Chapter 16: Is That It?

The sudden shift in the situation caused every armed individual present to freeze, their eyes filled with disbelief.

They had only seen the surrounded Li Ye come suddenly vanish from their sight.

In the next second, he appeared behind them, holding a long blade, standing directly in front of Wang De.

How could they not be shocked by such an eerie scene?

But the armed personnel did not dare to move, for Li Ye’s long blade was already pressed against Wang De’s neck.

A mere slight movement of his hand would be enough to slit Wang De's throat.

The detective, however, breathed a sigh of relief; he naturally understood what had happened.

Li Ye had utilized the ability of his Psionic Armament to disrupt the vision of everyone present.

For a Psionic, this ability could only disrupt vision for a fraction of a second.

But for ordinary people, it resulted in a loss of vision lasting over a second.

That was more than enough time for Li Ye to cut straight through the encirclement, draw his blade from the black umbrella, and close in on Wang De.

It had directly intimidated everyone.

At this moment, the detective felt immensely fortunate to have invited Li Ye.

Had he been alone, he would likely have been forced to suffer a heavy loss now.

Given Wang De's dominance, if the two had persisted any longer, he suspected they truly would have ordered the men to fire.

To protect the family secrets, Wang De was truly willing to kill two Psionics.

But now, Wang De could only stare at Li Ye with a grim face, remaining speechless.

Li Ye looked down at Wang De; the living room lights cast his shadow, enveloping Wang De.

Li Ye was truly growing angry. He naturally had no interest in meddling in other people's family affairs.

But if it involved Psionics and Taboo Objects, it represented a massive, latent danger.

Once out of control, it would create unimaginable disasters, causing more innocent people to suffer.

Like Doctor Wang, or that girl who was eaten.

This old bastard, for the sake of so-called family secrets, wanted to obstruct the investigation and even used guns to threaten them.

If things truly reached an irreversible point, how many more "Doctor Wangs" would be caught in the crossfire?

Fortunately, even though this world is filled with injustice due to wealth, status, and power...

At least death is fair.

At this moment, even Wang De, who had spent many years as a scavenger, felt a sense of suffocation. His left hand had already slipped into his pajamas, as if preparing to draw a weapon in resistance.

But in the end, he chose not to act. He knew that no matter how fast he was, he could not outpace Li Ye's blade.

Just as Li Ye had said: *Try saying another word?*

If he tried, he would truly meet his end!

"Calm down! I know you are with the authorities, but pointing weapons at civilians is a bit too irregular, don't you think?" Wang Er's son spoke up nervously, trying to persuade them.

At this time, the middle-aged woman spoke: "Exactly! Who do you think you're threatening? Do you know the cost of this? Can you withstand our retaliation? Think of your family..."

"Shut up, you fool!" Wang De growled with a grim face. He had already seen the cold glint flashing in Li Ye's eyes.

That sentence had touched the man's ultimate taboo.

This guy was clearly not the type to be intimidated or suppressed by family prestige. Such threats would only have the opposite effect.

Wang De even suspected that his third daughter intended to drive him to death just to inherit the family estate.

Thus, after weighing the options repeatedly, Wang De looked at the armed personnel and said, "Withdraw."

Then, Wang De slowly leaned back into the sofa and said to Li Ye, "It seems, Excellency, that you won't rest until you've investigated everything? Why meddle in affairs that don't concern you? If you simply stepped back now, you could obtain much greater benefits. As a Psionic, you must have many places to spend money. Why not choose to take the money and leave? All for the sake of so-called justice?"

It had to be said that Wang De was a man who knew when to yield and when to push; he had completely lost his previous dominance and was now conversing with Li Ye in a calm, composed manner.

Li Ye responded flatly, "None of your damn business."

Wang De gave a faint, eerie smile and spoke, "Young man, do you know? There are some people who pursue their sense of justice with unwavering determination. Back when I was still a scavenger, I saw many, many such people."

The crowd found this strange but listened quietly.

Wang De spoke slowly, "In that era, the wilderness was extremely dangerous. One had to face not only packs of beasts but also the stabs in the back from one's own kind, and even encounter eerie existences. In that environment, they were resilient yet fragile, simple yet dangerous.

They pursued those concepts they believed to be right. Even if those concepts were ridiculous or naive, they pursued them tirelessly and moved forward with conviction.

And most importantly, they were full of a spirit of resistance, yet they were easily controlled by their emotions. But such people share one common trait..."

Wang De looked at Li Ye. "Do you want to know what it is?"

Li Ye did not respond.

Wang De did not say any more.

Seeing that Li Ye had lowered his long blade, Wang De finally withdrew his left hand and used the sofa to slowly stand up.

He then picked up a cane to steady himself and said to the girl in the white dress, "You want to know the family secret?"

"I want to know why my parents died," the girl in the white dress responded firmly.

"Just do not regret it. Then, follow me. Everyone, follow me."

He left the room leaning on his cane, only to find that Li Ye was following closely behind him.

The crimson long blade was held in one hand, clearly remaining on guard against him and the armed personnel following not far behind.

Wang De said nothing and continued forward.

Even though he was nearly ninety years old, his steps were steady, and he soon arrived at a room on the first floor.

The room's decor was very ordinary: an old bookshelf, a worn-out sofa, and a coffee table.

While the others were puzzled, Wang De stepped forward and twisted a candlestick in the room.

Then, the bookshelf slowly slid away, revealing a staircase leading straight into the ground.

"This..." The other family members were filled with astonishment. They had grown up here, yet they had never discovered a secret passage in their own home.

"Come. This is where our family's secret lies," Wang De said, then turned to the armed personnel outside, "Guard this place. Do not let anyone in or out."

After lighting a candle, he was the first to enter the secret passage.

The others followed suit, entering the passage in a line.

After descending more than forty steps, they reached the bottom.

It was a basement with a strong sense of history, exceptionally spacious.

Wang De turned on the basement lights; the light was dim and flickering, clearly having fallen into disrepair over the years.

Relying on the faint light source, the group saw a strange sight.

A single-story brick house?

In the middle of the basement, there was actually a single-story Chinese-style blue brick house?

This left everyone utterly bewildered.

"This is my family's secret." Wang De approached the brick house, stroking the wall as he spoke, "The former owner of this place built a courtyard above it specifically to hide this secret. Unfortunately, in the end, it could not escape the Calamity Mist. Ultimately, this place became my property. Perhaps this is what you call a Taboo Object?"

Li Ye and the detective exchanged a glance. The detective was the first to ask, "What ability does this brick house have?"

"Exchange," Wang De said eerily, pushing open half of the wooden door.

*Creak.*

The long-neglected door hinge let out a piercing friction sound.

This allowed the group to see the layout of the room. Inside, there was only... an altar.

"Exchange what?" Li Ye asked, frowning.

"Almost anything. It will satisfy a wish to the greatest extent possible based on the sacrifice offered. Of course, bringing the dead back to life is impossible," Wang De said. "One only needs to place the sacrifice in the room before midnight and close the door. Once midnight passes, the blessing can be received."

"In the beginning, I craved wealth, so I sneaked in here and secretly offered a sacrifice. It was a dog I had picked up. When midnight passed, the dog was gone, and a piece of gold appeared on the altar."

"After that, I would sneak in here with a sacrifice every single time, time after time. My assets slowly accumulated. At the same time, I figured out the rules."

"One only needs to state a wish to the altar and offer a sacrifice. Some things can be given directly, while others require the altar to guide me to a certain location to obtain them."

"I once had a disabled arm. After offering a live cow, my disabled arm was restored to its original state."

"If an animal as a sacrifice can have such an effect, what about a human?"

"To test it, I tricked a drunkard..." Wang De said softly.

This sentence made everyone's skin crawl.

"You used a drunkard as a sacrifice?" The girl in the white dress stared with wide eyes, unable to believe it. She could not reconcile her once-kind grandfather with someone capable of such an act.

The detective and Li Ye also frowned. This Wang De seemed to have gained even more confidence, actually boasting about sacrificing a living person right in front of the authorities!

"That's right. I sacrificed the drunkard and obtained a map, and from that map, I found a chest of gold, which allowed me to firmly establish my footing in the Megacity. But that wasn't enough, far from enough. Fortunately, in that era, the disappearance of a few people went unnoticed. After sacrificing five people simultaneously, I obtained a map and found the blueprints for a thermal gun. After that, as the laws of the Megacity became more complete, I stopped making sacrifices," Wang De said with a faint smile. "You cannot arrest me."

"Later... something still happened," Li Ye asked. "If what you say is true, then your descendants shouldn't have died."

Using a Taboo Object requires a price.

And in those previous transactions, those sacrifices were the price.

Therefore, the cause of the deaths in the Wang family was not that price.

There was another reason.

"Correct," Wang De said eerily. "Someone discovered my secret and began to threaten me. But with the altar in my hands, what was there to fear? The opponent began to target my relatives. I regret it deeply, but I cannot find him—I simply cannot find him. Even when making a wish to the altar, I can only find places where he once stayed..."

Li Ye and the detective exchanged a look, then asked, "Can we inspect the altar?"

"Of course." Wang De nodded slightly and stepped aside, behaving very submissively.

Li Ye stepped forward with his blade, approaching the brick house to inspect it from all angles before pushing open the other half of the wooden door.

He saw the altar, which bore heavy marks of time. This was certainly no benevolent object.

He wondered if the "Shadow" was closely related to this thing, as both required sacrifices. However, one relied on the enemies Li Ye killed as sacrifices, while the other required living flesh and blood.

Thinking this, Li Ye stepped into the room.

However, the moment he crossed the threshold, a sudden change occurred!

A pair of crimson eyes suddenly snapped open before him, and in an instant, they transformed into a phantom figure.

It was a heavy armored knight wearing greyish-white plate armor and a silver cloak!

The crimson eyes flickered with a faint light inside the helmet. He held a long spear and slammed it down toward Li Ye instantly.

"Damn it, you old bastard!" Even for a vigilant Li Ye, there was no way to predict an enemy suddenly appearing right before his eyes.

He could only thrust his blade upward while leaning his body back, doing his utmost to dodge the sneak attack.

*Bang!* The moment the spear collided with the long blade, Li Ye felt a numbing sensation in his hand, and his body tilted backward.

This was an extremely dangerous posture, but for a Psionic, it was a position that allowed for an instantaneous increase in distance.

Li Ye lunged forward; his Psionic barrier solidified the air beneath his right foot, allowing him to exert force mid-air.

*Swish!* Li Ye flew backward out of the brick house. He took continuous steps in mid-air, pulling a distance of ten meters from the enemy before flipping back to his feet.

However, the moment he stood up, the spear-wielding knight in the distance instantly vanished into mist.

In the next instant, he crossed a distance of over ten meters and appeared directly in front of Li Ye.

Those glowing red eyes locked onto their target, and the spear slammed down instantly!

The speed of the ambush caused the pupils of both Li Ye and the detective to contract.

*Is this... the Shadow Step of the Nether Path?*

Without time to think, Li Ye directly used vision interference.

And retreated once more.

This time, the spear-wielding knight affected by the vision interference did not continue the attack, but instead stood still in place.

On the other side, the moment Li Ye was attacked, the detective reacted.

He pulled a large-caliber revolver from his coat and fired three shots directly at Wang De!

Clearly, the attack on Li Ye was Wang De's doing!

Killing Wang De immediately became a necessity.

However, with the sound of a bell ringing...

The three bullets aimed at Wang De stopped mid-air.

Because another phantom heavy armored knight had appeared in front of Wang De.

The bullets were blocked by its Psionic barrier and could not advance even a single inch further.

Wang De held a silver bell in his hand. Looking at the surviving Li Ye, he couldn't help but say with regret, "What a pity. So close."

The sudden turn of events left everyone standing frozen on the spot.

"What's happening?" The girl in the white dress was filled with horror.

For some reason, the suddenly appearing knight had attacked Li Ye, and now another knight had appeared beside her grandfather? What was going on?

Weren't they just talking peacefully?

Why had guns been fired and fighting broken out all of a sudden?

"I really was almost killed by a sneak attack," Li Ye exhaled slowly, regulating his breathing. "Old bastard, you were waiting for me here?"

If Li Ye hadn't maintained sufficient vigilance and retreated decisively, that shot would have pierced him through.

"Shadow Step, phasing and invisibility. A summon? Is it an ability or a Taboo Object effect?" The detective looked at the two knights and gritted his teeth. "You bastard, so the killer was you all along!"

Previously, during the incident where Wang Er was nearly killed by a falling chandelier, Li Ye and the others had noticed someone cutting the chandelier with a single blade in plain sight.

They had thought it was some Second-Awakened Psionic of the Nether Path, but they never expected... it was Wang De's own method?

Standing behind the dual-blade knight, Wang De spoke with regret, "If you had died just like that, perhaps it would have been a good thing for you.

Heroic official Psionics facing a killer, fighting to the death without retreating. Unfortunate sacrifices, but successfully protecting Mr. Wang De and his family. It would have been a legendary tale. You would have been called heroes and respected by all."

Li Ye said coldly, "Ha! You beast, you killed your own kin!"

"What does that mean?" the girl in the white dress asked in shock.

"Is it not obvious?" The detective looked at the ghostly knights and said in a low voice, "For the past ten years, the killer of your relatives has been this very man! Whether it was an accident or a mishap, a knight with the ability to turn invisible and teleport instantly... wouldn't that be the perfect murder weapon?"

The girl in the white dress looked at Wang De in bewilderment, seemingly waiting for his answer.

What responded to her was Wang De's profound sigh: "You all talk too much. As expected, I left a flaw when I killed the second one."

"Every time it is your birthday, a blood relative dies in an accident, yet you continue to live on year after year." The detective's eyes narrowed. "I thought it was a revenge plot, but you were far too calm regarding the attack on Wang Er. Now it seems, you are a piece of scum who survives by devouring the lives of your blood relatives!"

"You are still too young; you do not understand the fear of death approaching step by step. When I discovered I was going to die, that I was growing old, while my relatives and descendants were only thinking about fighting over my estate, cursing me behind my back as an old man who won't die, wondering why I don't just pass away..."

Wang De paused before continuing, "So, I made a wish to the altar, praying for longevity. And these unfilial descendants are the price I must pay. Is that not perfect?"

Then, he looked at the middle-aged woman: "Third daughter, weren't you very afraid when your uncle died? We had clearly agreed on how to divide my property after you ran him over with a car. Yet, the very next day, he was crushed to death by a vehicle!"

The middle-aged woman's legs gave way, and she slumped to the ground. With a pale face, she explained, "No, I didn't, it was Uncle's idea, I was against it! Dad, you have to believe me. I really didn't!"

Then, Wang De looked at the trembling young man and said, "Your father was the same, actually bribing my private doctor to attempt poisoning. He didn't manage to kill him today; consider him lucky."

The young man was caught between shock and rage, yet he did not dare to speak.

For the past ten years, the one who killed those Wang family relatives was none other than Wang De himself!

He had devoured his blood relatives like a monster to survive until now! Now, he was no longer hiding, revealing his terrifying fangs!

"Then... my father was also killed by you?" The girl in the white dress stared blankly at her grandfather.

She could hardly believe it. Her grandfather had always doted on her. Aside from investigating the family secrets, he had fulfilled almost every request she made.

The outside world believed that Wang De was nurturing her to be his heir.

And such a grandfather was the killer of her father?

After a moment of silence, Wang De revealed a cold, indifferent smile.

"You... monster!" The girl's body trembled, while the detective shielded her behind him.

The detective barked, "It seems you have no intention of surrendering!"

He immediately called for backup via his communicator. Facing a piece of scum like this, the handlers would not care about any code of honor. If they could gang up on him, they would!

However, the detective discovered there was absolutely no signal here.

This was the most secretive location, so naturally, all signals had been blocked.

Wang De, however, looked at Li Ye: "Young man, do you remember what I said? The biggest commonality among you people who pursue your sense of justice is..."

"That you are destined for an early death!"

As the final word fell.

The spear-wielding knight behind him swung his spear, tracing an extreme circle.

Then, he instantly vanished into mist.

In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Li Ye, his spear already swinging down with immense, crushing force!

And what responded to him was a pair of domineering, double-pupiled eyes and a mocking laugh.

"Is that it?"

Li Ye held his blade with one hand, like a warlord wielding a halberd!

A single-handed Eighteen-Toss!