Chapter 66: Persistence and Conviction
Beside the blazing campfire, Bubu Wang flipped the mushrooms roasting above it, occasionally sprinkling on some seasoning. The torn and skewered mushrooms sizzled over the fire, tempting juices dripping into the flames.
Su Xiao, his face somewhat pale, set down the sledgehammer and picked up a small high-frequency oscillating saw. Judging by the tools at hand, this no longer resembled repairing a vehicle but rather fixing a tank. In reality, he was repairing Amu—no, he was helping Amu treat his injuries.
Amu’s skull had suffered severe comminuted fractures. Fortunately, his core formation diagram was located within his more heavily defended chest cavity.
“Moo~”
Amu let out a mournful cry. Bubu Wang, sitting by the fire, shuddered and quickly averted his gaze.
“Basically no problem now.”
Su Xiao applied some medicinal agent to Amu’s head. Amu sat up from the ground. Compared to the physical pain, the sense of loss in his heart was harder to bear.
“Amu… lost.”
Amu spoke in a deep, muffled voice, sounding very dejected. Su Xiao patted him on the shoulder.
“Time to eat.”
“Mm.”
Amu leaned forward. Bubu Wang’s dog face twisted in exasperation; there was no dealing with this carefree, iron-blooded bull.
After a hasty meal of roasted mushrooms, the man-dog-bull trio continued their journey. Enemies were tracking them from behind—Su Xiao could tell from the traps he had set along the way.
Before leaving, Su Xiao buried two alchemy bombs under the campfire. Seeing this, Bubu Wang trotted over happily, planted a wooden board in front of the fire, left a line of small characters, and conveniently moved the bombs beneath the sign.
‘There are bombs in the campfire. Do not touch!’
Half an hour after Su Xiao and the others left.
Boom!
Charcoal flew everywhere, sparks surged high. A figure with pitch-black skin retreated a few steps from within the flames.
“Deceitful scoundrel!”
Zang Ge wiped the black soot from his face. Seeing those crooked little characters had infuriated him. This was the fifth time he had been ambushed by a trap.
A few kilometers away, Bubu Wang glanced back at the faintly visible blaze and sighed. The enemy was far too straightforward. Scheming against such an opponent made his conscience ache faintly.
By now, Su Xiao was at the border of the southern region. Ahead lay the central plains. He checked his mission list. The side mission, Mission Hunter, was complete, granting him 10,000 points of reputation with the Holy Healing Church. As for the hidden mission, The Fall of the Moy Family, it remained unfinished—Eyun was still alive.
Su Xiao no longer had time to kill Eyun. Although he had the ability to do so, and 1 Golden Skill Point was certainly valuable, some things could not be forced. In his current state, if he were surrounded by Eyun and Zang Ge, it would be a death sentence with no chance of survival.
Crossing the southern border, Su Xiao rushed nonstop toward Holy Healing City. Compared to traveling by carriage, his pace on foot was several times faster, though stamina consumption was an issue.
By noon the next day, a weary Su Xiao arrived at Holy Healing City. Amid the bustling streets, he headed straight for the Holy Healing Church headquarters.
“Have you heard? A black witch has appeared in the city.”
“Impossible. This is Holy Healing City.”
Amid the chatter of commoners on the street, Su Xiao entered the Holy Healing Church headquarters. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw several witch hunters negotiating with Shirley, who was behind the counter window.
Shirley’s smile remained as gentle as ever. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and in that casual glance, she spotted Su Xiao entering the headquarters.
The moment she saw Su Xiao, Shirley was visibly stunned. She set down the bounty notice in her hand, stood up, and leaned her head out of the counter window.
“Did you… succeed?”
Shirley’s voice trembled slightly. Su Xiao’s return to the Holy Healing Church headquarters signified many things.
“I succeeded.”
“And Lord Carmen and the others…”
Shirley had already guessed the truth, but she still asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.
“All dead. They died at the Mire Altar.”
“I see.”
Shirley slowly sat down, picking up the bounty notice from the table.
“Esteemed witch hunters, I entrust this commission to you.”
As she handed over the bounty notice, tears streamed down her cheeks. The departed were gone, but the witch hunts must continue.
“Miss Shirley, our matter isn’t urgent. Perhaps you should rest for a while.”
The few white-rank witch hunters before the counter didn’t look pleased, for they had just heard a chilling piece of news: Saint Councilor Carmen had fallen in battle!
“Witch hunters, take it.”
Shirley’s hand tightened, crumpling the bounty notice slightly.
“R-right.”
A female witch hunter accepted the notice. She had never seen Little Goddess Shirley wear such an expression before. That smile through tears… sent a chill down her spine.
It wasn’t Shirley’s expression that was frightening, but her conviction—the belief that no matter who fell, the witch hunts must go on.
Carmen, Blood Bear, Drunkard, Witch Grave—none of them were good people. Some were fanatics, some were vicious, some were cruel. But for the sake of their beliefs, they could unhesitatingly transform into demons and perish together with their enemies.
“Welcome back. You’ve worked hard, Lord Kukulin Bai Ye.”
Shirley wiped the tears from her face and smiled at Su Xiao.
“Mm.”
Su Xiao walked upstairs. He wouldn’t stay here long, because a very persistent void creature was still pursuing him from behind. Even after being tricked by traps over a dozen times, it still refused to give up.
Su Xiao headed straight for the faction shop on the fourth floor. Familiar with the path, he pushed open the rickety wooden door and exchanged for two items.
[Current Holy Healing Church Reputation: 38,590 points.]
[You have consumed 35,000 points of Holy Healing Church Reputation. You have obtained the Sacred Elegy Set (Light Gold).]
[You have consumed 2,000 points of Holy Healing Church Reputation. You have obtained Soul Crystal (Large) ×1.]
[You have consumed 1,500 points of Holy Healing Church Reputation. You have obtained Curse Resistance 5%. Current Curse Resistance: 78.9% (Overflow cap of 3.9% obtained through faction shop; maximum Curse Resistance obtainable through conventional means is 75%).]
…
Glancing at the remaining 90 points of Holy Healing Church reputation, Su Xiao turned and left. Given the current situation, his desperate gamble had been well worth it.
When exchanging for the Sacred Elegy Set, Su Xiao could already envision the bitter yet joyful expressions on the faces of Divine Emperor and Mad Fox. Among the large adventure groups with good relations with Su Xiao, only Divine Emperor remained. If he were to sell the Ascension Set, Divine Emperor would naturally be the priority.
With the Sacred Elegy Set in hand, Su Xiao would be failing as a fourth-rank hunter if he didn’t bleed Divine Emperor and Mad Fox dry until they questioned their existence. As for the possibility of souring relations due to high prices—impossible. Even if other large adventure groups were willing to be bled, Su Xiao wouldn’t give them the chance.
Sacred Elegy Set = Ascension Healer = Critical moment super-strong group healing + buffs + defense. This was a game-changer, potentially saving the Divine Emperor Adventure Group from annihilation.
As for keeping the Sacred Elegy Set for himself—impossible. Su Xiao couldn’t use it. Bubu Wang couldn’t either; he only had healing abilities, not being a true healing-type contractor. And Amu… let’s spare him.
Hurrying out of the Holy Healing Church headquarters, Su Xiao left the city within minutes. Map in hand, he headed straight north. The Land of Death lay in the northern border.