Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16: The Mask
The abandoned factory was charred black, exuding an unnatural burnt smell. Jarring phrases like "Heartless Capitalists" and "Give Me Back My Son’s Life," scrawled in large swathes of red paint, were unsettling to look at.
Rumor had it that a great fire had broken out here a few years ago, killing many people. The upper management fled, and that was how the factory became abandoned.
Su Xing followed Liu Shiyu to the front of this factory.
A strong smell of burnt material and paint flooded Su Xing’s nostrils; even after so much time, it showed no signs of dissipating.
Liu Shiyu knocked on the somewhat dilapidated iron gate, which let out a "KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK" sound. Then, in an extremely respectful tone, she said:
"Lord Assistant Priest, I’ve brought the person you wanted."
The next moment, the gate opened from the inside.
Her red dress trailing behind her, Liu Shiyu swayed her hips and took mincing steps as she walked through the gate first. Before Su Xing could move, a large man shot out from inside, grabbed Su Xing, shoved him forward, and shouted:
"Get in there, and don’t try anything funny!"
Faced with the big man’s shove, Su Xing’s body only swayed slightly. To be honest, a push with such little force was no different than child’s play to him.
Su Xing steadied his footing, then turned to glance back, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a dead pig about to be served at its master’s table.
The large man felt the hairs on his body stand on end. It was like being targeted by a lion in the wild, a feeling that made his heart seem to stop for a moment.
But a sense of shame and anger welled up within him. He was a member of the Spiritual Sect, yet he had been startled by an ordinary guy.
At this thought, he immediately raised his hand to slap Su Xing. However, Su Xing simply bent at the waist, effortlessly dodging the blow, and stepped into the factory.
The man watched Su Xing’s retreating figure, suppressed the rage in his heart, and silently followed behind him.
This was the man the Assistant Priest had specifically requested. No matter how furious he was, he couldn’t go against the Assistant Priest’s wishes to his face. Otherwise, he could forget about ever becoming Extraordinary. But in his heart, he cursed silently:
’When this is all over.’
’I’ll definitely beat you to death.’
Inside the factory, the smell of burnt material and paint suddenly vanished. It was clear that parts of the interior had been cleaned.
Su Xing immediately spotted the man sitting in the center of the factory. He wore the standard attire of the Spiritual Sect. Liu Shiyu was leaning against him from behind, massaging his shoulders while whispering something into his ear, her bright red lips close to his earlobe.
"Lord Assistant Priest, I’ve brought Su Yu’s older brother back for you."
"This time, I can receive His blessing, right? I’ve been looking forward to this day for a very, very long time."
"Heh heh, you dressed up so beautifully today, how could I not give it to you? Come to my room tonight. I’ll be sure to satisfy you."
"Oh, you..."
The two whispered intimately. Near them stood another man dressed in a suit. He wore dark sunglasses and held a tachi that glinted with a cold light. He looked a bit like he was from Japan.
Besides these few people,
in the back of the factory, a few other men sat playing poker. Every time they played a card, they would slam it onto the table with force, yelling things like "A pair of twos!" as if unleashing some ultimate move.
These card players were also all dressed in the uniform of the Spiritual Sect. They were likely the Cultivators, or believers, under this Assistant Priest.
Honestly, although Su Xing had no favorable impression of this Spiritual Sect, it was, at the end of the day, a religion. Su Xing had expected them to be reading some incomprehensible scriptures or preaching nonsensically day in and day out. But the believers in the back didn’t look like members of a religion at all; they looked more like a gang.
"Heh heh, Coach Su, is it?"
"Please, have a seat. Someone, bring a chair for Coach Su."
As the man known as the Assistant Priest spoke, the large man who had been behind Su Xing reluctantly walked to the side, grabbed a light-blue, four-legged plastic stool, and placed it behind Su Xing.
Seeing the chair was in place, the Assistant Priest extended a hand in a "please" gesture and said:
"Have a seat."
Su Xing didn’t say a word and sat down directly.
The moment he entered, he had already sensed it. Among all the people here, not a single one was particularly strong. If he wanted to leave, no one would be able to stop him. In that case, Su Xing figured he might as well see what kind of scheme these Spiritual Sect members were trying to pull.
"Heh heh, you can call me Lord Assistant Priest. It might not roll off the tongue right now, but I’m sure you’ll get used to saying it."
The Assistant Priest pulled a cigarette from his pocket and held it up over his shoulder. Liu Shiyu respectfully took out a lighter and lit it for him. As plumes of white smoke curled into the air, he spoke, his words slow and unhurried. After taking a long time to finish his sentence, he continued:
"Coach Su, I’ll follow Sister Liu’s example and call you that. Do you know why I’ve called you here?"
Su Xing shook his head. "I don’t."
"Heh heh, it’s normal that you don’t know. But... you’re about to find out."
The moment he finished speaking,
Su Xing felt his body suddenly go numb. The sensation made him tense up immediately, and then he realized what the problem was.
It was the cigarette in the Assistant Priest’s hand.
That wasn’t a normal cigarette. It must be a physical manifestation of some sort of sequence, with an effect like "hypnosis" or "body control."
On the verge of losing control of his body, Su Xing’s mind worked exceptionally fast. In the blink of an eye, he had more or less analyzed the entire situation.
Su Xing felt a foreign energy flood into his body along with the secondhand smoke, frantically trying to seize control of him. It was about to reach his dantian.
However...
Just as this energy was about to invade his dantian, the sword inside Su Xing’s body let out a BUZZ, like it was casually kicking a stray dog on the roadside to death.
In an instant, it completely suppressed the invading energy. But instead of destroying it, the sword stored it away, as if saving a snack for later.
"Heh heh, now you know what I was planning to do, don’t you?"
The Assistant Priest slowly stood up, a gratified smile on his face. He could feel that his sequence energy had not dissipated but had stopped its invasion. This meant Su Xing was now completely under the control of his sequence.
His sequence was simple.
It could control anyone whose cultivation level was lower than his.
’Heh, Su Yu’s own brother is just an ordinary person. Controlling him is a piece of cake.’
’He might be easy to control, but he’s the perfect tool. As long as I have this tool in my grasp, capturing Su Yu will be easier than eating or drinking.’
’The thought of personally capturing the owner of the Judgment Sequence and then offering Su Yu to the great Him—this would surely earn me an unprecedented blessing, the likes of which the Spiritual Sect has never seen since its founding! This is worth more than thousands or tens of thousands of "filthy rituals"!’
’At that time, I might even be promoted straight to Bishop, bypassing Priest, High Priest, and Vice Bishop to obtain power I had never dared to imagine!’
At this thought, a savage grin spread across his lips, as if he were just one step away from the pinnacle of his life. He looked at the dazed Su Xing sitting before him and found him more and more pleasing to the eye. He waved his hand and said:
"You can go back now. Don’t let anyone get suspicious."
"We will notify you when we’re ready to make a move on Su Yu."
"Yes, Lord Assistant Priest."
After speaking, Su Xing stood up stiffly from the chair and turned to walk out the gate. He moved with a staggered, halting gait, as if he had truly lost control of his body. Only after a few steps did his walking gradually become smooth again. freewebnovel.cσ๓
After walking out of the factory, Su Xing kept his head low, his face covered in shadow.
If anyone had been there to see Su Xing’s expression, they would have discovered that his previous dazed and rigid look was completely gone, replaced by a chillingly cold sneer.
’Heh heh, using me to get to my brother... You’ve got some nerve.’
Su Xing’s voice was low and cold, like an echo from the Nine Netherworld. A child’s Sun Wukong mask had appeared in his hand.
Su Xing had casually picked it up from a corner of the factory on his way out. It was covered in dust, likely left behind by some child who had been exploring here.
Su Xing did not leave. Instead, he walked nearby, picked up a fairly thick wooden stick, then grabbed some dirt from the side and smeared it on his clothes to change their color. Finally, he gently placed the Great Sage mask on his face.
’When it comes to slaying demons and exorcising evil, you’ve got to call on Sun Wukong.’
