Chapter 36: The Disappearing List

The Black Fire Gang had been cleared out the day after the battle.

The Thirteenth Floor healing center.

Outside the medical room's door, Zhou Zhengde looked through the glass at Wang Jixuan lying silently on the hospital bed.

Anyone could see that Wang Jixuan's mental state was in terrible shape.

Wang Jixuan had removed the nanomask, reverting to the appearance of Mu Liang. Before coming here, Zhou Zhengde had already deleted the character 'Zhou Tiantian' from the archive, not leaving any trace.

Wang Jixuan just lay there with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

The image of the girl in a white dress and the vengeful spirits floating around her kept crossing his mind.

'Why didn't I shoot at that time? She had clearly fallen into the Demon Path...'

'Is this "letting the demon return to the mountain"?'

Wang Jixuan smiled bitterly within, trying not to dwell on the thoughts that would cause the cracks in his Dao Heart to heal slowly.

The landlady, Thomas, Ban Wenying, Wen Heisen, Ye Zi...

He seemed to have underestimated the power of the human heart before, thinking magic and cultivation could create everything.

He was beginning to vaguely understand the purpose of Red Dust Heart Refining.

This was not an ordinary mundane world, nor was it the cave he had secluded himself in for over a hundred years. No one had to move forward in the way he thought; every living being had their own path.

The path of humanity resided here.

The path of heaven ends in the mysterious and profound.

'I too have my own path.'

'If I can attain Ascension one day, perhaps I can eliminate the demon beasts and the strong before I leave. That way, my journey in this world wouldn't have been in vain. As for the rest... best not think too much about it.'

'It's a pity about Ye Zi. She has fallen into the Demon Path and must be dealt with as soon as possible.'

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The sound of stiletto heels striking the concrete rhythmically.

Zhou Zhengde turned his head to look at Wei Na approaching and asked softly, "What's wrong with Mu Liang? Didn't we win? This victory can almost be called a miracle, he created eighty percent of it, and we together probably accounted for twenty percent."

"I don't know."

Wei Na hugged her arms and shrugged her shoulders:

"When I found him, he looked a bit dazed, and I brought him back immediately."

"Could it be that he was injured in the battle against the Telekinesis Spirit Ability User An Qian?

"Don't Telekinesis Spirit Ability Users have a kind of spiritual impact skill?"

"Ah, without a doubt, Mu Liang is a hero. He alone took down one-fifth of the Black Fire Gang members, eliminated a D-Level Spirit Ability User who had broken the rules and entered Lower City, and seriously injured another D-Level Spirit Ability User who had greatly violated the rules. Poor guy."

Zhou Zhengde muttered to himself, giving a brief characterization of the event before turning the conversation:

"There are some things here that we have to ask him about."

"Ms. Ban has disappeared, and her last pulse was recorded at the 49th Floor. Many people have been sent from all sides to look for her, and now they suspect that a charred corpse inside an automobile wreck could be Ban Wenying. They're doing a genetic analysis."

"The boss of the Black Fire Gang and old goat Thomas died together, burnt to a crisp."

"I have some rather unpleasant guesses—Ms. Ban might have been reallocating resources to do some things that cross our line, and she screwed it up. My mom's people are already looking into the documents Ms. Ban left behind."

"Also, in that cabin, we found the bodies of over a dozen children. They each had been stabbed through the heart with more than a dozen kitchen knives, and large amounts of sleeping pills were found in their systems. Who knows who killed these orphans."

Wei Na frowned and said, "What about the Thirteenth Institute? Aren't they usually quite vocal?"

Zhou Zhengde sighed, "Our mole inside the Thirteenth Institute said their person in charge is in a very bad mood."

Wang Jixuan's voice rose in the hospital room:

"The person in charge has issues... Come in, and I'll tell you what has happened."

Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na immediately pushed the door open, their faces brightened with a bit more mirth.

Wang Jixuan added, "No need to mutter there. Just ask directly. I chose to come back here because I trust you two."

Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na's expressions showed a tinge of guilt.

Zhou Zhengde pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, Wei Na crossed her arms and leaned against the door, preventing anyone from suddenly barging in.

Zhou Zhengde asked, "How are you feeling, Mu Liang? Is there any discomfort?"

"It's like having had a nightmare."

Wang Jixuan raised his hand to his forehead:

"Zheng De, we're in this together, so I'll tell you about what happened last night. There are some things I would prefer not to talk about."

"First help me find a girl, she's called Xiao Yezi, a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl in a white dress, carrying a suitcase... She's extremely dangerous. If she resists with a weapon, shoot to kill immediately."

"Okay," Zhou Zhengde immediately agreed, taking out his communicator, "I'll have the Clean-up troops look for her."

Wang Jixuan said, "At that time, my Dao Heart was very confused, and I made a mistake by not taking her out immediately. It might cause some problems later."

"Is she a Spiritual Ability User?"

"No. Those orphans were killed by her. She reads a lot and is very clever. Actually, I don't understand her motives..."

"Well, that's a relief," Zhou Zhengde sighed with relief, "It's good she's not a Spiritual Ability User."

Wang Jixuan slowly heaved a sigh, "Let me start with the part about Thomas..."

He decided to tell the truth.

A few minutes later.

The silence in the medical room was deafening.

Wei Na's face was a picture of shock: "Our Biological Minister from Fortress 76, the representative of the Thirteenth Institute, and Big Mouth Hua, whom I took out, they were biological brothers? This!"

Zhou Zhengde leaped to his feet like an enraged lion, turned, and charged to the bathroom, where his roar soon erupted:

"Mom! You must give me an explanation! What's this about cameras all around me?! You love me? I'm over thirty years old! I have my own life! Mom, you've gone too far! You are way out of line! Let's not see each other for a while! Ban Wenying was colluding with Thomas, stirring up faction strife for her own political advantages! Yes, that's it! The charred body is hers! Ban Wenying had a falling out with Thomas! Thomas took her out! Thomas had a falling out with the boss of the Black Fire Gang! Thomas was taken out by my people! And you dare say Ban Wenying was your person... you can't even see what your own secretary is doing! That's human nature! Human nature includes the part that's easily corrupted by power! You deal with it yourself! Don't let Ban Wenying's mess reach our Thirteenth Floor! If you can't handle it, I'll go to my grandpa!"