Lin Yun looked up at him, her eyes full of shock. "You mean those people in black robes... were just tools? The person pulling the strings... never even appeared?"
"They acted like they were following a script, not running the operation," Jiu Jia Yi said slowly. He replayed the whispers he had heard earlier. The ritual chants had been cryptic, but one word had come through perfectly clear: "Keybearer."
It was no ordinary title. It signified a rank.
His voice was low but unmistakably clear. "We destroyed the lock. The key is still in someone's hands."
Lin Yun's face grew even paler, her eyes filled with fear and unease. "What do we do now? Will that person... continue the ritual?"
Jiu Jia Yi closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later, his gaze sharp as a blade. "No. He won't act now. He'll hide, watch, and wait for the next chance... or for us to die."
He glanced beneath the stage. The bodies of several black-robed figures still lay motionless. Only the slight figure sprawled in the farthest corner showed any movement: his fingertips twitched faintly, as though a trace of life remained.
Jiu Jia Yi forced himself to his feet and trudged over. Lin Yun followed close behind.
"What did he mean by 'the Seventh Gate has opened'?" she couldn't help asking.
"It's a code phrase." Jiu Jia Yi bent down beside the slight figure and gently lifted his hood with the Short Blade. "In their texts, a priest is called a Gate Envoy. The Seventh Gate marks the beginning of the ritual's final stage. In other words, the real priest... has already begun his preparations."
Beneath the hood was an old, gaunt face, its wrinkles like dead wood. His eyes were clouded, but a glimmer of awareness remained. His lips moved faintly as he murmured, "You... can't stop it... You're too late..."
"Tell me who the priest is." Jiu Jia Yi's voice turned colder. He pressed the Short Blade lightly against the man's throat. "If you want to be buried beneath this sea, your master might as well join you."
The black-robed man grinned, showing a mouthful of broken yellow teeth. "You... have already met him..."
Lin Yun sucked in a sharp breath. "He's someone we've met?!"
"Give me his name." Jiu Jia Yi's voice was icy, almost devoid of emotion.
But the black-robed man said nothing more. He slowly closed his eyes, a mocking smile still on his lips. The next instant, his body jerked violently and black blood spilled from his mouth. He had clearly taken poison to kill himself.
"Damn it," Jiu Jia Yi muttered. He turned, his eyes fixed with new purpose.
"Who are you thinking of?" Lin Yun asked urgently.
"The ship's owner," he answered without hesitation.
"The... owner?"
"The man behind the Holy Shadow. He never appears at public banquets, only occasionally showing his face in select circles. Every access permit for the restricted areas goes through him. And the card I had... came from him too."
Lin Yun's eyes widened. "You mean... he knew you were coming to disrupt the ritual, and he still gave you the card?"
Jiu Jia Yi nodded, his voice hard as iron. "Because he thought I couldn't do it."
He walked slowly toward the backstage exit, each step carrying him through pools of blood and scattered rubble, his towering figure steady and sure.
"I want to see him," he said.
Meanwhile, in the cruise ship's engine room, He Zhong had taken control of the main engines and set a temporary lock code, disabling the automatic scuttling program. He tapped at his portable terminal and let out a weary breath.
"Fuck, they really made a mess of this ship..." he muttered.
Before you continue