Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Man in the Mask

“Why isn’t it working this time? Was it all just coincidence before?” Jin Yueyun began to doubt herself.

“You’ve got too much time on your hands. And what’s this about a Seraph? Even if he really is a Seraph, how could some foreign angel take care of things in China?” her friend grumbled while letting go of her.

“I’m done.” Jin Yueyun sighed, tossing the rope aside and slumping onto the sofa, arms crossed, cheeks puffed in frustration. “What a waste of time.”

“We still have work to do. We can’t keep playing with you.”

“Fine, I’ll treat you two to dinner next time,” Jin Yueyun replied, her spirits low, her lips pouting. Deep down, she still had her doubts about Ye Qiu’s identity.

If Ye Qiu was just President Liu’s younger brother, there was no way he’d have the guts to provoke someone like Young Master Liu. Not to mention Liu Yiran—even the whole Ye-Liu Group combined couldn’t match the wealth of Liu’s family.

Could it be that he simply acted out of a sense of justice?

There was a knock at the door. Jin Yueyun assumed her friends had forgotten something, but when she opened the door, she froze.

A stranger stood there, wearing a mask.

She didn’t know why, but the moment she saw him, an icy chill crept over her.

“You…”

She had barely spoken when a cold, menacing dagger pressed against her pale neck.

“Shhh.”

He made a silencing gesture, lips curling into a grin, though his cheeks remained stiff, exuding an inexplicable aura of terror.

He glanced at her phone and pointed.

“You want me to make a call?” Jin Yueyun was baffled. “To whom?”

He shook his head and pointed at her chest.

Panic seized Jin Yueyun. She stumbled back, arms crossed protectively over her chest, staring in terror at the masked stranger.

This guy had to be a foreigner.

In China, people who wore masks usually covered their mouths and noses, leaving their eyes exposed. Only foreigners wore masks that covered their eyes and left their mouths and noses visible. His facial structure fit that, too.

“What do you want? I’m warning you, you’re in China. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Whoever offends China, no matter how far, will be punished’?”

“Heh heh…” The masked man’s lips curled again, his voice as grating as fingernails clawing down a pane of glass, sending shivers down her spine.

Even though it was daytime, Jin Yueyun felt her legs weaken with fear.

“Pray.”

“What?”

“Pray.” The masked man pressed the blade harder against her neck, the chill making her shudder.

“You want me to pray to the Seraph?”

He nodded.

“All right.” Deep down, Jin Yueyun was curious to know whether Ye Qiu truly was the Seraph. Maybe he had seen through her earlier prank.

Compelled by some unknown force, she began to pray. “Great Seraph…”

She had barely uttered the words when the masked man struck her neck with the edge of his hand. Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the floor.

The masked man quickly surveyed the room, hollowed out the sofa’s padding, and placed Jin Yueyun on top. He then slipped into the space inside the hollowed sofa himself. The entire process took only a few minutes, leaving no trace of change in the furnishings.

Everything appeared perfectly ordinary.

…

“Manager Ye, this is the dormitory the company arranged for Yueyun,” Peach said. The dormitory was close to the company. She retrieved a key from under the doormat and was about to open the door when Ye Qiu stopped her hand. “Peach, I’m a bit thirsty. Would you mind going down to buy me a bottle of water?”

“Ah?” Peach was startled, her eyes flashing with a strange light, but she nodded eagerly.

If you don’t make requests, a relationship never moves forward. Although it was a bit straightforward, the gesture made Peach secretly delighted.

“No trouble at all. I’ll go right away.”

She practically skipped toward the elevator.

As Peach entered the elevator, Ye Qiu slowly opened the door.

Though it was broad daylight, the curtains were tightly drawn, making the room dim. Only the vague outlines of the furnishings were visible.

A girl lay on the sofa. From the shape, it was obviously Jin Yueyun.

Earlier, Yun Yan had warned him. The trembling tone of Jin Yueyun’s prayer over the phone was markedly different from her earlier mischief—clear evidence that she was in danger.

Ye Qiu didn’t know who the intruder was, but the moment he opened the door, he sensed this was no ordinary person.

He studied the room with the silent patience of a lion stalking prey.

Inside the sofa, the masked man heard the door open, but no footsteps followed.

This one was cautious.

He was sure this was his intended target.

Usually, once someone confirmed the area was safe, they would check on the person on the sofa. At that moment, most let down their guard. No one would ever expect a person to be hiding inside the sofa.

He believed that as soon as Ye Qiu approached Jin Yueyun, he would have the perfect chance for a fatal strike.

“Chubby girl?”

Ye Qiu slowly moved closer to the sofa, stopping a meter away.

It was indeed Jin Yueyun.

Her chest rose and fell—she was breathing, just unconscious.

Several minutes passed.

At last, Ye Qiu walked over and pressed a finger to her philtrum.

Suddenly—

A cold blade, gleaming with a sinister light, shot through the sofa, aiming straight for Ye Qiu’s chest.

Bang.

At the very instant when the dagger should have pierced Ye Qiu’s chest, the assassin realized the blade could move no further.

In the darkness, a pair of bone-chilling eyes, as deep as the abyss, glared at him through the slit the dagger had made.

The masked man’s heart pounded with terror.

He saw that the man had caught his dagger between just two fingers.

Those eyes.

They were horrifying.

Like a demon crawling out of hell.

Fear welled up within the masked man for reasons he could not explain. He summoned all his strength, trying to drive the dagger forward.

“Die.”

It was only the second time he’d spoken.

But in the next instant, his pupils dilated in shock—the dagger, crafted from special steel meant to slice through iron, snapped with a loud crack.

Panic seized him. Before he could react, a massive hand, as if blocking out the sun, reached through the gap, seizing him and rendering him powerless. The next thing he knew, his strength had returned, but his body was already flying through the air.

Boom.

He crashed hard into the wall.

Impossible.

He tried desperately to flee, but those abyssal eyes, cold and mocking, watched him like a cat toying with a mouse—waiting for it to run, only to seize it again and, once bored, end its life.