Chapter 21: The Hall of Black and White

The instant Su Ziye opened his eyes, his attack began.

Golden flames erupted all around him, igniting every person who had approached the young man.

They writhed in agony on the ground, while Su Ziye calmly rose to his feet.

The sharp crossbow bolts slid from his body like falling leaves, without even grazing his skin.

He was a peak-level Profound Cavern expert. In this world, so long as he did not encounter someone of the Heavenly Realm, he was invincible.

But he had lured them out not to kill them.

“You won’t die just yet. Answer my questions, and you may have a chance to live,” Su Ziye told the people burning before him.

They screamed in agony, but their voices could not reach the heavens.

“Is it too painful?” Su Ziye asked with a smile.

The flames around them weakened accordingly.

One man immediately dragged himself up and tried to flee deeper into the alley. But the moment he took a step, the flames around him roared higher. In the blink of an eye, he was reduced entirely to ashes.

The others endured the searing pain and lay where they were, waiting for Su Ziye’s questions.

“Why did you attack me?” Su Ziye asked.

“We were hired,” one man answered in a low voice.

Su Ziye smiled and snapped his fingers. The flames engulfing that man vanished at once, and he was even able to stand.

“Who hired you?” Su Ziye continued.

“I don’t know. It’s not that I can’t say—I genuinely don’t know,” the man who had risen quickly replied.

“Does anyone know?” Su Ziye continued.

Silence spread across the ground. Then someone struggled to speak.

“I know. It was the Flashgold Merchant Guild!”

Su Ziye smiled but did not immediately extinguish the flames around him.

“How do you know?”

“Pain… pain… pain…” The man kept crying out, yet he never explained how he knew.

Su Ziye ignored him and turned his gaze to the man who had stood up.

“How many times have you done things like this? And how were you hired?”

“We’re from the Black Serpent Gang,” the standing man said. “People pay us to do dirty work, and we do it. We never ask for the employer’s name, nor the name of the target.”

Su Ziye tilted his head in thought.

“All of you?”

“All of us,” the man replied.

“Did you buy these crossbows yourselves?” Su Ziye continued asking.

Ambushing someone like this in a dark alley was little different from gunning them down with a hail of bullets.

“Yes. Crossbows like these are easy to buy in Kunca,” the man said, nodding.

“I see.”

Su Ziye calmly snapped his fingers.

The flames around everyone went out at the same time.

“You may leave,” he said.

The men exchanged glances, none of them daring to believe it. Not one of them moved.

They did not think they would be released so easily, much less that they had revealed any information of real importance.

Su Ziye smiled.

“If you don’t leave now, you’ll die here.”

Before his voice had even faded, the man who had spoken first charged into the darkness. The others followed his example, scrambling to their feet and fleeing after him. In less than thirty seconds, every one of them had vanished, leaving only Su Ziye standing in the distance.

“What a nuisance,” Su Ziye murmured to himself.

At that moment, a second voice came from nearby.

“I didn’t expect you to let them all go.”

Su Ziye looked toward the sound and saw the purple-eyed girl from before sitting high above the alley, gazing down at him.

It seemed she had been watching from there all along. He simply had not been able to see her.

“Are you very interested in me?” Su Ziye sighed. He made no move to attack.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Christina. You may call me Chris, or Tina. Of course, you may also use my full name—Christina Crawford.” The girl introduced herself with impeccable courtesy. “My grandfather is very interested in you. Will you go meet him?”

“Is that an invitation or a threat?” Su Ziye asked calmly.

He knew he had heard that name before.

When he had once asked Yi Lanshan who had imitated his academy’s Happy Water, that was the name he had been given. He simply had not expected the person behind it to be such a young girl.

Then again, she would have been even younger back then.

“Before, it was an invitation. This time, there’s somewhat more of a threat mixed in,” Christina said quietly.

Su Ziye sighed and raised both hands.

“Then lead the way.”

Christina pushed off with one hand and leaped down from the heights of the alley, landing beside Su Ziye. She quietly took his hand, then turned back toward him with a smile.

“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. I just never expected it would take until today.”

Her fingers were soft and warm.

“The entire city of Kunca is our road.”

As she spoke, black-and-white light slowly blossomed from her body.

Su Ziye felt the scene before his eyes blur in an instant.

When the shattered landscape reassembled itself, he found himself standing atop a black-and-white altar.

“Where is this?” Su Ziye asked curiously.

“My home,” Christina replied calmly. “Before, it was my invitation. This time, my grandfather wishes to see you. There is, after all, a difference.”

As she spoke, she released his hand and walked ahead.

“Please follow me.”

Su Ziye looked up at the sky.

Though the outside world was already filled with stars, the sky here remained bright and clear, bathed in sunlight. The air was moist and carried the faint fragrance of grass and trees.

Behind him stood several ancient altars woven from black and white. They had descended from one of them moments earlier. Before them stood a colossal palace.

It was grander than any palace Su Ziye had ever seen in his memories. Even the imperial palace of the Ster Empire could not compare.

Yet the palace appeared exceedingly ancient, and its architectural style bore no resemblance to anything in Su Ziye’s memory.

“This is the Hall of Black and White, the refuge of the Crawford family,” Christina said indifferently. “Grandfather has been waiting for you, so come along.”

Christina led the way through the elegant courtyard and into the palace. They crossed a long corridor before finally stopping before an ancient black door.

“Grandfather is behind this door,” Christina said.

Su Ziye nodded and pushed it open.

Beyond the door stood a massive black chair, upon which sat a very old man.

He wore a white robe. Almost no hair remained on his head, and his face was covered with dark age spots.

He looked as though he were on the verge of death.

“Xi Che, is it?” the old man asked, gazing at Su Ziye.

“I heard that the Hero General gave you the Blade of Illusion’s Demise. Could you show it to me?”