# 432
**Chapter 432: The Mask**
The moment Cao Yuan, An Qingyu, and Jialan heard that voice, they didn’t hesitate. Their weapons shot out from their black cases!
They didn’t know what had happened, but they could feel it—Baili Pangpang was in trouble.
Lin Qiye said draw your blades, so they drew their blades.
No matter where they were.
No matter the reason.
No matter who their enemy was.
Cao Yuan gripped his Straight Blade with one hand, his right hand seizing the hilt. In an instant, the blade flashed from its sheath!
**Clang—!!**
A crisp ring echoed through the hall. Jet-black fiendish flames surged skyward, completely enveloping his body. His scarlet eyes locked onto the two figures on the stage, and a terrifying aura swept across the venue.
An Qingyu reached out and grabbed at the air. A frost longsword wreathed in cold mist appeared in his right hand. With a flick of his left fingers, invisible threads stretched out, silently weaving a deadly net.
Jialan drew a feathered arrow from her quiver, nocking it to her pale-yellow hardwood bow. She pulled the string taut, the arrowhead aimed straight at the stage. Her blue dress fluttered in the wind, her gaze unshakable.
Chang Kangsheng’s face turned ashen. He had never imagined that even after speaking so clearly and showing such sincerity, Lin Qiye would still dare to attack!
This was the Baili Corporation!
Did he no longer want to be the captain of a special team?
Madman. A complete madman. Utterly irrational!!
Just as Chang Kangsheng was about to act, Baili Xin’s calm voice rang in his ear.
“Activate the emergency protocol. Teleport all guests to the waiting lounge. Use that forbidden artifact to erase their recent memories. Once this is over, resume the birthday banquet.”
Chang Kangsheng nodded, pulling a disc from his pocket and giving it a gentle twist.
A white light burst beneath most of the guests’ feet. Startled, they looked down. The flash vanished, and in the next moment, they disappeared.
Of course, two guests were exceptions.
When Ninth Seat and Shen Qingzhu saw the white light beneath them, they instinctively stepped back, out of its range.
“Interesting. This is getting *very* interesting…” Ninth Seat looked up, a grin tugging at his lips. “Someone’s stirring up trouble for us. Now we have a chance to kill Baili Tuming! A gift from heaven!”
Shen Qingzhu stood in the corner, silently donning his white fox mask.
Besides them, the members of Team 010 hadn’t left either.
Not because they’d stepped back like Shen Qingzhu, but because no white light had appeared beneath their feet. In other words, Baili Xin had never intended to let them leave.
“Captain Wei,” Baili Xin said from the stage, turning to the six members of Team 010 in the corner. “There are supernaturals causing trouble at my birthday banquet, disrupting social stability. Tell me… shouldn’t you intervene?”
The other five team members turned to Wei Xiuming.
Wei Xiuming stood, taking a deep breath. “Dealing with rogue supernaturals is one of Night Watch’s duties. We… certainly won’t stand by.”
Several flashes of white light appeared before them. Their Straight Blades and cloaks materialized on the table— weapons they’d stored at the Baili Corporation before the banquet. Chang Kangsheng had used a forbidden artifact to retrieve them.
**Whoosh—!!**
Six crimson-cloaked figures flashed in front of Lin Qiye and the others. Wei Xiuming rested his hand on his blade, eyes locked on Lin Qiye, voice low:
“Night Watch Team 010 of Guangdong-Shenzhen. Who dares cause trouble?!”
Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes and produced his Coat of Arms. “I’m Lin Qiye, captain of the Fifth Special Team’s reserve unit. Step aside!”
Wei Xiuming froze, then turned to look at Baili Xin behind him.
Baili Xin shook his head.
“I’ve never heard of any Fifth Special Team reserve unit,” Wei Xiuming said coldly. “Even if you were a special team, you can’t attack innocents without cause.”
“Innocents… heh.” Lin Qiye gave a cold laugh. His gaze toward Wei Xiuming turned icy. “You’re the captain of Team 010. You should know the truth. Yet you still stand with the Baili Corporation…
So that’s it. You’ve been bought.”
Wei Xiuming said nothing.
Lin Qiye’s hand gripping the Straight Blade trembled. His knuckles turned white, fury blazing in his eyes.
“So this is Team 010. So this is Night Watch!
What did the Baili family give you? Enough to sell out your own teammates?
In the remote northern counties of Great Xia, Night Watch members don’t even have heating. Every winter, they survive in army coats and cheap cigarettes, holding their posts for decades without complaint!
And you?
How dare you call yourselves Night Watch? How dare you wear the number 010? How dare you stay in Guangdong-Shenzhen?!”
Wei Xiuming and the others’ faces were grim, but they didn’t budge. They took a slow breath and spoke:
“We don’t know what you’re talking about… We’re just following protocol.”
“Whoever’s photo is on the Night Watch file, that’s who we recognize. The person you mentioned…
We don’t know him.”
…
**Chairman’s Office.**
**In a pool of blood.**
The little finger of the cold corpse twitched.
The white light covering his body receded like a tide, flowing back into his dantian. There, a white Jade Ruyi spun gently.
Baili Pangpang’s closed eyelids fluttered. Slowly, he opened his eyes…
He stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time, then sat up from the blood. Confusion flickered in his gaze, then dimmed.
He lowered his head and picked up the broken sandalwood talisman beside him. Gently, he tried to wipe away the blood—but it had already dried, caked onto the wood. The words were unreadable.
He gazed at the talisman for a long time, a self-mocking look in his eyes.
**Fwoosh—!**
A flame ignited in his palm. In moments, the talisman burned to ash. Bits of charcoal slipped through his fingers, falling into the muddy blood, vanishing without a trace.
He stood slowly, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The glass reflected his figure—his dark-blue suit half-soaked in blood, a deep gash visible on his familiar face.
He looked like a demon crawling from hell, grotesque and terrifying.
He stared at his reflection for a long time, then closed his eyes in resignation.
He lowered his head, pulled a grinning Zhu Bajie mask from his pocket, and slowly put it on…
“Farewell, Baili Tuming…”
He gazed at the laughing mask in the mirror and whispered.