Chapter 86: My Face Real?

Bai Ye could certainly snatch the fragment stolen by the Usurper, but doing so would compromise his identity as the Saint of Thieves, and the Usurper would undoubtedly spare no effort to hunt him down.

For him, doing so would definitely not be worth the trouble. However, if the fragment were to be taken by someone else within the ancient vault, it would be a different story.

Understanding all of this, Chen Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief. He returned to his bed and sat down, feeling the last heavy burden lift from his heart.

He could control the "performance" within the ancient Military Dao vault, but once he left, events would be beyond his control. Neither the three enforcers nor Bai Ye, the Saint of Thieves, were beings he could contend with; his only hope lay with the mysterious contact.

To his surprise, the contact and Bai Ye, the Saint of Thieves, were one and the same person.

“Your acting just now was quite convincing,” Bai Ye remarked, unable to suppress his admiration. “I almost thought you had really been swapped out by Number 13…”

Chen Ling chuckled dryly, saying nothing.

Bai Ye put away the Dao Foundation fragment and continued, “I’ve already stolen the three enforcers’ memories of the anomaly in the Military Dao vault, so they won’t suspect you anymore… Can you get away on your own now?”

“Yes,” Chen Ling nodded.

Then, as if remembering something, he asked, “Oh, by the way, could you do me another favor?”

“Name it.”

“Help me hide these two items on the beam at 128 Frost Street, District Three.”

Chen Ling handed the Bai Qi Token and the red ring to Bai Ye, who examined them closely for a few moments before speaking with surprise, “These items have the aura of the Military God Dao. Good stuff… Did you bring them out of the ancient vault?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, anything else?”

Chen Ling shook his head. Bai Ye was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket with a strange expression.

“There’s one more thing I wanted to ask you… What did you mean by this message you sent me?”

Chen Ling took the note with a puzzled expression, and seeing the two bloody characters on it, he froze.

—Go to hell!

“???” Chen Ling distinctly remembered that he hadn’t written that at the general store booth… Was it the audience’s doing again?

“That… uh… that was an accident,” Chen Ling explained vaguely.

Bai Ye gave him a strange look, then averted his gaze and casually waved his hand.

“I’m off. See you in Aurora City.”

The next moment, his figure vanished into thin air.

See you in Aurora City?

A flicker of doubt crossed Chen Ling’s mind… Why were all these members of the Twilight Society heading to Aurora City? Chu Muyun was, and so was Bai Ye.

Without the Dao Foundation fragment and the Bai Qi Token, Chen Ling felt light. He lay directly on the bed, closing his eyes to rest.

A few hours later, the ship slowly docked at Winter Port. An enforcer helped the “weak” Chen Ling back onto land.

As soon as Chen Ling disembarked, he saw dozens of enforcers in black and red uniforms, who had already sealed off the entire Winter Port.

The once bustling port was now filled with only solemnity and cold. Seeing this display, Chen Ling knew that Aurora City had received the news: more than seventy enforcers, on whom Aurora City had placed great hopes, had entered the Military Dao vault for trial, but only one had survived. This was undoubtedly a devastating, earthquake-level piece of bad news for Aurora City!

“Are you Chen Ling?” A six-stripe enforcer stepped forward, frowning as he looked at Chen Ling.

“Yes.”

The six-stripe enforcer gave a look to the surrounding enforcers. “Search him.”

Without a word, three enforcers rushed to Chen Ling, searching him from head to toe, almost making him strip naked on the spot. Under this level of scrutiny, Chen Ling could not have hidden anything.

Naturally, they were destined to find nothing.

“Nothing else,” an enforcer whispered in reply.

“Apologies, Chen Ling,” the six-stripe enforcer stated again, leaving no room for doubt. “Next, we need to verify your face to prevent an Usurper from impersonating you.”

At this statement, Chen Ling’s eyes immediately narrowed.

To be honest, he had long anticipated this facial verification step. Since Aurora City knew that an Usurper had infiltrated the Military Dao vault, they naturally had to be cautious, especially since he was the only survivor from it.

From the moment he exited the ancient vault, Chen Ling was destined to undergo the most stringent investigation across the entire Aurora Dominion.

An enforcer drew a short knife from his pocket and slowly walked towards Chen Ling.

Before the enforcer could make a move, Chen Ling broke free from the enforcers holding him on either side and pulled out his own dagger from his pocket with a backhanded motion.

This scene startled the surrounding enforcers, who instantly became vigilant, and the six-stripe enforcer’s gaze sharpened.

“I’ll do it myself.”

Expressionless, Chen Ling pierced his cheek with the sharp dagger and slowly sliced it open. Crimson blood dripped down the blade, revealing the flesh beneath his skin.

The mournful cold wind swept across the silent port. Under everyone’s tense gaze, the young man, who was personally slicing open his own face, smiled.

His lacerated cheek was gruesome and bloody. He curved his lips slightly and asked softly:

“Look at my face… Is it real?”

District Three.

Enforcer Headquarters.

“Brother Meng! Brother Meng!”

A figure forcefully pushed open the door and hurried into the office.

“What happened?” Han Meng, who was sitting behind his desk, frowned slightly. “Why are you in such a panic?”

“It’s Aurora City! News came from Aurora City!”

“Aurora City?”

Han Meng seemed to realize something. “Jiang Qin and Chen Ling, did they come out of the ancient vault?”

“…They’re dead.”

“What?” Han Meng was stunned.

“They’re all dead!” the enforcer repeated. “The Usurper attacked the Military Dao vault, and all enforcers who entered were killed! Except for…”

Han Meng’s face instantly turned ashen. He abruptly stood up from his seat, and a terrifying pressure immediately filled the room!

“Except for what?”

“Except for Chen Ling,” he said. “Aurora City says Chen Ling is the only survivor…”

Han Meng froze in place.

“They found Chen Ling among a pile of corpses. When they found him, he had reportedly lost too much blood and was on the verge of death…”

“And now? Was he rescued?”

“He was rescued, but he’s reportedly being held at Winter Port for investigation and interrogation by Aurora City. Among the enforcers who entered the ancient vault this time, one was the young master of the Starfall Merchant Guild, and another was the son of a seven-stripe enforcer… Both families have sent people to Winter Port; I don’t know if they intend to…”

Upon hearing the last sentence, Han Meng’s expression changed as if he had realized something.

Without waiting for the enforcer to say anything more, he pushed open the door and, his black trench coat vanishing with astonishing speed into the snowy distance!