A Pawn's Passage

If things had proceeded according to Qi Xuansu’s estimate of two hours, then Qi Xuansu certainly would not have seen the Baron again.

However, the City Council took four hours to encircle the Baron’s residence. That delay gave Qi Xuansu the chance to see the Baron once more.

When the Baron returned, he looked utterly miserable. He almost crashed through the window and fell inside, barely clinging to his last breath. If Qi Xuansu’s restriction had not allowed entry, he might have smashed himself to death against the barrier.

The Baron’s condition was extremely grim. Half of his body had already been charred. Even the powerful regenerative abilities of vampires showed no sign of improving his condition. After all, not just anyone possessed Little Yin’s exceptional physique, allowing her to leap about even after being bombed.

The Baron’s other half was no better, showing signs of mutation. Murky yellow-green eyes split open across his skin, densely packed, as though he had been contaminated by something. Even on half of his face, horrifying eyes kept growing, only to be suppressed by his regenerative ability. But this cycle kept repeating itself—a horrific sight.

Seeing the Baron’s condition, Qi Xuansu finally understood why Leopold and the other senior councilors had not intercepted the Baron’s plans earlier. They all knew the tomb was extremely dangerous, so none of them wanted to take the risk themselves. Instead, they waited for the Baron to bring the treasure back and then planned to bargain with him by tossing him a few scraps.

In a sense, the Baron did not have it easy either. Before great figures, he, too, was just a minion risking his life for meager gains. His daughter, Molly Oxley, was also part of the reason. If she had not caused such a great disaster that required Leopold’s help, he could simply have revealed the location of the tomb entrance instead of risking his life like this.

Of course, Qi Xuansu had the same intention of reaping benefits without effort, so he was no more noble than those senior councilmen.

Qi Xuansu looked at the Baron, who seemed close to death, and called Madam Wu over to take a look.

Madam Wu only glanced once and clicked her tongue. “Well, now he triggered Kukulkan’s trap and Chak Chel’s curse. But he’s still alive and even managed to make it back. That’s some incredible luck and resilience!”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Who’s Chak Chel?”

Madam Wu replied, “Chak Chel is the same as Ixchel, two sides of the same being, like the various manifestations of the Buddha. According to the natives, Ixchel is the Full Moon Goddess, appearing as a beautiful maiden who governs harvest and fertility, possessing the power of blessings. Chak Chel, on the other hand, is the Star and Moon Goddess, depicted as a fierce old crone, a goddess of punishment who possesses the power of curses.”

Qi Xuansu said, “He can’t die yet.”

“Let me handle it,” Madam Wu volunteered. “Give me half the control.”

Qi Xuansu complied and relinquished half the control of the incarnation, since they now shared a body.

Madam Wu was the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan, so Qi Xuansu naturally could not compare to her in terms of mastery.

Qi Xuansu did not remain idle either, manifesting the Himiko Spiritual Body.

A goddess appeared, holding a multicolored fan. With a sweep toward the charred half of the Baron’s body, wisps of crimson fire seeped out and flew toward the fan. Since both were sun deities, many of their principles and rules were compatible. It was precisely the lingering presence of this fire that had prevented the Baron’s body from recovering.

Now that Qi Xuansu had drawn away the fire, the Baron could rely on his own regenerative ability to heal himself.

As for the Chak Chel curse affecting the other half of the body, Qi Xuansu did not interfere. In truth, he could not remove the curse in a short time anyway. He had been able to dispel Kukulkan’s burning effect with Madam Wu’s assistance. However, curses were not his specialty. Perhaps he could attempt to break it using the Taiyin Spiritual Body, since both were moon deities and shared certain similarities. Yet Qi Xuansu lacked a yin-type immortal object to support him, so the chances of success were not great.

More importantly, even if he completely healed the Baron, the Baron might not be grateful. He might instead obstruct Qi Xuansu and refuse to cooperate. So for his own interests, it was better to leave the Baron half-dead.

The Baron was not a fool. When Qi Xuansu stopped pretending and directly intervened to save him, he immediately realized that matters had completely slipped beyond his control.

Whether he had misjudged earlier or the chosen substitute had been replaced, it became clear that the being now standing before him was a powerful existence he could not resist. The mere fact that this person could dispel Kukulkan’s burning effect proved as much.

The purpose of this powerful figure required no further questioning.

With half his body restored, the Baron struggled to turn over and knelt on one knee.

Madam Wu relinquished her portion of control. Qi Xuansu once again took full command of the incarnation, dismissed the Himiko Spiritual Body, and once again took on the appearance of Hosea Matthias.

Qi Xuansu looked down at the vampire and said, “Baron, the deal is over. I shall collect my payment now.”

The Baron gasped like a fish thrown onto shore. “I’ve already paid you 2,000 Gold Crowns. No matter who you are, you shouldn’t break your word as a respectable great figure.”

The Baron tried to guilt-trip Qi Xuansu, but the latter shook his head. “I’m not referring to the payment as your body double. I’m collecting the payment for saving your life. All I know is that even Leopold can’t help you. But I can. Since only I have this ability, that means I get to set the price, and you have no bargaining power.”

The Baron was speechless.

Qi Xuansu continued, “If you want to live, hand over what you obtained in the tomb. I don’t have much time.”

The Baron hesitated for only a very brief moment before taking out a disc-like object from his Space Bag and presenting it with both hands.

Qi Xuansu took the disc from the Baron and examined it before his eyes. “What is this?”

The Baron made no attempt to resist and replied, “Judging from the murals in the tomb, this should be a key.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “It’s not the key to the legendary silver box, is it?”

The Baron said, “No, of course not. “This disc is the key to some great door. According to the murals, that door should be in the legendary Paititi—the Forgotten City of Gold.”

Qi Xuansu felt slightly disappointed. After all the effort and the risks he had taken, he had ended up with nothing more than a key.

But since things had already come to this, he could hardly refuse it now.

Qi Xuansu stored the disc in his magical receptacle and prepared to leave.

Just as Qi Xuansu was about to leave, the long-delayed City Council finally arrived.

A thick mass of black mist instantly enveloped the Baron’s residence.

It was a vampire’s spell, which meant that the senior councilor Leopold Strouse had arrived.

He was the fastest among them. Ironically, even the fastest had still taken four hours.

A rain of blood suddenly fell into the courtyard of the Baron’s residence, gathering into a pool of blood, in which an elderly gentleman with graying temples rose from.

What followed was a gust thick with the scent of blood. Wherever it passed, the Baron’s subordinates were transformed into puppets with crimson eyes and expressionless faces.

Leopold leaned on his walking cane and made his way toward the main door on the first floor. With each step he took, blood gathered before him, forming a crimson carpet woven entirely from blood. Along the edges of the carpet, crimson blood roses bloomed.

All the puppets stood along both sides of the carpet, kneeling on one knee to salute Leopold.

Madam Wu appeared beside the window and snorted lightly. “That old fellow really knows how to put on a show. Is this what they call an aristocratic bearing? Tian Yuan, you ought to make him look bad.”

Qi Xuansu did not waste words. He simply threw out a fireball.

This fireball descended like a blazing sun, illuminating half the underground city and casting a radiance that seemed almost holy.

The crimson roses, blood carpet, loyal servants, blood rain, and wind, turned into wisps of smoke before the raging divine flames. Even the ground itself turned glassy under the intense heat.

Waves of scorching heat spread outward, even more terrifying than the steam from the factory furnaces.

This was the power of a Pseudo-Immortal. Even with restraint, it was not something easily resisted.

Strangely, the entire house remained completely unaffected. It did not burst into flames from the overwhelming heat, and the inside temperature remained normal.

Leopold, being a progenitor of vampires, passed through the blazing sunlight and entered the hall with only a few minor scorch marks on his body, not enough to leave him in a sorry state.

However, his expression was extremely grave. The reason he had been able to withstand the sun’s flames was only because he had used a vampire’s divine artifact—the Blood Cloak.

In that brief moment alone, the blazing sun had consumed 300 lives that were stored within the Blood Cloak.

Before even meeting the true opponent, Leopold had already been forced to reveal a hidden trump card, so how could he guarantee a victory? The enemy’s strength proved his concerns were not unfounded. Perhaps they really would have to rely on the young councilman Strauni to practice the art of negotiation and compromise with the Southerners.

Qi Xuansu had already appeared on the second floor, looking down at Leopold in the hall below. “A very interesting semi-divine artifact. If you are willing to exchange it with me, I can give you what the Baron obtained from the tomb.”

Leopold refused without hesitation.

There was a saying that a deal eagerly offered was rarely a good bargain. Whatever the Baron had obtained could hardly compare with his Blood Cloak. Even if their values were similar, it could never compare to the Blood Cloak in terms of suitability with a vampire.