Bai Han recalled the scenes from his dream, which had resurfaced in his memory. A man stood tall by a high platform, hands behind his back, clad in a black cloak.
Bai Xi was suspended from a high platform, her collarbones pierced by two iron chains. Nine hollow tubes, crafted from pure gold, were embedded in her body. Blood flowed from these tubes, dripping onto the platform. The platform was etched with strange totems, and as the blood seeped into them, they glowed a dark crimson.
He himself lay on the ground, gravely wounded and completely immobilized, forced to watch as Bai Xi slowly ceased to breathe, becoming a cold corpse.
That altar, those bizarre totems...
Clearly, that person had not abandoned his original plan. He had to protect Xiao Xi.
With this thought, he carefully replayed the preceding scenes, the people present, all the surroundings, not overlooking a single detail, trying to recall any clues that might reveal the time and place.
At this moment, a gentle knock sounded at the door.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Bai Xi had already fallen asleep, but she had heard Bai Han shout "No!"
Her senses were very sharp. Even with the decent soundproofing of the same suite, she could still hear, especially voices carrying such intense emotion.
That cry of "No" had sounded incredibly weak and heartbroken.
Bai Han sat on the sofa, pausing slightly at the sound of her voice. A warmth welled up in his heart, stemming from Bai Xi's concern and care for him.
All of this was because she didn't remember her past life. If she did... she might wish for him to die immediately.
Bai Han gave a self-deprecating smile, but still replied gently, "I'm fine, I just... had a nightmare."
Bai Xi stood at the door, her brow furrowed slightly.
Even though her brother said he was fine, his voice didn't sound well.
Coupled with the recent events of the Kui Hall... she couldn't help but worry. "Can I come in?"
Bai Han hesitated for a moment, then finally stood up, grabbed a long bath towel, and covered his head before opening the door for Bai Xi.
Bai Xi stood outside the door. Upon seeing Bai Han, her mood relaxed a little, but she couldn't help but frown. "Brother, you must dry your hair before sleeping."
He claimed he'd had a nightmare just now, but his hair... was clearly still quite damp, as if he had only just washed it.
Bai Han smiled slightly, "Xiao Xi is right. If I had dried my hair before sleeping, perhaps I wouldn't have had the nightmare."
Bai Xi raised an eyebrow, her expression carrying a hint of seriousness, as if she were not Bai Han's sister, but an older sister. "You know that's all that matters!"
Bai Han smiled and lightly tapped Bai Xi's nose. "You have the nerve to lecture me. Before, it was always..."
His words trailed off mid-sentence.
Before, Han Mo had usually helped Bai Xi dry her hair.
Bai Xi felt annoyed by her brother's unfinished sentence, as if something was stuck in her throat, neither here nor there. "It was always what?"
Bai Han chuckled. "Before, I was the one reminding you. Now you're the one lecturing me."
Bai Xi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Did you ever remind me before?"
Bai Han smiled. "Have you forgotten everything from when you were little? When you were little, you often didn't dry your hair after washing it. I had to chase you and call out, and only then could Mother catch you, the fidgety you, to help you dry your hair."
Bai Xi vaguely recalled some childhood memories. It seemed... that was indeed the case.
As a child, she disliked washing her hair and also disliked drying it.
When washing her hair, closing her eyes, unable to see, would make her feel uneasy.
As for drying her hair, it wasn't that she disliked it, but rather... she was lazy.
But had her brother educated her back then? She couldn't quite remember. She decided to assume he had, after all, her memories of childhood were rather blurry.
"Brother, is something bothering you?"
Bai Han paused the motion of drying his hair. "No."
Bai Xi said calmly, "Brother, if something is truly troubling you, you must tell me."
Bai Han was silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "Okay."
Bai Xi looked at his smile but still felt a sense of unease. "Brother, I'm serious. I have a strange feeling, as if someone once concealed something from me, causing me to lose something extremely important... This feeling came out of nowhere, and what's more frightening is that I can't even recall what that thing is."
After speaking, she looked at Bai Han intently. "Brother, do you understand how I feel?"
Bai Han looked into her clear, pure eyes, and his heart sank abruptly. He instinctively shifted his gaze. "Xiao Xi, you haven't lost anything particularly important. Everything you desire... your brother has done his best to protect it for you."
Bai Xi looked at his averted eyes and decided not to dwell on the topic. She said calmly, "Brother, speaking of which, I actually have something I wanted to ask for your help with today."
Bai Han looked at Bai Xi.
Three days passed in a flash, at the Central Stadium of Haidao City.
A building resembling a coconut tree stood on the southernmost part of Haidao City. The lights were on, making it exceptionally magnificent in the night.
Bai Xi stood on the highest viewing platform of this building, overlooking all the seats in the stadium. Currently, as the gala had not yet begun, all the seats were empty.
But when night fell, it would be filled with people.
A stadium with a capacity of one hundred and eight thousand people. All tickets had been presold three months ago.
Were the words spoken by those so-called new recruits of the Kui Hall true? Or was this entire thing a scam?
If the Kui Hall were to make a move here, these people would all be in danger. Could her methods truly avert all the risks?
With this thought, she furrowed her brow slightly, her gaze filled with solemnity and coldness.
Just then, Shangguan Wen approached, his face beaming with joy. "Lord God of War, everything has been arranged. Rest assured, we have implemented everything according to your deployment. This time, it will be foolproof."
Shangguan Wen, thinking of the deployments over the past two days, was brimming with confidence.
As per the Lord God of War's instructions, the city defense forces had already secured the entire stadium three days prior.
They conducted a thorough search, checking for any sabotage by the intelligence division.
In addition, in preparation for the evening's gala, various detection equipment had been deployed outside the stadium to ensure that no one from the intelligence division could infiltrate.
Even if they managed to enter the stadium, the city defense forces were like nails, strategically placed among the crowd. No matter how formidable the Kui Hall's abilities were, they would not be able to inflict significant harm.
Bai Xi frowned, remaining silent, simply observing the current quiet venue before her.