Chapter 377: Lonely

The moment he heard those two words, Lin Xi’s scalp prickled as if it were exploding. Immediately, Old Lu’s face flashed in his mind! Yes… two Old Lus had arrived earlier. If the one before him was Chen Ling, then who else could the one he had personally blown up have been?

“You’re dead… you’re dead!!!” Lin Xi snarled. “After architects die, their names vanish from the roster kept in the main city. With two architects dying in succession, the main city must have already detected that something is wrong!! Soon, you will face endless pursuit!! Kill me! You won’t escape either!”

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly. So, the Ephemeral Painting has a way to remotely confirm whether members are alive or dead? This means the Ephemeral Painting already knows he has killed two people consecutively. Once Lin Xi dies, they will know their encirclement has failed and will send even stronger members to deal with him… He would be like a trapped beast, confined within this circle until he was thoroughly killed.

“Kill the small ones, the big ones come; kill the big ones, the old ones come… Your organization is truly troublesome,” Chen Ling said with a sneer.

“It’s good that you know.” Seeing this, Lin Xi seemed to believe Chen Ling was finally showing some apprehension, and his expression became a little calmer as he spoke loudly, “‘Heaven’s net has wide meshes, but it lets nothing through.’ In the Mortal Realm, you cannot escape. Give up resisting now and come back to the main city with me; perhaps you can still save your life…”

“Give up resisting?” Chen Ling scoffed. “Do you really think that will scare me?”

Lin Xi took a deep breath and continued calmly, “I don’t think you understand what I mean. You can’t escape, do you understand? As long as the mission fails, the Ephemeral Painting will…”

*Thud!*

Chen Ling delivered a powerful kick to Lin Xi’s chest, sending him flying like a sandbag.

The force of the kick broke several of Lin Xi’s ribs. He coughed up blood as he crashed heavily to the ground, stars blurring his vision. “Cough, cough, cough… you…” Lin Xi looked at Chen Ling in astonishment.

At the same time, Chen Ling slowly bent down and picked up Lin Xi’s dropped walkie-talkie from the ground. He gently blew off the dust, then pressed the button.

“This is Number 031, Lin Xi. Target eliminated. Requesting circle dissolution.” Lin Xi’s weak voice echoed from Chen Ling’s throat.

Lin Xi froze.

*Static crackled…*

After a brief static, a voice came from the other end of the walkie-talkie: “Number 031, Lin Xi, we’ve detected that 030 and 029 have lost vital signs. Please report their status.”

“No, no!!” Lin Xi struggled to get up from the ground, but a red blur instantly flashed before him! Chen Ling delivered another kick, sending him flying like a ball against a wall tens of meters away, causing him to cough up more blood.

Chen Ling continued, his voice trembling slightly as he mimicked Lin Xi’s: “…They died in battle.”

A brief silence fell on the other end of the walkie-talkie. “Understood, Number 031. Return to your post to maintain the architecture as soon as possible. Someone will handle the bodies shortly.”

Chen Ling looked at Lin Xi, who was not far away, and a brilliant smile slowly appeared on his face. “Yes.”

He put away the walkie-talkie. The next moment, the circle surrounding Willow Town faded at a visible speed, disappearing without a trace within mere seconds.

“No… don’t let him go! That’s not me!! That’s not me!!!” Lin Xi scrambled to his feet, shouting and stumbling toward Chen Ling, trying to reclaim his walkie-talkie.

*Bang! Bang!*

Two gunshots rang out in quick succession, and blood spurted from both of Lin Xi’s knees. Losing his support, he plunged to the ground.

Crimson blood slowly spread across the ground. He braced himself with his hands, attempting to rise, but a powerful hand already gripped his neck, lifting him entirely off the ground. Reflected in Lin Xi’s terrified eyes was a figure in red, silently fluttering in the mist. Chen Ling’s eyes were as deep as an abyss. He spoke calmly: “If the mission fails, I can’t leave… So, what if they believe you succeeded?”

To Chen Ling, the solution was quite simple: first trick the Ephemeral Painting into dissolving the circle, then take Lin Xi out of Willow Town. Once outside the circle’s range, he would kill him. By then, even if the Ephemeral Painting realized what happened, they wouldn’t know where he had gone.

“You…” Lin Xi had endured two brutal beatings from Chen Ling and had his legs crippled. At this point, he was completely defenseless. “You wish!!”

A look of grim determination flashed in Lin Xi’s eyes. A smudge of ink suddenly appeared on his chest, rapidly spreading outwards! Chen Ling keenly sensed something was wrong. Immediately, he grabbed Lin Xi’s throat with one hand and tore open his clothes with the other, only to find that, at some unknown moment, a blade woven from ink had deeply pierced Lin Xi’s heart. *Damn it…*

Chen Ling’s heart sank. “I told you… you can’t escape.” Lin Xi’s breath was incredibly faint. He mumbled, “Wait for death in Willow Town… with me.” Lin Xi’s eyes slowly glazed over, and he finally stopped breathing.

Lin Xi wasn’t stupid; neither were Old Lu and Maple Ghost. They fell into Chen Ling’s hands because his methods were too bizarre, beyond their comprehension. But in this situation, Lin Xi’s mind was perfectly clear. He knew the only way to stop Chen Ling from leaving was to let the Ephemeral Painting know of his death. And he did exactly that.

The moment Lin Xi’s heart stopped, Chen Ling seemed to sense something. He abruptly looked up at the sky, and above the misty clouds, a circle, larger and more solid than before, was rapidly forming! “Damn it…” Chen Ling murmured.

Chen Ling naturally knew he needed to keep Lin Xi alive. His successive attacks were precisely to strip Lin Xi of his ability to resist, even crippling his legs. In such a state, any attempt by Lin Xi to commit suicide would have been instantly thwarted by Chen Ling… But he hadn’t expected Lin Xi to be able to end his own life so silently using such a method.

Although Chen Ling had thoroughly triumphed against Lin Xi and the other two, in the final moments, Lin Xi had still outmaneuvered him. He used his actions to show Chen Ling that defeating the Ephemeral Painting wouldn’t be so simple.

*Static crackled…*

“Lin Xi is dead… I know you’re listening.” The voice came from the walkie-talkie again, colder and more piercing than before: “I admit, you almost fooled me. The Way of the Play God’s disguise ability truly lives up to its reputation… But now, the circle has sealed off the area around Willow Town, and several high-ranking architects are about to arrive. No matter how many tricks you have, you are still alone, and you won’t escape our grasp. The Ephemeral Painting will make you pay.”

Audience Expectation: 3Current Expectation: 46

This was the Ephemeral Painting’s fury, their declaration of war against Chen Ling. The Mortal Realm was their home ground, and Chen Ling was merely an unexpected outsider… He killed a few judges, and Lin Xi came seeking revenge for them. He defeated Lin Xi, and then Old Lu and Maple Ghost from the circle arrived. Now that he had killed all of them, another group of even more powerful enemies sought Chen Ling’s life.

In the Mortal Realm, they had enough people to rely on, but Chen Ling was ultimately alone. If he got beaten, who would stand up for him? A cold wind swept across the ruins, making the solitary crimson opera robe flap loudly.

After a long silence, Chen Ling suddenly smiled and replied in his own voice: “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”