81 The Secret of the Organs

Then let us die together.

When I heard Bai Ye say that, my heart gave a sudden jolt, and in an instant my mind produced all manner of interpretations.

The most reasonable one was this: Bai Ye could not possibly violate the organization’s rules. If I refused to cooperate, then he would fight me; we would be locked in a desperate struggle, tearing each other apart until both sides were ruined, ending in mutual destruction.

But knowing Bai Ye’s personality, I felt that was probably not what he meant. What he truly meant was that if I refused to cooperate, he would kill me. Yet he likewise could not betray me, so in the end he would take his own life.

Of course, I also had a rather self-indulgent interpretation: if I wanted to break the organization’s rules, Bai Ye would help me do it. Together we would turn against the organization, and in the end we would be killed by it together...

As I was still mulling it over, Bai Ye spoke again. “Master, please. If we keep Lord Asura waiting any longer, he will be displeased.”

In the end I had no choice but to gamble. I decided to trust Fang Qinghe once. Since he had said the bug could not be detected, I would have to throw caution to the wind.

So I stepped straight into the space wrapped in mirrors. Soon I had taken off my shirt, revealing my actually rather fine figure.

But when I was about to take off my pants, I realized Bai Ye was still standing beside me, and that made me a little awkward.

Still, I forced myself to stay calm. I told myself to treat this as an ordinary medical examination. Back when I had been examined before, I had stripped completely anyway, and it had never felt particularly embarrassing.

I knew that if I hesitated too much, it would arouse Bai Ye’s suspicion. It was even possible that Asura was watching me through a surveillance feed. So in the end I simply took off every last piece of clothing.

Then Bai Ye stepped forward. He placed his hand on my chest and slowly traced it over my skin.

I could not help shivering. My whole body went numb. It was not exactly disgust, just an indescribably perverse feeling. Being touched by another grown man was truly revolting in a way that made me deeply uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Bai Ye’s hand was exquisitely delicate, warm and smooth as jade, and did not bring any roughness or torment.

His fingers traveled over every inch of my skin, and wherever I had scars, he would gently feel along them with particular care. I understood what he was doing; it was not that he wanted to take advantage of me. Places like that were simply ideal for hiding things.

Soon his hand reached below my lower back, and I began to panic a little. I thought, White Night, for the love of God, do not pull anything indecent. Do not touch my ass.

As fate would have it, the very thing I feared most happened. Bai Ye’s hand suddenly stopped on my backside and did not move, as if he had discovered something.

By then I had already prepared for battle. I intended to lash out with a fierce back kick and knock Bai Ye down, then sprint for the exit without caring whether I was dressed or not.

But just then, Bai Ye said, “Master, although your strength has not yet fully recovered and is not what it once was, your figure is still as perfect as ever. Bai Ye admires you.”

Then he stood up and said, “Very well. The master remains as loyal to the organization as ever. I have found nothing that should not be brought with him.”

When I heard that, I finally let out a breath of relief. But for some reason, I still felt that something was off, as though a stone were hanging in my chest. I had the strange feeling that Bai Ye had discovered something amiss, yet he had chosen not to say it.

So I wondered to myself: was Bai Ye trying to lure me into a false sense of security? Was he afraid he could not beat me, and planning to wait until he met Asura before exposing me so that they could kill me together?

That thought made me a little uneasy, but I had to bite the bullet. I gave Bai Ye a seductive smile and said, “White Night, your turn.”

Then Bai Ye stripped with astonishing speed. In an instant he was naked, exposing his body to me without the slightest awkwardness, as though that body had belonged to me all along.

I had originally been rather reluctant to touch him, to search him. But the moment I saw his body, I was stunned.

Bai Ye’s body was covered in scars. They crisscrossed him in dense layers, covering every part of his body like a bloodthirsty net, as though it were silently trying to swallow the entire world.

This was a man’s finest tattoo.

I did not reach out to touch Bai Ye. Instead I said, “Enough. Just these scars alone are enough. I will not allow the organization to suspect you. No need to search any further. Put your clothes back on.”

Bai Ye showed no surprise at my words. On the contrary, the corner of his mouth lifted into an eerie smile, and he quickly dressed himself again.

At the same time he said to me, “A Wood, you are still the same as before. Not a bit has changed.”

I froze when I heard that, though I did not show it on my face. So I had been this way before too. I secretly broke out in a sweat, thinking how fortunate I was to have taken such a dangerous gamble. Otherwise I truly might have been suspected.

Then Bai Ye lifted the mirror in front of us, revealing a password door behind it. After he entered the code, the door opened.

We walked in together. The moment we entered, the door behind us shut, and my heart leapt into my throat, afraid Bai Ye might suddenly turn on me.

Fortunately, all my fears were imaginary. I was scaring myself for nothing. Soon I saw a liquid crystal screen hanging on the wall ahead, with a narrow table beneath it.

On the table were also three square glass containers, as if vacuum-sealed. Inside them were two very fresh, intact human brains, along with a piece of tender liver.

I knew these had to be the brains of Liu Yang and Zhang Wentong, and the liver of Liu Snake.

In other words, the true prey in this murder game was right before my eyes. It seemed I had truly won their trust.

I swept the room with my eyes, but I did not see the so-called Asura anywhere.

However, in a corner not far away, a muscular wolfhound was crouching. It was half prone on the floor, looking fierce, but it did not rush toward us.

I frowned in confusion. Could Asura be this wolfhound?

Just as I was wondering, Bai Ye suddenly turned on the liquid crystal screen. The display flickered, as if searching for a signal. Very soon an image appeared: a person, a man wearing an Asura mask. I could not see his face.

He seemed to be able to see us, because he spoke at once. “Chen Wood, White Night, my two trusted arms and hands. We meet again.”

From the way he spoke, I knew he was Asura. The bastard was cunning indeed; he had not shown his face at all.

Soon he continued, “Congratulations on successfully completing this murder game. But that is not enough. There is one final step for the two of you to complete. Before that, let me tell you the truth behind this murder game. White Night, cut a small piece from the human brains and the liver separately, and feed the wolfhound once every ten minutes.”

Bai Ye immediately went over, sliced off a small piece of brain, and tossed it to the wolfhound. With a light lick, the dog swallowed it.

Ten minutes later, Bai Ye cut another small piece of brain and fed it to the dog in the same way.

Ten minutes after that, Bai Ye sliced off a small piece of liver, and the wolfhound ate that clean as well.

Everything looked normal, yet strange beyond measure. I had no idea what sort of scheme Asura was hatching, or why he had Bai Ye feeding the wolfhound.

While I was still thinking it over, Asura gave another order from the screen. “Good. White Night, now put the three portions of brain and liver together. Grind them into minced meat, then seal and ferment them for half an hour.”

Bai Ye did as instructed. After that, the room fell into an eerie silence. None of us said another word. I kept silent as well, because the more one says, the more likely one is to make a mistake.

Only the wolfhound kept panting, glaring hungrily at the meat paste Bai Ye was preparing, as though it could hardly wait to devour it.

Soon the time was up. Asura truly had Bai Ye feed all the minced brains and liver to the big wolfhound.

The wolfhound then wolfed down the mixture of brains and liver with obvious excitement.

It finished the whole thing very quickly. But not long after, it suddenly collapsed onto the floor. It began rolling violently on the ground, opening its mouth as if to bark furiously, yet no sound came out. Blood burst forth from its mouth in a torrent.

In less than a minute, the wolfhound was completely dead. It no longer moved at all.

I froze, though I did not show it on my face. The shock in my heart was beyond words, and faintly, it seemed I had guessed the truth hidden behind these human organs.

At the same time, I stole a glance at Bai Ye. He remained calm as water, but I could tell that he too was astonished. Still, it seemed he had already guessed all this beforehand.

Only then did Asura speak again. “This is the truth: a conspiracy laid out three years ago.”