Chapter 185 Chapter 185: "Silent Night Corpses"
Chapter 185: "Silent Night Corpses"
"It's him."
The cultist who had once been an undercover police officer instantly locked onto Kevin, who stood out like a crane among chickens amidst the five great beauties.
He was the one their superiors had instructed to give special attention to.
Whether it was people from the Celestial Master's Mansion or his own superiors, everyone treated him with courtesy. His status was definitely not low.
"Sir, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to come with us."
Frankie put on a gentlemanly smile, but his actions were impatient.
He charged straight at Kevin, and numerous Deep Sea cultists swarmed forward. After all, they were just a few women; how strong could that man be?
Could he take on ten of them?
...
"To withstand two strikes of Thunder Arts head-on, these guys are truly insane."
The lazy Taoist complained, shaking his numb left hand. These two guys had gone mad covering the retreat; even charred to a crisp, they could still block them.
Just as he was about to lead his men past these two lumps of charcoal, he was unexpectedly called to a halt as soon as he took a step.
"Hu Yi, where are the people?"
Celestial Master Li was sweating on his forehead.
He had just chased after another stronghold, never expecting the real big fish to be here.
"They ran, but I have people tailing them. We won't lose them."
He couldn't just let these two drugged-up fishmen run rampant and slaughter here.
"Where are they then?"
"Celestial Master Li, in that direction!"
Soon, an officer pointed it out for him.
"Then let's hurry... Wait, where is that? Are you sure?"
It couldn't be that coincidental, could it? Celestial Master Li still held a sliver of hope in his heart.
It was just that direction; they wouldn't necessarily run into that person. He shouldn't scare himself.
"Sure."
The officer scratched his head; this was the latest report from the walkie-talkie.
"One-Nine-One, One-Nine-One, this is Hole Nine. Target has entered Lane Fifty-Two, House Seven. Repeat..."
Right at that moment, the walkie-talkie on the officer's neck crackled to life again.
"Let's go, Old Li. If we're late and something happens... Hey, Old Li?"
Hu Yi was uncharacteristically serious but found his colleague standing rooted to the spot, lost in thought.
"It's already... too late."
Celestial Master Li murmured, his eyes vacant.
Lane Fifty-Two, House Seven... wasn't that where Kevin lived?
Moreover, there were also fragments of the Sui Beast... That place was...
"What's too late? Hurry up!"
"Go now to collect their corpses?"
"Old Li, what the Gou Wu profanity are you saying?"
Hu Yi looked at him incredulously, as if looking at a stranger.
Such cold words actually came from his mouth?
"Huh?"
"Collect whose corpses?! You damn..."
"The Deep Sea cultists' corpses? If we go now, they're probably already cold."
Celestial Master Li looked at him in surprise. Why had he suddenly become so angry mid-conversation?
The shift in topic was too abrupt. Hu Yi froze instantly, the curses that had almost reached his throat being swallowed back down.
The two of them stared at each other.
"Have you forgotten who lives there?"
"Who... Hiss."
Dead memories suddenly attacked him. Now that it was mentioned, the address did sound somewhat familiar.
Just as Hu Yi was pondering where exactly he had heard it before, Celestial Master Li beside him had already started giving orders.
"You there, yes you. Go help buy some apples from the night market."
"Why are you having someone buy fruit?"
Hu Yi, who usually immersed himself in Taoist cultivation and slacking off, asked in surprise.
"How can we visit someone empty-handed after disturbing them?"
Don't you understand social etiquette?
Celestial Master Li shook his head and gave his junior, who lacked proper respect for seniors, a look. The meaning was clear.
Learn from this.
...
Knock knock knock—
"Come in."
Unexpectedly, a woman's voice came from the outer courtyard.
Celestial Master Li and the others pushed the door open and saw a woman wearing a cyan-blue cheongsam with her dark hair loosely draped.
She glanced back at them. Her clear, cold beautiful eyes with a curved gleam under the moonlight naturally gave people a sense of distance.
"The Celestial Masters of Gou Wu only have this much ability now? Hah, letting people break into civilians' homes..."
She wasn't really blaming them; it was just her personality acting up, being sarcastic for a couple of sentences.
But lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest blade.
The two Celestial Masters who entered felt extremely awkward upon hearing this. This was an established fact, and the cause was indeed their negligence.
"Hahaha, Miss Xi, our prevention was inadequate. We truly allowed thieves to disturb you... A small token of our regard. Please accept it."
Celestial Master Li took out a bag of fruit he had prepared earlier.
Heaven bears witness; in the entire Yan nation, there simply isn't...
"A bit of fruit and you think you can bribe this lady? Fine then..."
Xi took the fruit from his hand and turned to walk towards the inner courtyard.
"Uh."
Celestial Master Li wanted to call her back; after all, they hadn't caught the people yet. But the words stuck in his throat.
"Remember to clean up properly. This lady permits you to destroy this painting—just this once."
She didn't look back. Only when she finally closed the inner courtyard door did she say meaningfully:
"As for the name of the painting... let's call it 'Silent Night Corpses'."
Creak—
The inner courtyard door closed completely, leaving only the two confused men pondering her earlier words.
"Painting? What painting? These people, why do they all like being so cryptic? Can't they just say it clearly?"
Hu Yi scratched his head somewhat vexedly; his dark circles looked quite deep.
"Hu Yi..."
Celestial Master Li tugged at his sleeve, his tone slightly astonished.
"Ah, what...?!"
He was annoyed. Cultivation and slacking off were better; he didn't have to deal with so many complicated matters.
But when he turned around and saw the "art" on the wall...
The evening breeze carried warmth, yet it still couldn't smooth the ripples in Hu Yi's heart. He shivered solidly, a chill suddenly arising.
It truly was a painting.
Drops of fresh blood splashed lively and agile traces on the wall, like ink wantonly wielded by a painter.
Corpses lay prostrate beneath the wall. Their eyes, still bewildered even in death, seemed to be worshipping this artwork made from themselves.
Were they... figures in the painting? Or viewers of the painting?
Looking at this extraordinarily eerie yet harmoniously beautiful "painting" under the moonlight, Hu Yi inexplicably had such a question arise in his heart.
"Sigh, after moving the corpses away, have someone clean this up. Do it thoroughly, preferably before tomorrow morning."
Celestial Master Li glanced at Frankie kneeling on the ground like the other cultists.
Facing death, he still maintained that human appearance.
Not because of some childish persistence, but because they simply never had the chance to undergo Seaborn transformation.
Almost on the same night, not only in Gou Wu City but also in major cities along rivers and coasts across Yan, cleansing operations began.
Especially in Lungmen, which bordered the sea.
That night, many police officers witnessed mysterious Black Raincoats moving through unknown corners.
Whenever they arrived at a scene, what they often found were only silent locations and several cold corpses that no one cared about.
And it wasn't just Yan; except for some landlocked countries, others more or less had Deep Sea cultists causing trouble.
The Deep Sea Church's wide-net style layout rarely succeeded but created an atmosphere of an impending storm.
Or perhaps their goal had already been achieved: planting a seed of panic in the hearts of the populace.
It was like—a precursor to a disaster rehearsal!
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