Tang Ya had already curled up into a ball, her body trembling uncontrollably, unaware of what she had experienced in the hands of the Masquerade Douluo.
Lin Xiao reached out his hand. She seemed to want to struggle again, but after seeing the maggot on Lin Xiao's collar, she tightly closed her eyes and stood motionless in place.
With a light sigh, he flung his cloak and wrapped Tang Ya within it. He didn't know if Cai Mei'er would return, but it was always good to provide some cover.
Ju Zi had been standing nearby, silent ever since seeing Tang Ya, unsure of what was on her mind.
Only when Lin Xiao turned back did she glance a couple more times at the mask on his face.
Lin Xiao didn't pay too much attention. He identified the direction and was about to head toward the battlefield from earlier.
However, the Masquerade Douluo spoke again, interrupting him.
"Don't go back. Head directly to headquarters."
Lin Xiao paused in his steps and once again turned his head to look at the maggot on his shoulder, somewhat realizing what kind of plan the Masquerade Douluo had in mind.
Although he was also a Holy Spirit Cult disciple, the Masquerade Douluo had never trusted him from the beginning.
Initially, sending Lin Xiao to that battlefield was to take a detour and pick up Tang Ya, whom he had hidden here.
Now insisting on going directly to headquarters, those clones on the battlefield were perhaps not important at all. Or maybe he had found other Holy Spirit Cult disciples there, but he didn't trust them either.
The Masquerade Douluo's words, there are other clones, were not said casually but deliberately for Lin Xiao to hear.
As an evil soul master, the Masquerade Douluo knew too well what kind of personalities other evil soul masters had. From the moment he faked his death to escape and turned into his current appearance, he wouldn't trust even the disciples in the cult.
Thus, he spoke first with the authority of an elder, using words to pressure with the threat of other clones, yet refusing to reveal his true purpose.
Thinking about this, Lin Xiao was somewhat convinced that the Masquerade Douluo really had other clones, and as long as one of them lived, he wouldn't completely die.
Someone cautious to this extent would inevitably have some life-saving methods; not having such methods would be what made people uneasy.
"Still not moving?"
"I understand, Elder. It's just that I came out this time with another mission and need to protect the people around the Crown Prince, so I'm afraid I can't hurry with full effort."
The Masquerade Douluo was silent for a moment upon hearing this. "No problem. You can take her back together."
"Yes."
Lin Xiao responded in a low voice and turned to look at Ju Zi nearby.
"Is there anything else?"
Ju Zi's eyes instantly darkened. She looked reluctantly at the rather desolate hills around them, as if in her eyes they were some beautiful scenery she would never see again.
After a moment, she let out a long sigh, her eyes devoid of any other light, filled only with icy coldness.
"Let's go. We should return to our positions."
Watching Ju Zi's back as she left first, Lin Xiao paused for a moment before silently following.
"Bang—"
Several days later, at the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters, Zhongli Wu looked displeased and heavily slapped the desk in front of him.
"How many of our branch altars have been lost?"
"R-Reporting to the Cult Leader." The Holy Spirit Cult disciple in front of Zhongli Wu was somewhat overwhelmed by the aura emanating from him and plopped down on his knees. "Most of the northern branch altars have been destroyed; only some small-scale ones remain."
"What about the disciples in the branch altars?"
"The disciples... the disciples are all... none survived."
"Shrek, what a Shrek." Zhongli Wu's face was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it. He exhaled heavily, his voice almost squeezed out word by word through gritted teeth. "You may rise."
"Thank you, Cult Leader." The disciple breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stood to the side.
And when Lin Xiao returned to the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters, what he saw was exactly this oppressive scene.
"Pay respects to the Cult Leader."
"Why did you come here instead of returning to Mingdu?" Zhongli Wu did not immediately allow Lin Xiao to rise; his tone was quite low.
Lin Xiao said nothing, only slightly turning his head. Soon, a maggot slowly wriggled out from his collar.
Seeing this, Zhongli Wu's expression finally improved a bit. "Old Seven, come out."
As the words fell, a figure slowly walked out from the nearby tunnel.
Lin Xiao glanced up slightly, then quickly averted his gaze.
The Masquerade Douluo had already returned to headquarters, and as Lin Xiao had guessed, there should have been other disciples who brought his maggot back here ahead of time.
However, the Masquerade Douluo's aura was far from what it used to be; his soul power level was even lower than Lin Xiao's.
The Masquerade Douluo raised his hand and beckoned; the maggot on Lin Xiao's shoulder instantly flew back into his body.
"Where is the person I asked you to bring back?"
Lin Xiao lifted his cloak, and Tang Ya's figure appeared beside him. Upon seeing the Masquerade Douluo, she instinctively took a step back, biting her lip hard to keep from crying out.
The Masquerade Douluo then took two steps forward and knelt before Zhongli Wu. "Cult Leader, I..."
Just one sentence, and his voice became choked.
"Enough!" Zhongli Wu shouted, cutting off the Masquerade Douluo's sobs. "Although your cultivation has regressed, the cult will retain your position as Elder."
"In the future, I will find ways to help you recover your cultivation, but you must not slack off because of this."
"Yes, thank you, Cult Leader." The Masquerade Douluo deeply prostrated before Zhongli Wu.
"Alright, rise." Zhongli Wu paused and looked at Lin Xiao. "You rise too."
"Thank you, Cult Leader."
"Recently, Holy Cult disciples have discovered traces of Shrek Academy in many places within the Sun Moon Empire, with cultivations all above eight rings, and even Super Douluo appearing."
"Many branch altars in the cult have been destroyed by them. Although you are often in Mingdu, be more cautious when going out."
"Yes, Cult Leader." Lin Xiao bowed and cupped his fists.
From the moment he saw Cai Mei'er, he had noticed that some things were different from his memories. Shrek Academy appearing in the Sun Moon Empire was probably a variable brought by his own presence.
"Mm, there's nothing for you here."
"This disciple takes his leave."
"Wait."
Lin Xiao had just taken a step back and hurriedly stopped.
"Go to the back first. The Grand Elder has something for you to do."
Grand Elder?
Lin Xiao subconsciously recalled the figure he had encountered at the entrance when leaving headquarters.
Wasn't it said that the Grand Elder usually didn't return to headquarters? How had she come back in less than half a month, and specifically named him?
Despite the surging thoughts in his mind, Lin Xiao saluted again and walked along the tunnel toward the interior of the headquarters.
Before even seeing the Grand Elder's figure, a voice rang in Lin Xiao's ear, causing an involuntary stir in his heart.
"As expected, I knew a person as interesting as you could definitely resist their temptation."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 40 early chapters available on Patreon
[email protected]/facficmax10--------(@→a)