Without further ado, Qin Ye reported an address to Wang Chenghao, and Wang Chenghao immediately rushed over.
Clear Creek County wasn't large. Within ten minutes or so, they arrived at their destination - Ethnic Minority Street.
As soon as they arrived, Qin Ye opened his eyes.
Then, just as he was about to jump down, he suddenly paused.
"This is …" He sensed the surroundings with some measure of disbelief, and then looked up abruptly at the sky.
Yin energy …
What dense Yin energy!
It's even more terrifying than Arthis!
I feel like I've felt it somewhere before?
No!
His eyes brightened, and he reached into his robes and felt a crimson stone that had been cut into a triangular shape.
After feeling it for a moment, he exclaimed in astonishment, "Is this … a shard of King Yanluo's Seal?"
"It's … approaching me?"
Before he could finish speaking, a tiny wisp of smoke suddenly appeared in the sky and shot straight towards Qin Ye like a meteor.
Whoosh!
As soon as it approached Qin Ye, the meteor stopped in mid-air.
Qin Ye took a closer look. Sure enough …
Crimson.
The exact same cut marks.
"Is this really a shard of King Yanluo's Seal?"
Qin Ye stared at the shard in astonishment and asked incredulously, "How did it find its way here?"
"Immediately … leave this place."
Arthis' feeble voice called out, "There's … an expert in Clear Creek County. A true expert … most likely from Lotus City …"
"He … killed the puppeteer."
"Are you alright?" Qin Ye finally felt a weight lift off his shoulders when he heard Arthis' voice.
I can't let something that I've traded for with the Sixfold Ghost King Summoning Scroll die so quietly …
"I won't die … Kid, the shard of King Yanluo's Seal … will only reunite with the nearest shard when the wielder dies.
Its shard is of great use.
As soon as two pieces are gathered, Yin and Yang will converge … cough cough cough … "
"Don't talk about it for now."
Perhaps it was because of Arthis' intervention, but Qin Ye's voice was filled with a trace of sincerity, "Let's discuss it?
Wait a little longer?
Wait until I'm almost done with it? "
Arthis: "......"
Suppressing the netherflames in her heart, she gritted her teeth, "How long have we been here?
Less than twenty minutes?
This man … cough cough … from the time he arrived at the scene to the time he killed Puppeteer … he must be at least an Anitya Hellguard … The traces of the shard of King Yanluo's Seal will be difficult to conceal. Even if he can't deal with it right now, he'll definitely be here soon enough. We've got at most an hour … "
"I'm going to rest for a period of time. I'm afraid it'll take several months … Take care of yourself. Remember to keep the shard of King Yanluo's Seal safe … and wait for me to wake up …"
After saying that, she didn't make another sound.
Qin Ye held the two shards in his hand and deliberated for several seconds. Then, he solemnly placed them in his pocket and rushed straight into the depths of Ethnic Minority Street.
"Ai … Qin Ye!
Wait for me!
Your wound! "
"Sit tight in the car!"
Qin Ye whispered back, "Wang Chenghao, don't get me wrong … I'm not talking about an hour of actual time.
Rather, it's about the time we leave Clear Creek County … After today, I'm afraid we won't be able to leave even if we wanted to. "
"Go home and pack your things immediately. After I'm done, you must wait for me here!
Refuel well. We'll be driving through the night. The further we get from here, the better! "
Wang Chenghao gritted his teeth and left.
Qin Ye forcibly suppressed the faint sensation of dizziness. He donned his Hell's Emissary uniform once more, and the wind whistled past his ears. Very soon, he arrived at the end of Ethnic Minority Street.
It was also the cheapest rental house in the city.
"Number 81 … it's here!"
It was filthy. The rubbish in front of the door hadn't been swept for a long time.
The curtains were tightly shut, and black stains could be seen everywhere. The entire house gave off the feeling of a tomb.
There were no lights on.
Qin Ye's heart was filled with an ominous premonition. He rushed over and kicked the door open.
It was pitch black. He switched on the lights, and then let out a long sigh.
I'm too late.
There was a corpse hanging in the middle of the small rental house.
It looked exactly the same as the death he had seen in the hotel earlier.
Countless black threads hung him on the old-fashioned ceiling fan like a puppet.
It was no longer possible to discern the corpse's original appearance. The black threads were incredibly tight, and they had pierced deep into the corpse's flesh and into his body.
Just like a fishing net, there was already a large patch of dark red underneath the corpse.
This was the corpse bearer who had accepted the job of carrying corpses from Eastsea.
Although he was dead, the Yin energy around him had yet to dissipate. This meant that he had died very recently.
It had to have happened within the same day.
"The first thing Lin Chaosheng did when he arrived was to silence him …" The trail had come to a dead end. He gazed at the distant Rivergorge City, "It looks like we'll only be able to find traces of that person on the next ghost in Rivergorge City …"
Shaking his head, he turned around and left the scene.
Forty minutes later, Wang Chenghao returned with a backpack in tow.
He picked up Qin Ye on time.
There were stars and a bright moon tonight.
Under the moonlight, their car drove out of Clear Creek County safely and entered the national highway.
After all, the outbreak of supernatural incidents had only recently begun, and the Special Investigations Department wasn't fully prepared. Otherwise, they would have placed the entire county on lockdown immediately.
Or rather, they wouldn't have had the authority to do so in the past.
Now that they needed time to communicate with the Special Investigations Department, this gave Qin Ye and the others an opportunity to leave.
"Brother Qin, where are we going?" Wang Chenghao asked as he drove.
Qin Ye looked at the map and thought for a moment, "Dingyang City."
"It's a north-south distance from here.
Furthermore … there's an airport to Lotus City, and the high-speed rail will pass through there as well.
After all … we're about to go to university, aren't we? "
Wang Chenghao nodded. The further they got from Clear Creek County, the more relaxed he became.
The temperature of early autumn was still quite variable, and the nights were already getting cooler and cooler.
Neither of them spoke.
Wang Chenghao had been through a series of unforeseen events, and he wanted someone to talk to him at all times, especially Qin Ye.
Ten minutes later, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Qin … are you alright?"
The stars were shining brightly tonight. Qin Ye stared blankly at the sky, and then nodded silently.
After some thought, he responded, "You don't have to worry about me … I'm switching modes."
Wang Chenghao: "???"
"... To put it simply, people have a thousand faces. They've always approached life with an attitude of desperation.
Although they've earned the respect of others, they've also earned the derision of 'idiots'.
In order to get closer to life, they've sometimes had to let their springs down … Do you have a cigarette? "
Wang Chenghao quickly pulled out a pack of Chunghwa cigarettes, and Qin Ye lit one up. Qin Ye rarely smoked, and he choked on his cigarette abruptly.
Then, he took a deep breath, "Wang Chenghao, I know many people who've worked hard for their entire lives.
They've got luxury cars, houses, and even a large group of female celebrities.
But … as soon as they step into the realm of Destiny, they'll suddenly feel … as though their lives have become far too tiring. "
"That's right. In the eyes of many, this is already considered a successful career. But … I'm different."
"I've … seen too many things.
Some of them might even be seen as stories. In my eyes, life is far too long.
I can muster up the courage to put my life on the line for a moment, because it threatens the stability of my life.
But I can't muster up the strength to put my life on the line for a lifetime.
Because my life is far too long … "
"Therefore, after putting my life on the line, I'll always allow myself to return to a more relaxed state. You can call me a salted fish if you want to.
Dealing with the necessary things with the necessary attitude, I think this is what people should do. "
With a flick of his finger, the butt of the cigarette drew a bright red line in the dark night.
Wang Chenghao pursed his lips. He would never have listened to such sermons if his father had told him otherwise.
That said, he actually listened to Qin Ye's occasional self-expression.
He couldn't help but recall the past ten years of his life. Thinking about it carefully … What had he done?
Other than lying on his father's savings and waiting to die, fighting and picking up girls, what else had he done?
He should treat his studies and even his life with a serious attitude, but he couldn't bring out the corresponding attitude.
Qin Ye was like an alarm clock that ticked along at a steady pace.
At that point, it would naturally erupt.
He, on the other hand, was like a watch. He was always muddle-headed and did not know when he would explode.
When Qin Ye fought with Puppeteer on the fifth floor of the Fenglai Hotel, Qin Ye's heart trembled violently.
It was as if the dark night had suddenly revealed the light of dawn.
He wasn't sure what he understood, but he began to despise his past.
"I … will do my best," he said in a low voice.
Soon, it was blown away by the wind and drifted into the night.
Qin Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes - What does it have to do with me whether you work hard or not?
His life was long, and he had too many passers-by. Friends were few and far between. True friends were at least dozens of years of friendship. Now, Wang Chenghao said that friends were flattering him.
At most, he would enter the probation period.
"Do you want to listen to music?"
Wang Chenghao felt a little uncomfortable. The young man was still thin-skinned, and his face was more important than the sky. It was the most shameful thing to admit defeat in front of a new "friend", so he immediately tried to cover it up.
"Whatever."
Wang Chenghao switched on his phone, only to see a Nipponese song playing on the radio. Qin Ye had heard of it before, and it sounded pretty good. It was titled "Blue Bird".
The clear female voice resounded in the car, but both of them frowned slightly. In this situation, they would rather listen to a softer song.
Without waiting for Qin Ye's response, Wang Chenghao clicked on the 'Cut Song' button.
A gentle melody sounded in the night wind.
"Wandering, on the road."
Qin Ye's gaze flickered slightly.
"Are you leaving, via, via … Fragile, proud … That was once my image …"
"Seething, restless …" Qin Ye's voice echoed softly, "Enigmatic, silent … Are you really listening to my story …"
This was one of the few songs that he could remember clearly.
"I've crossed mountains and seas, and passed through mountains and seas of people.
Everything I once had, has vanished like smoke in the blink of an eye … "His voice drifted softly into the night sky along with the car.
Wang Chenghao listened quietly. He suddenly felt that this song and this person were very much in tune with each other.
There was a story behind it, and it carried a sense of vicissitudes of life.
At this moment, Wang Chenghao's phone suddenly rang with a "beep".
A mechanical voice responded, "Video download complete. Do you wish to play it?"
He froze for a moment, and then smacked his forehead, "Brother Qin, do you want to know what happened after we left?"
"You have an idea?" Qin Ye asked incredulously.
Too many things had happened after he left.
And most importantly … who killed the puppeteer?