Master of Nine Stars

CLICK. The door was pushed open. Rong Taotao looked at the two people inside and gave a slight nod.

Everyone moved quietly, quickly leaving the guest room. They carefully opened the front door and filed out.

At the same time, in the master bedroom, Gao Qingchen frowned slightly. He picked up his cane and, without disturbing his sleeping wife, quietly walked out.

’Was that a knock on the door just now?’

Sure enough... Gao Qingchen found the sofa empty. The guest room, its door left ajar, was also completely deserted.

In front of the apartment building, Rong Taotao held his phone and waited. A few minutes later, Yang Chunxi and the others, who had been resting on the sixth floor, quickly came out.

Once Rong Taotao saw everyone had gathered, he whispered, ”Let’s go. On foot.”

The group headed for the entrance of the residential complex. Just before their figures disappeared around the corner of the building, however, Li Lie suddenly turned and waved at a first-floor balcony window.

On the pitch-black balcony, Gao Qingchen smiled and waved back.

”Heh...” Gao Qingchen sighed to himself, then broke into a wry smile.

’That’s my daughter, all right. Already knows how to keep a secret. After spending a full day together, Gao Lingwei hadn’t revealed a single word to her parents.’

’She was probably afraid of worrying her mom.’

As he thought this, Gao Qingchen walked back to the bedroom, leaning on his cane. Seeing his wife sleeping soundly, he gently tucked in the corner of her blanket and quietly lay down beside her...

Outside the complex, the group of six walked quickly.

Unlike Songjiang, Songbai Town never went dark. The streetlights on the main roads were very bright, illuminating the whole town.

The group quickly left the main road, their figures melting into the night. It was three in the morning, and even the usually bustling Songbai Town had fallen silent. Six people walking down the main road would be far too conspicuous; they’d likely be stopped by a patrolling Soul Police officer.

The group bypassed Songbai Soul Martial High School, heading northwest until they finally stopped at the entrance to a mountain forest.

Gao Lingwei said softly, ”Once we take this path, we’ll be in the mountains. We’ve left the town limits.”

Rong Taotao asked, ”What’s in the mountains?”

Gao Lingwei replied, ”Following this path, we’ll pass a few farmhouse inns, a funeral home, and a cemetery. Then there’s a company of soldiers garrisoned at the city border and a police detention center. Beyond that, it’s just barren mountains, wilderness, and more graves.”

Rong Taotao: ”Graves?”

Gao Lingwei nodded slightly. ”Yes. And not a planned cemetery, but private burial plots. Some people pick spots on the mountain to bury their dead.”

Rong Taotao nodded. ”We need to keep heading northwest. The aura is still over there.”

”Let’s go. Into the mountains,” Xia Fangran said directly.

The group didn’t follow the path. Instead, they followed Rong Taotao’s lead and stepped directly into the mountain forest.

Even with a full moon in the night sky, their visibility in the forest was still terrifyingly low.

Gao Lingwei summoned her Snowball Cat and placed it in Rong Taotao’s arms.

At Rong Taotao’s direction, the Snowball Cat clambered onto his head of natural curls. A faint mist rose in its brilliant sapphire eyes as it began sharing its vision with him.

That was much better.

The darkness, in turn, became his ally.

The group moved quickly. After a short while, Rong Taotao stopped and raised his right hand, clenched into a fist.

The group halted immediately, their bodies tensing as they prepared for a fight.

But Rong Taotao whispered, ”Soldiers.”

’Soldiers?’

Encountering soldiers here, while Rong Taotao was still tracking the Lotus Petal, meant they had truly left the city’s boundaries.

Rong Taotao thought for a moment, then unzipped his down jacket and pulled out a credential from an inner pocket. He had come fully prepared, having already considered any situation he might encounter along the way.

After another few hundred meters, Rong Taotao gave a soft cough. ”Ahem.”

In an instant, the group felt as if the entire forest had ”come alive!”

Rong Taotao couldn’t help but grin. ’Tsk, tsk... this security is no joke!’

”Password!” a voice called from a distance.

In this environment, Rong Taotao could see them, but they couldn’t see him, which was why he had coughed beforehand.

Rong Taotao directly summoned a White Lantern Paper Cage, illuminating the figures of his group.

From a distance, he saw the soldiers’ expressions change drastically. A whole squad of people appearing so abruptly out of nowhere? It was unbelievable.

”Hello, comrades. I don’t have the password.” Rong Taotao raised both hands, his credentials in his right. ”Twelfth Squad of the Snow Burning Army. We’re on a mission and need to pass through here to leave the city and enter the mountains.”

The woods to their front-left rustled, and a soldier walked out. When he got a clear look at the group’s faces, he was a bit stunned.

”This... This...”

’Holy cow... every single one of them... just who are these people?’

’The Pantheon Brigade?’

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei handed over their credentials, saying, ”Special mission.”

Of course the soldiers recognized Rong Taotao; they even recognized everyone in his team. And the special Snow Burning Army credentials held by Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei served as an incredibly effective pass.

Fortunately, Songjiang Soul Martial University and the Snow Burning Army had always maintained a very close relationship, having conducted countless joint missions together.

The soldiers were highly professional. After a few reports back and forth, they followed their superiors’ orders. Without asking a single question, they let the extremely special, terrifyingly powerful team pass.

Rong Taotao extinguished the White Lantern Paper Cage, and the group of six moved on quickly. The soldiers once again concealed themselves, and silence fell over the Snow Forest.

In the forest, Rong Taotao walked nearly a thousand meters to the northwest, but his pace grew slower and slower. The teachers also slowed down, realizing what this meant.

After a dozen or so seconds, Rong Taotao’s brow furrowed. He stopped and slowly crouched down under a tree.

”About 400 meters out, I see a pair of eyes,” Rong Taotao whispered.

”Is it another Snow Burning Army sentry?” Yang Chunxi asked hurriedly.

Rong Taotao: ”I can’t tell. The person is lying prone in the snow, completely buried except for their eyes. I can’t see a uniform or an armband.”

The Snowball Cat was a god in the dead of night!!!

Seeing a pair of eyes from over 400 meters away in the pitch-black, dense forest!

What kind of ability was that!?

Rong Taotao continued, ”I’m sure of it. The Lotus Petal is over there.”

For a moment, the teachers exchanged a look.

Rong Taotao went on, ”If it’s a hidden Snow Burning Army post, the person’s line of sight is also a problem.

He’s not looking outward, but back toward the city.

With that line of sight, it’s less like he’s watching for people sneaking into the city and more like...”

Yang Chunxi: ”He’s watching for soldiers who might be patrolling this area.”

Rong Taotao nodded. ”When I spotted the Snow Burning Army soldiers earlier, with the Snowball Cat’s help, I saw a hidden squad. This time, it’s just one person, all alone.”

Yang Chunxi lowered her voice and asked, ”Is the Lotus Petal on him?”

To everyone’s surprise, Rong Taotao shook his head. ”No, it’s not on him. But it’s just a short distance north of him. I’m certain.”

Li Lie: ”In other words, he’s a scout too.”

Rong Taotao thought for a moment, then nodded. ”Very likely.”

Si Huan Nian whispered, ”Could be a Poacher.”

Rong Taotao: ”Hmm?”

Si Huan Nian: ”Heh. Last year, weren’t you and Ling Wei targeted for assassination in Songbai Town?”

Rong Taotao: ”Yeah.”

Si Huan Nian: ”Did you think those Poachers just waltz into Songbai Town? That guy, Mi Tu, must have hidden outside the town for a long time before he found a chance to slip in.”

Li Lie nodded silently and analyzed, ”Gao Lingwei has been in Songjiang, inside the campus, where the Poachers can’t get to her.

But her travel plans are predictable. During the New Year, she’s bound to come to Songbai Town to celebrate with her parents.

It’s mid-December now. There are still forty days until the New Year.”

Xia Fangran cursed under his breath, ”Fucking hell. Those bastards never give up.”

But Si Huan Nian curled his lip in disdain. ”Gao Lingwei destroyed their livelihood. How could they possibly give up? It’s a fight to the death.

But they’ve been clever this time. I wonder where they hired such a powerful ally... and one who even has a Lotus Petal?”

Listening to the teachers’ speculations and analysis, Rong Taotao felt the blood in his veins begin to boil!

’If everything is as the teachers say,’ he thought, ’then this is just perfect!’

’They actually want to ambush me on New Year’s Eve!?’

’This time, the enemy is in the light, and I’m in the dark!’

’Attack and Defense Conversion!’

’You want to ambush me? I’ll fucking get you first!’

’Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson. I’ll show you what a real assassination looks like!’