by Feng Yue
Hermes could not help but whistle, “I almost forgot that you’re a bad girl who’s always on the streets. No wonder you don’t feel bad about hitting your teacher, but you have to be careful. The Pyramid Scheme specifically does the dirty work for elites. Kidnapping, trafficking, and prostitution is nothing to them. They’re not as easy to fool as that group of idiots at the pier.
“Even if you’ve learned a lot recently, you’re still not a musician. And not only will you be outnumbered, but the Pyramid Scheme is known for being shady. It’s not impossible to be beaten with a dirty trick.
“My student is charging into the lion’s den. As a teacher, of course I’m worried, but I have to respect your choice.” Hermes dabbed at his nonexistent tears dramatically to show his pain, then he waved and said loudly, “Whatever happens next, just see it as a challenge. Unleash your potential, but remember that safety is the most important. I’ll be sad if you die.”
“That means that even if I’m close to dying, you’ll just watch and not help, right?”
“Correct.” Hermes snapped his fingers in satisfaction, “As expected of my student. So brilliant!”
“I don’t need to be brilliant. I just know your bad personality very well.” Bai Xi slammed the door, locking that infuriating smiling face in the carriage. The carriage started moving again, taking Hermes’ annoying laugh into the fog.
Old Phil side-eyed the carriage until it disappeared and bit the girl’s sleeve cuff, telling her to follow. Then, sniffing for the youth’s scent, he walked toward the darkness. Faint torchlight lit up in the distance. A strange scent was carried in the wind. It smelled like dirt and decay.
“A cemetery?” Bai Xi hid in the alley, quietly watching the gate up ahead. A few muscular men stood on each side of it, the rotting wooden gate of the abandoned cemetery was ajar, revealing the menacing darkness behind it. In the darkness, one could vaguely see broken statues of saints, and dancing flames.
“Are you sure he’s in there?” Bai Xi glanced down at Old Phil who looked at her sideways. He did not reply and could not reply, but he seemed to be judging her doubt. “Alright,” Bai Xi sighed, finally experiencing what her cousin often had to face—being judged by Old Phil. “Can you get in? You go first and I’ll be there soon.”
Hearing her words, Old Phil got up and padded into the darkness. Soon, his silhouette slid through a hole in the corner of the wall. Sometimes, it really was easier to be a dog than a human. Bai Xi stood in the darkness, staring at the gate.
Two burly men guarded the gate, smoking and bored. An endless stream of people from every direction entered the cemetery. She could not count how many people there were.
Although the cemetery had been abandoned for a while, the walls were not low enough for a little girl to scale, plus it was where the Pyramid Scheme often met. Who knew if there were traps?
She thought for a moment before taking a clump of what looked like clay from her pocket. It jiggled in her hands like pork fat and seemed elastic, but as her fingers moved, it spread into a vague face.
Hermes was not a good teacher, but Bai Xi was also not a good student; her habit of stealing had caused more than enough headaches for Ye Qingxuan. Hermes was well known as a hoarder, and would bring home whatever caught his eye for a second. As a student, Bai Xi obviously had to help her teacher ‘clean out’ his hoards. This was one of the results of ‘cleaning.’
The clay ‘face’ fit her perfectly, becoming one with her own face. As she pinched and squeezed, it slowly turned into the face of a mid-aged man with thick eyebrows and a hooked nose. Coughing and clearing her throat, Bai Xi’s voice became thick and scratchy. With her white hair hidden in the hat, wearing Ye Qingxuan’s jacket, and face full of ferocity, she looked like a typical downtown thug. She was just a bit shorter. This was the face of one of Hariti’s former underlings that Ye Qingxuan had sent to the Arkham Asylum—the dwarf, Cuozi.
Bai Xi strode over confidently, meeting the eyes of the muscular guards.
“Hey friend, you seem a bit unfamiliar.” The fierce man at the door held her shoulder.
Crack!
The girl, no…’Cuozi’ shrugged the hand off and slapped the man without hesitation, “Are you f*cking blind?” Cuozi looked up, revealing his face in the torchlight, expression angry and cold, “I’ve only been gone for a few days and you don’t know me anymore?”
“You f*cking…” The man’s face darkened in fury. He reached for his dagger reflexively, wanting to show the dwarf who was boss, but the man beside him saw Cuozi’s face clearly and stopped his friend, whispering something.
“Cuozi? But that lunatic was…” His friend cut him off before he could finish, scared that Cuozi would overhear.
“Hey, what you talking about?”‘Cuozi’ cackled, his emotionless eyes flashing, “Talking about me behind my back?”
“No, no!” The guard remembered the scary rumors of how this guy would chop off people’s fingers, and retreated in fear. If this were the original Cuozi, his fears would have been reasonable, but the real Cuozi was in Arkham. He had mental issues! The most laughable thing in the world was that no one dared to reason with a lunatic. The man forced a smile and bowed deeply, “Cuozi, how may I help you?”
110 Will the Night Be Dark
“Cuozi, how may I help you?” the guard asked, bowing deeply.
“Stand up straight!” Cuozi suddenly raised his voice, scaring the sh*t out of the man. “What, you think I’m short?!”
“No, no, no!” The man hurriedly waved his hands, “I’m just-just a little tired…”
Cuozi narrowed his snake-like eyes. As he watched the two men silently, his fingers twitched as if his hand itched. The viper-like stare sent chills into the guards’ hearts. But very quickly, Cuozi lowered his hands as if he had lost interest. Instead, he walked past the gate, “I just got out of the asylum and need to see the Pyramid King. Take me to him.”
“Yes, yes,” one of the men hurried after him breathlessly. There was a mass of people in the dark cemetery behind the gate. Broken tombstones were littered throughout the abandoned cemetery. Groups clustered under the torches, discussing something quietly.
Bai Xi scanned the crowd. Seeing there were only about one-hundred people, she furrowed her brows. She asked in a voice full of disdain, “How come there’s not a lot of people? Where are all my old friends?”
“We’re just taking care of a traitor tonight. Everyone here are newbies,” the guard answered. “Boss Luo said he wants them to see the consequences of betraying us.”
“Oh?” Out of the corner of her eye, Bai Xi saw a ditch in the center, and she understood why they chose this location. “Boss Luo isn’t here yet. Please wait for a moment while I report the news. I’ll have Sandro come to chat with you.” Rubbing his hands together, the man led ‘Cuozi’ to a corner and ran into the crowd.
“Wait,” Bai Xi called suddenly, “what’s your name?”
The man froze, “Ed-Edward…”
“Oh. Thank you for guiding me.” Seeing that no one else was paying attention, Bai Xi’s expression changed and she used her original voice. The man stood frozen in place, not understanding what was happening. The girl reached over and pressed a hand over his heart.
Plop! Like the sound of a bucket falling into a well, the man’s face suddenly reddened. It quickly turned deathly white and then he collapsed on the ground, most likely dead.
Bai Xi was not as kind as Ye Qingxuan. She cast the Flow rune directly at his heart, causing his blood to flow so quickly that a portion evaporated. He had instantly lost the ability to fight back or speak, and fell unconscious. As to whether his heart would explode or not, and whether or not he would survive was all up to fate.
A large dog jumped out and dragged the man under a bush. Bai Xi touched her face and she transformed into Edward. Sensing that no one noticed, Bai Xi whistled quietly in satisfaction. She took a few steps back and stood in a corner.
“Old Phil, did you find him?” S
he glanced at Old Phil, but discovered that after sniffing around, the dog became frustrated, low whines coming from its throat.
“You can’t find him?” Bai Xi was a bit shocked, but before she could process what it meant, the crowd became lively. With two men on either side, a hunched man walked out from the darkness—It was the Pyramid King.
The Pyramid King observed the crowd around him and nodded, “Is everyone here?” Beside him, a man burly that looked like a fighter whispered into his ear. The Pyramid King instantly looked satisfied.
Under everyone’s gaze, he stepped onto a tombstone. He stood at the peak so that he could look down at the crowd’s expression. Seeing the reverent gazes, his eyes filled with joy, “You are all new members of the group. Logically, there are some requirements before you officially join our group. I’ve called you here today as a reminder,” he paused, his expression turning warm and genial, “a kind and gentle reminder.”
As the crowd started rustling, he clapped and the crowd divided. The burly man and two other underlings dragged a man out. Carried by two men, a torch was held closely to the man so the audience could see his face clearly. The crowd rustled and faint gasps sounded. Someone yelled quietly, “That’s Hudson…”
The old man’s entire body and face were covered in blood. Before everyone, he raised his head with difficulty and opened his swollen and bruised eyes. Muffled noises came from his mouth, which was practically toothless. “Sam…” The world in his eyes was dark, “I want to see Sam.”
“Oh, my dear Mr. Hudson, I’m here. Don’t be scared.” The Pyramid King moved up and lifted the man’s chin with a dagger. He studied how ‘well’ the man had been treated and nodded, satisfied.
“Long time no see, old friend.” A hoarse voice came from Hudson’s mouth. It sounded like a broken shout, as if he was trying to breathe with lungs drowning in water. “Let me go, Sam. Please,” he said with difficulty, “I just want to be a normal person…I didn’t betray you…” As he spoke, tears mixed with blood fell from his eyes. Sam Luo stared at him with a strange expression, then he burst into laughter.
“You’re still so funny, Hudson!” The Pyramid King slapped his shoulders. “Haha! A normal person? Mr. Hudson, are you joking? You betrayed me, disappeared without a word, and ran to Wales to become a normal person?!”
“I j-just wanted to stop…” Hudson defended himself. “I’ve worked for you for so many years. Sam, I’m tired. I just…I just want to quit. Why do you have to do this?” Tears of blood flowed from his eyes. He was suffocating.
“Hudson, your words hurt me.” The Pyramid King gazed at him sadly. “You’ve worked for me for so many years. I thought that I knew you well, but I can’t believe you lied to me,” he sighed. He tugged at Hudson’s hair, roaring, “No one can betray me! No one! How many years have I raised you, old dog? How many years? Then that b*tch, Shaman, came back and you want a new master?! Let me tell you, there is no place for that old fart in this city!” With a flying kick, he forced Hudson into the ditch. He jumped down and stomped on Hudson’s face.
When the poor man started gurgling, close to death, the Pyramid King finally stopped stomping. “Kruger!” He hoisted himself up with the help of an underling and commanded, “I want to build a fountain in this ditch. Come make a hole for me, and let these new kids take a shower…”
In the ditch, Hudson shut his eyes, all hope lost. But after a few moments, there was still no reply to the Pyramid King.
Stunned, Sam looked up and raised his voice, “Kruger! Kruger! Where are you, you son of a b*tch?! Get the f*ck over here!” But no one replied. The crowd grew restless, everyone stared at each other awkwardly. The Pyramid King furrowed his brows and turned toward his guards, “Where is that motherf*cker Kruger? Did he not come? I told him to come!”
The bodyguard was confused as well and shook his head, “He said he’d come in the afternoon. He should’ve arrived long ago.”
Suddenly a yell came from the crowd. Everyone looked back in shock, the crowd separated, revealing some latecomers. Under the moonlight, the men who had just arrived were deathly pale as if they had seen a ghost. A bad feeling emanated from them.
The Pyramid King’s gaze fell to their feet, to the man they had brought over. On the ground, the burly, muscular man covered in tattoos shook. As if he had some terrifying disease, he giggled. The seemingly happy sound sent chills down everyone’s spine.
“Boss! Something happened to Kruger…” A gloomy man walked forward cautiously and reported in a low and hoarse voice, “We were ambushed on our way here an hour ago.”
“How many people? Was it those Luco sons of b*tches?” Sam Luo furrowed his brows.
“O-only one…” The man swallowed, thinking back to the nightmare. “He was like a demon. He stood in the shadows and blocked our path. He asked us if we were Sam’s men and asked us for help. And then…and then,” He turned stiffly, looking at Kruger’s face, “And then Kruger turned into this…” The strong man convulsed under the pale moonlight, his body twisting into impossible angles as if a demon had taken over his body, but there was a sweet and innocent smile on his face. Looking at Sam, he giggled.
Sam’s face darkened, “What did he do?”
“W-we don’t know. He was like a shadow, and Kruger suddenly went crazy. He went crazy and wanted to kill us, and then he fell on the ground and started laughing. I swear, we must have run into a demon. You’d go crazy if you make eye contact with him. He saw me and the world went black. I don’t know what happened…”
The Pyramid King studied him. The emptiness in the strong man’s eyes was chilling, causing the underling to stumble back in terror.
The Pyramid King studied his underling and pausing after every word. He said softly, “You’re saying that a man attacked you all, and everyone was so scared you needed your mommy. And Kruger turned into a lunatic, but you didn’t even see this demon’s face?”
“N-no, we wanted to kill him, but…” the man trembled. He tried to explain, but it was impossible. In the end, he suddenly thought of something. As if grabbing for the last lifeline, he quickly said, “He-he also said to say hi to you!”
Sam was taken aback. “What did you say?” he asked. “The man wanted you to say hi for him?”
The man shook, and words spilled from him like beans from a can, “He said that he’ll come visit you tonight, and that you should light some candles…”
“Candles? What candles?”
The man gulped and said in a quivering voice, “He said that people like you do too many guilty things. There are-there are ghosts in your heart and you’ll be scared of the dark, right?”
Bang! And then a thud.
The man fell straight back. There was a hole in his forehead, with the bloody end of an arrow sticking out of his head. The arrow was mangled in a mess of blood, muscle, and bone. He stared up blankly at the moon, the pale light reflecting in his eyes. He had died with his eyes wide open.
111 Nightmare Attack
Sam Luo stood expressionless before the corpse. He tossed the bow to his bodyguard Sandro, then took out a handkerchief and blew his nose forcefully. He tossed the dirty handkerchief on the corpse and turned to leave.
After two steps, however, Sam Luo suddenly grabbed the bow from Sandro and rushed back, aiming at the corpse. He pulled back frantically, “F*ck, they, f*ck…”
Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!
As everyone held their breath, he emptied a quiver of arrows. Furious, he slammed the quiver onto the ground and yanked on Sandro’s collar. Dragging the man to his face, he roared, “Dig another ditch and get those *sses who saw the demon! I want to see them in the ditch tomorrow night, understand? Otherwise I want to see you all in there…”
Seeing his stormy expression, Sandro gulped and nodded stiffly.
Light laughter traveled with the wind. It had come from behind Sam Luo.
“Who is it?!” the Pyramid King spun around, staring at the dancing darkness behind the withered tree.
“Who’s there? Get the f*ck out!” he roared in anger, glaring at the vague shadow. As the shadow laughed, Sam motioned for his men to investigate.
Sandro gulped and shook his head, “Boss, there’s nothing there.”
“No f*cking way!” The Pyramid King raised his bow, and under everyone’s confused eyes, emptied another quiver at the tree in the shadows. In the end, the dancing darkness finally shattered, and everything looked how it should.
Panting, he threw down the bow. He grabbed a torch and marched over, but there was nobody there. There was only a shattered tombstone. The Pyramid King looked at the tombstone in shock. Putting the torch closer, the flame illuminated the name on the tombstone, as well as his deathly pale face.
Beside him, Sandro yelped and stumbled back as if he had seen a ghost.
—
The words on the tombstone were menacing under the flame’s light, “Here lies Sam Luo.” There were also a few lines of an epitaph below it:
“Buried here is a traitor, someone blind with greed, a rat.”
“Anta? Anta’s back!” Suddenly remembering something, Sandro became pale. “Boss, Anta’s back! He came back to…”
“Shut up. Anta is dead.” Sam looked at him emotionlessly. Seeing those dead eyes, Sandro trailed off. Anta’s name was definitely familiar to the senior members of the Pyramid Scheme. When the group was first created, it was not called the Pyramid Scheme. Sam was not born as the leader either. At that time, it was called the Brother Gang. Anta was the leader, and everyone respected him, uniting under him.
Anta had fled from Romulus. He had werewolf blood in him, and no one in downtown could win against this man marked by demons. He did not say much and was never greedy. He would share his profits with those who called themselves his brother and felt that he had a family like this. Sam was part of his ‘family.’
Anta had protected this bankrupt merchant. Treating him like a brother, Anta pulled him out of his quagmire of debt. Sam considered Anta as his brother too. The man had treated him so well and never asked for anything in return. Even his own father could not compare.