Stranger Danger

Chapter 91: I’ll Sacrifice You

“Lord Yan, Chief Ling, I can find the rats who’re casting this ritual!”

Yan Yufei and Ling Jianqiu’s mood had just reached a new low when Ye Qing’s voice suddenly cut through the haze like a beam of sunshine.

“I’m sorry? What did you just say, Joyless?” Yan Yufei looked up at the young man who had somehow appeared next to him without him noticing. He knew that his ears were functioning perfectly, but he still couldn’t quite believe what he just heard.

“You’re not hearing things, Lord Yan!” Ye Qing said smilingly, “I said, I can find the rats who’re casting this ritual!”

“Really? Are you sure?” Yan Yufei stared at him both suspiciously and hopefully. Ling Jianqiu wasn’t speaking, but his gaze bespoke the same emotions as the magistrate. Despite their decision, they knew it was incredibly unlikely that the enemy had not factored in the possibility that they would attempt to destroy the flesh-and-blood door with the Heavens' Eye, meaning that their last-ditch effort was most likely going to end in failure. If Ye Qing really could do what he claimed, then it was certainly a more realistic and hopeful plan than theirs.

“Of course! Have I ever lied to you, Lord Yan?” Ye Qing declared confidently, “I just need you and Chief Ling to buy me some time.”

“Okay then. We’ll carry out both plans at the same time!” Ling Jianqiu wasted no time in arriving at a decision. “Lord Yan and I will do our best to delay the Stranger’s arrival, while you will find the rats and disrupt the ritual!”

“If the Heavens' Eye succeeds in destroying the door, then all is well. If not, then we need to find those rats anyway!”

“I understand!” Ye Qing nodded and saluted the two men solemnly. “I’m counting on you, my lords!”

“And we you, Joyless!” Ling Jianqiu and Yan Yufei saluted him as well.

Their final words weren’t just a prayer for success. It was a solemn promise to see through their duties to the very end if only for the people of Anyang!

Creak!

Ye Qing was just turning around to leave when the flesh-and-blood door in the sky suddenly creaked loudly as if it was about to open. The surrounding space shuddered violently, and the flesh-and-blood door suddenly came alive with countless vengeful souls and crying spirits screaming endlessly on its surface. Their unholy wails were so terrible that eardrums were deafened, and nosebleeds were triggered even from such a great distance.

“Looks like we have even less time than we thought. Let’s awaken the Heavens' Eye immediately!” Ling Jianqiu said and tapped his sword with the back of his finger. It immediately let out a melodious ringing that temporarily kept the disturbing wails at bay.

“Got it!” Yan Yufei nodded and pointed at his Seal of the Land. Ling Jianqiu then threw a badge into the air and made a hand seal. The badge was immediately charged with some sort of energy.

The badge was none other than the symbol of the Chief of Bureau, the Pacification Badge. In a county, the Heavens' Eye could only be used by the county magistrate and the local Chief of Bureau, and only if they both activated it at the same time. It would not awaken if even one of them was missing!

“Please answer our call, Heavens’ Eye!”

The two men chanted, and both the Seal of the Land and the Pacification Badge shone at the same time. They then fired a beam of light at the Heavens’ Eye hung in front of the entrance.

Runes shaped like flowers, birds, fishes and insects suddenly came alive and swam all over the ordinary-looking bronze mirror. A dragon’s head and a phoenix’s tail feather washed away the stains on its surface instantly and created gentle ripples of light.

Creak!

It was at this moment the door in the sky widened just enough to reveal a crack. Behind the crack was an infinite sea of darkness. Everyone who saw it immediately felt dizzy as if they could faint at any moment, and the weak-willed ones instantly lost their souls and became possessed by evil energy. Their bodies then mutated into mindless monsters who knew nothing but slaughter.

That wasn’t all. A pitch black hand abruptly poked out of the flesh-and-blood door. Size wise, it looked no different from a human’s arm, but as black as ink and as ominous as the night. The appendage looked thin and frail, but it emanated so much power that it gave off the impression of beauty instead.

The moment the arm appeared, they all felt like a mountain was sitting above their chest. An unbelievable amount of pressure poured down from above, and the heads of those who were heavily injured or weak in mind abruptly exploded like watermelons.

“PLEASE ANSWER OUR CALL, HEAVENS’ EYE!”

Ling Jianqiu and Yan Yufei roared in unison as the Seal of the Land and the Pacification Badge shone even brighter. When the Heavens’ Eye grew so bright that it was like a second sun, it discharged a massive pillar that illuminated the entire county as bright as day.

The flesh-and-blood door shook violently long before the pillar of light even got close. It started melting rapidly like snow, and black smoke was rising from the pitch black arm as well.

The Heavens’ Eye’s light seemed to anger the owner of the arm. It opened its hand and made a grab for the incoming attack like it would crush it between its fingers.

Every time the hand moved an inch, it would grow a lot larger. It seemed physically impossible, but by the time the hand had moved about three inches, it had become large enough to blot out a sun.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Light clashed against the darkness, and white mixed haphazardly with black. The resulting shockwave was so epic that houses collapsed, the earth was torn asunder, and the entire world seemed to be engulfed in dust.

……

They used the Heavens’ Eye already. We need to move faster! Ye Qing thought while feeling the epic clash happening far, far above his head. This wasn’t the first time he had experienced this, but his heart was beating just as fast as the first time.

He looked at Faceless beside him and asked, “Where are they?”

“Hehe! You seem extremely confident that I’d be able to find them, young master. What if you were wrong?” Faceless laughed instead of answering.

Ye Qing looked back to the horrifying mixture of black, white, and pure chaos happening in the sky and said indifferently, “I’ll sacrifice you to your god, of course! It was what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

“And what will you do after I’m dead, young master?” Faceless asked with morbid curiosity.

“I’m going to run, duh. You don’t actually think I’m going to commit double suicide with you, do you?”

Not only did Faceless take no offense from his sarcastic remark, he exclaimed, “As expected of my young master! You are a dragon compared to the rest of us puny mortals!”

“Cut it out. You’ll have all the time in the world to butter me up after we’ve ended the ritual and survived this crisis!” Ye Qing slapped Faceless on the shoulder once. “So take me to them already!”

Faceless had made himself scarce ever since the Strangers had invaded the county. It was because Ye Qing had tasked him with keeping an eye on Dark Eye and Rotten Crown. It was because he knew that Evergreen Ivy would contact them eventually, and he wanted to take out the most elusive and well-hidden Stranger of them all. In the off chance that Evergreen Ivy decided to abandon her allies and never show up, he would at least know where Dark Eye and Rotten Crown were hiding. He would kill them when the crisis was over.

As it turned out, his plan was even wiser than he thought, though Ye Qing sincerely wished that things hadn’t turned out this way. He was certain that Evergreen Ivy was behind the ritual, but there was no guarantee that she would be together with Dark Eye and Rotten Crown. It was a gamble he had to take though; their only chance at taking out the rat behind everything. If it worked, then all was well. If not, then he had no choice but to abandon Anyang to its fate and escape.

In that sense, he supposed he hadn’t been wholly truthful with Yan Yufei and Ling Jianqiu. He had made it sound like he could locate the ritual for sure, which wouldn’t be a lie if not for the timer that was breathing down all of their necks. If this location turned out to be farther than expected, then he could only apologize to the people of Anyang and do what he must. After all, a dead person would not be able to take revenge for Anyang!

In life, the best a person could do was to ensure that they had no regrets. Whether or not their efforts would bear fruit… was completely up to fate!

“Hehe. Don’t worry, young master. You’re a lucky man, and I’m not too far behind you. None of us are dying today!” Faceless declared.

“Oh?” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up at the subtext. “So Dark Eye and Rotten Crown are involved in the ritual after all?”

“Not at the beginning, but afterward? Yes!”

“Speak human!” Ye Qing quipped impatiently only to remember that Faceless wasn’t human.

Faceless stopped keeping him on tenterhooks and replied, “This whole thing was planned by Evergreen Ivy, probably. Just now, she suddenly revealed herself to Dark Eye and Rotten Crown and led them into a nearby residence.”

“Evergreen Ivy? Residence?” Ye Qing figured out his meaning immediately. “They must be holding that ritual in that residence then! Take me there now!”

As it turned out, the residence wasn’t far away at all. They had arrived at their destination after just a dozen breaths or so of running. Faceless said, “This is it, young master. I saw them entering this courtyard with my own two eyes. But as you know, my former allies are no ordinary Strangers, so I dare not follow them inside and risk being discovered.”

“Got it.”

The duo leaped up to the rooftop and looked around for a bit, but there was no one in the courtyard. Eyes half-lidded, Ye Qing abruptly dropped back to ground level directly in front of the house.

“Young master, this isn’t very… stealthy, is it?” Faceless commented in a dumbfounded tone. If there was anyone inside the house right now, they would’ve spotted Ye Qing instantly.

Ye Qing smirked. “Relax. There’s no one in the courtyard or the house.”

He knew this because he had scanned the whole place with his spirit earlier.

“What?” Faceless looked left and right frantically but could not find anyone as Ye Qing said. Afraid that Ye Qing would accuse him of lying, he hurriedly defended himself, “I’m telling you the truth, young master! I really saw them entering this courtyard!”

“Why are you panicking? I never said you were lying to me!” Ye Qing entered the house and circled the living hall once.

“Where are they? They couldn’t have left while I was gone, could they?” Faceless muttered. He was pale with fright because he knew that there was a non-zero chance Ye Qing would actually “sacrifice him to his god” if he screwed up something this important.

Luckily for him, Ye Qing replied confidently, “They’re still here. You don’t see them because they’re underground!”

As soon as he said this, Ye Qing walked up to a certain spot and brought down his right foot on the floor. It immediately gave way to an underground passage.

Faceless: “...” I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Wouldn’t it be stealthier to find the hidden level to open the passage?

“This is faster!” Ye Qing explained as if he could hear the Stranger’s thoughts before jumping into the hole. A number of twists and turns later, they arrived at a stone door leading into a secret room.

“This is it!” Ye Qing said while staring at the door. He took a step backward and waved. “Strangers first!”

“...”

Fuck, I suddenly feel like swearing. Evergreen Ivy and the others must be ready after that loud commotion earlier. That’s why he’s sending me through the door first to spring their trap. How could he do this to his humble, loyal servant?

Despite his thoughts, Faceless sucked in a deep breath and slowly went over to the door. There was a high chance whatever was waiting for him behind the door would kill him, but he would definitely die if he dared to disobey Ye Qing’s order. Between the bad and the worse option, it was obvious what he should pick.

Faceless took a moment to heighten his concentration to the max. Then, he gave the stone door a mighty push. As soon as the door creaked open, A pair of beams attacked his head and his abdomen at the same time!

Faceless let out a strange cry as his forehead split apart, and he unleashed his own beam of light to save his own life. Despite this, he was unable to block the full-powered attacks completely. A good chunk of his head was cut off, and his waist was just barely hanging by a thread.

As Faceless staggered backward, Ye Qing dashed into the secret room so fast that he was almost pressing against the floor. Quick as a phantom, he unleashed an attack that Faceless couldn’t see because of the partially open door and elicited a pair of muffled groans. When he finally recovered enough to enter the secret room, he saw Ye Qing standing at the entrance with his saber out, and Dark Eye and Rotten Crown clutching a bloody stump each deeper within the secret room. Their severed arms were strewn across the floor.

“Faceless? You’re the one who betrayed us!?” Dark Eye screamed with outrage and hatred when he saw the Stranger.

Faceless shrugged. “There never was any camaraderie between us, was there? You want to survive, and so do I. That’s all there is to it.”

Rotten Crown was glaring daggers at him as well. “The Nether Lord won’t forgive you for this betrayal, Faceless! He will kill you when he descends on this plane!”

“I know. That’s why I came to stop you.” Blood poured down Faceless’ face as he grinned widely. “I’ll probably live if he fails to descend upon this plane, am I right?”

“You think you can stop us?” An insane amount of eyeballs suddenly appeared all across Dark Eye’s body. They glowed ominously in the dim room and looked incredibly intimidating.

“Hehehe, of course—”

Faceless knew that he was no match against Rotten Crown and Dark Eye together, so he instinctively wanted to postpone the inevitable fight as long as possible, but when he glimpsed Ye Qing out of the corner of his eyes, he suddenly changed his mind. What could the two Strangers possibly do to him with Ye Qing around? So, he said, “—I can. I alone am enough to turn you both into ash.”

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