Chapter 73: The Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster

This short-haired Monastic had a higher level of cultivation than Xia Fei, and at the moment, he was also in the most advantageous spot of this room. Xia Fei would have to face his attack head-on first if he wished to escape through the dumbwaiter or the stairs.

If he decided to risk it all and jumped out the window, he would likely end up trapped by the hundreds of guards manning this place. There might even be control or speed ability users among the personnel, so the danger he would be in could be no lesser than facing this short-haired Monastic.

Without realizing it, Xia Fei had actually been forced into such a quandary, caught between a rock and hard place.

Suddenly, a slightly strange smile could be seen on his face. His finger furtively tapped his spatial ring and took something out.

There was a massive change in the expression of the Monastic. Placing his two hands before his chest, he asked in his deep voice, “What’s that you’re holding there?”

Xia Fei flipped his palm over and let the short-haired man see what was in his hand.

“A golden cicada!” croaked the short-haired man.

He was, of course, familiar with a golden cicada’s prowess. A numbing sensation came over him as something buzzed in his ears. He had never thought that this Xia Fei would have such an unthinkable powerful killing machine.

“Using an ancient robot to kill a Monastic will only bring you endless trouble! I think you ought to think this through,” nervously said the short-haired man.

Xia Fei walked over to the sofa as if he were taking a stroll in the garden. Sitting down, he pulled out a box of Hongtaishan and lighter from his spatial ring, then lit the stick.

“You don’t have to be nervous. This golden cicada is only for precautionary purposes. I don’t intend to use this expensive thing on you. You must’ve spent many years working as an undercover agent by Old K’s side, right?” Xia Fei puffed a smoke circle as he leisurely spoke.

The short-haired man’s forehead creased. A minute before, he had been wondering how he should kill Xia Fei; now, he suddenly felt powerless. It was clear that a Xia Fei with a golden cicada was a lot more frightening than an apprentice Adjudicator Xia Fei. The tables had turned, and now, it was his turn to ponder on how he should deal with this situation.

“Two years and four months,” replied the short-haired man heavily.

“Heh… not bad. A mid-rank Monastic would actually work as an erstwhile pirate’s bodyguard for more than two years, all along pretending to be a fool. I believe Old K has got something you want… something you want to get at all costs; am I right?”

The short-haired man nodded, silent, not at all denying this.

Xia Fei scanned the room with his eyes as he talked. He recalled how Mountain Hawk had stepped out from a secret room behind the bookcase. If he was able to find the mechanism to open that door, he would have another layer of assurance.

“Were it not for my unexpected appearance, I’m afraid you’d be working undercover until you got hold of what you wanted, then you’d move onto your next target. Unfortunately, my presence disrupted your plan. With Old K dead, your only option is to make your move now; otherwise, you’d waste the over two years of your time here.

“That’s why you killed that blond bodyguard on the spot and why you’re trying to kill me now; it’s all so you could ultimately take that thing with you,” analyzed Xia Fei even as he walked over to the bookcase, taking out a book and pretending to flip through it.

The short-haired man was still quiet. Xia Fei’s analysis was completely in line with his thoughts, so now all he could do was maintain the status quo.

Xia Fei’s existence was a huge threat to him. If he had the chance, he would most definitely not hesitate to kill Xia Fei, but he had a lot of misgivings if he could accomplish that with the golden cicada in the other’s hand.

“That’s also why you’re actually the one feeling the most anxious now and not me!” Xia Fei threw an icy gaze at the Monastic. “You don’t want others to discover your intention, so you don’t dare create too much of a disturbance.

“Besides, I won’t lose my life that easily.” Xia Fei purposely squeezed that golden cicada egg in his hand twice. “I have no idea why Mountain Hawk’s coming back, but I think you should deal with that fellow first; let’s discuss the matter between us after.”

The short-haired man was grinding his teeth as he made his way out of the door.

“Remember: You might not be able to kill me, but I could definitely kill you,” remarked Xia Fei very sinisterly, “unless you’re willing to stake your life on this. I dare guarantee that you’ll lose if you attempt to take that risk, though.”

The short-haired man was stunned for a good while before he pushed open the door and took the stairs down with a grim expression.

The door closed, and Xia Fei immediately began to search through the bookcase, hoping to find the mechanism.

At this time, Phantom appeared before Xia Fei from out of nowhere. “You’re in too much risk doing things this way. You should’ve killed that man then. His killing intent is so thick. He’ll most definitely not let you go, and all you’re doing now is temporarily postponing your death.”

Xia Fei sighed. “Do you think I don’t wish to kill him? Activating the golden cicada will take some time, and I can’t kill him with my present cultivation. What if he decides to duke it out with me to the death?”

Though amazingly powerful, he still needed thirty seconds to activate the golden cicada. If he were to show any attempt to take that short-haired Monastic’s life, the latter would most definitely do everything to take Xia Fei down. There were great risks in doing that, and it was not the best choice at the moment.

“He certainly knows about the golden cicada’s activation time. If I’m not mistaken, that man is unwilling to leave without obtaining what he wants, which is why we are in this delicate stalemate, with neither side wishing to make the first move,” surmised Xia Fei.

Phantom nodded his head repeatedly. With regard to Xia Fei and the short-haired man’s stalemate, it was evidently better than both sides suffering heavy losses as a result of fighting. After all, neither man was a fool; they would not choose to face each other head-on unless as a last resort.

“Actually, it’s me who made a mistake earlier, and that guy only discovered where I was hiding because of that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come rushing with his hands aiming for my face but would’ve gone straight for my throat, instead. There are several spots in this massive room where someone can hide; he must’ve chosen a random spot, then made him move, resulting in me being deceived by his actions and my Breath Control to fail.” Xia Fei shook his head, apparently very dissatisfied with his miscalculation.

Phantom chuckled. “Breath Control won’t conceal just your body but the space around you, too; otherwise, there’s no way you could’ve been discovered earlier.

“You can’t be blamed for this, either. Even I nearly lost my consciousness when he came charging toward you. Your decision-making and analytical ability over a situation are already pretty decent judging from how you reacted so quickly then.”

There was a thick, leather-bound old tome on the bookcase. The top half of it was smooth, an apparent result of being used often.

Xia Fei curiously reached out and pulled it lightly; all of a sudden, that row of bookcase parted in the middle to reveal a silver-colored, cylindrical elevator, which went to some unknown place.

Xia Fei thought about it and pulled the book again, and the bookcase swiftly melded into one again.

That was when the room’s door opened, and the Monastic returned with someone in tow.

This person was of course Mountain Hawk, who was now heavily and meticulously bound in countless thread-thin wires, every strand akin to fishing wires; a rag was firmly stuffed into his mouth.

Throwing Mountain Hawk onto the sofa, the short-haired man turned to face Xia Fei. “We don’t have much time; let’s begin our discussion.”

Xia Fei nodded. “Let’s.”

“I only need just one thing, and everything else is yours, including that large spatial ring of Old K. We can leave immediately once we’re done dividing things between us and agree not to report this matter to our respective headquarters. Your thoughts?”

‘Not reporting to the headquarters? Looks like the Monastic headquarters has no idea that he’s hiding here in Old K’s. If that’s the case, I don’t have to worry about the Monastic Order finding out if I kill him.’ Xia Fei mulled on this.

Thinking up to that, Xia Fei smiled. “Alright, let’s do as you suggested.”

Phantom furrowed his brows. “Hey, for this person to forgo a twenty-cubic-meter spatial ring and only want that one thing, it clearly means that what he wants is way more valuable.”

Xia Fei consciously spoke with Phantom. “I know that. The fact that he’s been lying in wait here for over two years, just so he could get his hands on that thing shows how much he desires it. If I openly fight over it with him, who knows if he just chooses to duke it out with me? It’s best if we first look at this thing and decide if it’s worth the risk. No matter how great an item is, I still need to be alive to use it. It’s not worth it if I only end up losing my life just for that thing.”

Xia Fei had decided to avoid clashing with the Monastic as much as possible, choosing instead to focus on safely extricating himself. However, if this item was worth more past a certain threshold, Xia Fei would see fit to risk his life for i