Chapter 22: The Break
Inside Su Xiao's temporary residence in the royal capital.
The not-so-spacious living room was nearly full. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha were all present. Liu was in the bedroom, occasionally poking her head out to look. Qifu stood in the doorway, blocking the entrance—an uninvited guest had arrived.
One thing couldn't be ignored: even now, Su Xiao hadn't figured out whose side Qifu was on or who sent him to protect Liu in Bamboo Village.
Second Prince Ted had somehow gotten his hands on a late-night snack and was eating it without any decorum. This guy ate about five meals a day. In his words, if he didn't eat enough, the royal blood would drain his life force sooner or later.
Probably because he grew up in the slums, Ted always carried dried meat and other easily stored food. Only those who had nearly starved to death truly understood how precious food was—and Ted was one of them.
Qifu watched Ted warily. He had certainly heard of the Second Prince Ted's reputation. Ted often wore a set of silver armor, and many called him the Silver Fox of the Slums.
Liu didn't recognize Ted. Seeing him eat so heartily, she got hungry too.
"Full. Where were we?"
"Rooting out the Spider Lady."
Su Xiao had decided to temporarily cooperate with Ted. Regardless of Ted's motives, the benefits that could be obtained were what truly belonged to him. Cooperating with Ted for now was the most profitable approach.
"The Spider Lady is inside the royal capital. Half a month ago, she wasn't royalty. Now she is. Only two kinds of people seize royal blood: one is like me, to survive; the other is like the Spider Lady, for power."
As Ted spoke, he glanced at Su Xiao, implying that Su Xiao was also the second type.
"The Spider Lady dares to use the power of royal blood without authorization like you?"
"Don't slander me. I've never ignited royal blood. That would get me caught and executed by the Tower Guardians."
"Not igniting royal blood to gain power, then what?"
Su Xiao felt he had grasped a crucial clue. It depended on whether Ted was willing to reveal it.
"Have your people withdraw. From now on, it's just you and me."
"..."
"Let's go. Late-night snack on the second floor."
Baha spoke. Bubu Wang and Amu immediately followed. If Su Xiao knew, it was essentially the same as them knowing.
Liu, who had no scheming nature, quickly went upstairs. She was already hungry. Qifu didn't move, standing with his arms crossed in the doorway.
"I said earlier, this is a two-person conversation."
Ted glanced sideways at Qifu. Qifu coldly met his gaze. After a moment, Qifu snorted and headed upstairs.
"This mad dog. I suggest you kill him quickly. He dares to carry the dragon heart of the Tianba clan. I swear on my life, he can't withstand the erosion of the dragon heart."
Ted shook his head. He had seen too many people tempted by the Source, wanting to leap to great power overnight. None of them ended well. Otherwise, why would the average lifespan of Tower Guardians not exceed 30 years?
They were all experts in using Source power. Except for the Tianba clan, no one could truly control Source power. But even the Tianba clan couldn't avoid being eroded by it in the end.
"Continue our conversation."
"Fine. Since they're your people, if something goes wrong, it's not my problem."
Ted set down his teacup, his smile fading. He spoke seriously: "Bai Ye, you've probably guessed the purpose of royal blood. That's right—it's the Tower Forest's means to prevent the rise of ancient gods. As long as the ancient gods aren't completely dead, they might rise again..."
"Get to the point. I already know the situation with the ancient gods."
Su Xiao interrupted Ted. He had noticed that this guy really liked telling stories. That wasn't the main issue—the main issue was that Ted always went off-topic.
"Inheriting the throne has two requirements: the crown and the royal blood."
Ted paused for a moment to avoid rambling.
"The crown is the Tower Forest's heirloom. It actually has nothing to do with royal blood. Its real purpose is to open a certain place called the Divine Homeland. How about that? Are you satisfied with this secret?"
Ted had guessed something. From the moment he entered this house, he had been observing Liu's attitude toward Su Xiao. There was some fear, but more of a friendship.
Not only that, Ted also noticed that Liu's attire and demeanor were now somewhat neutral. From her voice, he could tell that his sister was disguising herself as a boy.
Ted wondered why Su Xiao was willing to help Liu fight for royal blood, especially when Liu couldn't inherit it at all.
Liu was a seed. When the royal bloodline was severed, the thing inside her would awaken, producing a trace of royal blood. That trace would be taken by the Tower Guardians to find a male strong enough to integrate it, then begin procreation to accelerate the growth of the royal blood.
The king would always be male—that was determined by the royal blood. No matter the gender of the heir before, once the royal blood spread throughout their body, they would inevitably become male, because the first king was male.
Based on Ted's judgment, Su Xiao was likely not seeking the royal blood but something else. The only thing he could think of was the crown related to the Source: Divine Homeland. After all, there weren't many ways to gain power in this world: practicing techniques, Source power, or divine energy. Anything else was very limited.
"The Divine Homeland only exists in legends. Why would I pursue something like that? Compared to a place that might not even exist, I'm more interested in Source Water."
Su Xiao certainly wouldn't reveal all his intentions to Ted. Compared to finding the Divine Homeland, seeking Source Water was more acceptable. From Ted's words, to reach the Source: Divine Homeland, one first needed the Tower Forest's crown.
"Is that so? Too bad. I originally planned that after I became king, the royal blood would be mine, and the crown would be yours."
"Would the Tower Guardians allow the crown to be taken out of the royal capital?"
Su Xiao lit a cigarette, seemingly chatting casually but actually probing. He knew Ted was probing him too.
"Of course they would. That thing has no other use and only brings trouble. It belongs to the Tower Forest. Even if someone takes it away, it'll be returned soon enough."
When Ted mentioned the crown, he acted as if he didn't care at all about losing it. He continued:
"Neither of us is a good person, so I'll be straightforward. I'm ascending the throne just to survive. I'm only 32 and not weak, but I'm already aging prematurely. More and more white hairs lately."
Ted sighed, opened his left arm covered by the bracer, and rolled up his sleeve. Su Xiao saw an arm that, despite having muscle contours, was withered.
"See this? That's the curse of royal blood. First the left arm, then the torso, right arm, legs, and finally the head. I've been surviving in the slums since I was 7. After all these years, I finally made it, and then I find out I have only a few years left. Hahaha, is there anything more ridiculous? What was the point of my 30-plus years of life? Just to offer more life force to the royal blood inside me?"
Ted's expression twisted. After a moment, he rubbed his brow with his withered left hand to calm himself.
"If we win, the royal blood is mine, the crown is yours, and Source Water is no problem. How about it? Do you accept my proposal?"
"Agreed."
Su Xiao pulled out two glass rods, one thick and one thin, from his chest. He had a quarter of the royal blood.
"If I can't get the crown, I'll destroy this royal blood."
"You wouldn't dare."
Ted stared at Su Xiao, his gaze like that of a dying beast ready to devour. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he said:
"Right, that's a good reason. Let's have a falling out. Uneven spoils cause us to break apart, then we frame each other. Preferably, we both 'die.' No, 'both dying' is too hard."
Ted resumed his smiling face. This old schemer had clearly thought of some plan.
"'Both of us dying' isn't hard. Let's break now. Don't die. I won't hold back, or it'll leave a flaw."
Su Xiao drew the long blade at his waist. He basically understood Ted's plan. Now he had to fall out with Ted, at least fight a battle.
Putting away the royal blood, Su Xiao felt he was close to the Source: Divine Homeland. He was willing to enter such a dangerous place at his current strength mainly because he would soon participate in the Empty Seat Banquet.
Before entering this world, Su Xiao had noticed changes in the invitation for the Empty Seat Banquet. It felt like the invitation would be activated soon.
Su Xiao didn't know much about the Empty Seat Banquet, but he knew that only by being strong enough could he gain more benefits there. That was why he wanted to enter the Source: Divine Homeland, a high-risk area for seventh-rank contractors, to improve his strength as quickly as possible.
Clang~
Ted drew the thick, sharp rapier at his waist, his eyes turning pitch black.
"You bastard, at least don't hit the vitals..."
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out, tearing through the night sky of the royal capital. Ted flew out from the wreckage of a large building. As soon as he landed, he spat out a mouthful of blood. A slash crossed his chest, and through the wound, his organs were visible.
"Really ruthless, bastard."
Ted turned into a blur. Su Xiao charged at him head-on. The long blade and rapier clashed, sending out a shockwave.
Two hours later, Ted, with one arm severed and his armor in tatters, rushed into a small alley. His face was pale, and he was severely injured.
The dark alley fell silent. Ted struggled to stand up. Just then, several figures blocked both ends of the alley. The people from First Prince Walsh and the Spider Lady had arrived.
If Ted could just escape alive, he and Su Xiao would essentially have won, because tomorrow, they would both 'die.'
Ted had an extremely crazy plan: use the old king to clean up First Prince Walsh and the Spider Lady. According to Ted, First Prince Walsh had a trump card he only used at critical moments. Under no circumstances should Walsh be allowed to use that thing.