Chapter 607: Chapter 199: Former Chief Red-robed Archbishop

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze, and slowly, Jiang Wu smiled.

"Hearing you talk like that, I feel like I’d be letting you down if I wasn’t the Skinner. But Li Yinxiao, investigating a case isn’t making wild guesses. Luckily, you’re talking to me today, and I can pretend I didn’t hear it. Don’t lose confidence and make reckless guesses just because of a single mistake," Jiang Wu said calmly.

Li Xin looked at Jiang Wu, and Jiang Wu looked at Li Xin. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, but neither intended to make a move. Both exuded strong confidence and composure.

Li Xin smiled, "Captain, do you remember the test when I first joined the society?"

"Of course, I remember. I was there, too. You performed well," Jiang Wu said.

"Captain, what disguise ability did you use back then?" Li Xin asked.

"A costume," Jiang Wu frowned. "Is that why you think I’m the Skinner?"

Li Xin shook his head, "The current Skinner is not really out to make costumes; he’s only hunting down Fallen to retrieve worms. The Skinner is just a cover for his identity and purpose."

"Then what’s your reason for suspecting me?" Jiang Wu asked slowly.

"You didn’t use a costume; you used an ability that alters bones and added a bit of Disguise Technique. Unfortunately, this ability is the same as the one with the Skinner. Oh, I forgot to mention, I have an ability to perceive the abilities used by others," Li Xin said, fixing his gaze on Jiang Wu.

With Two Lives’ ability, when someone uses an ability near Li Xin, there’s a certain chance of acquiring it.

That’s why Li Xin discovered the problem so quickly during his own test; he felt something was off, leading him to think it might be an internal test by the Night Patrol.

And yesterday, when he sensed the same ability on the Skinner, combined with his previous deductions, the only one who met all the conditions in Shadow Owl was Jiang Wu.

A former Knight Order master, and having undergone mental training by the Church Court, as the captain, having Four Lives is no wonder.

Jiang Wu’s eyes flickered as he looked at Li Xin. He never imagined Li Xin would have such an undetectable ability. With such a verifiable ability, once confirmed, his judgment would have its most fatal flaw.

A flurry of thoughts crossed Jiang Wu’s mind as their eyes met, neither giving ground.

Eventually, Jiang Wu sighed, leaned back in the chair, and glanced at the closed door. "What do you want?"

"Captain, aren’t you planning to silence me?" Li Xin asked.

"If you intended to arrest me, you wouldn’t have met with me today. You’re so detailed, afraid I might not harbor murderous intent," Jiang Wu chuckled bitterly, "I thought my disguise was perfect, didn’t expect this many flaws."

"Captain, I want to know why you’re doing this?" Li Xin asked.

Catching the Skinner was his task and duty, but he wanted to understand the root of what the Skinner was doing. Li Xin was not a rigid person; essentially, the Skinner was fighting for justice, as those people deserved to die.

Jiang Wu took a cigarette from the drawer and lit it, "Aren’t you trying to replace me? Why ask so much? You have someone in the Church Court. Since you’ve got the evidence, you can report it directly?"

"Captain, do you still not trust me now?" Li Xin frowned. He was being so straightforward.

Suddenly, Li Xin realized the matter Jiang Wu was involved in might hide a deeper secret, something not as simple as pursuing justice. Also, Jiang Wu feared not him but Kathy behind him.

"The Secretary doesn’t know about this matter," Li Xin said. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Jiang Wu kept his gaze on Li Xin, trying to discern whether he was telling the truth.

"This is a very deadly secret. If I tell you, it might put you in danger," Jiang Wu exhaled a smoke ring, "Don’t think the Secretary can protect you; she’d die if she knew too."

"If I was afraid of dying, I wouldn’t be a Night Patrol," Li Xin spread his hands, thinking what a strange person, the more he talks like this, the more curious he becomes.

Jiang Wu lit another cigarette and sighed, "A few years ago, I received a mission to secretly use the sealed object to locate Dragon Capital’s Fallen and collect the worms within them. Because it was top secret, I acted alone, but soon attracted attention. This sealed object can control Fallen, not giving them the chance to transform. It has one characteristic: it peels off the Fallen’s skin, so I used it to lead them to believe in the Skinner. Thus, few people would suspect anything else until suddenly, the person who gave me the mission died."

At this point, Jiang Wu’s hand actually trembled as he took a deep drag from the cigarette and looked at Li Xin.

In Jiang Wu’s eyes, Li Xin saw deep fear. This was a captain of Shadow Owl; they’d crossed paths, and he knew Jiang Wu’s strength.

"Who gave you the mission?" Li Xin asked, possessing a magical sealed object like a rattle, not an ordinary person.

"The former Chief Red-robed Archbishop," Jiang Wu said, "He’s dead."

Dead?

The Chief Red-robed Archbishop should have been the Great Angel, and crucially, he was a top figure in the Moon God’s Court. Who could? Who would dare?

As a member of the Night Patrol, the Chief Red-robed Archbishop was second to none, standing at the pinnacle of the secret paths of the Dao Yuan Continent. To eliminate such a strong presence, what kind of person could do it?

Li Xin swallowed, "What I heard was that this former Chief betrayed his faith and disappeared?"

"Not disappeared, but dead," Jiang Wu sighed, "Before this, the master said to me that if he disappeared, it meant he was dead. On that day, Dragon Capital experienced a once-in-decades thunderstorm, along with an earthquake, not natural phenomena. He said I could decide whether to continue the mission but not to tell anyone, or it would be fatal."

Li Xin almost wanted to slap himself; curiosity killed Justin. Damn it, he was somewhat overconfident, as this escalated to a life-and-death mission involving a former Red-robed Archbishop.

Li Xin smiled wryly, "Can I pretend I didn’t hear any of this?"

Jiang Wu handed a cigarette to Li Xin, and he took it, lighting it.

"No use, from the moment you continued investigating this case, I knew you wouldn’t give up until you achieved your goal. Moreover, you don’t look like someone afraid of dying," Jiang Wu said.

"Captain, you’re really bad at judging people. I’m scared to death right now," Li Xin took a deep drag to calm himself down.

"I have a few questions," Li Xin said.

"Go ahead. There’s nothing I can’t tell you now," Jiang Wu said, as if relieved of a thousand-pound burden.

"Captain, first of all, let’s not scare ourselves. Handling the Fallen isn’t a big issue; more likely, the Bishop didn’t want to escalate conflicts between the Church Court and the Hundred Martial Hall. If something happened to him, it’s probably another issue," Li Xin said.

"Possibly," Jiang Wu nodded, "That’s why I’ve stayed without escaping."