Chapter 107 (1): Ye Yun

"Who's there?!"

The four people in the room instantly sprang away in different directions, with each of them occupying a corner of the room, but they were met with complete silence.

"Is... Is someone onto us?"

They felt as if the chilly night winds outside were blowing straight down their spines.

"Take a look at what the paper says."

Li Mengyun put on a glove to avoid being poisoned, then removed her hairpin and injected her spirit power into it before using it to pry open the folded piece of paper.

Written upon it was a concise message: "Li Mengyun: Tonight at midnight, Night Demon will be appearing at... to receive a batch of cultivation resources."

The four of them exchanged a few apprehensive glances with one another.

"Who is this from?" Li Mengyun asked, her face pale with fear.

Her three guards were just as clueless as she was.

"What do they want? Are they telling us this because they want us to go kill Night Demon?" Li Mengyun speculated with tightly furrowed brows. "If they also want Night Demon dead, then why don't they go after him themselves?"

"Could this be a trap from the Protectionists?" Li Changbo suggested.

"Definitely not!"

Li Mengyun immediately ruled out the possibility.

"Whoever wrote this message knows my real name, and if the Protectionists were already onto us, they would apprehend us right here instead of dangling out some bait that we may or may not even take. This has to be someone from our side, and they're definitely familiar with us! There must be some reason why they can't kill Night Demon themselves, so they're trying to use us to get the job done."

Her three guards nodded in agreement with her assessment of the situation.

"As for why they're unable to kill Night Demon themselves, my guess is that they're also from the One Heart Church, but they're a high-ranking member who's in opposition against Yin Shengong.

“They know where Night Demon will show up tonight, and they want to use us to kill Yin Shengong's disciple for him! By killing Night Demon, they'll be ensuring that Yin Shengong has no heir, so when he's relieved of his duties as pope one way or another, that person will be able to swoop in and take over."

It had to be said that Li Mengyun's logic was very sound.

In any case, the important thing was that the sender of this message wanted Night Demon dead.

"There are far too many people who want Night Demon dead right now. Even though they're doing us a favor, it's still quite deplorable that they're blatantly using us like this," Li Mengyun said with a cold look in her eyes.

With all the deductions out of the way, the four of them began to weigh up their options.

"Should we go?"

"Of course!" Li Mengyun immediately replied. "However, we also have to take some necessary precautions. I say we go early and approach the location from four different directions so we can look out for one another. If Night Demon really does appear, then we go in and kill him as quickly as possible, then immediately leave! If it's a trap, then we leave without even showing ourselves."

"In that case, we should set off right away."

"Let's pack up all our belongings first. There's a very good chance we'll be leaving tonight."

With the plan decided, the three guards began to pack their things, while Li Mengyun stood at the window, looking out at the night sky.

I will avenge you tonight, Mengnan! I will bring Night Demon's head to your grave, and you'll finally be able to rest in peace!

As she stood in front of the window, she felt as if she could see her brother smiling at her in satisfaction and gratitude.

She reached out with an affectionate smile to stroke his face, only to be broken out of her trance by Li Changhe, who informed her that they were ready to go.

The affectionate smile on her face instantly turned to cold killing intent as she made her way out of the room, followed closely by her three guards.

***

Near a large courtyard that was surrounded by tall walls was a small alley, one that wasn't particularly well concealed.

It was essentially a trench that had been dug out between the homes of the wealthy for rainwater to flow through.

In neighborhoods like this one, the height of one's walls were considered to be a symbol of their status and wealth. This quickly devolved into a wall-measuring contest, and the walls progressively became taller and taller. As a result, the alleys between them were extremely dark and well-shaded.

At the entrance of the alley was a small path, on the other side of which was a bamboo forest.

There was still some unmelted snow and ice in the alley, and it was shimmering white under the light of the moon and the stars.

A hunch-backed old man wearing a ragged coat made his way unsteadily to the entrance of the alley. He seemed to have been a beggar, and there was a moderate-sized cloth pouch on his back.

Seemingly having grown weary of his journey, he sat down against the wall, trembling as his white hair fluttered in the chilly wind.

There was a hint of fear in his murky eyes, and he looked around with envy at the smoke billowing out of the nearby chimneys.

He tucked his hands up the sleeves of his ragged coat, then heaved a long sigh, his breath forming a long, white stream before him.

It was already close to midnight, and the winter chill showed no mercy on his frail old bones.

The old man curled up into a ball, doing his best to minimize his body's exposure to the unforgiving wind while rubbing his hands together and breathing onto them for warmth.

Despite the winter chill, he remained outside, exposing himself to the elements, seemingly waiting for something.

He took a quick glance at his surroundings, and only after he was certain that there were no threats in the surrounding area did he lower his head to wait.

Li Mengyun and her entourage were concealed nearby, and they were communicating with one another through their Five Spirit Parasites.

"That old man must be the guy the One Heart Church sent to deliver resources to Night Demon. His acting chops are certainly up to scratch!"

"For sure! If I wasn't made aware of who he was in advance, I would've truly thought he was just any old beggar."

"It's about to be midnight soon. Why has Night Demon still not shown up?"

"Let's keep waiting for a bit longer. In any case, we're leaving tonight. Even if Night Demon doesn't come, someone from the One Heart Church is clearly already aware of our presence in the White Cloud Prefecture, so we can't stay here any longer."

"Agreed."

"My spirit sense tells me that there don't appear to be any Protectionists lurking in ambush nearby."

***

As time passed, the wind only grew stronger and colder, howling like the collective wails of ten thousand ghosts.

The sound was particularly harrowing whenever the wind blew through the branches of a nearby tree, and all of a sudden, the temperature seemed to have abruptly dropped a little further.

A dark shadow appeared at the end of the long street.

Li Mengyun and her entourage immediately perked up.

Here he comes!

It was a short and stocky man with a thick beard, and even though he wasn't very tall, there was an imposing aura about him that gave him a towering presence.

Even though he wasn't displaying his cultivation base, it was clear from a single glance that he was not to be messed with.

As expected of Night Demon! What an imposing aura!

Li Mengyun and her entourage were here to kill Night Demon, but even they couldn't help but feel a little overawed by his presence.

As Night Demon made his way to the entrance of the alley, he paused momentarily, as if to examine if there were any dangers or threats nearby.

Li Mengyun and her guards immediately held their breaths and concealed their auras to the best of their abilities.

"Are you here to deliver me the stuff?" Night Demon asked.

"That's right."

"Didn't we agree to meet inside the alley?"

"It's not very clean in there," the old beggar explained in an ambiguous manner.

"Have you been waiting for long?"

"Not too long," the old beggar replied as he removed the cloth pouch from his back. "Here are..."

Right at this moment, a cold voice rang out, cutting off the old man mid-sentence.

"What an honor it is to finally meet you, Night Demon. Securing an audience with you has certainly been a tall order!"

Li Mengyun emerged from the darkness of the night, standing before Night Demon with unconcealed killing intent in her eyes, and her three guards also appeared in the alley, completely cutting off any path for retreat.

"This is the day that you die, Night Demon!" Li Mengyun spat through gritted teeth. "Remember the tens of thousands of lives that you took during the Parasite Ascension Project? All of them have been waiting day and night for you on the other side! It's time that you went to join them!"

Night Demon looked over Li Mengyun and her guards with a cold expression, following which a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face as he sneered, "I knew it was a trap."

He slowly drew his sword as he turned to the old beggar and continued, "You can come at me as well. It seems like this is where I fall."

The old beggar rose to his feet with a look of bewilderment and frustration in his eyes.

What the hell's going on? These four ants are here to ambush Night Demon? Where did they come from?! I thought they were from the Hall of Protectionists, but it seems like I was wrong.

Meanwhile, Fang Che was already messaging Obsidian through his Five Spirit Parasite.

"Well done, Obsidian! You've truly set an impressive trap for me! Even though you're far away in the main church, you've managed to successfully lure me out into a trap to have me killed! Bravo! Bravo!"

He then immediately messaged Yan Beihan as well.

"Incredibly helpful advice from you, Mistress Yan. I've come to meet with Obsidian's subordinate, and I've walked straight into a trap. You and Obsidian must've been working together all along to bring about my downfall!

“It's truly an honor to have the two foremost prodigies of the main church plotting against me at once! I have no one to blame but myself for my greed. I thought I could trust you, but I suppose I was already doomed from the moment that I let my guard down."

***

Fang Che knew that both Chen Yin and Yan Beihan had to have been waiting for updates on this meeting.

Hence, they had to have been eagerly awaiting messages, as opposed to going to bed or cultivating or anything like that.

Even if one of them were busy, the other one was definitely around.

Sure enough, Obsidian's response was immediate.

"What do you mean? There must be a misunderstanding!"

Fang Che didn't bother to send a reply.

Yan Beihan's shocked and enraged response came next.

"What?! An ambush? What's going on?"

Once again, Fang Che offered no response.

He merely looked on with a cold sneer at the approaching Li Mengyun, the sword in his hand buzzing with his spirit qi, and it was clear that he was preparing to make a final stand.

"Ye Yun! What the hell is happening on your end?!"

"I don't know, Young Master! Some people suddenly showed up to ambush Night Demon! They appeared right as Night Demon arrived, and there are four of them, all at the Emperor tier. One of them just mentioned the people that Night Demon killed during the Parasite Ascension Project, so they must be here for revenge."

It only took Chen Yin a brief moment to understand the situation.

He's using me, that sly bastard! I've never been used like this in my life!

A wry smile appeared on his face as he heaved a resigned sigh.

Even though he knew he was being used, he had no choice but to comply.