Chapter 2: The Priest Lies in Wait, Ready to Stab Su Xiao in the Back the Moment He’s Wounded by a Powerful Enemy

There was no doubt that Bubu had achieved a major feat this time, though this was also tied to prior caution. Bubu Wang had never revealed his ability to blend into the environment in front of the Guild Leader Rogash, the Priest, or Death Shadow Ovia.

In the Priest’s perception, Bubu Wang was merely a summon that provided an aura buff, with low survivability.

“Bai Ye, what are you thinking? Let’s keep moving.”

The Priest downed a bottle of Recovery Potion, the wound on his shoulder gradually healing.

“I’m thinking about when you plan to kill me.”

“Aren’t you thinking the same? Now’s not the time to make a move.”

The Priest didn’t bother with pretense; some things, once spoken aloud, actually put one more at ease.

“Hmm, indeed.”

“Let’s go. It’s not yet time for us to fall out. These jailers are far too strong.”

The Priest made a gesture for Su Xiao to proceed. Seeing this, Su Xiao continued forward—one step, two steps, three steps—then stopped.

Now that he knew the Priest’s intentions, he certainly wouldn’t turn his back on him, which was why he had spoken as he did.

Noticing Su Xiao halt, the Priest understood the implication and began walking side by side with him.

The Pain Dungeon was not small. In the latter section, dozens of corridors crisscrossed, making it feel like a maze. Fortunately, they encountered no more jailers.

Each jailer killed yielded 6 to 8 Soul Coins, but beneath this generous reward lay great risk. Close combat with the jailers was too dangerous; who knew if these monsters, whose brains had withered to the size of walnuts, might suddenly decide to charge forward in a fiery explosion.

After advancing for about half an hour, Su Xiao stopped. Inside the wall ahead was a stone staircase leading upward. The gap between the walls flanking the stairs was less than two meters wide, making it impossible to walk side by side with the Priest.

“You go first.”

“…”

Su Xiao and the Priest locked eyes. The situation was somewhat awkward. The Priest was far too perceptive—this was the downside of cooperating with an old schemer; it was hard to exploit him.

Su Xiao took out a watered-down version of [Sun Potion]. Seeing this, the Priest fell silent.

The Priest desperately needed Sun Potion. The reason was that, although he was cooperating with Guild Leader Rogash, who had provided him with something to avoid being scorched by the “Sun,” that thing was alive and had its own consciousness. That meant it could betray him, since it was something Rogash kept.

The Priest wasn’t naive enough to think that Guild Leader Rogash would cooperate with him to the end. Stockpiling more Sun Potions was his trump card—his counter against Rogash.

Su Xiao’s meaning was clear: one bottle of Sun Potion in exchange for the Priest scouting ahead.

The Priest took the Sun Potion and headed up the stone steps. Before long, his footsteps faded away.

After waiting a few minutes, Su Xiao heard a rumbling sound from diagonally above, along with a very harsh scraping noise.

Meanwhile, in the Holy Land of Chiriad, the King’s Palace.

A figure was hanging upside down inside the palace, letting out muffled groans.

“Huxiro… Huxiro…”

The deliberately lowered voice reached Huxiro’s ears. His eyes opened. For someone with an undying body like his, being gutted wasn’t a big deal—aside from the pain, the wound would heal quickly.

Huxiro scanned his surroundings from his inverted perspective and spotted “Baha” hiding behind a stone pillar.

“Baha, back off. Don’t come within five meters of me. That monster is still nearby.”

Huxiro lowered his voice. Baha blinked at him, flapped his wings, and landed on a nearby mechanism lever.

With a click, the lever was pressed down. Gears turned, and the upside-down Huxiro crashed to the ground.

“Walk over slowly. That monster has already been lured away.”

Hearing this, Huxiro was overjoyed. He crept along the wall, quickly hiding behind the stone pillar where “Baha” was.

“I almost got gutted to death! If it doesn’t love me, it just goes straight for the kill! How’s it going on your end?”

“Not bad.”

“Good. Which way now?”

“Follow me closely.”

Baha moved across the ground with nimble steps, and Huxiro followed. Before long, they entered a long corridor.

For some reason, Huxiro stopped. He watched Baha’s agile gait, his mind replaying memories.

Huxiro recalled a scene from “Smoke City,” where he had seen Baha running on the ground. That stride wasn’t just cocky—it was also clumsy. He had even mocked Baha for it.

“Baha, what’s that?”

Huxiro pointed upward. Baha looked up at his gesture, and Huxiro suddenly lunged. He formed a blade with his hand and stabbed it into Baha’s back from behind.

Squelch~

White viscous liquid splattered everywhere as Huxiro’s hand pierced through Baha’s spine. Baha’s head twisted 180 degrees, but his body remained motionless. This wasn’t Baha—it was an enemy in disguise.

“You noticed? The great one said you weren’t very smart.”

The unknown enemy’s body dissolved into a white fluid, vaguely forming a humanoid shape. This unknown creature grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Huxiro’s left hand was still embedded in the creature’s chest. No matter how hard he tried to pull it out, his arm was stuck fast.

“Don’t struggle. No one can escape from my body.”

The white fluid on the unknown creature spread, enveloping Huxiro.

Huxiro sensed a fatal crisis. He was certain that if he were taken away, he would die—there would be no chance of survival. The feeling was overwhelmingly strong.

Huxiro’s brain cells felt like they were burning. As the white fluid rapidly engulfed him, he desperately searched for a way out. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck.

“Big Sister, gut me!!!”

Huxiro shouted with all his might. Hearing this, the unknown creature across from him bared a vicious expression, ignoring the strain on its body as it swallowed Huxiro even faster.

Drip~

A sound like water droplets spread. The next instant, Huxiro felt an excruciating pain in his groin. His eyes bulged, bloodshot veins bursting across the whites. It was that familiar feeling, that familiar spot.

“Aooow!!”

Huxiro let out a miserable howl. The front half of his body was yanked out of the white fluid with a squelch, then dragged backward at an unbelievable speed.

When Huxiro was pulled to the corner of the wall, the hand dragging him turned, causing his body to swing. His head slammed into the corner with a thud, further damaging his already not-so-bright mind.