The Scum Is A ***

"Ling Yun might lose." Cheng Sheng spoke.

"Huh? Why?" they were surprised.

"He is distracted." Cheng Sheng answered as he rose from his seat. "And that's because he saw something. I have to find it before his match starts." He said as he fixed his wrinkled sleeve, which only wrinkled more.

There is an intermission between the matches thus the next match, which is Ling Yun's, still hasn't started yet. Xi Ming, Xi Xing, Shu Mu and Xiao Le immediately rose from their seats and followed Cheng Sheng when they saw him left.

Everyone who also wanted to follow but those four reacted faster than them.. "…" damn it. They thought. It's because Xi Ming, Xi Xing, Shu Mu and Xiao Le have been working with Cheng Sheng since months ago and they even went to the Abyss to rescue Fei Yin! Them who haven't worked with Cheng Sheng aside from five years ago can't compare with Xi Ming, Xi Xing, Shu Mu and Xiao Le's cooperation with Cheng Sheng.

They wanted to also help Cheng Sheng even just with slightest task but they can't find the chance.

The Xinfaxian Sect elders, and also Chen Han, naturally felt more aggrieved. They are the closest to Cheng Sheng yet they can't even help Cheng Sheng! What friends/brother are they?! They thought. But, they also know that Cheng Sheng isn't doing this to make them feel wronged. It's because he doesn't feel it is necessary for them to act.

They comforted (deceived) themselves this way and returned to their seats. Meanwhile, Cheng Sheng, together with his four very helpful helpers split up in three groups. Shu Mu and Xiao Le went to the left while Xi Ming and Xi Xing went right.

Cheng Sheng took out Bai Tan, the Shapeshifting Blanket, and had it turn invisible before he made it wrapped around himself, turning his whole body invisible. Then, he approached Ling Yun. "Don't move nor blink nor do anything aside from breathing." He whispered when he saw Xi Ming went to Zheng Yi and had Zheng Yi convey the message to the sect leaders to not panic.

Ling Yun, as told, didn't made any extra movement.

"Don't think of anything and just fight on stage. I'll resolve the problem." Cheng Sheng told Ling Yun. "Don't make your uncle feel disappointed in you." He added before he left.

When Cheng Sheng left, Ling Yun clenched his fists. His fellow disciples thought he was nervous and comforted him. Ling Yun smiled at them before he closed his eyes, then relaxed himself. I also couldn't disappoint elder Cheng Sheng. He thought and opened his eyes. His usual confidence and elegant demeanor returned.

…

Cheng Sheng left and met with Shu Mu and Xiao Le while Xi Ming and Xi Xing remained on their posts. Cheng Sheng whispered to Shu Mu and Xiao Le before the two went to a different direction.

Cheng Sheng figured out that what Ling Yun has seen should have been out of the scope of his gaze, and should be farther thus he can't feel any strange presence. So, when he went to where Ling Yun was sitting, he saw it.

It was lying on the open roof of the venue, just straight above the area where the sect leaders are sitting. The Yuling Sect are directly across the sect leaders' area so that Yu Wen can see them his disciples. It should be just inadvertently, since no one would look at the roof, thus when Ling Yun accidentally saw it, maybe because he was nervous due to his match, he froze and became distracted.

The area where Cheng Sheng and the other elders are sitting is just in line with the sect leaders' area, just on their left side. Thus, Cheng Sheng couldn't see it, and, as said above, no one would look at the roof, thus Cheng Sheng didn't see it earlier.

In the next instant, Xi Ming and Xi Xing disappeared. The figure on the roof saw Shu Mu and Xiao Le are looking at it directly which made it startled. Thinking that it should scare them, it evilly grinned at the two. But, what it didn't expect is for the two to grin back at it, indicating that they really saw it and that they aren't afraid of it.

Or… is it that it was already been caught in their trap? Just as it thought this, it suddenly felt that its body became very heavy, as if something is weighing down on it. Because of the heavy weight, the roof where it was lying on even had cracked slightly.

"Hey. Don't be too hard!" Xi Xing told Xi Ming. "We might also fall if the roof breaks!" he said.

"Okay!" Xi Ming nodded and did the second step: Spirit Locking.

The figure on the roof, which is a spirit servant, felt its whole body froze. It stared wide-eyed to the direction where it saw Shu Mu and Xiao Le, but then saw that the two are now gone. "No… master!" it cried in alarm. But then it suddenly felt a searing pain on the root of its spine where it and its master are connected.

Its master was attacked! Its master's life is in danger!

"FCK!" Xi Ming cursed when he heard the spirit servant screeched in pain and also panic. Fortunately, only he, the holder of the Spirit Tracing Bell, could hear the spirit servant's voice thus no one beneath the roof has noticed something.

Then, suddenly, Xi Ming felt something warm on his lips. He lowered his gaze and saw Xi Xing kissed him. He felt that the pain in his ears were gone.

"Good." Cheng Sheng spoke behind them.

Xi Ming blinked. "What?" he muttered and turned to Cheng Sheng.

"You would have turned deaf had you continued listening to the spirit servant." Cheng Sheng spoke as he glanced at the spirit servant writing in pain on the spot. "Because you have been connected with it through the Spirit Tracing Bell, you felt sympathy and so you can hear its thoughts. You can also choose to save it, and also convey your thoughts to it." He explained before he turned back to Xi Ming. "So, I had Xi Xing kiss you to distract you from the spirit servant's self-destruction." He told him.

Xi Ming's lip twitched but then he focused on the serious matter at hand. "'self-destruction'?" he asked.

"It should have been given an unconditional order by its master through their contract to self-destruct if it feels its master will die so that its life energy would be transferred to its master." Cheng Sheng explained and then cut the thread that the three of them are currently seeing, with Xi Ming and Xi Xing using the Visual Origin Talisman to see it.

As soon as the thread was cut, two voices crying in pain can be heard. The one is by the spirit servant, and the other should be of its master. But, unfortunately for its master, his cry won't be heard by everyone in the venue who are watching the Intersect Competition, nor any passersby, since Cheng Sheng had already given the others an order to erect a barrier surrounding the venue of the Intersect Competition to prevent anyone inside from hearing noises outside. Also, to erect the same barrier to where Shu Mu and Xiao Le are, as well as the spirit servant's master.

"It still self-destructed." Cheng Sheng sighed when they saw the spirit servant's figure is disappearing. "It was an unconditional order and we, outsiders, can't do anything about it." He frowned.

"Cheng Sheng!" Shu Mu called as he and Xiao Le ran towards him.

They turned. "… failed?" Cheng Sheng spoke.

Shu Mu nodded with a grave expression. "We have stopped him from stabbing himself but we didn't expect – " he took a deep breath to calm himself because of the anger he felt earlier.

Xiao Le continued for him. "The body suddenly dissolved like a water, and the liquid remained even evaporated!" he told them.

Xi Ming and Xi Xing were shocked.

Cheng Sheng's brows knitted. "Poison?" he guessed.

Shu Mu and Xiao Le nodded since that's what they also guessed.

Cheng Sheng heaved a sigh. "They sure are very prepared. They can't risk us catching any of them to be interrogated." He spoke. "Either they die, or they will die." He said.

"… what's the difference of the two?" they asked, puzzled.

"The first one is them committing suicide. The second one – " Cheng Sheng lowered his gaze. " – should be what you have seen." He told them.

"… we still don't get it." Xi Xing honestly said.

Cheng Sheng looked at them. "What's the difference of the past and present's situation?" he asked them.

The four of them fell silent before their eyes widened when they realized it. "Corpses." They answered.

Cheng Sheng nodded. "Before, we can still see their people's corpses… well, their spirit servant's corpses, since their masters have fled." He spoke. "But now when we're close to catching one of them to interrogate after we prevented him from committing suicide, he dissolved his corpse." He looked at them. "There must be something in the bodies, or the corpses, of the master of these spirit servants." He said.