Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Bailan’s Worry
The outskirts of Cang City.
A cave was hidden deep within the mountain wilderness.
Inside the cave, an old man dressed in the garb of the Spiritual Sect sat on a stone platform, meditating with his eyes closed.
From a distance, one could see his face was a mass of wrinkles, indicating his great age. His frame was so gaunt and shriveled that the Spiritual Sect robes hung loosely upon him.
Suddenly, the wrinkles on his face began to shift slowly, like twitching tree roots, gradually prying open his dry eyelids to reveal a pair of somewhat murky eyes.
The old man sighed and murmured to himself:
"That useless Assistant Priest was as unreliable as ever. I even turned him into one of my zombies and gave him a blessing, but he died the very next day. A complete waste of resources."
’Oh well. It’s time for my two precious sons to make their move.’
The old man shook his head and slowly got to his feet. Countless bits of gravel and dust, which had settled on him over who knows how long, trickled from his body. He stood, stretched his stiff joints, and then slowly walked toward the depths of the cave.
The depths of the cave were pitch-black, and waves of a putrid, rotting stench drifted out from time to time.
But to the old man, this stench was the most wonderful aroma in the world. The deeper he went and the stronger the smell of decay became, the wider his smile grew, smoothing out his wrinkles one by one until his face resembled a blooming chrysanthemum.
He walked to the deepest part of the cave.
Three coffins rested there peacefully. They were the homes of his two sons and his wife.
The moment he became a Sequencer, he had personally turned his own sons and wife into zombies. This way, they would never again defy his will, and would obey his every thought and command completely.
The old man strode before the three coffins, chest puffed out as if inspecting his trophies, and clapped his hands.
A "GRIND, GRIND, GRIND" sound suddenly emanated from two of the coffins, like the groan of a heavy, old wooden door being pushed open.
Before long, the lids of the two coffins opened, releasing an even thicker wave of putrid stench. Two young men climbed out. Their eyes were hollow, and upon seeing their father, they immediately fell to their knees and said in a monotone:
"Greetings, Master."
"How many times have I told you? You don’t need to call me ’Master.’ Just call me ’Dad’."
The old man feigned displeasure with his words, but his hands roamed over his two sons’ bodies.
These two sons were his most outstanding creations, second only to his wife. Aside from their hollow eyes and deathly pale skin, they were almost indistinguishable from ordinary people—far more perfect than that half-finished product, the Assistant Priest.
"Yes... Dad."
The two sons seemed to hesitate noticeably before saying the word "Dad." A fleeting look of hatred flashed in their eyes, but they still said it. They had no room to resist.
Hearing the word "Dad," the old man grew visibly happier. The wrinkles on his face smoothed out completely, and he chuckled, beaming as he spoke:
"Ah Xing, Ah Tian, you are both my good sons. Now, Dad has run into a little trouble. Shouldn’t you help your dad solve his problems?"
"Ye...s, Dad."
The two sons clenched their teeth, but were still unable to resist their father’s command and forced themselves to answer.
"Good. You truly are my obedient sons."
The old man patted his two sons on the head, then continued, "Over the next few days, I want you to find a way to kill Su Yu. If anyone tries to stop you, kill them all as well."
"...Yes."
The old man seemed to notice his sons’ reluctance to obey his command, but he just smiled nonchalantly.
"I know you hold some resentment toward your father... but in the end, I’m still your dad. Who else would you help, if not me?"
"Besides, if you fail to complete this mission, I’ll just send your mother to do it. You wouldn’t want your mother to run into any danger, would you?"
Hearing this, the last of the sons’ resistance vanished into thin air. They became their father’s killing machines completely. Their voices, now tinged with a cold and decisive edge, replied:
"Yes. We guarantee the mission will be completed."
...
A public restroom near Cang City First People’s Hospital.
Su Xing stood before the mirror, tidying himself up slightly to hide any traces of the recent battle. Only then did he take out his phone and send a message to his younger brother:
"Just ran into a little trouble, but it’s been dealt with."
In the hospital, Su Yu, who had been clutching his phone waiting for a reply, finally relaxed his brow when he saw Su Xing’s message. He typed back:
"What kind of trouble?"
"Brother Ming said a Tier Four Sequencer from the Spiritual Sect showed up outside the hospital. You didn’t run into them, did you?"
"Uh... the trouble I ran into was him. I already took him out."
Su Yu froze when he saw the reply pop up on his phone. He couldn’t help but curse under his breath, "Holy shit," before continuing to type:
"???"
"Wait, Bro..."
Su Yu suddenly fell silent. ’We came from the same mother, so why is my big brother so incredible?’
He stared at the ceiling and began to ponder a serious question: ’Am I really a genius?’ He was only at Tier Two Peak, yet his brother could already kill a Tier Four. The gap was just too damn big!
After thinking for a long time, he finally let out a breath. ’My brother being amazing is still my brother,’ he thought to himself as he typed:
"Whatever, Bro. Just hurry back. We can talk about everything once we’re back at the Sword Hall. Shen Ruyun’s injuries haven’t healed, so she won’t be coming back to the Sword Hall with us for now."
"Alright."
Su Xing put down his phone and looked at his reflection, letting out a sigh of relief.
The white light that had surrounded his reflection had now completely dissipated, which meant his injuries were fully healed. It was indeed time to go get his little brother and head home.
Su Xing washed his hands, pulled out a few paper towels, and walked out of the public restroom, feigning the look of someone who had just finished their business.
It didn’t take long for Su Xing to return to the street where he had encountered the Corpse Assistant Priest. The street was now completely empty, obviously cordoned off. In a small alley not far away stood several people who were likely members of a special organization.
Su Xing stood there observing for a moment.
Just as he was wondering how to detour around to the hospital, he suddenly heard a woman’s voice call his name as she ran toward him.
"Xing, are you here to pick up Su Yu and take him home?"
When Su Xing heard the single word "Xing," he knew it could only be Bailan.
Lately, Bailan had been chatting with him often on Feixin. As they chatted more, typing out the two words "Brother Su" became a bit cumbersome, so it had gradually shortened to the single word "Xing."
Su Xing didn’t make a big deal about it. It was just a name, after all.
"Teacher Bai, what are you doing here?"
Su Xing asked, feigning confusion.
He naturally knew that Bailan had been at the hospital. With an incident occurring nearby, it was only natural for her to come out and investigate. But as an outstanding "actor," he had to go through the motions.
Bailan casually tucked a stray strand of hair away from her eyes and said very naturally:
"Su Yu was discharged today. As his teacher, I naturally had to come and see him off."
"I see. You’re a very dedicated teacher, Teacher Bai."
"It’s nothing, Xing. It seems like there was a murder here just now, so the whole street is blocked off... The world is a dangerous place these days. You should be more careful when you go out from now on."
Bailan glanced at Su Xing as she reminded him.
’An ordinary person like Su Xing would definitely die if they encountered this kind of danger.’
Although she lusted after Su Xing’s body, as a member of a special organization, she couldn’t keep constant watch over someone outside of it. So, this was the only way she could remind him to be careful.
"Yes, I’ll definitely be careful."
"Teacher Bai, this street is blocked. Do you know a detour to the hospital?"
"Then just follow me. I’ve been walking from the school to here a lot these days, so I’ve gotten to know all the routes in this area."
Bailan gave a small smile, then turned and started walking down another path.
Seeing this, Su Xing followed her.
...
The small alley.
Liu Ming, Liu Chang, and a few other members of the organization were all there.
Liu Ming was squatting on the ground, his expression grim. The scene before him was just too damn anti-human.
There were massive craters and dissolved walls everywhere. Most importantly... the thing on the ground had been beaten so badly it was completely unrecognizable as human. Every time he looked at it, even the experienced Liu Ming couldn’t help but take a deep breath and say:
"Just what kind of... goddamn deep-seated hatred led to this?"
