Chapter 682: Shadows and Sacrifices
by xennovel“You…”
Mom looked at Lu Xin, whose face had just broken into a smile. She wanted to say something but ended up sighing in relief.
Her tone held a hint of reproach, yet her eyes sparkled with undeniable joy.
Finally, she could only shake her head gently and say, “Don’t do that again.”
“Life might call for a few risks, but taking a risk isn’t the same as courting death.”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted to Lu Xin’s hand.
Especially to that fabric and those chains that seemed illusory and yet shockingly real.
It sounds contradictory—because it truly is.
It was as if one saw a two-dimensional goddess come to life: clearly a fake, but somehow more genuine than reality itself.
Her expression grew grave as she noticed Lu Xin intending to slip the object into his hand, so she waved him off.
She looked toward his father and signaled for Lu Xin to hand it over, saying, “Let him keep it safe.”
At her words, Lu Xin turned his hand toward his father.
Father visibly shuddered; even the Black Shadow recoiled, his eyes alert and wary.
“Are you so shameless now that your true nature is exposed that you’ve lost all pride in front of the children?”
Mom shot Father a helpless glance and murmured:
“In this world, there probably isn’t a vessel capable of containing such divine substance completely.”
“No matter what container you use, this divine substance will corrode it, turning it into nothing more than a parasitic item.”
“Only you have the ability to restrain and preserve it.”
“…”
“Eh?”
Lu Xin looked at his father with curiosity.
Even he hadn’t known that Father possessed such an ability.
But then he recalled how Father’s kitchen would always be cluttered with stuff in the past.
Yet after a while, those items would simply vanish.
Seeing Mom mention this in front of him, Father appeared both anxious and sheepish as he shot her a glance.
It was as if they were exchanging secret signals.
But Mom pretended not to notice and said, “Take this back home.”
“There may be many such episodes in the future—you might even get a chance to return to your former self.”
“…”
“Alright, alright…”
Father finally agreed, albeit with a touch of regret.
A shadow surged forward like a small pool of water, gathering right before Lu Xin.
Lu Xin hurriedly tossed the object into the shadow; it appeared as if it had merely landed lightly on the ground.
But the moment it entered the shadow, it vanished as though it had truly plunged into a lake.
Fascinated, Lu Xin flicked his right palm gently.
After he hurled a piece torn from the Cangzhang Sect member into the shadow, the pallor on his hand gradually faded, returning to normal. Even the searing pain of nails piercing his palm slowly subsided.
Perhaps it was because his hand had just been impaled or for some other reason.
When using the Pale Hand, the unbearable pain would spike, and blood would flow relentlessly.
Ordinary people would have long been overwhelmed, but Lu Xin was used to it.
Part of his nature even relished the sensation of pain.
“I’ll go back and hide it…”
After Father’s shadow swallowed the piece from the Cangzhang Sect member, he carefully said:
His tall figure slowly sank into the shadow, merging with it as his mental power fluctuations dissipated.
Even the writhing shadow around Lu Xin retracted and solidified into something ordinary.
Mom watched Father disappear, a faint look of disdain in her eyes.
With a soft sigh, she turned to Lu Xin and said, “I have some business to attend to as well.”
Then she scanned several directions in Flame City.
They were hovering over the stadium, offering a clear view of various zones in Flame City.
Following her gaze, Lu Xin noticed that the black-dressed woman, who had been standing amidst the ruins atop a building in Flame City while holding a strange mirror, was now gone.
Elsewhere, the window from which Doctor An of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute had appeared was now closed, and a jeep was seen driving away below.
As for Number Seven, who had just dropped from midair, he had vanished without a trace.
“They’re all gone?”
Lu Xin paused, his eyes lingering on the spot where Number Seven had disappeared.
Mom seemed to understand his thoughts. With a gentle laugh, she said, “Do you want to chase after her?”
“It doesn’t matter. In this matter, our interests align—that’s why we’ve teamed up for now.”
“But remember, everyone takes what they need; no one truly owes anyone anything.”
“If you want revenge, you can still kill her. That’s an entirely separate matter.”
“…”
Lu Xin was momentarily taken aback and turned to look at Mom, surprised that she had even considered such possibilities.
However, he shook his head and murmured, “I’ll look for her, but not now.”
As he spoke, he scanned Flame City but did not spot Number Two in the vicinity.
From what he had observed earlier, Number Two had already awakened—he had even lent him a hand near the Cangzhang Sect member.
Number Two’s abilities were formidable, perhaps even stronger than Lu Xin had imagined.
He wondered how Number Two had so casually appeared beside the Cangzhang Sect member, but it only confirmed his high level.
Yet after leaving that space, he did not reappear.
Not only him, but even the three copies of Number Two that had caused him so much trouble earlier had vanished.
Maybe Number Two had indeed reclaimed everything that had once been swindled away…
Number Two was in Flame City, Sister was in Flame City, and even Number Seven had made an appearance in Flame City.
To Lu Xin, it was a strange feeling—just the thought of it sent a thrill through him.
If only the people from the Orphanage could get together, wouldn’t that be wonderful…
“…”
“…”
“Let’s head home…”
Lu Xin nodded softly to Mom, sealing their unspoken agreement.
Mom, smiling, stepped onto the scaffolding around the stadium and disappeared beneath the Red Moon.
Around the stadium, the old apartment building that Lu Xin had stealthily snatched using the Pale Hand vanished without a trace, leaving only a clear, square imprint on the wide road next to the stadium. It seemed that reality-bound objects seized with the Pale Hand would, if left unattended for a while, return to their original place.
“Let’s go!”
Lu Xin looked around and saw only his Sister by his side.
He reached out and took her small hand, smiling as he said, “This time, you were absolutely brilliant…”
“Really?”
His Sister immediately grew animated, clasping his hand excitedly.
The two of them descended from the stadium like a human ladder.
As they went down, those still entangled in the spiderwebs gradually broke free.
It was his Sister’s doing—she carefully lowered the spiderwebs to the ground before retracting her power, ensuring that no one fell fatally from midair.
“I hope these people won’t suffer any lasting effects?”
Lu Xin asked her with a hint of concern.
“They won’t…”
His Sister replied confidently, then softly added, “…right?”
Fortunately, Lu Xin only caught the first two words.
As he walked, he gathered up the parasitic items scattered around. The Glasses were perched on his face, while the Six Senses Mask, Black Playing Card, 12-Layer Puzzle Cube, and Memory Hourglass were all stowed back into the Bag—their very ‘consciousness’ trembling.
This was likely because, in effect, Lu Xin had just sacrificed them to the Cangzhang Sect member.
However, at that time the Cangzhang Sect member must have been overly anxious, fearing a trap.
So while refusing Lu Xin, they also ended up handing over the items they had brought along.
For Lu Xin, it didn’t seem amiss at all.
That sacrifice ritual was akin to a friend saying, “Bring something over and we’ll share a meal.”
He had indeed brought them, but insisted on reclaiming them—an entirely reasonable notion, after all.
“…”
“…”
When he reached the base of the stadium, he saw that the standoff persisted, though no one was making a move.
The remnants of Flame’s armed forces and members of the mysterious organization now found themselves steeped in confusion.
Earlier, the chains of the Cangzhang Sect member had snapped on their own, causing a dramatic shift in their mental state—some felt an unprecedented lightness, while others felt as if something precious had been lost; despair, emptiness, joy, and fear surged all at once.
Some collapsed onto the ground, others stood dumbfounded, and a few shed endless tears.
On the side of the Red Moon Club, some people curiously scanned the area trying to decipher what had happened, while others fixated on the nearby cables and valuables, and a few, pitying those from Flame, whispered consolations…
“Don’t be so heartbroken—after all, you’ve just been abandoned by God…”
“Gather your courage and head home; maybe your Wife and children are nowhere to be found…”
“Yeah, and your house, the money in your bank account, the car you bought on loan…”
“Sigh, you might even have to find a new job, or end up in jail…”
“Compared to that, being abandoned by God hardly seems like a big deal, does it?”
“Tch, even your God got beaten up…”
“…”
“Clatter…”
As Lu Xin descended from the stadium and stepped toward them, everyone suddenly turned to look at him.
This included members of the Red Moon Club, remnants of Flame’s armed forces, and investigators and spies from various factions.
Facing those scrutinizing, startled, fearful, and curious stares, Lu Xin couldn’t help but pause.
His eyes drifted from the faces of those from the Moon Eclipse Research Institute’s scalpel, Xia Chong, and the Beast Tamer, then to the remnants of Flame’s armed forces and the ambiguous faction investigators and spies—until finally he fixed his gaze on the unmistakably distinctive faces of the Red Moon Club members, and a warm, friendly smile slowly spread across his face.
“Heavenly Tiger, Ground Leopard?”