Chapter 1377 - 1353: DOMO (Part 1)

Chapter 1377: Chapter 1353: DOMO (Part 1)

The room was filled with various household items, indicating it was a residence. The long period of emptiness had caused a moldy smell. Xiao Lin found the stairs and headed directly to the second floor.

This type of small independent apartment had similar architectural features: the first floor was the living room and kitchen, while the second floor was the living area. The key in his hand likely belonged to one of the doors. However, when Xiao Lin reached the second floor, he was surprised to find there were no doors here.

The usual facilities used by ordinary people were present, but there were no doors between the rooms. Xiao Lin returned to the stairway, reassessing the layout of the second floor. First, there was a bedroom. The bed was clean and tidy, with no signs of use. The sheets were new, bearing the folds of a recent purchase. Running a finger across the surface of the table, a thin layer of dust clung to his fingertip.

The thin dust revealed to Xiao Lin that someone once lived here. Judging by the dust’s condition, it had been cleaned recently, within the last three days. If this person was Xiao Ya, what exactly were they trying to tell him?

There were no signs of life in the entire building. Occasionally, a rat would scurry by, and outside, a stray cat would meow. Other than that, the whole street seemed deserted, which was quite unusual.

Xiao Lin leaned against the second-floor window, looking out. The strange presence he had sensed earlier surged back, as if some creature lived on this street, lying in wait with its mouth wide open, ready for prey to jump willingly into its trap.

As Xiao Lin retracted his body, he caught sight of a silhouette on the other side of the alley. Although the light was dim, he could still vaguely discern a person standing under the eaves across the way. This discovery immediately made Xiao Lin vigilant. He hadn’t noticed this figure before. The person had just reached that spot, moving silently under his nose with such speed and skill which could not be underestimated.

Flipping over, Xiao Lin leaped onto the roof of the house opposite, silently darting to where the shadow stood. With a swift attack, he heard a soft thud as his right fist passed through the shadow. It turned out to be a human-shaped dummy.

Xiao Lin voiced his doubts, noticing some differences in the window from his current angle, where he had previously stood.

The curtains moved with the wind; moments ago, they’d been tightly drawn, but now they fluttered freely. Watching the swaying curtains, Xiao Lin slowly walked out of the alley and onto the desolate street. Passing vehicles had their high beams on, appearing puzzled by the sudden presence of a shadowy figure.

It was then that Xiao Lin realized his location was a transient village, with similar buildings on both sides. It was no surprise that no one lived here, as these houses were not legal.

A few more cars passed by, their blaring horns resembling a nocturnal sonata suddenly beginning. Ahead, by the alley he had just exited, a silhouette stood on the rooftop, gazing down at Xiao Lin.

Xiao Lin remained motionless, looking up at the silhouette for a while. Suddenly, the person on the roof ran in the opposite direction, and Xiao Lin crossed the street, pursuing the shadow.

In the deep night, the two silhouettes chased one another through the landscape, soon reaching a hilly area far from the highway, devoid of any human presence.

The silhouette ahead stopped, finding a high vantage point and waiting for Xiao Lin’s approach.

The wind howled between the hills, producing a sound reminiscent of ghostly cries. Xiao Lin also found a high ground, standing face to face with the silhouette. In the next moment, the figure’s body suddenly burst forth, swift as a comet, charging towards Xiao Lin.

Xiao Lin let out a sharp whistle, gathering his strength. His body surged upwards, feet pounding the ground akin to a lion in mid-bound, boldly facing the oncoming attack. Though the silhouette was larger than Xiao Lin by a size, a direct collision would leave Xiao Lin at a disadvantage. Yet, at the critical moment of contact, Xiao Lin suddenly vanished, reappearing impossibly on the bent back of the silhouette, planting his ten fingers downward.

Thud! Flesh tore, blood splattered! Xiao Lin’s ten fingers dug deeply into the silhouette’s back!

"Ah!!!" the silhouette screamed, muscles in its back tightening desperately.

"Who are you?" Xiao Lin asked coldly from behind, digging his fingers firmly into the adversary.

The silhouette thrashed powerfully, leaping with all its might, slamming backward into the ground in an attempt to shake off Xiao Lin’s grip. Both reaction and retaliation were extraordinarily brutal and shocking. The robust impact force was like an endless motor causing Xiao Lin to release his hold, but simultaneously, he stomped fiercely on the wound on the back, blood splattering as the massive figure crashed to the ground, and the silhouette leapt away.

The recently stabilized silhouette roared with anger, its hands aimed furiously at Xiao Lin. This strike, fueled by fury, bore down with the intensity of a lightning bolt from the sky, assertive and fierce!

Despite this, Xiao Lin seemed unaware, remaining motionless. His black eyes, however, showed an increasingly profound chill of trepidation. As the silhouette neared, Xiao Lin’s knees bent slightly, an apparently light motion. Yet just as his knees made contact with the silhouette’s chest, his hands traced ten afterimages. Thud!! The joined ten fingers pierced through the silhouette’s hands instantly, flesh tearing, bones cracking, blood spraying everywhere. Xiao Lin’s fingers pierced through the silhouette’s palms!

The silhouette stared at its own hands, as if time had paused, dumbfounded by the ground seen through the hole. Suddenly, it let out a piercing scream and charged once more at Xiao Lin.

However, halfway through its charge, the figure suddenly fell to the ground, convulsing a few times before it stopped moving entirely.

Tilting his head, Xiao Lin, though having severely injured the silhouette, knew it wasn’t fatal. He didn’t rush over to the fallen figure but instead glanced around, sensing distortions in the wind.

With several leaps, Xiao Lin filtered out the direction of the wind’s noise and arrived at a hilltop. Two people stood there, and without looking closely, their identities could be somewhat guessed from the robust physique of one of them. The other person made Xiao Lin exclaim.

"Where is Xiao Ya? Using his handwriting to lure me here, what exactly do you want?" Xiao Lin first approached the robust man, his deep black eyes fixed on his face.

"Young Master Xiao, long time no see."

"Hong Lian."

"That’s right, it’s me!" Hong Lian chuckled a few times. "It’s really not easy to lure Young Master Xiao out, but unfortunately, I should have taken you out when you were in the room."

The same strange aura from the alley emanated from the person beside Hong Lian. Xiao Lin deliberately glanced at him. In the backlight, this person appeared very tall.

Xiao Lin sneered coldly, holding the pointed thorn in his hand. "You’re the one who took Quan Xianglin." With that, the thorn pointed to the person beside Hong Lian.

"I really admire Young Master Xiao’s wisdom. Since I’m returning your Xiao Family’s treasure, this proves my sincerity. Quan Xianglin is in our hands now. How about a transaction?"

"Is it with you, or Mu Rongyun?" Xiao Lin retorted.

Hong Lian had always followed Mu Rongyun. Encountering Hong Lian here meant Mu Rongyun was not far away.

Hong Lian sneered a few times. "Tell me the real whereabouts of the Rose Staff, and I’ll kill Quan Xianglin for you."

"Isn’t the staff in your hands? Hong Lian, you left hints with DOMO’s code just to ask me to hand over the staff? Isn’t that too extravagant?"

"What do you know? Without the Rose Staff, ’Night Prohibition’ can’t be found," Hong Lian suddenly raised his voice, his sharp voice vibrating like a peacock, his bizarre behavior making Xiao Lin click his tongue.

"I don’t know the whereabouts of any staff, nor do I know any ’Night Prohibition’. You’ve got the wrong person."

"Young Master Xiao, if you don’t want to cooperate, then I can only hand over someone important to you to Mu Rongyun. You should know the consequences of betraying Mu Rongyun aren’t pretty."

"What have you done to Xiao Ya?" Xiao Lin tightened his lips, taking a step to stand between the two.

"What do you think?" Hong Lian tilted his head, looking at Xiao Lin mockingly.

Xiao Lin twisted the pointed thorn in his hand, hesitating not a bit as he stabbed at the person on the right.

The sudden attack made Hong Lian stunned for a moment, but Xiao Lin had already reached the right.

Clang! A lethal blow shook his palms; Xiao Lin squinted as a chain entwined the thorn, making a clanging sound. Hong Lian didn’t rush forward; he retreated to the side, arms folded, watching the scene unfold.

"Didn’t Young Master Xiao always want to know who DOMO is? Actually, it’s an organization, someone mixed among the ’Black Crow’. The person before you is one of DOMO. Mu Rongyun arranged people into ’Black Crow’ long ago."

Listening to Hong Lian’s words, Xiao Lin’s thoughts were focused on the person before him. The iron chain was still trembling, his hands barely holding steady.

Suddenly, another chain shot from the darkness like an iron whip, fierce and powerful, at an awkward angle straight towards Xiao Lin’s head, seemingly ready to end him in one strike.

Left hand thorn spinning, Xiao Lin intercepted with all his might; the specially crafted thorn made him fearless, and at the same time, the right hand thorn didn’t stop either, spinning with Xiao Lin’s body technique, meeting the assault head-on!

Clang!! Two chains intertwined, producing sharp, resonating clangs, while sparks splashed around. The surging force rushed towards Xiao Lin’s arms. Xiao Lin snorted coldly; despite the suffocation in his chest, his advancing body was abruptly halted, staggering back several steps to stabilize his stance! The attacking DOMO was similarly repelled by Xiao Lin’s fierce power, momentarily stopping the originally sharp and vicious strike. Both occupied their positions, staring at each other with unexpected looks.

"DOMO?" Xiao Lin reevaluated the person before him, recalling the identity given to him by Consort Ling when he first entered the ’Underground City’ in Yanjing, to Palermo, to the Deserted Island. This code constantly appeared before Xiao Lin, and the symbols Hong Lian left contained a line of text he overlooked. Thinking back now, it’s truly regretful. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)