Chapter 16: The Suddenly Withdrawn Little Adjutant
The rumbling soon ceased, and the iron door to the underground prison was pushed open as Su Xiao stepped inside.
"Lord Kukulin, this old woman's secret is this thing."
Aaron Lu tapped the engraved marks on the ground with his small knife.
"That's all?"
Su Xiao only glanced at the marks on the floor before losing interest; he had studied this thing before.
"For now... that's all."
Aaron Lu's gaze wavered slightly. The Soul Speaker was far tougher to deal with than he had imagined. He had previously guaranteed that through mental suggestion, he could extract all secrets from the Soul Speaker.
Seeing Aaron Lu's expression, the Soul Speaker in the cell sneered. She had just watched a wonderful show.
"You can go back now."
"Uh—"
Aaron Lu's face turned sour.
"Your death sentence is commuted."
"Thank you, my lord."
Aaron Lu immediately beamed with joy. Although he would still be locked away in a secret prison, at least he wouldn't be hanged within two months—that was an opportunity.
Su Xiao approached the cell and looked at the Soul Speaker inside.
"What a brilliant performance."
The Soul Speaker smirked at Su Xiao.
"Mm."
Su Xiao responded casually, continuing to stare at the Soul Speaker.
At first, the Soul Speaker wore a cold sneer, but after being stared at by Su Xiao for a few minutes, her sneer gradually stiffened. After more than ten minutes, she could no longer smile.
"So, the Willpower Rune Stone is in the hands of the Moon Goddess."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, even with the Soul Speaker's extraordinary composure, a storm raged in her heart.
"You're useless now."
Su Xiao grabbed the cell door and with a crack, violently forced it open.
"Another one of your ridiculous deductions."
"..."
Su Xiao paused mid-step.
"That was indeed a deduction just now. Now you've confirmed it for me."
Without sparing another glance at the utterly stunned Soul Speaker, Su Xiao turned and walked out of the underground prison. He was now one hundred percent certain that the Willpower Rune Stone was with the Moon Goddess.
First, the Soul Speaker had been kidnapped by Eagle Marquis. Eagle Marquis's goal was definitely not the Willpower Rune Stone, but rather to use the Soul Speaker to find a certain location.
That location, in fact, even the Soul Speaker didn't know where it was. Eagle Marquis was furious and didn't quite believe the Soul Speaker's words, given how cryptic this old hag was.
Later, Eagle Marquis was eliminated, and the Soul Speaker fell into Su Xiao's hands. This time, the Soul Speaker guessed that Su Xiao was searching for the Willpower Rune Stone, so she remained unflappable, because the stone was no longer with her.
The Soul Speaker had once found the Willpower Rune Stone through listening, then offered it to the Moon Goddess, gaining her protection for many years.
Su Xiao had always wanted to clarify one thing: the Soul Speaker didn't seem as indifferent to life and death as she appeared. So why was she always so confident?
Thus, he began to probe. The first attempt yielded good results, triggering the second ring of the quest through the Soul Speaker.
For subsequent probes, Su Xiao simply went with the flow. Even if no one came to rescue the Soul Speaker, he would have used other methods to test her.
Lan's rescue, Aaron Lu's disguise, and Yueshitu's attack were all smokescreens. Even the Soul Speaker vaguely sensed something was off with these arrangements. Would Su Xiao not see the flaws?
The answer was that Su Xiao had long known this plan was unfeasible—or rather, it was impossible to directly obtain the Willpower Rune Stone through it. But the plan still needed to proceed.
When the Soul Speaker believed she had seen through everything, she might try to mislead Aaron Lu. That was why she ran her finger over the diamond-shaped tattoo—a misdirection, a dead end.
The diamond-shaped tattoo was the key to "listening" to the Willpower Rune Stone's "initial location." Now, the tattoo was no longer important. The Willpower Rune Stone was with the Moon Goddess.
Su Xiao had basically sorted out the logic. The Soul Speaker's main role was to trigger the second ring of the Awakening Quest. The Willpower Rune Stone required for the second ring was in the Moon Goddess's hands.
In reality, Su Xiao's approach to dealing with the Soul Speaker was incorrect. The normal process should have been: secretly rescue the Soul Speaker from Eagle Marquis, gain partial trust through charm attributes or actions, then help the Soul Speaker with a few tasks to trigger the second ring of the Awakening Quest, and from the clues, obtain the location of the Willpower Rune Stone.
Su Xiao's method, however, was to directly kill Eagle Marquis, then trigger the second ring quest from the Soul Speaker's fragmented words. This clearly skipped many steps. As for helping the Soul Speaker and acting as free labor—impossible.
After that, it was even more straightforward. Su Xiao used a plan that the Soul Speaker could see through, letting her give false clues. By reversing the false clues, he obtained the final clue: the Willpower Rune Stone was with the Moon Goddess.
The Soul Speaker was indeed tough, revealing no useful clues during the process. But it didn't matter—Su Xiao still learned that the Willpower Rune Stone was with the Moon Goddess.
"You cannot defile the gods!!"
The Soul Speaker's roar came from the dungeon as the heavy iron door slammed shut.
Darkness, solitude, leaving only the Soul Speaker alone.
Inside the cell, the Soul Speaker knelt on the ground, disheveled, her expression like a vengeful spirit. Losing so thoroughly was a first in her life. In fact, this was the second time she had been so thoroughly outmaneuvered—the first was when she met the old Holy King.
Su Xiao walked out of the Ninth Division building. Around the building, soldiers stood guard, conservatively estimated at over a thousand.
Su Xiao brought Baha and the little adjutant and headed back to the imperial capital. The next target was to obtain the Willpower Rune Stone from the Moon Goddess, who was far more formidable than the Soul Speaker.
That morning, Su Xiao returned to his two-story residence in the imperial capital. He was now sitting on the sofa, holding a tablet displaying real-time footage transmitted by Bubu Wang.
The little adjutant and Baha stood on either side of Su Xiao, both watching the screen. The little adjutant's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Commander, is this the Moon Goddess?!"
The little adjutant looked as if her worldview had been shattered.
"It's her. Hard to recognize without clothes."
Su Xiao rubbed his forehead. He had no voyeuristic tendencies, but since the Willpower Rune Stone was with the Moon Goddess, he had to observe her movements.
"Oh ho ho, big and white~"
The little adjutant snickered slyly. She lowered her head to examine her own chest, her expression gradually turning serious. Seeming wounded in pride, she took off her military jacket and deliberately puffed out her chest. That only made it flatter, further damaging her self-esteem. She suddenly withdrew into herself.
Bubu Wang continued monitoring the Moon Goddess, but nothing unusual was found. The Moon Goddess's lifestyle was disgustingly healthy.
The Moon Goddess woke up at 6 a.m. every day, washed up, ate breakfast from 6:30 to 7:00, then prayed for two hours, often kneeling until her legs went numb. At 9:30 a.m., she would go to the monastery's grand cathedral, sometimes listening, sometimes taking the stage herself. Afterward, she returned to her bedroom to shower, prepare lunch, and take a nap.
At 11:00 a.m., it was lunchtime. The Moon Goddess did not eat meat from large livestock; she only ate fish and poultry, and not every day, in small quantities.
From 12:00 to 1:30 p.m., she napped. From 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., she did skincare. From 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., she engaged in relatively elegant aerobic exercises, occasionally discussing politics. From 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., she prayed. From 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., she had dinner. If in a good mood, she would eat an egg—boiled. Clearly, the Moon Goddess also wanted to maintain her figure.
From 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., it was still prayer time (kneeling until numb again). At 10:00 p.m., she soaked in a warm bath. From 10:30 to 10:50 p.m., she went to bed on time.
If not for the Moon Goddess's deeds, Su Xiao would suspect she was just an older, unmarried goddess.