# Chapter 9: Peace Talks?
A bright red signal flare shot into the sky, exploding like fireworks, large patches of dazzling red light particles appearing high above, lingering for a long time without dispersing.
Inside a tavern that remained noisy even in the late hours, a man wearing a leather round hat and covered in iron accessories was drinking heavily. Just then, red light reflected through the tavern window. The man turned his head to look, initially not paying attention, but suddenly remembering something, he strode out of the tavern, not caring about the bartender's angry shouts behind him.
In a small alley by the street, faint sounds that sparked the imagination could be heard. Red light shone in, and a few seconds later, a disheveled prostitute ran out from the alley. Seeing the large red particles in the sky, she immediately ran in one direction.
Drunkards, vagrants, prostitutes, and even laborers who had worked all day stepped onto the streets, all heading in the same direction—toward the headquarters of the Kodo School.
The entire city of Dunk was like a hornet's nest that had been violently poked. Patrol teams carrying torches appeared on every street, searching through alleys and lanes. Rough knocking sounds and barking dogs rose and fell in succession.
All of this started because the Kodo School's Holy Maiden had been kidnapped half an hour ago.
Outside, the Kodo School had a terrible reputation, but in Dunk City, they were the absolute rulers. Either obey, or disappear.
The high-ranking members of the Kodo School were enraged. Not only had someone killed their people on their turf, but they had also kidnapped the Holy Maiden. This was like a slap to the face. Could they tolerate this?
Several bishops in power at the Kodo School had their blood pressure spike, nearly suffering cerebral hemorrhages. Hence, the scene before them.
"You few, go check those low-rent apartments over there. Under the beds, in the closets, anywhere someone could hide—don't miss a spot."
"There are footprints in the sewer over here!"
Shouts rose and fell. The innkeeper, Marcia, leaned against the wall, waiting for someone. According to the agreement, that person would arrive soon.
Meanwhile, in the western district, inside an underground wine cellar.
The hanging lamp above lit up after being connected to a [Particle Battery], the white-yellow light dispelling the darkness.
A wall made of wine barrel bottoms stood on one side. The Holy Maiden sat leaning against the wall, her head tilted to the side, appearing unconscious.
"Wake up, stop pretending. They've already started looking for you outside."
Hearing Baha's words, the Holy Maiden's tightly closed eyelids trembled, then she opened her amber-colored eyes. With a calm expression, she said:
"Who exactly are you? How dare you capture me in Dunk City? Have you considered the consequences? And this isn't even worth it. If the Kodo School wanted to, they could cultivate a new Holy Maiden in a few months."
The Holy Maiden looked around at Su Xiao and the others. Hearing that people outside were searching for her, her previously anxious mood calmed down. It was time to display the power of words.
"How about this: you go find some scapegoats, kill them, and claim they kidnapped me. Then you notify the Kodo School. I'll speak on your behalf and make sure you get plenty of crystal resin."
The Holy Maiden knew where her advantage lay—her acting skills. She had used this talent to deceive many people.
"Consider my proposal..."
Click.
Su Xiao locked the [Endless Darkness] collar around the Holy Maiden's neck.
"Oh my? You have such hobbies? Someone's actually interested in me? You should know what's inside my body, right?"
The Holy Maiden's smile was somewhat strange, carrying a hint of mockery.
Su Xiao ignored the Holy Maiden and activated the [Endless Darkness] collar. Almost instantly, a surge of curse energy entered the Holy Maiden's neck, spreading toward her brain.
"Ah!"
The Holy Maiden let out a cry of pain, which surprised Su Xiao a little. Then he realized it was the curse force and the ancient god energy repelling each other. This was irrelevant; the Holy Maiden had very little ancient god energy inside her.
As expected, after a dozen seconds, the conflict between the two abilities ended. Both had dark characteristics, so even in conflict, it wasn't too intense.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Is that all? You know, when I was a few years old, pain also represented pleasure to me. It's the school's insurance measure."
The Holy Maiden laughed strangely, but in reality, her inner thoughts were, "It hurts like hell!" She endured pain as pain—there was no so-called pleasure at all.
[Tip: Curse of Lies (Passive) has been triggered. Charm attribute reverse judgment in progress...]
[Enemy True Charm Attribute: 135 points.]
[Your Charm Attribute: -3 points.]
[Judgment complete. Your Charm attribute reversely crushes the enemy's Charm attribute. Curse of Lies (Passive) has been activated.]
After Su Xiao finished reading the notification, the Holy Maiden in front of him went limp, like a noodle leaning against the wall, barely able to lift her arm.
From now on, every time the Holy Maiden told a lie, her Willpower would decrease by 10 points until it dropped below 3 points.
Amu brought a wooden chair and placed it behind Su Xiao. He sat down, looking at the Holy Maiden slumped in front of him, and asked:
"Where is the Light King?"
"In... in the Old Royal Capital."
As soon as the Holy Maiden spoke, her amber pupils rapidly contracted. She felt she had lost something, but the sensation was too subtle.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the Holy Maiden found that the one person, one dog, one cow, and one bird in front of her weren't as hateful as before.
"I really want to eat vanilla cake. Ah ya ya ah~"
The Holy Maiden had lost her worries.
"Where is the Light King?"
"Didn't I already say? In..."
The Holy Maiden stopped mid-sentence, realizing something was wrong. Just now, she was actually thinking about eating vanilla cake? Was she crazy? At a time like this, she was thinking about vanilla cake?
Her mind raced. She guessed what was happening and decided to test it. Her eyes fixed on Su Xiao, she silently repeated in her mind, "This is a hateful person, this is a hateful person..."
"In the Old Royal Capital."
As soon as she finished speaking, she laughed to herself, looking up at the light bulb above.
"The sun is so bright. Ah ya ya yo~"
The Holy Maiden's carefree state lasted a few seconds before her gaze cleared a little. She had already figured it out. She couldn't speak anymore. Every time she answered a question, she became as foolish as an idiot.
"Where is the Light King?"
Su Xiao repeated the same question. The Holy Maiden turned her head away and remained silent.
The Curse of Lies (Passive) couldn't be triggered? No matter. First, lose "dignity," then lock her in the "dark room."
Su Xiao activated the Black Prison (Active) effect of the [Endless Darkness] collar. On the collar around the Holy Maiden's neck, several rice-sized blue gems lit up one after another.
For an enemy whose Willpower had already been reduced, inside the Black Prison, 1 second equaled 20 days. It was absolute darkness—no sound, no light, nothing at all.
The Holy Maiden's pupils began to dim as darkness enveloped her consciousness.
Su Xiao took out a timer and pressed the start button. After three seconds, he deactivated the Black Prison.
The Holy Maiden's eyes regained focus. Seeing Su Xiao and Bubu Wang, she was dazed for several minutes before finally forgetting her noble status and pride, bursting into tears.
"The Light King is in White Town. I never intended to harm you..."
Before the Holy Maiden could finish, the Curse of Lies (Passive) ability activated. She had instinctively lied.
A few minutes later, the collar around the Holy Maiden's neck was removed. She sat on the ground, yawning. A flying insect passed over her head, and she instinctively opened her mouth to bite it.
"I'm hungry! I'm hungry! I'm hungry!"
The Holy Maiden looked at Su Xiao and the others with a puffed-up expression, innocent and naive. This state wouldn't last forever—it would probably take 1 to 5 days to recover.
Su Xiao had obtained quite a bit of information. First, the Light King was in White Town. As for how to get to White Town, the Holy Maiden had explained it clearly.
Besides this information, Su Xiao also learned other things. The Kodo School wasn't united internally. Most of their high-end combat power was in a scattered, lax state.
Knowing this, Su Xiao's doubts were resolved. The people protecting the Holy Maiden earlier were so weak it was hard to watch. They had all died before he even drew his blade.
"Bubu, you can start now."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked and ran out of the wine cellar. In the current Dunk City, many civilians were patrolling the streets, along with members of the Kodo School. If discovered by these supernaturals, they would have to fight their way out.
Su Xiao could fight his way out, but there was no need. If he couldn't even confront a single Kodo School head-on, he had no business going after the ancient god.
At this moment, inside the Kodo School headquarters, it wasn't as chaotic as one might imagine. Instead, it was very quiet. The guard force here had been strengthened, and everyone else had gone out to search for the Holy Maiden.
Candle flames flickered. In the library on the fourth floor of the headquarters, an old man in a dark white robe stood before a bookshelf. He was one of the five bishops of the Kodo School, and one of the five most powerful people in the school, representing the Blasphemy Faction. His name was Noah.
Bishop Noah took a book from the shelf. He wasn't too concerned about tonight's events. By morning, the bodies of the Holy Maiden and a group of thieves would be found. The Holy Maiden, after being kidnapped, had bravely resisted and was tragically killed by the thieves. Then, under the joint efforts of the faithful and the citizens, the thieves would be wiped out. That was Story One.
As for the Holy Maiden still being alive? That was fine. Story Two would unfold. Nothing else mattered. The Kodo School's face and credibility were most important.
Thinking this, Bishop Noah shook his head. Such matters had been interesting when he was young, but after so many times, he had grown used to them.
Bishop Noah turned to a new page. A slip of paper appeared in the crease of the book, causing a hint of suspicion on his old face. He picked up the paper. A line of crooked, tiny words was written on it.
'About the Holy Maiden.'
Seeing this line, the book in Bishop Noah's hand snapped shut with a slap. He couldn't deny his shock. When had the enemy infiltrated the headquarters?
While Bishop Noah was still full of doubts, the metal cup beside him toppled over, spilling water onto the small round table. A few seconds later, the wooden table actually began to sprout branches.
The branches grew wildly, reaching a certain point before bursting open with a crack. The splashing liquid corroded the nearby bookshelves and books, hissing as they turned into black residue.
Witnessing this, Bishop Noah's old face began to twitch. He hadn't sensed any danger earlier. That cup of water had been brought by a servant. If he had drunk it, the result...
Bishop Noah turned to leave. A fragment of an uncorroded book page floated before him. The fragment was very small, with only a few words remaining: 'We are watching you.'
Bishop Noah stopped in his tracks. Only now did he realize the seriousness of the situation.
Bang. The library door was pushed open. A servant, panting heavily, ran in.
A dozen minutes later, on the top floor of the headquarters, around a large round table carved from black stone, the five bishops of the Kodo School gathered, all silent.
"We must root out that thief."
"This is too much!"
A hot-tempered bishop slammed the table, but for some reason, the atmosphere of this impromptu meeting was strange.
"Several of you, did you receive this too?"
Bishop Noah took out a slip of paper with the words: 'About the Holy Maiden.'
As soon as this paper appeared, the atmosphere became extremely awkward. The expressions of the other four bishops began to shift.
The four bishops exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, each of them took out a slip of paper from their sleeves or robes.
The five slips of paper, when pieced together, read: 'About the Holy Maiden. Let's talk tomorrow morning. Prepare 100,000 lang of crystal resin. We'll discuss the rest tomorrow morning. Faithful of the ancient god.'
Seeing this information, the five bishops fell into silence once more.
"Are we just going to compromise like this?"
"I... was bitten on the head by a pillow just now."
"I was almost poisoned to death."
"I..."
The last bishop suddenly fell silent. The pressure on him was immense. If he didn't hold his breath and concentrate, the filth in his stomach would come rushing out, and he would lose all face. This made his face turn green.
Bishop Noah's gaze swept over the other four. The other four bishops remained silent.
"This matter, we need to be cautious..."
Before Bishop Noah could finish, he heard a 'pfft' sound. A sour, foul smell spread out, causing a brief look of surprise on his face. As for Bishop Duru sitting diagonally across from him, his face was now greenish-yellow, like an old cucumber. This idea was a combination of Bubu Wang and Baha.
Everyone's eyes focused on Bishop Duru's face. He nearly died on the spot. In his anger, another 'pfft' sound came out, making the sour stench in the room even stronger. This meeting was full of crap.
Bishop Noah's face also turned a bit green. At his level, he didn't care too much about life and death, but he really couldn't afford to lose face like this.
"Everyone, let's talk with them tomorrow morning."
Bishop Noah's proposal received unanimous agreement from the other three bishops, except for Bishop Duru.