Chapter 10: The Great Detective? Puli?
Starlight Iron was a resource Su Xiao was determined to obtain, and he also had another matter for Puli to handle. For now, curing the old councilman was crucial.
Going up to the second floor, Su Xiao returned to the bedroom where the old councilman lay. The old man's condition was indeed tricky, but not entirely hopeless.
First, the miniature supernatural creatures inside the old councilman were not immortal. Their metabolic rate was extremely fast, which also caused the blanket covering him to quickly become soaked.
Under normal circumstances, to solve the old councilman's problem, one would first need to weaken his life force to the minimum. These miniature supernatural creatures reproduced by absorbing life force. This meant that when the old councilman's life force was nearly depleted, they would stop dividing and enter a controllable stage.
If Su Xiao did this, it would most likely cause the old councilman's death. The enemy also had an alchemist. This was a trap. Once the old councilman's life force weakened to a certain point, the miniature supernatural creatures would immediately change form.
Su Xiao's approach was to create a 'filter' to gradually extract the moisture from the old councilman's body. During this process, the 'filter' would disintegrate the miniature supernatural creatures in the moisture, ultimately eliminating them completely.
With the plan formed, Su Xiao took out several alchemical instruments and began to concoct potions and create the 'filter'. The 'filter' prioritized biological structures.
Two hours later, Su Xiao fixed a metal frame onto the old councilman's chest. A transparent pseudo-heart was beating. This heart was cultivated from cell samples extracted from the old councilman.
The miniature supernatural creatures were 'almost' 100% fused with the old councilman's body. Note, 'almost', not completely fused. The alchemist hadn't considered one point: the old councilman's body was not supernatural. He was just an ordinary person who had lived a long time using special methods.
The characteristics of the supernatural could sometimes be exploited. By separating the 'supernatural' from the 'ordinary', the miniature supernatural creatures could be safely stripped from the old councilman's body.
The miniature supernatural creatures had no consciousness and couldn't be controlled yet, otherwise the old councilman would have died long ago, or suffered even worse consequences. These little things liked to lodge in the heart. Su Xiao created a supernatural heart that possessed supernatural traits while being compatible with the old councilman's body.
Su Xiao activated the array on the transparent heart. Several tubes connected to the old councilman turned red, linking to his body through his blood.
As expected, the pseudo-heart began to beat. Its color gradually changed from transparent to light black, deepening in shade.
Putting away the alchemical instruments, Su Xiao came to the door. As soon as he pushed it open, Puli poked his head in to look.
"How is my father?"
"He'll be fully recovered in half an hour."
Su Xiao had one thing unsaid: the chance of recurrence was 100%. Until the hidden danger was removed, Su Xiao could only guarantee the old councilman wouldn't die.
Puli quickly walked into the bedroom. Outside the door, Baha subtly shook his head. Seeing this, Su Xiao basically confirmed who had done the tampering.
Half an hour passed. Puli's low voice came from inside the bedroom.
"Father, are you alright?"
Puli's voice was somewhat cold.
"Look who it is. My eldest son, Alex Puli. To have you back before I die... truly 'comforting'."
A weak, aged voice came.
"Heard you were dying, so I came back to see. If I'd known you wouldn't die, I'd have stayed in the Storm Kingdom. Beaches, beautiful women, life doesn't get much better than that."
"When I ordered that wild duck executed back then, I should have executed you too."
The old councilman on the bed closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. His son wasn't dead yet. The Hyena Wolf Clan hadn't dared to make a move. In his hazy state, this was what he worried about most.
"It really... was you!"
Puli's body trembled. He looked so angry he wanted to bang his head against the wall, but after a moment, his anger dissipated.
"Father, what did you say? Louder, I can't hear you. Kukulin, my father is acting strange, he's about to faint again. Father, don't roll your eyes back. I forgive you. Wake up. I swear, from now on, when I find women, I'll make sure they're from clean backgrounds. Wake up, Father."
Puli called out softly. Yelling was pointless in this situation. Unfortunately, the old councilman's face quickly turned pale, and he eventually fell unconscious. Half the reason for his fainting was anger at Puli.
"If you don't want to end up lying in the next room, don't touch him."
Su Xiao stood outside the door, unsurprised by the old councilman's condition.
"Kukulin, you just took the Starlight Iron, we..."
"Mm, so I cured your father."
Su Xiao's words left Puli speechless for several seconds.
"Cured him for only 2 minutes... A man must keep his word."
Puli kept telling himself internally: don't break your promise, offending this alchemy master would be disastrous. Endure it, don't fight.
In reality, even if he fought, Puli would be effortlessly beaten by Su Xiao with one hand. An alchemy master wasn't scary; what was scary was an alchemy master who could also fight extremely well.
"A complete cure is certainly possible."
"I knew it. Can we start now?"
"Of course not."
Su Xiao's voice grew lower. Moments later, Puli's eyes were full of disbelief, and he looked a bit like he was questioning his life.
Twenty minutes later, in the first-floor dining room, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, Puli, and Azazel sat around the dining table.
"Azazel, there's something I need to explain before we eat."
Puli interlaced his fingers, his eyes becoming deep, as if he had everything figured out. Seeing Puli's expression, Azazel quietly picked up his cane, feeling that Puli was very off.
"First, my father's condition deteriorating to this point—no, this isn't a disease, it's the work of an alchemist."
"?"
Azazel was even more confused. This wasn't the Puli he knew. Having watched him grow up, how could he not understand Puli?
"This alchemist is hiding deep. It's hard to determine exactly who it is, but one thing I can be sure of: right now, among us... there is an enemy spy."
"Puli, these past days, you've worked hard."
Azazel's eyes held some sorrow. In his view, Puli's description didn't add up. If the enemy had already infiltrated here, why not just assassinate directly? Why use alchemy against a Saint Realm councilman? That was like taking off pants to fart.
Azazel was sad because he thought Puli, under immense pressure, had gone a bit 'crazy'.
"Based on my deduction, one of us is the traitor."
"Mm, Puli is right."
Azazel quickly agreed, placing a hand on Puli's shoulder while turning his gaze to Su Xiao, as if to say: 'This kid is starting to think he's a detective. Is there any saving him? Bai Ye, I'm counting on you.'
"Rui Si, pour tea."
"Yes, Lord Bai Ye."
The expressionless maid, Rui Si, stepped forward with a teapot.
Clang!
A blue slashing light flashed. Maid Rui Si's head was severed.
"Bai Ye, what are you doing? Wasn't Azazel the one being used?"
Puli began to question his life. The facts proved he had the qualities of a ruler, but he had experienced too few upheavals. As for what he just said, Su Xiao had told him to say it, to mislead Maid Rui Si.
Azazel stared intently at Su Xiao. The sudden burst of blood energy just now nearly made him activate his secret patterns. This lame old man was far from as simple as he appeared.
"Puli, run. Don't look back. Run out and scream for help."
Azazel slowly stood up, gripping his cane tightly. In an instant, he judged that in a life-or-death battle, he had a fifty percent chance of winning. Protecting Puli was completely impossible.
Su Xiao held his long knife horizontally. The teapot falling through the air landed perfectly on the blade. He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea.
[Prompt: You have killed Bone Spider·Carlo.]
[Detected that Bone Spider·Carlo is an alchemist. Treasure chest quality has been upgraded.]
[You have gained 3.8% World Source.]
[You have obtained a Holy Spirit Level Treasure Chest.]
...
"Took years to get those miniature creatures into the Saint Realm councilman's body. Too slow."
Su Xiao picked up the teacup and took a light sip.
"Azazel, I think... I don't need to run."
"Bai Ye, what's going on? Rui Si has been with my father for over a decade. I really can't figure out the connection in all this."
Puli and Azazel both sat back down. Now they were sure Maid Rui Si was the traitor. What was puzzling was why she hadn't just killed the Saint Realm councilman directly.
Su Xiao had beheaded Maid Rui Si because the miniature creatures inside the Saint Realm councilman weren't lethal. It would take a long time to become fatal. Their greater purpose was to generate a core inside the councilman's heart—a core that could be remotely controlled.
Starting from the train hijacking incident, Su Xiao used the process of elimination to test each person. After studying the miniature supernatural creatures inside the old councilman, the key clue emerged: this thing hadn't invaded the old councilman's body recently. It had been there for at least several years to be so deeply rooted.
Someone who could be around the old councilman for years—Puli was directly ruled out. The guy was traveling the world. That left only Maid Rui Si and Azazel.
Su Xiao had Puli test Azazel. This served two purposes: it tested Azazel and also lulled Maid Rui Si into a false sense of security. Both had long-term access to the old councilman.
The conclusion was that Maid Rui Si was the enemy. Having reached this conclusion, Su Xiao didn't bother with reasoning or deduction. He acted directly, giving Maid Rui Si no chance, beheading her with one strike.
Taking her alive was useless. Maid Rui Si wasn't someone who could be handled with the Endless Darkness Collar. This woman's willpower was terrifyingly strong—Su Xiao was certain of that.
The whole affair was a single thread. The mastermind behind it had been planning this for a long time. Over twenty years ago, Bone Spider·Carlo had infiltrated the Saint Realm councilman's side. She had even sealed her own memories and self-hypnotized, becoming Maid Rui Si, loyal to the Saint Realm councilman.
Bone Spider·Carlo was the main consciousness, the true owner of the body. Maid Rui Si was a temporary consciousness. Both existed in the same body. Rui Si couldn't detect Bone Spider·Carlo's existence.
It took ten years for Rui Si to become one of the Saint Realm councilman's maids. After that, Rui Si remained loyal by the old councilman's side for another twelve years to reach her current position.
A few years ago, Bone Spider·Carlo's consciousness awakened. At that moment, the loyal Rui Si was already dead. She was a created consciousness entity, facing a suddenly appearing main consciousness with no right to resist.
Starting a few years ago, Bone Spider·Carlo had been tampering with the old councilman's food, clothing, and other items, allowing the miniature supernatural creatures to invade his body. The goal was to completely control the old councilman. Once controlled, he would only need to make one decision, leading to extremely severe and disastrous consequences.
And now, the most critical link in the mastermind's plan had been severed by Su Xiao. If the mastermind knew, he might jump out from the shadows to fight Su Xiao to the death. This was a plan decades in the making. In just a few hours, the most crucial link had been cut.
Su Xiao was in no hurry. As long as the old councilman didn't wake up, the mastermind would soon reveal his hand. Su Xiao had dealt with too many old schemers. This wasn't the most cunning one, but it was the one with the most patience.
Since that was the case, Su Xiao chose to disrupt the opponent's plan. He didn't believe the other party could continue to endure.