"An innocent young girl, a highly respected village chief, a group of simple and honest villagers…"
"What exactly was the culprit that turned Qichi Village into what it is now?"
"Ignorant worship?"
"Shifting kindness?"
"A lie everyone knows?"
"Lives taken at will?"
"One day, a shepherd came to the village. The shepherd brought food and shelter to the little white sheep, and gave them the power to make their wishes come true."
"From that day on, the sheep lived happy and fulfilling lives."
"But was that really the case?"
"The sheep only needed to kneel before the shepherd and beg, and they could obtain everything they wanted."
"Just like that, the shepherd became the "god" of the flock."
"At that moment, a black sheep stepped forward."
"Only the black sheep realized that under the calm night sky, the number of sheep was decreasing one by one."
"If fulfilling a wish meant paying a heavy price, then the sheep making wishes would think twice and weigh the pros and cons."
"But what if this cost could be transferred to others?"
"Later, the shepherd stepped forward and told the sheep that the culprit behind the decreasing number of the flock was the black sheep among them."
"Amid the black sheep's heartbroken accusations, it did not live to see the next day's sun."
"Tell me, Rover, what is the truth you've pieced together?"
Looking at Rover's extremely unpleasant expression, a dim light flashed in Scar's eyes.
"The shepherd fulfills wishes at the cost of other sheep. The flock learns the truth and becomes accomplices. But the black sheep breaks the unspoken rule of the flock, and so it is sacrificed."
The shepherd told the flock that the black sheep had broken the rules, that it was the culprit behind the disappearance of the flock, and that the shepherd would no longer grant the sheep's wishes.
In Scar's story, all the sheep had long known that when they made a wish, they might also become the sacrifice used by another sheep.
But they always believed that they wouldn't be "that sheep" this time.
At the same time, some sheep believed that they had already borne the risk of being sacrificed. Therefore, they had to pass that risk onto another sheep in exchange for a chance to have their wish fulfilled.
And thus, the chain of suspicion was completed.
While Rover was thinking, Scar's hoarse voice came again.
"The sacrificed girl, the greedy and indifferent villagers who persecuted each other and branded their own kind as heretics… all of this is their own doing."
Scar sneered and looked at Rover expectantly.
"All it takes is putting the rebel on the execution stand to intimidate the flock, win people's support, and maintain those unshakable rules."
But Rover crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Scar with golden eyes full of mockery.
"So you're saying the Fractsidus are the 'black sheep'? You told a long, useless story just to say that the Jinzhou Magistrate and the Sentinel are the 'shepherd'?"
Sensing the hostility rising from Rover, Scar smiled helplessly.
"Looks like you have some unnecessary misunderstandings about us, Rover."
"Unnecessary? Misunderstandings?"
Rover let out a cold snort. A sharp glint flashed as the Originite Rapier, Echoing Rain, suddenly appeared in her hand. Radiant light burst forth from her grip and roared toward Scar.
Facing Rover's sudden attack, Scar was already prepared. The black goat playing cards flipped rapidly in his hands.
One after another, the cards flew into the air, then dropped sharply, repelling Rover's attack before gradually forming a circle, trapping the two of them inside.
Looking coldly at Scar's tricks, the chill in Rover's eyes seemed almost tangible.
"Three years ago, what did you do at the Yuanwang Camp!"
Faced with Rover's questioning, Scar froze for a moment, then covered his face and burst into loud, wild laughter.
"Hahaha, although I don't know how you found out about what happened three years ago…"
Scar paused. Feeling the increasingly intense killing intent radiating from the girl in front of him, a mad smile appeared again on his burn-scarred face.
At that moment, dark red light burst from the surrounding playing cards. A flash of pitch-black light swept past.
By the time Rover came back to her senses, she found herself in a strange illusion.
Rover frowned and looked around. Behind her was a ruined outpost-like wreckage, and a dark red rain of blood fell from the sky.
Around her, one after another, figures wrapped in blood-red bandages and wearing eerie masks emerged from the shadows, all raising their weapons and pointing them at her.
"You care a lot about that white-haired young man, right?"
Scar's voice seemed to appear out of nowhere, echoing through the air.
Seeing the Fractsidus assassins closing in step by step, Rover decided to strike first, dashing into the crowd in a flash.
The rapier, thin as a leaf, now resembled the scythe of death. Each swing inevitably took the life of a Fractsidus assassin.
"I still remember three years ago…"
Scar's voice suddenly stopped, irritating Rover so much that she slashed again, cutting one assassin clean in half.
She knew very well that Scar was trying to distract her during the fight. But at this moment, she couldn't afford to care.
All she could do was raise her blade and cut down every enemy who dared to charge at her.
Very quickly, more than a dozen Fractsidus assassins fell under Rover's blade. As the battle ended, the bodies on the ground suddenly turned into burned-out ash and scattered into the air.
"I personally stabbed the blade into his heart."
"What!?"
Scar's sudden words made Rover's heart skip a beat. The color drained instantly from her delicate face. And in that brief moment, a pitch-black playing card whistled toward her face.
Coming back to her senses too late, Rover had no time to think and quickly tried to dodge to the side.
But due to the momentary stiffness from her shock, she was still a step too slow.
The black card sliced through the air, drawing a streak of crimson blood and leaving a tragic red line in the illusion.
But Rover had no time to care about the wound on her shoulder. Her golden pupils trembled violently with shock.
"What… did you say…"
Seeing his attack succeed, Scar no longer hid himself. The black goat playing cards danced up and down in his hands as he stepped out of the shadows like an elegant yet cruel magician.
"What's wrong? Shaken already? That doesn't seem like the calm and wise Rover from the rumors."
Before Scar finished speaking, the sound of something cutting through the air came from beside his ear. The cold gleam of a blade, carrying boundless anger, slashed toward his neck.
Scar hadn't expected that Rover, whose right hand was injured, would launch an attack with her left hand. And even with her left hand, her strength hadn't weakened at all, instead, it had become even sharper.
The relentless assault came like a torrential storm, leaving Scar no chance to regain his footing.
Filled with fear, Scar dodged left and right, controlling card after card to fly toward Rover.
But the moment those cards left his hand, they were all cut apart by the enraged Rover.
Just as Scar was about to be split in two, a bright red flower of the other shore suddenly bloomed in front of Rover's blade, blocking the fatal strike.
Seeing her attack interrupted, Rover knew she wouldn't be able to kill Scar today.
She didn't linger in the fight, flipping backward and leaving the battle, calmly looking at Scar, who was panting heavily, and a red-clothed, white-haired girl standing beside him.
"I told you already, don't improvise and cause trouble for others."
The mysterious woman in red crossed her arms and glanced sideways at the disheveled Scar.
Facing her silent ridicule, Scar forced a smile onto his face.
"Don't say that. I did gain something from this operation."
"Oh?", The woman in red raised an eyebrow. A strong sense of unease told her they shouldn't stay here any longer.
"The 'gain' you're talking about… could it be using up most of the manpower for this operation?"
"What do you mean?", This time, it was Scar's turn to frown.
He clearly remembered that the Rover had only killed illusions he created. How could it have consumed their manpower?
But in the next second, as the red-clothed woman waved her hand lightly, the three of them left the illusion. Only then did Scar see that the once-empty Qichi Village was now covered in corpses.
And those corpses belonged to the Fractsidus assassins they had brought for this operation.
Scar stared at the scene in shock, his pupils trembling, his face full of disbelief.
"What happ..."
When he saw the white figure standing in the middle of the corpses, bathed in blood, curiosity, excitement, madness, and a trace of fear surged into his heart all at once.
To stall Zane, the Fractsidus had no choice but to send assassins to block his path and buy time for Scar.
And the result was exactly what Scar now saw before him.
"The white demon…"
As if sensing something, Zane turned his head and immediately noticed the trace of blood on Rover's right shoulder. His expression changed drastically, and he rushed over to her side to check her wound.
Taking advantage of this moment, Scar and the mysterious woman didn't dare to stay any longer and hurriedly fled the scene.
Only when the portal was about to close did Scar finally let out a small sigh of relief. But at that moment, he saw the white-haired boy slowly raise his hand, one finger pointing straight at him.
And the owner of that finger stared at him without blinking, until the portal completely closed.
Scar knew that he had been marked.