Chapter 12: The Ghost’s Shattered Mentality
When Baha returned, he brought back the old Duke’s message, the original words being: “Even if that estate is razed to the ground, it doesn’t matter.”
The old Duke was now completely holed up inside the Holy Court, and Su Xiao had sent Baha to find him to obtain the usage rights to the Duke’s estate.
Within the city of Arans, it was clearly unsuitable for that unknown force to act, so Su Xiao would take the initiative to leave this place.
Crack, crack, crack…
The Banishment on Su Xiao’s sleeve shattered completely, and the next moment, the Ghost felt a stinging pain at the wound on her arm.
An injection gun pierced her shoulder. As the anesthetic drug was injected, her body lost sensation, but the Ghost was not panicked. Instead, she let out a cold snort before being fully paralyzed.
Su Xiao kept his eyes fixed on the Ghost’s expression. Upon hearing this cold snort, his brow raised slightly. This was an unexpected gain—the change in expression during that “cold snort” could be used later.
Su Xiao crouched beside the Ghost and took out a pair of props resembling contact lenses from his storage space, placing them over her eyes.
A terrifying thing happened to the Ghost: she uncontrollably blinked, and a gleam of vitality returned to her pupils. This was not her will at all; she could no longer control her body.
Su Xiao slowly exhaled, fully concentrating. Just moments ago, the Banishment, decomposed to the size of dust particles, had invaded every part of the Ghost’s body—blood, muscles, subcutaneous tissue, and so on.
A blue gleam surged in Su Xiao’s eyes. The next moment, the Ghost stiffly stood up, slowly walked in front of Su Xiao, raised her arm to press against her chest, and a smile appeared on her face.
This was entirely Su Xiao controlling the Ghost’s actions through the Banishment.
“Hmph.”
Su Xiao manipulated the Ghost to let out a cold snort. Feeling it didn’t quite match the one she had made earlier, he began to have the Ghost practice it repeatedly.
At this point, the Ghost’s mind was somewhat shattered. She regretted it—regretted letting out that cold snort at Su Xiao earlier, regretted showing any change in expression in front of him.
The eyes are the window to the soul. Su Xiao couldn’t change the Ghost’s gaze through Banishment, so he used high-tech products, controlled by Bubu Wang.
Su Xiao manipulated the Ghost’s actions, while Bubu Wang controlled her gaze through a scleral program, coordinating with him.
After about ten minutes of familiarization, the Ghost’s movements began to appear natural. Su Xiao raised his hand to signal Baha, who understood and took out a black dress. It had just been bought in the Holy Court district, costing 32,500 gold pounds (1 gold pound ≈ 10.5 RMB in purchasing power).
It was said that the tailor was highly sought after by many noble ladies in the capital, almost a symbol of fashion.
Su Xiao took a test tube from his storage space and tossed it to the Ghost. She caught it naturally, pulled out the cork, and drank the liquid.
Before long, the Ghost felt her injuries visibly healing.
An hour later, Su Xiao manipulated the Ghost to take a cold shower, cleaning the bloodstains from her body, and then had Bubu put on the expensive black dress.
As an assassin capable of killing a duke, the Ghost originally had a unique aura, and with the black dress accentuating it, she looked even more captivating.
At this point, the Ghost was utterly despairing. Based on her current behavior, no matter how you looked at it, she seemed to have already betrayed her organization.
Click~
A pair of metal shackles were locked onto the Ghost’s wrists. If she defected too quickly, it would arouse suspicion. This matter had to be gradual, not too abrupt.
If the Ghost’s comrades saw her now, their first thought would definitely be that the Ghost hadn’t surrendered yet, but she was close to it!
“Calm down. You’ll get used to it soon.”
Su Xiao placed his hand on the Ghost’s head. After a moment, he pushed open the door, and the Ghost walked alongside him. Behind the Ghost was Amu, whose expression clearly indicated he was protecting her safety, lest she encounter any danger.
After passing through a shaded path, Su Xiao arrived at the Holy Court district. The prices in the three blocks nearby were on the high side, but they were a symbol of luxury.
Su Xiao did not take the Ghost around for a stroll. Not only would that be too conspicuous and arouse suspicion, but he also didn’t know the Ghost’s habits. If he manipulated her to eat or something, it would expose flaws.
A carriage stopped—it was the old Duke’s. Amu acted as the coachman. Su Xiao pulled open the carriage door and looked at the Ghost.
“Hmph.”
The Ghost let out a cold snort. Don’t underestimate this snort; if Su Xiao hadn’t used Banishment in combat for a long time, mastered Alchemy, and understood human anatomy, he wouldn’t have been able to achieve this.
Moreover, this cold snort was the result of Su Xiao having the Ghost practice it dozens of times, nearly indistinguishable from her original expression.
The Ghost got into the carriage, sat down with a cold face, showing some hesitation and even more guilt.
A hundred meters away, a Wild Duck saw this scene. Her eyes gradually widened, and her heart was filled with disbelief. She seemed to have… found the Ghost, but the Ghost was very wrong, extremely wrong!
This Wild Duck took a deep breath, forcing a smile on her face, and stepped toward the carriage. She might die from her subsequent actions, but she had to do it—she needed to confirm something.
The Wild Duck looked hurried, as if rushing to do something. She started to jog and finally “accidentally” bumped lightly into Su Xiao.
“Sorry…”
The Wild Duck’s words stopped midway, as if she had just noticed the Duke’s medal pinned to Su Xiao’s clothes. There was shock in her eyes, more fear, and perhaps a hint of secret delight?
The Wild Duck’s acting was top-notch; at least Su Xiao couldn’t find any flaws. However, given the situation, her identity was obvious.
Just a small fish, not worth Su Xiao’s effort.
The Wild Duck stepped back two paces, bowed to apologize. Just then, she glanced at the Ghost out of the corner of her eye, and the Ghost… was looking down to the side, not even glancing at her. The worst-case scenario had occurred.
Su Xiao closed the carriage door and raised his hand to rub his temples. Just from this, he felt a bit mentally drained. Using ultra-fine Banishment to control a person’s expressions was extremely delicate. Fortunately, Su Xiao often concocted alchemical potions and was adept at such precise control.
Only after the carriage drove out of the city gates did Su Xiao relax his mind. Doing this was more exhausting than fighting a powerful enemy.
Su Xiao began to close his eyes and rest. He was certain that within a short time, the Ghost’s organization would act. The Ghost’s performance just now was enough to shatter certain people’s nerves, driving them to irrational actions.
Soon, Su Xiao arrived at the old Duke’s estate. The gap in the wall that Amu had smashed was already repaired. Inside the estate, the old Duke’s family members had long since evacuated, moving to the safer Holy Court district.
There were 109 servants in the estate, responsible for maintaining its normal operations, as the estate was huge, with even a small farm outside the rear wall.
As for guards, there were 39 in total, all left by the old Duke. Their strength was not worth mentioning; if assassins came, they would be the first to run. Fortunately, these people had clean backgrounds, which was enough.
Entering the castle within the estate, Su Xiao released part of his control over the Banishment. The Ghost’s expression changed, showing utter despair.
He threw the Ghost into a bedroom, letting her “stand by” for now, with Amu responsible for protecting her safety.
Closing the bedroom door, Su Xiao leisurely sat on a wooden chair, propped his feet on a stone table, took out a tablet, and immersed himself in a game. Everything after this just required waiting.
Bubu Wang, perhaps out of boredom, started circling around Su Xiao.
After Bubu Wang circled five times, Su Xiao’s hand paused, and his game character died. The corner of his eye twitched.
After ten circles, Su Xiao put down the tablet and took out the divine artifact: custom oversized slippers from his storage space.
Bubu Wang shuddered in fright, its expression clearly saying: “Master, I’m just playing around, why are you going for the eyes?”
In this somewhat cheerful atmosphere, night gradually fell. Su Xiao turned off the puzzle game. Although the game’s difficulty was insane, it had improved his thinking. He planned to contact the game’s developer, Skinny Fatty, to ask if there were any similarly difficult games, preferably of other types.
The moonlight outside the window took on a reddish hue, and the candles in the room suddenly went out with a *whoosh*.
“Bubu, Baha.”
Su Xiao signaled them to join Amu. The assassins had arrived and sealed off the surrounding area, forming a barrier-like zone. The red moonlight shining into the room was the most obvious sign.
Su Xiao stood up, inserting the sheathed longsword into his waistband. Perhaps, through this opportunity, he could gauge his strength within the Sixth Rank.