Chapter 589: Fool (3k)
The second city to the east (West Twelve) formed a stark contrast with the blood mist that hung in the air not far away. In the pitch-black sky, stars cast a faint glow.
Several figures stood atop the tall tower, fully armed, their gazes fixed on the mid-air. The blood mist within their sight trembled slightly.
“Boom!”
Immediately after, several beams of golden light shot into the sky, like long rainbows piercing the sun. They continuously struck the blood mist barrier of the city ahead. In just a moment, the barrier began to crack like a spiderweb with a “ka ka” sound.
“Is this the formation that Master Yuan mobilized before?”
Witnessing this scene, a Night Watcher couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement. His gaze was filled with surprise as he looked at Yuan, who stood with his hands behind his back not far away.
“I was merely responsible for setting up the formation.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan turned to look at him, a slight smile on his face. He then shifted his gaze to the back of Ren, who stood silently in front of him, and added, “This is all thanks to Mr. Huainan, the Touring Envoy. He and I infiltrated the city in advance, but something is rather strange…”
“Strange?”
The Night Watchers looked at Yuan with confusion. After a moment of thought, Yuan shifted his gaze back to the golden beams of light shooting into the sky and said softly, “I did not set up the energy source to activate the formation. I only followed the Touring Envoy’s instructions to activate these aging formations and modify them into these skyward beams.”
“Because… someone has diverted the energy source of the Ancient God Sect’s central formation through the old formation. This is also the most crucial person in the plan.”
Sighing, Ren finally turned around. He gently touched his face, removing the mask, revealing the face of a young man with chiseled features. However, this rather handsome face carried a hint of regret.
Sensing the regret on his face, Yuan frowned slightly and inquired, “Is he the Little Junior Sister you mentioned?”
“No, he is a person with faith, a person worthy of respect, a true man…”
After a brief silence, Ren suddenly chuckled and began to tell a story, though his face didn’t show much joy. His gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, returning to a month ago.
It was two men sitting on a park bench. Ren was holding a Dongshan flatbread from his homeland, eating silently, accompanied by a 90-proof liquor, which wasn’t very strong for him.
The young man sitting next to him was wearing a white shirt, with half a cigarette dangling from his lips, his hands resting on his lap. He repeatedly checked the correctness of the blueprints in his hand.
As if by unspoken agreement, the two men remained silent. Ren was on a mission, and his usual chattiness was only displayed when it served his purpose.
“There are no issues with these blueprints. Your mission is to establish the connecting formation in cities No. 10 and No. 11. There can be no mistakes, as hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake.”
Finally, the young man in the white shirt spoke. He smiled and handed over the blueprints, his eyes filled with seriousness, creating a strange contrast with his otherwise nonchalant demeanor.
Taking the blueprints from the young man, Ren still maintained his cold expression, but softly said, “After establishing the old formation in ten days, I will contact you again…”
They parted ways again. The young man was covered in dirt, just like a coal boss.
Ten days later, they met again. Ren looked at the dirt-covered young man before him and said softly, “I investigated you. If this mission…”
“This has the taste of home. Let me try it.”
The young man licked his dry lips, snatched the flatbread from Ren’s hand, took a big bite, and squinted his eyes slightly, as if being able to eat food from his homeland in this foreign land was an extraordinary stroke of luck.
“I know your objective, but have you thought it through? You might not be able to escape in the end… If you cut your losses now, I can send a Night Watcher to replace your work.”
He took a swig of the “light-infused liquor,” and Ren, uncharacteristically looking directly at the second-generation official before him, made the offer again. Being an undercover agent bearing a bad reputation was difficult, especially in a situation where his life could be at risk at any moment.
The young man shook his head, a hint of seriousness in his expression, and looked towards the distant city, “It’s too dangerous. If people are switched suddenly, those people from the Ancient God Sect aren’t fools. Let’s just leave it at that…”
They met again ten days later.
“Help me get those organized people from the lower levels of the city out. If the formation’s energy is insufficient, they might be used as energy sources immediately.”
This time, the young man entrusted him with some tasks. The dark pupils of the young man sparkled with a hint of brightness.
“These…”
After seeing the note the young man handed him, Ren looked at the addresses listed on it. He raised his head again, as if seeing the other person for the first time. This was vastly different from the ordinary second-generation official described in the intelligence.
As Ren looked at the note, the young man exhaled warmly and spoke again, as if talking to himself, a smile appearing on his face, “When we meet next time, the formation will be completely set up. Everything will be ready, just waiting for the opportune moment.”
During their last meeting, the young man failed to show up. However, Ren waited on the park bench like a trusted comrade for four days.
Finally, about fourteen days after their last meeting, the young man reappeared. He held a photograph in his hand, looking extremely gaunt and covered in dirt, except for his eyes, which were exceptionally bright.
If the previous time he looked like a coal boss, this time he looked like a worker.
The first thing he said upon seeing Ren was to hand over the photograph. His voice was slightly hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time.
“I want you to take someone from the neighboring city. Her name is Lin Mei.”
Ren looked up slightly at the young man and asked softly, “Why don’t you bring her here yourself?”
“She’s going to help me activate the formation.”
The young man said with considerable pride. Ren could feel the pride in his eyes, like he had been recognized.
Ren nodded. They chatted for a long time like two silent individuals, and then the young man left with a flatbread.
“Please wait!!”
Just as Ren was about to turn away, a voice stopped him. It belonged to a woman wearing very simple clothes. The woman was beautiful, possessing the colors of the East.
Ren asked confusedly, “Is there something you need?”
Looking at Ren, the woman was silent for a moment. Seeing Ren frown slightly, she said softly, “My name is Lin Mei. The person just now is my… friend. I want to know what he told you.”
Ren looked at the woman deeply, sighed, and then repeated what the young man had said.
After listening, the woman fell silent again. After a long period of silence, she took out two sets of red attire from her ring. Although they both looked like women’s clothing, they gave the impression of being a set.
“Could you please deliver this custom-made attire to a southern civil servant named Bai Zhi? Also, please convey a message for me: I cannot make it to their wedding.”
She smiled, handed Bai Zhi’s contact information to Ren, and carefully placed the red attire into a prepared exquisite wooden box, gently placing it on the wooden bench before standing up.
Ren already had an idea in mind, but he still asked, “Where do you want to go?”
“To my own chapel.”
The woman turned to look at the footprints she had left, not looking back. Her receding figure appeared heavy, but in Ren’s eyes, it was extremely familiar. He had witnessed too many partings of life and death.
The story ended, and silence enveloped the group. They were like ascetics chewing on quietude, unable to speak for a long time.
Suddenly, in the distance, the sky was streaked with starlight, accompanied by the roar of the air!
“This is…”
Yuan’s gaze also turned towards the endless city, her pupils widening slightly. As if realizing something, she suddenly turned to look at Ren in front of her.
“This is the melody played by Little Junior Sister. It’s time for us to move against the city ahead.”
Ren smiled, gently stroked the black sword blade, a smile never seen before on his face. Soon, his figure disappeared into the tall building.
…
The ninth city, near the Dexi Orphanage.
“Hold on, I’ll break through the defense line and be there soon.”
A female voice sounded from the communicator.
Li Ziwei listened to the voice, his gaze sweeping around at the surrounding Ancient God Sect members who were closing in. A wry smile appeared on his face, “I can’t hold on.”
In his mind, Su Jiu was still the elder who had barely reached the High-Rank Battle King realm. Even with assistance, breaking through would likely take nearly half an hour.
Surrounded by a group of individuals whose strength was above Battle King, and with two Black-clad Bishops among them, he had no power to hold out until then.
But…
He was a young man, how could he be willing to die like this? Even with a sliver of hope, he took a deep breath and put his pen into his pocket.
A glow appeared on his hand, and he grasped a holy light spear with his backhand. The tip of the spear then erupted with a dense radiance.
“As long as I can stall them, there’s hope.”
While the Ancient God Sect members were momentarily stunned, Li Ziwei exerted force with his legs and lunged towards the sky. He unleashed several slashes and then spread a pair of white wings, soaring through the air.
“Run, where can you run? Chase after him!”
But how much damage could his attacks inflict on these people from the Ancient God Sect? They quickly recovered. Two Black-clad Bishops had small halos of rules appear above their heads, and they also charged into the sky.
Then, other powerful individuals at the Battle King level also transformed into black light and pursued them, not holding back their skills and attacks during the chase.
In the sky above the vast city, more than a dozen members of the Ancient God Sect spread out in a circular formation, slowly encircling Li Ziwei’s figure. As the encirclement tightened, his escape routes were reduced to just one or two directions.
“Bang!”
He parried another incoming slash with the spear. Li Ziwei felt his stamina draining rapidly. Within a few minutes, he was left with only about thirty percent of his strength. If not for the speed advantage of his avian bloodline, he would have been defeated long ago.
He looked at the sky, which still showed no sign of movement, and a sense of urgency filled him. In this moment of thought, he overlooked that the sky had already been occupied by a Black-clad Bishop.
“You brat, still trying to run?”
With a sinister grin, the Black-clad Bishop raised his black blade high and slashed directly at his back. By the time Li Ziwei reacted, he could only weakly defend, and the spear bent at an incredibly strange arc.
His body first froze, and then he was propelled like a cannonball into an empty building. “Bang bang!” He tore through several walls and finally landed in front of a utility pole.
For a moment, dust swirled around from the snowy ground. The Ancient God Sect members surrounded him again. The leading Black-clad Bishop sneered, “A mere Battle King, daring to toy with our Ancient God Sect? You’re truly seeking death.”
“Whoosh—”
Just as they were about to advance further, several silver threads scattered from mid-air and then tightened like a fishing net, pressing towards the Ancient God Sect members. The silver threads radiated a purple external qi glow, clearly containing poison.
“Who are you? This is the Ancient God Sect’s business. I hope you won’t interfere.”
Those people could naturally feel the extraordinariness of these silver threads. They quickly scattered, and then the leading Ancient God Sect Black-clad Bishop frowned and asked loudly.
“Cough, cough…”
With a dry cough, Li Ziwei slowly supported himself to stand up. Blood stained his retinas. He saw a figure in red standing before him.
Soon, he felt himself being carried on someone’s back, sensing the warmth emanating from the person behind him. A familiar voice sounded in Li Ziwei’s ear:
“Fool.”
