Chapter 21: Female Ruffian
Su Xiao paid no attention to Zachariah’s words. Instead, he simply changed the terms and took the opportunity to probe Lilim’s earlier remarks.
“In that case, the Ash Sprout would be fine too.”
“Are you dreaming?”
Zachariah’s tone grew increasingly hostile.
“Just a joke. Soul stones—I want soul stones of sufficient purity and quantity.”
“Fine. Help me find that rat, and I’ll pay you 300 grams of soul stones (roughly equivalent to 6 complete soul crystals).”
“Deal.”
A faint smile curled beneath Su Xiao’s mask. He silently decided to toss two Apollos simultaneously tomorrow morning.
“By the way, I still don’t know your name.”
Though Zachariah looked rough, his speech and mannerisms were quite polite. He just wasn’t used to conversing with others, giving his words an odd, halting rhythm.
“Call me Bai Ye.”
Su Xiao turned and walked toward the courtyard, waving a hand dismissively at Zachariah.
“Hmm. Then I’ll leave it to you, Bai Ye. Once it’s done, your reward won’t be short. I swear by my ancestors’ names.”
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused mid-step. Beside him, Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, let out a sigh. His doggy eyes seemed to say, “Look, what a nice guy. Isn’t it a bit much to keep blowing him up?”
One hour later.
Inside Su Xiao’s residence, Lilith’s mouth opened and closed, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
“Spit it out if you have something to say.”
Su Xiao was currently maintaining D·Assassinate, with dozens of gun parts laid out before him.
“Isn’t this a bit too despicable? I feel like…”
Lilith felt a wave of relief after voicing her thoughts.
“Yeah, it’s pretty despicable. So?”
“Uh…”
Lilith was momentarily at a loss. She had expected Su Xiao to lecture her with some grand principles, but instead, he flat-out admitted it.
“Are we really going to help Zachariah find the ‘real culprit’? Frame Kurozawa?”
“…”
“…”
Both Su Xiao and Bubu Wang stared at Lilith, who looked confused.
“Zachariah isn’t stupid. My last meeting with him was just to verify something. As for framing Kurozawa, that’s too stupid to even attempt.”
“What do you mean ‘too stupid’? It’s a perfectly viable plan…”
Su Xiao ignored Lilith. All he needed to do now was wait.
The moment he was waiting for was five days later, when the Soul Fruit would ripen. By then, both the Demon Clan and the Feather Clan would show up. Chances were, they’d fight it out first to decide ownership of the Soul Fruit. As for Zachariah, the Demon Clan or Feather Clan would keep him busy to prevent him from going berserk and destroying the Soul Fruit. That would be Su Xiao’s chance to snatch the Ash Sprout.
Once he knew the exact timing, Su Xiao no longer needed to keep tailing Zachariah. He could use the time to grab some benefits. The assassin missions in Asaka were a good option—many of them offered soul crystals as rewards.
However, compared to Asaka and the Ancestor, the Kurozawa faction had been suspiciously quiet lately. What Su Xiao didn’t know was that they were scared shitless by him. The Kurozawa leader had ordered all members to stay indoors and not hunt, terrified that an Apollo might land on their hideout. If that happened…
Just as Su Xiao was browsing the assassin missions in Asaka, he stumbled upon a very interesting one.
Client: Sha.
Mission: Find a place to stay.
Reward: 190 grams (currency issued by the Kurozawa faction).
The moment he saw this mission, Su Xiao accepted it immediately. Clearly, Sha had learned he’d joined Asaka and posted the mission there to contact him.
Soon, Su Xiao contacted Sha through the terminal.
“Finally found you.”
Sha gritted her teeth as she spoke.
“I’m in the courtyard. The exact coordinates are…”
As he spoke, Su Xiao assembled D·Assassinate and loaded it.
Half an hour later.
Thump, thump, thump.
A knock came from above. Su Xiao casually picked up D·Assassinate and, out of ‘joy’ that an ally had arrived, even flicked off the safety.
“Bubu, go open the door.”
“Woof~”
Bubu’s dog head shook so fast it blurred. Su Xiao’s gaze shifted to Lilith, who was dozing off.
Slap!
A shell casing hit Lilith’s forehead. She opened her eyes, a bit grumpy from being woken up.
“Go open the door.”
Hearing this, Lilith’s irritation grew, but she had a lot to learn from Su Xiao, so she had to bear it.
Reluctantly, Lilith climbed the metal stairs and yanked open the iron gate with a screech.
Boom!
A loud crash rang out. Lilith shot back into the room like a rocket, her body half-buried in the floor.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Lilith was dazed from the hit, but not seriously injured.
Bang!
The marble floor shattered as a disheveled woman appeared in front of Lilith. The first thing Lilith thought of when she saw this woman was a wild beast; the second was a scorpion.
“So, Su, you’re playing with a demon girl now? A high-pureblood demon, huh? Very classy. Do you have any idea how I’ve been surviving lately?”
Sha crouched in front of Lilith, dried blood still visible on her face.
“If you take your anger out on her again, the Demon Clan will soon become your enemy too.”
Holding D·Assassinate, Su Xiao sat on the sofa and spoke. Seeing Sha’s current state, he knew he’d screwed her over pretty badly last time. She wasn’t just seriously injured—the black blood at her neck showed she was also heavily poisoned.
“Tch.”
Sha stood up and fixed her gaze on Su Xiao. Only then did Lilith realize what was going on, and she wasn’t one to be trifled with.
“Would you really have the heart to attack an ally who’s poisoned and on the verge of death? Sorry, momentary impulse. You know how it is—poison messes with your head.”
“Of course I would.”
Lilith’s voice was laced with gritted teeth. She’d taken a punch to the face, and her nose still throbbed. If her constitution weren’t so strong, her face would be ruined by now.
“Then go ahead.”
Sha stripped off her tattered top, revealing a body crisscrossed with dozens of scars and wrapped in filthy bandages. She just sat there, making no move to resist.
“You… shameless wretch.”
Lilith found it hard to strike. This was clearly an ally, and one on the brink of death.
“Heh. Innocent little girl. Tsk, looks like you’ve been tricked into all sorts of positions.”
“What did you say?!”
“What? I didn’t say anything. You must have misheard.”
“…”
Lilith turned and walked away, deciding to stay far from Sha, this female ruffian.
“Are you just going to watch me die from poison?”
Sha yawned. Her condition was indeed dire: poisoned, demonic energy corrosion, severe injuries, massive blood loss, dehydration, and extensive fractures.
“I can help treat your injuries, even get you into Reincarnation Paradise. But there’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“Help me get the Ash Sprout.”
“What’s that? How hard is it?”
“Very hard. Here’s the gist…”
Su Xiao briefly explained the situation to Sha. Given her critical state, she didn’t immediately agree to his request, showing she was a reliable person. She needed to confirm whether she could do it before making a decision.
“If you help me recover a bit, I’ll kick that Zachariah guy to death for you.”
“Deal.”
Su Xiao gestured for Bubu Wang to fetch the medical tools. Little did Sha know, her nightmare was about to begin.