Chapter 103: Pledging Allegiance

He held the short dagger in a reverse grip, subtly adjusting the angle for optimal force generation. His spine was slightly hunched, like a thin blade poised to strike.

He had no intention of holding back. Talking about holding back in front of the infamous Ghost Birth Infant would be far too arrogant. Truthfully, his understanding of the Ghost Birth Infant was quite limited. Perhaps only those from the Tao Family knew what methods the Ghost Birth Infant truly possessed. Everyone who had seen her act was dead. Only one vague sentence described her ability: “When the Ghost Birth Infant emerges, the paranormal is suppressed.”

Suppression. That didn’t sound like a good word. Yue Yunqiu guessed that in a real fight, his own syndrome would likely become ineffective. So, he had long prepared to abandon his syndrome and had already readied the opening stance of the Ape Garb Blade Technique.

Everything he had said earlier to Qi Ran and Parrot was the truth. He wasn’t good at combat. The blade technique he had learned wasn’t meant for combat at all; it was meant for killing. The master who taught him the blade technique had once told him something unforgettable: You don’t need your blade technique to be more refined than your opponent’s, nor do you need your moves to be more exquisite. You only need to make your opponent die. The one who lives is correct. To kill your opponent, you must stop at nothing. Dignity is irrelevant, as are bottom lines. Even your teeth must be of use. When necessary, he would bite through the opponent’s throat without hesitation. Living basely is far better than dying gloriously.

Therefore, he had never liked the term “sparring.” That wording was too frivolous, too much like a joke. Who was slightly stronger than whom didn’t matter in the slightest. Who died and who lived was all that mattered.

How would the opponent launch an attack? He narrowed his eyes slightly, locking them firmly on the woman. He saw no obvious danger. Something sharp or some other object might be hidden under that suit jacket. Unlikely to be a firearm; he found it hard to imagine the Ghost Birth Infant using a gun. It would be too absurd.

Assuming there was a close-quarters weapon hidden under that jacket, how would she attack? A straight thrust? A thrown knife? A diagonal slash? Or would she close in first, then grapple and disarm him? The suit was somewhat form-fitting. Even if she could hide a weapon, it could only be a dagger. As the saying goes, an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous. A fight between two daggers would be a complete test of composure and strategic gambit, which was precisely his forte. His breathing had become so faint it was nearly imperceptible.

The woman simply shook her head.

“I am not the Ghost Birth Infant, nor did I take the Ghost Birth Infant’s name.”

Her voice was very light. For some reason, Yue Yunqiu detected a hint of pity in those airy words.

She placed her hand on her chest, her voice like sleep-talk:

“I am a Ghost.”

The instant she spoke those words, Yue Yunqiu suddenly stepped forward. He could no longer afford to wait. A tremendous sense of unease rippled through his Mind Lake, like a giant bell tolling a constant warning in its center. A cold killing intent seemed to permeate everywhere, inescapably. He lunged forward violently. Fifteen meters was but a flash to him. The short dagger aimed straight for the vital point of her throat. Viewed from above, his form was like a vulture swooping down on its prey.

His gaze was locked dead on the woman. How would she react? Dodge sideways? Leap? Retreat? Or forcibly seize the blade with her hand? He had prepared countermeasures for every possibility, not relying on reaction, but on instincts tempered through countless missions. No matter what the prey did, it couldn’t escape that short blade.

But the woman did nothing. She just stood there quietly. In those clear pupils, Yue Yunqiu saw his own reflection.

Just as he stepped within those final three meters, his body suddenly plummeted downward. His charging momentum abruptly slowed, shifting from a sprint to a slow walk. His form staggered as if drunk, teetering on the brink, until he half-knelt. The posture looked exactly like an official kowtowing to an emperor.

“Crack!”

The three mirrors shattered in the same instant. Qi Ran, who had been standing behind them, was exposed. Due to the injury to her left leg, she was leaning against the left wall, a dark-colored pistol clenched tightly in her hand. The muzzle pointed straight ahead, trembling slightly.

From her vantage point, she could clearly see the truth of what had happened. Yue Yunqiu’s form, half-kneeling on the ground, was shaking uncontrollably, or rather, convulsing. His knees had already shattered on the hard floor. It was no mere persuasion; it was an immense, domineering pressure so great it could only be described as absolute force. The bronze dagger fell from his hand as if it weighed a thousand catties.

Yue Yunqiu was about to die. He would be crushed into a puddle of bloody mud.

Qi Ran’s Mind Lake was completely blank. She had never imagined that seeing Tao Xiao again would be in such a place, at such a time.

Bang!

The recoil numbed the web of her hand. The bullet escaped the muzzle, spinning as it flew toward the woman. But as soon as it entered that three-meter radius, it instantly slowed to a crawl. Losing all subsequent kinetic energy, the deformed bullet plummeted straight down.

This shot had no effect whatsoever. But that immense, crushing pressure finally stopped. Yue Yunqiu, half-kneeling on the ground, collapsed forward, lying in the pool of blood beneath him. His completely twisted and deformed knees testified to the severity of his condition. Tao Xiao did nothing further, merely bypassing him and slowly walking forward.

Qi Ran just watched Tao Xiao in silence, lowering her gun. She said nothing. She had already seen that within those indifferent eyes, there was no trace of her own reflection.

Perhaps this was Tao Xiao’s true nature, her real appearance. It was only reasonable. If not for her younger sister, Miss Ah Qiao, why would she have wasted two inexplicable years on her? Only now, Miss Ah Qiao was gone. Perhaps she had grown tired of residing within her body, or perhaps she had found a better host. In any case, Qi Ran now had no further value to exploit. So Tao Xiao left. It was that simple. It made sense. She thought she would have done the same.

So she didn’t say a single word. She just stood there, as if she had taken root and sprouted from the ground.

Tao Xiao brushed past her side. A part of her wanted to turn her head and look back, but she forcefully suppressed that desire. As long as she didn’t harbor expectations, she likely wouldn’t be met with disappointment. She had understood this principle long ago. Just like during the parent-teacher conferences in her childhood, when she stood alone at the back of the classroom, she never looked up at the door again and again, expecting someone to walk into the class and sit in her empty seat.

Never again.

She slowly supported herself against the wall and walked forward, arriving beside Yue Yunqiu. “Are you still conscious?” she asked quietly.

“…Still here. Not dead yet,” Yue Yunqiu’s voice was very weak, kept low. “Do me a favor. There should be a box in my jacket pocket. Take it out for me.”

“What’s that box for?” Qi Ran asked quietly.

“It’s a remote control. Something… not so pleasant will happen when you press it… Alright, to put it simply, this place will be blown to ashes along with her.” Yue Yunqiu coughed, blood continuously spilling from his mouth and nose. Qi Ran dragged him, leaving a long, dark red trail across the floor. The leader of Pingjiang Execution Squad 1 now resembled a mop broken in half. “No need to drag me. Just take the box out and give it to me, then leave immediately. I’ll press it after you’re gone. The button won’t work if it leaves Sublevel Three. Don’t overthink this. It’s just my duty. You still have things you need to do.”

He thought for a moment and tried his best to force out a teasing remark: “Li Yuan is still waiting for you. Even if I make it out, if you die here, she’ll kill me when she finds out. I’m in a wheelchair; I wouldn’t be able to beat her.”

But Qi Ran seemed not to hear him. Expressionless, she dragged him bit by bit to the elevator and pressed the button.

When the elevator doors opened, she dragged Yue Yunqiu inside. Then, she reached into his jacket pocket. Her fingertips indeed touched a box, about the size of an unassuming communicator case.

After opening the box, there was a red, circular button.

“Wait… your hair. You’re not Qi Xin?” She suddenly heard Yue Yunqiu’s somewhat stunned voice.

Qi Ran looked up at the mirror inside the brightly lit elevator. The disguise Greasepaint had created for her had vanished at some point. Amidst her slightly disheveled hair, a lock of blue was faintly visible.

She paused for a moment, then realized what had happened. Most likely, when she had brushed past Tao Xiao earlier, Greasepaint’s ability had been forcibly dispelled.

She had no mind to explain anything further. She simply asked Yue Yunqiu, “Just press it directly?”

Yue Yunqiu, still in shock, nodded. Receiving the confirmation, she reached out and pressed the button for the first floor. Seeing Qi Ran still standing at the elevator entrance, Yue Yunqiu suddenly understood what she intended to do.

Qi Ran took a step back, out of the bright, clean elevator, back into the narrow corridor flickering with black-and-red alarm lights.

Her Mind Lake was filled with heavy dust, weighing her down so much she didn’t want to utter another word.

“Wait!” Yue Yunqiu roared hoarsely, pushing himself up and crawling across the elevator floor. The pain of his twisted, deformed knees knocking against the ground nearly made him pass out. This Executor, once renowned for his speed, could now only writhe on the floor. “Hold on!”

“Don’t worry,” Qi Ran said from the shadows outside the elevator, her eyes lowered, her tone calm. “Qi Xin is very safe. Li Yuan won’t come looking for trouble with you.”

The elevator doors slowly closed, cutting off Yue Yunqiu’s hoarse voice along with it. The numbers began to climb upward.