Chapter 19: An Inside Job

A moment later.

Zhang Hai, carrying the small tent that Zhang Xu had packed up and shoved into a bag, watched Chu Zhu return home.

"Master," Zhang Xu said with a dark expression. He was not stupid; the attitude of his teacher basically confirmed that everything Chu Zhu said was true. This was no longer just a matter of shock; his entire worldview was beginning to crumble.

In the past, whenever Zhang Xu heard rumors that priests of the God-Worshiping Sect’s Western God faction liked young boys, he had assumed they were just rumors. After all, he belonged to that very faction and had joined it as a young boy himself; why hadn't he ever encountered such things? He had even fought people multiple times to defend the sect’s reputation. But now! The sky had fallen; he had been betrayed from within.

No, the real question now was whether his master’s situation was a special case, or if it was widespread? Wait, the crucial point was to think carefully: his own childhood... no matter how he looked back on it, it was perfectly normal! His master hadn't done anything strange to him. This was truly absurd.

"That is not important," Zhang Hai said, his tone indifferent. He pondered every word he had exchanged with Chu Zhu, finally sighing, "I have long heard that this Mr. Zhu can calculate ten steps ahead for every one he takes. They say that to gain Mr. Zhu is to gain the Jinghai City that lies beneath the night. I thought it was just hearsay, but now it seems that while one shouldn't believe everything, there is a grain of truth to it."

Zhang Xu froze, breaking out in a cold sweat. True, as Zhang Hai’s disciple, even he hadn't known about his master’s sordid secrets, yet this man knew them like the back of his hand? What kind of intelligence-gathering capability was this? It was beyond human comprehension.

"And, Zhang Zihai," Zhang Hai murmured, his eyes cast down as if speaking to himself or asking Zhang Xu, "How did he know that name?" In this world, no more than five people should know that name and what it signified.

"So, Master, what do we do now?" Zhang Xu asked cautiously. "Should we destroy the evidence of your crimes and then come back to exert pressure? He shouldn't have any hard proof in his hands, and under those circumstances, he wouldn't dare act recklessly! The price of slandering the head of a major diocese, even for him..."

"Fool!" Zhang Hai flew into a rage, clenching his fist and delivering a "fist of love" to the top of Zhang Xu’s head, making him howl. "I told you to destroy evidence, to exert pressure, to bully others, to slander them? How did I raise you? How could you be like this? Who did you learn this from... how did you become corrupt so quickly?"

"Stop hitting me! Stop it!" Zhang Xu shrieked, scrambling away in a sorry state. "It’s all because of you! If the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will be too."

"Hah," Zhang Hai laughed in frustration. "I don't actually mess with young boys! What’s wrong with me playing with dolls? Are life-sized dolls a crime? Even if he exposes it, so what? At most, I’ll lose face within the God-Worshiping Sect! But what you’re talking about? That is a crime!"

"Strength can be cultivated over time! But if your character is crooked, there is no cure!"

...

Through the window, Chu Zhu watched the two leave, his expression noncommittal. He closed his eyes and continued to ponder everything that had just happened.

"No. 17 Nuwa branch unit... which means there are at least sixteen others? The two capitals must have them. But what about the rest?"

As evening approached, Chu Zhu decided to stop overthinking and prepared to go to sleep. Suddenly, he sensed something wrong. His muscles tightened instinctively, his left hand balled into a heavy fist, and he struck backward.

It was a flash of dark light.

In that moment, Chu Zhu felt his perspective shift; he saw a headless corpse. The clothes—they were so familiar!

"...So, I died? How sudden!"

The confusion made it difficult for Chu Zhu to wake up to reality.

Time reversed.

...

The light was blinding.

Chu Zhu felt dazed for a moment before clutching his head. His brain felt as if it were being pierced by needles; the pain was unbearable. He slumped onto his bed.

After a long while, he managed to sit up. "So, who was it?" Zhang Hai? It couldn't be Zhang Xu; he probably couldn't even beat Chu Zhu in a fight.

"The old charlatan is unlikely, though." Chu Zhu pondered and moved Zhang Hai down the list of suspects. He knew Zhang Hai well. The old man might be a lecher, but his character was somewhat decent. After all, other priests in the faction really did prey on young boys, but the old man only played with dolls—and in that circle, the fact that he took Zhang Xu as a disciple while only messing with dolls would actually be considered shameful. Yes, his previous threat only targeted the doll-playing; it wasn't a threat to expose him for abusing boys. Exposing the abuse of boys would just be quietly suppressed by the sect.

"But who else could it be?" Chu Zhu was deeply puzzled and began counting on his fingers. Because this was a reset, in this dream timeline, he didn't know the robbery gang... the only people he had met were Li Kang and the old priest’s group.

"Li Kang is even less likely..." Chu Zhu used the process of elimination, and then all the suspects were gone. He was stunned!

"Could it be an old enemy of mine? No, that’s impossible. I was just an ordinary person back then. If this enemy could kill me at my current level of body refinement, they could have easily killed the old me. Why wait until today? It couldn't just be a coincidence."

He couldn't figure it out. But that didn't matter.

"This is the time to use the second round of elimination!" Chu Zhu hummed, flipped over, and pulled a long storage cabinet from under his bed. It was secured with an ancient electronic lock!

He expertly entered the password and opened it. Inside were three wooden-handled grenades, two pistols, and a disassembled rifle.

He skillfully tucked the grenades into his pockets, reassembled the pistols, checked them, and chambered the rounds.

"I’m not going anywhere today... I want to see! If anyone comes to kill me tonight."

If no one showed up tonight... then he would have to prepare for the worst. Chu Zhu’s gaze was cold.

Time ticked away.

Several hours later, a knock sounded at the door.

"Mr. Zhu, are you there?" Zhang Hai’s voice came through the door, perfectly clear.

Chu Zhu did not speak.

"Um, Master Diocese! Maybe Mr. Zhu has already left? He’s always quite busy!" This was an unfamiliar, sheepish voice.

Chu Zhu knew him—a resident of the shanty district, completely unremarkable, a casual believer of the God-Worshiping Sect. In fact, Chu Zhu knew almost everyone in the several shanty districts of Jinghai City. If there were parts of his own base that he couldn't grasp... how could he claim to know sixty percent of everything that went on in Jinghai?