Chapter 89: The Key’s Secret and a Shocking Revelation

I’ll ask you one last time: where exactly is the key?

‘The key?’

Mo Qiu froze, the word ‘key’ catching her off guard. So that metal shard she possessed was actually a key to something! A pity she only held a fragment, insufficient to unlock the door that awaited opening.

Receiving no answer from Mo Qiu, the Mysterious Person raised a finger, gently flicking the vine coiled around Mo Qiu’s neck, sending it lashing towards her. She swiftly dodged it with a roll.

Before Mo Qiu could even rise, the vine lunged again, coiling around her slender neck and hoisting her entirely off the ground.

“If you won’t speak, then so be it. You’re useless to me alive.”

“Wait!”

Mo Qiu clutched the vine wrapped around her throat, her face tinged blue.

“There’s something I must tell you; if you kill me, you’ll never know—”

“Does it concern the key?”

The girl nodded. This time, the Mysterious Person didn’t allow her to whisper, instead demanding she speak immediately.

Feeling the vine around her neck loosen slightly, Mo Qiu found it easier to talk.

“You know, I subtly tampered with him. I can sense his location.”

“As long as the mirror I crafted remains on him, I can temporarily pinpoint his general location – a remarkably convenient trick.”

And right now, he was running towards the street outside the alley!

From her sleeve, Mo Qiu deftly slid out a hidden dagger. She slashed through the vine, and the instant her feet touched the ground, she launched a furious charge at her opponent.

“He’s close!”

Ignoring the stinging pain of the vines lashing her body, the girl forcefully shoved the Mysterious Person. They were instantly sucked into a mirror that had been cleverly positioned behind them.

Mo Qiu lifted her long, black-stockinged leg, shattering the mirror before her with a single kick, ensuring her opponent would never return.

Only after completing all this did the girl collapse, exhausted, her black gown fanning out across the ground. She clutched her swollen neck, greedily inhaling the dust-laden air.

A smirk played on Mo Qiu’s lips, and a glint of anticipation sparkled in her eyes. “Without the protection of those massive plants, and with him so close to you, don’t you dare disappoint me this time.”

****

Meanwhile, outside the alley, Bai Chen was still searching for the vanished Mysterious Person.

Others might not know, but Bai Chen had exchanged blows with the Mysterious Person and clearly understood that the one clashing with the main force was merely a decoy.

The Mysterious Person, who controlled the colossal plants, had long since escaped, hiding away somewhere unknown.

“Hold on, Bai Chen, how do you know where the Mysterious Person is?”

Su Wanghai, burdened by a heavy box, struggled to match Bai Chen’s pace, quickly growing breathless.

Bai Chen halted, turning back to display the object in his hand.

Its surface was like a mirror, a peculiar card with a smooth sheen that, strangely, reflected no one’s image.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, but it seems to be guiding me.”

Bai Chen actually knew a little more: Libelle had recently emerged from it, though she had unfortunately escaped. He had initially intended to retrieve it, but it seemed it could now prove useful.

Just as Su Wanghai was about to question him further, the mirror card in Bai Chen’s hand began to tremble violently, then flew directly out of his grasp.

With a sharp crack, the card shattered, scattering into fragments on the ground. The Mysterious Person’s robe, which had been lying there, rolled over and they immediately rose.

“That wretched girl…” The Mysterious Person gritted their teeth, their gender-ambiguous voice thick with resentment.

Bai Chen stared at the Mysterious Person, and the Mysterious Person stared back at him. They simply stood there, a silent standoff. Even without seeing the face beneath the hood, Bai Chen sensed their surprised gaze.

“They’re out! Quickly!”

Bai Chen reacted first, arcs of electricity crackling in his hand as he charged towards the Mysterious Person.

Su Wanghai frantically placed the box on the ground, inputting the wrong password twice out of nervousness. Just as he finally got it right, Bai Chen, flying back, crashed into him.

“Bai Chen, whose side are you on?” Su Wanghai gasped, clutching his injured waist.

“Do you think I wanted to?”

Bai Chen was also bruised from the fall, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet, eyeing the vines surrounding the Mysterious Person.

“Give me some time. You hold him off.”

‘I’d like to, but I’m no match for him.’

The Mysterious Person seemed to notice the box in Su Wanghai’s hands, and with a flick of their wrist, sent vines lashing out to attack him.

“Get back!”

Bai Chen sliced through the vines with a longsword of blue lightning, protecting Su Wanghai, but acquiring several new cuts himself.

The situation was dire; he had no choice but to tap into that power once more. A torrent of lightning erupted from within him, and blue arcs flickered in his dark eyes.

Initially, a wave of dizziness washed over him, but he quickly regained his clarity.

The seductive voice grew clearer, yet Bai Chen’s resistance to it strengthened with each passing moment. Even facing a formidable foe, he would no longer lose his reason; instead, he could think calmly.

Noticing the change in him, the Mysterious Person paused for a moment. With a flick of his foot, a much thicker vine sprouted from the ground. He pointed a finger at Bai Chen, and the colossal vine lashed directly at him.

Su Wanghai, hiding behind, felt his heart stop for a second, watching Bai Chen’s figure smash into the roof of a white car before tumbling to the ground behind it.

Even the ground itself was pulverized, cracks spreading all the way to Su Wanghai’s feet.

“Bai Chen, he’s not dead, is he?”

The instant that thought crossed his mind, he saw Bai Chen rise again, blood staining his lips, but his movements fluid, appearing largely unharmed.

Once steady, Bai Chen glanced at the car before him, then crouched, placing his hands beneath it. With a roar, he flipped it over.

Su Wanghai gasped, watching him prop up the dented car roof with his shoulder, then charge towards the Mysterious Person.

“Su Wanghai, now!”

Using the white car to block the vine attacks, Bai Chen finally managed to get close to the Mysterious Person. His lightning transformed into a longsword, which he gripped with both hands. The car, already shattered, was now torn in half by Bai Chen’s efforts.

The moment he reached the Mysterious Person, a vine flew from a blind spot, striking his body. A golden opportunity was lost just like that.

But it didn’t matter. He had stalled for so long; Su Wanghai must have completed his preparations.

Bai Chen looked back, his pupils contracting sharply.

Indeed, Su Wanghai had used the time Bai Chen bought to load his heavy cannon handgun, even aiming it at the Mysterious Person. But just as his hands gripped the weapon, about to pull the trigger—

Su Wanghai floated into the air.

Vines emerging from the ground pierced his body, lifting him up and tossing him aside like refuse.

“The cat-and-mouse game is over.” The Mysterious Person sneered. “So you truly did hide a secret, no wonder you could defeat Saluk and Xinleit.”

Whatever their methods, once Su Wanghai was dealt with, they would no longer pose a threat. As for Bai Chen, he could be taken back for thorough study, and perhaps even lure out Mo Qiu.

No matter how strong a Cat Demon, they were still human. Threats were merely a matter of perspective—or was it truly so?

“It’s not over yet!”

Bai Chen leaped, soaring towards the spot where Su Wanghai had stood, but the other man had already been thrown away.

As soon as he felt the vines beneath his feet, Su Wanghai had hurled the prepared heavy cannon handgun, which Bai Chen caught just in time!

Listening to the sound of his friend crashing into a trash can, Bai Chen, without even getting up, gripped the heavy modified firearm with both hands, aiming it at the Mysterious Person.

His gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing directly into the Mysterious Person’s heart.

A chilling fear crept up the Mysterious Person’s spine.

Bai Chen pulled the trigger. The weapon in his hands roared like a cannon, its powerful recoil sending Bai Chen sprawling backward onto the ground.

The tempered bullet streaked through the air, leaving a rainbow trail.

The bullet head pierced through the Mysterious Person’s vines, striking him directly in the chest.

The Mysterious Person stumbled backward, then clutched his wound, letting out a horrific shriek as his body began to violently contort.

‘Those bastards… this is the blood of my own kind! How could those bastards…’

The moment the tempered bullet entered his body, it began to ravage his organs and bones. The Mysterious Person could no longer control the vines, only lying on the ground, awaiting death.

Before long, he ceased to move, his life force completely extinguished.

The colossal plants in the distance, at the instant of their master’s death, froze, then began to rapidly wither.

Bai Chen stared at the Mysterious Person’s corpse for a long while before rushing to Su Wanghai’s side.

“Are you okay? Are you going to die?”

“No, I won’t die. I’m tough.” Su Wanghai clutched his wound, grateful the vines weren’t too thick.

“That’s good.”

Bai Chen looked back at the Mysterious Person, found the ammunition box, and took out the two remaining tempered bullets.

After clumsily burying them in the dirt, Bai Chen cautiously approached the corpse, his gun aimed at its head.

Bai Chen used his foot to roll the body over, to behold its true face.

The Mysterious Person was dead, and the ability to conceal his appearance naturally ceased, revealing his true features entirely.

It was not quite as he had imagined; neither a face so handsome it could blind people, nor one so ugly it was astonishing.

“This guy… seems to be recorded in the branch archives.”

Most of the demons appearing in Fengling City were recorded, and this one was among them, though his file only noted a single appearance.

He retained a distorted expression even in death, a testament to his profound suffering.

Regardless, he could no longer commit evil, and Bai Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Chen returned to Su Wanghai, calling for aid and providing emergency first aid for his wounds.

“Ow, ow, ow! Be gentle!” Su Wanghai’s face was a study in discomfort, looking worse than someone suffering from three days of constipation, his words coming out in a muddled rush.

Bai Chen couldn’t help but tease, “Is this punishment for doubting Mo Qiu?”

“Punishment my ass! Did she even come to track you?” Su Wanghai glared at him.

‘Apparently not.’

Bai Chen exhaled, a mix of relief and a sigh.

Su Wanghai’s plan hadn’t succeeded, yet surprisingly, Bai Chen didn’t find it regrettable.

‘She didn’t even come to track me, so how could there be a problem?’

“Right, did you check the body? Make sure he doesn’t come back to life.”

“Don’t worry, not all corpses talk. See, the body’s still perfectly fine.”

Bai Chen confidently turned his head, then his eyes widened in alarm.

And Bai Chen wasn’t the only one whose color drained; it also happened to a dark blue-clad girl, who was in the process of hoisting the Mysterious Person’s body onto her shoulder.

The two parties stared at each other, and the atmosphere became awkward.