CHAPTER 103 (1): SUSPICIONS

Zhao Wushang and the others were very eager to shift the blame, and they had been extremely meticulous in the wording of the letters that they sent back to their clans.

They knew that this was a golden opportunity that would only come once.

Once the blame was successfully shifted, even if someone were to raise suspicions against them in the future, they could simply rebuke with: "Wasn't your son killed by Hai Wuliang? Why are you suddenly trying to blame me now?"

Thus, the blame for everything fell squarely upon Hai Wuliang, burying him in a pit that was impossible to get out of.

The reason why the accusation worked was because it was partially true.

Even though his objective was never to kill people from the main church, all of that hardly mattered now.

Initially, the clans of the deceased had already accepted the outcome, thinking that they had lost their children to the Protectionists, but losing them to Hai Wuliang was an entirely different concept!

The unification of these grieving clans sent a danger signal to all of the other clans. Those clans had joined forces on a united front, while everyone else was still divided and vulnerable.

They knew that once Hai Wuliang inevitably died, the grieving clans would set their sights on all of the other clans. It was certainly not very often that so many clans were united together on one front, and they would be sure to take the opportunity to strike at others outside of their coalition.

Hence, they had no choice but to join the crusade against Hai Wuliang for the sake of self-preservation. Furthermore, they were fully justified in doing so as they could proclaim something like: "Our children are still in the southeast! We can't rest with someone like Hai Wuliang on the loose!"

The clans of the main church had never been so united before, and that was undoubtedly terrible news for Hai Wuliang.

***

Eradicating the Night Demon Church was the ideal outcome in Fang Che's mind, but in the beginning, he hadn't actually considered it to be a realistic possibility.

He had thought that he would only be able to deal the Night Demon Church a heavy blow at the very most, and that was already a great outcome in his eyes.

However, he hadn't anticipated that Dongfang Sansan would also get involved, and a miraculous assist from Yin Shengong sealed Hai Wuliang's fate.

There was no way Hai Wuliang would've been brought down by only some accusations from Fang Che's branch helm, nor would Yin Shengong's report or the rumors spread by Dongfang Sansan on their own have been enough to spell his demise.

However, the three of them had combined to instigate an almighty storm, one that was bound to capsize the ship that was the Night Demon Church.

With barely any correspondence between Fang Che and Yin Shengong, they had managed to send Hai Wuliang down a path of no return, and at this point, only the gods would've been able to save him.

***

In response to Hai Wuliang's furious message, Yin Shengong felt both a sense of elation and sorrow.

"How can I help you, Pope Hai?"

"Where are you right now? I'll come find you."

Yin Shengong gave a cold harrumph.

He must know that he's screwed at this point, is he trying to seek me out to take me down with him? Keep dreaming! I still have a bright future ahead, while you're already as good as dead!

"Where am I? I'm with Deputy Pope Yan Nan right now. Do you want to come join us?"

"Fuck off! Where are you?!"

Hai Wuliang was on the verge of insanity, and he was certain that it was Yin Shengong that had brought this calamity down upon him.

The thought that Yin Shengong would remain safe and sound while he was bound to die was enough to drive Hai Wuliang mad, and his only thought now was that he had to take Yin Shengong to the afterlife with him.

"What are you, scared? You had the guts to report me, yet you don't have the guts to come out and face me?"

"Who do you think you are? You're nothing more than a condemned dog! What right do you have to see me?"

"Yin Shengong! Just you wait, you spineless piece of shit! Fuck you and your entire bloodline!"

Yin Shengong was completely unbothered by Hai Wuliang's insults, and he gave a concise, two-word response before deleting Hai Wuliang from his contacts: "You lose!"

At this point, there was no point in keeping an eye on Hai Wuliang, and there was no point in keeping a dead man in his contacts.

Having said that, this had truly been a stunning turn of events, and Yin Shengong couldn't help but feel a little unsettled.

The more he thought about it, the more wary of Fang Che he became.

Hai Wuliang was the pope of a subsidiary church, just like himself, yet Fang Che had managed to bring him down, seemingly with ridiculous ease.

While he was elated that his disciple was going from strength to strength, deep down, he couldn't help but feel a little afraid.

If he can take down Hai Wuliang, can't he do the same to me?

This was a very harrowing thought, and it prompted him to immediately call upon the three elders for a meeting.

"Have you all heard about what our Night Demon did?"

"He's your Night Demon, not ours," Mu Linyuan scoffed, while Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang exchanged an amused glance with each other.

However, the solemn look on Yin Shengong's face immediately alerted the three elders to the fact that he was in no mood to be joking around, and they unconsciously sat up a little straighter.

"What did Night Demon do?" Mu Linyuan asked in a tentative manner.

"He killed Hai Wuliang."

"What?!"

The three elders didn't have the same information sources as Yin Shengong did, and they were completely astonished by this revelation.

Night Demon killed Hai Wuliang?! Is this the same Hai Wuliang that's the pope of the Night Demon Church? How did he do it?!

"You mean like... personally killed him?" Mu Linyuan asked in a flabbergasted manner.

"Of course not! What the hell are you thinking! Here's what happened..."

Yin Shengong gave the three elders a detailed recount of events, and the three of them were all left reeling by the end.

"Brilliant! That's utterly brilliant! The two of you have managed to take a minor incident and used it to take out Hai Wuliang! This is incredible!"

"I didn't play much of a role in this," Yin Shengong said in a solemn manner. "The main contribution came from Night Demon."

"He's just full of surprises, isn't he? Every time I think he can't surprise me anymore, he does something that knocks my socks off! I can't believe someone so young was able to orchestrate such a brilliant plot!"

Hou Fang was gushing with praise, but both Mu Linyuan and Qian Sanjiang could sense that something wasn't right.

Not only did Yin Shengong not appear delighted by this outcome, he was looking a little... apprehensive.

"Is there something wrong, Pope Yin? You seem to have something on your mind."

"Don't you think that Night Demon is... improving a little too quickly?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mu Linyuan asked in a perplexed manner. "Isn't that a good thing? Why do you look so concerned?"

"I just suddenly feel a little unsettled, so I wanted to gather you all here and speak to you for a bit."

"Why do you feel unsettled?" Mu Linyuan asked.

"Don't you feel like this plot from Night Demon was a little too perfect?"

"Perfect?" Mu Linyuan asked with a befuddled expression. "I wouldn't really call it that. Besides, once again, I have to ask, isn't that a good thing?"

"Something just feels off to me. I feel like Night Demon is hiding something from us."

The three elders exchanged a wry smile with one another.

They had come to realize that Yin Shengong was feeling uneasy from witnessing the demise of an equal to himself, and as a result, suspicions against Night Demon had arisen in his heart.

"Ever since we planted Night Demon in White Cloud Warrior Academy, he's been able to make contribution after contribution, often against odds that appear impossibly stacked against him. He took first place by a mile in the Parasite Ascension Project, he entered the Hall of Protectionists, he established an exceptional branch helm while eliminating all the competition, and now, he's even managed to bring down Hai Wuliang... How is he this lucky?"

The three elders were rendered speechless.

They couldn't help but wonder if their pope had gone insane.

"Also, ever since Night Demon joined our One Heart Church, he's been exclusively killing other church members. He hasn't killed a single Protectionist or Guardian, yet he's already killed tens of thousands of church members! There's clearly something wrong with that! He's exclusively killing his own allies, yet he's racing up the ranks on both sides! This is not normal! Do you think... he could be a mole from the other side?"

A hint of killing intent had appeared in Yin Shengong's eyes as he spoke.

The three elders were completely flabbergasted by what they had heard, and they were wondering if this was actually a dream sequence.

The trio felt so exasperated that they didn't even want to respond.

Clearly, Yin Shengong had gone insane!

"Why aren't any of you saying anything?" Yin Shengong snapped in a furious manner.

"Night Demon is your disciple. If you want to kill him, then go ahead," Mu Linyuan sneered. "It has nothing to do with us, so of course we have nothing to say. If we try to beg for mercy on Night Demon's behalf, you'll suspect us as well."