Chen Ling nodded slightly and stepped inside.
The participants of this banquet were all figures familiar to Chen Ling's eyes. The prosecutor, the defense lawyer, the nine reporters who sat in the opposite spectator seats that day, and... Chen Ling's gaze fell on a short, dark-skinned old man wearing a gray padded jacket, with shifty eyes like a thief.
As well as the ungrateful wretch of District Three, the witness Old Man Ding.
At this moment, Old Man Ding was standing at the edge of the stage. His narrow, long eyes stared straight at the beautiful woman in the evening dress playing the violin. His gaze was like an obscene and dirty Bone-Stripping Knife, stripping from the other party's exposed snow-white skin all the way down to the places concealed by the fabric...
Holding a red wine glass with one hand, a smile hooked on the corner of his mouth, seeming to be extremely intoxicated.
Chen Ling recognized him. He was an ordinary resident of the street next to Frost Street. He didn't have a proper job on normal days, just relying on his wife working in a factory to earn money to support the family. He belonged to the category of targets that the old aunties at the street intersection chewed the fat about and criticized all year round.
Chen Ling remembered that when he saved him, he was following behind a group of refugees, groaning and moaning looking like he was about to die. At that time, in order to gather enough Audience numbers, Chen Ling didn't think much and directly pulled him onto the train as well. He didn't expect that after this Old Man Ding entered Aurora City, he would actually become the sole betrayer of District Three...
"How is it, is she pretty?" Prosecutor Fang Lichang walked to Old Man Ding's side and spoke indifferently.
"Pretty, pretty!" Old Man Ding smacked his lips. "In our District Three, you can't see such a good-looking girl... Aurora City is still the best, just like heaven."
Fang Lichang glanced at him. "Pretty women are everywhere, but Bach's 'Air on the G String' is not something that can be heard in countryside places like the Seven Great Districts..."
"Lord Prosecutor is right. I've never even heard of this thing in District Three, truly foreign style!" Old Man Ding clapped his hands consecutively, clumsily flattering, yet his gaze didn't have the slightest intention of leaving those two dazzlingly white thighs.
Fang Lichang took a deep breath. Thinking that this guy was an important witness after the court opened, he still tried his best to speak calmly:
"As long as you perform well in the courtroom, the money naturally won't be short for you. When the time comes, you can have however many women you want..."
"I just want her! I just want her!!" Old Man Ding instantly became excited, pointing at the beautiful woman on the stage and saying, "I want her to come give me... Uh, I want her to come teach me that whatever Air, I want to learn the violin!"
Fang Lichang's face turned ashen green. Without a second word, he directly turned around and walked away. With this lustful pig, he truly didn't want to speak even half a sentence more.
Seeing Fang Lichang leave, Old Man Ding scratched his forehead that didn't have many hairs left, and then continued staring at the beautiful woman playing the violin on the stage. Just at this time, a voice came from behind him.
"Mister Ding, I'm very curious."
Old Man Ding looked back and discovered it was a young reporter wearing a coffee-colored coat.
"Curious about what?"
"If I remember correctly, if it wasn't for the defendant Han Meng desperately defending the city gate to the death, you fundamentally wouldn't have been able to enter Aurora City." Chen Ling slowly spoke. "With you appearing in court to give false testimony now, won't your conscience hurt?"
"Conscience? How much money is that thing worth. Can it help me take a wife, or learn the violin?" Old Man Ding snickered. "I didn't beg that whatever Han Meng to open the gate for me. He wanted to do it himself, what does it have to do with me?"
Deep in Chen Ling's eyes, a wipe of icy killing intent chillingly flashed past.
Immediately after, this wipe of killing intent transformed into a smile. He looked at Old Man Ding with a smile, as if a spring breeze brushing the face,
"Okay, I understand."
Chen Ling turned around and left.
"Zhuo Shuqing, have you finished writing your draft?" A reporter called out to stop Chen Ling. Several of their tabloid reporters were all gathered together at this moment, as if eagerly chatting about something.
"I arrived a bit late today, haven't finished writing it yet."
"Several of us have already completed the first draft and handed it to the prosecutor to read. Your speed is too slow." Another reporter teased. "Attacking [Six of Spades] is big news. If you miss it, you'll be so angry you'll hammer your bed in the middle of the night."
Chen Ling's brow raised, a thought rapidly surging into his mind. "Having said that, have you guys ever seen the real [Six of Spades]?"
As soon as this sentence came out, the few reporters and the defense lawyer chatting together simultaneously stood stunned in place.
"How could we have possibly seen him... It's hard to even say if this person exists within the Dusk Society, right?" A reporter looked thoughtful. "Probably because a [Six of Hearts] appeared some time ago, so that person just took advantage of the situation to pick a [Six of Spades] Card Face to bluff people. Who could have seen him?"
"Regarding [Six of Spades], I've actually heard some rumors."
"Oh?"
Reporters after all all had curiosity. The moment Chen Ling said this sentence, the crowd instantly gained interest. "What rumors?"
"Legend has it that this [Six of Spades] changes constantly. Sometimes he's an old man, sometimes a child, sometimes a beautiful woman..."
Catching the two words "beautiful woman", Old Man Ding's ears twitched, and he immediately turned around and leaned over,
"What beautiful woman?"
Seeing Old Man Ding get involved, the expressions of the crowd were all somewhat disgusted, but it wasn't good to say much. A reporter spoke in confusion, "Wait, how come this sounds a bit like that [Six of Hearts]? Didn't they say he also has the ability to change?"
"It's different. This [Six of Spades] seems to have no physical body. Like a ghost, he can possess people." Chen Ling lowered his voice and said, "Rumor has it his personality is incomparably brutal, and extremely vengeful... Almost all the people who have seen him were tortured to death."
"Ghost? Is it that eerie?"
"Aren't the people from the Dusk Society all this eerie? This is still considered okay right..."
"Makes sense. That self-immolating [Six of Hearts] is even more eerie than him. I was at the scene at the time. That smile of his before he died... was truly too terrifying."
"..."
The crowd of reporters began to speak up one word after another. After listening for a long time, Old Man Ding discovered there was nothing about beautiful women, and could only return to below the stage listlessly...
Just at this time, the violin's musical tune ended, and Prosecutor Fang Lichang slowly walked onto the stage.
The crowd tactfully quieted down.
"Everyone's news drafts, I've seen them all, written very well."
Fang Lichang's voice echoed within the banquet hall. Just as he began to speak, seven or eight waiters pushed dining carts to below the stage. Silver metal covers covered steaming hot dishes one after another, and the crowd's eyes instantly lit up.
"...In order to thank everyone's cooperation, I and the Stars Chamber of Commerce have also specially held this banquet. We invited the best chefs in Aurora City to make a few top-tier dishes for everyone. After everyone has drunk about enough wine and water, you can have a taste..."
"This banquet can be considered our advance celebration feast, wishing everyone a meteoric rise and that all your wishes come true in Aurora City in the future."
As Fang Lichang's voice fell, he raised his wine glass high. The crowd below the stage also cooperated and raised their wine glasses one after another, and then drained the wine in their glasses in one gulp.
After several glasses of red wine entered his stomach, Fang Lichang's cheeks were also slightly tipsy. His mood at this moment was very good. He immediately waved his large hand and said to the waiters below:
"Serve the meal!"
Bright lights shone on the dining carts' metal covers. The smooth surfaces reflected the expectant gazes of the crowd around. As the waiters slowly lifted the metal covers, bursts of the sound of swallowing saliva transmitted out from the surroundings.
But in the next moment, the crowd stood stunned in place.
They only saw that upon the exquisite and tidy plate surfaces, not a single fragrant and beautiful dish was seen. Taking their place, were piles of Playing Cards stacked into mountains...
Today's main course——[Six of Spades].