Chapter 47: The Song of the Wind (6)
Tang Cuo felt that this world was truly, incredibly unfriendly to him.
The man with the tassel earring seemed to finally see his appearance clearly. His gaze fell on the sword, and the face hidden beneath the mask revealed a look of sudden realization. “So it’s a boy from the White Knight family,” he said. “What do you think would happen if I killed you right now? It would definitely be quite interesting, wouldn’t it?”
Tang Cuo leaned on his sword, just staring at him without saying a word.
Tassel Earring continued, “Killing you is far more interesting than killing the Grand Duke. I imagine the Grand Duke himself would certainly prefer to be the one to die, rather than you.”
Tang Cuo understood what he meant. Flange was merely a principality under the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers. If Theodore died here, his family would undoubtedly hold the Flange royal family accountable. Moreover, this box had been delivered as a gift of gratitude to the Grand Duke; the original target of the assassination was the Grand Duke himself.
This move was indeed brilliant.
Yet Tang Cuo was even more curious about this person’s relationship with the Rose Sect. He was so powerful; if he had been the one to strike at the Grand Duke, they wouldn’t have had a single chance to save anyone.
Perhaps his gaze was too direct, for Tassel Earring suddenly chuckled. “I quite like your eyes. They look very much like your brother’s.”
But his way of expressing fondness was exactly this—killing you.
Another powerful magical attack swept over. This time, Tang Cuo couldn’t evade it and had no choice but to block it head-on with the Sword of Judgment. The consequence of taking it head-on was coughing up another mouthful of blood, his entire body aching as if he had been crushed to pieces.
“Cough, cough…” He dropped to one knee, the hand gripping his sword trembling.
Jin Cheng wanted to intervene, but his skill list and equipment slots were almost entirely unclickable, sealed in gray. The moment his hand brushed the strings of the small harp, Tassel Earring glanced over.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t move.”
Jin Cheng: “Perhaps we can negotiate terms?”
Tassel Earring: “Do you think you have any terms to negotiate with me?”
Jin Cheng: “Depends on what you want.”
Tassel Earring tilted his head, thinking it over carefully. He didn’t answer for a long time, but the tip of his umbrella was already raised, aimed right at Tang Cuo. A matter of life and death.
All the air seemed compressed into a single square inch. It wasn’t an inability to breathe, but rather that the air had completely clogged their windpipes, constantly expanding, squeezing out the space where blood should flow, rendering the brain unable to think.
The young girl at the service desk covered her mouth, trembling and terrified to make a sound. The others whom Jin Cheng had cleared out of the magic circle also looked as if they were being choked, frozen in place, as fish stunned on a chopping board.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Tang Cuo’s temple. His intuition told him that Jin Cheng’s verbal negotiations probably wouldn’t work. Sure enough, Tassel Earring looked back over and said, “At this moment, killing a descendant of the White Knight interests me far more.”
He was smiling, and Tang Cuo’s heart instantly sank. However, neither Tang Cuo nor Jin Cheng were people who gave up easily. Courting death and resigning oneself to fate were two entirely different matters.
Tang Cuo continued to stare at Tassel Earring. Theodore’s eyes weren’t quite as starkly black and white, but the stubbornness in them was exactly the same. Under the threat of the umbrella’s tip, his right hand, gripping the hilt, quietly slid down; the sharp blade cut his palm, and blood instantly flowed.
This was a gamble. In all fantasy stories, whether Eastern or Western, blood is one of the crucial mediums capable of awakening a more powerful force.
What effect would Theodore’s blood have when dripped on the Sword of Judgment? Tang Cuo didn’t know, but he could bet on it.
As the blood flowed down the Sword of Judgment, Tassel Earring raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth and uttered a single syllable, and a dazzling, kaleidoscopic burst of colorful magic gathered at the umbrella’s tip.
In the next instant, a torrent of magic swept toward Tang Cuo.
Jin Cheng, however, moved at that exact moment. His fingers rapidly plucked the harp strings. A sonic attack originally meant for his bowstring was forcibly adapted here. Twang— Amidst the music, the sharp strings made of spider silk sliced his fingertips. Drops of blood splattered, instantly shattered by the sound waves.
The powerful sound waves collided with the torrent of magic, like wind churning the evening glow—beautiful indeed, but the suddenly erupting shockwave struck everyone present hard enough to make them cough up blood.
Boom! The floor cracked inch by inch. The dark gold light of the magic circle flickered wildly, absorbing most of the impact, but it seemed unable to withstand it completely.
Tang Cuo gritted his teeth. He forcefully drove the Sword of Judgment into the ground before him, rooting himself firmly in place. At the same time, his palm gripped the blade tightly, his blood almost dyeing the silver sword red.
Twang— Another note rang out, a secondary impact.
Jin Cheng himself did not go to save Tang Cuo. Instead, he dashed toward Tassel Earring. Just as he closed the distance, he bent down, cleanly drawing a short dagger from his boot. A cold light flashed as the dagger flew out. All of this occurred in a mere three seconds.
Drip. A drop of blood fell from Tang Cuo’s wrist to the floor, making a soft sound. This soft sound amplified infinitely in his ears; the torrent of magic was right before his eyes, and right then—the Holy Radiance of Judgment finally surged once more.
The intense white holy light crashed into the brilliant magical torrent, mixed with the lingering echoes of the harp. In a flash, the entire second floor was engulfed.
Tang Cuo lost his vision, and soon after, his hearing. His internal organs felt as if they were flooded with ruptured blood vessels, shielding all his senses. He could only grip his sword tightly, using all his strength not to be knocked down. The process felt incredibly long, yet it might have only been an instant.
After that instant, the crash of shattering windows forcefully broke through. “Aesop!” A cold, furious shout descended alongside a sudden wave of warmth.
Tang Cuo barely opened his eyes and saw a familiar halo settling over his body. He didn’t dare open his mouth, afraid that releasing a single breath would make him collapse, but his eyes could still track the figure in the black tailcoat. Roger Reeds.
The two figures, one in black and one in white, began to fight. Roger Reeds and the man he called Aesop were practically evenly matched. Jin Cheng finally had an opportunity to get close to Tang Cuo. Without hesitation, he poured a high-grade healing potion down his throat, halting his wildly plummeting health points.
“Cough, cough…” Tang Cuo finally caught his breath. He opened his character panel and looked—a familiar 3%.
Jin Cheng had actually suffered significant injuries as well. Even though Aesop’s magical attack was aimed at Tang Cuo, Jin Cheng had dared to move in for a close-quarters assassination, plunging directly into the center of the storm.
“Let’s go.” Jin Cheng hoisted Tang Cuo onto his back and retreated immediately without another word. He didn’t care how the fight between Roger Reeds and Aesop played out; surviving was the priority.
The two quickly retreated to the first floor. By this time, the bounty hunters downstairs had their attention drawn by the brawl between the two heavyweights, so no one noticed them for the time being. But the moment they reached the ground floor, the system began chiming with notifications crazily.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Jin Cheng instantly opened the system panel, discovering the Main Mission had shifted from “Survive” to “Rescue Alliance Members.” The brave and upright knight Theodore and the kindhearted bard Lancelot absolutely would not leave others to die. Oh, this damned roleplaying instance, so full of humanitarian care.
To avoid being struck by lightning for breaking character, Jin Cheng had no choice but to carry Tang Cuo back up. The second floor was littered with fallen bodies; under such a fierce shockwave, everyone was injured, though not dead. Jin Cheng set Tang Cuo down and moved quickly to pour potions into everyone’s mouths. Once all this was done, the Main Mission updated again.
Current Main Mission: Tell Roger Reeds the truth of the incident.
What? The truth? What truth? Imaginary question marks instantly popped up over Jin Cheng’s head. Just then, Roger Reeds returned. He came back in through the broken window, holding a torn cloth doll in his hand. His solitary eye swept over the heavily injured Tang Cuo, his face entirely frosted over.
“What happened?” he asked.
Jin Cheng only hesitated for three seconds before ding, the system threw another notification sound at him. A life-or-death pop quiz. Jin Cheng’s expression didn’t change as he answered, “It’s Dr. Albert. The man you just called Aesop has been lurking in Flange under the alias of Dr. Albert. That secret tunnel is something I learned about from him. I didn’t say it directly earlier because I wasn’t certain—Dr. Albert is a good man; he treated my illness.”
Hearing this, Roger Reeds asked again, “Why would he tell you about the secret tunnel?”
Jin Cheng immediately replied with absolute seriousness, “He wanted to recruit me.”
Roger Reeds gave him a deep look; it was impossible to tell if he believed it or not. But he didn’t press further, and the system didn’t send Jin Cheng any more notification chimes, so Jin Cheng knew he had passed this hurdle.
As for whether Aesop really was Dr. Albert, Jin Cheng wasn’t fully certain; ultimately, he was still gambling. In the end, Jin Cheng looked at the doll in his hand and couldn’t help asking, “Lord Roger Reeds, what is that?”
Roger Reeds: “A magic puppet. Aesop himself isn’t here; if he had come in person, you both would have been dead long ago.”
Jin Cheng didn’t rashly inquire about Aesop’s identity. A powerhouse of this caliber was probably just as famous across the continent as Overseer Roger Reeds; not having heard of him would actually be weirder. Soon after, Roger Reeds left again.
Kelt rushed back in a flurry, his whole face dropping in dismay when he saw the wreckage on the second floor. Upon learning that Roger Reeds had already left, he beat his chest and stomped his feet. “Why can’t I ever make it in time?!”
According to Kelt, several other magic circles had indeed been found in the White Leaf District, all bearing the distinct style of the Rose Sect. The specific purpose of these magic circles was still under investigation, but thankfully they had been found early; whatever their use, it had been smothered in the cradle. Kelt wore a look of immense relief as he said this, but Tang Cuo didn’t feel the same way. He opened his system panel; the Main Mission had changed once again to: Return to the White Leaf District.
Kelt was still talking: “Now it’s not just a Cardinal; even the Defector Aesop has shown up. Flange is merely a small principality; I really don’t know why they’re all gathering here. I have to notify headquarters right away and have them send more manpower over.”
The Defector Aesop. Jin Cheng rolled his eyes thoughtfully and asked, “Is he famous? I just arrived from the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight, and I don’t think I’ve heard this name before.”
Kelt was no Roger Reeds; he didn’t overthink it. Instead, hearing the words “Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight” sparked some interest in him. He said, “In all my years in Flange, I’ve rarely seen people from the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight. It really is far away. It’s perfectly normal that you haven’t heard of Aesop’s great name. He was originally a prince of a kingdom, holding a noble status. Later, for some unknown reason, he defected to the Rose Sect and became an incarnation of evil. The Defector Aesop is incredibly infamous; in terms of strength, he’s on par with Lord Roger Reeds. You two must be careful if you run into him in the future.”
By this time, the potion had taken effect. Although Tang Cuo’s injuries weren’t fully healed, he had recovered his mobility. He stood up and said to Kelt, “The box was delivered by the Grand Duke’s envoy; this matter must be reported to the royal palace immediately.”
Kelt slapped his forehead. “Look at me; how could I forget something so important?”
With that said, Kelt immediately went to handle it. Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng exchanged a glance, and taking advantage of the fact that no one else was coming over to chat, they quickly found a chance to leave the office, heading toward the White Leaf District according to their mission’s instructions.
Halfway there, Tang Cuo changed into another set of clothes. He got injured so frequently that the ruination rate for his outfits was too high, so he had simply prepared two extra sets.
“Aesop and the Cardinal are from the same faction, but their operational guidelines are different. I’m afraid their relationship isn’t very close,” Tang Cuo said as they walked.
“How so?” Jin Cheng asked.
“Assuming Aesop is Dr. Albert, he’s been lurking in the center of the city for so long. With his strength, directly storming the royal palace to make a move wouldn’t have been impossible. Yet that group of assassins expended so much effort and still failed, and at the time, Dr. Albert wasn’t home.”
“Between Aesop and the Cardinal, who is stronger?”
“Aesop.”
Tang Cuo made this judgment based on intuition, but he was very certain. The Cardinal, with his handful of rose bombs, looked incredibly powerful and did indeed have a way to escape Roger Reeds. But Aesop gave off an even more terrifying feeling. Relying on a mere magic puppet, he had achieved an absolute crushing victory in strength—he was so overwhelmingly strong it left people at a loss on how to fight back.
Jin Cheng said, “Aesop truly seems to exist on the fringes of the Rose Sect; whether it’s his attire or his style of doing things, he differs from that previous group. Perhaps there’s a divide between them? Aesop has his own plans, but the Cardinal took advantage of his absence to launch his own operation first. Aesop might not stick his neck out for him, but he would definitely be infuriated by the leak of the secret tunnel, which is why what just happened took place.”
Tang Cuo: “The question is, which faction does Pastor Peter belong to?”
From the current situation, Peter should be allied with the Cardinal, but nothing in the world was absolute.
__
White Leaf District.
Guards were patrolling everywhere, but now that the Grand Duke was no longer here, his personal guards had returned with him, so the manpower assigned here wasn’t large. When leaving the office, Tang Cuo had seen Kelt issue an emergency bounty mission in the name of the Greenvines Alliance—calling on the ordinary members of the Alliance to search all over the principality, including but not limited to the White Leaf District, for traces of Rose Sect magic circles. Anyone who found one would be rewarded with a gold coin. This gave Tang Cuo a new understanding of the Greenvines Alliance: not only were they numerous, but they were also filthy rich.
The two entered the White Leaf District, but the Main Mission did not update. They decided to first check out where Lancelot and Batz lived. From Batz’s words, they gathered that they should be living in a place called East Street.
Jin Cheng noted, “We always seem to have a special affinity with streets containing the word ‘East’.”
East Street was easy to find; it was simply the place with the most rental houses. All the buildings were crammed tightly together like a mishmash of black wooden blocks, though thankfully, it was relatively clean. Given Batz’s warmhearted nature, Jin Cheng was certain most people here would know him, so he coaxed information out of a rather unimportant elderly lady NPC on the roadside, successfully obtaining Batz’s exact address.
Number 128, East Street.
Number 128 was a multi-tenant apartment housing over a dozen families. The lighting wasn’t very good, and the corridors were only a meter wide. The key in Jin Cheng’s hand unlocked the door at the end of the hallway. It was a small room but was kept very clean; a string of little blue wind chimes hung on the only window, and there was even a makeshift kitchen on the side. One stove, one pot, and a cutting board hanging on the wall. Coal and various sundries were stacked neatly in the corner, not looking the least bit messy.
There was only a simple single bed in the room, and Jin Cheng found a pull-out floor mattress underneath it. The quilts were patched together from scraps of fabric, but they were all cotton and felt reasonably soft to the touch. Other than that, there was no extra furniture. Clothes were piled inside a large rattan trunk. The trunk was being used as a table, and a chipped clay pot sat on top serving as a vase, holding a few fresh wildflowers. The scent of the flowers slightly diluted the lingering smell of medicine in the room.
Fiddling with the wildflowers, Jin Cheng said, “Batz is indeed a very good friend.”
Tang Cuo deeply agreed. However, he had expected to trigger some side plot here, but after circling the room, he came up empty-handed. Jin Cheng occasionally glanced at his slightly pale profile. Seeing that he had finished looking around, he patted his stomach and asked, “Eat out, or cook something here?”
Tang Cuo looked back.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“.”
“You seemed to have just replied to me with a period.”
“You could tell?”
Jin Cheng spread his hands. He felt Tang Cuo’s expressions were simply far too easy to read; anyone who couldn’t read them was probably an idiot. Tang Cuo remained expressionless. He couldn’t figure out why his thoughts were always so easily seen through by Jin Cheng. If this went on, he wouldn’t even be able to secretly curse people in his head anymore.
Ultimately, the two decided to eat out to avoid messing up the room Batz had worked so hard to tidy up. Before leaving, they experienced a rare moment of conscience and put the floor mattress back in place.
“Let’s go.” Jin Cheng clapped his hands and stood up.
But Tang Cuo was still crouching on the floor, his hand tracing the dark patterns in the floorboards, his brows slightly furrowed.
Confused, Jin Cheng asked, “What is it?”
Tang Cuo didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he moved quickly to inspect the floorboards in other areas. Finally, he scraped his fingernail through a gap in the floorboards and brought it to his nose—
“The smell of blood.”
