Chapter 1538 - 1535: Revealing True Colors

"Nan Haowei, I always knew you were a big fool, but I never expected you to be such an utterly brainless idiot!"

Bai Zhuotian's sharp voice echoed through the wilderness.

"Though there are still many things I want to say to you... wasting too much time on you, the appetizer, wouldn't be good..."

As Bai Zhuotian spoke, he pulled out his two-handed sword. His thin body leaned back to the limit, then he swung the sword with force. The sunlight flashed and vanished across its thick blade.

"W-Wait, Bai Zhuotian! What... What are you talking about...? Isn't this... isn't this just training...?"

"Such nonsense. Just die."

As he uttered these words, his sword swiftly cut down without mercy. As the heavy sound resonated, Nan Haowei's body slowly became stained with blood.

It was only at this point that Nan Haowei finally realized the gravity of the situation, and began to scream loudly. But everything was already too late.

Along with a merciless flash, the two-handed sword struck a second time, a third time, and with each blow, Nan Haowei's consciousness gradually slipped away. When Nan Haowei finally stopped moving, Bai Zhuotian ceased his attack.

When Ye Qiu assumed that Bai Zhuotian would never truly commit murder despite his madness, Bai Zhuotian immediately reversed his grip on the sword and slowly stabbed into Nan Haowei's body. His body twitched bit by bit. Then Bai Zhuotian pressed his entire weight onto the sword.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Wahahahahahahaha!"

Bai Zhuotian let out a bizarre sound as if to drown out Nan Haowei's screams. As the sword tip gradually pierced deeper into Nan Haowei's body, his voice grew softer.

Under the silent gaze of Ye Qiu and another clan member, Bai Zhuotian's sword pierced through Godefroi's body, reaching the ground, and simultaneously his life came to an end.

Ye Qiu thought that even before his death, Nan Haowei probably still hadn't understood what had truly happened.

After slowly pulling the sword out of the ground, Bai Zhuotian, like a mechanical doll, turned only his head towards the other clan member.

"Eeek! Eeek!"

That person let out a short cry of despair and struggled to escape. However, Bai Zhuotian staggered with peculiar footsteps towards him.

"...Though you and I have no quarrel... but in the script of my play, the sole survivor is me..."

Muttering to himself, he raised the sword once more.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Do you know? Our squad..."

Completely ignoring that person's wails, the sword continued its downward arc.

"We were ambushed by a large group of powerful bandits in the wilderness."

Another strike.

"Though we're strong, three people ended up dead."

Yet another strike.

"Ultimately, only I survived, having repelled the bandits."

On the fourth strike, the other person fell silent along with his screams. But to Bai Zhuotian, it was like hearing the goddess's song. He stood over the corpse, his face in a trance, his whole body convulsing.

Ye Qiu could certainly tell this wasn't Bai Zhuotian's first murder...

Indeed, this guy had unquestionably crossed into being a killer, but in this age, there were too many underhanded methods to kill without being noticed. However, now that this is understood, it serves no use.

Finally, Bai Zhuotian turned his gaze towards Ye Qiu. The joy on his face was hard to suppress. He dragged his great sword along the ground, producing a grating sound as he walked slowly towards him.

"Yo..."

Ye Qiu lay prone on the ground in a disheveled state. Bai Zhuotian crouched beside him and whispered:

"For you, brat, I killed two irrelevant people."

"Yet I see you seemed quite happy while killing."

Ye Qiu responded while desperately trying to think of some way to change the current situation. Ye Qiu could only move his mouth and left hand. In a paralyzed state, he couldn't do anything.

Knowing it likely wouldn't work, Ye Qiu nevertheless moved his left hand stealthily in Bai Zhuotian's blind spot while continuing to speak:

"How could someone like you join the Lantian Clan? I'd say criminals fit you better."

"Hmph, isn't it obvious? Naturally, it was for that woman."

Bai Zhuotian said through gritted teeth, licking his lips with his sharp tongue. When Ye Qiu realized he was talking about Fang Wushang, his whole body suddenly felt a surge of heat.

"You scoundrel...!"

"Calm down. Eventually, everyone dies... I'll take good care of your precious Vice Clan Leader. Anyway, I have quite a few convenient tools now."

Saying this, Bai Zhuotian picked up the bottle of poison water nearby, shaking it with a rattling sound. Clumsily blinking his eyes, he continued:

"By the way, you said something interesting earlier. Said I fit crime well."

"It's a fact..."

"I was praising you, you know. Not bad insight."

Hehehehehe.

With sharp laughter flowing from his throat, Bai Zhuotian seemed to be contemplating something, then suddenly removed the left bracer. Rolling up his undershirt sleeve, he turned the inner side of his exposed forearm towards Ye Qiu.

"That... is!"

Seeing the thing on his forearm, Ye Qiu couldn't help but breathe heavily.

It was a tattoo. A cartoonish depiction of a black coffin. On the lid were smiling eyes and a mouth, with skeletal arms extending from the lid's seam.

"That design is... 'Harvester'...?"

Ye Qiu said, his voice raspy, and Bai Zhuotian smiled and nodded at me.

"Harvester." It was the name of the largest and most notorious murder family that once existed in Aient City. Led by a cold and cunning leader, they constantly devised new ways to kill, with more than three figures perishing at their hands.

There was hope at one point to solve the problem through negotiation, but the man sent to hear them out was immediately killed by them.

No one could understand the underlying motives driving their seemingly pointless actions.

Ye Qiu and Fang Wushang also joined the elimination squad, but somehow information was leaked, and the murderers were already prepared for their approach. At that time, Ye Qiu fell into semi-delirium while trying to protect his comrades, accidentally taking the lives of two "Harvester" members.

"Is this... for revenge? Are you a Harvester survivor?"

Upon hearing myself ask this in a raspy voice, Bai Zhuotian replied with this answer.