274 Pirate (2/2)

After a few hours, Lin Xiao and Hei Gou returned to the courtyard followed by an entourage of people who were more than eager to win their attention in the hopes of getting something good in return.

When the pair saw that Xue Wei and Bia Tianyi were both there, big smiles appeared on their lips and their moods immediately lifted. Hopefully, they were now closer to the solution of the mystery they were trying to solve, but when they saw the contemplating expressions on their two companions' faces, they understood that things were not as simple as they'd hoped.

”What happened?” Lin Xiao was the first to ask about what had happened when he saw their puzzling and concentrated expressions. Xue Wei quickly briefed them on their discovery of the marks on the ninth floor's walls.

”Do you think it has something to do with the ten missing people a day?” Hei Gou asked. It made sense that they had something to do with one another, but it was not something they could prove unless they managed to get their hands on some evidence.

Silence descended upon the room. All of them were deep in thought, pondering what to do with their next step.

”I think we have to enter the forbidden area,” Bai Tianyi finally said, breaking the silence. ”Who knows, the forbidden area might be one big mass grave for the people who are sacrificed in the Soul Tower.”

This was Bai Tianyi's wish. If they could find out that the daily ten missing people were sacrificed for or at the Soul Tower, and that the dead bodies were dumped at the academy, they could quickly announce their findings and finish the detective work that had been dropped onto their laps like a hot potato. If it proved to not be a mass grave filled with corpses sacrificed for the Soul Tower, then Bai Tianyi would truly start to get scared.

Lin Xiao and Hei Gou had not personally witnessed the scratch marks on the ninth floor, so they did not know how bad it truly was, but both Bai Tianyi and Xue Wei were aware that whoever had been up there had been extremely desperate, their actions completely disregarding their wellbeing. The scratches were deep, and the blood wasn't a light pattering but rather large trails.

After contemplating for a bit, Xue Wei considered Bai Tianyi's suggestion and nodded his head. ”We should. If the people who go missing every day truly have something to do with the Soul Tower, then the corpses have to be dumped somewhere.”

”Since they have to be dumped somewhere, the easiest explanation would be in the forbidden area as everywhere else would be far too risky.”

Lin Xiao and Hei Gou were both fine with the suggestion. They looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders. They had spent every day together and had turned into very good friends during this period of time.

They found that their thought process was actually quite similar, so they could get along quite well. As one of the traits of their personality, they both wished to be in the center of the hurricane, they wanted to experience the storm together with their friends, and they wanted to find out what exactly could be hidden in the forbidden area too.

They had previously tried to find out more about it, but everything they had tried had been for naught so far, the only thing they knew were the rumors of the legendary figure that had built the Garden of Shadows. But even if the forbidden area had been for her, it should be impossible for her to still be alive, and thus the forbidden area was likely to have been turned into something else entirely.

”When do we set out?” Hei Gou questioned, as he straightened his back and looked at the rest of them with eagerness in his eyes. He had, indeed, been bored recently, and needed something exciting to keep his reflexes sharp.

”We will go tonight,” Xue Wei decided as he looked out the window. The sun was starting to set, but although it was turning night, that did not mean that the academy would quieten down.

These people were all cultivators, and thus almost never really needed to sleep—only if they felt completely mentally exhausted. This meant that no one wanted to waste time and thus they continued to rush back and forth through their residences and the training facilities at the academy throughout the night.

Although the night was almost as busy as day-time, it was still easier to move around without being noticed as the darkness was a great cover from prying eyes.

With the plan in mind, Xue Wei and the others rested up for a few hours until it was soon approaching midnight, where they then settled together inside Xue Wei's room once more.

”We will be leaving shortly,” Xue Wei reminded them. ”We cannot be noticed sneaking into the forbidden area. Although we were told to solve this mystery, they will not approve of us solving the case this way so easily.”

A different voice suddenly came from the door, ”The mystery is not the worst problem in Yan Dalu. In fact, the biggest problem is the intrigues, schemes and so on. You are likely to be in deep trouble now that you are here.”, The voice was much less masculine than that of any of the four young men who were seated in the room,it was clearly the voice of a woman, and Xue Wei frowned as he looked at the door.

Shockingly enough, it was the King who stood outside the door. Her eyes were focused on Xue Wei, her lips drawn into the beautiful arc of a smile as she leaned against the doorframe.

”Oh, the King is so free that she is capable of escaping to the Garden of Shadows?” Xue Wei asked with a slight smile on his lips as he got up to clear a chair for her.

”I was so busy that my head was about to explode,” the King said before laughing slightly, ”I never liked working much, but it is, unfortunately, necessary if one wishes to be a King. Truth be told, I never really wanted to be the King though, I always had ambitions about becoming a pirate.”

Xue Wei's eyebrow rose, and he could not help but chuckle when he heard the King's words. Being a King was not good enough; she wanted to be a pirate instead