Chapter 391

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Chapter 391: High Tide

At crucial moments, there should always be someone coming to interrupt.

Guan Ling’s luck had never been on her side. Perhaps, meeting Bai Wei had used up half a lifetime’s worth of her luck.

In her mind, she had made a bold move, only to be immediately interrupted.

Noticing others nearby, she quickly blushed and bowed deeply. “Sorry, I, I need to calm down.”

She thought to herself, Thank goodness it wasn’t Yagyū who saw me. I wouldn’t know how to face him. I might even kneel down… that might not work either.

“Wait…” Bai Wei was about to leave when, suddenly, a force pushed him from behind.

Hatsurai Wagaizuma stood before him, one hand on her hip, the other raised to block his path.

She had just finished touching up her makeup, switching her eyeshadow from light red to turquoise. She raised her fingers and spoke, “It’s not good to disturb the staff here.”

Bai Wei glanced at her, intending to ask how she knew his name. But seeing Yagyū Simozi nearby, that question faded. Instead, his confusion grew. His sister’s behavior was odd—so unlike his own. The thought of a soul exchange didn’t cross his mind, because this person clearly recognized him.

“You misunderstood. That person earlier was my sister. I was just talking to her.”

“Your sister?” Hatsurai Wagaizuma exclaimed, “What a coincidence!”

“I think it’s quite a coincidence too, that she’s here,” Bai Wei replied. “I’ll go find out.”

“Wait a minute!” Hatsurai Wagaizuma stopped him, “You met your sister by accident, right? So why were you sneaking into the backstage? Non-staff members aren’t allowed back here. It’s better if you stay in the lounge while I fetch her to avoid being kicked out.”

Bai Wei answered confidently, “My acting skills and stealth abilities are top-notch.”

“Wow! Sounds like you’re a master burglar and a skilled tracker,” Hatsurai Wagaizuma exaggerated, holding her chest.

Can you guess how the protagonists from the Assassin’s Creed series would react to that statement?

Hatsurai Wagaizuma led Bai Wei to her private lounge. Since the concert was ongoing, she had exclusive use of this space. A curtain separated the area, giving her a place to change.

“Stay here and wait. I’ll go get her… By the way, what’s her name?”

“Yagyū Simozi.”

“Alright~” Hatsurai Wagaizuma walked quickly out the door and spoke to her manager, “Tongsheng-sister, can you please take care of the guest for me?”

Bai Wei looked around the lounge, surprised by how clean and tidy it was. It wasn’t the typical chaotic artist space he expected. For instance, Hokusinn Kichyō’s forced engagement had led to multiple makeup artists and several performance outfits. Artists usually had many different costumes, and the space should be filled with people. But this place… it was serene.

“This child, really…” Tongsheng sighed, walking over to Bai Wei and extending her hand. “Hello, I’m Tongsheng, Wagaizuma’s manager.”

“Hello…” Bai Wei shook her hand. “Unemployed, from Ming Country, Bai Wei.”

The two stood there awkwardly, unable to find a suitable topic. The silence between them grew, an uncomfortable moment hanging in the air.

“May I ask how you know her?” Tongsheng asked politely. “This child is quite casual, but her social circle isn’t very large. As her manager, I’m a bit curious.”

Bai Wei replied honestly, “As far as I remember, today is our first meeting.”

“Oh?” Tongsheng’s gaze, behind her plain glasses, clearly expressed disbelief. This was their first meeting? Yet Hatsurai Wagaizuma had been so warm and physically forward? Even others would hesitate to make physical contact with the opposite sex on their first meeting.

“But maybe not for her.”

“What does that mean?” Tongsheng asked, intrigued.

“Maybe I’ve seen her before, but I forgot,” Bai Wei shrugged. “I came to find someone and will leave once I find them, so as not to trouble you.”

Tongsheng observed him for a moment. She noticed his straightforward, cheerful demeanor—so different from the businessmen or musicians she often encountered. He stood tall and straight, with handsome features, speaking naturally and confidently without arrogance. These traits left a positive impression on her.

Making a good first impression often takes simple things: a clean appearance, good posture, natural speech, and maintaining eye contact. While these sound ordinary, few people manage all of them. Most have small flaws, whether in posture, speech, wandering eyes, or too-casual attire.

Tongsheng offered a seat, continuing the conversation. Secretly, she was surprised to learn that Bai Wei had shared a ride with Wagaizuma to get here. She found it necessary to figure out who this young man really was once Wagaizuma returned.

There was something fishy here, something she didn’t know.

This man was tight-lipped—getting any information from him wouldn’t be easy.

Bai Wei remained unaware of Tongsheng’s thoughts. Even if he did, he would likely just sigh and mutter, “I’m truly a magical seashell.”

Minutes passed, and Wagaizuma still hadn’t returned.

Ten more minutes slipped by, and Tongsheng couldn’t wait any longer. Glancing at the clock, she said, “We’re about to go on stage soon. We can’t afford any issues right now. You stay here; I’ll go bring her back.”

She opened the door, but suddenly, Bai Wei grabbed her wrist. Turning, she saw the serious look on his face.

“Wait.”

“What is it?” Tongsheng wondered.

“The sound is gone,” Bai Wei said, his voice low. “It’s too quiet.”

Even in the backstage area of a music festival, there’s always a buzz—voices, laughter, music. But when the door opened, neither Bai Wei nor Tongsheng heard anything. The world outside had gone silent, as though someone had pressed the mute button.

Tongsheng was startled. This was the backstage area, and it should have been filled with sounds. The staff should have been rushing to prepare for the stage, but there was no one around. The corridor was eerily quiet, only lit by pale lights. The stark contrast between the light and the deep night at the end of the corridor gave the place a chilling silence.

Her throat tightened, and she stood straighter, forcing the words out. “Nothing bad is going to happen, right?”

“I don’t know,” Bai Wei replied. “We need to go out and see what’s happening. Let’s go together.”

“Okay, let’s go together,” Tongsheng nodded, feeling safer with Bai Wei by her side. His towering 1.85-meter frame offered her some comfort.

The two walked through the corridor, emerged from the backstage area, and found themselves in front of the main stage of the music festival. The set was unchanged, but the place was empty—absolutely no one was there. Not a single soul.

“What’s happening?” Tongsheng felt a prickling sensation on her scalp. She stood beneath the stage, looking around in panic. She tiptoed with worry, “How come there’s no one here?”

The music festival venue had thousands of people, yet suddenly, all were gone. This was bizarre. There had never been such an event in history.

Even if a city had disappeared before, it was typically due to a tsunami or volcanic eruption. But this… this kind of disappearance was unlike anything.

“Could it be an extraterrestrial?” Tongsheng’s face went pale.

Bai Wei looked up at the stars and shook his head. “The likelihood of direct intervention by an outer god is low. A god of that scale would attract too much attention. It can’t be that simple.”

From what Bai Wei had learned in history, outer gods, ancient gods, and the old gods all hailed from the same era. They weren’t visitors in spaceships—they arrived on meteorites or comets. While their civilizations weren’t particularly advanced, their mystery was beyond measure. The idea of aliens capturing and experimenting on people was almost nonexistent.

“What is really happening?” Tongsheng, an ordinary person, was now fully panicked. Seeing something like this for the first time, she felt utterly lost.

Bai Wei considered two possibilities. Either the people had vanished into thin air, or perhaps they themselves had been displaced to another place. It would be easy to figure out which one. By scanning a few dozen kilometers around, they could determine whether others still existed. If there were people, then they had disappeared. If there weren’t, then they had been moved.

In any case, trouble had arrived—just as expected. Demon Cat Yumeko’s words were true. The moment they arrived near Frost Moon, chaos had followed. Was this the work of an evil god?

Can’t they control themselves, even after popping out an eyeball? Or maybe… it wasn’t the same culprit?

Staring at the empty stage, Bai Wei began to understand. The strangeness, the absurdity—it was coming from somewhere.

He snapped his fingers, attempting to use the Golden Power, but it fizzled out—like a lighter without fuel. The flame flickered and died.

Mysteries are often masked by greater mysteries, and the ultimate mystery in this world? Divinity.

But this time, it wasn’t an evil god from another world. The other side couldn’t possibly make such a big move.

Bai Wei’s face grew serious. “It’s the Gray Tide… is it the time of high tide again?”

The three great natural disasters.

The red moon.

The evil god.

And… the Gray Tide.