Nightmare Apostle

There’s someone even more unfortunate. Back then, after being caught for stealing a not-so-valuable Resentful Eye from Master Yun Lan, he refused to admit it and had his head slapped into his chest by the latter.

When talking about this, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but shrink his neck, feeling a chill down his spine.

This so-called renowned sect is just a facade. Their ruthlessness is no less than that of an Evil Cultivator, though they are good at public relations and often engage in charity to maintain a good reputation. Such acts of murder and arson usually don’t get reported.

To be honest, Yang Xiao didn’t sleep well that night. In the first half, he dreamt of the Second Demon Uncle chasing him to seize his body, and in the latter half, before he could catch his breath, Master Yun Lan was after him, yelling to slap his head into his chest and turn him into a puppet to serve as a slave.

The next morning at breakfast, seeing Yang Xiao with heavy dark circles and looking unwell, Sui Chengguo expressed concern about his health and offered to call a doctor for him.

After breakfast, Yang Xiao was too exhausted to move and lay down again.

This time was not bad; the warm sunlight seemed to gild him with a layer of gold as he was about to fall asleep when the sudden ringing of his phone startled him awake.

The ringtone made his heart jolt and wake up instantly, as it was specially set for a call from Director Hong Anguo of the Provincial Office.

"Hope it’s good news..." Yang Xiao murmured a prayer to Buddha for protection before answering:

"Director Hong, this is Yang Xiao."

"Mr. Yang, there’s been a change in plans. Your leave is over immediately. Return to the Provincial Office right away for further instructions." Hong Anguo’s voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Director Hong, can you reveal a bit about... what’s going on?" Yang Xiao had a vague sense of foreboding, suspecting it might involve the Esoteric Sect or Dean Sheng.

After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end lowered slightly: "The Esoteric Sect mission has been urgently called off for unknown reasons."

A buzzing sound filled Yang Xiao’s head. "Is it... did something happen to Dean Sheng?"

"Little Yang, you... you’d better be prepared mentally. The situation with the Esoteric Sect isn’t optimistic. That’s all I can say."

"Set off immediately. I’ll meet you at the Provincial Office building at noon; we’ll talk then." Hong Anguo decisively hung up.

After putting the phone down, Yang Xiao was utterly stunned. Just moments ago, he was preparing to welcome Dean Sheng back and help in suppressing the rebellion and reclaiming the Academy. He had planned to make a great impression in this battle, but the phone call shattered all of it.

He could forgo the spotlight, but he didn’t want anything to happen to Dean Sheng.

Unable to sit still for even a moment, Yang Xiao immediately asked Sui to arrange a car to take him back to Qinglan City. On the way, he called Miss Gu from the Gu Family three times, but she didn’t answer.

Sitting in the back of the car, Yang Xiao pondered the matter deeply. If something could affect Dean Sheng’s return to the country, it likely wasn’t an issue with the Esoteric Sect. He knew the Esoteric Priest well, a man of his word; he wouldn’t go back on his promises.

If it wasn’t a problem with the Esoteric Sect, then it had to be an issue with Dean Sheng himself, which was Yang Xiao’s biggest concern.

Dean Sheng had endured humiliation for ten years as a Dead Mouth Lama in the Dharma Sect just to return to the country and settle accounts with his rebellious brother, Sheng Jingxuan. He wouldn’t give up this opportunity unless something happened to him.

Yang Xiao speculated it was a health problem with Dean Sheng, splitting into two possibilities: first, an issue with himself, like failing to control a Magic Artifact forcibly or suffering from conflicting effects of an Elixir.

But based on Yang Xiao’s understanding of Dean Sheng, he was incredibly cautious and wouldn’t make such basic mistakes, especially with the critical moment of returning home approaching.

That leaves only the second possibility: he was attacked and is now in critical condition.

Nonetheless, given Dean Sheng’s abilities, who could harm him? Besides, this was on the Esoteric Sect’s turf, with the Cannibal Buddha overseeing. Who would dare act recklessly?

"It’s the Dharma Sect, the Dharma Sect did it!" Yang Xiao’s eyes flashed; he believed he had pinpointed the key issue.

If Dean Sheng returned to the country this time, the Dharma Sect’s plans would fall apart, losing control over Yiling Academy and ruining their already scarce reputation, turning them into an enemy of all sects in Hua Country.

If they allow the leader of a major sect like the Upper Three Bookshops to be abducted without retaliation, won’t everyone live in constant fear?

So, in terms of Dean Sheng’s return, the Dharma Sect and Sheng Jingxuan’s Yiling Academy shared the same stance—never allow him to return alive.

But the Esoteric Cannibal Buddha was also a man of wisdom and courage, surely he knew Dean Sheng’s importance. Why would he let the Dharma Sect succeed so easily?

Due to serious information scarcity, Yang Xiao’s thoughts were pure speculation. All he wanted was to reach the Patrol Bureau Building quickly to hear what Hong Anguo had to say.

Knowing Yang Xiao’s urgency, the driver sped up, reaching the Provincial Office building shortly after 10 a.m. Yang Xiao directly pushed open the door to Hong Anguo’s office.

"Director Hong, what’s the situation?" Yang Xiao asked eagerly.

Hong Anguo also looked grim but still told Yang Xiao to calm down first, have a seat, and handed him a glass of water.

After Yang Xiao sat down, Hong Anguo also took a seat on the sofa. "Mr. Yang, I just received a confirmed message; there’s been a change, and the mission has been canceled."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!