Stranger Danger

Chapter 566: Who Said I’m Alone?

“You...”

Ji Donglei and the others looked away from Joy Bodhisattva and stared at the battlefield still happening throughout the Blissful Peak for a moment. They stared at the countless Buddhist Hall of Joy disciples who were being slaughtered by the crazed guests, the guests who were slaughtering other guests, the mountain of corpses and the river of blood that flowed out of it. Suddenly, no one could say anything.

Earlier, they weren’t thinking clearly because they were angry, impatient, and desperate to catch Joy Bodhisattva as quickly as possible. But now that they had calmed down a little, they realized that something wasn’t right about their initial assumption.

As Joy Bodhisattva said, if she really was the one who poisoned them in an attempt to slay all the key players in one go and conquer Bei You, the price she paid was entirely too big. Not only was the Buddhist Hall of Joy destroyed, she herself was on the verge of death.

It did not matter if someone offered you the world if you weren’t alive to enjoy it. Just the same, it made no sense for Joy Bodhisattva to conquer Bei You at the price of her own life.

In fact, this was one of the stupidest plans they had ever witnessed. Anyone could tell that no one would benefit from this conflict.

Was Joy Bodhisattva stupid? Obviously not.

This could only mean one thing.

Joy Bodhisattva really isn’t the one who poisoned us?!

Mistress Ruyi said suddenly, “The sandpiper and clam goes to war, and the fisherman catches both?!”

Ji Donglei, Huo Ruyu and everyone else’s face darkened instantly.

In hindsight, the answer was ridiculously simple. It was just difficult for those who were contending with the problem to realize it. Now that someone had pointed it out, almost everyone managed to connect the dots in an instant.

Mistress Ruyi is one of Bodhisattva’s? No wonder!

On the fifth floor, Ye Qing was pretending to be a corpse on the floor. The corner of his lips curled up a little when he realized something.

Just now, a somewhat unique scent had entered his nostrils. It felt strangely calming for some reason. He had wondered what it was and where it came from. He was also surprised that Ji Donglei, Huo Ruyi and the others managed to calm down as quickly as they did.

Of course, one of the reasons they were able to regain their composure was because everyone on the sixth floor was a champion in their own right. They all possessed an iron will that allowed them to temporarily suppress the Burning Heart and the negative emotions boiling inside their heart.

The other reason was Mistress Ruyi. Mistress Ruyi was an incense master proficient in creating all sorts of miraculous incense. She could use them to kill or save a life.

Mistress Ruyi must have ignited an incense stick with a calming effect in secret. That was why Ji Donglei and the others were able to calm down this quickly.

Not only that, the incense stick was incredibly elusive and subtle. If he wasn’t a dabbler in incense-making himself, if he did not often create the Twelve Incense Sticks of Ghosts and Gods for his own use, he might not have noticed it either.

The reason Mistress Ruyi did this was obvious. One, it was because she was one of Joy Bodhisattva’s allies. She ignited the incense stick so that Ji Donglei and Huo Ruyu wouldn’t lose control and kill Joy Bodhisattva.

Later, Mistress Ruyi said, “The sandpiper and clam goes to war, and the fisherman catches both,” to enlighten everyone about the truth in the most succinct manner possible. Joy Bodhisattva wasn’t the culprit, it was someone else.

It was this line that confirmed to Ye Qing that Mistress Ruyi was on Joy Bodhisattva’s side. Although the calming scent made him suspect that someone among the attackers was Joy Bodhisattva’s ally, he wasn’t sure until Mistress Ruyi revealed herself. He even thought it was Gold Ingot at first because he was the one who suffered the lightest injuries out of everyone present. Of course, he was wrong.

In hindsight, Mistress Ruyi was probably the only one who could produce such a miraculous incense stick. The fact that she was able to “notice” the truth so quickly proved her identity as well.

He wasn’t surprised that Mistress Ruyi was Joy Bodhisattva’s helper though. If Xiong Kuohai could find a shill or two to assist in his nefarious plans, why not her?

In any case, now that the truth was revealed, it was about time for Xiong Kuohai to appear on stage.

It was as Ye Qing had predicted. Realizing that they had been tricked, Ji Donglei immediately ordered, “Let’s get out of this place!”

If Mistress Ruyi was right, and someone really was conspiring to play the fisherman, now would be the time for them to show their face. After all, no one was in a good condition right now. Now would be the perfect time for the fisherman to swoop in, kill everyone, and claim the spoils.

The poison would kill them eventually, but they were going to die now if they didn’t leave. Therefore, their first priority was to get to safety as soon as possible.

“Take Joy Bodhisattva with us,” Ji Donglei added after a pause. It was just in case their assumption was wrong, and it turned out that Joy Bodhisattva was trying to mislead them. He knew that was an incredibly unlikely possibility considering the circumstances, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“No need to leave, everyone.”

A masculine voice suddenly interrupted them before they could take action. When they looked, they saw Xiong Kuohai suddenly unleashing a powerful shockwave and sending Worriless, Wisdom Queen, White-faced God and Black-faced Buddha tumbling through the air like a rag doll. The blow was such that they all spat blood and looked as white as a sheet.

“What do you mean, leader Xiong?” Huo Ruyu asked with a frown.

“What I mean...”

As he landed back on the floor, he stomped down on Five Poison Boy’s chest. Caught completely off guard, Five Poison Boy failed to put up any sort of resistance before he exploded into a shower of blood and gore.

While wiping the sole of his shoes against the floor with a disgusted expression on his face, Xiong Kuohai said slowly, “... is that this hall will be your final resting place.”

“It was you?!”

Even as they exclaimed in shock, the group noticed that the anomalous energy plaguing Xiong Kuohai was receding slowly. If they weren’t sure that Xiong Kuohai was the true mastermind behind their poisoning, they were now.

“Why are you doing this?” Ji Donglei asked in a dark tone.

“Why?” Xiong Kuohair rubbed his hairy chin while replying in a mocking tone, “Don’t you know it already? It’s to kill all of you in one go and conquer Bei You, of course!”

“The Earthfire Palace of Demons and Sword King City will have your head for this, Xiong Kuohai!” Huo Ruyu threatened. “You may kill us, but both you and Endless Sand will join us in our graves!”

“Trust me, I know. I know full well that I can’t handle even one of you, much less the two of your factions combined.”

Xiong Kuohai shrugged before asking in a mocking tone, “But... Joy Bodhisattva is the one who did this, isn’t it? What does it have to do with little ol’ me?”

“I’m a victim too, you know? I just happened to be lucky enough to survive this crisis... unlike you guys.”

“Do you seriously think you can fool our sects?” Ji Donglei uttered coldly.

“Of course I can! Why couldn’t I?” Xiong Kuohai smiled. “If you die, then I can shape the narrative however I want! Don’t you agree?”

“And you think you can kill us all by yourself? Dream on!” Huo Ruyu scoffed. Sure, they were both poisoned and injured, but they were hardly helpless. It would be extremely difficult for Xiong Kuohai to kill them all himself.

“Hehehe... of course I can’t. I know my limits.” Xiong Kuohai started laughing louder and louder. It wasn’t long before the entire hall was reverberating with his laughter. “But what on earth makes you think that I’m alone?”

A number of warriors began emerging from every direction. They numbered only thirty or so people, but each and every one of them exuded incredible power. Even the weakest among them was a middle-stage Spirit Master, not to mention that there were four Half-Step Grandmasters.

“I’ve brought my elites with me. Do you think they’re good enough?”

Face contorted into an ugly visage, Ji Donglei did not say anything. If he was in tiptop condition, then this group of thirty might as well not exist. One slash was all he needed to kill them all, if not two slashes.

But now, he was both poisoned and grievously injured from the battle against Joy Bodhisattva. This group of warriors was akin to the final straw: they were just heavy enough to snap their backs like twigs.