Chapter 613: Something Fishy

    The healing process was still ongoing, so Gu Luoxin couldn’t even demand the prop back. Tension and nervousness began permeating into his heart.

    First of all, he truly didn’t know Jiang Shun well aside from that one Cycle they had survived together, and lending him the healing prop was simply out of urgency, but what if... what if the man coveted his prop? After all, healing prop was rare and highly sought after across the entire Nightmare Cycle!

    If Jiang Shun really attempted to kill him, could he win?

    Wuwuwu Boss Shen was right; he shouldn’t have taken out his prop so easily just now! To hell with guilty conscience!

    Just as Gu Luoxin’s tense nerves were on the verge of snapping, Jiang Shun’s quiet voice drifted over, "I think... I have a clue."

    He raised his head and cast Gu Luoxin a brief glance. "Let’s exchange information. You tell me what you know, and vice versa. Considering how we cooperated with each other back there, I won’t be stingy with you. What do you think?" He raised his chin haughtily, his tone reluctant as if he was doing Gu Luoxin a great favor.

    But Gu Luoxin didn’t really hold it against him because he was aware this was just how Jiang Shun was. Powerful players had the capital to be arrogant. Plus, Jiang Shun had just saved his life even though he could have just watched his demise from the sidelines.

    Gu Luoxin was beside himself with joy. Great, just great! Wasn’t this what he had been seeking?!

    However, he also knew that he shouldn’t appear too eager so as to not give the other person the impression that he had the upper hand. He was no longer an inexperienced newbie who wore his heart on his sleeve! Therefore, despite feeling so excited that he wished he could agree in an instant, Gu Luoxin still put on a hesitant look, furrowed his brows in thought before begrudgingly complying, "...Sure, let’s do that. But first, return my prop to me. And let’s agree on one thing—we can conceal, but no lies."

    Jiang Shun scoffed in disdain as he tossed the healing prop back to Gu Luoxin. His demeanor was as if saying, "Who do you think you are for Laozi to go out of my way to trick you?"

    Gu Luoxin happily stored his healing prop before recounting what he had just eavesdropped earlier, about Master Grinu’s attempts to assassinate the Eldest Young Master of the Land and how they were going to try again on tomorrow’s banquet. Throughout it all, Jiang Shun remained silent with a thoughtful look on his face, and when he finished, the man muttered thoughtfully under his breath, "The banquet, huh..."

    Gu Luoxin did not ask whether the man would be attending the banquet tomorrow. Either way, whether he was invited or not, Jiang Shun must have countless ways to sneak in.

    "Your turn," he urged, all the while keeping a vigilant look over his surroundings in case the shadowy figure stuck itself to them again. "That shadow... what is it? Can this be a supernatural Cycle?"

    "...Not really," Jiang Shun replied with slight hesitation. Seemingly reading the question in Gu Luoxin’s eyes, he elaborated, "I’m quite sure this is not a supernatural Cycle, but... there’s something fishy about the doctor."

    Well, yes, he’s a psychopath! Just the mere reminder of the doctor’s gentle yet unnerving smile was enough to make Gu Luoxin shiver. "What about the doctor?" he pressed.

    "During the day, I explored the mansion a bit to see if I could find some dirt on the Master of the Sky, but I ended up stumbling into the doctor by pure coincidence. He..." At this point, Jiang Shun trailed off as though he was struggling to find the right words to say. "I saw him heading into a small building with a servant following behind him. And once inside, he slit the servant’s throat and used the blood to... tinker with something. Let me tell you that I’m not concealing anything. I really couldn’t see what he did!" He hurriedly added before Gu Luoxin could even utter a word, perhaps expecting that the latter would doubt him. While Gu Luoxin was rendered speechless, he added with a grumble, "Before I could get closer, he left. I went out tonight to return to that building and find some clues, but I saw you in trouble and decided to lend a hand. You know the rest."

    He looked disgruntled by the missed opportunity, which made Gu Luoxin feel a little sheepish. But then he abruptly noticed that something didn’t add up. "Wait... why didn’t you just enter after the doctor left? Why wait until now?"

    Once again, Jiang Shun shot him an utterly disdainful look that seemed to say, "You think Laozi hadn’t thought of that?"

    Gu Luoxin: "..."

    So annoying. It was fortunate that he had lots of patience. If Da Shen was here—no, that dumb husky wouldn’t even have bothered searching for clues. He would have demolished the whole building and turned the sky territory upside down from the very first hour!

    Thinking of his troublemaker teammate made Gu Luoxin feel a lot better. It’s similar to how a student ranked second from the bottom would feel reassured when they looked at the first—it’s okay, no matter how bad I am, there will always be someone who is worse.

    With a calm mind, he listened as Jiang Shun continued to grouse, "Of course, I did try. But I couldn’t enter because the door was locked. It requires a six digit password, and if you fail three times, the alarm will be triggered."

    A look of realization dawned on Gu Luoxin.

    He got it now. Jiang Shun must have tried to break in during the day, but for fear of triggering the alarm, he could only lie low and wait until nightfall for another attempt. After all, shady acts were not suitable to be carried out under broad daylight.

    That being said, what could be so important inside that it required such a sophisticated lock? It had to be mentioned that the whole mansion adapted traditional design style with sliding doors and lattice windows, and even the examination room where Young Master Ares had his ’treatment’ wasn’t equipped with a lock!

    A doctor killing a servant and using their blood to do God-knows-what...

    It reminded Gu Luoxin of how the doctor had asked Master Grinu of the dead servant’s body earlier. He resisted another shudder and rubbed his arms roughly.

    Help, why is this Cycle getting more and more eerie?!

    To distract himself from the growing fear, he nudged Jiang Shun again and switched the topic, "Y-You said you have a clue about that shadow? What does it have to do with the doctor?"

    Jiang Shun shot him an impatient look. "I haven’t finished yet." He suddenly straightened up and looked at Gu Luoxin right in the eye with an extremely grave look on his face. "That shadow... seems to be under the doctor’s control. I saw him using that to kill the servant. So it’s not like this is a supernatural Cycle, but rather it’s the doctor himself who possesses a bizarre power we have to be wary of."