Chapter 125-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Ye Zheng took stock of the numbers: Wen De had brought twenty knights, and the newly minted heretic leader Sierra now had twenty-five "Disciples" trailing behind her—all ability users.
In a secluded corner, Wen De leaned in close to Ye Zheng's ear and whispered softly, "Are you sure about traveling with Sierra? Her position is a bit awkward; it might harm your reputation."
After the Blood Flower Incident and the execution event, Sierra, who had rebelled against the Royal Family and the Sei Curia, had won the support of the Disciples. This organization believed the Curia had been abandoned by the God of Hope, and that the Disciples were the true faithful of the God of Hope.
Amid the Curia's string of scandals, the Disciples had seized an unprecedented opportunity for growth, wreaking havoc by destroying and plundering Curia properties everywhere, spreading heretical doctrines. Undoubtedly, they had become a thorn in the Curia's side.
For the Curia's Saintess to be seen openly walking side by side with the heretic leader in plain view would inevitably stir controversy and doubt within and outside the Curia.
"It's fine. We need Sierra."
Sierra's abilities were nullification and control, and she was intimately familiar with the aura of Dragon Bones. Somehow, Ye Zheng had a premonition that Sierra would be essential for this journey through the West District.
Ye Zheng's tone was gentle yet firm. Wen De nodded, raising no further objections, and stepped back to the Saintess's side.
"Then, Saintess, please give your orders. We're all ready."
Ye Zheng pulled out a map. They'd just sent scouts to check, and they were on a street somewhere in Lansia County, not far from the base. But why had Zhou Yun placed them here?
"Sierra."
The clear voice cut through the white mist. Sierra, who had been surveying the surroundings, turned irritably toward the sound and walked over, tilting her head up to glare at Ye Zheng's face. "What? Have you found the Dragon Bones already?"
Without waiting for a reply, the golden-haired, tousled girl circled Ye Zheng once, then whispered a threat, "I'm not going back empty-handed. If there's no Dragon Bone here, I'll peel one out of your body..."
"Can't you smell it? The aura of the Dragon Bone."
Ye Zheng interrupted Sierra's vicious words.
Sierra twitched her nose. "It's on you, on me—doesn't that count?"
Ye Zheng's dark eyes gleamed with patient guidance. She fanned the mist toward Sierra with one slender hand. "Try sensing it more carefully—the aura in the mist."
Sierra inhaled deeply in annoyance. Ever since the year she turned seven and Wen Jian had thrown her into the Blood Flower Demonic Domain, she'd gained her second ability, [Nullification], through the Dragon Bone. From then on, she'd been inseparable from Dragon Bones day and night. Even after escaping the Blood Flower Demonic Domain, with Ye Zheng's tacit approval and help, she'd claimed the demon dragon's skull for herself. No one was more familiar with Dragon Bones than she was.
The aura of Dragon Bones was as natural as the air she breathed every moment. Sierra took a forceful breath, then suddenly sensed something amiss.
"...I smell it."
She mumbled, turning her red eyes toward the direction behind her.
Ye Zheng followed Sierra's gaze backward. In the thick mist, no one could see the distant scenery. After a long moment, she issued the order: "We'll split into two groups."
Meanwhile, at the edge of the town.
After pinpointing Zhou Yun's location, the two didn't set off immediately. After Percy's cautious deliberation, he successfully persuaded Sex to leave half their forces to guard the town, then lead the rest onward.
Zhou Yun's mist alone was deadly enough—not to mention she had a team of Fallen Breed, over a hundred dragon-bodied humans, each with the strength of an A-rank ability user.
According to Ye Zheng, the base had already been breached. The Fallen Breed that had originally been stationed outside the base's barrier to destroy it had completed their task, so where would they go next? Either to trap the fifty thousand people in the town, or to Zhou Yun's side.
Unease spread through Percy's heart. Ye Zheng and Lucy's whereabouts were unknown, most of Sex's men had scattered, only a small portion had found their Crown Prince, and the base that could contend with Zhou Yun had fallen.
Even though the base deserved it, without Kiran and the others' help now, Zhou Yun's threat had grown too great.
Gazing at the Crown Prince's team assembling on the other side, Percy turned to his remaining two companions and voiced his carefully considered decision. "Roy, Caleb—you two go to the base and find Lucy. Once you've got her, we'll regroup."
Percy regretted once again not bringing Lucy with them when they left. He'd thought she'd be safer at the base, but it had fallen in the blink of an eye.
Roy and Caleb exchanged a glance, neither objecting. Their main goal in coming to the West District had been to bring Lucy back. They just didn't know why they always ended up entangled in such monumental troubles.
After all preparations were made, Percy approached Sex and stood at his side.
He glanced sideways at Sex's cold profile, like the sea still before a storm. Who knew if this suppressed emotion stemmed from the immensely threatening Zhou Yun, or from the Ye Zheng whose loyalties were unclear?
Of course, his own mood wasn't much better. Percy didn't want to be enemies with Zhou Yun or those Fallen Breed—especially when he saw the utterly emotionless black eyes of the Fallen Breed, a surge of profound sorrow and guilt welled up in his heart, as if many years ago, he too had gazed sadly into eyes like those.
The youth harbored a sliver of hope: perhaps Zhou Yun would set aside her enmity. After all, the base and leader Kiran that she hated most were already gone. She shouldn't let her anger and despair harm more innocents.
"Move out."
The curt voice shattered Percy's thoughts.
Sex tossed the brief two words to his knights and turned to step into the white mist.
Lucy had been confined to this villa for a full half day now.
Zhou Yun was a generous and amiable host. She always sat quietly on the sofa flipping through a book, letting Lucy dart around the villa, occasionally asking if she needed water or snacks. Apart from one locked room she couldn't enter, Lucy had explored every inch of the villa and sampled five kinds of treats.
At this moment, she was sprawled on the balcony, staring out at the foggy street below. If she wanted to leave the villa, it would be easy—just flip down from the second-floor balcony, and she'd escape this strange place.
But whenever that thought arose, Zhou Yun's smiling face floated into view, and in her ears, she hallucinated the woman's voice, damp with moisture: "Don't leave here. The world outside is all an illusion built on lies."
Even bold and lively as Lucy was, her instincts told her not to defy the woman's words. Better to stay put for now.
At least her mission was complete! Zhou Yun had promised to fulfill Ye Zheng's requests.
Bored out of her mind, Lucy stared at the street below. Suddenly, she blinked rapidly, her body leaning forward in excitement.
The girl parted her lips, a word on the tip of her tongue, but she quickly swallowed it back. She turned and thumped down the stairs.
The chandelier's dim yellow light bathed the living room in warm, pristine glow. The woman's gaunt face gained a touch of warmth. She sat on the sofa, flipping through a book titled A Brief History of the Empire, when a bell rang abruptly, shattering the serene atmosphere.
Zhou Yun set down the book and walked to the door. Without a hint of hesitation, she opened it for the unknown guest.
"Mrs. Zhou, hello. Is now a good time to talk?"
A mild, courteous face immediately entered her view. The youth stood humbly at the threshold, his dark eyes bright and sincere, though Zhou Yun noted one hand braced against the doorframe with a subtle, unyielding insistence.
"Come in, little Saintess."
"And your friends? There are quite a few, but I can host them all together."
"I wouldn't want to trouble you too much. Let them wait outside for a bit."
Ye Zheng first locked eyes with Lucy on the stairs, giving her a reassuring look, then naturally sat on the sofa, accepting the tea Zhou Yun offered with a grateful smile—like an ordinary student visiting a friend's home.
Zhou Yun's attitude toward her was equally gentle and natural, as if it hadn't been her who'd unleashed the mist to strangle Ye Zheng in the municipal building just days ago.
Lucy looked left and right. In the eerily harmonious atmosphere, she quietly sidled up to Ye Zheng. The two girls sat side by side, separated by a small tea table, with Zhou Yun in the chair opposite them.
After entering the villa, Ye Zheng's gaze never left Zhou Yun. The more composed the woman seemed, the heavier Ye Zheng's heart grew.
When a person unleashes their emotions, they're also seeking feedback and help from the outside world. Zhou Yun's emotions were too subdued—subdued to the point where Ye Zheng couldn't discern what she truly wanted now.
Ye Zheng recalled that back in the municipal building, it was only when she'd rashly mentioned Yuan Yuan that Zhou Yun had shown any real emotional fluctuation.
Though using Yuan Yuan as bait was terribly impolite, Ye Zheng had no other choice now. She had to bring up that heartbreaking name to probe Zhou Yun's attitude.
"Mrs. Zhou, would you be willing to tell us—"
"Shh, do you hear that?"
Zhou Yun interrupted suddenly, pressing a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture.
Ye Zheng swallowed her words, puzzled but fully cooperative in going quiet. Lucy, equally baffled, perked up her ears.
The living room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. Ye Zheng could only hear her own breathing, but the Zhou Yun across from her looked utterly focused, as if listening to a sacred sermon.
The two girls waited patiently for a while until Lucy, confused, nudged Ye Zheng's arm. Ye Zheng blinked and broke Zhou Yun's concentration, asking, "Lucy and I didn't hear anything. What did you hear?"
Zhou Yun, propped on her chin and staring out the window, withdrew her gaze at the question and looked at Ye Zheng. Her expression was gentle and indulgent, her elongated eyes—with their excess whites and vertical slit pupils—now seeming tender.
"It's alright. You'll hear it soon enough."
"Before you hear His voice, let me tell you a story about a girl first."
Ye Zheng keenly interjected, "Is it... about Yuan Yuan?"
Zhou Yun lowered her head, then shook it, her eyes fixed on the book on the tea table.
"It's a story about selfishness, lies, and interests that led to fatal misfortune."
"There was this girl, born into nobility, proud and ambitious, unwilling to settle for being just a noblewoman. But she lacked the corresponding abilities, so she fretted all day long."
"One day, she accidentally uncovered a secret. With some petty cleverness, she wormed her way into the interest group behind it. Though still in the noblewoman role she scorned, she gained real power."
Lucy's serious expression carried a trace of bewilderment, while Ye Zheng beside her leaned forward, her face growing ever more solemn.
"That power was built on the wails and suffering of her own kind, yet she turned a blind eye. She didn't consider herself one of them. She even presented herself as a kind, capable, great mother to her daughter, telling her this was an extraordinary job."
Ye Zheng stared at Zhou Yun's pale face. She finally understood why Kiran and the Overseer family got along so well—because Zhou Yun was also one of the base's actual managers with real authority. That's how she had the means and ability to release all the Fallen Breed.
Zhou Yun's voice trembled faintly as she continued:
"Until one day, my daughter told me she had become part of that great endeavor too."
"My hypocrisy and lies backfired on the person I loved most."
"So I must correct this mistake. Otherwise, how could I have the face to meet Yuan Yuan?"
Ye Zheng caught the vulnerability seeping through Zhou Yun's words and leaned closer, her gaze earnest. "We've already destroyed the base and killed Kiran. I know the Hope Project won't end completely because of this, but we can correct this mistake together, until you can rest easy meeting your daughter."
Zhou Yun leaned in as well, her face nearly touching the girl's.
"No, you don't know what this 'mistake' is."
"This isn't something we can correct. We need His power to unveil the evil truth."
The eyes so close held a madness and sorrow Ye Zheng couldn't comprehend, the woman's murmuring voice like a curse.
Suddenly, Ye Zheng jerked back, turning her head to the window.
She heard a high, distant cry, ancient as if echoing from eternity.
Percy was midway through their march, the knights' figures faintly visible in the white mist around him, when suddenly the sky darkened. They were enveloped in boundless shadow.
The youth looked up tensely, then gaped in disbelief.
Against the foggy sky, a colossal black shadow beat its wings forward, blotting out the heavens.
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