"As you wish."
Faust danced with joy in excitement, enjoying the sweet pain and anger. He opened his mouth and loudly sang the words of a poem:
"A ritual, ten times of gluttony, the bones of a hundred people, the eyes of a thousand birds, and ten thousand venomous snakes!
He died in a spiritual coffin, which was why he wept. He transformed in hell, and thus perished.
The shadow of rebirth attaches itself to the wings, and the dormant birds will fly into the sky! "
Crack!
It was the sound of the armrest breaking under the angry clench.
Ai Qing gritted her teeth and did not speak.
His most precious treasure had only been exchanged for a useless prophecy poem?
After the great poetic mood, Faust stroked his hair in a refreshed manner, raised his head, and looked down at the pair of eyes, as if he could see the raging lava under the ice. He grinned.
"You have one last question left."
Ai Qing did not speak.
Faust waited calmly.
Until she finally calmed down and asked her last question.
"… Will someone lose their life because of this in the Astronomy Society?"
Faust raised his eyebrows.
He leaned forward with his crutches, leaned closer, and carefully looked at Ai Qing's face, admiring her calm expression. He watched quietly until he saw the desire for an answer in her eyes. Only then did he reveal an evil smile.
"Do you want to know?"
He chuckled and stared at her with wide eyes. "Do you want to know? Do you really, really want to know? "
Ai Qing did not speak.
"You should have a better question. What made you weak, little girl?" Faust admired her face in amazement and said proudly, "I know who you want to ask, so there's no need to beat around the bush. I can tell you the answer."
"But —"
He paused and said the price that was almost a joke.
"— I want your tears."
"Can't do it."
In the silence, Ai Qing looked at him coldly. "I don't have that kind of thing."
"Then you are destined to not get an answer. Haha, hahahaha, hahahaha … "
Faust laughed heartily, as if the devil who had peeped into a person's heart was mocking his master. "Why do you still care about people other than yourself, little girl? Don't you hate everything? You hate the Ascended, you hate the powerless, you hate the strong, and you hate the weak.
You hate those who have happiness, but those who have lost everything do not earn your pity.
Is it really necessary for you to hate me? "
"Forget it!"
He grinned maliciously, tearing open the last scar. "Isn't the one you hate the most yourself?"
Ai Qing didn't say anything.
It was as if he didn't hear anything.
"You will suffer for eternity, never to be free."
Faust grinned, his forked tongue stirring the venomous saliva in his mouth. "Nobody can save you, little girl. Your heart has long been left in hell, in a lonely place where even demons can't survive!"
"You will suffer eternally, just as you will be forever alone!"
"If it's just loneliness and pain, is it something to be afraid of?"
Ai Qing finally raised her eyes and said softly, "Since you are happy enough, it's my turn next —"
At that moment, Faust's eyes widened.
He bent down.
He stared at his abdomen in astonishment, at the dagger that had gone into the hilt.
The dagger was pulled out.
A bright holy light emerged from the spine of the dagger, evaporating the drops of black blood with a sizzling sound.
This was the farewell gift she had prepared with great care.
Bang!
His body shook and collapsed again, little by little turning into an ink-stained mosquito and was pulled back into the violently flipping book.
"Go back to your hell, Faust." Ai Qing looked at him indifferently. "Enjoy the eternal life and omniscience that even your slaves would pity."
"No, I will look forward to —"
In pain, the demon cast a mocking glance at the mortal world. "The next time you and I meet, the price you will pay …"
The figure disappeared.
The armored man's hand that held the sword clenched and relaxed. In the end, he did not do anything.
Although she was suspected of damaging relics at the border, Ai Qing did not break any rules.
Therefore, the pages of the book closed, and the shackles came again.
His sealed eyes seemed to look at Ai Qing. After a long time, he retracted his gaze, turned into a phantom, and left.
In the silence, the study returned to silence.
After a long time.
Suddenly, a phone rang.
The caller ID showed — Unknown.
.
The phone rang persistently, as if waiting for her response until she reached out and pressed the answer button.
"Who is this?"
"Xiao Qing? It's me, Qi Wen. Do you still remember Third Uncle Qi? "
Warm laughter came from the phone, and a slightly old voice said, "Sorry, sorry, I suddenly called. Did I disturb you?
When I heard from the old master that you were in Xin Hai, I was shocked. Why didn't you come to my place after such a long time? "
The old man on the phone sighed. "Coincidentally, your cousin just came back from America. You young people must have a lot in common. You should interact more … How about I ask him to pick you up tomorrow, and you can come to my place for a meal?"
"…"
Ai Qing listened silently. She suppressed the unhappiness and gloominess in her heart. She had enough of this old man who took advantage of his seniority.
"Mr. Qi, there is no need for a meal. I have been busy with work recently."
"We are family. There is no need to be so distant. Are you still angry at your family? Blood is thicker than water. There is no hatred that cannot be resolved. " Third Uncle Qi sighed with melancholy. "If you are really angry, I will apologize to you, okay?
The old master will be celebrating his 100th birthday in a few months. Don't be angry with him anymore. Every time there is a festival, the old master will ask if Xiao Qing is back. Is Xiao Qing back? He calls you, but you always don't pick up. No matter how important work is, is it more important than family?
Moreover, didn't the old master do it for your own good back then? Look, in the end, your father still succeeded in ascending. Even you are showing signs of awakening your source substance … "
Crack.
A crack appeared on the pen in Ai Qing's hand.
In the silence, Ai Qing lowered her eyes. She could no longer hide the gloominess and anger that seeped into her bones.
She let the person on the other end of the phone chatter on for a long time until he shut up.
"Mr. Qi, let's end the boring conversation here. I still have work to do, so let's end it here."
She said, "Finally, please remember that my name is Ai Qing."
"Ai as in mugwort leaves, Qing as in sky."
"… Since you think that way, I have nothing else to say."
In the silence, Qi Wen did not say anything else. He only sighed. "The old master often tells us something. Children who do not come home will suffer outside."
The dial tone came.
The phone was hung up.
Ai Qing calmly put down the phone with an expressionless face.
If good news was like a dove that never arrived, then bad news was like a Crow that always came in groups and then kept leaving behind stinking feces, leaving behind a disgusting mess.
They would erupt in one place.
At the time you least expected, in the place you least expected.
Now, not only was there a problem with the work of the returned people and the vicious fable left behind by Faust, but the pressure from her family was also blocking her at the most inappropriate time.
Even though this pressure had long been within her expectations.
She had long been aware of how precious she was as a puppet.
Whether it was from her family's standpoint or her personal judgment, she would not allow herself to drift away from the Yin family.
After declining for nearly a hundred years, the current Yin family had finally recovered with great difficulty, but it was already far away from its original prominent position. If they wanted to recover their former glory, who knew how long it would take.
Compared to the long-established aristocrats abroad, a few decades could be said to be short. There were many examples of them returning to the peak of power after enduring humiliation for more than a hundred years.
Of course, there were even more corpses that did not survive.
This was a long gamble where everything was at stake. Every bargaining chip was crucial. In other words, in order to achieve this goal, every clansman, whether it was the main branch or the side branch, was an incomparably precious consumable.
Moreover, Ai Qing had already become the inspector of the astronomical society. Even if she was just a newcomer, the hidden power behind her could reach an astonishing level when necessary.
It could be foreseen that the Yin family was already prepared to participate in this struggle between the main party representing the five mainstays and the border party representing the border.
Perhaps they had already made a bet.
And what role would she play in their plan?
Forcing her tired brain to operate, Ai Qing actually began to envy the fat professor in the long silence.
At least when he needed it, he could find a large amount of heat anytime and anywhere.
Unlike her, she could only add sweet sugar cubes to her coffee time and time again.
What made her wary was not the family, at least not yet.
But this phone call.
What did it mean?
A warning? A warm notice to save her family? Or something else?
It should not be just that.
Unreasonably, she had a premonition that Qi Wen did not only represent the Yin family.
Even if the Yin Family had given him a lot of support over the years, if one thought about it with their feet, how could Qi Wen, that old ghost who held a lot of potential power in his hands, be so obedient as to flatter the Yin Family over such a matter?
Was his goal really that simple?
No matter how sincere his words were, she still felt a hint of something else from Qi Wen, as if he was hiding something.
Even those seemingly sincere persuasions seemed to be probing for something.
Even if she had never had any contact with them, she knew how much power the Qi family had in this gradually declining small city.
It was almost like the Huai family back then.
On the surface, the Qi family had been focused on shipping and logistics all these years, but in the dark, there was probably a lot of smuggling.
But was this kind of thing rare?
It could be said that it was commonplace. It was like living off the mountain and drinking water. With so many coastal routes, if they did not smuggle, would they still be human?
This kind of thing could not be stopped. With Qi Wen's shrewdness, he would definitely not go personally and leave any evidence behind.
So, what exactly was he testing?
What did he want from her, a censor who was almost like a decoration?
She pondered silently. After a long time, she let out a long breath. It seemed that no matter what, she had to investigate all the hidden dangers at once …
In addition, the necessary precautions had to be put on the agenda.
After pondering for a while, she picked up the phone.
"Hello, City Library Archives Management Room. Who is this?"
"Professor?"
Ai Qing asked. "Other than the investigation of the Savior Society, help me find out all the movements of the Qi family in the past few years. Hurry up."
There was the sound of writing on the other end of the phone. Soon, a low voice answered, "Okay, I've already recorded it. The price is still the same as before. For urgent orders, it will be 30% higher. Is that okay?"
"Up to you. I only want results."
"One day."
The professor answered. Then, the phone call ended.
Ai Qing put down the phone expressionlessly, but the uneasiness in her heart grew stronger.
After a long time, she closed her eyes and sighed tiredly.
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