If You Won't Let Me Live, I'll Make You Die

In Peach Blossom Paradise, before the four phantoms had even settled into their seats, one of them let out an enraged roar.

"Tongue-sensei, fuck your mother!"

Meanwhile, on Bai Wei's side.

Bai Wei had also been considering whether it was time to let Tongue-sensei make another appearance. Like chatting in a group, only keeping both the main account and alt account active would prevent people from noticing any inconsistencies.

But playing two roles was no simple matter. If he mixed them up, it would be troublesome. So Bai Wei had pondered it for quite a while before calling this Corpse Friends meeting. Yet it had barely begun, and before he had even warmed his seat, Luo Qi's familiar roar rang out. Bai Wei instinctively wanted to reply in a snide tone, "Oh, did I disturb Mr. Thumb's enjoyment again?"

But he quickly realized that was something Hand Eye would say. He was Tongue-sensei right now, whose persona was another hot-tempered fellow.

So, with a grim expression, he replied, "Why are you yelling so loudly? Do you want to die? I can grant that wish."

But what Bai Wei never expected was that Luo Qi did not settle down. Instead, he stepped directly onto the table and pointed at Bai Wei's nose.

"Why are you pretending now?!" Luo Qi roared. "What, you're refusing to acknowledge what you did to me last night?! Or did you never expect me to survive until now?!"

Without that last sentence, Luo Qi's words could easily have been misunderstood.

But because of that last sentence, Diana and Isaiah understood something.

Tongue-sensei had gone after Mr. Thumb last night?

They immediately sat up straight and carefully examined Luo Qi.

Although Peach Blossom Paradise did not reveal their true appearances, it seemed possible to judge the condition of someone's real body from the state of their phantom. Thus, Isaiah had always believed the phantoms in Peach Blossom Paradise were projections of their souls.

And now, Mr. Thumb's soul had faded.

Did that mean Mr. Thumb had been seriously injured?

So they turned their gazes toward Bai Wei, wanting to see what he would say.

Bai Wei merely sat there quietly, making his thoughts impossible to read... because he genuinely had no idea what was going on.

When had he ever gone after Luo Qi? That guy did not have much value... well, it was not that he had no value at all, but compared to the other two, he was indeed far less valuable.

That seemed to be missing the point.

Bai Wei considered why Luo Qi would say such a thing. Was he trying to bluff him?

That would be far too stupid. And judging by his condition, he truly was badly injured. But who could have hurt him? No matter how foolish and dim-witted he was, he was still a Bishop of one faction. Furthermore, he had a purely buff-type Corpse Piece. Logically speaking, there should not have been many people capable of beating him into that state.

Even if there were, why would Luo Qi think it was him?

No, it was not that he thought it was Bai Wei. He thought it was Tongue-sensei.

Tongue-sensei... why Tongue-sensei...

Bai Wei pondered for a moment, and his expression gradually turned strange.

Could it have been that crazy girl?

Bai Wei's guess was confirmed by Luo Qi the next second.

"Still pretending?!" Luo Qi sneered. "You're putting on quite a convincing act. I thought you were some burly, macho man like me, but in Peach Blossom Paradise you're a man while in reality you're using a woman's body. Pah! You damn two-faced freak!"

Bai Wei could not help rubbing his forehead.

It really was that crazy girl!

No, shouldn't she have been peacefully recuperating in Lyra? She had finally managed to claw back her life. Why would she go looking for trouble with Luo Qi in a place like that?

For a moment, Bai Wei could not figure out He Wei Ni Ya's purpose. But he could take his time figuring that out later. Right now, the most important thing was dealing with this situation.

After a brief consideration, Bai Wei realized that He Wei Ni Ya suddenly beating up Luo Qi was not a bad thing for him at all. Wasn't this a ready-made alt account? It was far more useful than constantly switching back and forth between two of his own identities.

In that instant, Bai Wei decided to establish He Wei Ni Ya's identity as fact. He sneered and said with slight regret, "It seems last night still failed to teach you a sufficient lesson, Mr. Thumb."

Seeing Tongue-sensei admit it so readily, Isaiah and Diana frowned even more deeply.

Tongue-sensei really had gone after Mr. Thumb.

But the question was, how had he found him?

Although Mr. Thumb did seem rather unintelligent, he should not have exposed his identity.

Could it be... that Tongue-sensei, with three Corpse Pieces, could directly see through their phantoms in Peach Blossom Paradise?

Isaiah and Diana immediately became wary.

Bai Wei also realized this and began thinking urgently once more.

Peach Blossom Paradise's ability to conceal identities was the most important factor allowing it to function normally. If that was exposed, he would immediately become a target of public criticism.

Thus, Bai Wei snorted coldly again. "I found you? You have it backward, Mr. Thumb. Weren't you the one who came looking for me?"

Bai Wei did not know who had sought out whom. After all, it would not have been surprising for that crazy girl He Wei Ni Ya to do anything.

But he quickly recalled that Luo Qi was in Nameless Town, and Luo Qi had gone there to deal with Ai De Wen. That meant Luo Qi had taken the initiative. He Wei Ni Ya should not have known Luo Qi's identity either. If she had appeared in Nameless Town, it was highly likely that she had run into Ai De Wen.

Afterward, she had begun cooperating with Ai De Wen. Of course, it was even more likely that she had used Ai De Wen as bait to lure the others in.

As for why He Wei Ni Ya would do that...

Was she trying to draw attention away from him and ease his pressure?

In other words, she knew about the gathering?

Well, it was not impossible. Although the gathering was secretive, when He Wei Ni Ya was in Lyra, she had lived at Ina's house—Jie La Er's daughter's home.

Wait, Jie La Er...

The Sword of Order standing upon the land of steel immediately appeared in Bai Wei's mind, and in an instant, he understood everything.

So it was Jie La Er.

Had that guy already adapted to Lyra's body?

At that thought, Bai Wei could not help curling his lips upward. It was as if he had suddenly realized that he was not entirely alone in this world after all.

Of course, that was only Bai Wei's speculation. He still needed Luo Qi to confirm it.

Fortunately, Luo Qi was very cooperative. He soon said furiously, "What do you mean, I came looking for you?! You were clearly lying in ambush, waiting for me to take the bait. You had long been working with that guy—"

At that point, Luo Qi suddenly stopped.

No matter how slow his reactions were, he realized that if he continued, Tongue-sensei's situation was uncertain, but he would definitely expose his own identity first.

Right Eye and Ring Finger were still watching from the side!

Although Luo Qi stopped, that information-packed exchange still allowed Isaiah and Diana to guess something.

Ambush... take the bait...

Combined, those two phrases immediately made them think of Ai De Wen, the Forbidden Scholar of Eternal Nightmare. Only he fit the requirement of traps.

And from that deduction, they could obtain far too much information.

For example, they were all currently in De La Town. Tongue-sensei was protecting that Forbidden Scholar for some reason, while Mr. Thumb had run into Tongue-sensei while pursuing the Forbidden Scholar.

With that in mind, setting Tongue-sensei aside for now, Mr. Thumb's identity was almost certain.

Because they clearly knew that the churches pursuing Ai De Wen were Eternal Nightmare and Rhine. Therefore, Mr. Thumb had to be someone from the delegations of those two churches. With that narrowed range, it would only be a matter of time before they completely identified him.

At that thought, Isaiah and Diana immediately decided that after leaving Peach Blossom Paradise, they would have their subordinates investigate who from the Rhine and Eternal Nightmare churches had been injured in last night's battle. Whoever was injured would be Mr. Thumb!

They had never expected the first person present to lose his disguise would be Mr. Thumb.

Well... perhaps it was not entirely unexpected. They simply had not expected it to happen this way.

At this moment, Luo Qi also realized just how stupid a mistake he had made.

He had actually exposed himself just like that!!!

From last night until now, he had inexplicably taken a beating, nearly lost his life, barely survived only to lose four fingers and become disabled, and now he had exposed his identity in Peach Blossom Paradise.

He, he, he...

Luo Qi trembled from rage, then abruptly turned and aimed his fury at Tongue-sensei once again.

It was all this guy's fault! Every bit of it was this guy's fault!

Fuck it, if he was exposed, then so be it!

Luo Qi pointed at Bai Wei's nose and roared, "This guy has a sound score! That's why he can transform into other people! Right now, he's using the body of some red-haired bitch! And he's hanging around with that guy called Ai De Wen in De La Town!"

Seeing Luo Qi act like this, Isaiah and Diana could not help thinking.

He was panicking. He was really panicking, to the point that he wanted them to expose each other.

Naturally, that was exactly what they wanted to see. As long as it did not involve themselves, the more the others exposed each other, the better.

Of course, they could not say what they were thinking outright.

So Isaiah cleared his throat and looked toward Bai Wei. Then he asked gently, "Tongue-sensei, is there anything you would like to say?"

Faced with Luo Qi's mutual exposure and Isaiah's question, Bai Wei remained calm. "I have nothing to say."

"You do not wish to explain anything?"

"Explain? Why should I explain? Are we some kind of 'loving family' here?" Bai Wei's tone was full of mockery. "Do we need to report everything we do to one another? Besides, didn't you already know my identity?"

"Not for that long. In fact, there are still many things I do not know even now." Isaiah smiled at Luo Qi. "For example, who is this Ai De Wen that Mr. Thumb just mentioned?"

Hearing Isaiah's words, Luo Qi's tightly wound heart suddenly relaxed.

Right, why was he so nervous?

Thinking about it carefully, this did not count as completely exposing himself, did it? After all, not everyone knew who Ai De Wen was... no, more accurately, hardly anyone knew him. Only Contract Land and the delegations from the six major churches attending the gathering knew, and these two were not necessarily members of those delegations.

At that thought, Luo Qi instinctively looked toward Miss Ring Finger. Sure enough, he saw her nod as well. "That is correct. I have never heard of such a person either. If you are willing to explain, I would be very grateful."

Hah! Miss Ring Finger did not know either!

Although he knew the two of them might be putting on an act, Luo Qi still held on to a sliver of hope.

What if?!

What if they truly did not know?!

It was not as though they would remain ignorant forever, but as long as they learned a little later, once he had recovered somewhat—or killed Tongue-sensei and obtained new Corpse Pieces—it would not matter if they learned then.

At least it would not be as serious as it was now. After all, Luo Qi was at his weakest since becoming a Bishop.

"In any case, he is with a very troublesome person!" Luo Qi still decided to conceal his identity for now, so he shifted the focus back to Bai Wei. "The problem now is that this guy already knows who I am. He has broken his original promise and is still trying to seize new Corpse Pieces!"

"What promise?" Bai Wei asked. "Why don't I remember?"

"You said you wanted us to help you deal with Hand Eye!" Luo Qi shouted. "Are you pretending to be stupid now?"

"Does that count as a promise?" Bai Wei feigned indifference. "First, there was never any agreement between us. I made none, and neither did you. Second... do you really think I do not know that Hand Eye said the same thing to all of you?"

Luo Qi froze slightly. "How did you know?"

The moment he said that, Isaiah and Diana could barely hold themselves together.

"Oh?" Bai Wei slightly raised the corner of his mouth. "So there really was."

"...You fucking tricked me?!"

"Heh. Honestly, I sincerely think someone with your brain should not be here at all." Bai Wei said mockingly. "Talking to you too much will only lower my own intelligence."

As he spoke, Bai Wei no longer looked at the impotently raging Luo Qi. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Isaiah and Diana.

"I can tell you this: Hand Eye has always been my target," Bai Wei said. "Everything I have done was to deal with that guy. I sought out that Forbidden Scholar for the same reason. Since you were unwilling to accept my previous proposal, I handled it myself. Of course, I know you are not entirely unwilling to help me. At least one of you is conducting a private transaction with me..."

Hearing this, Isaiah frowned again.

A private transaction? What was that supposed to mean? Other than Luo Qi, who else had approached Tongue-sensei already?

No, aside from Luo Qi and himself, weren't the only ones left...

Isaiah looked at Diana. Diana was also looking at him, and then the two of them looked at Luo Qi together.

Could this guy be hiding his true capabilities?

"I will consider that proposal," Bai Wei continued slowly. "I have only one principle: survive."

His gaze moved continuously between the three of them.

"Whoever refuses to let me live," Bai Wei said, enunciating every word, "I will make them die first. It's that simple!"