Chapter 170: Chapter 127: "Do You Believe It?
The movements of Zhou Bashi’s hands seemed completely unrelated to his words:
"The Night Lord has a secret order of great importance. He hopes Lord Upper Three will accept it personally."
Feng Bei frowned. "Speak."
Zhou Bashi’s smile widened. "The Night Lord wishes for Lord Upper Three to ’voluntarily’ enter the Ghostly Realm within Gongsun Mo’s painted scroll and rescue several members of the Twenty-Eight Constellations trapped inside. The Night Lord believes that no one else in Ye Weiyang is fit for this task. He hopes that Lord Upper Three will ’take action’."
He put heavy emphasis on the words "voluntarily" and "take action."
Dou Xie froze for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, "So that was the real plan!"
Though he hadn’t witnessed the painted scroll’s strangeness firsthand, Dou Xie was no fool. Their enemies had obviously come prepared. Upper Four had sealed off General Town with Shadow Puppetry, and Ye Weiyang’s every move this time reeked of strangeness. By now, Dou Xie had sensed that something was amiss. Just as he was about to speak up and give a warning, Xu Shu’s cold voice cut in. "Dou Xie, don’t you forget your place!"
Dou Xie’s face flushed red. "Bullshit! The Night Lord has always used Ravens to deliver his messages! Don’t think I don’t know that!"
Murderous intent flashed in Xu Shu’s eyes. "If you don’t believe it, you can go to the Night Lord and verify it yourself someday! A member of the Twelfth Moon has delivered the message personally, and you still don’t believe it? Who the hell do you think you are? Do you really want to betray Ye Weiyang?"
"Enough. Shut up."
Feng Bei waved a hand, calmly quelling their argument.
She reached for her waist, where two common street masks hung alongside the Black Iron Wood Order—the symbol of her status as a member of Ye Weiyang’s Twelfth Moon.
Without the slightest hesitation, Feng Bei casually tossed the "Upper Three" waist token on the ground.
Chu Susu’s mouth fell open, her face a mask of astonishment.
She had tried to steal that waist token twice, angering Feng Bei. But now, Feng Bei had cast it at her feet without a second thought.
Her face devoid of expression, Feng Bei said, "And what if I were to say... Feng Bei refuses?"
"Well," Zhou Bashi grinned, "that is precisely why the Night Lord sent me to do the persuading. Don’t be hasty. Take a look at that person first."
Zhou Bashi pointed a finger at an orphan who stood there vacantly, like a puppet.
The orphan had crude wooden boards splinted to his leg. He took a step, and with a CRACK, his leg broke again. And yet, there wasn’t a trace of pain on his face; it was still fixed in that same rigid smile.
A sob caught in Chu Susu’s voice. "Brother Ya!"
Zhou Bashi said, "Let’s say I’ve already stolen his heart... do you believe me?"
The silk cloth fluttered. With a flick of the cloth, Zhou Bashi produced a small knife and plunged it into the wooden box.
SHK!
The orphan called "Brother Ya," the one who had his bones set and injuries treated not long ago by the Mighty Painter moonlighting as an old Physician, suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed.
With a broad smile, Zhou Bashi opened the wooden box. The dagger had pierced through it, and impaled on the blade inside was a bloody human heart!
Casually tossing aside the pierced heart, Zhou Bashi flicked the silk cloth again. This time, he pointed to another person.
This time, it was the leader of the orphans, Pang Shengyun.
"Let’s say his heart is in the box... do you... still believe me?"
Feng Bei’s expression stiffened.
Before Feng Bei could answer, Zhou Bashi plunged the still-bloody dagger back into the box.
Another SHK! came from inside.
Pang Shengyun collapsed in agony.
Before he fell, Pang Shengyun suddenly regained his senses, reaching a hand out desperately toward Chu Susu. In the next moment, he was silent, the light fading from his eyes.
THUD.
Chu Susu instantly broke down. She sank weakly to her knees, staring blankly at the two orphans’ bodies, completely still.
Zhou Bashi flicked his silk cloth once more, covering the bloody wooden box.
"You’re courting death."
Feng Bei took a step forward, a gale swirling around her as she thrust a palm at Zhou Bashi’s face.
As Feng Bei closed in, Zhou Bashi unhurriedly spoke his third sentence:
"Let’s say the box contains Zheng Shan’s ’heart’."
Feng Bei’s figure was like a black bolt of lightning.
And yet, that bolt of lightning came to an abrupt halt right in front of Zhou Bashi. Her hand, a harbinger of doom capable of annihilating anything, stopped inches from his face.
Zhou Bashi’s smile was wicked and chilling.
"Do you... believe me?"
