The cold, ethereal voice was like a dream, a salvation for some, a nightmare for others.
Yun He suppressed his excitement, sensing the messages carried by the wind from afar. He struggled with all his might to resist the urge to rush over, while the two people inside the house were rendered speechless, as if their throats were constricted.
"I advise you not to ponder how to lie. After all, your dear father has told me everything," Bai Cha sat on the simple roof beam, appearing rather casual. It was unclear how long she had been sitting there. "Or rather, perhaps twenty-eight out of your thirty-two are no longer capable of keeping secrets."
Zhi Yun broke out in a cold sweat.
He wasn't afraid of Meng Qinghuan, but he was afraid of Bai Cha. In fact, everyone was afraid of Bai Cha, or perhaps they were particularly fearful of this operation.
Recently, one of the three elders of Guangming had died inexplicably. The preliminary assessment was that Bai Cha had followed the clues and eliminated them, specifically targeting Mo Ziye's maternal uncle and grandfather, showing no mercy and giving Mo Ziye no face.
What made everyone even more terrified was that Mo Ziye, who had always stood with them and caused trouble for Bai Cha, had recently shown no support for them, which made them even more uneasy.
"What do you mean 'coming for me'?" Meng Qinghuan trembled. Although he felt ashamed to face Bai Cha, since things had come to this point, he could only brace himself and ask.
"You want to live a normal life, but as your former trusted aides, they will only consider you a threat," Bai Cha said leisurely. "Your kindness and concessions are not worth mentioning in their eyes."
"How can that be! We..." Zhi Yun's face grew paler. He opened his mouth to retort but saw Bai Cha toss a dying person in front of him.
"Speak after you've thought it through," Bai Cha snorted coldly, jumped down from the roof beam, directly dislocated Zhi Yun's jaw, put on gloves, and took out a small pill from inside.
"Although I know you don't have the courage to bite the poison to commit suicide, it's better to take it out for you."
"After all, you might not be able to hold back next."
Half an hour later, the screams subsided.
Bai Cha collected the evidence she had gathered into her storage bracelet and looked at Meng Qinghuan, "It seems you've lost your appetite for tea."
"Why are you here?" Meng Qinghuan leaned against the wall, not daring to look at Bai Cha, but his voice was somewhat stiff.
"What, afraid I'll ruin your life?" Bai Cha leaned against the wall opposite Meng Qinghuan with her arms crossed, her expression still indifferent.
"Yun He saw you," Meng Qinghuan said. "It was incredibly difficult for me to escape..."
"What was so difficult?" Bai Cha countered indifferently, and with just a sentence, Meng Qinghuan was speechless.
"You said you would agree if I told you, and I didn't stop you from taking Yun He. What was so difficult about that?" A hint of mockery appeared on Bai Cha's face, hiding imperceptible disappointment. "How much easier did you want it? I approved your choice of city and property immediately, I took over all your missions without even asking for a handover. What was so difficult about that?"
The wall was cold, and the coldness seemed to permeate Meng Qinghuan's entire body, making him unable to breathe. Meng Qinghuan felt his mind was in a haze and couldn't help but speak in his defense, "I'm sorry, I, I was just too tired and wanted to live a normal life. At twelve, I had no choice but to stay with Shadow and help you..."
"Are you defending yourself?" Bai Cha's expression remained calm. Meng Qinghuan lowered his head, losing his last bit of confidence.
"Humans often use clever arguments about non-existent things to confirm their fears. Meng Qinghuan, what are you afraid of?" Bai Cha picked up Zhi Yun and glanced at Meng Qinghuan one last time. "Meng Qinghuan, like me, you cannot find a pure land. There is no pure land in this world. The only way forward is to create, and creation inevitably involves struggle."
"Take Yun He and go. I'll handle things here."
Yun He was not in bed.
When Meng Qinghuan returned home and saw the empty bed, he was genuinely terrified. He only relaxed when he heard the sound of water from the bathroom downstairs.
Take Yun He and go.
The words became clearer and clearer in Meng Qinghuan's mind. Meng Qinghuan began packing his things as if he were crazy, completely forgetting why he had blindly believed everything Bai Cha had said.
Until wet feet stopped in front of the suitcase, clothes still dripping water, and droplets from his hair fell to the ground. Meng Qinghuan looked up and was shocked to find Yun He showering with her clothes on.
"A'He, what are you doing? Why are you still wearing clothes when you're showering?" Meng Qinghuan frantically tried to wipe the water off Yun He but was slapped away by Yun He. Meng Qinghuan was stunned and a little helpless. "I'm just going out for some fresh air. Why are you so angry? I apologize, don't be angry, Xiao Xiao He."
"Why."
Yun He's voice was muffled, carrying suppressed anger that filled Meng Qinghuan with a bad premonition.
"You..."
You saw?
Meng Qinghuan wanted to ask Yun He if she had been following him just now, but he didn't dare. He was afraid.
"I thought you were severely injured in the world competition and lost your power, but it turns out you betrayed Shadow. Why betray us!" Yun He roared. She had always been reserved, known as the kind old man of Shadow, and this was the first time she had grabbed Meng Qinghuan's collar like a furious lion. "You betrayed us, why drag me along? Now we are both traitors! Why!"
"A'He..." Meng Qinghuan's face turned pale. He felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
Perhaps he should have expected this day long ago, but when this day truly arrived, Meng Qinghuan felt as if his heart were being pricked by needles.
"I like you, A'He," Meng Qinghuan mumbled, lowering his head. "I don't want to live a life of fighting anymore. I want to live a normal life. You will die, I will die, everyone will die. At least I want to find a chance to survive..."
"Slap!"
The sound was loud and crisp.
A red slap mark appeared on Meng Qinghuan's face. His head was buzzing. He couldn't believe Yun He's reaction would be so intense. Yun He's chest heaved violently, as if she might faint from anger at any moment.
"To survive, to live like a dog? Where do you get the audacity to say such things? The oath we took under the flag when we joined Shadow, the vows we made before Miss Bai, our resolve back then, are they worth nothing in your eyes!"
"Perhaps they are truly worthless to you, but how could you drag me along, all because of your so-called love!" Yun He pointed a trembling finger at Meng Qinghuan, her voice trembling with anger. "Meng Qinghuan! I respect you as my master!"
"I just want to live a normal life..." Meng Qinghuan stammered.
"Where do you get the nerve to say that!" Yun He interrupted Meng Qinghuan rudely, perhaps for the first time being so angry and impolite.
"The house you live in, your financial support, everything you have now is because of your past identity. You are enjoying the benefits of Shadow and now you say you want to live a normal life!?" Yun He was furious. "If you want to live a normal life, you should find a job yourself, earn money like ordinary people to buy a house, bear debts, and haggle at the market with everyone else. Would a so-called normal person live as carefree as you, buying whatever they see?"
"I've been saved twice. It wasn't you. Every time I was in the most pain, Miss Bai would always pull me up. I vowed to follow her. Is your so-called love for me now to plunge me into disloyalty and injustice?" Yun He said loudly. "The ten tenets of the Shadow clan: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, sincerity, loyalty, filial piety, integrity, courage. What do you have left! What about your original intention!"
"Why are you so angry? If he had any of that, he wouldn't have done this," the milky voice carried a cold tone that made both of them startle.
Looking up, they saw a little loli with white hair sitting on the windowsill, her white hair and red eyes bearing an eight-point resemblance to Meng Qinghuan's sister.
"He probably only has intelligence left now, but it looks like it's about to rust," Baimeng sat quietly, bathed in moonlight, making Meng Qinghuan unable to lift his head.
"No one is forcing you to obey the ancestral rules. You can forget your hatred and abandon your responsibilities, but you are truly boring. You can't be destroyed, you don't work hard, and you're stuck in the middle," Baimeng shrugged.
The sky outside had changed. An extremely dangerous aura swept through the entire city. People were awakened from their sleep, and chaos ensued.
[What's all the fuss about? I'm here.]
On the broadcast, the clear voice resonated throughout the city, causing the city to hesitate for a moment, followed by an outburst of repressed excitement online.
Everyone saw it. Countless dark red chains, like spirit snakes and long dragons, with two A-class dragons at the forefront being torn to shreds by Bai Cha as soon as they appeared.
More A-class dragons had evolved into human form, their beastly limbs lunging forward to grapple with Bai Cha. Their scythe-like blades gleamed, rotating gently to form an impenetrable circle that cut down all intruders.
Blood seeped from the severed wounds, devoured by the strange blood that coiled back up and drowned their owners. When the twenty-fourth A-class dragon was easily annihilated by Bai Cha, the remaining sixteen A-class dragons hesitated. They exchanged glances, unable to understand why there was such a god-like existence among humans. They even felt the pressure of a superior.
The blood-colored cloud cluster in the sky flickered, and the remaining A-class dragons suddenly let out painful wails. They seemed to want to struggle, but their final resistance was nothing more than painful cries. They embraced each other, sacrificing themselves, and gradually merged into one.
The massive body had nine heads. Each dragon face on its long neck was in agony. The sixteen legs were like a centipede's. Each fusion of two legs caused this mutated dragon to suffer more. The sixteen tails were blood-colored, and each swing stirred up changes in the wind and rain.
"It seems they are all here," Bai Cha breathed a sigh of relief. Since absorbing a trace of the Dragon Mother's will, she could faintly sense the Dragon Mother's emotions in the universe.
She could feel that the tolerance of that guy in the universe was reaching its limit, especially towards her.
Bai Cha and Mo Yuntian had jointly calculated this anomaly for over half a month. The G City where Meng Qinghuan was located had the most evil dragon anomalies, with as many as twenty-eight. Therefore, Bai Cha had requested Mo Yuntian and Lucifer to bring their people to teleport all the dragons here so she could catch them all in one sweep.
It seemed to be going smoothly. Although Mo Yuntian leaned towards the forces of light and was somewhat corrupt at his core, he had always fully supported Bai Cha's work. This time, he had accompanied Bai Cha and Mo Ziye, staying awake day and night to investigate for half a month.
Whether it was guilt or seriousness, Bai Cha didn't care. She only cared about the results.
The alien beast in front of her had completely merged into a dragon that Bai Cha had never seen before. It was as if forty independent, living pieces of clay had been forcibly molded into one by their owner, without self, without consciousness, only pain and confusion remaining.
[How is it, Bai Cha, can you handle it?]
Mo Yuntian's voice came through, tinged with nervousness.
"Mm," Bai Cha appeared very calm.
[That's good. Then everything can end.]
After every major dragon disaster, there was a long period of peace. This was common knowledge. As long as they could get through this, they would have enough time to recuperate.
"End? Heh."
Bai Cha's voice was a little soft, but it sounded like a question. Mo Yuntian was confused. He didn't hear clearly what Bai Cha said. Just as he was about to ask for clarification, he was stunned by the image on the big screen.