A Bird's Words in the Startling Night

"Derrick Walch?" Upon hearing the name, Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. This man was exceedingly famous within the martial artist community, and the briefing materials provided before the delegation departed had specifically mentioned him. Walch hailed from the Federation's West Coast. Early on, he had openly joined the Nature faction and was active for a time in Vea State Center City. After becoming a martial artist, he held no official posts within either corporations or governments. Instead, he frequently carried out dirty work across the world for various nations—destroying regimes and armies of regional states, putting down regional "rebellions," and even taking part in battles against entities from the other side. Yet he was also notoriously whimsical. Though he took the money, he rarely delivered on time; what he actually did depended entirely on his mood. Furthermore, he had an eccentric flaw: sometimes, halfway through a mission, he would suddenly decide the enemy was too weak and unchallenging, or perhaps he would suddenly crave some delicacy or think of something else he wanted to do, and he would abandon the scene on the spot or simply drop the mission altogether. Then, after a while, if he suddenly remembered it again, he might return to finish what he started. The gap between could be just a few days, or it might span several years—even over a decade would not be surprising. Whenever the whim struck and he recalled the matter, he would abruptly set off to complete it. In short, he acted entirely at his own pleasure. As his strength grew over time, this temperament only became more brazen and uninhibited. He crossed several lines, earning himself bounties from nations all over the globe and holding a long-term spot near the very top of the international wanted list. Truth be told, if given the chance, the leadership of nations worldwide would love nothing more than to eradicate him. He was simply too volatile an element, and there was no telling if, on some random impulse, he might suddenly strike out at high-ranking government or corporate officials—purely because someone happened to rub him the wrong way. Yet doing so was exceptionally difficult, for Walch was a martial artist of the Dongxuan View stage. By the Federation's ranking system, he was a Throne martial artist. Moreover, his path was the Visage of the Divine. His spirit avatars were likely scattered all across the world; if he was not wiped out in a single blow, endless retaliation would surely follow. Thus, so long as he did not cause severe or catastrophic destruction, nations had no choice but to exercise restraint. Chen Chuan pondered the matter. If such a figure truly roamed this vicinity, he was indeed an unpredictable variable. However, they had come here to search for someone, and with clues now in hand, abandoning the search and leaving was out of the question. Even taking a step back, should the man actually appear, Chen Chuan had nothing to fear if it was merely a portion of his power. Compared to when he fought that previous Dongxuan View martial artist, his own strength had improved further; if the man truly came to blows with him, he would not mind using the opportunity to test his recent progress. Turning to the members of the investigation team looking at him, he said, "Pay no heed to this man. Everyone, spread out and search the area again. See if Mr. Skarson left behind any secret signs or clues." "Understood, Mr. Chen!" The members of the investigation team did not want to give up now either. Having come this far, one more push might just uncover their missing comrade. Chen Chuan glanced at the severed arm that had crumbled to ash, then turned to gaze in a certain direction. The spiritual impact must have originated from over there. The enemy had been airborne and exceedingly powerful, leaving Skarson unable to evade it completely. Yet it was also possible that the assailant had not intended to take Skarson's life, seeking only to cripple his fighting capability. If so, that was actually good news, as it meant he might still be alive and there was still a chance to find him. Perhaps because many days had passed and the marsh environment was so wretched, the team members searched the surroundings for a long time without finding anything. Chen Chuan considered the situation. If this continued, they would have no choice but to expand their search perimeter. At a moment like this, he found himself missing Chaoming; searching alongside him would have been far more efficient. Though Chaoming had accompanied him on this trip, the bird had been in a deep, prolonged sleep ever since consuming the kaqi fruit, due to the growth of its mutated tissue, and was currently lying in the car. Thus, Chen Chuan had to handle this on his own. Right at that moment, a scavenger vulture perched atop a dead tree in the distance suddenly turned its head toward them and spoke: "Are you looking for someone?" Hearing those words, everyone in the investigation team was startled. A seemingly ordinary bird suddenly opening its beak to talk to them in the dead of night was an intensely eerie occurrence. Chen Chuan looked over, yet he showed not the slightest surprise. Instead, he replied quite naturally, "Yes. We are looking for a missing friend, a martial artist from the International Investigation Delegation." "Then you've arrived a bit late. So many days have passed... how many days was it again?" The vulture adopted a contemplative look. "Hmm, five days? Ten days? Well, whatever, doesn't matter. I remember he was taken away by two people. "Seemed to be folks from the New Light Cult? "Mm-hmm, so you'd better hurry up and find him, or he might end up as a sacrifice." Toward the end, a note of gloating crept into its voice. "We are looking," Chen Chuan said. The vulture said, "How about I lead the way for you?" "If you are willing, then thank you," Chen Chuan replied. The vulture suddenly spread its wings, took off, and landed right in front of him. Craning its neck, it stared at him and asked, "Why don't you ask why I'm helping you?" Chen Chuan glanced down at it and said, "You aren't doing us a favor. You simply wanted to tell us." The vulture stared at him for several beats before bursting into an odd, chuckling laugh. It nodded repeatedly. "Right, right! I just felt like it." It opened a wing and gestured in a certain direction. "Go that way. Head straight in that direction. There's a New Light Cult outpost there. Look around there, and you should find some clues." By now, the others had calmed down somewhat. They could roughly guess that this was a possession by some martial artist's Visage of the Divine, but as to who it might be... they dared not think too deeply. A flapping of wings broke the silence as the vulture took to the air, circled overhead for a few moments, and then flew off in that direction. Watching the direction it had flown, Chen Chuan said, "Everyone, follow me." He took the lead once more, heading toward where the vulture had indicated. However fast the vulture flew ahead, Chen Chuan never left the group behind. After trekking like this for three or four hours, they finally emerged from the marshland. Dawn was already beginning to break. Ahead lay a river that curved into a crescent around a mound, atop which loomed a tall stone fortress. The vulture perched on a protruding rock nearby and said, "That's the place. I've seen plenty of New Light Cult folks coming and going there." Chen Chuan cast a glance over it. At a single glance, it was clearly a fortress built for military purposes, and its architectural style did not match modern designs. The team leader looked at it and blurted out, "Fort Grayani!" He explained to Chen Chuan that it was a fortress built in the early days to fight the First Folk, dating back at least seventy years. Nowadays, it had become a tourist attraction. However, because the surrounding area was desolate, tourists generally did no more than view it from above aboard airships; very few ever came on foot or by vehicle. The vulture remarked with keen interest, "Is this place that famous? Did any of you bring a camera? Snap a picture of me!" With that, it thrust one wing forward on the spot and struck a pose. The delegation members exchanged bewildered glances, but one of them stepped forward nonetheless and took a photo of it. Chen Chuan looked toward the front. It was possible the New Light Cult had occupied the site, or perhaps it had always been one of their outposts. Naturally, he did not place blind faith in the vulture's claims; whether it was true or not required his own personal verification. He said to the leader, "I will go ahead and take a look. Please wait here for now." The leader knew they would only get in the way, so he hurriedly said, "Mr. Chen, we'll leave it in your capable hands." Chen Chuan nodded. Just then, the vulture spoke up in the tone of an eager spectator: "I'd love to see what happens when you clash with them. You wouldn't mind, would you?" The moment the words left its beak, with a loud bang, it instantly detonated into a shower of flesh and blood. Startled, the crowd could not help retreating several steps. Chen Chuan lowered the finger he had pointed at it and said in an even voice, "I do mind." "Th-this... Mr. Chen, what is..." The leader looked at him and asked, "Is—is there something wrong with that one?" "That person was probably Walch," Chen Chuan said. "What?!" The crowd was instantly taken aback. While they had entertained faint suspicions, they had never imagined that this figure was truly that dangerous, internationally wanted felon. Yet looking at that splatter of exploded flesh and blood, they felt no relief; on the contrary, they grew even more uneasy. If this was Walch, wouldn't doing this provoke his wrath? Chen Chuan did not bother explaining to them. Although the vulture had appeared friendly and easy to talk to just moments ago, Walch's past behavior proved that his mind was completely erratic and unhinged. One second he might be laughing and chatting amiably, and the next second he might twist your head off. He acted purely on whims, and for that exact reason, keeping him around was exceedingly dangerous. Even though what inhabited the bird's body was merely a very faint spirit avatar, slaughtering the members of the investigation team would have taken virtually no effort on its part. A platinum radiance welled up around Chen Chuan's body. His figure rose slowly into the air, and he flew toward the fortress. Inside Fort Grayani, Durozier, an Adjudicator of the New Light Cult, sat draped in cult vestments before a piano. Stroking the keys with one hand, he drew forth rich, somber strains of classical music from beneath his fingertips. He was not a Federation native, but rather an aristocrat from the former imperial house of the Western Continent. In the past, following regime changes across the Eastern and Western Continents, many nobles and notables fled to the Federation carrying their fortunes. He was one of them, though for certain reasons, he had ultimately chosen to join the New Light Cult. Just as he was immersed in the music, a shrill whistle suddenly sounded from above. His fingers paused slightly, his brow furrowed, and a flicker of displeasure surfaced on his face.