Chapter 1788: Chapter 1025: Beiyu Ye
At exactly 10 PM, Qingshui Cangjie, who was resting with his eyes closed, was drawn by a sound. Heize Lin, who was sitting on a chair smoking, heard it and his expression turned solemn. He threw away the cigarette butt and quickly moved to stand behind the service room door, pressing his body against the wall to stay silent and listen to the outside.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
A series of light footsteps came from the direction of the emergency exit, and then the heavy security door was pushed open, and the running sound moved into the hallway.
The sound of those footsteps was very distinctive, like someone running on tiptoe. Heize Lin turned to Qingshui Cangjie and gave him a firm nod.
Qingshui Cangjie took a deep breath. It seemed there was no mistake; tonight, the ghost child was coming for them first.
Yet Qingshui Cangjie felt no fear; on the contrary, he was somewhat relieved. This way, they held the initiative and could proceed with the next step of their plan.
Even the heavens were helping them. It seemed the task’s reward was already within Qingshui Cangjie’s grasp.
A spell-type magical artifact was something he had always yearned for.
"It’s here, Mr. Qingshui!" Heize Lin slowly backed away because the footsteps had stopped just outside the door.
The first unusual occurrence was in the bathroom, where a faucet was turned on by an unknown force, emitting the sound of running water.
"Mr. Qingshui, what do we do?" It was clear that Heize Lin was somewhat nervous, facing the ghost directly.
"Don’t panic, Mr. Heize, we are absolutely safe tonight." Qingshui Cangjie stood up calmly, with the bearing of an ancient warlord, "Wait a bit longer; we’ll go downstairs to find Beiyu Ye."
Heize Lin was briefly stunned, "Him? Didn’t you say Yang Xiao was the one we wanted?"
In Heize Lin’s eyes, Yang Xiao was a bigger threat than Beiyu Ye. Moreover, Beiyu Ye was truly skilled; the fact he could find the cave temple in the deep mountains on his own showed he was of great help to them and worth keeping around.
Qingshui Cangjie understood this naturally, but there was something he couldn’t openly admit. Precisely because Beiyu Ye had contributed greatly, and could be said to have driven the task’s progress single-handedly, he had to die. Otherwise, if he was left alive, he might contend for ownership of the precious spell-type magical artifact.
This uncertain factor had to be eliminated as soon as possible. Besides, Qingshui Cangjie didn’t think he could deceive Yang Xiao, who was full of cunning.
He guessed that perhaps Yang Xiao also knew of a way to avoid the ghost dream after midnight, but he was feigning ignorance, holding on tightly to the clue.
Seeing that Qingshui Cangjie had no intention of explaining himself, Heize Lin didn’t mind, as all he had to do was follow Mr. Qingshui’s steps closely, as he was a truly significant figure.
Soon, the sound shifted, moving to the cabinet under the service desk; the cabinet was only thigh-high, and it was unclear how the ghost child managed to squeeze inside.
"Now, Mr. Heize!" Qingshui Cangjie issued the command to act.
Heize Lin immediately opened the door and was the first to run downstairs, with Qingshui Cangjie closely following.
The two deliberately made noise in the hallway as they ran down the emergency stairs, their footsteps heavy, creating an atmosphere of fear and tension aimed at Beiyu Ye, who lived on the 2nd floor.
And just as Qingshui Cangjie had calculated, they had just arrived on the second floor when Beiyu Ye and Takeuchi Tomoya came running out, "Mr. Qingshui, Mr. Heize, did that child come after you?" Beiyu Ye asked urgently.
"Upstairs, it’s upstairs..." Heize Lin panted, a hint of fear on his face, "That thing was outside the door one moment and then under the desk the next, suddenly. It was truly too sudden."
Without another word, Beiyu Ye led Takeuchi Tomoya upstairs to check, and soon, Jiu Shan Sha Yue and Nishimura Yuna, guarding the first-floor lobby, also arrived upon hearing the news.
Yang Xiao and Sato Shouta were the last to arrive at the scene, not because of Yang Xiao’s planning—purely because they learned of it then, only because Heize Lin kindly ran upstairs to inform them.
No new clues were found on the site, just as with previous sites; some scratches and stab marks were left on the inside of the cabinet door—deliberate disturbances by Asakura Yodou intended to scare them off, warn them, remind them that the killing female ghost was coming.
"Mr. Qingshui, Mr. Heize, you must be careful tonight," Beiyu Ye advised earnestly.
"Thank you, Mr. Beiyu, we’ll be careful. You should also be cautious." Heize Lin maintained a composed exterior but inwardly scoffed; Beiyu Ye should be more concerned about himself.
Through the interaction with Beiyu Ye over time, Heize Lin made a preliminary judgment of the person: strong in skills but lacking in other areas, especially the experience in the world of martial arts.
But he couldn’t be blamed for that; after all, he wasn’t very old. Unfortunately, the Nightmare World is so cruel, and it won’t offer him a chance to grow.
He was about to be forever left behind, as nourishment for this terrifying world, and a stepping stone on Heize Lin and Mr. Qingshui’s path to success.
No other clues were found, and after exchanging farewells, everyone dispersed. After returning to the room, Beiyu Ye rarely opened a can of beer.
"Mr. Takeuchi, let’s have a drink." Beiyu Ye placed another can of beer on the table; he was usually someone who never touched alcohol.
"Mr. Beiyu, aren’t you a non-drinker?" Takeuchi Tomoya asked in surprise. These cans of beer had been bought by Tong Han, who thought the pressure on him was too great and gave them to him, left chilling in the fridge ever since.
