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Heir of the White Lotus (Web Novel) - Chapter 1338: Fear and Doubt
Chapter 1338: Fear and Doubt
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The following day, the Patriarch had convened another gathering of elders—as he had been doing for the past month, ever since the war with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult began."Those demons have no intention of laying claim to our strongholds!" An elder spat through gritted teeth, feeling utterly perplexed.
"They’ve been using guerrilla warfare since the beginning," said another.
"I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but whatever it is... it’s working."
"They don’t want to conquer our lands! They want to make a statement!"
"I’ve confirmed with my sources that none of the residents of the border strongholds and other strategic locations had been harmed!"
"This is completely unlike the actions of the previous Qinglin Zhai! Those bandits would maraud towns, kill their residents, and rape the women. But the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult..."
"I don’t know what they’re trying to achieve!"
The discussion continued as the Elders presented the current intel, then formulated counterattacks. Half an hour into the meeting, Lady Chiyo still hadn’t arrived. A few noticed this, but didn’t think too much of it. After all, the woman was a very busy person.
Kurozane Arakuro’s gaze shifted to the empty seat beside him again, his eyes narrowing.
Tap!
He rapped on the table, causing the room to fall silent. Everyone turned towards the Patriarch.
"Find Lady Chiyo," he coldly instructed.
One of the Magi standing by the walls cupped his fists, bowed, then silently left the room. A few moments later, the discussions resumed once again.
However, the Patriarch’s gaze continued to shift to the empty chair beside him. A strange, forboding feeling gripped his heart, and he just couldn’t shake it off.
About fifteen minutes later, he finally realized why...
SLAM!
The doors to the chamber slammed open, and a few Magi rushed inside with pale faces. The Elders thought that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had struck one of their border strongholds once again.
But no...
This time, the attack had been carried out close to them. Far too close to them.
"P-patriarch!" The Magus called out, his eyes red and teary. "L-lady Chiyo, she... she..."
"What happened to Lady Chiyo?!" An Elder shot to his feet, immediately assuming the worst.
Another roared, "Where is she?!"
A strong gust of wind blew by, and all the items lying on the table violently fell down. The Patriarch immediately cast Flight and broke through the arched window, soaring into the sky.
A dark look appeared on his face as he flew over the city. In a matter of moments, he had arrived at the small hill—Lady Chiyo’s residence. A large group of maids and servants, and a few Magi had already gathered at the entrance of the pagoda.
With a resounding thud, he landed in front of the pagoda, scaring away the people who had gathered there. When they saw who’d arrived, they broke into tears.
"Patriarch!"
"Lady Chiyo, she..."
"Patriarch, what has happened to our clan..."
"Such a tragedy!"
"Our Lady Chiyo..."
Kurozane Arakuro’s expression only darkened as he smelled the deep stench in the air.
He knew this smell well.
Blood.
He took wide strides and finally entered through the doors of the pagoda. And what he saw inside caused his eyes to tremble ever so slightly.
His eyes turned bloodshot as he tightly clenched his fists.
His gaze settled on Lady Chiyo... or what remained of her.
Her lifeless body was fixed against the far wall, her arms and shoulders pinned in place by thick iron spikes. Her head hung at a strange angle, likewise nailed. Her once-serene and gentle expression had twisted into something caught between shock and pain.
Her robes were torn apart at the abdomen, and a deep, brutal gash had cut through her stomach, leaving her innards exposed. Dark fluids and intestines pooled beneath her, spreading slowly across the polished floor.
On the floor, written in strokes of crimson, a message was engraved. Lady Chiyo’s blood had been used to write it.
The message read:
Blame Kurozane Arakuro for bringing this calamity upon your clan.
When Kurozane Arakuro’s gaze settled on the bloody message, his heart was ablaze with anger, hatred, and resentment.
His gaze shifted between the message and Lady Chiyo’s corpse several times, flames of anger burning in his heart.
Finally, he turned his attention to another section of the room. There, lying on the floor, was a sheet of human skin. It lay crumpled and folded over itself like discarded clothing.
Kurozane Arakuro walked towards the discarded skin, then carefully examined it.
"...Genshiro," he murmured.
At last, a few things started to make sense.
He finally understood why Genshiro had brought those wagons to the city yesterday.
He had done it deliberately!
Kurozane Arakuro rose to his feet, his expression filled with wrath. His lips parted and he coldly muttered:
"Heavenly Demon!"
The enemy had been right under his nose the other day, yet he couldn’t even identify him.
"Lady Chiyo!"
"Oh, no! What—"
"Lady Chiyo, no!!"
"Oh goodness! How did this happen?!"
By now, several more elders had arrived. When they saw Lady Chiyo’s state, they broke down in tears. And when they gazed at the bloody message carved on the floor, they immediately realized who it was.
However, instead of feeling hatred or anger... they were terrified!
The Heavenly Demon had infiltrated their seat of power, Taketsu City, and killed a Mana Core Magus! And they could do nothing about it!
Terror.
Sheer terror.
Their bodies turned cold when they saw that message. Their eyes widened. Their hearts were gripped by dread. And only one thought echoed inside their head:
Who was going to die next?
Right at that moment, Kurozane Arakuro’s furious words drifted into their ears, "Snap out of it! All of you! Quickly clear this bloody scene, and prepare for Lady Chiyo’s funeral!"
The Magi inside the pagoda shuddered at those words.
"Y-yes, Patriarch!" They simultaneously replied.
They watched the Patriarch leave the pagoda, then soar into the sky.
A feeling of unprecedented fear and panic washed over them. They turned back to the corpse of Lady Chiyo nailed against the wall.
At last, their gazes settled on the bloody message left behind by the Heavenly Demon.
The seed of fear and doubt had begun to bloom!
