Tastes So Good

The cultists looked at one another. The little girl had something on her? That couldn't be right. They had searched her before bringing her over.

The middle-aged man gave the old woman a look, and she hurried over to search Xiao Bing again. She felt around inside Xiao Bing's clothes, and when she wasn't paying attention, Xiao Bing chomped down on her.

"Ow!"

The old woman winced in pain and angrily raised her hand to slap her.

"Don't touch her!" Zhang Baocheng shouted. "A protector is coming in person to preside over the Holy Descent Ceremony tomorrow. If you hurt her, where am I supposed to find another candidate who meets the requirements?!"

The old woman recoiled and lowered her hand. She wanted to continue the search, but she was afraid Xiao Bing would bite her again.

Xiao Bing bit viciously!

Zhang Baocheng was so exasperated with his subordinates that he laughed.

He said with a smile, "Little girl, if you still won't cooperate, I'll call two guys over to search your whole body right now."

Although Xiao Bing was a captive now, after tomorrow's ceremony, she would become a protector of the Holy Church, a rank above him. Zhang Baocheng therefore didn't want to offend her beyond repair.

Zhang Baocheng's threat worked.

When Xiao Bing heard that, she no longer dared resist. If two stubbly guys really came over and did hehehehe to her, she would want to die.

The old woman continued searching her. Zhang Baocheng sat down on a chair and noticed the large pot on the table, as well as the congee in everyone's bowls.

"Where did this come from?!"

"Reporting to you, Guard." The middle-aged man hesitated before answering. "When we brought her over, the congee on the stove smelled so good that we brought it along too..."

Zhang Baocheng slammed the table with a thunderous bang and cursed at them again:

"How ambitious of you! Have you never eaten before?!

I told you to kidnap someone, and you brought their cooking pot too!

What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

The cultists didn't dare make a sound as he cursed them. It really was ridiculous.

In the end, the sallow-faced middle-aged man spoke up ingratiatingly. "Sir, it really smells good. We saved you quite a bit and just heated it up..."

Zhang Baocheng still wanted to curse them out, but he hadn't eaten yet and was a little hungry, so he ladled himself a bowl.

...It tasted so good!

The old woman searched for a long time but found nothing. She was worried she would be called useless again.

But after eating the century egg and pork congee, Zhang Baocheng seemed to be in a good mood.

"Forget it," he said. "I've brought him over anyway. Let's question him."

As he spoke, the two people who had been at the factory entrance carried Lu Yuan inside and laid him on the floor.

When Xiao Bing saw her brother, not knowing whether he was alive or dead, she immediately blew up. She screamed and jumped to her feet, the ropes unable to hold her down.

The old woman and the middle-aged man standing beside her were startled. It took several people scrambling together to hold Xiao Bing down.

"Brother!"

"She's so damn noisy! Can't you shut her mouth?"

At their boss's scolding, several subordinates hurriedly found a piece of tape and stuck it over Xiao Bing's mouth.

Zhang Baocheng crouched down and patted Lu Yuan's chest and abdomen a few times. Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

"Student Lu Yuan, look who this is."

He grabbed Lu Yuan by the hair and turned his face toward Xiao Bing.

"See? I told you I could help you find your sister. Why didn't you believe me?"

Zhang Baocheng was even in the mood to make a joke.

"Xiao Bing!"

"Mmph, mmph..."

Xiao Bing's mouth was taped shut, and she couldn't speak.

"What did you do to my sister?!"

"What could I do to her? Your sister is blessed. Tomorrow, she'll be above the rest."

Zhang Baocheng said leisurely, "You, on the other hand, should think about yourself, Student Lu Yuan."

"Now tell me, what exactly did you hide on her?"

"Zhang Baocheng, why are you doing this?! Anyone has the right to kill a cultist. You're betraying humanity!"

"Oh, give me a break. I'm betraying humanity? The ones betraying humanity are those high-and-mighty cultivator lords!

The Holy Church is humanity's way out.

Forget it. You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Zhang Baocheng couldn't be bothered to explain. He casually took out a dagger and spun it in his hand.

"Student Lu Yuan, I can't touch your sister, but I have nothing to worry about when it comes to you."

Zhang Baocheng pressed the dagger's edge against Lu Yuan's finger and threatened him:

"You don't have to answer, but every second, I'll cut off one of your fingers.

Once I'm done with your fingers, there are still your toes.

Once I've cut off your toes, I'll slit your throat."

At that, Zhang Baocheng chuckled. "That means you have twenty seconds to think before you die. How about it?"

Before Lu Yuan could answer, Xiao Bing shook her head frantically. She had never been so scared.

"Tell us honestly, and perhaps for your sister's sake, we'll permit you to join the Holy Church. How about it?"

Zhang Baocheng made one final attempt to persuade him.

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and roared, "You're dead!"

"Stubborn bastard!"

Zhang Baocheng's face turned cold, and he brought the dagger down hard.

In that split second, a mournful cry came from outside the factory. "Kid, just agree to it!"

Before the words had faded, a surging force from a fist smashed through the wall and hurtled straight toward Zhang Baocheng.

The sallow-faced middle-aged man was standing in its path. Before he could react, the powerful fist Gang tore his body apart.

"Ji Yin!"

Zhang Baocheng was scared out of his wits. He had no time to worry about Lu Yuan now. Facing Ji Yin's fist, he had no choice but to hurry to his feet and defend himself.

A pale white spiritual light appeared on his arms. He had only just managed to raise them in front of him when Ji Yin's fist slammed straight into them.

With a crack, Zhang Baocheng screamed and flew backward, striking the wall behind him before bouncing down. His arms hung limp, apparently broken, and several cracks appeared in the wall.

The force behind Ji Yin's punch was clear to see!

Only then did the dust from the shattered wall settle. Ji Yin stood in the middle of the factory, straight and tall like a war god.

The remaining cultists trembled. They wanted to run, but their legs had gone weak and wouldn't obey them.

Sounds of fighting and killing came from outside the factory. Besides Ji Yin, other combat personnel from the Internal Affairs Bureau had surrounded the cult's hideout.

"Kid, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Ji Yin held out a hand, intending to help Lu Yuan up.

Instead, Lu Yuan scrambled over and threw his arms around his sister.

"Xiao Bing!"

"Brother, I want to go home! Sob, sob..."

Brother and sister held each other.

Ji Yin's outstretched hand was left hanging.

"Ahem!" Zhang Baocheng sat up, coughing blood. Unreconciled, he asked, "Ji Yin, how are you here?"

"What, did you really think I'd gone into seclusion?" Ji Yin smiled brightly.

Zhang Baocheng looked at Ji Yin, then at Lu Yuan, who was untying Xiao Bing. Suddenly, he understood, and bone-deep hatred flashed in his eyes.

"You set me up!"

"Oh, you figured it out?" Ji Yin laughed heartily.

To understand the whole affair, one had to start from the beginning.

For some time, Ji Yin had been investigating the cult organization hidden in Ning City.

But several carefully planned operations to wipe them out had all come up empty.

Ji Yin suspected there was a cult mole in the Ning City Internal Affairs Bureau.

But he had kept the matter quiet. For one thing, he didn't want to unsettle the troops. For another, cultists were hard to identify; they could only be confirmed by using mental detection at close range. A half-baked single-flower cultivator like him couldn't use such a complicated technique.

Ji Yin had been troubled by this for days and had even planned to swallow his pride and invite his junior sister to help him. Then he happened to run into Lu Yuan, who had come to the Internal Affairs Bureau seeking help.

After Xiao Zhou explained the situation, Ji Yin had actually reached the same conclusion as Lu Yuan. He too believed that cultists had kidnapped Xiao Bing.

So Ji Yin came up with a plan on the spur of the moment.

But the plan required Lu Yuan's full cooperation.