Food is a must, especially when it’s a meal after surviving a disaster—it tastes even better.
After lunch, Bai Xiaoya wiped her small mouth and looked at the two girls.
“So, what do we do next?”
“First, interrogate him and see if we can get any useful information, like ‘Ren Sheng Qi Lu,’” Su Qingyu took out the last feather, “Then feed him this, and we can leave.”
Since the Pocket Watch couldn’t be found, they had to do something to account for their actions.
Recovering Mysterious Items lost during the internal turmoil was also considered an achievement.
At that moment, Bai Xia stood up and glanced through the small window.
“He seems to be awake.”
***
A small room with only a sofa still carried the faint fragrance of a girl.
Bai Xiaoya looked at the sofa, thinking of how she had been locked up here for hours.
Now, the culprit was the one tied up and thrown in the corner.
Times really do change, she thought, feeling a bit sentimental.
The man named Sen Kui slowly regained consciousness and immediately saw the feather in Su Qingyu’s hand.
“Ah, the Kiss of the Black Swan,” he sneered, “I didn’t expect you all to still use such cruel clean-up methods.”
Bai Xiaoya glanced at him, thinking, still laughing?
That thing will be used on you soon.
Bai Xia dragged in two chairs from outside.
Su Qingyu took one, sat down, and spoke.
“I have some questions for you. You don’t have to answer, but we have plenty of ways to make you talk.”
The expression on the blond loli’s face was full of authority, but her voice was always soft and pleasant.
Sen Kui raised his head, showing a bit of confusion.
“What did you say?”
“We have some questions for you. You don’t have to answer,” Bai Xia said loudly, “But I have plenty of ways to make you talk.”
Su Qingyu looked over in confusion.
“What’s going on?”
Bai Xia pointed at her ear.
During the previous fight, the girl had used her earpiece to attack.
That blow affected Sen Kui and the others’ hearing.
They were too wary of Su Qingyu’s magic flute, so they chose fully sealed, deep-insert earphones.
One scrape from the mic against the wall was lethal.
When Bai Xia took out the Pocket Watch, the confusion and sarcasm on Sen Kui’s face instantly turned to disbelief.
“Edwins’s Pocket Watch actually ended up in your hands. Who on earth are you…”
Bai Xia ignored him, but Sen Kui immediately became dejected, as if he had lost all hope.
They had plotted and searched for the Pocket Watch for a long time, with countless casualties, and had ultimately been forced to abandon it.
Unexpectedly, it now appeared in the hands of a young girl.
Quickly, Bai Xia found something and threw it at him, triggering the Pocket Watch’s usage condition.
She glanced at the dial and frowned slightly.
“What do you want to ask?” she said to Su Qingyu, “You can ask now.”
“The condition is set?”
Although Su Qingyu didn’t fully understand Bai Xia’s ability, she knew that with a move on the Pocket Watch, the other party could no longer lie.
But Bai Xia shook her head.
“No need. He has no intention of resisting.”
Most of the dial was gray.
There were many adjectives for this color—loss of dreams, recognition of reality—but the most concise was two words: giving up.
Su Qingyu thought for a moment.
“What’s the Association’s deal? How many people do you have left, and where are they?”
Bai Xia relayed her words and added her own question—who were the original planners of the Pocket Watch?
“I’ve told you before. Many people dissatisfied with the Family’s current situation left and formed the Association, recruiting externally as well.”
Sen Kui spoke, glancing outside as if searching for his subordinates in the hall.
“Since the entry threshold was low, it developed rapidly.”
“A rabble.”
Su Qingyu commented.
Bai Xiaoya nodded in agreement.
They even caught the wrong person—learn that business skill if you can.
“No one knows the Association’s goal. First come the people, then the purpose, and it can change over time. For now, we just want a share from the Family and the strength to stand against them.”
“As for location, I don’t know. Baiyuan City is just a branch; the Association has a presence in many cities. And the Pocket Watch—who wouldn’t want to scheme for it?”
Bai Xia was silent.
The two main culprits, Xing Luo and Long Shenyuan, were already dead, so her urge for revenge had subsided.
But Sen Kui’s words reminded her that possessing the Pocket Watch was still a crime attracting envy.
Of course, she wasn’t afraid.
Su Qingyu felt there was nothing more to ask and moved on to the main point.
“Where is the ‘Ren Sheng Qi Lu’ you stole?”
Sen Kui sighed, seeming a bit reluctant.
“There’s a Speaker downstairs. That’s it.”
“Speaker?”
Bai Xiaoya blinked.
She thought it was just a metaphor or a shell, but Bai Xia really went and fetched a Speaker.
“It’s a real Speaker?!”
“Yeah, it was used at the General Assembly. Long Shenyuan and Xing Luo used it during their speeches,” Su Qingyu explained.
“The sound from the Speaker at the event was the trigger condition for Ren Sheng Qi Lu.”
So everyone at the General Assembly was affected.
Bai Xiaoya’s lips twitched.
“No, I mean, a Speaker shouldn’t have existed for long, right?”
Weren’t Mysterious Items supposed to be at least several hundred years old?
“True, older items are at least a few centuries old, but there are newer ones too,” Su Qingyu said matter-of-factly.
“For example, Aya, you’re only 18 years old.”
No, actually, I’ve only existed for just over a month…but what does that have to do with me?
Bai Xiaoya didn’t fully understand, but Su Qingyu had already moved on to other tasks.
Once the questioning was done, Sen Kui lost his value.
Feed him the feather, then leave him to fate.
Walking out of the abandoned building, Bai Xiaoya suddenly thought of something.
“What if he doesn’t die? Like, if someone happens to pass by, rescues him, and sends him to a mental hospital or something… I mean, if he’s alive, the Speaker won’t work.”
She remembered that it was either Bai Xia or Su Qingyu—anyway, one of them had said that a Mysterious Item can only have one living owner.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s being handed over anyway. Let the Family deal with it.”
Su Qingyu replied casually.
Ren Sheng Qi Lu’s power was nice to have, but if it didn’t belong to her, she didn’t care much.
It didn’t feel as rewarding as the benefit-type mysterious item that could dodge bullets last time—could the Speaker do that?
Thinking of this, Su Qingyu perked up, reaching out to grab Bai Xiaoya’s hand.
“Aya, we only took leave for yesterday. We skipped school today. Will the Homeroom Teacher and Teacher be mad? How should we explain?”
“Eh?” Bai Xiaoya froze. “We didn’t take leave for today?”
“That’s right. The Homeroom Teacher only approved yesterday. We skipped a whole day today without an excuse. They’ll definitely call us to the office. Let’s find a place to quietly get our stories straight.”
Bai Xia’s lips twitched, thinking, is that what you call getting stories straight?
Maybe the first two words, but the third…not so much.
She quickly grabbed Bai Xiaoya’s other hand and spoke coldly.
“Vacation is almost here.”
Su Qingyu smiled sweetly.
“Right, Aya, vacation is almost here. When it starts, I’ll come find you to play every day, okay?”
Bai Xiaoya’s eyelid twitched.
“Coming every day is a bit much, isn’t it?”
Such heavy words, like forming a lifelong band together.
“Then every other day.”
“……”
Not just Bai Xiaoya—even Bai Xia couldn’t help but glance at her, silently cursing.
Little green tea!
Su Qingyu glared back with watery eyes, refusing to show weakness.
Weird woman!