Chapter 295: Gifts

“Danger!”

“Watch out!”

The moment the Sun charm’s violent pollution surged outward, while everyone else was still caught up in Yin-Yang Butterfly’s weeping and hadn’t registered what was happening, several figures appeared at Wei Xun’s side in an instant.

Yu Hehui and Tong Hege threw caution aside and poured pure spiritual energy directly into Wei Xun’s body. Dreamchaser and Black Widow moved to knock the Sun charm away. Zhang Xingcang, Mao Xiao Le, and Wang Yushu formed a triangular formation around the Weeping Medium’s group of three.

“How dare you?!”

Mao Xiao Le bellowed and drew his sword, slashing straight at the Weeping Medium’s head. At the same time, Wang Yushu swung a kick at Yin-Yang Butterfly? which failed to connect, because the man was clinging to Bing-1’s calf and sobbing so hard that Wang Yushu couldn’t budge him at all. But Yin-Yang Butterfly was small fry; the real threat in their eyes was the Weeping Medium and Pinocchio.

This was Latitude 30 Degrees pollution at its most extreme. Hadn’t they just watched Yi-3 Tour Guide Pinocchio disintegrate the moment he physically touched it for even a second, consumed by the Sun’s madness? How had the Butcher Alliance dared to smuggle it over like this, how had they dared to put it directly into Bing-1’s hands?

Bing-1 might be, he might already be—

The Weeping Medium didn’t flinch. His gaze remained fixed on Bing-1, who stood holding the Sun charm. In that gaze was something like elated surprise, something like reverence, something like longing. He paid no attention to the sword arcing toward his neck, because he already knew—

Clang!

A sharp, ringing snap. The sword Mao Xiao Le had swung at the Weeping Medium’s neck met something like striking solid steel; no, not steel. It was blazing sunlight. A trace of Sun pollution had coiled at the Weeping Medium’s neck like a fire serpent; now it blazed to life like a bursting solar flare, directly contaminating Mao Xiao Le’s sword and reducing it to scrap.

Everyone who witnessed it felt their pupils contract. The shock that ran through them was no less than what they’d felt when they first sensed the pure Abyss aura on Bing-1, or when they saw the Weeping Medium produce the Sun charm.

The Puppeteer was a madman; the Weeping Medium, who handled all affairs on his behalf, was an even greater one. Not just anyone who, as a low-ranked Tour Guide, had accidentally blundered into a gathering of powerhouses in a mismatched suit could walk out alive.

There were many private rumors about what had happened back then. The most widely circulated version was that when the Weeping Medium had found himself in mortal danger, the Puppeteer, attending the same gathering in disguise, had passed by, found him interesting, and paused. The half-dead Weeping Medium had begged him for help, and the Puppeteer, cold and indifferent, had offered him a choice in the extremity of his peril.

If he could bear the Sun’s madness without losing his mind, he would be given the Puppeteer’s protection.

And from that had come the Yi-1 Tour Guide, the Weeping Medium; the most loyal figure the Butcher Alliance had ever produced.

There were parts of the legend that didn’t hold up to scrutiny; how could a Tour Guide of such low standing at the time have possibly borne the weight of the Sun’s madness? But whatever the truth, the Weeping Medium carried a sun-shaped mark at the back of his neck, with the Sun’s pollution nested inside it.

When the Puppeteer or one of his puppets appeared alongside the Weeping Medium, the Sun’s pollution would activate, making the Weeping Medium stronger while also protecting him.

But the Puppeteer had been deep inside the Inca Sun Gate for years, and the sun mark at the Weeping Medium’s neck had not lit up since.

Until now. The Sun’s pollution had returned.

Countless thoughts churned in everyone’s minds, a chain of clues stringing themselves together. The aura on Bing-1. The Sun charm he had caught and now held. The word Yin-Yang Butterfly had murmured when he dropped to his knees — my lord. And now, most critically of all:

The sun mark at the Weeping Medium’s neck had reawakened.

“Who… are you, exactly?”

Dreamchaser couldn’t hold it back. He asked what was deepest in everyone’s heart.

Who are you exactly?

Who is Bing-1, actually?

Are you the Puppeteer’s brother, the Puppeteer’s puppet, or are you… the Puppeteer himself?

Could it be? Could it really be?

The scene on the platform sent shockwaves through the live audience and the crowd in the virtual hall alike.

“You’re asking who I am…”

Under the weight of ten thousand eyes, in an atmosphere so taut it was nearly suffocating, Bing-1 only curved the corner of his mouth. That smile carried something faintly wicked about it.

His slender fingers moved to rest on his sunglasses, as if he might remove them in the next moment and reveal his true face. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Countless people held their breath without thinking, feeling certain that he was about to expose some fundamental truth about his identity.

At the same moment, the Puppet Master, who had confirmed the Sun charm was genuinely not in the Butcher Alliance and had come here at maximum speed, was concealed nearby under an A-class privilege, completely invisible, her expression frozen with extreme tension.

She had been meticulous; she had verified Bing-1’s identity countless times, confirmed he was not the Puppeteer’s puppet. But now she found herself doubting again.

The Puppeteer had never taken on an avatar form. At his level, a Tour Guide would absolutely have fragments, but no one knew what the Puppeteer’s fragments were, or where they were. The Puppeteer was genuinely inside the Inca Sun Gate. Bing-1 had never carried this kind of aura before. But his connection to the Sun charm was undeniable.

If Bing-1 truly was—

In the next instant a long bow appeared in her hands, ancient and stately, blazing gold. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Not a ripple of presence came from the Puppet Master; she was like a hunter who had dissolved entirely into the air.

There was no taking back a drawn arrow. Staying hidden was no longer possible regardless.

If Bing-1 truly was the Puppeteer’s fragment, then today she would shoot the sun from the sky.

The tension mounted. Every eye was on Bing-1. Those fingers in their black gloves moved like a hook, pulling at everyone’s focus.

And then, to everyone’s complete surprise, Bing-1 simply pushed his sunglasses up.

He knew perfectly well what everyone wanted to see. What they feared and longed for in equal measure. The whole business of removing sunglasses, putting on a red cloak.

None of it.

Wei Xun smiled and spoke.

“I am, of course, the Mutual Aid Alliance’s Vice President. Bing-1.”

“You really are…”

Dreamchaser started to say it reflexively, then registered what Bing-1 had actually said. Even knowing how urgent the situation was, Dreamchaser couldn’t entirely suppress the urge to laugh.

He couldn’t be the Puppeteer’s.

Dreamchaser thought, the tension in his nerves finally releasing by a fraction.

The Puppeteer wouldn’t be like this, wouldn’t tease people like this. This unrestrained, this at ease. As if wherever Bing-1 was, even dangerous situations would unexpectedly become something you could breathe in.

Though it did make you want to hit him.

Not only Dreamchaser; even Yu Hehui was gritting his teeth. Tong Hege simply poked Wei Xun in the side; stop playing around, this isn’t over.

Just because you said you’re Bing-1, did that mean anyone believed you?

The Sun charm was still in his hand. Explain first why you’re completely unaffected by the Sun’s madness.

But Wei Xun wasn’t worried, because he knew a certain someone had arrived.

“He is not the Puppeteer, and he is not the Puppeteer’s puppet.”

Just as the standoff held its breath, a steady, calm male voice rang out. Unlike the Weeping Medium and the others, who had climbed up step by step carrying their gift boxes, An Xuefeng simply appeared on the platform, at Wei Xun’s side.

“Bing-1 is Bing-1.”

An Xuefeng was dressed that day in a black trench coat with toggle buttons, black trousers, dark brown military boots, with the Return Journey Saber at his back. He had deliberately chosen the black-and-white Return Journey Saber sheath that day; standing beside Bing-1, it produced a subtle impression, as if the two of them had coordinated their colors like a couple.

In front of everyone watching the broadcast and everyone in the virtual hall, having spoken those two sentences to confirm Bing-1’s identity with absolute certainty, An Xuefeng invoked his authority as an Adjudicator of the Mutual Aid Alliance to temporarily cut the broadcast, raising the fog on the platform again.

With that, only those on the platform could hear what he said next. And his following words captured every single person’s attention.

“I’ve found where the Puppeteer’s fragment is.”

“What did you say?”

“Is that true?!”

“Captain An—”

“…”

Everyone erupted in shock. Dreamchaser, Mao Xiao Le, and the others pressed forward with urgent questions. The Weeping Medium’s pupils contracted sharply; he couldn’t help calling out “Captain An.” Wei Xun’s heart moved; could An Xuefeng have found something in his examination of the headstone?

Wei Xun hooked a finger around the toggle of An Xuefeng’s trench coat. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] In the next moment his hand was caught and held by An Xuefeng.

An Xuefeng gave a light cough, silencing everyone.

“Now is not the time.”

He looked down at Wei Xun, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. He said it offhandedly.

“Is the Butcher Alliance’s gift presentation finished?”

“If it is, then next would be our Tourist side.”

His meaning was clear: the Mutual Aid Alliance’s launch ceremony came first. Even if the sky was falling, he would hold it up. Everything else could wait until the ceremony was properly concluded.

The Weeping Medium quickly read the situation.

“The Sun charm is the most precious treasure in the Butcher Alliance; it is sufficient to express the Butcher Alliance’s sincerity. Beyond that, we have a special gift to present to Bing-1…”

The Weeping Medium drew out the words and cast a sidelong glance at Yin-Yang Butterfly. Why was this one crying??

Yin-Yang Butterfly hadn’t worked out the situation yet and was still crying. All he had felt was another person taking a position at his lord’s side, and caught a glimpse of the hand gripping Bing-1’s calf — himself — and yes, that bone-deep Butcher dread absolutely came from An Xuefeng.

But with his lord nearby, Yin-Yang Butterfly wasn’t afraid. He lifted his tear-blurred gaze, and from his angle all he could see was An Xuefeng’s lowered hand, which had at some point closed around Bing-1’s. Nobody had noticed their hands hanging at their sides, fingers interlaced, the matching orange-red rings on both their hands glinting at each other.

Yin-Yang Butterfly jolted.

Holding hands like this, in a setting like this; he could no longer convince himself it was just brotherly affection.

“So, it wasn’t just the portrait; Bing-1 and An Xuefeng are really— mmph!”

Yin-Yang Butterfly murmured, and in the next instant the Weeping Medium had yanked him back hard.

Yin-Yang Butterfly kneeling and weeping to show his loyalty had been calculated by the Weeping Medium from the beginning, but that calculation did not include Yin-Yang Butterfly kneeling at the feet of both of them while An Xuefeng was present.

He was not their pet butterfly.

What portrait? What being real or not? None of that had happened.

“My apologies; Yin-Yang Butterfly lost his composure. He is simply very overwhelmed today.”

The Weeping Medium recovered his composure at maximum speed. He had wiped away every trace of tears the instant An Xuefeng appeared; the face he presented now was his most unassailable one.

With a turn of his hand, the Weeping Medium produced an elegant silver gift box.

“Inside this are all the contracts between Yin-Yang Butterfly and the Butcher Alliance over the years.”

He pressed the box into Yin-Yang Butterfly’s arms, casually pulled out a tissue and wiped Yin-Yang Butterfly’s face with it, then gave him a push in Bing-1’s direction. His expression was apologetic, almost self-reproachful.

“I failed to cultivate him properly. I will leave him in your capable hands going forward, Bing-1.”

Carried along by the Weeping Medium’s momentum, Yin-Yang Butterfly stumbled forward a few steps, and in the next moment, finally, his mind caught up.

Yin-Yang Butterfly: ??!

Wait, what was happening? None of this had been agreed on beforehand. What did he mean, all the contracts between him and the Butcher Alliance? Wouldn’t that include his membership contract?

What did this mean? Wasn’t he already a Knight of the Mutual Aid Alliance? Did it need to go this far? What on earth was the Weeping Medium thinking?

Yin-Yang Butterfly panicked. The shock was so severe that his SAN value plummeted, and his lovely butterfly wings burst out on the spot. The Weeping Medium had put him through emergency training before they left; previously, when Yin-Yang Butterfly entered his alienated state, his face changed first, and while the small butterfly form was beautiful, an enlarged butterfly with a fuzzy face could only be described as something out of a nightmare.

After the training, Yin-Yang Butterfly’s wings came out first now. The Weeping Medium had called it, with great magnanimity: “Better than frightening yourself into showing your alienated face in front of An Xuefeng and embarrassing yourself.”

Which meant the Weeping Medium could now lean in close to Bing-1 and murmur quietly:

“The alienated state has many expressions. You’ll find it easier to master when training in an Abyss node, my lord. Just as Yin-Yang Butterfly only shows his wings first when overwhelmed with joy, when frightened, his face changes first.”

“The Abyss Bell is an excellent training ground. With the Sun charm present, you will no longer be affected by the Sun’s pollution.”

The Weeping Medium regarded them with something like warm relief, his voice low and gentle.

“Don’t blame our lord for not telling you sooner. He prepared many things for you in advance, many things. He truly cares about you deeply…”

In the middle of the chaos, Yin-Yang Butterfly’s mind had developed some kind of filter, and only those words made it through.

So, I’m just something our lord prepared for Bing-1?

Yin-Yang Butterfly felt a flash of wounded indignation, but also, inexplicably, a small secret thrill. No wonder; no wonder the Puppeteer had clearly valued him greatly, and yet when both of them made mistakes, the lord’s scolding of him had always been harsher than his scolding of the Weeping Medium. He had never once managed to win more favor.

It wasn’t that Yin-Yang Butterfly had fallen short. It was that the boss the Puppeteer had always envisioned for Yin-Yang Butterfly was never himself.

Yin-Yang Butterfly understood. In that instant, everything clicked into place. He finally grasped what the Weeping Medium had been working toward these past few days with all his careful maneuvering. The embarrassment just now had certainly also been a performance, showing his simple, foolish side in front of Bing-1 on purpose.

The Puppeteer liked clever people. Bing-1 liked straightforward, simple ones. What the Weeping Medium had said to him before — Yin-Yang Butterfly finally understood.

“My lord.”

He walked with quiet deference to Bing-1’s side, and as if the clarity in his mind had freed something, the closer he drew, the lighter his heart became; it was as though some pollution were being dissolved away.

Bing-1 also carries the same pure Abyss aura as our great lord.

Yin-Yang Butterfly thought in a pleasant daze.

He had fixed on that aura completely. Even An Xuefeng saying they weren’t the same person barely registered in his ears.

The Butcher Alliance and the Mutual Aid Alliance were both home.

Without even looking properly, Yin-Yang Butterfly handed the small box in his arms directly over and made a solemn declaration:

“From now on, I am yours.”

Ha. Anyone who had witnessed his performance just now would never in a thousand years suspect that Yin-Yang Butterfly was actually a sharp mind.

Even when Bing-1 didn’t personally accept the box, Yu Hehui took it on his behalf, Yin-Yang Butterfly didn’t mind in the slightest. He was old enough to understand people like this, who were careful and particular about what they touched.

He turned around, put on the Mutual Aid Alliance’s black robe, took his place beside Bing-1 and the others, and stole a sidelong look at the Weeping Medium.

Thank you, Weeping Medium.

The Weeping Medium couldn’t be bothered to look at his adoring eyes. The instant the sun mark at his neck was fully reactivated, every trace of contamination the Puppet Master had left on him was purged.

The contamination on Pinocchio, too, had been cleared. His situation was admittedly a little grim right now; the Weeping Medium gathered up the scattered fragments of the marionette, which had been shattered by the Sun’s madness into a state of collapsed dysfunction; though not destroyed outright, exchanged a glance with Bing-1, gave a slight nod, and then let his gaze drop briefly.

The Weeping Medium saw their joined hands. Wei Xun didn’t release his grip at all. He hadn’t personally accepted Yin-Yang Butterfly’s things earlier either, simply because one hand held the Sun charm and the other was held by An Xuefeng; there had been no hand free.

In the next moment the thick fog over the platform dispersed and the broadcast resumed. The audience, anxious and restless, craning to see, practically climbing over each other; the moment they looked up they heard the Weeping Medium’s clear, composed voice deliver a brief statement from the platform:

“The Butcher Alliance presents one Latitude 30 Degrees special token, together with a number of Legendary and peak-grade Demonic products, to congratulate the Mutual Aid Alliance on its launch.”

“Furthermore, Yi-2 Tour Guide Yin-Yang Butterfly hereby announces his withdrawal from the Butcher Alliance and his entry into the Mutual Aid Alliance. All contracts and associated items have been fully transferred.”

The audience exploded.

“What?! A Latitude 30 Degrees token? They actually brought one of those as a gift??”

“Hold on; you can send people as gifts too? A B-class elite Tour Guide, just handed straight over to the Mutual Aid Alliance like that? Is the Butcher Alliance serious?!”

“From Legendary to Unsolvable to a Latitude 30 Degrees token; are the Tour Guide alliances really competing this hard even over gifts?”

In truth, a lot of people hadn’t sensed the pure Abyss aura, or the suspicion that Bing-1 might be the Puppeteer; hadn’t the great Captain An himself said he wasn’t? Captain An’s word was reliable. Bing-1 and the Puppeteer were blood relatives, of course there’d be similarities between them. That was completely normal.

Many in the audience had honestly just been quietly waiting for the gift presentations; it was their favorite part of any event.

“All three Tour Guide alliances are done, now it’s the Tourists’ turn.”

Some were already worrying on behalf of the major Tour Teams:

“They can’t come in below the Tour Guides, can they? If they do, that would be deeply embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry, Captain An is already up there. The number one Tour Team isn’t some group of paupers. Watch closely brothers, what comes next is going to be something spectacular.”

Indeed. An Xuefeng had already appeared on the platform.

The senior figures from the various major Tour Teams let their gazes settle on An Xuefeng, openly or otherwise.

That pure, undiluted Abyss aura was genuinely frightening. Even the Sun’s madness had been unable to corrupt something so utterly pure.

Whether Bing-1 was the Puppeteer’s fragment or not, whatever his connection to the Puppeteer was, even with An Xuefeng’s earlier declaration, that could easily have been a concern about the broadcast. If Bing-1 truly was, exposing a link to the Puppeteer was absolutely not something that could go public.

An Xuefeng’s true attitude could be read entirely from how he treated Bing-1, and how he treated the Butcher Alliance’s people.

The scene on the platform was in full view.

The Weeping Medium hadn’t left with the Truth Alliance and Shepherd Alliance people; he had taken a seat on the platform. Good, so Return had already moved to contain this Butcher Tour Guide.

Yin-Yang Butterfly wore the black robe and stood at Bing-1’s side. Well, perhaps Yin-Yang Butterfly had been a Return plant inside the Butcher Alliance all along, and had played the Weeping Medium. The voice speaking just now had probably been Yin-Yang Butterfly impersonating the Weeping Medium.

Pinocchio was beyond help. As expected; whether Return or the Butcher Alliance, everyone detested Pinocchio. Surely, he wouldn’t be given any path back.

And of course, most important of all—

Everyone’s gaze swept around and landed back on An Xuefeng and Bing-1’s hands, clasped together.

Right. An Xuefeng had fully secured the suspect, Bing-1.

“…Was it necessary to interlace all ten fingers?”

Qi Le’chen of the Flying Swan Tour Team looked faintly pained and crossed his own hands together, interlacing his own fingers to test the sensation.

“It seems Bing-1 truly isn’t the Puppeteer, and isn’t his fragment either.”

Wan Anpin said steadily.

“Captain An’s integrity, I trust it.”

“Integrity.”

Captain Wu of the Fengdu Tour Team said with a cold face, too indifferent to comment further, and watched Silverfish go up to present his gift.

With the three major Tour Guide alliances done, next came gifts from individual Tour Guides presenting on their own behalf. Whether a particular person’s relationship with the Mutual Aid Alliance was genuinely close or merely a polite acknowledgment could be judged entirely by whether the Mutual Aid Alliance had given that person a seat on the platform.

Once the Tour Guide side was more or less concluded, the moment countless people had been craning their necks for finally arrived: the Return Tour Team’s gift presentation.