Chapter 27: Arrangements
When Su Xiao left the Old God Church, the Immortal Wizard Gus was sitting on the steps inside the church, with a pile of bloodstained cloth strips beside his feet.
"Gus, the puppet I created..."
Shuguang's weak voice came through.
"Based on Kukulin's inference, the puppet is most likely 'that existence.' I told Nia long ago that a puppet cannot have a heart."
Gus released the chains in his hands. He had been hanging upside down, using his own ability to alleviate the pain. To temper the holy silver, over 90% of his body surface had suffered severe burns. An ordinary person suffering such injuries would either die or be driven mad.
"But she doesn't have a heart now."
Shuguang's expression showed little change, his gaze unfocused, lost in thought about something.
"Does that matter?"
Gus grinned. He tried to move his arms, sparks flickering on the charred skin. The pain of the silver tempering persisted to this day, but he had long since grown accustomed to it.
"Is this normal, Gus? Don't be used by others."
Shuguang closed his eyes and continued to slumber.
"He eliminated Sotos. I help him deal with the puppet. That's fair."
Gus stared at the tightly shut stone door. Two nights later, in the dead of night, he would go find the puppet.
Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, penetrated through the wall. If all went smoothly, two days would be enough. As for the puppet, there was nothing wrong with it at all. This was just a smokescreen.
Su Xiao couldn't be certain whether Gus, Shuguang, and Laurent had issues, so he diverted their attention. That was precisely why he had commissioned Gus to 'eliminate' the Maiden of Sorrow two days later.
Indeed, Su Xiao couldn't determine if the three of them had problems, but he could confirm the Maiden of Sorrow was fine—at least for now.
After leaving the Wizard Guild, Su Xiao returned to the Sleep House. The Maiden of Sorrow stood quietly by the bookshelf, her hands bound before her abdomen.
Sitting on a wooden chair beneath the chandelier, Su Xiao held the Maiden of Sorrow's crystal heart in one hand and the Heart of Hope in the other, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Puppet, if I remember correctly, Nia had only just come of age. While training, she wouldn't have much time to learn crafting from Shuguang. Or rather, mastering such an ability wouldn't enhance her combat power. So..."
Su Xiao's gaze shifted to the Maiden of Sorrow as he continued:
"Who made this heart?"
When he first killed Sotos, Su Xiao thought the crystal heart was made by Nia. But upon second thought, he discerned the flaw.
It was unlikely Nia had the time to master such an ability. In other words, the appearance of this crystal heart was based on Nia's 'will,' but it wasn't created by Nia herself.
"..."
The Maiden of Sorrow's mouth opened and closed, but was 'muted' again. Seeing this, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face.
"Nia never speaks to anyone else. Of course, except for you, this puppet."
"Yes, Lord Kukulin."
The Maiden of Sorrow slightly bowed her head, still answering without reservation.
"Never speaking to others—that's easy to exploit."
Su Xiao tightened his grip. Cracks gradually appeared on the crystal heart in his left hand.
Crack!
The crystal shattered, fragments sliding through Su Xiao's fingers.
"Puppet, who made this crystal heart?"
Su Xiao asked the same question as before.
"The puppet doesn't know. Lady Nia obtained it one day. It was a gift from Lady Nia to the puppet."
The Maiden of Sorrow was no longer in 'mute mode.'
"Oh? Is that so."
Su Xiao shook off the crystal fragments from his hand and continued, "Then who helped you remove this heart?"
"It was Lord Laurent."
The Maiden of Sorrow seemed to have had some restriction lifted, no longer being 'muted.'
"Laurent can still move?"
"Yes, Lord Kukulin. When a new 'life' is born, Lord Laurent can break free from the 'White Goat.' After seven days, he will be bound again."
The Maiden of Sorrow showed no regret over the destruction of the crystal heart. It was never 'her' possession to begin with.
The intelligence was still sparse, but it confirmed Su Xiao's earlier speculation. Among the three Immortal Wizards, Laurent was the most tragic. He had been used all along, gathering Shuguang and Gus in the process, even establishing the Wizard Guild.
At the critical moment, Laurent discovered the anomaly, but it was too late. The White Goat silenced him 'forever,' forcing him to watch silently as he continued to be exploited.
"My dear friend, what is this..."
Kaisa, who had been watching from the sidelines, scratched his head. The situation was complicated, and without subtitles, he had no idea what was going on.
"You don't get this?"
Baha, on Amu's shoulder, vanished into thin air and reappeared on Su Xiao's shoulder, speaking in a low voice:
"Boss, what's the situation? Explain in the team channel."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Instead, he led Amu, Baha, and Kaisa out of the Sleep House, heading back to the Wizard Guild. His thoughts were completely clear now; it was just a matter of cleaning things up step by step.
Halfway to the Wizard Guild, Bubu Wang rejoined the team and signaled that Gus had been fooled... pacified. Now they mistakenly believed the puppet lady had issues.
"Good. Gus might be fine, but Laurent must not catch on to our subsequent actions. Unless absolutely necessary, I can't kill him yet. He's the key to dealing with the White Goat."
Su Xiao walked along the desolate street. Upon reaching the Wizard Guild, he went straight to the fifth floor, where a teleportation array was set up, connecting to Wizard Guild branches in other cities. It could be used upon payment of silver coins.
Just as he arrived before the teleportation array on the fifth floor, Su Xiao encountered an acquaintance—the female wizard he had met on the tenth floor of the Wizard Guild, the one who called herself a wretch.
"50 silver..."
The female wizard looked up, saw it was Su Xiao, and stopped paying attention.
"Here are 50 silver coins, madam."
Kaisa knew Su Xiao didn't have silver coins on him, so he took the initiative to pay.
"Free for family. Be careful when using it. It's expensive to fix."
The female wizard lowered her eyelids, looking as if she hadn't woken up.
As Su Xiao brushed past the female wizard, she suddenly grabbed his arm.
"You... noticed, didn't you?"
The female wizard didn't look at Su Xiao, and Su Xiao didn't look at her either. They stood side by side, one standing, one sitting.
"..."
Su Xiao knew what the female wizard was asking, but at this critical moment, he couldn't answer. It would affect the plan.
"He likes to drink. When you send him off, give him a bottle of wine. Please."
The female wizard lowered her head, tears streaming down her face.
"Do you... want to die?"
Su Xiao turned his head to look at the female wizard.
"Such a ferocious aura. Indeed, only a more vicious bastard like you could kill Sotos."
The wrinkles on the female wizard's face deepened. In just a few seconds, she aged over a decade, becoming an old hag.
"If my death can please you, go ahead. But... before you 'send him off,' give him a good bottle of wine."
The moment the female wizard finished speaking, a dull thud rang out. Her head was embedded in the wall.
Su Xiao withdrew his arm from the rubble and stepped onto the teleportation array.
"Thank you."
The female wizard lifted her head from the rubble, wiped the blood from her face, and spatial fluctuations surged as Su Xiao and the others vanished from the teleportation array.