Chapter 869: Chapter 633: Deadlock_2
Not long ago, he had bid farewell to Zhuge Zhijie, and now he had seen off the Director. Although he knew that the Angel Envoys were all poor wretches living from day to day, at this moment, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but wonder if the problem was with himself, bringing bad luck to everyone.
After all, before his arrival, the Lin’an Patrol Bureau was peaceful and uneventful. Although no significant accomplishments had been made nor any paranormal incidents handled, everyone was alive, happily alive, and that was enough.
Having lost Xiang Fengchen and Nalan Shuo, this mission, to a certain extent, was already over. At this moment, Yang Xiao also lost the courage to continue.
"Shush, shush, shush—"
A very light sound of footsteps came from outside, getting closer, and then the door was pushed open. Yang Xiao looked back instinctively, but this glance shocked him so much that he leaned back, dragging the chair down with him to the floor.
"Dir... Director?!"
Upon seeing who the person was, Yang Xiao, collapsed on the floor, felt as if half his soul had flown away. Not only had the ghost harmed the Director, but it was also imitating him to harm himself. Was there still any humanity left? Was there still any law?
"Little Yang, what’s wrong with you?" Nalan Shuo was also stunned but quickly regained composure, stepped forward quickly, helped Yang Xiao up, and explained, "Don’t be afraid. I’m fine. Just like you, I woke up in bed, only a bit earlier than you, so I went out for a walk."
"I also have a nickname." Yang Xiao spoke, testing the waters.
"Emperor Ye Xiao, when doing bad deeds, you impersonate people from the Resentment Sect, framing them and even sneaked into the City Center Official Residence to inscribe poems on the wall. You own a plethora of Evil Magic Tools. If I tied you up and took you to the Provincial Office, we could directly swap for a deputy director."
"Stop!" Tears streamed down Yang Xiao’s face as he grabbed Nalan Shuo’s hand, "I know it’s you, Director. Can we not rake up the past, please? Let those dark histories be bygones."
At this moment, Yang Xiao noticed that Nalan Shuo’s hands were dirty, the nails containing black soil, as if he had just crawled out of a grave.
"You this is..." Yang Xiao became alert.
Nalan Shuo waved his hand, signaling Yang Xiao to sit down. The two sat at opposite ends of the table, and Nalan Shuo sighed, his tone wistful, "I have always been puzzled. Xiang Fengchen is a cautious person. What could possibly make him bring such a disaster upon himself, but now I understand."
"What happened?" Yang Xiao asked, curious.
"He was plotted against. I just went out to that well and dug up the pit that Xiang Fengchen had dug last night. The severed finger he buried there is gone," Nalan Shuo whispered in a heavy tone.
Mentioning the severed finger, Yang Xiao remembered that Xiang Fengchen had once said he used that finger as a disguise for a pacifying object, successfully deceiving the Feng Shui Master at the Earl Mansion.
At the same time, Yang Xiao suddenly recalled that not long ago, Ancestor had something with flesh in his mouth. Due to the urgency of the situation, he did not take a close look. But thinking about it now, it might very well have been a fingertip.
After sharing this with Nalan Shuo, Nalan Shuo nodded slowly, "It seems correct. No wonder Ancestor targeted Xiang Fengchen first. Such an evil object is extremely sensitive to Bloodline Energy. Someone quietly dug up that severed finger and fed it to Ancestor. That is the root cause of Ancestor’s visit tonight."
"It specifically targeted Xiang Fengchen. As for those Ghost Substitutes, they were just side dishes," Nalan Shuo said with a sigh.
The death of Xiang Fengchen was undoubtedly a huge blow to the entire team, but it was not enough to make them give up resisting and await death. Now, those who could survive were no ordinary people. As long as they remained united, they still had a chance.
Xiang Fengchen’s final frenzied state remained vivid in Yang Xiao’s memory, especially those few words, "If you don’t save me, we’ll all die. It’s a death trap, a death trap, and an eternal mystery, an eternal mystery!"
Death trap, an eternal mystery... Yang Xiao carefully recollected, Xiang Fengchen’s last state didn’t seem feigned. He must have perceived something, likely the plan of the Earl Mansion, but he refused to say it. If he couldn’t exchange his life for others, he would drag everyone down with him.
"Director, did you notice anything?" Yang Xiao asked.
Nalan Shuo lowered his head to think for a moment, then shook his head, "Not yet, we’ll make plans after we find that hidden Great Mage tomorrow."
"It’s a pity for this Divine Turtle Shell, aside from that old guy Xiang Fengchen, none of us know how to use it; we can only bring it to that Great Mage." Yang Xiao sighed, it was a great item, a shame they couldn’t use it.
"Maybe not necessarily." Nalan Shuo suddenly spoke up, his gaze then shifted in another direction, "That Jiang Qingluan might have a way."
"Her?" Yang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Xiang Fengchen mentioned to me before, this young woman is extraordinary. The way she looked at the Divine Turtle Shell wasn’t quite right; she might know something but kept it to herself because Xiang Fengchen was there. I don’t believe in the entire mission only one person would know how to use this thing."
Pausing for a moment, Nalan Shuo continued, "The Yi Sect was founded on ghost and gods, and she is a young priestess of the Yi Sect, her skills wouldn’t be lacking."
After chatting for a while, Nalan Shuo patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder, urging him to rest early. Yang Xiao naturally appreciated the Director’s kindness, saying he would sleep first, and then when dawn was near, he would have Nalan Shuo wake him up for them to switch shifts.
"Director, are you really alright?" Recalling the Director’s terrifying appearance earlier, Yang Xiao leaned in closely and inspected his face, then grabbed his hand, pulled up his sleeves, and seeing the Director’s body was all normal, he then was at ease.
Nalan Shuo smiled and urged Yang Xiao to rest; his gaze brought warmth to Yang Xiao, appreciating the Director’s sincere concern.
Perhaps utterly exhausted, and once again with the Director watching the night, Yang Xiao’s head barely touched the pillow before he was nearly immediately asleep, and he slept surprisingly soundly.
Yet Nalan Shuo didn’t follow to rest; he just sat beside the square table, guarding through the night. As Yang Xiao’s steady breathing rose, a slight ripple appeared on Nalan Shuo’s originally calm face.
He slowly reached into his chest, pulling out a tightly wrapped small cloth bag, placing it on the table, unwrapping it layer by layer, finally revealing a piece of a shattered small mirror.
The edges of the mirror were rough, precisely speaking, it was a piece of copper mirror fragment. Nalan Shuo picked up the mirror piece, and in the next second, Nalan Shuo’s reflection appeared in the mirror.
A horrifying scene unfolded; the face of Nalan Shuo in the mirror showed a sinister grey pallor peculiar to the dead, eyes dull and lifeless, as if stripped of color, entering a postmortem black-and-white world.
Taking off his outer clothing, then the inner wear, exposing his strong upper body, he examined himself in the mirror. Nalan Shuo’s upper body seemed to be eroded by some force, his body in the mirror segmented into many parts.
Some parts were grey, some had normal skin color, messily pieced together without any noticeable pattern, with the grey sections nearly making up two-thirds.
If Yang Xiao were standing by, he would realize that the body parts in the mirror showing the color of death were exactly the parts once replaced by the ghost maid’s body.
Hesitating for a moment, Nalan Shuo lifted the mirror piece downwards, unsurprisingly, his two feet also appeared in a chilling grey, and even more peculiar was, the shadows of the two legs on the floor were thin and short, clearly not matching Nalan Shuo’s leg shape. Slightly lifting his foot, the shadow of the foot was also twisted and deformed.
Slowly placing down the mirror piece, and placing it face-down on the table, Nalan Shuo took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, the room eerily quiet.
A candle light flickered on the table, not knowing from where a breeze came, causing the candlelight to shake violently, illuminating Nalan Shuo’s dim eyes.
Moments later, he leaned back, gently leaning on the chair back, turned his head, from his position he could just see Yang Xiao’s sleeping profile.
After an unknown amount of time, Nalan Shuo’s lips slightly curved, his eyes also becoming gentle, this young man was indeed very handsome, capable, and responsible, much like himself in the past.
It’s hard for him to leave now, but this young man does not belong here.
