The Choice

"It matters a great deal." Lin Jiu laughed, his eyes curving into crescents behind his gold-rimmed glasses. "The Embrace of Flesh lost such an important item, and now they've seen me with you. Who do you think they'll pin the blame on?"

He pointed at the three limp figures on the ground, then pointed at Chen Guan. His smile grew even more radiant, the implication self-evident.

"They'll think we're in this together," Long Ao interjected in a deep voice. He took a step forward, blocking Chen Guan behind him, his muscles tensing as he assumed a defensive posture.

"Exactly." Lin Jiu gave him an approving look; this big guy wasn't as foolish as he appeared. "So, you have to take the fall for this, whether you want to or not."

"Who exactly are you? Why are you doing this?" Long Ao's question carried a hint of anger. Most people that Lord Scar couldn't dig up any dirt on shared one common trait: they were people who simply didn't exist.

In other words, Lin Jiu was merely a pseudonym for the man before them. His true identity was unknown, and his motives were even more of a mystery.

The image of White Tiger's annoying smiling mask suddenly surfaced in his mind. Indeed, just like him, this man was shrouded in mist.

Lin Jiu said provocatively, "Take a guess."

Long Ao let out an exasperated chuckle. Usually quite good at keeping his composure, ever since returning to Jiangcheng, it was as if he had suddenly reverted to his teenage years. A nameless fire burned in his chest.

"Quiet down, big guy." Lin Jiu glanced at him. The look didn't linger for long, and his expression remained unchanged, yet it made Long Ao instinctively feel a surge of palpitation.

Long Ao clenched his jaw and made no further sound, but his protective stance over Chen Guan did not waver.

Chen Guan's mind raced. Lin Jiu, a self-proclaimed appraiser, whose background Lord Scar couldn't uncover, could command a five-meter-tall giant tiger. His strength was unfathomable.

For such a person to actively shift the blame onto him and hand over a crucial item—this behavior itself was incredibly bizarre.

Chen Guan had a clear understanding of his own capabilities.

"This thing is too hot to handle. I can't take it." Chen Guan attempted to hand the box back.

Lin Jiu didn't take it, merely spreading his hands. "There's no logic in taking back what has been given away. Besides, do you think returning it to me now will let you off the hook? The people from the Embrace of Flesh have already decided that the item is on you."

Chen Guan looked at Lin Jiu, whose smile was flawless, like a perfect mask.

Lin Jiu maintained his smile and ignored Chen Guan, turning instead toward the three cultists of the Embrace of Flesh.

"Some trash needs to be cleaned up."

He said softly. White Tiger stepped forward, its massive body following silently behind him. Its golden tiger eyes held not a shred of emotion as it looked down at the people on the ground.

The terror in the eyes of those three was practically spilling over; their bodies trembled like leaves in the wind.

"No... don't kill us! We won't say a word!"

One of them begged, his voice distorted.

Lin Jiu crouched down, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone gentle. "Of course I believe you won't say a word."

He reached out and lightly tapped the crown of the man's head. Smack. A soft sound echoed.

The man's body twitched once, then went completely still. His eyes were still wide open, the fear within them frozen in place.

"What can dead men say, after all."

The crotches of the other two grew warm, and a foul, pungent stench began to spread.

Lin Jiu stood up and wiped his fingers with a handkerchief, as if merely brushing away a bit of dust.

He didn't even glance at the remaining two. White Tiger had already stepped forward silently, lowering its massive head, its shadow completely enveloping the two men.

There were no screams, only two muffled crunches of shattering bones.

In a span of just over ten seconds, three living, breathing Tier 3 Espers were wiped from the face of the earth, not even leaving behind intact corpses.

The street returned to silence once more, with only the night wind sweeping up a few fallen leaves.

Lin Jiu tossed the used handkerchief into a roadside trash can, turning back to Chen Guan and Long Ao with an impeccable smile. "Alright, it's clean now."

"You..." Long Ao's throat went dry; he managed only a single word before he couldn't speak any further.

The man before them was elegant and powerful. Chen Guan watched all of this in silence.

He knew this was Lin Jiu displaying his power, as well as making his stance clear.

The scent of blood and that faint foul stench permeating the air were quickly dispersed by the Jiangcheng night wind.

It was as if everything that had just occurred was merely a hallucination.

But the dark bloodstains left on the ground, along with those two human-shaped depressions, silently proved the passing of three lives.

This man killed people as casually as throwing away trash.

Long Ao admitted to himself that he couldn't be this cold-blooded. He was indeed belligerent, but he wouldn't easily take someone's life.

"What, scared?" Lin Jiu seemed to ignore Long Ao's gaze, instead turning to Chen Guan with keen interest. "You're quite calm, though."

Chen Guan didn't answer, only gripping the black box in his hands a bit tighter.

He was indeed very calm.

Theoretically, he was considered a dead man himself; right now, he was an undead from another world.

He was just thinking.

Thinking about the objective of the man before him, and considering the probability of securing an advantage for himself.

"The first quality a qualified chess piece must possess is the ability to remain unperturbed in the face of unexpected changes." Lin Jiu seemed to see right through Chen Guan's thoughts, nodding in satisfaction. "It seems I haven't chosen the wrong person."

Long Ao finally couldn't hold back. "What do you think human lives are?!"

Lin Jiu's gaze finally landed on Long Ao. That gaze held not a shred of regard, as if he were looking at an amusing ornament.

"Kid of the Long family, didn't your grandfather ever teach you that in the face of absolute power, anger is the most useless emotion?"

He extended a single finger and lightly pointed it in Long Ao's direction.

Buzz.

Long Ao felt an irresistible, terrifying pressure squeezing him from all directions, as if the entire space had turned solid, tightly imprisoning him in place.

The muscles all over his body instantly tensed to their limits, his bones groaning under the unbearable weight. His spiritual energy circulated frantically, yet he couldn't shake this force even a fraction.

He couldn't even move a single finger.

This was... the disparity.

Long Ao's pupils contracted sharply. The strength he was so proud of was as fragile as a piece of paper in front of this man.

"You see, you don't even have the qualifications to make me spare you a second glance." Lin Jiu withdrew his finger, and the pressure vanished instantly. Long Ao staggered back two steps, panting heavily, fine cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

"I am not discussing this with you, nor am I asking for your opinions." Lin Jiu's tone remained gentle. "I am merely informing you of an established fact."

He looked at Chen Guan, his smile turning playful once again. "Those lunatics from the Embrace of Flesh are like rats in a sewer—usually impossible to catch them all. But what if you were to lace their only source of food with lethal poison?"

Chen Guan's heart stirred, and he raised his eyes to look at him.

"This box is the poisoned bait," Lin Jiu said, pointing at the black box in Chen Guan's hands. "It is indeed a medium for summoning demons, but I've tampered with it. Now, it acts more like a beacon. Within a ten-mile radius, the core members of the Embrace of Flesh and Blood can clearly sense its location."

Long Ao's face turned a sickly shade of green.

How was this a simple delivery? This was practically strapping a time bomb to his own body! And one with a built-in GPS tracker, no less!

"Throwing it away won't do you any good now," Lin Jiu said, spreading his hands as if reading his mind. "Its aura is already bound to you. The only way out is if you die, or... if it gets activated."