# 374
Chapter 374 – The Purge Begins
The pitch-black gate slowly swung open. Lin Qiye carried Jialan on his back and stepped inside. The moment he entered, he spotted three figures pressed furtively against the wall, frozen like statues.
When those three saw Lin Qiye, delight flashed across their faces—until they noticed the girl on his back. Their smiles stiffened in unison.
They exchanged glances, expressions turning odd.
An Qingyu: (???.???) ?? Huh? There’s a woman on Qiye’s back?
Cao Yuan: (#｀皿′) What? A woman is actually riding Qiye’s back?
Baili Pangpang: ｜д?′)!! What? Qiye’s chastity is in jeopardy?!
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow. “Why are you all—”
“Shhh!!”
Baili Pangpang pressed two fingers to his lips, then pointed toward the center of the imperial palace.
Lin Qiye started, turned, and saw an ancient, jet-black throne suspended in the gloom. Upon it sat a human-shaped silhouette, motionless yet radiating heart-stopping pressure.
“That’s…” Lin Qiye stared, puzzled.
After a moment’s hesitation he walked over to the others.
“Qiye, why… are you carrying a girl?” Baili Pangpang whispered, unable to contain himself.
Lin Qiye considered. “Found her in a palace.”
“Found her?” Baili Pangpang gave Jialan a skeptical once-over. “And you just… slung her on your back?”
“Pretty much.”
“…”
“Finding a beauty like this happens all the time in dramas and novels—but that’s not supposed to be your script!” Baili Pangpang scratched his head, worldview visibly cracking. “You’re an异性绝缘体—an opposite-sex insulator. You only attract men. Since when do girls fall into your arms?”
Lin Qiye: …
His hand drifted to his blade hilt.
The last time he’d wanted to kill Baili Pangpang this badly was back in training camp, when the shameless oaf tried to make him smell his foot…
Lin Qiye inhaled, throttled his surging murder-urge, and asked evenly:
“So, why are you all hugging this wall?”
Cao Yuan lifted a finger toward the hovering throne. “We came in and realized someone’s sitting there. He hasn’t attacked, but the place feels wrong—none of us dared move.”
Lin Qiye glanced at the figure. “I already scanned it with mental power. It’s not a person—just a robe.”
The other three blinked. “A robe?”
Lin Qiye murmured; a tiny flame blossomed in his palm. With a flick he lofted it into the air, lighting the gloom.
In the firelight the “figure” revealed itself: an immense black imperial robe embroidered with intricate gold thread, mysterious and majestic. Empty sleeves rested on the throne’s arms, hem hanging naturally, imperial might rolling forth as though Emperor Fengdu still guarded this realm of the dead.
“This robe… is waiting for its master’s return,” Lin Qiye sighed. “So is this entire city.”
“A hundred years—can he still come back?” Baili Pangpang asked.
Cao Yuan mused, “If he entered the cycle of reincarnation, he will. Even Yang Jian has appeared; the Gods of Great Xia are returning. Someday the reincarnated Emperor Fengdu will arrive and revive this place.”
Lin Qiye suddenly remembered something. “Right—how did you three get in? I blocked the entrance…”
Cao Yuan blinked. “We didn’t use that hole. We came through the main gate.”
“The main gate?” Lin Qiye frowned. “How did you open the bronze doors?”
“We didn’t do anything—they opened by themselves.”
Lin Qiye stood frozen.
Opened on their own?
An automatic door?
Then why hadn’t it opened for him when he’d stood before it?
He lapsed into thought.
Boom——!!
The black gate burst inward. A huge white figure stumbled through—the Ant Queen, once majestic, now a wreck. Nearly a third of her newly-repaired body had reverted to paper, shredded and dangling. Half her massive head had flattened into a grotesque sheet of parchment.
She slammed the gate shut behind her, shutting out the swarm of paper people. Silence fell.
Exhausted, she turned—and froze at the sight of five humans crouched against the wall…
Lin Qiye and the others exchanged glances, delight sparking in their eyes.
Enemies really do cross paths.
Lin Qiye set Jialan gently against the wall, looked her in the eye, and said solemnly:
“You’re too heavy; you’d slow me down. Sit here a moment.”
Jialan: …
Baili Pangpang’s mouth twitched madly as he fought back laughter. He nudged Cao Yuan. “See? Told you—opposite-sex insulator. Look at that line—tsk tsk.”
Cao Yuan turned, puzzled. “I think he’s being perfectly reasonable.”
Baili Pangpang: …
Under Jialan’s resentful stare Lin Qiye rose, hands settling on his paired blades. With a metallic ring he drew both Straight Blades!
Clang——!!
The clear song of steel echoed through the dark hall.
He leveled his gaze at the battered Ant Queen and spoke calmly:
“Fifth Reserve Squad—first Lesser God classified purge… begins!”
The instant his words fell, the three behind him shot forward. Cao Yuan led, hand on his own hilt, lips curling in a grin.
Straight Blade—unsheathed!
Black killing-flame wrapped his body, blazing sky-high. Monstrous killing-intent roared from his black edge as he charged the Ant Queen like a demon fresh from hell, laughing.