Chapter 19

“Damn it, Yian, why did you come back?”

The skinny man wearing a newsboy cap was startled when he saw Yian staggering towards him. He then continued:

“Didn’t you like that girl? She’s alone at home today. The boss said he would take care of everything. You…”

Before the man could finish his sentence, Yian, who appeared to be hypoxic, collapsed to the ground, kneeling down directly in front of him.

“Yian… Yian! Damn it, damn it!” The man, seeing Yian on the verge of death, became anxious. He knew how long the boss had prepared for this, and if they failed at this critical moment, he would surely be killed!

If necessary, he would carry Yian inside and force the girl to kill him!

“Damn coward, if you don’t want to go, I’ll just push you in.”

The man reached out and shoved Yian’s chest hard, trying to push him out of the alley. But as soon as he pushed, he felt as though he was pushing a bag rather than an adult. Yian’s legs began to sway, and his entire body swung back and forth like a pendulum, with only his head remaining still, facing him.

The man froze, his hand rigid, and he looked down at Yian’s feet, only to see that Yian was standing on his tiptoes, with his toes barely touching the ground.

He trembled as he looked up, and under the dim streetlights outside, he saw Yian with his head lowered, eyes bulging, tongue protruding, saliva and tears dripping down.

Looking further up…

There was nothing…

No sign of life…

Yian was hanging in mid-air, dead.

In front of him, a mask gently swayed back and forth, its eyes staring lifelessly at him.

A chilling sensation rose from his spine, causing beads of sweat to trickle down his forehead.

Never had he felt such a desire to never have existed in this world as he did now.

Plop, plop…

The sound of boots stepping in mud grew louder, as if someone was approaching from the alley entrance.

“Who… Who! Get lost if you don’t want to die!”

Perhaps to muster courage, he shouted at the alley entrance. This shout indeed alleviated some of his fear.

Yes, he must have misseen. It must be someone using very fine thread—so fine—to hang Yian here to scare him!

“Who is it?!”

He tilted his body forcefully and saw the person walking towards him from the alley entrance.

The slim figure was hidden beneath a black robe, estimated to be about 1.58 meters tall. Rainwater slid down the pale mask on the face, and the emblem pinned to the magnificent cloak still shimmered in the rainy night.

The Church?! No, it’s not…

This is Xia’er!!!

He had been tracking Xia’er for almost three months, watching her back and figure every day. To be frank, even if it were just a shadow, he could tell if it was Xia’er!

But why? Why is she wearing church clothes?!

He watched helplessly as the girl slowly raised her hand, revealing bandages tightly wrapped around it. With a snap of her fingers, Yian’s body fell like a rag doll into the mud, splashing water.

“Ugh…”

Before he could say anything, he felt his throat tighten. He tried to reach up to loosen whatever was binding his neck, but found nothing there. His legs began to leave the ground.

“I’ll ask only once. Where are Solari and Thomas, and when will they come?” Xia’er’s muffled voice came through the mask. “You only get one chance to answer.”

Plop —

The pressure on his neck vanished, and he fell to the ground, coughing and retching.

After regaining some composure, he looked at Yian’s dead body and quickly knelt, using his hoarse voice, “No, no, don’t kill me. My bosses will be here soon. They’re clearing out the area now, and the police have been diverted. It’s only 2 minutes until they arrive!”

The masked girl in front of him used her bandaged right hand to support her chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Plop, plop, plop…

Realizing something, the man frantically knocked his head on the muddy ground several times, his mud-caked face turning towards Xia’er, pleading, “Please, please don’t kill me. The people of the Salvation Goddess Religion are good, they won’t kill innocents.”

“I promise to leave Bolen City after this, never to return and never to engage in gang activities again. I’ll find a farm and grow potatoes for the rest of my life. I swear I won’t tell anyone about this.”

“Please spare me, Miss Xia’er!”

At the mention of her name, the girl slowly lowered her hand.

His heart sank.

Next, he saw his hands moving uncontrollably forward, gripping the dead Yian’s neck tightly, each finger pressing deeply into Yian’s skin.

Yian’s black-handled dagger slowly floated out and was placed in the dead Yian’s hand.

Desperately and fearfully, he watched as the supposedly dead Yian raised the dagger and stabbed him in the chest.

Warm blood trickled from his mouth, rain gradually stealing away the warmth from his body. He leaned forward and collapsed onto Yian’s corpse.

“Get out of the way, everyone disperse. Black Water Gang is handling business!”

The commotion outside reached them, and the girl turned to look at the alley entrance.