We Have a Mole Among Us

Black Dragon Outer City, south of the city, Tile-House District.

Lin Nan had never expected the Blessed Life Cult's headquarters to be hidden in the Tile-House District where he had once lived.

"Creak." The door opened.

The group entered an inconspicuous tiled house. Lai Quan slowly walked to the edge of the wall, found a hidden compartment along a crack in the wall, and gently pressed it forward.

Boom.

The floor slowly split open downward along both sides.

"Let's go. When we meet the vice cult leader later, don't talk nonsense."

Lai Quan handed Lin Nan a dark azure black lotus mask.

"Rest assured, Elder. I'm best at doing as I'm told."

Lin Nan nodded and hurriedly put on the mask.

The other two elders of the Blessed Life Cult carried the unconscious Fu Lin underground. As for Zhong Jing and Ding Qianyu, since they were not the targets this time, they were simply thrown into the courtyard to fend for themselves.

They descended the stairs, and before long, the space before them suddenly opened up.

It was a vast underground hall, with everlasting lamps lit atop stone platforms along the surrounding walls.

The hall was packed with people, all cultists wearing black lotus masks.

At the very center of the hall stood a jade statue of a woman in red robes—the divine statue of the Blessed Life Mother!

Lin Nan was so thrilled that he nearly dropped to his knees and worshipped her on the spot.

A figure in black robes stood beneath the statue. When he saw Lai Quan's group enter, he raised his head, his voice hoarse.

"Fu Lin has been captured?"

"Vice Cult Leader, she has." Lai Quan gestured with a wave of his hand.

Fu Lin, bound all over with iron chains and still unconscious, was carried before the man in black.

"The last Yin-hour woman has finally been captured..."

The black-robed man trembled with excitement. "The Blessed Life Cult's great experiment can finally begin. Bring them up!"

At the black-robed man's command, more than a dozen Blessed Life Cult members emerged from the back of the hall. Amid the rumble of wheels, iron cages were pushed out one after another.

Inside every cage was a curled-up young woman. Their faces were pale and their eyes tightly shut; they had clearly all been subdued with knockout incense.

There were twenty-three young women in total!

They were precisely the women who had gone missing from the outer city over recent days!

The instant Lin Nan saw the girls, he quietly crushed the black jade pendant Li Nianru had given him against his chest.

Shortly afterward, two cultists hurried forward, opened an empty iron cage, and shoved the unconscious Fu Lin inside. They fastened the iron lock tightly, then wrapped layers upon layers of chains around it, cutting into Fu Lin's wrists and ankles until blood seeped out.

The black-robed man slowly walked before the cages, a sickly laugh issuing from his throat.

"The twenty-four Yin-hour women are finally complete. The cycle of yin and yang is perfectly fulfilled, and the baleful yin energy has gathered without flaw. Once the moon rises tonight, the ritual may begin!"

Yin-hour women... a ritual...?!

Lin Nan, hidden among the crowd, sharply caught those words.

"Congratulations, Vice Cult Leader!"

All the cultists spoke in unison, and Lin Nan put on an act and shouted along with them.

"Everyone, first pay your respects to the Blessed Life Mother."

As soon as the vice cult leader finished speaking, the cultists all knelt and began worshipping.

It's finally time to fleece the sheep!

Lin Nan's heart surged with excitement. Looking at the Blessed Life Mother's statue as if it were his reborn parent, he worshipped fervently, his head bobbing like a pecking chicken.

In an instant, wisps of sinister yin energy flowed over from the statue.

[Obtained Yin Energy Points +0.5... +0.5...]

"All right, get up."

The vice cult leader waved his hand, and the cultists rose one after another.

Lin Nan followed them up as well, reluctantly getting to his feet.

"Before the ritual begins, I have something to say." The vice cult leader sighed softly, his expression seemingly sorrowful.

"Everyone, I recently discovered that someone used a secret technique to bypass the three initiation trials and successfully infiltrate us. In other words... we have a mole among us!"

A mole?!

The cultists broke into an uproar. Even the expressions beneath the three elders' masks were filled with astonishment.

Lin Nan's heart tightened as well.

When was I exposed?

The cultists looked around at one another, suspicion appearing in their eyes.

"Don't bother looking. I have already found out where the mole is!"

The vice cult leader's expression turned cold as he raised a hand and pointed toward the area where Lin Nan stood.

"The mole is over there!"

In an instant, the entire hall fell silent. Lai Quan shuddered and quickly waved his hand.

More than a dozen cultists gripped their blades and rushed over, surrounding Lin Nan and the others in that area.

Damn it, didn't Li Nianru say she'd arrive within half an hour? Why isn't she here yet?!

Lin Nan's pupils contracted. In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind. There was definitely more than one Bone-forging Realm expert in the Blessed Life Cult—after all, even someone like Fu Lin, a first-level Bone-forging Realm expert, had fallen victim to them. Much less him.

The vice cult leader descended from the platform step by step, his gaze slowly sweeping over Lin Nan's group as an invisible pressure closed in.

Do I really have to make a move? What if he's bluffing me?

Though Lin Nan appeared calm on the surface, he had already thought of several ways to respond.

"The mole is..." The vice cult leader raised a finger and pointed at Lin Nan's group.

Lin Nan silently brought his fingers together and reached for the sleeve pouch filled with lime.

"It's... you! Huang Hou!"

"???"

Whoosh!

The instant the vice cult leader's words fell, a figure shot out from the crowd and threw a vicious punch at his forehead.

Lai Quan, standing nearby, leaped into the air and kicked the cultist in the chest like a great roc spreading its wings.

The cultist cried out miserably as he was kicked from midair and slammed onto the floor. His mask fell away, revealing the face of a bald middle-aged man.

It was actually Huang Hou, the honest-looking fellow who had led Lin Nan into the cult!

"Huang Hou, I never thought you were one of the magistrate's men." Lai Quan sighed, looking at him with a complicated expression.

"E-Elder Lai... Y-you've done so many evil deeds. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

Huang Hou clutched his chest and gave a bitter laugh, coughing up a mouthful of blood. That kick seemed to have injured his internal organs.

"Retribution? We of the Blessed Life Cult worship the Blessed Life Mother. After death, we return to the Pure Void Homeland. What retribution could there be? Men, drag him out and kill him."

The vice cult leader's cold voice rang out. Several cultists immediately stepped forward and knocked Huang Hou unconscious with a club, then dragged him away like a sack.

Only then did the vice cult leader and the three elders return to the platform in satisfaction.

"Now that the mole has been eliminated, all we need to do is wait for tonight's full moon."

The vice cult leader said lightly, "Of course, if anyone wishes to enjoy the many beauties in advance, this vice cult leader has no objections."

As soon as he finished speaking, unrest rippled through the crowd. Quite a few cultists' eyes reddened at once, their Adam's apples bobbing as several swallowing sounds could even be heard.

"Vice Cult Leader, how righteous! I've wanted to find out what a female commandant tastes like for ages!"

"The female commandant is mine! I want her too!"

"And that girl—I've been craving her for nearly half a year. Now I can finally get what I want!"

"Look at you lot, with such little ambition. Hurry up and queue in the back!"

"Wait, I object!"

Lin Nan suddenly raised his hand and shouted.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Lin Nan, their expressions displeased.

"Who the hell are you!?"

"What the hell does it have to do with you? Get to the back and queue up!"

Facing everyone's questioning gazes, Lin Nan remained composed, his voice filled with fervor.

"Fellow cultists, we are all the Blessed Life Mother's most loyal followers. These twenty-four young women were carefully selected as offerings to the Blessed Life Mother."

"Since that is the case, how can we defile the sacrifices chosen by Mother? No—not only must we not defile them, we must wash and groom them clean!"

"Only then can Mother enjoy the purest blood offering when she partakes of them!"

"Everything for the Blessed Life Mother! Blessed Life Mother, Pure Void Homeland! Blessed Life Mother, Pure Void Homeland!"

Lin Nan began shouting fervently.

The crowd exchanged looks. Even the three elders stood there blankly.

No, you actually believe in this?

But as Lin Nan's chant grew louder and louder, quite a few cultists were gradually infected by his fervor and unconsciously began shouting the slogan as well.

On the raised platform, beneath the divine statue.

The vice cult leader frowned and pointed in Lin Nan's direction.

"This cultist..."

Lai Quan's heart skipped a beat. One of the people he had brought in had already turned out to be a mole. If another traitor were discovered, even he would not be able to escape blame.

Lai Quan hurriedly explained, "Vice Cult Leader, please listen to my explanation..."

"He is very devout! Our Blessed Life Cult needs talents like him!" The vice cult leader's tone was full of praise.

Ah.

Lai Quan froze for a moment, then said,

"The Cult Leader is wise!"