Stranger Danger

"Xuan'er..."

Inside the tattered Residence of Gods of the City of No Return, Xuan Youxuan chased everyone out like a madman before collapsing on the floor with lightless eyes and a blank expression. He looked like a wooden puppet who had lost his mind.

It was at this moment a silhouette appeared behind him without a sound.

"Foster father!"

Xuan Youxuan was surprised when he first heard the noise. When he saw the newcomer, he exclaimed in joy, "You have to take revenge for me, foster father!"

"Not only did those two disturbed my plans and damage the City of No Return, they ruined your many years of hard work as well. We cannot forgive them, foster father!"

"We must kill them and rip their corpses into a million pieces!"

Like a drowning man who found a straw, he knelt in front of the silhouette and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Don't worry, I won't let them escape. However, now is not the time to be dealing with them."

A hint of gentleness and sorrow leaked out of the silhouette's eyes as he looked at the man bawling his eyes out beneath him. "You've endured, Xuan'er."

Xuan Youxuan lifted his head a little and looked at the silhouette with guilt and regret. "It is nothing. I just hate that I'm useless and failed to protect the City of No Return for you, foster father. I failed your trust in me!"

"It's fine. The City of No Return is just a tool. If I lose it, then so be it." The silhouette shook his head. "The people of the Profound Alliance will be showing up though. That is a problem."

"The old bastards aren't easy after all."

"What... What should we do?" Xuan Youxuan looked worried. The "old bastards" the silhouette was referring to weren't ordinary people, of course. He was talking about the Sages of the Profound Alliance.

The silhouette looked at Xuan Youxuan and let out another sigh. "I'm sorry to say this, Xuan'er, but you're going to have to endure a little longer!"

Xuan Youxuan was surprised to hear this, but he immediately said, "Just give me your instructions, foster father. It is my blessing to be able to serve you. I am not afraid of a little bit of grievances."

"Good. You're such a good boy, Xuan'er..."

The silhouette gave Xuan Youxuan a pat on the head. "What I need from you is very simple. It's also the last thing I ask of you."

"I will give you my life if you so ask, foster father!"

Xuan Youxuan replied without hesitation, but then his mind caught up. Realizing that something wasn't quite right, he asked, "What did you mean by, 'it's the last thing you ask of me', foster father?" "Did I perform poorly somehow?"

"No, you didn't perform poorly. On the contrary, you performed too well."

The silhouette sighed before tightening his grip on Xuan Youxuan's skull.

"Why—" Xuan Youxuan looked shocked, dazed, and terrified. Unfortunately, he did not get to finish his sentence before the light in his eyes swiftly dimmed and died. There was still puzzlement and disbelief on his face though. He could not understand why the silhouette wanted to kill him or what he meant by he "performed too well".

He didn't understand anything.

"I've warned you a long time ago that one should be cautious and be vigilant even during peacetimes, but in recent years, you seem to have forgotten my advice completely. You became arrogant and self-conceited, reckless and blind to the consequences of your actions. Do you know how many people have already set their sights on you or the City of No Return?"

The silhouette said slowly, "You have long put yourself and the City of No Return in danger. Even if today hadn't happened, you would have put yourself and the City of No Return past the point of no return eventually."

"That said, I could have accepted that. All people are selfish and driven by desires. I dare say that I understand that. However, you should never have forgotten who is the hand who feeds you; who is your true master."

"You should never have become disloyal to me. You should never have deluded yourself into thinking you can replace me."

The silhouette bent down a little to whisper gently into Xuan Youxuan's ear, "There is nothing I hate more than a disobedient and disloyal traitor."

"Everyone must pay for their own sins, so don't blame this on me, understand?"

By the time the silhouette withdrew his palm, Xuan Youxuan had crumbled into dust. A wind blew, and he scattered to the wind just like that.

"Foster father..." A few breaths later, Moon Princess appeared behind the silhouette and dropped to one knee.

"Mm. How did it go?"

Moon Princess replied in a reserved voice, "I've dealt with everyone. The account books and the assets have all been packed as well. No traces will be left behind."

"And Yuan Budong?"

"Don't worry, foster father. I implanted the Spirit Disintegrating Gu in him a long time ago. He would not live to reach Floating Light Celestial Island," Moon Princess replied.

"Well done." The silhouette turned around to look at Moon Princess. He said gently, "I'm sorry for making you stay by Xuan Youxuan's side and spy on him all these years, Moon. You've endured."

Moon Princess replied sincerely, "I did not. If not for you, I might have died a long time ago. That is why I am willing to do anything for you."

"You truly are the most considerate of my children, unlike Xuan'er. Sigh..."

The silhouette sighed. "Let's not talk about this anymore. You may return to the Profound Moon Dynasty now."

"What about the City of No Return?" Moon Princess asked.

"The City of No Return?" The silhouette waved his sleeve, and the entire city started shaking violently. The houses were collapsing, and the streets were shattering.

The guests who hadn't left the city and the servants and slaves who worked here immediately started panicking. The entire City of No Return was plunging into chaos.

"There is no longer any need for it to exist."

Moon Princess looked stunned. "But... this is the lifeblood you've spent decades to build. Isn't it a shame to destroy it like this?"

"Everyone connected to the City of No Return is already dead. We simply need to shut it down temporarily and hide it somewhere. It should be impossible for another to find it, much less trace it to us."

"Moon, you cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. When it is time to give up or cut off, you mustn't hesitate."

The silhouette said slowly, "The City of No Return's reputation is ruined, so there isn't much use in keeping it anymore. Not only that, it may turn out to be a weakness that damns us. After all, the old bastards of the Profound Alliance are neither weak nor foolish."

"There is no need to put oneself at a disadvantage, forget one's roots and risk losing more than one already has over a tiny profit."

"You are right, foster father. I have learned."

Moon Princess then looked at the people who were crying, screaming, and panicking as they sought to escape, not knowing that not a single one of them would make it. In the end, she could not help but ask, "These people do not know our secret. Is it possible to let them live?"

"You and your feminine heart."

The silhouette shook his head. "You are too soft, Moon. These people are just feeble, mundane ants who matter to nothing and no one. Why should you care about their fates?"

"If Xuan'er had to die, and the City of No Return had to go, then these ants may as well accompany them."

Moon Princess looked at the struggling, screaming, dying people trying to survive amidst collapsing buildings and twisting space. She wanted to help them, but in the end, she said nothing.

It was because she knew the man beside her well. It was pointless to try to persuade him once he had set his mind to something.

No one said a word for a time. They simply looked down on the struggling, weeping ants whose cries for help were destined to be answered by no one.