Chapter 302: A Lethal Question

“That’s how it happened.”

An Xuefeng gave a brief cough and laid out the situation on the platform in concise terms: the Puppet Master disguising herself as Silverfish and launching a surprise attack, the Puppeteer’s headstone, and the matter of the Puppeteer’s fragment.

Per An Xuefeng’s account, the headstone had indeed carried the Puppeteer’s aura, though it was less a complete fragment and more the residue of a consciousness. As for the Puppeteer’s silhouette, An Xuefeng explained it as a convergence of factors: the suit the Weeping Medium had specifically sent over, the Sun charm, and then the crimson cloak Bing-1 had put on in the heat of the moment to deflect the Puppet Master’s attack. All of it combined had awakened what remained of the Puppeteer’s consciousness.

Whether assembling those same elements again could call up the Puppeteer’s remnant consciousness a second time, An Xuefeng said he wasn’t certain, but whatever the case, the headstone was currently in the Puppet Master’s hands.

“I suspect the Puppet Master has an unregistered Abyss node.” An Xuefeng said.

“She was able to escape using it even while the Agency had everything locked down. It’s probably the ‘extra’ node that appeared through Silverfish. I’ll send people to investigate tonight.”

Departure at ten. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] If other Tour Teams wanted in, they would have to bring people over by nine to avoid tipping anyone off; maximum two per team.

“We’ll do it your way, Captain An.”

Wan Anpin of the Metaphysics Tour Team was first to respond.

“Getting the headstone back is the priority. The West District will get word fast.”

The Puppet Master was at her most vulnerable right now. The Puppeteer’s headstone absolutely could not fall into West District hands.

“The Butcher Alliance will probably send people too. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] This afternoon the Weeping Medium’s group went to take over the Shepherd Alliance.”

Wang Pengpai added, filling in what had happened while An Xuefeng and Bing-1 were gone. The Puppet Master had infiltrated the Butcher Alliance intending to turn its Tour Guides into her puppets and have been outmaneuvered in return. Now it was the Shepherd Alliance that had been stripped clean, with Pinocchio leading the Butcher Alliance’s people through it.

“I’ll go myself tonight.”

Captain Wu said coldly, hand tightening without thinking. There was still no word from Silverfish; there was a real chance the Puppet Master had taken him, or had him imprisoned somewhere in that Abyss. He wanted to go right now, but…

He looked at An Xuefeng, brow furrowed, and pressed forward with a string of questions.

“What’s the Beekeeper’s current situation? Was the Hair Ghost seen when the Butcher Alliance moved into the Shepherd Alliance? Is Wu Laoliu all right? And…”

Hearing him rattle off one Tour Guide after another, Qi Le’chen couldn’t help clicking his tongue. Wan Anpin gave a slight smile, though internally he felt a little overwhelmed too.

Captain Wu’s Tour Guide… was truly something.

And all of those Tour Guides he was asking about, the answers could only come from Bing-1’s side or the Butcher Alliance. An Xuefeng was Bing-1’s linked Tourist, so being asked these questions was reasonable enough, but…

Qi Le’chen couldn’t help glancing at An Xuefeng’s face. The scratch marks had already faded. But he still remembered clearly what An Xuefeng and Wei Xun had looked like when they first came back.

Wei Xun had barely managed a polite smile at them before heading straight to his room. And he had gone to the second floor…

Wang Pengpai had laughed it off by saying new members stayed on the second floor, but hadn’t the second floor of Return’s residence always been exclusively An Xuefeng’s? With the resident Tour Guide at most. A new arrival staying on the second floor was unheard of under normal circumstances. Wei Xun’s expression… combined with everything that had happened today, Qi Le’chen’s mind began to drift.

There was no way An Xuefeng had asked Wei Xun to vacate his room for Bing-1.

This, this, this; surely not. Surely!

He stole another look at An Xuefeng. From the moment they’d returned until now, An Xuefeng had been downstairs talking with all of them, without a single move toward going up to smooth things over. Even though, even though recovering the Puppeteer’s headstone was urgent, An Xuefeng’s behavior was a bit… well. Ah.

Other people’s domestic affairs. Not easy to say anything.

What a tangled mess. Though watching An Xuefeng it was clear he wasn’t indifferent; not ten minutes into the conversation he had sent all of them on their way.

******

“There really is a reason tour teams ban internal relationships.”

On the way back, Qi Le’chen couldn’t help saying to Wan Anpin with a sigh.

“Though I suppose with Captain An, no matter who it’s with, there can’t be children, so that’s one thing at least.”

“Captain An isn’t that kind of person.”

Wan Anpin shook his head. He trusted his own judgment on this. An Xuefeng had an almost excessive sense of responsibility; he was not someone who would entangle himself with two people simultaneously and create emotional complications like this.

If you stripped away the confusion and looked at what was actually there, the most seemingly impossible explanation was very likely the correct one.

Wan Anpin glanced at Captain Wu. This man, once bonded to a Tour Guide, would never change, and yet just now, hadn’t he been asking after a whole string of Tour Guides? Because all those Tour Guides were quite possibly the same person.

He said nothing further. Qi Le’chen was still young, belonging to the next decade and not understanding was entirely understandable. But Wan Anpin thought Captain Wu had probably worked it out; he had been silent since An Xuefeng returned…

“Wei Xun, what a pity!”

The long-silent Captain Wu finally spoke as the three of them were about to part ways. He let out a heavy, cold snort, shaking his head in the manner of someone watching someone else waste their potential.

“A grown man; when it’s time to make a cut, you make a cut! What good does crying do? He should have just kicked An Xuefeng to the curb. If it came to it, start his own team, be his own captain, find his own Tour Guide.”

“If he doesn’t want to start his own team, he can come to mine! So, what if Return is number one? Fengdu isn’t afraid of them. Back in the day, Wei Xun should have come to us…”

“Didn’t you give all those gifts to Wang Pengpai?”

Wan Anpin took a slow breath, tuned out Captain Wu’s ongoing monologue, and changed the subject. Today’s Mutual Aid Alliance inauguration ceremony hadn’t quite concluded properly; after Return’s gift presentation the major Tour Teams had been meant to give their own gifts, but the disruption had prevented that. Everything had been handed to Wang Pengpai to pass on.

“What did you say to Wei Xun?”

When An Xuefeng and Wei Xun first came back, Qi Le’chen had intercepted Wei Xun and slipped him something, Wan Anpin hadn’t caught what it was.

“Right, I gave them to Wang Pengpai. Though actually, I thought it over and slipped Wei Xun a small something extra.”

Qi Le’chen sighed.

“They’re heading to the Sahara soon, and the way Captain An is being right now… well. I figured Wei Xun probably wasn’t feeling great about things. So, I gave him a little something to cheer him up.”

Saying that, Qi Le’chen looked worried.

“Crimson has a Tour Guide, but I’ve only done a few sessions of spiritual relief, nothing like a true bond. Do you think, after bonding with a Tour Guide, the change really is that profound?”

Would he end up like An Xuefeng after bonding with a Tour Guide? Mind full of nothing but his Tour Guide, neglecting even the people he cared about? He, Qi Le’chen, had no one special in his heart yet, but the worry was already beginning.

“Hmph. A Tour Guide should be by their Tourist’s side!”

Captain Wu had his own definitive views on the matter.

“You ask me, all those Tour Guide alliances? the Agency should just dissolve the lot of them and distribute every last Tour Guide into tour teams. Arrange the bonds, schedule regular meetings, then none of this nonsense happens. Everyone’s just too idle.”

Captain Wu delivered his final verdict with the finality of a gavel:

“Bond your Tour Guide early, not a single problem. These people who hold out and don’t bond, sooner or later they’ll end up as strange as An Xuefeng and those Tour Guide alliance types!”

Wan Anpin, who also had no Tour Guide and whose team also had no resident Tour Guide: ???

Feeling personally targeted 🙂

******

“So, uh, Captain.”

Back at Return, once all the other teams had dispersed, Wang Pengpai was left with a faint ache in his jaw from everything he’d witnessed, and he moved to intercept An Xuefeng, phrasing it delicately:

“So… which one do you like more?”

This was Wang Pengpai hinting. Come on, give him something to work with here; whatever the reality, there needed to be an official line for external purposes. If things kept going like this, the team’s reputation was going to be in ruins.

“I like both the same.”

But An Xuefeng had something on his mind; with a wave of his hand he cut off whatever Wang Pengpai was about to say, collected the gifts the other teams had sent for the Mutual Aid Alliance, and headed directly upstairs.

Leaving Wang Pengpai behind in the reception hall, nearly bursting with suppressed outrage.

Likes both the same my foot!

He opened the door to leave and found Wang Yushu, Lu Shucheng, and Mao Xiao Le with three heads pressed to the gap in the doorway. All three wore expressions of complete disillusionment, Mao Xiao Le shaking visibly; clearly, they had heard every word An Xuefeng said.

In that instant Wang Pengpai desperately wanted to close the door again.

Hemmed in by Wang Yushu and the others, pelted with their exclamations from all sides, Wang Pengpai felt his scalp crawling with misery, on the verge of tears.

When was this ever going to end?

******

An Xuefeng had no mental space for Wang Pengpai right now. He went up to the second floor and checked Wei Xun’s room, found it empty, and felt his heart seize. He moved to Wei Xun’s private residence and only when he saw Wei Xun did the tension in him slowly, finally release.

Those ten minutes downstairs, An Xuefeng had been distracted the entire time. He had been afraid of Wei Xun developing new mutations while he was away from him even briefly.

Now that he could see Wei Xun, An Xuefeng was at ease.

“You’re back?”

Wei Xun turned at his entrance and called out a greeting. His private residence had been expanded somewhat; the living area was covered in the thick, plush carpet Qi Le’chen had sent over, and a few beanbag chairs had been tossed around on top of it. Bright colors bringing an immediate warm feeling; the aesthetic was almost the complete opposite of the style Wei Xun had at his villa in the real world.

But Wei Xun seemed to like it well enough. He had a cat in his arms and was slumped sideways against an orange fabric armchair, looking over a list. Today’s gift log, along with the various offerings submitted by new Mutual Aid Alliance members.

“Captain.”

Yu Hehui and Tong Hege were there too; they rose when they saw An Xuefeng. He took a brief look at them, neither face showed excessive worry, and he wasn’t sure what Wei Xun had told them.

“Sit.”

An Xuefeng gave a small nod, indicating everyone should sit back down. There were plenty of spots around the room, but Wei Xun naturally shifted over to make room, and An Xuefeng just as naturally sat beside him. The chair wasn’t large; An Xuefeng was tall with long limbs, and the two of them together was a tight fit. But Wei Xun lazily leaned against An Xuefeng, and suddenly it wasn’t tight at all.

Yu Hehui’s eye twitched at the corner. Honestly… these two were so much more naturally easy with each other than before. Then he felt an elbow jab his ribs; he looked back to find Tong Hege giving him a significant look.

Hadn’t he said so? The moment the Puppeteer appeared, the relationship between Captain An and Wei Xun would take a great leap forward.

Yu Hehui: …

Yu Hehui did not want to comment. He thought if the Puppeteer could see this scene himself, he too would not want to comment.

Especially when he watched An Xuefeng casually run a hand across Wei Xun’s lower back…

“Ahem.”

Yu Hehui coughed, reclaiming some attention.

“Little Red as the Hair Ghost, is currently inside Wei Xun’s Abyss node.”

“When the Agency lockdown started, he sensed something was wrong. He made his way back from the Shepherd Alliance, and he also moved over whatever valuable items could be transferred from Wei Xun’s residence into the Abyss node.”

Little Red had sensed danger, which meant the Agency lockdown had from the start been aimed specifically at the Puppet Master.

An Xuefeng, who had just a moment ago confirmed with a hand at Wei Xun’s lower back that the demonic tail was still present, understood the implication of Yu Hehui’s words immediately.

“Wei Xun’s residence is close to the Puppet Master’s private residence.”

An Xuefeng’s brow furrowed.

“He’s still in the Abyss node?”

“Little Red is still in the Abyss node, and he’s showing some unusual mutations.”

Yu Hehui looked at Wei Xun but said nothing about immediately going to support Little Red. Though the moment Wei Xun returned, Yu Hehui had told him about this and Wei Xun had chosen to look at the gift list first, and hadn’t dealt with Little Red.

After a moment’s thought, Yu Hehui understood. Tong Hege beside him saw that Wei Xun showed no intention of going himself and didn’t question it at all. The situation down there was dangerous, even grievously injured, the Puppet Master was a camel that could still outrun a horse. How could Wei Xun go down alone?

Waiting for Captain An to come and handle it was the only sensible approach.

“Understood.”

An Xuefeng nodded, his expression neutral.

“He’s thought this through quite well.”

Wei Xun looked up and met An Xuefeng’s eyes, smiling quietly. They were thinking the same thing.

The Hair Ghost had been brought back to life by the Puppet Master, operating under absolute compulsion to obey her, and yet in that state, he had still managed to leave a part of himself, completely uncontaminated by the Puppet Master behind inside the Abyss. What degree of self-control did that take?

His choice to return to the Puppet Master’s side had never been simply a matter of “keeping watch on the Puppet Master for his master.” Knowing full well that the Puppet Master’s most likely refuge when injured was her Abyss node, he had chosen to hide in Wei Xun’s Abyss node which was close to hers. And he had brought along a portion of the valuables from Wei Xun’s Agency residence.

He understood Wei Xun’s nature well enough to know that Wei Xun would absolutely want those valuables returned. He understood An Xuefeng’s nature well enough to know that An Xuefeng would never be comfortable with Wei Xun facing an injured Puppet Master alone. And he understood that the two of them would move before anyone else could lock down the Puppet Master’s location.

He had thought through every angle.

The Evil Insect Master’s greatest specialties were: one, fragmentation; and two, parasitism.

When the Puppet Master had been contaminating him, had he been doing something to the Puppet Master in return?

Resurrection meant being reborn, but it also meant having everything taken away. Looking at Yu Hehui, then at Tong Hege, they no longer had Tourist rankings or registration numbers; they would have to wait for the next decade’s battlefield reshuffle before any of that could begin again. But the Evil Insect Master’s death was different from theirs. He had Silverfish and the Beekeeper; those who held rankings, who belonged to this decade. Even if he was resurrected, could he really follow in Yu Hehui and Tong Hege’s path and carry on into the next decade?

Or would he belong to this decade? Would he find himself heading into the battlefield soon after resurrection?

He had to calculate for himself, had to play his own angle. And honestly, this was also advantageous for Wei Xun.

If he could truly parasitize the Puppet Master, overturn the dynamic entirely and become a Jia-2 Tour Guide by taking over her resurrection, then Jia-1, Jia-2, and Jia-3 would all stand behind Wei Xun.

A Jia-2 Tour Guide was far more useful than an unnamed one, however formidable.

But…

“I don’t like people with too many schemes.”

Wei Xun said from his comfortable position against An Xuefeng with feeling. He passed Boss Maggot’s cocoon to An Xuefeng.

The Evil Insect Master had divided himself into many fragments, and those fragments were not equal in strength. After fusion there would certainly be one dominant core. Was it Silverfish, the one with the highest public ranking? Was it the Beekeeper, whose alienated form had become the Abyss Bee Queen and who also carried an Abyss Insect? Was it Little Red, who had all of the Hair Ghost’s memories and had spent years embedded near the Puppet Master, best positioned to strike? Or was it…

Nothing at all; with even Wu Laoliu still stuck far away in the Tusi King Tomb and unable to get out, leaving only Boss Maggot, who had no such positioning, but whose loyalty to Wei Xun was without question?

Without needing more said, An Xuefeng understood Wei Xun’s meaning.

“Departure at eight. Ten minutes from now.”

An Xuefeng frowned.

“Coming with me? In your current condition, the Abyss might not be ideal.”

He’d told the other teams ten o’clock, but An Xuefeng would certainly take Boss Maggot and go ahead of them. The headstone was, in reality, not even the Puppeteer’s real headstone, it was a stone An Xuefeng had carved himself, styled similarly, with a trace of the Puppeteer’s aura worked into it. A decoy from start to finish.

The Puppet Master had seized it and had nothing to show for it; every other team would recognize the truth at a glance. So, An Xuefeng still needed to go ahead and deal with the headstone situation.

Tomorrow preparations would begin for the departure to the Sahara. All these loose ends had to be tied up today.

Wei Xun’s little demonic tail still hadn’t disappeared, and he had just fused a new butterfly fragment. An Xuefeng wasn’t comfortable taking him into the Abyss. But leaving him here alone, An Xuefeng was even less comfortable with that.

“I’ll come together then. Though if I get sleepy, it’s on you.”

Wei Xun yawned. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He set down the gift list, gave the cat a stroke, and produced his blade. With neither the Fire God’s pollution nor the Perished Ming’s pollution currently being channeled into it, pale green resentful souls drifted along the edge, making it look cold and sinister.

【Name: Madman’s Killing Blade (High-Grade Mutation)】

【Quality: Special】

【Owner: Wei Xun】

【Attribute 1: Madman】

【The Madman dares what others dare not, does what others dare not do. You hold rules in contempt, growing stronger against stronger opponents, with no difficulty or danger capable of trapping you. Note: Agency rules cannot be violated.】

【Attribute 2: Killing Blade】

【The Killing Blade kills with every draw! It has slain a powerful Abyss creature, and when the prey is an Abyss creature, it will unleash an even greater crushing force.】

【Attribute 3: Killing Maniac】

【You are a Madman, a killer, and worse. Your deepest pleasure is taking prey one after another; their resentful souls wailing in your ears are your favorite music. When you kill the same category of prey consecutively, their resentful souls will accumulate, erupting at a multiplied force on the fourth, seventh, and thirteenth kills. Stack it to maximum, and even a god falls before you.】

【Current Accumulation: 1/4】

【Category: Abyss Creature】

【Note: If a different category of prey is killed during accumulation, the count resets.】

This was the Madman’s Blade in its fully realized form after the platform battle, though it should properly be called the Madman’s Killing Blade now. The most significant trait of a high-grade exclusive weapon was that it could shift form at its owner’s will: length, color, style; the way the Return Journey Saber had once shrunk into a short blade for An Xuefeng. It could even change weapon category.

But when the category changed, many of the blade’s attributes would become unavailable. If it were changed into a bow, for instance, the second attribute, Killing Blade, kills with every draw, would no longer function.

And clearly, in the Killing Blade’s judgment, the one killed on the platform had not been a “Tour Guide, the Puppet Master,” but an Abyss creature.

The Puppet Master really was convenient, Wei Xun reflected. She could be killed and resurrect, killed and resurrect again; an exceptionally troublesome opponent in most people’s eyes.

But for stacking kills on the Killing Blade, she was excellent.

He’d heard that whatever was devouring Dreamchaser’s butterfly fragment inside the Sahara was also a creature?

“Can you use my blade?”

Wei Xun asked. It was a shame, really; An Xuefeng had more or less killed the Puppet Master a dozen times over, but Wei Xun had spent the whole time driving into her shoulder, so in the end only one kill had counted.

“Not the most natural fit.”

An Xuefeng took the blade and ran a few flourishes with it. Despite saying it wasn’t natural, he set it beside the Return Journey Saber and let the two blades get acquainted.

And Wei Xun handing over his exclusive weapon for An Xuefeng to use set Yu Hehui and Tong Hege’s imaginations running in considerably deeper directions.

“There’s too much happening at the Mutual Aid Alliance tonight. Yu Hehui and Tong Hege can stay here.”

Lost in thought, Yu Hehui heard Wei Xun call his name. He responded and walked over, and found something small and soft pressed into his hands.

“Take care of Bingbing for me.”

It was the cat. The same one Wei Xun had been holding this whole time.

Yu Hehui went rigid on the spot. He wasn’t actually afraid of cats, but for some reason, this kitten Wei Xun kept gave him a completely different sensation from any other cat. The moment he had it in his arms, his whole body prickled as though he were holding a hedgehog; the discomfort was intense.

Wei Xun and An Xuefeng both noticed.

Of course. The person who had killed Yu Hehui had probably disguised themselves as the Puppeteer at the time, and had replicated something far more fundamental than mere appearance. Bingbing carried none of the Puppeteer’s aura right now, and yet Yu Hehui still recoiled instinctively.

Who could it have been?

Wei Xun was still turning that question over when they left for the Abyss node that evening. He genuinely had no intention of involving himself this time; he simply invoked the Wild Heart title and settled inside An Xuefeng’s trench coat. After spending so much time with An Xuefeng, he thought there was probably room for a new form to try.

“By the way, I might experiment a little.”

“Awoo?”

Something wriggled around inside An Xuefeng’s coat. A pair of snow-white, thick, fluffy pointed ears appeared, followed by a pair of round, blue, slightly guileless eyes. At a glance it looked a bit like a small white dog, but what Wei Xun had actually shifted into was a wolf pup.

Wei Xun whined quietly at An Xuefeng, communicating that he felt a little cold. The moment An Xuefeng approached the Abyss node, a subtle shift entered his presence, which made Wei Xun want to know what exactly was happening out there. But every time he stuck his head out to look, he got pressed back in, the same thing happened several times; An Xuefeng seemed to like the feeling of him locked inside the trench coat, free to wriggle as he pleased.

Something felt off.

Wei Xun went still with suspicion. He was about to shift back into his human form, but in the next instant, a voice came from outside. Pleased. Unhurried. And it made Wei Xun pause.

“Did you enjoy today?”

The voice asked quietly.

“Have you been wanting?”

“You…”

When he was lifted out, the sight before him was something Wei Xun struggled to take in. The face was undeniably An Xuefeng’s; short hair, trench coat, handsome features, but the aura had changed entirely. Something morbid and melancholic had entered it, a sickly, aristocratic edge. That face was looking at him with a smile, and the deep-black pupils held nothing but Wei Xun’s reflection; there was something wicked in it.

Wei Xun recognized him immediately. This was ***.

He had only ever seen An Xuefeng using a Principal’s identity. He hadn’t anticipated that *** could use An Xuefeng’s body in return.

Was this the “experiment” An Xuefeng had mentioned?

“…Do you still like it?”

Seeing Wei Xun go still, the voice asked gently.

“Or do you prefer An Xuefeng?”

A hand stroked along the wolf pup’s neck, its most vulnerable point. One firm squeeze and that delicate neck would snap. But then the hand moved away, and a blade appeared in it instead.

“Do you prefer me, or do you prefer An Xuefeng?”

The words were delivered with languid indifference, as though it were nothing more than a passing question, yet the tip of the blade was turned inward, and what it pointed at was his own heart.