Gathering Sacrifices

"You're awake?"

Chen Xu's voice rang out, instantly jolting Nie Mengyin fully awake.

She looked around. The narrow room was dimly lit, with peeling walls and faint clapping sounds drifting in from next door, making her frown.

"Mr. Chen, I hope you can tell me truthfully what exactly happened, and what this has to do with my husband." Thinking of how her husband had occasionally seemed troubled lately, Nie Mengyin felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

Chen Xu's expression gradually turned grave. "As for this matter, those who understand, understand. Those who don't, need no further explanation.

"After all, it's enough that you know. Think it over carefully.

"Don't ask me what happened, either. Too many interests are involved. Telling you wouldn't benefit either of us. Just pretend you don't know.

"All I can say is that the waters run deep, and many things are involved. It's best not to learn the details."

Nie Mengyin had thought Chen Xu would lay everything out for her. She had been listening intently, only to realize after all that she had not gotten a single useful piece of information.

"Mr. Chen!" Her tone carried a hint of anger.

"I think I have the right to know what exactly is going on." Seeing that Chen Xu had no intention of telling her more, Nie Mengyin pulled out her phone and tried to contact Ling Xiangshan.

After several attempts, all unanswered, Nie Mengyin covered her face with both hands and began to sob softly.

Bang, bang, bang.

Someone pounded hard on the door.

"Occupants inside, we're from the Great Abyss Security Bureau. Please come out and cooperate with the inspection."

"Coming, coming." Though Chen Xu answered aloud, he had already prepared to erupt at any moment, even if he did not believe this had anything to do with him.

If they had truly come for his identity as a Martial Artist, the Security Bureau would not have been the ones dispatched.

He pulled open the door to find two Great Abyss officers blocking the entrance.

Just as Chen Xu expected, they were not here for him at all.

From the corner of his eye, he saw another seven or eight officers knocking on the doors of other guest rooms along the corridor.

"Is there anyone else in the room? Please present your valid Great Abyss identification."

"Here." Chen Xu handed over a black booklet bearing the Martial Pavilion insignia.

The moment he opened it, the officer's expression changed drastically. He raised his hand to salute, only for Chen Xu to press it down.

The man before him immediately seemed incomparably imposing in the officer's eyes.

He silently resolved to cooperate fully with the Deputy Pavilion Master. For someone of his stature to keep such a low profile, he must be carrying out some exceptionally important mission.

Besides, if he could leave a favorable impression on this Deputy Pavilion Master, he might save himself ten years of hard work.

"Please cooperate with us, Mr. Chen. We need you to come downstairs." The other officer was a newly recruited rookie. Seeing the senior officer suddenly become so exceptionally amiable, he looked confused. He recognized the Martial Pavilion insignia too. Could this man be some mid-level official in the Martial Pavilion?

Chen Xu nodded slightly, returned to the room, and picked up Ling Youyou. "Ms. Nie, the Security Bureau wants us to go downstairs."

"Okay." Nie Mengyin wiped away her tears and responded quietly.

Dozens of people had already gathered downstairs, surrounded in the courtyard by more than twenty officers.

After all the occupants had been called out of their rooms, a woman in leather with a stone badge on her chest stepped before the crowd, holding a megaphone.

"Quiet, everyone. Please be quiet."

The Security Bureau's reputation was extremely effective on ordinary people. The noisy crowd instantly fell silent and looked toward the woman.

"Why did you call us out here? If you don't give us a reasonable explanation, I'll have a good talk with your Secretary Jin!" The speaker was covered in fat that jiggled as he spoke, and he had an scantily clad hostess wrapped around his arm.

The leather-clad woman paid no attention to his threat. How could she not know what sort of people stayed in this place?

"Now, please cooperate. Those whose identification has just been checked, stand to the left. Those without identification, stand to the right."

At the leather-clad woman's command, the crowd sluggishly divided into two groups.

"This area will soon be sealed off. Those with identification may board the buses we have prepared and head to the center of Qianshui Commandery in advance." The leather-clad woman signaled to her subordinates.

"Sealed off?" At those words, the crowd immediately erupted.

"Yes, sealed off. As for the reason, it is not convenient to disclose. Please cooperate."

"Please board. The buses will take you to the center of Qianshui Commandery." One of the leather-clad woman's subordinates, a tall, skinny young man, bent down to help an elderly woman lift her leg and step onto the bus.

"Sit beside me." Before boarding, Chen Xu quietly instructed Nie Mengyin, his gaze lingering briefly on the bus driver and the leather-clad woman.

The driver seemed to sense something. When he turned to look, Chen Xu had already casually withdrawn his gaze.

From Chen Xu's observations, both of them possessed exceptionally high physical qualities. Beneath the level of a Martial Artist, they were definitely first-rate fighters, at least Rank Nine.

That was interesting. Two dignified Rank Nine fighters were working as a minor Security Bureau official and a bus driver.

With that level of strength, becoming the deputy master of a county Martial Pavilion would have been effortless.

If there had only been one, he could understand it as someone not caring for fame or profit. But two together...

Once everyone was aboard, the bus set off carrying more than twenty ordinary people and five officers responsible for their protection.

"Ahh..." The fat man occupying the back row yawned. He felt a little sleepy.

In less than three minutes, snores rose and fell throughout the bus. Apart from the driver, no one seemed to remain awake.

Chen Xu leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep. In truth, his senses were fully alert. His Martial Artist-level sense of smell had allowed him to be the first to notice the possible presence of hypnotic gas on the bus.

Colorless and odorless only meant it was difficult for ordinary people to detect. If a Martial Artist could be put to sleep by such gas, calling him a disgrace to Martial Artists would not be excessive.

Playing along, Chen Xu wanted to see what these people were up to.

"Hello?" The driver seemed to have complete faith in the hypnotic gas and made no effort to lower his voice while speaking on the phone.

"The sacrifices have arrived?" A hoarse, dry voice came from the other end. Chen Xu's Martial Artist-level hearing allowed him to hear their conversation with perfect clarity.

"About ten minutes away. Get ready to receive them.

"Every time, you need at least fifty people, and the rituals have to be carried out on both sides simultaneously. Is this thing of yours actually reliable? Let me be clear: if it fails again this time, there won't be another chance.

"Those two Martial Artist lords will arrive soon and launch the attack officially. By then, no one will help you gather sacrifices."

"Rest assured. The first two failed rituals were not without gains. This time, we will certainly succeed and lay the foundation for the true revival of martial arts.

"Heh heh heh... The history Great Abyss tried so hard to erase, the lost martial arts civilization..."

The driver hung up. The bus sped along narrow roads before finally stopping at the foot of an unnamed mountain within Qianshui Commandery.

A group of people completely shrouded in black robes with silver patterns had long been waiting at the foot of the mountain. The moment the bus doors opened, they impatiently came aboard and carried off the sleeping passengers.