HP - Chapter 51

Kingdom of Gods 29

Xi He was fiddling with her puppets.

Her eyes were closed, her slender fingers dancing nimbly in the air as if playing the piano.

This space was utterly silent; no one would come to disturb her.

She relished this kind of silence, and even more the feeling of taking lives without anyone noticing.

Ordinary people couldn’t see it—her ten fingers were densely connected to countless threads, and these threads were linked to people who had already died.

She “revived” them, and they had to obey her commands and carry out her tasks.

Occasionally, a thread would snap.

But she didn’t think much of it; it was merely a pity.

After all, each life could only be revived once at most. When some particularly useful undead were completely annihilated, she would regret it for a long time.

Just as she was enjoying the melody beneath the torrential rain, the alert sound of an incoming communication call suddenly rang out.

She frowned, originally planning to ignore it, but the sound refused to stop.

“What is it?!” She opened her eyes, her tone impatient.

The other side fell silent for two seconds before saying, “Just woke up? Got morning temper?”

“You’d better have something important!”

“How’s the situation on your side?”

“Everything’s fine.” As she spoke, Xi He moved to cut off the communication.

“You’re still hiding in Void Zone One?”

Xi He paused the motion of ending the call, a trace of confusion coloring her tone. “What do you mean? Weren’t you the ones who told me to stay here?”

“Haha, yeah.”

The other side laughed twice, but it didn’t sound like laughter at all.

A strange feeling welled up in Xi He’s heart, and a strong unease began to spread—it was strange. Logically speaking, she shouldn’t feel uneasy talking to this person.

Just then, a thread tied to her index finger vibrated violently, more like an omen of misfortune.

“Luo Shen…”

Well, never mind. If Luo Shen dies, then she dies… After being revived, her greatest value had been revealing that person’s identity.

“Is Luo Shen dead?” Unexpectedly, the person on the other end immediately asked.

Xi He frowned. “Did you guys make the move?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

Xi He’s eyelids twitched rapidly. As the feeling of unease grew stronger, she felt as though she was about to grasp something.

“What exactly did you call me for? Can you be more direct? The communication device will locate my position… Wait, you…”

Xi He’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You did this on purpose! Who are you trying to let discover my location?! No… you clearly know where I am, so why are you doing this? Does White Butterfly know about this, Scorpion King?”

On the other end, the Scorpion King smiled faintly. “You’re asking too many questions. You’d be better off thinking about how to keep your life first.”

She couldn’t die.

Xi He quickly cut off the communication, a bead of sweat dripping down.

She swiftly gathered the threads connected to her ten fingers, instinctively wanting to summon her undead subordinates to her side—

But immediately, she realized this path was impossible.

There simply wasn’t enough time.

No… she wouldn’t die. This place was the Void Zone created by the Magician. Even if they found the coordinates and reached the location point, they wouldn’t discover her, because she wasn’t in the world at all.

The thread connected to Luo Shen began to vibrate even more violently!

How could this be?

Could it be…

Xi He’s eyes flew open. She had already realized the method they used to find her, but everything was too late.

The door to the void was torn open, and a figure cloaked in flames slowly stepped forward until he stood before her.

His young face was clean and handsome, his eyes reflecting the firelight, brimming with a smile.

He didn’t look like a life-taking demon at all.

Xi He gradually calmed herself. “It’s you. I have some recollection.”

Ji Zhou glanced around, the corner of his lips curling upward. “No wonder we caused such a huge commotion at the base before and you never showed up. I thought you regarded your subordinates as mere ants and couldn’t be bothered with them. Now I realize—you weren’t even at the Tarot Path base at all.”

“Can you spare my life?” Xi He asked bluntly.

Ji Zhou was surprised. “We haven’t even fought yet.”

“I’m hiding here precisely because I have no combat ability whatsoever.” Xi He looked up at the monitors covering the walls and let out a bitter laugh. “All this time, I built the Tarot Path base and established its systems, but everything was done by issuing orders through these monitors.”

She raised her hands again, looking at her ten fingers. “And then, manipulating puppets.”

“If what you’re saying is true,” Ji Zhou raised an eyebrow, “then you’re a puppet yourself, aren’t you?”

At this moment, he was also somewhat puzzled. “The master of the Tarot Path isn’t you?”

Xi He carefully studied his expression. After confirming his confusion was genuine, she breathed a slight sigh of relief inwardly, then said, “It is me.”

Ji Zhou ignited his flames. “Then killing you is the right thing to do.”

“….” Xi He quickly said, “But there really is someone behind everything, directing me. I can tell you who it is, but you must guarantee to spare my life.”

Ji Zhou raised his hand and tapped his earpiece. “Hold on a second. Let me ask our boss.”

“…”

Zhong Xu’s indifferent voice came through. “It’s White Butterfly, isn’t it?”

Ji Zhou glanced at Xi He’s instantly changing expression. “Ah Xu, you guessed right.”

He maintained a forced calm on the surface, but inside his mind was in turmoil.

The one behind the Tarot Path turned out to be White Butterfly? Wouldn’t that mean it was the Pantheon?

Zhong Xu thought for a moment. “Probably only a few members of the Pantheon know about this. After all, the Tarot Path’s actions are something even normal people can’t tolerate. If White Butterfly wants to control the Pantheon, she can’t let this be exposed.”

“As for why White Butterfly is doing this, it’s simple. Isn’t her goal to eliminate all players? So she needs a force that is obviously villainous to help her do evil, accelerating the withering of the Tree of Faith.”

Xi He: “…”

She could only grit her teeth. “I have other new information! The relationship between White Butterfly and the Scorpion King isn’t that good! If the Scorpion King hadn’t deliberately exposed my location, you would never have found me!”

It was clear she was trying very hard to stay alive.

Zhong Xu fell silent for a moment, then her voice came through the communication device. “Then call White Butterfly right now and tell her.”

Xi He: “Huh?”

Ji Zhou translated bluntly, “It means call her and try to drive a wedge between White Butterfly and the Scorpion King.”

“Will that work? White Butterfly and the Scorpion King are usually very close. Actually, I didn’t expect the Scorpion King to secretly do something like this behind White Butterfly’s back today either… If the attempt to sow discord fails, the Scorpion King will definitely come and kill me immediately.”

“Don’t worry. After you do this and hand over the Tarot cards, I’ll cut off any connection that could let the Scorpion King find you and send you somewhere safe,” Ji Zhou said.

Xi He was still cautious. “You have a safe place? I heard you joined the Pantheon.”

If she weren’t trying to stay alive, she would have reported them to White Butterfly long ago.

“The Judgment Eye will protect your safety.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? They would just chop my head off. They wouldn’t give me this much time to talk!”

“Xiao Huan, a member of the Judgment Eye, is my friend. She’ll protect you. Without the Tarot cards, you’re just an ordinary person. There’s no need to kill you.”

…

From within the fragrant, enchanting room came sounds that would make one blush.

Amid the shifting waves of the waterbed, the vibration of a communication device sounded.

“Don’t rush.” The Scorpion King grabbed White Butterfly’s hand as she reached for the communication device, leaning forward as if to kiss her.

White Butterfly took out an earpiece and placed it in her ear. “It won’t interfere.”

“…”

“Who is it?” the Scorpion King asked.

“Xi He.”

“Can’t she tell we’re busy over here?”

White Butterfly’s legs pressed against his chest, a faint smile playing on her lips. “She says you’re trying to harm her.”

The Scorpion King’s expression remained calm. He took her foot and gently pressed a kiss to it. “She’s lying to you.”

“Oh? Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

“There’s nothing to defend.” The Scorpion King gazed at her quietly. “In this world, there is no second person who loves you more than I do. So I would never harm you.”

“Then what’s Xi He’s purpose in lying to me?”

“She’s trying to sow discord between us. She’s been bought off. I’ll go kill her right now.”

“Forget it.” Having lost interest, White Butterfly got up and walked into the bathroom. “She has surely already fled. Next, we just need to see who it is that wipes out the Tarot Path. Whoever does that will be the one who bought off Xi He.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Zhong Xu opened the door to her room. The person standing before her was so tall that his shadow covered everything in front of her.

Zhong Xu sized the other person up. “Why don’t you put your clothes on first?”

The masked Scorpion King’s expression was impossible to read, but judging from his eyes, his expression probably didn’t look very good either.

“I helped you, and this is how you treat me?”

“You think I’m harming you? I’m helping you.”

The Scorpion King frowned.

Zhong Xu continued, “The matter with Xi He would be discovered sooner or later. It would be better if Xi He took the initiative to report it. That way, it can instead be framed as Xi He deliberately betraying you and trying to sow discord between you. Otherwise, you would inevitably fall under suspicion sooner or later.”

The Scorpion King curved his lips into a mocking smile. “The way you put it, I should be thanking you.”

“No need for thanks. Perhaps we’ll become allies…”

The Scorpion King cut him off immediately, his tone icy. “We won’t be allies. I could never betray White Butterfly.”

“Oh? You don’t consider what you did today to be betrayal?”

“I’m saving her. If I hadn’t stepped in, she would soon have lost her mind… Because of guilt from the past, she’s turning herself into a madwoman. It shouldn’t be like this.”

The Scorpion King’s words were vague and indistinct.

But Zhong Xu guessed it most likely had something to do with Xu Mu.

“So your goal is different from hers?”

The Scorpion King remained cautious and did not answer. But that was as good as admitting it.

Zhong Xu thought for a moment and said, “The person she wants to see—I can help make sure she meets them.”

This surprised the Scorpion King somewhat—he hadn’t expected Zhong Xu to know that person as well.

He paused. “But I don’t want that.”

“Understood.” After all, it was the relationship between the official partner and the person involved in the affair.

Zhong Xu said, “I can’t find the real person either, but I can arrange for someone to impersonate them. I think that as long as she sees that person, the obsession in White Butterfly’s heart can be dispelled, right?”

Judging from the look in the Scorpion King’s eyes, he was clearly tempted.

But after thinking for a moment, he added, “If you try to harm her, I’ll be the first to kill you.”

Zhong Xu’s gaze turned complicated.

Their relationships were so messy.

What kind of situation was this—she loves him, and he loves her, some sort of tangled triangle?

Zhong Xu nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m not some kind of violent maniac. I just want to clear the game with my teammates.”

“In the entire Pantheon, White Butterfly is the highest authority. What I can help you with more is covering her eyes.” The Scorpion King looked at her meaningfully. “Arranging a meeting with the leader of the Judgment Eye while inside the Pantheon—you’re really something.”

Zhong Xu said, “Oh? So I’ve been discovered.”

The Scorpion King asked curiously, “Did Zheng Zhong seriously agree to cooperate with you?”

Zhong Xu didn’t answer and closed the door. “Scorpion King, you’ve been standing at my door for too long. See you later.”

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!