Chapter 56 – A Voice Like Song and Weeping

“Hmm?”

Su Ming suddenly froze in place.

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Qianqian turned her gaze toward Su Ming, her eyes full of inquiry.

“Nothing.”

Su Ming thought it might have been his imagination and shook his head at Xu Qianqian.

But immediately after, another strange sound reached Su Ming’s ears.

It was a sound that, no matter how hard he listened, he couldn’t quite make out clearly—something like singing, yet also like weeping.

“What is this?”

Su Ming once again showed a stunned expression, even looking somewhat astonished.

“What exactly is going on?”

Seeing this, Xu Qianqian couldn’t help but frown.

“Don’t you hear any sound?”

Su Ming also frowned, looking at Xu Qianqian with surprise.

“Sound?” Xu Qianqian focused her mind and listened carefully for a moment before finally shaking her head. “I don’t hear any strange sounds.”

Su Ming stared at Xu Qianqian for a while, only confirming after a moment that she wasn’t lying.

But Su Ming truly heard it.

“I hear someone singing, or maybe a sound like weeping.”

Su Ming said this to Xu Qianqian.

“Singing? Weeping?”

Xu Qianqian’s frown deepened.

Clearly, this Young Miss really hadn’t heard anything.

In contrast, Su Ming not only heard it, but the sound was becoming clearer and clearer.

“Miling—”

Suddenly, the sound became distinct.

“Miling?”

Su Ming couldn’t help but mutter.

What kind of sound was this?

Su Ming couldn’t identify it.

He only felt that this sound was inexplicably pleasant and strangely alluring, making him unable to resist wanting to listen more, even to seek out its source.

Then, Su Ming turned his head and looked in a certain direction.

“Is it over there?”

As if inspired by a sudden insight, Su Ming confirmed the direction from which the sound was coming.

“Over there?”

Xu Qianqian was still somewhat confused, following Su Ming’s gaze toward that direction.

That direction was precisely where several Two-Star Hunters were stationed.

Only then did Su Ming and Xu Qianqian realize that those Two-Star Hunters were only guarding the path leading in that one direction, completely ignoring the other branching paths.

This undoubtedly told Su Ming and Xu Qianqian that there was something in that direction.

Su Ming couldn’t help but say this.

“My intuition tells me that something very important lies ahead, waiting for us to discover it.”

Su Ming believed this.

“Not necessarily.” Xu Qianqian, however, remained very calm. “It’s also possible that ahead is the location of that suspected Three-Star leader.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Su Ming glanced at Xu Qianqian. “At this point, it’s impossible to sneak in easily. If we want to continue investigating further, we must take a different approach.”

Even though Xu Qianqian possessed extraordinary strength, as a mere student, it would be nearly impossible for her to dash silently past a group of Two-Star Hunters, let alone bring Su Ming along.

But that wasn’t the most important part.

The most important thing was that Su Ming could sense waves of Spirit Power vibrations coming from ahead.”The two Two-Star Sorcerers seem to be ahead as well, taking turns using detection-type Spirit Arts to scan the surroundings at regular intervals,” Su Ming said. “Combined with the guards from those Two-Star Hunters, there are both overt and covert layers of security. It won’t be easy to continue deceiving their eyes.”

Xu Qianqian naturally recognized this as well.

“So what do you think we should do next?”

Xu Qianqian left the decision-making to Su Ming.

Su Ming didn’t hesitate much.

“There are two possible plans we can consider.”

Su Ming raised two fingers.

“First: We try to secretly capture a lone suspicious individual and interrogate them. We should be able to obtain some information, unless they choose to be unyielding.”

“Second: One person stays behind to cause trouble, acting as an intruder to draw everyone’s attention, while the other continues to infiltrate and investigate further.”

“Which one do you choose?”

Su Ming then tossed the decision back to Xu Qianqian.

Xu Qianqian pondered for a moment before saying, “It seems like the first option is safer, but it should be quite difficult to pull off, right?”

“Exactly.” Su Ming spread his hands. “Since they’re a collective, they naturally wouldn’t easily separate.”

Throughout their journey, Su Ming and Xu Qianqian had hardly seen anyone acting alone.

Whether standing guard or patrolling, the opponents moved in groups of at least two, while those One-Star Professionals operated in groups of three.

Su Ming had considered creating some disturbance like they did when entering, to lure a few people to investigate separately. But if those sent to investigate didn’t return for too long, their teammates would surely become suspicious, potentially leaving them with nothing gained.

Therefore, choosing the first plan carried a certain risk of failure.

The second plan, however, was more dangerous.

“If we choose the second plan, that means one of us might have to face the combined assault of nine Two-Star Professionals and nineteen One-Star Professionals, while the other might have to directly confront what’s likely a Three-Star leader.”

Su Ming clearly explained the risks involved to Xu Qianqian.

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian fell silent.

But she didn’t remain silent for long.

“The second plan carries too high a risk. We’re just investigators—there’s no need to take such great dangers.”

Xu Qianqian said this quite rationally.

“Is that so?” Su Ming nodded. “So you want to choose the first plan?”

“Yes.” Xu Qianqian asked, “Is there a problem?”

Of course not.

Actually, Su Ming also leaned toward choosing the first plan.

For no other reason than it being relatively safer.

To play safe when possible—this had always been Su Ming’s way.

But for some reason, this time Su Ming found himself more inclined toward the second plan.

“Is it because of that voice earlier?”

Su Ming asked himself inwardly.

He admitted that after hearing that voice, he felt an impulse to charge in recklessly and investigate.

Unfortunately, impulses remained just impulses.

If Su Ming were an impulsive person, he wouldn’t have played safe for so long.

Thus, Su Ming suppressed the impulse in his heart and nodded to Xu Qianqian.

“Then let’s go with the first plan.”

Su Ming thus decided.

“Alright.”

Though Xu Qianqian noticed something unusual about Su Ming’s attitude, she didn’t inquire, merely nodding quietly.The two then silently retreated, leaving the several Two-Star Hunters to continue their vigilance.

……

Deep within Warehouse Street, in an unknown corner.

Three One-Star Hunters from the Suspicious Group were slowly patrolling the area while conversing in low tones.

“I really don’t know when we’ll be able to leave this damned place.”

One of them, speaking in a street thug’s tone, swung his weapon irritably while cursing incessantly, making his two teammates increasingly impatient.

“You’re still going on about that?”

“Can’t you have a little patience? You’re not tired of saying it, but we’re tired of hearing it.”

The two teammates complained.

“Don’t you want to leave too?” the thug retorted with extreme dissatisfaction. “Hiding in a place like this all the time, I’m practically growing mold all over. Our only task day in and day out is patrolling, and we can’t miss a single corner. Damn it, with so many containers and so many nooks and crannies here, patrolling one spot after another is driving me insane. And there’s no cigarettes or alcohol either. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I last visited that shop for a foot wash and massage.”

Hearing this, his two teammates sneered.

“You just want to go for a foot wash and massage, don’t you?”

“True, everyone knows you’ve got a thing for that No. 18.”

“That girl really does have some charm.”

“Tsk, maybe I’ll ask for her next time I go.”

The two of them laughed mockingly without restraint.

“Who knows when we’ll even get back? What’s the point of talking about it now?” the thug continued to grumble. “This place is practically turning into a battlefield. The entrance to the Spirit Demon Abyss will open the day after tomorrow. If we get caught up in the war, will there even be a chance for us to leave?”

His two teammates fell silent.

This was, in fact, the shared concern of those at the bottom like them.

With the war about to begin, Huaming District had already become a military base. Even the person backing them couldn’t easily allow free movement in and out. For unregistered “illegals” like them, leaving this place wasn’t so simple.

Worse still, once the war broke out, not only might they be unable to leave, but they could also get dragged into the conflict.

At that point, with their missions and their shady identities, running into Phantom Demons from the Spirit Demon Abyss or encountering official Professionals from the Base City would both spell big trouble.

This was the predicament they currently faced.

“The boss has been worrying about this lately too.”

“Who knows if it can be resolved?”

“Can’t that high-ranking official in the Base City step up?”

“Totally useless.”

As their frustrations mounted, the thug’s two teammates also began to curse irritably.

The thug even said with a vicious glare,

“If only there were a woman here for me to vent on right now.”

As he spoke, the thug raised his weapon and casually swung it at a nearby patch of grass.

“Clink!”

A faint metallic sound rang out as the weapon aimed at the grass was caught between two slender fingers.

“Wha—!?”

The thug’s eyes widened in shock.

Before him, within the grass, a figure had appeared at some unknown time.

His face filled with astonishment, the thug tried to step back and cry out, but the other abruptly closed in.

“Thud!”

With a dull thump, the figure delivered a heavy blow to the thug’s abdomen, landing a solid punch.

“Guh…!?”The thug wanted to react, but it was already too late. He only felt a sharp pain in his abdomen before collapsing face down.

“This…!?”

“You…!”

At this moment, his two companions finally snapped to attention, utterly shocked.

But immediately after, a cloud of gray ash materialized around them.

“Seventh Form: Grey Binding.”

The black ash transformed into restraining walls, encircling them and even blocking their noses and mouths.

“Mmph… mmph…!”

The two could only let out terrified muffled sounds before gradually collapsing.

The battle was declared over in an instant.

(End of Chapter)