Light Fortress
Chapter 237 - 213: Soul-locking Bell_2

Chapter 237: Chapter 213: Soul-locking Bell_2

"Ding" went a sound.

The previously silent Soul-locking Bell finally rang at this moment, its shattered tremble forcefully dragging a soul into the realm of dreams.

Looking at the man in the suit who had fallen into "slumber," Liu Yi didn’t feel like she had won... On the contrary, she felt that she had lost this battle terribly. Was it because Song Ci was showing mercy for the sake of old times that he didn’t strike to kill?

No matter what... she now had a window to act.

The noise in the distance gradually faded.

She prepared to head towards the final courtyard... when suddenly a whisper-thin whistling sound flickered through the air.

"Swoosh" went a sound.

It was as if something had cut through the air.

Liu Yi furrowed her brow. She reached out to touch her cheek, only to find her hand covered in fresh blood... Some razor-sharp object had sliced her skin, and she hadn’t even felt the pain before a cut had formed.

Three or four seconds passed.

The sting finally came slowly.

At the far end of the alley, a young woman wearing a trench coat emerged from the dim light, each of her left and right hands holding a knife, one long, the other short, with a third knife hanging at her waist.

"Lu Nanjin..."

Liu Yi narrowed her eyes slightly.

She glanced subtly backwards... at the other end of the alley, a figure also seemed to appear silently. It was a youth with a flame circling his brow, his face concealed by the distant night.

Liu Yi remembered the "S-rank" who had been the talk of the Federation lately.

The newcomer to the Judgement Institute’s special investigation team.

Gu Shen.

"Hiss..."

A faintly pained hiss sounded.

The businessman next to her, who should have been deeply asleep, started to twitch his fingers as if they were coming back to life from stone, trembling slightly, his body making crackling noises like frying beans...

Song Ci, waking from the confines of the Soul-locking Bell, placed a hand on his neck and slowly turned it, his voice husky with dismay, "This thing is quite something... it actually pulled me straight into a dream, and now my neck... feels stiff."

What’s this?

Awake?

Liu Yi’s expression turned exceedingly strange as she glanced incredulously at Song Ci, then at the A-grade seal object in her palm, the Soul-locking Bell.

What the hell!

What kind of hell is this!

The Soul-locking Bell had worked; it indeed dragged Song Ci’s spirit into a deep sleep, but how much time had passed? Ten seconds, five, or even less? She hadn’t even taken a step when Song Ci woke up from the dream.

Of course, Liu Yi knew that the time the bell could imprison someone depended on the strength of their spiritual power... But the problem was, how could Song Ci, who looked every bit the body refiner, possess such strong spirit?

According to her original plan, the Soul-locking Bell would have trapped Song Ci for ten minutes.

That ten minutes would have been enough to complete all actions.

But now... her plan was completely shattered.

A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind.

Liu Yi felt she might have been ambushed... because the arrival of those two from the Judgement Institute was just too timely.

They were very likely the hidden soldiers lying in wait near the mansion!

Indeed there must be an illicit cooperation between Zhou Jiren and Lu Nanjin. The information from Huazhi was that a large number of Transcendents from the Judgement Institute were joining forces today to eliminate the remaining believers of the Changjiu Foundation, and neither Gu Shen nor Lu Nanjin was an exception. As core members of the special investigation team, they were to play an absolute vanguard role in the clearing mission.

What vanguard, all lies... Caught in the old mansion in Lion Alley completely by surprise.

"Run!"

Without any hesitation, Liu Yi chose to retreat. She was well aware that she wasn’t a match for Song Ci in a one-on-one fight, not to mention the situation was worsened by the addition of two more aiding him.

The team she had brought along was likely completely ensnared by now, which meant more reinforcements would be coming. She had to evacuate now!

The evacuation route was not hard to choose.

Always pick the softest persimmon to squeeze.

Among the three, the newcomer "S-rank" from the Judgement Institute was the weakest.

The strength and approximate information about this newcomer had been tightly concealed by the council... Liu Yi had no clue about what Gu Shen’s abilities were, and at this critical juncture, she couldn’t afford to underestimate him.

So... she chose the most foolproof method.

The Soul-locking Bell!

She once again activated the Spiritual Eyes. Her floating spiritual body cast a ghostly gaze towards Gu Shen, and for an instant, a strong light shone.

The darkness shattered, illuminating the furrowed, handsome face of a troubled youth.

Gu Shen lifted his head and locked eyes with the spiritual body floating above Liu Yi’s forehead... The next moment, he heard the clear chime of a bell ringing by his ear.

"...Be careful!"

The warning voice of Song Ci rang out.

Gu Shen took a step to the center of the alley, positioning himself in the middle of their line of retreat, his expression unchanged, as he stared down the illusory spiritual body like a warrior facing a formidable opponent.

However... nothing happened.

The eyes of the spiritual body gazed coldly.

After ringing once, the bell in Liu Yi’s palm fell silent.

The scene plunged into deathly stillness.

It was quite awkward for a moment.

That bizarre spiritual body floating in the night sky, with its eyes squarely on Gu Shen, looked both majestic and sacred.

Only the intense heat radiated from the "Spiritual Eyes" was wholly absorbed by the incoming Chi Huo, which didn’t reject it.

The tiny flames flickered back and forth as if they had conceived the idea to mimic, neatly expanding, seemingly trying to morph into human shape... It’s just that there were too few flames, and their trembling made them look like they could extinguish at any moment, a pitiful sight.

"..."

Song Ci put his raised hand down, and to mask the awkwardness, he unnaturally scratched his head.

His warning just now... seemed rather redundant.

This strange bell that Liu Yi protected so preciously... It looked like a high-tier sealing object? But from what had just happened, this sealing object... didn’t seem very effective, did it?

It had pulled him into a dream, but only lasted a few seconds.

Pulling Gu Shen into a dream... was a direct failure.

Even more clueless was Gu Shen himself, who had already silently clenched the Truth Ruler, ready to fight at a moment’s notice... After leaving Fulin Lane with his senior sister, he had sensed something was amiss, an abnormal murderous intent in the air, and indeed found a collapsed Patroller not far away.

And after reaching this place, he saw Liu Yi.

Earlier at the Huazhi Building, Gu Shen had covertly observed this woman’s conversation with Cui Zhongcheng... He knew she was one of Zhao Xilai’s subordinates, and the only reason for her to be in Lion Alley was one possibility.

Huazhi was preparing to make a move on Madam!

No matter what, he couldn’t stand by and watch Madam fall into danger.

That bell was an extremely dangerous sealed object that could exert a tremendous impact on spiritual power... He had been on his guard all along, but when the bell rang just now, he had no reaction.

That sense of danger... also dissipated.

"What the hell is this?"

Liu Yi truly began to doubt her life, as she arrived at Lion Alley with the "Soul-locking Bell" full of confidence, but the result was somewhat comical... She now questioned whether she had taken the wrong sealed object, making her action in Lion Alley seem like a comedic performance.

Why could this feeble kid withstand the dream intrusion of an A-tier sealed object?!

Beams of strong light came from the far end of the alley, with several Transcendents from the Sincere Heart South Hall, escorting the five-person squad, slowly appearing at the alley entrance.

"Mr. Song."

"Mr. Ying Ji, what should we do?"

These individuals were all under the management of the South Bay Faction, taking orders from Chen San this time to protect the residence, and usually obeying whatever Song Ci commanded.

It was the first time he wasn’t called Crow by his brothers from the streets, and Song Ci wasn’t quite used to it... Mr. Song, Mr. Ying Ji, were these terms meant to be used by the lackeys of the Sincere Heart Association?

He felt somewhat of a headache and gestured to indicate they should restrain their foes and make sure not to let them go.

"Alright."

Song Ci approached Liu Yi and said, "Liu Yi, put down your weapon..."

Then he turned his head to look at his teammates.

Taking a deep breath as if she had made up her mind, Liu Yi chose to give up resisting... The "Spiritual Eyes" began to dim its Blazing Light, and the formed spiritual body dissipated with the wind.

She had given up?

Many breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Ci’s instructions from Madam came through his earpiece, which he listened to in silence, his brow furrowing slightly.

After some thought, Song Ci spoke, "Madam wants to see you."

Then he reached out his hand.

Reluctantly, Liu Yi handed over the "Soul-locking Bell."

The small bell, having lost the enhancement of Extraordinary Essence and spiritual power, returned to its original state... The talismans began floating back to the surface on their own, and the whole bell became dull and discolored, showing signs of age and unremarkableness.

"Tch..."

Song Ci played with the bell, feeling a mix of disdain and confusion, thinking just this malfunctioning piece of junk that everyone was so enamored with, treasured like a gem?