Mingshen was continuing his own chase inside a seemingly well-crafted passage behind the podium. If not for him keeping an eye on the leader, he would have never figured out the mode of escape.
He reached into a basent by climbing down the stairs and the stench of mold invaded his nostrils. His brows furrowed. A small hole on the top of the wall was the only source of so dim light in the old basent.
He was scanning his surroundings when he suddenly ca to a halt. He felt a presence. Years of his Underworld training had molded his body and senses to detect blood lust. Now he was feeling it to his very bones.
"You are here," he smiled. "My oh my, your killing intent is intense."
Feeling a very light brush of air tingle the hair at the back of his neck, Mingshen sharply moved aside. The leader appeared out of his nowhere, his mask still on. But this ti, he carried a small, shiny dagger in his hand.
"That was quick..." Mingshen muttered. He smiled a mont later. "That was a cold welco. I ca here as promised. Weren’t you going to show-"
The leader leapt at him, his dagger aid straight at his center mass, that was his chest. Mingshen was forced to dodge again and he clicked his tongue.
"Very impatient. Weren’t you going to show your magical vial of recovery?"
The leader stared at him through his mask but didn’t reply.
"Why are you suddenly so mum? You were very passionate in your speech at the stage though," Mingshen tilted his head.
In a second’s notice, it seed as if the leader disappeared from his spot only to reappear in front of Mingshen with his foot aid at his face. But Mingshen caught his ankle and twisted him, bringing his own fist to land at his face. But instead of retaliating, the leader jumped agilely, dodging his jab in the nick of the ti.
Mingshen’s eyes narrowed. "Cool. You are very nimble and agile with your movents. They are as fluid as water. This is not your first ti, right? You are used to fighting."
The leader said nothing.
"You are very adept in it. An amateur wouldn’t have been able to dodge my jab. And an amateur wouldn’t have realized that I was holding a needle in between my fingers coated with a paralyzing agent."
Mingshen’s eyes glinted with thrill. "That’s why you didn’t block my fist but jumped away. You didn’t want to get pricked by this nasty little thing~" he showed the needle to him.
Silence.
"Co on if you can use a dagger then I can have my own weapon, right?" He innocently blinked.
The leader clenched his jaw.
Mingshen smiled. "So our dear leader is not only the guiding light for the lost souls but a guiding light who knows how to fight. Cool. Not only a fighter but sobody who knows about dicine too."
The leader kicked an empty carton box in his direction to distract him. He swiftly bent in response and the sliver of his dagger was already too close to slash across his eyes. Mingshen bent his neck, the tal of the knife passing just above his face.
Mingshen tried to grab his ankle to kick him off balance. The leader hopped away but not before Mingshen finally earning a score.
Grabbing his scalpel from his pocket, he managed to land a deep stab on his leg, making the leader escape a grunt. By now, Mingshen was thoroughly impressed. It had been years since his enemy was able to put up a fight against him.
Mingshen got up on his feet, dusting his clothes. "The gemstone pendant was just a farce. People were thinking that you were exhibiting so Godly powers, but you weren’t. It was just an excuse to hold his shoulders. You had concealed a patch on your palm. You were massaging his neck and shoulders to apply a sedative, right?"
Mingshen could feel the leader’s expression darkening even though he couldn’t see his face. He was slightly breathing hard as blood oozed out of his fresh wound.
"The sedative was mild but fast-acting so the teen’s senses quickly dulled down. Which one was it? Valium? Ativan? Xanax? Versed? Atarax?"
Mingshen sighed with the leader’s silence. "Is it world silence day or sothing? I like to have a conversation, you know~"
Suddenly, he paused and stared at the leader, sothing dawning upon him.
"Huh. You were so confident in talking before," he tilted his head, "But now you are shying away as if a snake bit you or sothing. You...lost your voice changer machine."
It wasn’t a question but a statent. But it didn’t seem like it rattled the leader that much.
Mingshen chuckled. "That’s why you are hesitating to talk. You don’t want to talk because you don’t want to get your real voice out. What, do you think I am recording you or sothing?"
He didn’t respond.
Mingshen then realized a second important thing, which made his eyes squint.
"I know you."
The silence sohow felt even steeper than before.
Mingshen’s brow arched higher and higher. "I know you in the sense that if you talk, then I will recognize who you are. You don’t have to take off your mask because your voice will be enough in itself."
His smile grew wider with the gritting quietness. "So you...had recognized back at the hall when I talked to you because we have t before. You know who I am and you know that I will know who you are once you talk."
The leader sprang up at him but to Mingshen’s surprise, he didn’t launch an attack. He instead slamd his hand against the wall. A sharp hissing sound arose from sowhere where Mingshen couldn’t pinpoint the source. But what he did know that white, dense fus of gas began to spread across the basent.
Mingshen quickly covered his nose to prevent himself from inhaling it. He couldn’t see the leader’s figure anymore.
Is he planning to use the visibility card to attack from my blindside? Neat~
He didn’t move but his keen senses didn’t dull for a mont. His range of visibility was surely affected but not his focus.
The fog slowly cleared away and Mingshen saw nobody. The basent was empty. He assud the gas was a trick to lower his defenses and increase his confusion. But it was simply a ruse to get away. Mingshen hadn’t even heard a sound of his escape.
"Huh...And here I was just getting ward up," he pouted and looked away. "Spicy is going to kill for losing him, right?
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