Death

========================

Walking out of the corrupted zone, Jiang Cheng lifted her head and looked at the sky. It was already late, the moon hung among the branches, and a light drizzle was still coming down.

"You go back first,"

Jiang Cheng turned her head and, for the first time, looked straight at Ferran, speaking casually.

"This..."

Ferran hesitated and glanced at Lyle.

"Go on,"

Jiang Cheng said blandly, her tone brooking no argument.

"What happens next, I have something to do alone with the Hero. You'd just be in the way."

Seeing Jiang Cheng say this, Ferran could only nod, turn, and run off in the direction of his own home.

"Alright, he's finally gone."

Turning back, Jiang Cheng looked at Lyle and nodded.

"This..."

Lyle hesitated for a moment, looking at Jiang Cheng.

"At this hour, the Mechanist Association should already be closed, right?"

"Ha, isn't that perfect? Let's sneak into this so-called Association in the dead of night and steal whatever information we can get our hands on."

"Are you serious?"

Lyle was a little dazed. Breaking into a city management organization to steal things—even if spoken by a Saintess from the Temple of the Gods, it was still far too crazy.

"Of course... I'm joking,"

Jiang Cheng rolled her eyes.

"If only you could trust me this much when I ask you to do something for me."

She threw out this underhanded jab, then turned and headed toward the city center.

"What are you going to do?"

Lyle jogged after Jiang Cheng and asked.

"What for?"

Jiang Cheng thought to herself in exasperation.

Of course, she was going to find an item to shield her presence, to avoid being sniffed out again under another identity by this bloodhound.

Ever since Lyle had tracked her to the auction house to question her whereabouts, Jiang Cheng had received a letter from the auction house through the Spirit Realm the very next morning, notifying her that someone was looking into her as a courtesy to their members.

The second time she had acted as the Mentor, she had relied on the corrupted zone's miasma to cover her identity.

Though there wasn't much need for alternate identities in the immediate future, just in case, she had decided to buy an item that could conceal her aura.

But this, of course, couldn't be explained directly to Lyle—nor could she lie to him, as he'd find her out.

"Obviously, just out to take a walk and see if there's anything good to buy."

Jiang Cheng shrugged.

"The luxurious Adventurer City—heh, you can't experience this kind of nightlife in other cities, so may as well enjoy it."

"Then let me join you,"

Lyle caught up with Jiang Cheng and said. In this respect, he really was doing an excellent job of keeping an eye on her.

"Tsk,"

Jiang Cheng cursed silently. She really didn't want Lyle tagging along, as it would be a nuisance.

If her bionic clone, a product of early divine arts, weren't required elsewhere, she'd have left it here and gone off herself.

"Whatever," in the end, Jiang Cheng could only respond simply and head for the auction house.

"Hurry up—the auction's starting in five minutes. It's not like we're out on a date, so don't dawdle."

Glancing at the time, Jiang Cheng strode forward, tossing this over her shoulder.

............

"Tick, tick."

Raindrops pattered down on Ferran's head, finally gathering together and rolling off, drop by drop.

Ferran's hair, soaked by the rain, stuck to his forehead, but he paid no mind. He merely knelt dazed outside the house.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Footsteps approached from behind. Ferran picked up the knife on the ground and quickly looked back.

"It's you?"

But upon seeing who it was, Ferran was stunned.

"Was it you?"

Ferran gritted his teeth and demanded, raising the knife.

"Ha, of course not."

The figure stepped out of the shadows, moonlight illuminating the face beneath her hood.

It was Jiang Cheng—or rather, Jiang Cheng's bionic clone.

"Then what are you doing here?"

Ferran said through clenched teeth.

It was all her fault. She had insisted on making him the guide, and only then... had this happened.

"Ha, I really like that look on your face,"

Jiang Cheng said with a sweet smile.

"So, want revenge?"

"Boom!"

Thunder cracked suddenly.

That brief flash of lightning illuminated the wicked smile curled at the corner of Jiang Cheng's lips.

It also lit up what was in front of Ferran: a corpse.

As expected, it was Luan's corpse.

"Revenge?"

Ferran froze and looked at Jiang Cheng.

"That's right, revenge~"

Jiang Cheng's voice gradually rose.

Deliberately playing a part, she now seemed like a fervent evil cultist, luring someone into darkness.

"Sweet, joyful, burning revenge,"

Jiang Cheng continued to tempt.

"What the hell do you mean!"

Ferran shouted.

"Don't you want to know who the killer was? Don't you want to see the mastermind behind all this gone from this world? Think about your mentor—he was probably thinking, at the end, thank goodness you weren't caught along with him~"

Instead of answering, Jiang Cheng shot back with her own questions.

But these few short questions left Ferran in silence.

"Say it. What exactly do you want me to do?"

After a long while, Ferran finally spoke.

"Very simple. I'll give you a series of routes to take for your revenge. Follow my directions and you can easily complete it,"

Jiang Cheng said.

"But it'll be dangerous. Whether you want to go through with it, that's your own decision."

"And you just need to do one thing for me."

Jiang Cheng spoke plainly.

"What is it?"

"Your old trade~ Borrow something for me, will you? You can do that, can't you, little thief?"

Ferran paid no mind to her words dripping with sarcasm. In the end, he agreed.

"Fine, what do you want me to steal?"

"Here, take this. Where to leave what you steal and all the relevant intel is on this,"

Jiang Cheng casually tossed him a piece of white paper and turned to leave.

"......"

Ferran knelt where he was, staring blankly at the paper with the Mechanist Association's name as the target written on it, lost in thought.

That was an organization directly under the gods, established to manage the entire city. Was he really going to do it?

Just to avenge that old man?

That old man who needed him to support him, who would lecture him for stealing, who always said a scummy thief like him was unworthy of the title "adventurer"?

What a joke.

But...

Continuing to look back, he remembered, that old man had also taught him his trade from start to finish.

When he'd almost died trying to find his sister deep in the corrupted zone, it had been the old man who'd saved him.

He became Ferran's only relative after his sister's death—he, an orphan.

"Damn,"

After a long time, Ferran cursed and slapped himself in the face.

"You damn old fool."

He cursed, standing up, grabbing a shovel and digging a pit in the muddy, rain-soaked ground.

"You rotten old man, if I really die, you'd better kneel and kowtow to me in the afterlife, you bastard."

Cursing as he dug, as if the muddy earth was Luan's body.

"Screw it, I'll just do it. What's there to be afraid of? At worst, I'll let the old coot buy me a drink down below."

Settling the body gently into the pit, Ferran muttered to himself.

"Ha!"

............

"What are you smiling at?"

Lyle, beside her, looked over at Jiang Cheng, puzzled.

"Me~"

Jiang Cheng cocked her head and looked at the mirror.

Sure enough, she was grinning maniacally, looking every inch the lunatic.

"Ha, obviously I'm just too happy. That's why I'm smiling."

"Uh?"

Lyle didn't quite react.

"In a sense, doesn't this count as our first date?"

Jiang Cheng teased with a sweet smile.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn, they killed old man Luan...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】