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Residence of Monsters - Volume 4 - Chapter 8

Published at 27th of January 2020 02:33:59 PM


Chapter 8

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The Contracts operated on their own, slipping into the empty rooms.

Byriel stuck his fine needles into the doors; Dongya opened the windows, leaving an aperture for ventilation so that a slight breeze could flow through unhindered; Zhong Xian tied a thread around the corners of the table, receiving various seismic waves.

Ivan, Igor, Kaido, Zong Yu and Tan Hua snuck into the rooms quietly, searching for the Green Lion’s cufflink as well as recording the room numbers of these people.

Feng Ping Lan, Su Li Wan, Liu Yi Chen as well as Yerde were in charge of patrolling outside, just in case.

Quetzal controlled his shadows, probing out any demonic auras as he seized each one of the fluctuations left behind by his incantations, concealing them, not leaving a single trace behind.

Byriel stepped into one of the double rooms and saw the green cufflink placed on the low table beside the bed.

He whistled as he approached, picking up the cufflink, scrutinizing it through the illumination from the windows. The green lion reflected the lighting coming from outside the room, letting out a gentle luster.

He returned the cufflink back in its place, turning, heading towards the luggage next to the bed.

The leather suitcase was locked, with a spell placed on it.

Byriel raised his eyebrows.

Aiyaya, it seemed that he had caught a big fish…

He reached out his finger, flicking it down, a slender golden needle appearing on his fingertip. He squatted, poking the needle into the keyhole of the leather suitcase, then let go of his hand.

The leather suitcase let out a tiny, twisting gear-like sound, and the lock sprung open at last.

“Let’s see the secret hidden in here.”

He reached out to open the leather suitcase, but halfway through opening it, he was pressed down by an unidentifiable heavy force.

Byriel vigilantly shot out an offensive spell, at the same time opening up a defensive shield, but it was to no avail.

A pair of hands sprang out suddenly from the back, one hand hooking his throat, another clamped on his scapula. The ten fingers were as powerful as a lock, making Byriel stifle.

In the next moment, his calves were given a kick, the force on his throat and shoulder pressing down onto the ground. With his center of gravity breached, and his crucial parts controlled, Byriel knelt to the ground, hands suppressed in reverse position.

He turned to look at his assailant. To his surprise, the enemy putting pressure above him had gentle facial features, a courteous smile on his face.

“Good evening.” Byriel returned a frivolous smile, “I’m not used to being on the bottom, and I am even more unused to being under a man. If you don’t mind, why don’t we switch positions?”

“Are you Miss Liu’s friend?” The man asked politely, as if this was a careless greeting of a chance encounter at night. 

Byriel raised his eyebrows, “You’re that Young Master Kiyohara?”

“Yes.” Kiyohara’s smile deepened a little more, “It looks like you are indeed Miss Liu’s friend.” Yet his hand did not show any indication of letting go.

“I didn’t know this was your room, sorry.”

“No, I know that you are carrying out your mission.”

“Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared, why aren’t you letting go?”

Kiyohara tilted his head, staring at Byriel with a smile, “Perhaps, because I am a vile person.” He increased the force on his throat, “Perhaps, I like to damage beautiful things…”

Byriel smiled in turn, “What a horrible interest.”

Although he was smiling, he had already entered his guarded state, prepared to launch a violent attack at any time, even though he might set off the enemy by releasing an intense burst of demonic aura.

This guy was a formidable one…

Kiyohara smiled faintly once more, then let go.

“Just a joke.” He reached out to assist Byriel, pulling him up, “My friend tells me I have no sense of humor. So I’ll occasionally find an opportunity to temper myself.”

Byriel looked at Kiyohara with slight astonishment, and after verifying that he was serious, let out a laugh.

“You’re quite an interesting person.” Humans, a species that was hard to make sense of.

“Do you need any help?” Kiyohara asked sincerely.

“No need, thanks.” Byriel touched his neck, preparing to leave.

“I wish you all the best.”

Just as Byriel was about to exit the room, he suddenly halted his footsteps.

“Right, I wanted to ask you a question.” He turned his head, asking smilingly, “…Where is your demon?”

Kiyohara laughed lightly, as if he had just heard something amusing.

“I don’t have a Contract.” He smiled, “I am just a simple clergyman.”

*

About forty minutes later, all of them retreated, returning to their room.

They had found cufflinks in thirty-two rooms in total, Feng Ping Lan immediately marked them on the photocopy of the guest list.

Byriel did not speak of what had happened earlier, just looking at Liu Yi Chen with a pondering look.

“What?”

“You seem to be particularly attractive to strange people.”

“I don’t want to be criticized by a guy with no ethics like you!”

“You’re wrong, that was a compliment, hehehe.”

With the barriers and spells cast, they all stayed within the room, silently waiting for a piece of news.

What came first was the scattered conversations, some with the waiters, others on the phone. Starting from about eight o’clock, the conversations sent back increased, the topic of their conversations also carrying various types of strange topics. Some contained the gossip between intimate friends, others the non-public information of a business, there were also mere complaints and denouncements.

There was also a guy who had summoned a call girl to his room, as well as a few others who had brought their mistresses to the assembly without their wives’ knowing. Not a few minutes before those few rooms started transmitting, subtle gasps and whispering entered the broadcast, then was cut off by Dongya. Simo was intoxicated in her listening.

From the whispered conversations, the identities of those guests were exposed one after another. A common tourist, a company’s director, a political figure, a high-level corporation manager, an aristocrat’s descendant, a squire of an influential family, etc.

Quite a few mentioned the party the next night in their conversations, most of them shown to be looking forward to it, as well as their thirst for its benefits. There was an occasional one or two people who mentioned the members who had died in the accidents, their tone carrying a gloating note to it, seemingly glad about losing a few competitors.

Feng Ping Lan listened to the contents of these conversations, noting down the information on the roll of names. But at present, there was still no news related to any of the cases.

As time elapsed, the conversations gradually died down. When night came, there was only the occasional snoring to be heard.

“We worked for a whole day, only to gain this sort of information?” Morris was a little jittery.

“It feels as if they have nothing to do with this case…”

“Could it be that the murderer isn’t participating in this assembly?”

They continued to wait.

When morning came, the Contracts were still awake, but the rest were already lethargic. Igor slept against Ivan, Liu Yi Chen having drunk a few cups of coffee to stay awake. Feng Ping Lan tried his best to stay awake, but had repeatedly yawned many times, continuously hovering between his dreams and reality.

Zong Yu sat by the tea table, doodling leisurely in his sketchbook to kill time. But as the night became even deeper, the sound of his pencil strokes gradually turned weak.

Su Li Wan had fallen asleep against the walls. Zhong Xian sat before the windows, a distance away from Su Li Wan, guarding, waiting, seemingly avoiding her on purpose, indifferent and heartless.

The night wind entering autumn was chilly, brushing in from the windows, lifting Zhong Xian’s slender hair slightly, his snow-white silk sleeves also drifting through the wind.

Just as the rising sun was about to rise from the east, Quetzal, who had been sitting silently by a corner, suddenly changed his expression.

“A demonic power’s fluctuation…” He said lowly, “It’s a foreign aura.”

The shadows covering their entire inn had captured a demonic aura who had appeared in a flash, just like a flame that had flashed past in the darkness, quick and conspicuous, but because it had vanished suddenly, it was hard for anyone to tell its exact location.

“Could that be Kiyohara’s Contract?” Feng Ping Lan guessed.

“That guy’s a clergyman, he doesn’t have a Contract.” Byriel replied.

“How did you know that?” Dongya was curious.

Byriel smiled wryly, “By exchanging the information with my body.”

“Can we find its location?”

“I can only know its approximate direction…” The opponent was considerably crafty, and also considerably cautious.

“Could they have discovered the barrier we put up?” Feng Ping Lan was worried.

“Not necessarily.” Liu Yi Chen explained, “Quite a few of the members of the Green Lion are linked to Summoners. They must know this, so they will be especially cautious.”

“Daring to provoke whilst knowing that they’re linked to the Association, it looks like our opponent isn’t very intelligent,” Conglong said disdainfully.

“Because they know, as long as there is something to be profited from, these people can change their minds, becoming turncoats at any time.” Ivan replied with contempt, “To these bigwigs, the Summoners, demons or Opposers are all the same, they don’t care about their identities.”

“Being a Summoner’s Contract and also having to endure the foul atmosphere, how unlucky.” Conglong shook his head.

“Aren’t you a Contract as well?” Ivan asked instead.

Morris glared at Conglong.

“Let’s go and take a look.” Feng Ping Lan stood up, stretching, “Who knows, we might find a few clues.”

*

Under Quetzal’s lead, they hunted all the way to the public baths.

The public baths opened at five in the morning, located at a short mound on higher terrain. The outdoor public baths had an extensive field of view, where a few guests would come by early morning to take a bath whilst enjoying the rising sun.

The moment Quetzal stepped into the public baths, he could smell the faint smell of blood.

He stared at the surface of black stones outside the public baths, walking a few steps forward. On one of those slabs, he found specks of blood on them.

The others had also discovered a few scratch marks on the juniper wood baths, looking like the marks left behind from a struggle.

“Looks like a victim has appeared.” Byriel smiled lightly, “We are quite lucky. We can now be sure that the murderer is present.”

“If the murderer has already acted, this means they will replace the victim’s identity. Not only do we not know who the victim is, but it will also be much more difficult to find the demon.” Liu Yi Chen was thinking hard.

“Moreover, we’re not sure if they have already left.”

“They’ll have to stay behind.” Feng Ping Lan spoke, “It’s an identity they’ve purposely replaced, if they don’t stay behind to participate in this activity, it’ll bring suspicion upon them.”

Indeed.

“If that is so, that person will be sure to attend the night party.” Dongya spoke, “We can act during the banquet, investigating each one of the guests’ identities.”

“Do we use a manifestation spell?” Su Li Wan suggested.

“That method can quickly differentiate between demon and human, but we’ll be discovered while carrying out the spell. We can’t alert the enemy.” Liu Yi Chen vetoed.

“If we extracted their blood, I can immediately identify them as human or demon. Heeheehee…” Zong Yu smiled.

“Or, we could encircle the banquet hall in a stabilized barrier, this way all the spells we put to use will be absorbed by the barrier and avoid getting us discovered.”

“That isn’t easy to achieve, and besides, if that person enters the banquet hall while we’re placing the foundation, it’ll be broken.”

“How about directly launching an attack on every guest?” Morris rolled up his sleeves, “The one who can receive my blows is the demon, the rest are human.”

“An exceedingly obvious method, as simple and understandable as your brain. But before we find the demon, we’ll be seized by the human police.”

“Perhaps we don’t need to confine it to tonight, we can place a tracking spell on each of the guests. It isn’t easily identifiable, and we can proceed with our observations.”

“Then what happens to the victim? Besides, under that scope of restrictions, we won’t be able to trace them once they leave the Kansai region.”

Feng Ping Lan listened to his companions’ each and every word, discussing the various profound spells and demonic techniques, not a single one of them which he understood. He worshiped them exceedingly, desired very much to enter the conversation, but was also incredibly perplexed.

“Um, I’m sorry, our current goal is to know the victim’s identity, right?” Feng Ping Lan cut in to ask.

“Are you still awake?” Conglong rolled his eyes at him.

“In that case, we have the victim’s blood.” Feng Ping Lan pointed at those specks of blood, “We should be able to collect them for a DNA inspection.”

Everyone froze, especially the Contracts.

“It’s not wrong, the Association has an exclusive inspection center.” Liu Yi Chen spoke, “But if we send them to be inspected by the Association, it’ll take at least three days to receive the results.”

They were used to the demons’ power and incantations, used to these overly useful tools, they had forgotten the ways to solve a problem without relying on a demon.

“According to the records, the murderer will flay off their skin, placing it on their face instead. This means there will definitely be blood on his face.”

“So?”

Feng Ping Lan cracked into a smile, saying excitedly, “If that’s so, I have an idea…”

*

The banquet would start at seven in the evening.

Four hours before it began, the site would be closed off for the preparations. Since the participants were all important VIPs, affecting future business prospects, everyone in the hotel was prepared to face the challenge.

When the furnishings and utensils within the site were all completed, a group of staff members in work clothes suddenly arrived, claiming to be the specialized decoration team hired by the organizers of the banquet to do the final decorations. The supervisor agreed abnormally readily, and withdrew all the other personnel so these professionals could work in peace.

No one knew where they had come from, but no one questioned it closely, as if their appearance here was to be expected. 

When the decoration team left, there was absolutely no discrepancies between the banquet hall to before.

No one could see any traces left behind by them, no one remembered they had ever come.

*

At six-thirty in the evening, the VIPs arrived one after another.

Due to the special statuses of those attending, the organizer had specially requested for the banquet’s surroundings to be controlled, to prohibit any unconnected people from approaching. As such, the banquet hall was arranged at a building a little further away from the inn, the entire storied building completely emptied out that night, with only the banquet operating. All surrounding passages were guarded by security, with only the servers and those wearing the Green Lion’s cufflink as well as those accompanying allowed in.

Liu Yi Chen had changed into a modified cheongsam, and, together with Kiyohara Kengyou, easily passed the watchman’s inspection.

When they stepped into the lounge, a few servers carrying silver trays and table cloth passed through in a hurry. The instance the two groups brushed past each other, Kiyohara Kengyou passed the cufflink to the other group without leaving a trace.

“May I ask, you are?” The security staff asked, looking at Dongya.

“This person is accompanying me.” Byriel replied unhurriedly, “I recall that we are allowed to bring a plus one, am I right?”

“All plus ones are limited to a partner.” The security guard explained, “If he isn’t a female companion, he’ll need to display his cufflink.”

“Oh,” Byriel curled his lips into a charming smile, “Privately, he is indeed my ‘female companion’, hehe…”

The security guard was a little awkward, but staunchly stuck to the rules, “The rules—”

A faint fragrance ambushed him, making the security guard zone out.

“May we go in now?” Byriel asked in a low voice.

“Oh, you may…” The security guard replied dully, turning his attention to the other VIPs waiting to be inspected, no longer bothering Byriel.

The two of them passed the security, heading towards the pathway entering the banquet hall.

“I didn’t really like your wording earlier.” Dongya said with veiled criticism.

“Just an excuse I spoke thoughtlessly.” Byriel smiled uncaringly, “Besides, with regards to your image, applying this excuse is quite persuasive.”

“I see.” Dongya lifted his lips into a gentle and soft smile, “Perhaps I may have to find the opportunity to straighten your mistaken perception…”

At another entrance, Morris, clad in work clothes, and Ivan, who wore a suit was mixing in with the security.

“There’s a problem with the chandeliers inside, we’ll need to fix them before the banquet officially starts.” Ivan glanced at his watch, rolling his eyes with all his might, “Heavens, I hope we’ll make it in time.”

“May I ask who you are? I’ve never received a notice.”

“The event planners.” Ivan humphed heavily, “If we could notify you beforehand, would it be called a mishap? Do you know how much has been spent on the decorations? A single negligence will cause the bigwigs inside to feel unhappy, if they blame us, I’ll be sure to offer you up!”

“My job is to ensure the guests’ safety.” The security guard replied solemnly, but he was hesitating slightly due to Ivan’s imperious attitude. He knew the countenance of those who were rich, and was also very clear that displaying utter loyalty to one’s job was not much of value in the eyes of those unreasonable employers.

Ivan rolled his eyes, “Do we look like evil-doers used to murder and arson? It’s fine if you want to continue wasting our time, I can slowly wait along with you.”

The security guard hesitated for a moment, considering a few methods of compromising, “I’ll have to inspect your toolbox, to ensure you aren’t carrying any weapons before you go in.”

Ivan laughed sharply, “Fine! Up to you!” Weapons? Hah, they were all weapons!

Morris placed the toolbox down, and the security guard opened the toolbox cautiously.

In the toolbox was a pair of gardening scissors, pliers, and a small shovel and a fertilizer syringe, as well as black aluminium wire used for landscaping and a sprinkler for watering plants.

The security guard froze, Ivan also freezing slightly.

“Isn’t this… A little wrong?” The security guard spoke with slight confusion.

Ivan hurriedly replied, “Shut your mouth, you amateurs don’t know how a professional works! Apart from repairs, we’ll need to pay attention to a sense of beauty. Now the chandelier has been broken, but a slight move might affect the situation as a whole, if there is a single thousandth colour aberration in the lighting after it’s repaired, all the decorations in the hall will have to be fine tuned! What do you understand about fashion? If we were really holding any detrimental thoughts toward the people inside, what’s the use of bringing these damn things? To shove fertilizer down their throats?”

The security guard rummaged through the toolbox. Although the things inside didn’t seem to be tools used for repairing conduit wiring, not a single one of them seemed like it could cause harm to the guests inside. At last he could only reluctantly let them in.

“Why did you bring a gardening toolbox?” The moment they stepped into the walkway, Ivan immediately turned to turned to question the person beside him.

“How was I able to distinguish them.” Morris furrowed his brows, “You only instructed me to bring a toolbox, that was the first thing I saw when I went to the warehouse, so I took it.”

“Couldn’t you just inspect them first?” If it was Igor, he wouldn’t make such a stupid mistake.

Morris picked his ears, “We got in anyway, didn’t we?”

“If we didn’t get in, we would have to use intimation spells. I’m not good at befuddling-type spells, I don’t want to attract the enemy’s attention…”

So as not to alert the enemy, everyone had decided to use the most low-level spells or demonic energy once they stepped into the hall. Although it would be much more energy-consuming, the entire sequence of processes had been going smoothly so far.

Simo had placed an intimation spell on the supervisor this afternoon, letting him place four servers on holiday, so that Feng Ping Lan, Su Li Wan, Simo and Igor could act as servers and patrol inside.

As time passed, more and more people arrived to the hall. The influential VIPs talked cheerfully and wittily amongst each other, undergoing their courteous and false communication, asking after one’s recent developments, deciding on which new friend to make amongst those who had risen abruptly to a flourishing position, switching out those worthless old partners. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The suspect was camouflaged very well, playing the role of the victim to perfect likeness, no one could see a single mistake in it.

Perhaps because no one present was dealing with each other sincerely, no one particularly noticed the abnormalities in the others.

“How strange, why are we short on liquor?”

A tiny commotion occurred in the food preparation area, an entire box of famous red wine had gone missing.

“The alcohol on the champagne tower are all gone too…” Another server rushed in to report.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re… drinking too quickly…” The server replied quietly.

“This crowd of drunkards, drinking heavily before the banquet even starts, rich men just don’t know the meaning of restraint.” The supervisor shook his head, instructing someone else to stock up and fill the vacancies.

The reporting server left, brushing shoulders with Byriel. “Exercise restraint, Simo…” Byriel muttered in reminder.

Simo protested quietly, “I’m already restraining myself…” Or else it wouldn’t be just a box of red wine and champagne tower gone.

*

At seven, the VIP hall was completely filled. At around seven twenty, all the VIPs were counted as present, the main entrance closing shut.

A middle-aged man with a glossy face stood on the platform, starting a slightly clichéd speech to express his thanks.

“Is that the Green Lion’s president?” Liu Yi Chen asked Kiyohara.

“No. He is only the person in charge of this particular activity. The president has never publicly shown his face in a big occasion like this, it is said that he only meets the confidential members.”

After a long moment, mellifluous music rang out. The VIPs led their partners by their hands, moving toward the empty floor in the center of the hall and starting to dance in pairs.

Kiyohara brought Liu Yi Chen among them. She originally wanted to refuse, but for the investigation, could only hold back the awkwardness in her heart.

Looking at Liu Yi Chen, Kiyohara praised, “You look very beautiful today.”

“Clothes make the man.” Liu Yi Chen replied casually as she observed the people present. She knew that she needn’t face these flattering words too seriously.

“I believe Miss Liu would look incredibly pretty even completely naked.” Kiyohara said seriously.

Liu Yi Chen froze slightly, turning back to look at Kiyohara.

“Is it unamusing?” Kiyohara gave a forced smile. “I truly apologize, I have never understood how to grasp the contents of a joke. I just wanted to alleviate the atmosphere a little.”

Liu Yi Chen stared at Kiyohara for a moment, then smiled.

“Do you mind switching partners?” Suddenly, an enchanting voice cut in.

The two people turned their heads to see Byriel with a casual and elegant smile, waiting for an answer.

Liu Yi Chen raised her eyebrows, glaring at Byriel. She did not want to dance with Kiyohara, nor did she want to dance with Byriel. It wasn’t that she was picky with her dance partners, but because she loathed social dances through and through.

“Uh, this…”

“Perhaps Miss Liu does not feel very convenient.” Kiyohara helped Liu Yi Chen turn his offer down politely.

“Oh, I was asking you.” Byriel took Kiyohara’s hand, asking Liu Yi Chen with a smile, “Will it feel inconvenient if I borrow your partner?”

“Oh, no! You’re extremely welcome!” Liu Yi Chen was anxious to offer him up with both hands, “Enjoy yourselves!” Saying this, she smiled gratefully at Byriel, turning to leave.

Gazing at Liu Yi Chen’s instantly disappearing back, Kiyohara smiled helplessly, “Does Miss Liu hate me?”

“Oh, I’ve never seen her like anyone.” Byriel smiled lightly, “She has her mission. So that you don’t feel dull, I came to accompany you.”

“Then, I’ll have to apologize for bothering you.” Kiyohara replied courteously, not having too many complaints about switching partners, “This is my first time dancing with a man.”

“I can accompany you to do many things, many things you can do for a first time with a man.”

“For example?”

“Have you ever made a fondant cake before?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll be the first man to make a fondant cake with you.” Byriel smiled suggestively, “But, I’ll only be responsible for eating it.”

Kiyohara stared blankly for a second, then smiled faintly, “You’re very interesting.” He paused slightly, then spoke, “May I ask for your name? Whose Contract are you?”

Byriel lifted his lips into a smile, “I don’t belong to anyone.”

*

After leaving Kiyohara, Liu Yi Chen headed to the women’s restroom to change into portable clothes, meeting up with her companions in the fore court drawing room.

“I’ve checked the guest list, everyone’s present.” Ivan reported.

“Zhong Xian and I have placed a binding thread barrier around the entire inn. Currently, no one has left.” Su Li Wan spoke.

“The manpower outside are also in position. They’ll move the moment we see the target.” Simo answered.

“Very good.” Feng Ping Lan nodded, “Everyone get back into the hall in preparation, remember the characteristics I mentioned.”

“Are you sure there isn’t a problem with your plan?” Ivan felt a little uneasy.

“Chemistry won’t fool anyone.”

When his companions had exited, Feng Ping Lan waited for two minutes, then, with an excited and anticipating heart, placed his hand on the switch of the lighting board operator.

“It’s showtime.”

He pressed the switch. The lights within the hall instantly went out, with only the dim flames of the candles used in the decorations lit, reflecting their hazy silhouettes.

“Is it a blackout?” A few VIPs felt suspicious about this sudden change.

But the music was still playing on.

“Was this arranged?”

Just as the lights went out, a slight breeze brushed gently over, carrying a faint calming fragrance with it, as well as a thin moist fog.

Byriel’s Confounding Incense calmed the guests on the scene, keeping the place from turning into chaos due to their panic.

Su Li Wan, Liu Yi Chen and Ivan held a gigantic spray gun, pressing down violently, spurting out a big cloud of mist.

Dongya summoned a slight wind to quickly scatter the fragrance, also carrying the mist to every corner, evenly distributing them on everyone’s bodies.

From the blackout to the rising of the wind, not even a second had passed, the people within the hall immediately saw their target.

Byriel stared at the person in the center of the hall, his lips hooking up, “Found him.” He controlled the wind, waving at Kiyohara, “See ya.”

In the dusky room, every VIP had been shrouded in a dark and gloomy shadow. Only one person was shining a radiance brighter than the candles.

That person’s entire face was emitting an eye-catching fluorescent blue.

That was the colour of guilt. The murderer’s mark.

The lights quickly lit up again, the brightly fluorescent blues also vanishing, but the Summoners had already verified their target.

The marked brown-haired man was still out of the loop, but the man beside him seemed to have realized what had occurred, pulling him out the hall and bumping into various people on the way.

“The target is escaping from the East entrance! Group 2, prepare for battle!”

The moment the two rushed out of the hall, stepping into the drawing-room, Zhong Xian’s steel net opened up in the air, closing down on them. A large knife instantaneously appeared in the brown-haired middle-aged guy’s hand, chopping the net into pieces.

Morris who had caught up leapt up, reaching out a sharp claw at him, slashing down a highly explosive attack down at them high up in the sky.

The brown-haired man pulled his accomplice to dodge the attack, his companion pulling out a remodeled gun from his chest, shooting consecutively at Morris and his comrades.

The bullets were blocked by the water barrier in the air. Conglong summoned water from lotus pond outside the hall, creating a wall screen. The bullets embedded into the water screen, halting for a second, before flowing to the ground through the water.

“What’s the fucking use of security checks!” Morris cursed lowly. “I’m filing a complaint to the security company!”

The brown-haired man glared at the newcomers, then widened his mouth. His face split open, revealing a blue-black skin underneath, what used to be the position of his mouth expanding continuously, till the border of his ears, revealing a big deep red gumless mouth, as well as a fleshy purple tongue filled with circular warts. The purple tongue twisted and squirmed like a being with a consciousness of its own, extending out of the mouth.

Byriel was aware that something was not right, “Everyone dodge!”

Everyone immediately dodged.

At that crucial moment, the warts on the fleshy tongue exploded, spewing black juice. The juice had left behind a muddy vestige, looking seemingly harmless. But a few drops had hit the roadside, the entire section of plants instantly wilting, a small faintly pink bead appearing on the withered ground.

“That poison sucks out your vitality!”

A server was passing through, and seeing the sight before him, cried out in panic. Liu Yi Chen rushed forward, pushing the server down to one cover.

Simo and Byriel immediately put their illusions to use, causing an ordinary person to enter a dazed and sluggish state, also indicating for then to leave and enter the building, no longer approaching this area.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the demon’s foot instantly catabolized into insect feet covered in poisonous hairs, then, grabbing onto the man with him and treading on the ground with all his might, fled.

“Byriel and Simo stay behind to deal with the guests. The others chase after them!” Feng Ping Lan hurriedly instructed.

The demon had deliberately left the main road, planning on taking refuge in the night and taking advantage of the dark to escape. Yet, the moment he arrived in the darkness, that fluorescent blue light became the clearest target.

They tried to flee, but realized that the entire inn had been encircled by not just one layer of a gigantic barrier, linking various Contracts’ powerful incantations, rendering everyone within its borders unable to escape, even the skies enveloped by it.

“Damn it…” The demon stood under the eaves, cursing lowly as he looked at the barrier net in the air.

Swish!

An arrow broke through the air, hitting the demon’s back. The demon paused heavily, but still held back the pain with clenched teeth, carrying the man.

“Get out from the sky!” The man ordered.

“But…”

“Hurry!”

Ire appeared in the demon’s eyes, but could not disobey.

He closed his eyes, two ugly meaty wings expanding instantaneously on his back, then opened his eyes, flying in the air with the man in his arms.

When they reached the barrier, sparks burst forth, but as the demon was confined to his orders, could only endure the pain and crash into it doggedly. At the same time, there were another two arrows hitting his foot and arm.

The man took out his gun, taking out another batch of bullets, firstly shooting once at the source of the arrows to scare them off, then opening fire at the barrier several times.

“Is that guy an idiot? A human’s physical attack won’t cause any damage to the barrier.” In the distance, Ivan looked at the movement in the air.

But unexpectedly, through the bullets’ attacks, a crack had appeared on the barrier.

The moment the gun shot its last bullet, the barrier was pierced through. With those abnormal attacks hitting the barrier, its base structure started to turn into a disorder, following which its entirety disintegrated.

But simultaneously, a flash of lighting arose in the air, the electric light striking straight down on those two with a clap.

“Do not crush them! Leave them alive!” Yerde called out, rushing in hurriedly.

The lightning changed directions just as it was about to strike the two of them, shooting towards the stone lantern on the ground, the stone lantern immediately bursting into fragments.

The two people in mid-air was about to flee when a monster-like shadow rose up taciturnly. The cool light of two blades flashed past, chopping off the demon’s wings.

“Ah—”

A human and a demon started the fall, the demon attempting to make his final struggle, widening his mouth and reaching out his tongue, the warts on his tongue swelling into ten times their original size, like a bunch of plentiful grapes.

If those poisonous warts could be shot through the air, the scope of its effect would be no trifling matter.

“Careful!”

Before the warts could explode, Quetzal descended by treading on his shadows, lightly brandishing the blade in his right hand and cutting off the root of the thick blue-black tongue.

Seemingly in one go, the moment the tongue fell out of the mouth, Quetzal’s left sword immediately pierced through it, the cut tongue stuck on the tip of the blade.

An ear-piercing wail rang out.

Just before the human and demon dropped to the ground, a red-and-white rope net emerged out of thin air, receiving the both of them and quickly binding them together.

The two people in the net tried to struggle free, but the incantation upon the rope became tighter the more they struggled, completely unable to break free. When they saw the Summoners and Contracts that had assembled, they were thoroughly reconciled to their failure.

“Why… was I seen through…” The demon questioned dully. Because of his tongue being cut off, his words were a little indistinct, his voice being transferred from his throat. “What sort of curse is this…?” To summon such a conspicuous and insolent light, why was there not a single spell fluctuation?

“We sprayed this before the blackout.” Feng Ping Lan held up the spray gun, “This is diluted luminol, also known to be photosensitive, it will let out a blue fluorescence when making contact with blood. It’s taught in every chemistry class.” It seemed that the Summoner and demon did not have much knowledge of chemistry, nor did they watch much television.

The skin on the demon’s face had been pretty much ruined, but there was still a thin radiance on the remnants of his face.

The demon and contracts in the net stared blankly.

“What do we do next?” Feng Ping Lan asked Yerde. They thought their only opponent was a demon, but a human had emerged to their surprise.

“This demon has yet to be registered in the Association’s archives.” Yerde looked at the demon and the man beside him, “They are Opposers, they must be handed over to the Association for punishment. I will contact the person in charge of the local branch to transport them.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about this old brother’s goal?” Morris spared the two people on the ground a glance.

“The interrogation shall be left to the Association, thy mission is now complete.”

Yerde and Liu Yi Chen remained, transporting the demon and the Opposer to a corner, sealing them in one of the rock gardens, then contacting the Association.

The others found the face’s original owner in a car, the top gun of New York’s estate business, Burns. His face was wrapped in bandages, oozing blood and put under a spell, as silent and motionless as a doll.

“Although he’s alive, his face should be unrecoverable…” Su Li Wan muttered in sympathy.

“Not necessarily.” Zong Yu spoke.

They turned, realizing that in his hands was the ruined skin he had collected from the demon’s face.

“Could you not be so disgusting?” Ivan wrinkled his brow, reprimanding.

Zong Yu shrugged, “Although it’s damaged, it’s still preserved very well…” He held that piece of skin, fiddling and sizing it up as if he was appreciating a piece of antique.

“By ‘not necessarily’, what do you mean?” Conglong was curious.

“The demon secreted a sort of mucus that coated the internal tissues of the skin. When it was stuck onto his face, the mucus could draw out nutrients from the disguiser to provide the skin, so that its tissues would maintain its freshness and prevent it from decaying…”

“So…”

“If I repair it a little, I can fix it back in…”

Zong Yu squatted, taking out a few fine scissors and awls from the waist pack he carried on his person, pricking and stitching the face’s skin. That image was considerably astonishing, some of them could no longer bear to see it, turning their heads the other way.

 Then, Zong Yu unraveled Burn’s bandages, the intake of breaths and retching sounds ringing out.

He took out a small jar, opening it, sprinkling some light yellow powder on that badly mangled face, placing down the skin.

Then, he took out another little jar, using a tubule writing brush to dip in the green liquid in the jar, drawing densely packed symbols on his hairline, chin, mouth, and wing of the nose. Lastly, he picked up his bandage, wrapping it carelessly around Burn’s face.

“That’s it?” Conglong was a disbelieving.

Zong Yu nodded.

“Xiao Yu-er is really amazing!” Feng Ping Lan clapped as he sighed in praise, “I thought you only knew how to dismember corpses! Haha!”

“To tear something down, you’ll also have to know how to assemble, a person who only knows one type is a space alien… Heehee…”

“The Association’s people will be arriving in thirty minutes.” Liu Yi Chen rushed into the drawing room to report, “We’ll let Yerde deal with them. They’ll make things deliberately difficult for us if we remain, we’d better leave quickly.”

“Why?” Feng Ping Lan was puzzled.

“Because they want to take the credit.” Liu Yi Chen humphed in disdain, “The Association’s protection team hates bounty hunters the most, that makes them seem useless, and adding the fact that we’re students, they might become especially annoyed.”

“It’s that urgent?” Ivan was a little displeased, “I haven’t rested enough!”

“You can stay behind, we’ll be going back first.” Byriel replied with a smile.

Quetzal and the others also wanted to leave, they did not want to make too much contact with the people of the Association, in case they attracted attention.

“You’re not allowed to make me an outcast!”

With that, the group of people immediately returned to their room to collect their belongings, hurriedly checking out within fifteen minutes, withdrawing quickly.

Kiyohara very kindly called for a vehicle, even arranging a temporary hotel for them.

Before they left, Kiyohara sent them out from outside the inn with exceedingly good faith.

Everyone deliberately sent out Liu Yi Chen as a representative to bid Kiyohara farewell, then joyfully hid in the vehicle to watch the show.

“The performance all of you made here was incredibly remarkable, much more outstanding than an average Summoner, I admire you very deeply.”

“Mm, thanks.”

“Will I be able to request another meeting with you in the future?” Kiyohara asked mildly, “I wish to understand you more.”

“We’ll see…” Liu Yi Chen replied awkwardly, casually changing the subject, “Are you… staying behind?”

Kiyohara smiled, “I still have some matters to handle. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

“…Are they going to exchange a farewell kiss?” The sound of breathy discussion transferred from the vehicle. Although it was apparent that it had been deliberately lowered, it was still pretty clear in the tranquil night.

“Shh!”

The people outside the vehicle felt a bout of awkwardness.

“The people from the Association are arriving soon, I need to go.” Liu Yi Chen spoke.

Kiyohara smiled gently, sending them away.

Not long after Feng Ping Lan’s group left, the Association’s people arrived.

They entered the building quietly, transporting away a gigantic piece of rock of the landscape, supporting a person with bandages around his face into the car, then left immediately.

Although no one noticed them, no one paid it to mind. The other party was like the pebbles and trees by the roadside, nothing worth paying attention to.

By the time the uninvited guests had left, no one could remember who had come.





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