Chapter 550: Script in Progress

At this moment.

In the corridor outside the private room, in an inconspicuous shadow, a spider was silently clinging to the wall.

Wuji Domain???

Hearing these four words, Chen Ling’s heart skipped a beat.

Ever since the performance ended and the guests were scared away, Chen Ling hadn't left. Instead, he had been secretly exploring every corner of the dance hall. But just as he walked up to the second floor, before he could finish searching all the rooms, Li Ruohong had come up as well and headed straight for the deepest room.

Chen Ling keenly sensed that something was wrong. After all, given what had happened, Li Ruohong’s reaction was a bit too calm... If it were an ordinary person, their first thought would be of ghosts and spirits, but Li Ruohong had gone straight to Room 001, as if to confirm the situation there.

So Chen Ling had quietly moved outside the room and heard the conversation just now.

People from the Wuji Domain have already infiltrated the Red Dust Main City?

Chen Ling never expected that Li Ruohong had already made contact with people from the Wuji Domain. But thinking about it, it made sense. The Great World Dance Hall had a huge flow of people every day, and the people coming and going were a mixed bag, making it the perfect place for a rendezvous. Moreover, Li Ruohong had the identity of being Mu Chunsheng’s nephew; as long as one got close to him, one could connect with the Beidou Consortium.

The most coincidental thing was that Chen Ling had just randomly chosen a theater to monitor the casino, only to be inexplicably drawn into this. On his second day in the Red Dust Main City, he had already encountered two spies from the Wuji Domain...

Could this be the effect of the [Emperor’s Fate]?

Just as Chen Ling was pondering, Li Ruohong had already retreated from the room and headed straight down the stairs to send people to deal with the mess.

Chen Ling didn't try to sneak into the room. He could be certain that the two people inside were Divine Path possessors, and their rank was uncertain; rushing in would be too dangerous... For him, knowing that there were two spies from the Wuji Domain here was enough.

“What a pleasant surprise...” Chen Ling squinted at the deepest room, and as if thinking of something, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After fully mastering the layout of the dance hall, he quietly went to the back door, scanned a row of trash cans, casually threw a bag of things from his pocket into one, then opened his umbrella and walked away unhurriedly.

……

Red Dust Main City.

Police Headquarters.

An officer walked hurriedly through the corridor and knocked on the office door.

“Enter.”

“Chief, there’s an emergency!”

The Chief of the Headquarters, who was sitting behind his desk dealing with cases, looked up with a slight frown. He was an old man who looked to be seventy or eighty, with an unusually thick head of black hair. He wore the unique uniform of the Red Dust Main City police, and his chest was covered in medals. Just sitting there, his gaze revealed a sense of oppression.

“What is it?”

“It’s Hongfang Street...”

“Hongfang Street?” Hearing these three words, the Chief’s face darkened. “Is it that casino? Any results from the stakeout? Did you find any signs of suspected Twilight Society members?”

“No... not the casino, it’s the Great World Dance Hall not far from it.”

“Dance hall?” The Chief was stunned for a moment.

“Yes, we just received over thirty reports at the same time, all about that dance hall... It’s said that a murder happened there, and also...”

“And also what?”

“And it’s haunted!” The officer took a deep breath and repeated the statements of the witnesses. The Chief’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

“You’re saying that during the heavy rain, the dance hall’s floorboards were seeping blood... and they witnessed Li Ruohong with a blood-stained face, grinning as he slashed someone ten meters away, crashing through seven or eight tables and chairs, and the corpse vanished in the blink of an eye?”

“That’s right, everyone saw it.” The officer added, “Even our men staking out the casino entrance saw blood flowing out from the door and into the sewer.”

The Chief stood up and paced the office for a long time, wondering what he was thinking.

“Chief... could that Li Ruohong be a Divine Path possessor?” the officer asked cautiously.

“Based on the description, it’s highly likely.” The Chief said in a deep voice. “Covered in blood, slashing someone ten meters away with one strike—it sounds like the characteristics of the Soldier Divine Path [Asura] path...”

“We did a simple investigation. This Li Ruohong is the nephew of Beidou Consortium Chairman Mu Chunsheng, and this dance hall has been open for several years... Before, there were no signs of him stepping onto the Divine Path, and he was arrogant and domineering. On the contrary, he has been unusually low-key recently, as if he has restrained himself quite a bit.” The officer reported truthfully.

“Arrogant and domineering before, suddenly low-key recently... and he possesses the Divine Path?”

“Yes.” The officer seemed to remember something. “One of the people who came to report it was his personal bodyguard. According to him, Li Ruohong didn't take the murder to heart at all, and the moment it happened, he told everyone to keep it buried, strictly forbidding it from spreading...

There’s one more thing. According to him, Li Ruohong’s recent movements have been particularly mysterious. There is a private room in the Great World Dance Hall that no one is allowed to enter, and no one has ever seen anyone come out of it. Even when delivering food, they just have the manager leave it at the door.

At first, they all thought it was a mistress Li Ruohong was keeping, but then they realized something was wrong... because sometimes the things they were asked to deliver were very strange, like certain animal bones, or disgusting insect carcasses, and things similar to human skin!”

“There’s that too??”

The Chief’s face changed instantly. He sat back in his office chair, his brow furrowed into a “chuan” shape, his expression shifting...

Something is wrong.

This dance hall is twelve out of ten parts wrong!

“What about the casino? Any abnormalities found in the casino stakeout recently?” the Chief asked suddenly.

“No... it’s the same as before, no clues found.”

“The [Floating Life Painting] side also hasn't had any movement, which means they haven't detected any fluctuations of Divine Path skills in the casino either... Could our judgment really be wrong?” The Chief muttered to himself. “After the Twilight Society people snatched their companion, they weren't hiding in the Hongfang Street casino... but secretly transferred locations and are actually hiding in the dance hall?”

“Chief, what should we do next? Should we conduct a full-scale search of the dance hall?”

“No, absolutely not!”

The Chief shook his head immediately. “If that really is a Twilight Society stronghold, doing that will only alert the enemy or provoke them... Just like the measures taken against the casino, do not conduct any overt searches. Transfer some of the people responsible for the casino stakeout over there, disguise them well, and investigate secretly.

If I remember correctly, Mu Chunsheng’s birthday banquet is coming up soon, and Li Ruohong will definitely go to offer his congratulations... At that time, we can have our people try to investigate more deeply, provided they ensure they won't be exposed.

As for the [Floating Life Painting] side, I will contact them and have them send people to watch the Great World Dance Hall as well, to see if they can discover anything.”

“Understood!”