It was almost 11 in the morning but the sky was completely covered with dark clouds, making it look like the sun never even risen.
There was a light drizzle which hadn't stopped since last night. The air was cold and wet, making the city's already somber atmosphere even more austere.
Most of the outer city shops were closed and very few people could be seen walking around at this time. Instead, there were squads of soldiers patrolling the streets, stopping any suspicious individuals for interrogation.
*Tap*Tap*Tap*
Two individuals were walking along the stone streets with large bamboo umbrellas that were hiding their entire top halves, bypassing squad after squad of soldiers without getting stopped.
They were dressed in civilian clothes but the badges hanging from their waists were enough to keep anyone from bothering them.
"So? You gonna tell me what's happening?" Jin Wang asked while stretching his neck to keep away the cold air that was repeatedly brushing past him.
Hao Xuan had been expecting the question for some time now. He raised the umbrella and held out his left hand to catch a few raindrops.
"You know about the corruption? The darkness that's supposedly plaguing humanity?"
Jin Wang had just raised his foot but froze mid-stride for an instant before continuing.
"Who told you that?"
"The old demon."
"And you believed him?"
"Why not?"
"There's always two sides to a story."
Now it was Hao Xuan's turn to stop. He turned to look at Jin Wang who continued walking and went past him.
Hao Xuan quickly caught up to him.
"You part of this bullshit too?"
"Nah. Too lazy. Too many rules, too many idiots peddling their own ideologies, forcing people to fight for their cause. It's not my jam."
"…"
A short bout of silence followed thereafter as both of them continued walking. Hao Xuan was the first one to speak up.
"They killed people. A lot of them. Innocent people."
"So did you, and I. And every other person that wants to get anywhere in this world. Killing is unavoidable. And everyone is innocent in one way or another. Don't paint things with the same brush."
"….I guess, but they killed someone I know."
Jin Wang stopped, as did Hao Xuan. They both looked at each other but Hao Xuan was taken aback to see Jin Wang smiling back at him.
"Now that's a good reason to kill. If they f*ck with you, f*ck them back. Kill all you want but don't pretend its for a 'just' cause. Every cause is a 'just' cause if you market it well enough."
Hao Xuan looked at him thoughtfully, "I didn't know you had such deep thoughts."
Jin Wang shrugged while rubbing his arms.
"Meh, I have my moments. Still though, I can't feel my balls in this cold a*s weather."
"Eloquently put," Hao Xuan smiled and they both continued walking. He told him everything that happened, everything he saw. But rather than the thousands of dead bodies, it was the mention of the altar that got Jin Wang's attention.
"What? Where is it right now?" he asked gravely, an expression that was rather rare coming from Jin Wang.
"It went 'inside' this guy. I brought him back and he's under my….well, 'control' so to speak. But he still hasn't woken up."
Jin Wang let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god. Don't tell anyone about it. No one at all, you hear me? That thing is bad news."
Hao Xuan's brow scrunched up, "What is it?"
"It's many things. All those dead bodies you saw, the blood from them was probably sacrificed and stored in the altar. The altar can be used to make contracts with evil beings hiding in the veil between realities, borrow their power in a sense. Or it could be used to open a portal to another world or gain an unholy power. Think of it like a battery, filled with dark energy that beings and things with a similar nature would love. But nothing good could come out of it if you use it. "
Hao Xuan looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"How the f*ck do you know all this sh*t?"
Jin Wang grinned, "I'm smart like that. Why? You fallin' for me?" he asked with a wink.
Hao Xuan looked away in disgust, "You wish."
About an hour of walking and they finally reached a graveyard. It was located inside the city, near the inner city walls. Baracus had Yangdi buy a plot here on Hao Xuan's orders.
This was a place for the rich and the powerful. There were dozens of meter wide tombs littered across the graveyard, many of them with working formations and engravings on them still.
The gravekeeper was standing next to an open grave waiting for them. His face was covered with a mask and a strange energy was revolving around him. He didn't even react when the duo arrived, simply standing there with the shovel with closed eyes. Hao Xuan looked at him once but didn't think much of it.
A formation was placed on the ground to keep the rain away.
Hao Xuan stood at the grave's foot and looked inside. It was deeper and darker than what he was expecting. He then looked around but found no one else other than them.
"Maybe this isn't a good idea. She deserves better. I can't bury her like this," he mumbled.
Jin Wang walked up and stood next to him.
"She's already dead. Her soul is gone and she won't feel anything. All you can do is show the corpse enough respect and give it a proper burial."
"But what about Third brother? Wouldn't her body be proof enough to bring some of those people to justice?"
"What justice? If they've already infiltrated the military, how do you know your Third brother isn't already one of them? What makes you think the same didn't happen to him? And who are you gonna report to? The old demon? He's got way bigger problems to deal with right now, and I imagine you won't like his response either way."
"Think about it. If those people had the balls to pull something like this off, don't you think they will have plans in place to deal with something like this?"
Everything Jin Wang said made sense to him. He had always assumed that FIfth was the only one to be replaced, but what if she wasn't? How could he trust anyone of them?
He soon gave in to reason and buried Fifth. The gravestone only mentioned her real name, "Ai Xun" and no other information.
They stayed for another hour, setting up some formations around the grave just in case.
It was only after they had left that the grave keeper finally opened his eyes. They were pitch black, no pupils or anything other than a revolving blackness inside them.
He looked at the grave with loving eyes, "How lonely must it be for you in there my love. Worry not, I shall set you free."
Later that day someone found the actual grave keeper's body outside the city walls. It was reported that he died to the specters last night as he was somehow left outside the wall when they escaped from the pit.
This obviously didn't create any waves and no one even knew other than his family and friends.
