Chapter 73: The Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster
This short-haired Monastic had a higher level of cultivation than Xia Fei, and at the moment, he was also in the most advantageous spot of this room. Xia Fei would have to face his attack head-on first if he wished to escape through the dumbwaiter or the stairs.
If he decided to risk it all and jumped out the window, he would likely end up trapped by the hundreds of guards manning this place. There might even be control or speed ability users among the personnel, so the danger he would be in could be no lesser than facing this short-haired Monastic.
Without realizing it, Xia Fei had actually been forced into such a quandary, caught between a rock and hard place.
Suddenly, a slightly strange smile could be seen on his face. His finger furtively tapped his spatial ring and took something out.
There was a ma.s.sive change in the expression of the Monastic. Placing his two hands before his chest, he asked in his deep voice, “What’s that you’re holding there?”
Xia Fei flipped his palm over and let the short-haired man see what was in his hand.
“A golden cicada!” croaked the short-haired man.
He was, of course, familiar with a golden cicada’s prowess. A numbing sensation came over him as something buzzed in his ears. He had never thought that this Xia Fei would have such an unthinkable powerful killing machine.
“Using an ancient robot to kill a Monastic will only bring you endless trouble! I think you ought to think this through,” nervously said the short-haired man.
Xia Fei walked over to the sofa as if he were taking a stroll in the garden. Sitting down, he pulled out a box of Hongtaishan and lighter from his spatial ring, then lit the stick.
“You don’t have to be nervous. This golden cicada is only for precautionary purposes. I don’t intend to use this expensive thing on you. You must’ve spent many years working as an undercover agent by Old K’s side, right?” Xia Fei puffed a smoke circle as he leisurely spoke.
The short-haired man’s forehead creased. A minute before, he had been wondering how he should kill Xia Fei; now, he suddenly felt powerless. It was clear that a Xia Fei with a golden cicada was a lot more frightening than an apprentice Adjudicator Xia Fei. The tables had turned, and now, it was his turn to ponder on how he should deal with this situation.
“Two years and four months,” replied the short-haired man heavily.
“Heh… not bad. A mid-rank Monastic would actually work as an erstwhile pirate’s bodyguard for more than two years, all along pretending to be a fool. I believe Old K has got something you want… something you want to get at all costs; am I right?”
The short-haired man nodded, silent, not at all denying this.
Xia Fei scanned the room with his eyes as he talked. He recalled how Mountain Hawk had stepped out from a secret room behind the bookcase. If he was able to find the mechanism to open that door, he would have another layer of a.s.surance.
“Were it not for my unexpected appearance, I’m afraid you’d be working undercover until you got hold of what you wanted, then you’d move onto your next target. Unfortunately, my presence disrupted your plan. With Old K dead, your only option is to make your move now; otherwise, you’d waste the over two years of your time here.
“That’s why you killed that blond bodyguard on the spot and why you’re trying to kill me now; it’s all so you could ultimately take that thing with you,” a.n.a.lyzed Xia Fei even as he walked over to the bookcase, taking out a book and pretending to flip through it.
The short-haired man was still quiet. Xia Fei’s a.n.a.lysis was completely in line with his thoughts, so now all he could do was maintain the status quo.
Xia Fei’s existence was a huge threat to him. If he had the chance, he would most definitely not hesitate to kill Xia Fei, but he had a lot of misgivings if he could accomplish that with the golden cicada in the other’s hand.
“That’s also why you’re actually the one feeling the most anxious now and not me!” Xia Fei threw an icy gaze at the Monastic. “You don’t want others to discover your intention, so you don’t dare create too much of a disturbance.
“Besides, I won’t lose my life that easily.” Xia Fei purposely squeezed that golden cicada egg in his hand twice. “I have no idea why Mountain Hawk’s coming back, but I think you should deal with that fellow first; let’s discuss the matter between us after.”
The short-haired man was grinding his teeth as he made his way out of the door.
“Remember: You might not be able to kill me, but I could definitely kill you,” remarked Xia Fei very sinisterly, “unless you’re willing to stake your life on this. I dare guarantee that you’ll lose if you attempt to take that risk, though.”
The short-haired man was stunned for a good while before he pushed open the door and took the stairs down with a grim expression.
The door closed, and Xia Fei immediately began to search through the bookcase, hoping to find the mechanism.
At this time, Phantom appeared before Xia Fei from out of nowhere. “You’re in too much risk doing things this way. You should’ve killed that man then. His killing intent is so thick. He’ll most definitely not let you go, and all you’re doing now is temporarily postponing your death.”
Xia Fei sighed. “Do you think I don’t wish to kill him? Activating the golden cicada will take some time, and I can’t kill him with my present cultivation. What if he decides to duke it out with me to the death?”
Though amazingly powerful, he still needed thirty seconds to activate the golden cicada. If he were to show any attempt to take that short-haired Monastic’s life, the latter would most definitely do everything to take Xia Fei down. There were great risks in doing that, and it was not the best choice at the moment.
“He certainly knows about the golden cicada’s activation time. If I’m not mistaken, that man is unwilling to leave without obtaining what he wants, which is why we are in this delicate stalemate, with neither side wis.h.i.+ng to make the first move,” surmised Xia Fei.
Phantom nodded his head repeatedly. With regard to Xia Fei and the short-haired man’s stalemate, it was evidently better than both sides suffering heavy losses as a result of fighting. After all, neither man was a fool; they would not choose to face each other head-on unless as a last resort.
“Actually, it’s me who made a mistake earlier, and that guy only discovered where I was hiding because of that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come rus.h.i.+ng with his hands aiming for my face but would’ve gone straight for my throat, instead. There are several spots in this ma.s.sive room where someone can hide; he must’ve chosen a random spot, then made him move, resulting in me being deceived by his actions and my Breath Control to fail.” Xia Fei shook his head, apparently very dissatisfied with his miscalculation.
Phantom chuckled. “Breath Control won’t conceal just your body but the s.p.a.ce around you, too; otherwise, there’s no way you could’ve been discovered earlier.
“You can’t be blamed for this, either. Even I nearly lost my consciousness when he came charging toward you. Your decision-making and a.n.a.lytical ability over a situation are already pretty decent judging from how you reacted so quickly then.”
There was a thick, leather-bound old tome on the bookcase. The top half of it was smooth, an apparent result of being used often.
Xia Fei curiously reached out and pulled it lightly; all of a sudden, that row of bookcase parted in the middle to reveal a silver-colored, cylindrical elevator, which went to some unknown place.
Xia Fei thought about it and pulled the book again, and the bookcase swiftly melded into one again.
That was when the room’s door opened, and the Monastic returned with someone in tow.
This person was of course Mountain Hawk, who was now heavily and meticulously bound in countless thread-thin wires, every strand akin to fis.h.i.+ng wires; a rag was firmly stuffed into his mouth.
Throwing Mountain Hawk onto the sofa, the short-haired man turned to face Xia Fei. “We don’t have much time; let’s begin our discussion.”
Xia Fei nodded. “Let’s.”
“I only need just one thing, and everything else is yours, including that large spatial ring of Old K. We can leave immediately once we’re done dividing things between us and agree not to report this matter to our respective headquarters. Your thoughts?”
‘Not reporting to the headquarters? Looks like the Monastic headquarters has no idea that he’s hiding here in Old K’s. If that’s the case, I don’t have to worry about the Monastic Order finding out if I kill him.’ Xia Fei mulled on this.
Thinking up to that, Xia Fei smiled. “Alright, let’s do as you suggested.”
Phantom furrowed his brows. “Hey, for this person to forgo a twenty-cubic-meter spatial ring and only want that one thing, it clearly means that what he wants is way more valuable.”
Xia Fei consciously spoke with Phantom. “I know that. The fact that he’s been lying in wait here for over two years, just so he could get his hands on that thing shows how much he desires it. If I openly fight over it with him, who knows if he just chooses to duke it out with me? It’s best if we first look at this thing and decide if it’s worth the risk. No matter how great an item is, I still need to be alive to use it. It’s not worth it if I only end up losing my life just for that thing.”
Xia Fei had decided to avoid clas.h.i.+ng with the Monastic as much as possible, choosing instead to focus on safely extricating himself. However, if this item was worth more past a certain threshold, Xia Fei would see fit to risk his life for it.
The short-haired man walked into the bathroom and quickly returned to the room with Old K’s head and hand, leaving a trail of blood the whole way.
“You’ve already taken Old K’s ring?” asked the man.
Xia Fei nodded slightly.
“Inside is the collection he accrued over the decades. I believe that you’ll like what you find.”
Though he adopted a tone of nonchalance, Xia Fei still felt that there was something off about it, but he was momentarily unable to pinpoint what it was.
The man used Old K’s eyes and hand to open the safe, very carefully pulling out an exquisite metal case and a brown leather pouch from within.
Putting the two items on the table, the short-haired man proceeded to loosen the pouch and took out a black sphere.
The sphere was around the size of a billiard ball; it was crystal clear and would s.h.i.+ne when placed under the light. The room was suddenly filled with this eerie and gloomy sensation, making Xia Fei feel utterly discomforted.
“The Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster?!” cried Phantom, his expression changing drastically.
Xia Fei’s forehead wrinkled heavily, unsure why Phantom would be so agitated upon seeing the item.
“This is an ominous object! Even the golden cicada is ineffective against it! There’s no time to explain; get ready to run!” screamed Phantom in distress.
Xia Fei was taken aback. For this sphere to make Phantom this nervous clearly meant that it was something truly abnormal. He immediately gathered all his thoughts in preparation for dealing with the worst-case scenario.
The short-haired man palmed the black sphere as two flames ignited in his eyes. His expression turned manic as he reached out to open the metal box, and inside was a set of eighteen blood-red beads.
These blood-red beads were slightly smaller than the black sphere, and upon closer inspection, it was as if the liquid inside the beads was constantly flowing blood, a sight that could make anyone shudder.
The short-haired man paused for a moment as if he was very confused. He gingerly picked up one blood-red bead and placed it with that black sphere.
All of a sudden! It was as if Mountain Hawk, who was tied up like a dumpling, had gone mad, struggling recklessly and wanting to escape. The thin wires bit into his skin and cut into his veins, but he did not seem to care. His eyes were filled with despair.
“Quick quick quick!” urged Phantom frantically. “Escape, right now! NOW!”
Xia Fei did not hesitate and triggered the mechanism on the bookcase, revealing the elevator inside when it parted.
Xia Fei darted right in and reached out to push the close b.u.t.ton. He swept a final gaze at the bead and sphere from the corner of his eyes, and all he saw was that red bead glowing bit by bit until its blinding glare resembled a miniature sun, while that short-haired Monastic looked to be even more confused.
This escape elevator was designed for emergency use, so it would be lightning-quick when it came to either speed or operation. Only a second had pa.s.sed from the moment he opened the door to the elevator, and he turned around to shut it. After all, the top priority would be a quick escape in case of an emergency.
*KABOOM!*
A loud explosion could be heard, followed by the entire floor blowing apart!
The elevator shook violently before it began its unrestrained dive.
Xia Fei reckoned that the steel cable holding the elevator had snapped as a result of the explosion just then, which was why they were on a freefall now!
The smart elevator detected danger, and a large amount of foam shot out from a corner, which covered Xia Fei completely.
The white foam did not dissipate after this; instead, it morphed at a fast speed into something with great elasticity, making Xia Fei feel as if he was wrapped in a thick layer of cotton.
*BOOM!*
Some thirty seconds after, the elevator came to a forceful crash to the ground. This cylindrical elevator was made of rigid metallic alloy so it was abnormally st.u.r.dy. It did not cave in or even show dents after suffering such a heavy impact, remaining to be in good shape.
Xia Fei, who was wrapped in that elastic foam, did not suffer any injury, though the foam also cut off airflow to him, making him have difficulty breathing.
“This foam is specifically designed to ensure the pa.s.senger’s safety, so you don’t have to worry. “They will melt in a few more seconds, and you’ll be able to breathe again,” rea.s.sured Phantom.
Indeed, three seconds later, the foam melted into liquid and slowly slid down his legs.
The elevator was in freefall for over thirty seconds, so Xia Fei had no clue how many meters deep underground he was now. What had just occurred was a close shave. Had it not been for the advanced protection system of the elevator, Xia Fei might have been heavily injured or even died.
The interior of the elevator, which had lost its energy supply, turned pitch-black. Xia Fei turned on the light function on his microcomputer.
“Phantom, do you know why there’s been an explosion just then?” asked Xia Fei after heaving a sigh of relief.
Phantom was smiling happily. “That’s already the smallest explosion that can occur when the parent body Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster comes into contact with the descendant Eighteen Stars of Blood Grievance. I’m afraid that the mansion is no longer in existence.”
*Boom!*
Just as Phantom said those words, another big explosion occurred, and they could feel the elevator rocking intensely.
For him to feel the force of the explosion despite already being far from the site was a clear indication of just how powerful that blast had been.
Xia Fei did not dare to stay any longer; he used his Chasing Light to pry open the elevator doors and exited into his destination.
He realized that he was now in a large warehouse, with numerous ceiling lights illuminating the place.
After a quick sweep of the area, Xia Fei was pleasantly surprised.