concepts.

In a daze, Qiu Dugu woke several times.

Amid another flash of lightning and thunder, he finally came fully awake.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Fang Yue yawning.

"It's you? You haven't left?"

"?! You're awake. The reason I haven't left is because I have something to ask you."

"I'm still not sure if you're an uncanny thing, and even if you're not, I'm not obligated to help you."

Though he said so, Qiu Dugu quickly noticed he had been well cared for and had rested quite well, so his tone softened.

"Then what would it take for you to help me?"

Listening to Fang Yue's nonsense, Qiu Dugu frowned. Thinking of Fang Yue's terrifying strength from before, he hesitated briefly and said: "If you can help me deal with the thing in the sky together, I'll agree to help you with one favor within the limits of my ability."

The thing in the sky?

Fang Yue looked up.

Earlier this thing had been flashing lightning and booming thunder terribly, but perhaps because all the living had hidden under the eaves and there was no one left to strike, it had calmed down considerably.

"I can't get up there."

Fang Yue spread his hands.

"I'll use 【Transformation Hair】 to take you up."

"But that lightning... I don't know if I can withstand it."

Once up there, it won't be just one bolt of lightning coming down — the entire thundercloud will be filled with lightning!

This kind of lightning is the same in nature as the lightning that strikes down — both are existences that can turn a person into a charred corpse; Fang Yue truly didn't want to use his life to experiment.

"It's fine. I'll use 【Transformation Hair】 to make a non-conductive armor for you. Inside the armor, you'll be safe — that's what I did before."

"... Didn't you fall down before? I was the one who caught you."

"That was being wounded by that strange thing inside the thundercloud — it's a completely different matter from being pierced through by lightning."

This... seems feasible.

If the parchment matter could be resolved, Fang Yue would also be able to breathe much easier.

However... Fang Yue had one condition.

"Wait until night, then we move."

(End of chapter)