Chapter 313: Saint Gloria Shooting Case

The red blood dripped down, and the strong smell of blood filled the air. The crowd that Fusolus had finally calmed down was suddenly in a rage, and the rapidly spreading collective panic could no longer be suppressed. The screams and cries of the female employees mixed with the roars of the male employees. Everyone fled in panic, climbing over the chairs with their hands and feet and running around.

The shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of people rose and dispersed, like a pot of boiling water being suddenly poured in all directions, almost causing a stampede.

Xia Yubing staggered and leaned on the handrail to keep her balance. She looked up and saw Ning Zhe was still there, his face still calm. He didn’t care about the chaos around him at all, holding the bloody body of the girl in one hand and standing still.

Seeing that most of the people around him had run away, Ning Zhe silently reached into his arms and took out four copper coins.

Van Dyke had met Ji Bochang before, and this was the third time he had come to buy his life from the God of Wealth in this capacity.

“Please ask the God of Wealth to show up.”

Ding—that’s the sound of coins falling to the ground.

Fusolus, who was squatting on the ground, stood up with difficulty with the help of the handrail. He looked up suddenly and saw a headless ghost with a thin body, sallow skin and wearing a loose scholar’s robe suddenly appeared in the empty auditorium.

Fusolus’s face turned pale: “…God of Wealth?”

As the young master of the Milicato family, he had heard that there was a strange god in the distant Kyushu continent who could revive the dead, but he was not clear about the details. He was not the marquis of the Dyke family, and he did not have the qualifications and channels to obtain Europa’s precious money to buy his life.

But this did not prevent him from making a judgment at this moment.

The auditorium was empty. Ning Zhe placed Sally Sally on the seat and put four copper coins into the skinny palm of the God of Wealth.

“I bought her life.” Ning Zhe said.

Before he could finish his words, Fusolus ran away without saying another word.

Four copper coins jingled and fell into the pocket of the God of Wealth. The blood stains on Ning Zhe’s clothes disappeared, and the wet carpet became dry again, as if it had never been soaked by blood. The bloodstained skull fragments scattered on the seat also disappeared, and in contrast, the blood hole on the girl’s head was healing on its own.

The empty and distracted purple eyes regained their spirit. Sally Sally’s eyes came into focus, and an expressionless man’s face came into view.

“Father?”

An inappropriate word came out of her mouth subconsciously. Sally Sally quickly covered her mouth with her hands, opened her eyes wide and stared at the man in front of her and her broken life in horror.

First there was surprise, then confusion, and finally fear. All kinds of emotions appeared on the girl’s face in layers. The theater was very empty. In the messy auditorium, there were only Ning Zhe, Xia Yubing, Sally Sally, and a headless old evil ghost.

After taking Ning Zhe’s copper coins, the God of Wealth came to Xia Yubing and stretched out a skinny hand in front of her.

This is the rule of Wutong: forced buying and forced selling.

All living beings are guests. It is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away. No matter who meets the God of Wealth, they must do business with him, even if Xia Yubing just paid him for his life a few minutes ago.

This was the first time in Zanju Town, the second time on the stands upstairs, and now it was Xia Yubing’s third time doing business with the God of Wealth.

The purchase price for the third transaction was: 4 copper coins for 1 life.

The selling price is: 4 lives for 1 copper coin. This is also the rule of Wutong: set the price at will.

“Listen, I need to know what happened to you just now. Tell me everything you know.” Ning Zhe lowered his eyes and looked at Sally Sally, his flat voice brooking no room for rebuttal.

Sally Sally’s body trembled violently, and she jumped up from her seat as if in response to stress, but was forced back down by Ning Zhe with absolute strength. The veins on the back of his broad hand bulged, as if he wanted to crush her delicate frame.

Ning Zhe held the girl’s shoulders with both hands, pressing her down on the seat so that she couldn’t move. “I’ll say it again, tell me everything you just experienced, otherwise you can die now.”

The fear in Sally Sally’s eyes became even greater. She looked up and saw her ‘father’s’ face which was so familiar, yet the coldness and alienation in the depths of his eyes seemed so strange.

Is this what father is really like?
Thinking of her past 16 years of life that was real yet illusory like a bubble, and the sad present of being sent to the auction house as an item, Sally Sally’s lips turned pale and she nodded tremblingly: “I say, I listen to you, father…”

“Very good.” Ning Zhe let go of his hand and stood up. He took out four copper coins and handed them to Xia Yubing. He turned to Sally Sally and said, “First of all, what’s the matter with the gunshot wound on your head? Were you shot?”

“Yeah…” Sally Sally nodded.

“Who fired the gun? Any recollection?”

“Yes, yes.” Sally Sally nodded like pecking at rice and said timidly, “It’s the makeup artist sitting next to me.”

“Makeup artist?” Ning Zhe raised his eyebrows, a little surprised: “Who is it, Anna or Mary?”

“It’s Mary, Miss Mary.”

“It’s Mary…” Ning Zhe sighed, looking thoughtful.

Xia Yubing on the side had completed the third transaction with the God of Wealth. After receiving the money, the God of Wealth slowly disappeared in the audience seats. He should have gone to find those employees who had scattered away. Some of them were slow and could not run out of the hall in time, so they “met” the God of Wealth.

After watching the God of Wealth’s back disappear into the darkness, Xia Yubing turned around and looked at the shivering girl sitting on the chair with Ning Zhe, as if they saw themselves trembling with fear in Zanju Town.

“The one who killed people this time was not a ghost, but the person who disappeared with Sally Sally…” Xia Yubing murmured to himself.

“Tell me more details.” Ning Zhe continued, “From your perspective, the sudden disappearance of the others, to your being shot dead by Mary, tell me everything you experienced and saw in between, no matter how big or small.”

How did he know that the other people in my perspective just now suddenly disappeared? Sally Sally was a little surprised, but still nodded obediently: “Okay, father.”

Sally Sally took a deep breath, organized her words, and said, “I… was sitting in the audience just now, with my head down, thinking about something. But when I raised my head, suddenly, everyone around me disappeared. Everywhere was empty. There was only me, the two makeup artists next to me, and the two gentlemen sitting in the same row. Apart from that, there was nothing else. It was as if everyone in the world except the five of us had disappeared…”

“It was very quiet around us, but soon Miss Anna spotted the sixth person. He was in the audience in front of us. He was tall and thin. He looked like a man. His clothes were tattered and he had a worn sack on his head, like a beggar.”

Sally Sally had never seen a real beggar, but she had read about the existence of such people in books… Although she might be worse than a beggar now, beggars and vagrants were at least free.

“The beggar walked towards us without saying a word. Mr. George stood up alertly and asked loudly where he came from. After all, how could there be beggars in a place like the Santa Gloria Opera House?”

(End of this chapter)