Chapter 342: Chapter 296: Dead Man’s Skin
At 11:30 p.m., Yang Xiao returned to the Mingyue Ge Hotel, and Mo Daidai, as if he had anticipated his return, was still waiting for him in the private room.
"Yang Xiao, my friend, it’s truly a pleasure to see you again." Mo Daidai squinted his eyes, barely hiding the smile on his lips.
Yang Xiao looked around. In the private room, only Mo Daidai and a black-clad bodyguard remained; Tong Han was nowhere to be seen. "Where’s Tong Han?"
"She’s gone to make preparations. You’ll be setting out soon." Mo Daidai leisurely ate the teacakes in front of him, and the box of gold bars and Ghost photos that was originally placed at Yang Xiao’s spot hadn’t been touched at all.
"I promised you I could take care of that Yanhe Tian nuisance for you, but first you need to tell me what exactly is the thing you want us to steal?" Yang Xiao got straight to the point.
Mo Daidai took a wet handkerchief passed by the bodyguard to wipe his mouth and said with a smile, "I can tell you, but not now. I promise, after we retrieve the item, I will definitely let you see it with your own eyes."
"Another thing," Mo Daidai wiped his hands with the same handkerchief he had used for his mouth and nonchalantly tossed it onto the plate in front of him, "I don’t like your phrasing. It’s not called stealing; I’m merely taking back what belongs to me."
Yang Xiao looked at Mo Daidai and suddenly laughed. Indeed, now back in reality, Mo Daidai was surrounded by experts and felt confident when he spoke. If this kid dared to talk to him like that in the Nightmare World, Yang Xiao could beat him until even his mother wouldn’t recognize him.
"Time is almost up; you should get ready too. Try not to use your Resentful Eye abilities to avoid leaving traces for the opposition. I’ve prepared equipment for you, use it with confidence; it’s all black market stuff from abroad, completely untraceable. We’re professionals in this regard."
Yang Xiao couldn’t bother with him and turned to leave. Outside the door, someone led Yang Xiao to the 22nd-floor hall, where he saw Tong Han checking the equipment.
When Tong Han saw Yang Xiao, she wasn’t surprised at all and pointed to a briefcase on a round table across from her. "Your equipment is there. Hurry up and test the guns. We’ll head out in half an hour."
Opening the metal briefcase, there were two mini submachine guns with extended magazines. In the case, he also found compatible silencers.
When Yang Xiao picked up the guns, a black-clad bodyguard immediately came over to demonstrate how to use them and the key points of firing.
After emptying several magazines, Yang Xiao had mastered the use of the two guns. They were indeed powerful—far better than the fully automatic Glock issued by the Patrol Defense Office. Holding down the trigger and firing both guns together would be enough to turn the target into a sieve.
Once he returned to the Bureau, he would definitely get the chief to supply him with a couple of these. After trying the guns, Yang Xiao was extremely fond of them. The Resentful Eye was powerful, no doubt, but using it came at a cost. However, these weapons didn’t require anything but enough bullets, and they were quite suitable for small-scale situations.
A little past midnight, the two, having equipped themselves, set out on time. Tong Han drove, and without his sense of security, Yang Xiao sat alone in the back, wearing a mask and keeping the brim of his cap pressed low, glancing out the window now and then.
"Don’t be nervous; you’re acting like you’re some kind of good guy." Through the rear-view mirror, Tong Han glanced at Yang Xiao. "Haven’t enough people died at your hands?"
"I only kill Evil Cultivators. The moment I set foot inside the Patrol Defense Bureau, I, Yang Xiao, became an enemy of all evildoing."
Tong Han was taken aback, not understanding why he was putting on such an act when it was just the two of them in the car.
"Do you honestly not know Li Qingxuan?" Yang Xiao asked.
"I don’t."
Yang Xiao noticed the fresh wound behind Tong Han’s right ear, which had just formed a scab. "How did you get all these injuries?"
"People from Yu Yuan Sect wanted to punish me according to their rules. I blinded one eye of a Venerable One and killed a team captain before I barely managed to escape."
"Impressive indeed. So, how did you get in contact with Mo Daidai?" Injuring a Venerable One while also killing a team captain, even with a surprise attack, was quite formidable. At least Yang Xiao felt that people like Wu Zhe and Wu Zhengwu wouldn’t be able to do the same under similar circumstances.
But as soon as Yang Xiao mentioned Mo Daidai, Tong Han suddenly fell silent. Yang Xiao didn’t mind and changed the subject to continue asking, "Tell me about the Yu Yuan Sect, its organizational structure, methods of communication, and personnel distribution."
Yang Xiao knew that his grudge with Yu Yuan Sect was now deep-seated and that there would likely be many encounters with them in the future.
Tong Han did not withhold any information, but what she knew was limited to the area she was responsible for. According to her, each region had a Yu Yuan Sect person in charge; for small regions, it would be a team captain, and on the next level up, a Venerable Level cultivator was responsible.
Typically, a Venerable One would have several to a dozen team captains under them. For example, her superior, nicknamed the Staff Killing Elder, wielded a snake-head cane as his Magic Artifact and had seven team captains under him, including herself.
Above the Venerable Ones were the nine Venerables, but Tong Han couldn’t provide clear details about them. With her rank, she had never met any of them. It was undeniable, however, that these individuals were extraordinarily formidable.
"The Soul-Capturing Mirror you took is a Magic Artifact highly valued by the Second Honored One. It is said that he tried to control it several times but failed, forcing him to look for a new flesh vessel to cultivate, which is the boy the mission eventually led you to find. Unfortunately, the Resentful Eye went out of control during the cultivation process." Tong Han took a deep breath, "It was also this Second Honored One who ordered my execution. He has control over many precious high-rank Resentful Eyes and holds a high position within the sect."
"What a pity, I no longer have that mirror in my possession," Yang Xiao put on a look of regret and chuckled bitterly, "But that might not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, everyone says that mirror is extremely sinister."
"It’s not with you?" Tong Han was stunned, "Then where did it go?"
"It was taken away by someone from the Provincial Defense Bureau." Yang Xiao began to spout nonsense with a serious face—he couldn’t fully trust this defector from the Yu Yuan Sect.
As the vehicle neared its destination, Ye City, Tong Han revealed to Yang Xiao the Resentful Eye and abilities possessed by Yanhe Tian, undoubtedly provided by Mo Daidai, "The Resentful Eye in Yanhe Tian’s hands is a piece of Dead Man’s Skin, capable of creating an illusory mirage. It’s said that the mirages it creates are splendid, with Yanhe Tian moving through them like a celestial being, at will."
"An illusion, similar to Ghost Hitting the Wall?" Yang Xiao inquired.
Tong Han, not entirely sure herself, vaguely replied, "Approximately, just make sure not to let him use his ability. We’re attacking by surprise, catching him off-guard. After killing everyone, we’ll leave immediately."
"How many people do they have?"
"Around 30 people."
Yang Xiao furrowed his brows, "That many?"
"Yes, they are having a celebration party tonight. They’re likely to play all night long. Yanhe Tian’s young wife is with child, and it’s said to be a boy. All the influential members from Yan Mountain Pavilion will be there. It’s the perfect opportunity to catch them all in one sweep." There was no emotion in Tong Han’s voice.
"If all the influential members will be there, wouldn’t there be many Angel Envoys?" Yang Xiao had a feeling this wasn’t going to be as simple as it seemed.
"Don’t worry about that. We only need to be cautious of Yanhe Tian himself." Tong Han fell silent, looking confident. Yang Xiao knew she definitely had plans she hadn’t shared with him. Mo Daidai was not the sort to act without being well-prepared.
Soon, the two parked the car in a secluded spot and proceeded on foot to their destination. On the way, they almost exclusively travelled through alleys and even scaled a couple of walls. Tong Han occasionally stopped to pull out a marked map from her pocket, or to confirm their location with her phone.
About half an hour later, they arrived at a secluded villa nestled in the mountains. After circumventing the backyard and as Tong Han was about to approach the surrounding wall through a small forest, Yang Xiao grabbed her, cautioning, "Don’t move recklessly. There are surveillance cameras and an electric fence on the wall."
Tong Han shook off his hand, "None of that matters anymore, but we have at most half an hour. The mission must be completed and we must leave within that time."
As she finished speaking, Tong Han moved behind the wall and sent out a message on her phone. Seconds later, Yang Xiao saw a rope being thrown out from inside the wall.
The two quickly scaled the wall using the rope, entering the yard to see a young man dressed as a chef quickly emerge from behind a tree. He tossed them two bundles and urged in a low voice, "Quick, change into these clothes."
One bundle contained blue work clothes while the other held service staff attire; both sets were somewhat old and stained with grease.
After changing clothes and donning white masks, the three were about to leave when the young man seemed to remember something and hurriedly ran back behind the tree. Yang Xiao saw him squat down and lift a camouflage net, revealing two bodies underneath, dressed only in underwear.
The male and female corpses had wide-open eyes, likely strangled to death. The young man searched near the bodies and finally found a white chef’s hat, which he dusted off before placing it back on his head. After straightening it, he motioned quickly, "Alright, come with me."
"Is everything inside arranged?" Tong Han asked as they walked.
"Don’t worry, I’ve already put the medicine you gave me earlier into the air conditioning system. I did everything according to your requirements: timing, position, dosage, all without a problem."
"That’s good."
However, after walking a bit, led by the young chef, they looped back to a dark place beside a pond to hide. Tong Han grew anxious, "What are you playing at? Why aren’t you taking us inside?"
"Hehe, my money hasn’t been transferred yet," the young man revealed a greedy smile.
Tong Han’s brow furrowed, and she looked displeased, "We had an agreement. An advance of 3 million, with the rest to be transferred to your offshore account after the job’s done."
"That won’t do. I don’t even know you. What if you run off? Then I’ll have worked for nothing," the young man wouldn’t budge an inch, taking a tough stance, "You have five minutes. Transfer all the remaining money to my account, and add another 5 million to settle my gambling debts."
"Fool..." Yang Xiao sighed inwardly.
