Chapter 18: The Hidden Mastermind

Xi Yu had many enemies in his previous life, but notably few within the Middle Continent.

Aside from the fact that most were individual threats that weren’t particularly massive to him, the main reason was that the Middle Continent consumed the vast majority of their energy, so Xi Yu never paid them much attention.

Yet to the citizens of the Middle Continent, those super-criminals were notorious and heinous.

Especially the nine strongest A-class criminals among them; each possessed a code name that made one’s soul tremble, serving as a nightmare for the vast majority of people in the Middle Continent.

In terms of harm, they were even more significant than the vast majority of ghosts.

Xi Yu’s knowledge of [Taotie] was limited to knowing he had committed several monstrous crimes and was covered in blood.

At that time, Xi Yu himself was plagued by trouble, so he naturally lacked the mental energy to do anything.

Moreover, there were too many thugs and criminals in the world; even if he had the heart for it, he couldn’t keep up.

But in this life, his identity has not yet been exposed, and he has already decided to stand completely with the nation.

Naturally, the enemies of the Middle Continent were now his enemies, and he intended to eradicate every criminal in the nation he discovered.

Since he had encountered Yao Yanyi this time, he definitely couldn’t let him escape.

In his previous life, Yao Yanyi’s rise had been sudden, and it just so happened that he had appeared in Xincheng City now.

This forced Xi Yu to suspect whether the Ghost Domain was related to him.

He remembered Yao Yanyi’s Food Sacrifice ability very clearly: it was to devour ghosts and then control them; in his previous life, Yao Yanyi had used this ability to ambush him.

Given this, the multiple strange ghost sieges on Xincheng made sense.

As for his motive, Xi Yu thought about it and understood.

Likely, Yao Yanyi had obtained the secret of the Ghost Domain’s core from somewhere and wanted to use these means to force the Middle Continent’s B-class experts to come and fight the Ghost Domain to a mutual exhaustion, so he could reap the rewards as the “fisherman.”

Of course, this was all Xi Yu’s speculation and might not be accurate.

But with the bit of information he knew from his past life, he was basically certain even without evidence.

And it wasn’t hard to verify.

If Yao Yanyi was the mastermind pushing the ghosts to attack Xincheng, then his warning to Guan Zhang about the Lamp-Skull Tree had likely already “startled the snake.”

Because he suspected the Lamp-Skull Tree was a ghost controlled by Yao Yanyi.

The probability of this was high.

The ones capable of driving a ghost siege had to be the most powerful C-class ghosts.

He had already learned from Zhang Qingyuan that only the Lamp-Skull Tree appeared daily to oversee the battle.

The Ghost Crying House had only appeared twice during this period and didn’t show up today, let alone the Shadowless Rat, which had essentially never truly manifested.

As for the Star-Dream Jellyfish, it was the incarnation of the Ghost Domain itself and naturally couldn’t be the culprit, leaving only the Lamp-Skull Tree.

Although he had startled the snake, Xi Yu immediately realized this might not be a bad thing.

Once he processed this, he immediately set a trap for Yao Yanyi.

Despite Xi Yu being certain that everything Xincheng was enduring was Yao Yanyi’s doing, he currently had no way to deal with him.

Directly eradicating Yao Yanyi without any reason was ultimately a poor move.

Although he knew Yao Yanyi would become a source of turmoil in the Middle Continent and commit heinous massacres in the future, he currently had no evidence.

He naturally couldn’t move against him at will, especially since Guan Zhang was still wary of him.

Thus, he could only force Yao Yanyi’s true face out.

However, to make Yao Yanyi show a weakness, he needed Ding Ren to cooperate, but could Ding Ren truly believe him?

Based on today’s performance alone, on the surface, Yao Yanyi seemed not to have started his crimes yet and had even made significant contributions to the Middle Continent.

Making someone suspect such a person of having problems was no simple task.

****

Ding Ren arrived quickly.

Xi Yu asked everyone to go outside and keep watch, not letting anyone else approach.

Besides the two of them, only Zhang Qingyuan remained in the room.

For now, the fewer people who knew about this, the better, and Zhang Qingyuan was indeed the most mature and steady one among them; Ding Ren’s team was essentially managed by him.

“What is it?”

Ding Ren looked at Xi Yu.

He knew Xi Yu likely didn’t call him for the Star-Dream Jellyfish but had something else to discuss.

“Captain Ding, I currently suspect that the Civilian Guard in Xincheng named Yao Yanyi might be related to this ghost invasion.”

Xi Yu said solemnly.

“Of course, I have no evidence yet and need to observe for a while longer.”

“So I hope you can help keep an eye on him—ideally in a deliberate manner to see if he proactively reveals any flaws.”

He didn’t mention that Yao Yanyi would become a major threat to the Middle Continent in the future, as there was no point saying it without evidence.

Moreover, with him here in this life, Yao Yanyi would certainly have no chance to become the [Taotie] that was a nightmare for countless people.

“Alright.”

Ding Ren agreed immediately.

Xi Yu was stunned.

“You believe me just like that, without even considering it?”

“Mhm, I believe you.”

Ding Ren replied calmly.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Xi Yu reached out and patted Ding Ren’s shoulder, suddenly feeling very moved.

Though he didn’t know why Ding Ren trusted him so much, the feeling of being unconditionally trusted was wonderful.

Ding Ren’s reason for believing Xi Yu was simple: his perception told him Xi Yu wasn’t lying, and simultaneously, he had indeed sensed a trace of hidden malice coming from Yao Yanyi earlier.

Even without his perception, his time spent with Xi Yu these past few days was enough for him to trust Xi Yu over the completely unfamiliar Yao Yanyi.

Although one was a dragon and the other a human.

He would naturally only believe the one he knew was good for the Middle Continent.

After saying he believed Xi Yu, Ding Ren immediately perceived a sense of heartfelt joy and delight radiating from him, an emotion that also infected himself.

He instinctively reached out and ruffled Xi Yu’s hair.

After a couple of ruffles, both of them froze simultaneously.

Then, Ding Ren withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened.

“No need for thanks. If the affairs in Xincheng are truly inseparable from him, I should be the one thanking you.”

Ding Ren said seriously.

“I’ll head out first; we’ll go to the Star-Dream Jellyfish later.”

“Mhm, alright.”

Xi Yu nodded.

“By the way, Captain Ding.”

He suddenly remembered something.

“Yao Yanyi has a trait ability called [Devour]; if you clash with him, remember to stay far away from him.”

“Alright.”

Ding Ren nodded.

He didn’t ask how Xi Yu knew this and left the house calmly.

Once out of the house, Ding Ren finally couldn’t help but let out a long breath.

He had truly been possessed for a moment just now.

Of course, after a moment’s recovery, he began to wonder why Xi Yu was so clear about Yao Yanyi’s matters.

****

“Captain Zhang, what are you doing?”

Xi Yu looked in bewilderment at Zhang Qingyuan’s reaching hand.

Zhang Qingyuan’s hand, which was moving toward Xi Yu’s head, took a turn to smooth out his collar.

“I saw your collar was a bit messy, so I helped you fix it.”

“It’s fine now; I’m heading out. Call me if you need anything.”

Zhang Qingyuan fled in a panic.

“This guy’s skin still isn’t thick enough,” Xi Yu couldn’t help but laugh.

However, he soon restrained his smile.

Although he very much wanted to be friends with Ding Ren, he felt… was his distance from Ding Ren getting a bit too close?

Ding Ren’s behavior just now was truly bizarre, not like something he would do at all.

This dragon lust of his could flare up at any moment; was Ding Ren not afraid of running right into it?

The onset of dragon lust followed no pattern whatsoever and could happen at any time.

At its longest, it took a year; at its shortest, it could flare up twice in three days.

If it happened to erupt while Ding Ren was acting like today, he really feared he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back.

After all, Ding Ren was exceptionally outstanding in every aspect.

Although their time together had shown Xi Yu that if he truly asked, Ding Ren might actually be willing to help him resolve the hidden physical dangers, he didn’t want to do that at all.

He didn’t want his relationship with Ding Ren to degenerate, and he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.

In any case, better to prepare early.

Xi Yu suddenly remembered something he had forgotten because of Ding Ren ruffling his hair.

While forcing Yao Yanyi to show a weakness was simple, they were currently restricted from entering the city, yet Yao Yanyi could pass through without hindrance.

It would be troublesome if he simply hid in the city and didn’t come out.

If Yao Yanyi caused chaos inside the city later, it would surely lead to massive casualties.

It would be best to find a way to keep him outside the city, so they wouldn’t have to fear him acting like a cornered dog later.

He had to go find Ding Ren immediately.

Guan Zhang looked into the distance with a frown.

Ding Ren was actually pulling Yao Yanyi aside to talk about heaven knows what, which cast a shadow over his heart.

Ding Ren’s personality was known to almost everyone; the man was equally cold when interacting with him.

So how was it that he was chatting so animatedly with Yao Yanyi now?

He even caught a glimpse of Ding Ren smiling a few times.

It seemed that because he was being too alert, they had truly set their sights on Yao Yanyi.

Xi Yu walked out of the house and saw Ding Ren returning.

“It’s settled. I’ll go talk to Guan Zhang, and then we’ll set out.”

“What about Yao Yanyi? We can’t let him into the city,” Xi Yu said quickly.

“Don’t worry, he won’t be able to enter the city.”

Ding Ren gave a rare, mysterious smile.

Xi Yu was stunned, not knowing where Ding Ren got this confidence.

However, he still trusted Ding Ren’s character, knowing he wouldn’t speak without reason.

Thus, he set aside his doubts.

“Alright, I’ll give Captain Zhang a few instructions first.”

Guan Zhang naturally wouldn’t refuse Ding Ren’s request to see the Star-Dream Jellyfish.

Just as he expected, Ding Ren didn’t bring any of the others—he only took Xi Yu.

‘If there isn’t something wrong with Xi Yu, I’ll take Ding Ren’s last name.’

On the other side, Yao Yanyi, having just watched Ding Ren carry Xi Yu away at high speed, was walking back toward the city.

On the surface, he remained impassive, but he was actually quite alert.

He naturally knew of Ding Ren’s reputation, but the fact that the man was now taking the initiative to chat with him made him feel anything but honored; instead, he felt a sense of impending trouble.

Ding Ren’s personality was known to all, so what unique quality did he possess to attract the man’s attention?

Alarm bells rang in Yao Yanyi’s heart—had he revealed a flaw?

‘Impossible. No matter how powerful Ding Ren is, it’s impossible for him to discover something wrong with me the moment he arrives.’

‘If he had that kind of ability, would the Middle Continent really be willing to let him stay as just a Realm Guard?’

At the very least, Xincheng City hadn’t discovered a single abnormality about him in all these days.

Yao Yanyi temporarily set aside his worries, thinking he might just be overthinking it; perhaps Ding Ren’s brain just had a sudden lapse.

Suddenly, Yao Yanyi’s heart thundered; he had only made it halfway back to the city when he was intercepted.

And the person intercepting him was even more unexpected than he could have imagined.