# 236
Chapter 236 – Bail Out
The tavern owner’s heart sank the moment he heard those words; a bad premonition flashed through him.
Right then, Lin Qiye—Mumu on his back—shot toward him like lightning!
Gritting his teeth, the tavern owner anchored a strand of silk from his shoe into the aircraft, flung himself backward, and vaulted off the roof of the plane, plummeting toward the city far below.
Lin Qiye instantly read his intent, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
“Mumu.”
“Heave-ho!”
A bandage whiplashed from Mumu’s palm, looped around the fuselage, and cinched tight. Lin Qiye yanked to test the strength, then—still carrying Mumu—leapt after the falling man!
Wind howled!
They went into free-fall, weightlessness flooding Lin Qiye’s senses, but months in the training camp had drilled such drops into his bones.
More bandages kept unreeling from Mumu’s tiny frame—an endless white ribbon that never seemed to run out.
Against the black sky, two silhouettes dropped one after another, racing toward the lights of the city.
Ground level—
“H-he-he-he… they both jumped off the plane!!” Hongying squinted upward, stupefied.
Every member of Team 136 saw the stunt; Lin Qiye’s madness left them speechless.
Leng Xuan lowered his binoculars and said calmly, “Relax. He tied something like a rope to the plane. He’ll be fine.”
Chen Muye exhaled a bitter laugh. “That little maniac…”
…
Mid-air.
Seeing Lin Qiye still chasing, the tavern owner panicked. He’d only jumped to dodge the attack; with his Freakish Silk he could re-board at will—he never expected the lunatic to follow!
Still, relief came quickly: Lin Qiye had jumped later; under identical gravity he could never close the gap.
The thought had barely formed when Mumu on Lin Qiye’s back ballooned a size larger; bandages parted to reveal twin jet nozzles.
WHOOSH—!!
Blazing jets erupted. Lin Qiye became a human missile, streaking straight for the tavern owner!
Tavern owner: !!!!
Eyes wide with horror, he watched the crimson-caped figure rocket downward, hands settling on the hilts at his waist, golden light igniting in his pupils.
CLANG—!!
Twin blades flashed free.
Between the bright city and the dark heavens, a dark-red form wearing a fire-breathing backpack seared across the sky like a falling comet.
Two brilliant arcs of steel bloomed in mid-air.
The tavern owner’s head flipped skyward again; invisible threads tried to yank it back—only for a bandage-wrapped little hand to grab his hair while another feverishly taped explosives around his neck.
Job finished, Lin Qiye and his Mumu-brand booster rocketed away.
A titanic explosion blossomed overhead, a second sun that burned for long seconds before fading.
Charred scraps rained down; that much plastic explosive detonating inside a body meant even Sea-realm rapid regeneration was useless.
To be sure, Lin Qiye swept the air with mental power; only when no life-sign remained did Mumu begin reeling bandages back in as they rose toward the aircraft again.
The tavern owner was dead, but the affair wasn’t over.
Halfway up, Lin Qiye remembered something and glanced at the city below.
“The Freakish Silk… must’ve been blown away with his body.” He sighed. Not a top-tier forbidden artifact, but handy—yet finding an invisible thread in a bustling metropolis was needle-in-a-haystack hopeless.
He shook off the thought and climbed.
…
Cockpit.
An Qingyu, expressionless, sliced the last Ten-Slice Ghost Child. The other corpses dissolved, leaving only the true body—now lifeless—at his feet.
“So this was the original…” He knelt, grey light spreading through his eyes as he studied it.
A rap on the windshield interrupted him. Lin Qiye was outside, smashing frost with his pommel before climbing in.
An Qingyu re-froze the breach and turned. “Owner dealt with?”
“Done.” Lin Qiye nodded. “Pity about the artifact…”
“Artifact?”
Lin Qiye summarized. An Qingyu’s eyes glinted.
“As long as it’s still in Cangnan City, we’ll find it—eventually.” He sounded intrigued. “But we’ve one mystery left—Bell Cranel, right?”
Lin Qiye’s senses brushed the cockpit corner; he stooped and lifted a crystal orb.
Both men froze.
A crack webbed the sphere’s surface—and the insect inside was gone.
An Qingyu frowned; grey light surged as he scanned it. “Broke from within. It’s escaped.”
He looked at Lin Qiye. “You said it was dying.”
“It was—barely a breath left. Couldn’t even survive, let alone shatter crystal.”
Lin Qiye’s face darkened. “The ritual window’s closed; it shouldn’t—”
He broke off, senses catching something. He shoved the cockpit door and strode into first class.
A young man’s corpse lay on the carpet, fingers missing. Blood smeared the wall; a small knife protruded from his chest.
A faint, satisfied smile lingered on his pale lips.