Bad Feng Shui

At that thought, Luo Qiusheng's gaze suddenly darkened. A silent question surfaced in his heart, shrouded in layer upon layer of mystery.

In this operation orchestrated by the Academy's upper echelons, involving Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang, what role were you playing, Little Dragon Girl?

He had always believed that Jormungandr had gone to ground among humans and was secretly laying plans, that all her actions followed the will of a king as she sought to escape her fate and reclaim her authority. But in light of today's abnormal mission, it seemed that nothing about it added up.

The Council of Elders had pinpointed this old site with uncanny precision, deliberately drawing Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei, and himself—their three core combat assets—into the mission. The timing was far too convenient, the planning far too precise. It didn't seem like a coincidence at all.

A terrifying suspicion quietly took root in Luo Qiusheng's heart, then spread like wildfire: perhaps Jormungandr had never been the one exploiting human conflicts and obsessions to lay plans and devour her way forward.

On the contrary, this proud King of Earth and Mountains had, from beginning to end, been no more than a pawn in the hands of ancient powers lurking behind the scenes, controlling the Academy's authority.

They had seen through Jormungandr's movements in hiding and knew her weaknesses and obsessions. They had deliberately let her lurk among humans, even secretly fanning the flames, using her draconic power to stir up trouble before taking advantage of the chaos to make their own plans and reap all the benefits.

This game, spanning several years, seemed to be a fated clash between dragons and humanity. In truth, it was an ultimate scheme by the upper echelons, using Dragon Kings—and everyone else.

The three of them, along with the proud and oblivious Jormungandr, were all players in the game, kept in the dark and manipulated at will.

Night deepened. Streetlights came on one after another, their warm yellow glow falling over the three silent figures. It couldn't penetrate the mystery and murderous intent buried in their eyes.

An undercurrent, unknown to anyone, had already begun to surge beneath the surface of this seemingly ordinary suburban mission.

Something's wrong. There's a problem, Luo Qiusheng thought.

King of Earth and Mountains Jormungandr was the smartest of the Eight Sovereigns. If he set aside the possibility that Little Dragon Girl had been used, then only one explanation remained: the Board of Trustees, the biggest piece on the board behind the scenes, capable of pushing the Secret Party that ran Kassel College forward—Pompeii?

"What's the problem?" Lu Mingfei asked curiously, looking at Luo Qiusheng.

Luo Qiusheng waved him off and stood up. "There are some things I need to handle in person. If I don't come back for this mission, go straight back to the Academy and find Principal Angers."

Hilbert von Ange was also part of the Secret Party, but unlike Pompeii, he wasn't a Dragon King. There was no evidence to prove it yet, but judging just from the Gattuso Family's hereditary Spirit Word, the King of Sky and Wind would be something like Kamaitachi.

But the one who used Kamaitachi best was Lu Mingfei's grandfather, Lu Shanyan. If Odin was the King of Sky and Wind, then had he already devoured one of the twins? Was it Li Wuyue, or...?

There were just too many details in the Dragon Tribe story. Some of them were hard to piece together for now.

Some people said the mysteries in the Dragon Tribe story were never all resolved. Xia Mi died in Book Two, then would come back to life in Book Six. But wasn't the author simply never planning to write Book Six?

Even if you said Erii would come back to life in Book Seven, at least you'd leave me with something to hope for.

In the end, it was all a mystery. The plot seems to be getting forcibly changed back in an utterly incomprehensible way.

"Something for nothing? A cheat code? Forcibly pulling the plot back into place?" But Luo Qiusheng couldn't think of why Lu Mingze would do that.

Did he want Lu Mingfei to use Something for Nothing again, sacrificing a quarter of his life to kill Fenrir?

Back in the car, Luo Qiusheng drove with practiced ease toward the destination he remembered.

Out in the suburbs stood a visibly abandoned mansion. Weeds grew in the yard up to knee height, vines curled across the mottled walls, the swing set was rusted, and moss covered the slide.

The people were gone, and all had changed.

Time silently wore away every trace of splendor, leaving only desolation wherever the eye fell.

Luo Qiusheng pushed open the door. The heavy iron gate creaked open with a rusty rasp, and clouds of dust billowed toward him, mixed with a stifling stench of dampness, decay, and mold.

His gaze swept across the empty, deathly still interior, and his eyes darkened.

A thick layer of dust covered the entire house. Spiderwebs filled the corners, rotten junk was piled up in the recesses, and there were no fresh footprints on the floor—not the slightest sign that anyone had set foot inside.

"Looks like no one's been here recently."

Luo Qiusheng muttered under his breath, already intending to turn and leave.

But just as he shifted his feet, preparing to step out of the yard, a clear infant's wail suddenly rang out from the depths of the silent old house.

The cry was young and piercing, cutting through the layers of stillness and abruptly tearing open the desolate quiet of the night.

A deserted wilderness. An empty, abandoned house. The dead of night.

The wail was far too strange, far too horrifying, utterly out of place. It made his skin crawl.

Anyone ordinary would have been gripped by fear and fled in panic.

But Luo Qiusheng's whole body went taut. All his fatigue and stray thoughts vanished in an instant as his mind snapped to attention.

When strange phenomena arose, there was always something behind them.

He didn't hesitate. His steps suddenly quickened, his figure swift as a shadow as he followed the abrupt cry and darted into the dark depths of the old house.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he murmured in a low voice:

"Someone's definitely here."

But the information Chu Zihang had sent said it was the King of Earth and Mountains. How could it be a child?

Suppressing his doubts, Luo Qiusheng raised a hand and shoved open the old wooden door.

Amid the dimness and dust, an utterly bizarre scene suddenly came into view: a tiny skeleton had been nailed to the wall with several iron spikes. One spike had been driven through its forehead, and one through each of its limbs, pinning its bones to the wall in a rigid, wretched pose.

This sinister, sacrificial scene completely shattered the usual rules of the Dragon Tribe's battle of fate. It had nothing to do with the angsty tone of youth.

The skeleton was tiny, clearly belonging to a baby who had been born less than a week ago. It was enough to imagine the extreme torment the child had endured in life.

A chill seeped through his limbs. Luo Qiusheng's mind shook, and for the first time he felt utterly powerless, desperately craving enough strength to break through the mystery. Urgent warnings screamed wildly in his mind, urging him to leave.

He stared deeply at the skeleton, then forced himself to turn and step out of the room. Only after his feet touched the ground did he finally breathe a little easier.

"I need to get out of here fast." Once in the car, Luo Qiusheng called Su Enxi.

Luo Qiusheng: "I'll give you an address. The feng shui there might be bad. Help me estimate a price, and preferably get the acquisition rights."

Su Enxi: "Bad feng shui? Acquisition?"

Although Su Enxi didn't know what Luo Qiusheng was up to, this was well within her capabilities as a member of the logistics team.

"I can get it done by tomorrow. I'll pay for it myself. Consider it a favor for helping us with Blood Rage."

Luo Qiusheng said with exasperation, "A little money in exchange for the secrets of Blood Rage. You sure know how to do business."