32: An Inside Job
"The book is on the desk. If you want to take it, just take it directly. Don't disturb my sleep."
The next morning, when Bai Ling appeared in Leticia's bedroom using the same method, she saw Leticia curled up in her blankets, too lazy to even open her eyes.
This girl hadn't slept properly for two consecutive days. Today she was determined that even if the sky fell, she would sleep until she woke up naturally.
"Senior Sang wants to meet you." Bai Ling calmly picked up the small booklet on the desk while telling Leticia about last night's conversation. "To be precise, she wants to meet Su Qianqian."
Leticia and Su Qianqian were two different people in the human world. Senior Sang wanted to meet Su Qianqian, not Leticia.
"Sang Zitong? Why would I meet her?" Leticia waved her hand. "Just say I don't want to see her. I was exhausted yesterday."
This time Bai Ling didn't force Leticia either. She was actually somewhat worried that Senior Sang might recognize Leticia, the famous Demon King.
It was even better that Leticia didn't want to go.
"Then rest well. I'll go back first." Bai Ling nodded and whooshed back upstairs.
"She was surprisingly agreeable today. How strange." Leticia was somewhat puzzled by Bai Ling being so easy to talk to.
But puzzled or not, at this moment she preferred to close her eyes and peacefully meet and chat with beautiful girls in her dreams.
Why think so much? Wasn't sleeping soundly better?
...
At noon, in the Bai family's living room, the gray-haired girl received the small booklet Bai Ling handed her.
"Indeed it's this book. What comes without effort!" After seeing the book's title, Senior Sang's face showed a sinister smile.
Today Senior Sang was dressed quite casually, making her look like a beautiful girl in her twenties.
In Bai Ling's memory, this was the first time she'd seen Senior Sang like this.
"Is this book very precious?"
"Precious? Perhaps it's quite precious to the Demon Realm, but for us humans, this book is just something slightly better than trash." Senior Sang said with a smile.
"The Demon Realm?" Bai Ling suddenly became nervous. Last night this book had stayed with Leticia for an entire night.
If Leticia wanted to, she could have completely... no, she should have already finished reading this book.
Otherwise, why would she appear so tired today?
"I received information before that the Demon Realm wanted to purchase this book from Wang Ziwen, but due to covert pressure from various forces, that transaction fell through." Senior Sang put the book back on Bai Ling's table. "I've been worried that Wang Ziwen might try to make another deal with the Demon Realm. Now I can rest assured."
"Senior's meaning is..."
"Book theft, perpetrator was a black-clothed man and two weirdos in black and white. The latter two obtained the book and injured three A-level heroes who pursued them, then disappeared without a trace." Senior Sang said slowly. "This way, this book will never again risk falling into Demon Realm hands."
Bai Ling's expression became somewhat terrible. If she guessed correctly, the contents recorded in this book might have already fallen into Demon Realm hands.
"I'll negotiate with the Hero Association. Those old folks are quite tight-lipped, and they'd be happy to let Wang Ziwen suffer in silence." Senior Sang, completely unaware of Bai Ling's thoughts, continued happily describing her plans. "As for this book, let Little Bai keep it for now."
What safekeeping method could be safer than personal custody by Stellar Sword Saint?
"Senior, if what's recorded in this book became known to the Demon Realm, what would happen?" Bai Ling asked uneasily.
Senior Sang shook her head. "I don't know either, but seeing how urgently the Demon Realm has been trying to contact Wang Ziwen these past few years, this book is probably very important to them."
"After all, I can't exactly capture those demons who contacted Wang Ziwen and interrogate them about why they want this book, right?"
"I see... Then does Senior have any leads on that black-clothed person?" Bai Ling's anxious heart settled somewhat.
It seemed this book had only entered the Demon Realm's sight after Leticia's escape, and Leticia's reaction to this book wasn't actually that strong.
Maybe this book was useless to her, right?
"Unfortunately, there are no leads currently. We only know that person is a repeat offender with quite sophisticated methods and very familiar with the crime scene. If not for the unexpected coincidence, his plan this time should have been flawless."
"I'm even starting to suspect whether this might be Wang Ziwen staging everything himself. Because of pressure from various sides, he couldn't use normal means to give the book to the Demon Realm, so he had someone steal it, creating the illusion of theft."
"This way, he could completely clear himself of suspicion, and others couldn't suspect anything since there's no evidence... he could even use this opportunity to push through several of his proposals."
"What a scheme indeed."