Chapter 24: Four Powerhouses
Gray, flocculent matter drifted down from above like snowflakes.
Su Xiao gazed at the Black Maple Tree in the center of the gray stone plaza. He truly hadn't expected that within Dead Silence City, there would actually be a Black Maple Tree, and one so towering.
The tallest Black Maple Tree he had ever seen was the one in the "Land of Beginning and End." That tree once belonged to the Law Destruction Faction, now guarded by the old Law Destroyer, but it was a mother tree that no longer belonged to anyone.
According to legend, that Black Maple Tree was planted by the Law Destroyers. Back then, the Law Destruction Faction had spent a fortune to open an Abyss Passage, obtaining a Black Maple Tree seed, from which they cultivated it.
There was a saying that whether it was the Black Maple Tree of Arcane Eternal Star, or the two trees beneath the Black Abyss and Abyssal Dragon's Depths, all three were second-generation Black Maple Trees, cultivated from branches of the mother tree.
This was why Su Xiao believed the Black Maple Tree in the "Land of Beginning and End" was the mother tree. Not only was that tree exceptionally tall, but he had also cultivated his own Black Maple Tree from a branch of that mother tree. His tree was now 6.95 meters tall.
The Black Maple Tree he saw now in the gray stone plaza gave him a sense of familiarity. This tree closely resembled the mother tree in the "Land of Beginning and End," and it was highly likely that it too had been planted from an original seed.
Unfortunately, this towering Black Maple Tree had already withered and died. Seeing it evoked a sense of regret. How glorious and prosperous the Gloomy Continent had once been, yet now it was a scene of such deathly silence and decay. Even the mother tree they had taken pride in had perished.
The dense layer of bone arrows on the ground beneath the tree showed how long the Pale Hunters had guarded this place. They weren't monsters, but rather the final guardians of Dead Silence City. They guarded the main street, preventing outsiders from defiling this pilgrimage path. They also guarded the Black Maple Tree in the inner city, even though this mother tree had withered, weathered, and lost all value.
"Brother Bai Ye, have you ever considered developing prophetic abilities?"
Wood's high emotional intelligence clearly prevented him from saying something like, "Damn, you actually guessed it right."
"..."
Su Xiao glanced at Wood but said nothing. Although he had stumbled upon the guess that Dead Silence City had a Black Maple Tree, this tree had been dead for too long, constantly eroded by the dead silence, and poorly preserved. Its actual value was far less than its sentimental value.
Since Su Xiao owned a Black Maple Tree, he knew how delicate its yield was. Any slight improper preservation would drastically reduce its value, let alone this exposure to the power of dead silence.
Even so, Su Xiao wanted to get closer to the tree. He faintly sensed that there was something inside it.
At first, he thought it was a psychological illusion, but after noticing Wood's gaze, he confirmed that there must be something good inside this Black Maple Tree.
When it came to treasure hunting, even if Su Xiao and Zuiyasi combined forces, they couldn't match Wood. The Devil Clan frequently traded with others, and their ability to appraise items and their experience with secret treasures were unmatched by other races.
Although Zuiyasi couldn't even sense that there was a treasure inside the tree, he trusted Su Xiao and Wood. In Zuiyasi's view, if there wasn't something good inside the Black Maple Tree, these two "good teammates" would have left long ago. Behind them, the hundred-meter-high wall was densely packed with Pale Hunters, and he could sense that they were on the verge of being provoked.
Su Xiao glanced at the withered Black Maple Tree and the dozens of skeletons pinned beneath it by bone arrows, then turned his gaze to the high wall. Before knowing what treasure was inside the tree, it wasn't worth taking such a big risk.
On both sides of the gray stone plaza, there was a path. Su Xiao's destination was the left one. According to the resonance direction of the [Covenant Item], the Demon Blacksmith was on this side.
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Baha toward the left path. Seeing this, Wood walked toward the right gravel path, where mist was spreading, giving a cold and eerie feeling. As for Zuiyasi, he wasn't ready to leave yet. He wanted to test if there was a way to reach the Black Maple Tree.
After following the small path around the gray stone plaza, Su Xiao arrived at another cluster of buildings. The architectural style was still unique to Dead Silence City, but the buildings here were noticeably sparser, yet taller and covering more ground.
Su Xiao walked along the street, the ground beneath him covered in a layer of brittle stone skin. Compared to the outer city, this place was more dangerous, but he wouldn't be chased by large groups of the People of Death, giving him a chance to explore.
The top priority was to find Amu's location. Unfortunately, within the dangerous area, the team's location-locking authority was greatly reduced, only allowing detection within a half-kilometer range.
As for using perception, anyone with any sense wouldn't release their perception within Dead Silence City's inner city. This wouldn't just attract a group of the People of Death; it might even attract several boss-level units in Dead Silence City at once.
That aside, in such a dangerous environment, Amu's survivability wasn't weak. Interestingly, over such a long time, not only had Amu's tank-type abilities continuously improved, but his skill at playing dead was unmatched by anyone else in Su Xiao's team.
The reason was that every time Su Xiao fought a powerful enemy, Amu, as the tank, would naturally stand in front of Su Xiao. Coupled with Amu's ice ability's strong slowing effect, the final boss they encountered each time would always take care of Amu first.
Many times, the situation was: Amu would charge forward, ready to slow down the final boss with its ice ability, and the enemy would directly slam down a big move.
Logically, with Amu's survivability, fighting an enemy of the same level, taking one big move shouldn't be a problem. But the enemies Su Xiao had to take seriously were truly powerful, so strong that if he let his guard down even a little, he could die on the spot.
When such a powerful enemy unleashed a big move, even with Amu's strong survivability, it would be nearly finished. So every battle went like this: Amu charges forward → Amu is about to slow down the enemy → Amu gets blasted away → Amu lies still in the distance.
Getting back up and charging in with a near-death state wasn't the style of Su Xiao's team. So Amu would always lie there motionless, sneakily drink a potion while continuing to play dead, then gradually recover health through Bubu Wang's aura ability. When its condition improved a bit, and Su Xiao was in the final stages of the fight with the enemy, Amu would suddenly rise and charge over to get beaten up.
Amu's ability to play dead wasn't just from practice and high-intensity combat. It had an ability called [Elemental Constitution], granting it strong affinity with natural elements. It could form a good cycle with natural elements, thereby strengthening itself.
This ability didn't involve abusing elemental power or devouring natural elements. It was more like breathing—inhaling natural elements and then exhaling them. If natural elements weren't friendly to Amu, it couldn't do this.
This ability gave Amu a hobby: pretending to be a big tree. Obviously, playing dead was much easier than pretending to be a tree.
Although Amu was a bit simple-minded, after entering Dead Silence City, this simple-minded bull didn't even dare to breathe loudly, clearly understanding how dangerous the source of Dead Silence City was.
If he guessed correctly, Amu was probably pretending to be a big tree deep within Dead Silence City. It was worth noting that this ability was fundamentally different from Bubu Wang's ability to blend into the environment.
Su Xiao checked the team channel. Amu's status was good. Rushing deep into Dead Silence City to retrieve Amu now wasn't a good strategy. It would more likely lead to a team wipe due to reckless advancement.
As he pondered, Su Xiao followed the street and arrived before a grand courtyard. The courtyard gate was wide open, and a gravel path extended inside. In the center of the courtyard was a circular pool, its water long dried up, leaving only hard, dry moss.
Su Xiao walked along the gravel path into the courtyard. The trees planted on both sides were all dead. Hanging from these dead trees were many skeletons, their severely weathered clothing suggesting they were clergy.
Continuing forward, Su Xiao saw bones scattered everywhere. Many of the bones had mutated into grotesque shapes, while others still wore heavy armor, holding heavy shields and greatswords.
On these armors, heavy shields, and greatswords, Su Xiao saw the ring-shaped emblem representing the Healing Church. In front of this vast expanse of bones stood an ancient and majestic grand cathedral.
This grand cathedral was identical to the one in High Wall City. No, it was the grand cathedral in High Wall City that was a replica of this one. This was the true birthplace and rise of the Healing Church.
The main street that extended all the way to the inner city didn't lead to this grand cathedral. This meant that during the Age of Gods, the people didn't make pilgrimages to the Healing Church, but rather believed in and made pilgrimages to an existence higher than the Healing Church.
Su Xiao had never been able to figure out what role the Healing Church played during the Age of Gods and the subsequent disaster era when the dead silence descended.
Based on the information known so far, the old Healing Church of that time wasn't established by the Archbishop and the Holy Priest. They were members of the old church.
After the dead silence descended, the old church seemed both glorious and inglorious. However, one thing was certain: no clergy of the old church had been found transformed into monsters of Dead Silence City. At the very end, they either left this place or took their own lives. Many of the clergy hanging from the surrounding trees were powerful individuals. Many of their skeletons still contained supernatural power. If they had turned into monsters in life, they would have been very powerful.
[Tip: You have arrived at the Restful Courtyard.]
Su Xiao took out the [Covenant Item]. This badge-like item had become warm, and a feeling of mutual resonance came from within the grand cathedral ahead.
After crossing the gravel path, Su Xiao ascended over a dozen steps and arrived before the main entrance of the grand cathedral.
Tall, double-leafed metal doors stood before him, and he could faintly hear the sound of metal hammering from inside. No mistake, the Demon Blacksmith was inside the grand cathedral.
Rather than immediately entering the grand cathedral, Su Xiao was more interested in a dark sphere floating in front of him. This thing was about the size of a marble, like a small dark hole opened in mid-air, slowly churning.
Seeing this thing, Su Xiao felt a sense of familiarity. He reached out to touch it. Such a good opportunity couldn't be missed.
As Su Xiao touched the dark sphere, it immediately sank into his fingertip and was absorbed by his Reincarnation Paradise imprint.
[Tip: You have gained 1% Dark Source.]
[Dark Source: After a Hunter obtains more than 5% Dark Source, they can go to the "Sacrificial Altar" to perform a ritual, enhancing their current talent ability.]
[Tip: Each talent can be enhanced up to 4 times. Enhanced times: 8/12. Enhancement intensity depends on the talent's potential.]
...
The more Dark Source, the better. Su Xiao's unique Law Destruction talent, Shadow Hunt, still needed enhancement. He wondered what qualitative change Shadow Hunt would undergo after four enhancements.
Su Xiao pushed open the metal doors. With a rumbling sound, the cathedral doors opened, and a wave of heat surged out from the gap.
Clang, clang, clang...
The rhythmic sound of hammering came. Su Xiao walked into the grand cathedral and found that although it was dozens of meters high, it only had one floor. It had indeed had many floors before, but the ceilings between each floor had been knocked down. Now, looking up, he could see the stained glass in the dome.
The entire cathedral covered over a thousand square meters, but it wasn't empty. It was divided by platforms and spiral staircases. It was clear that this place had been used as a defensive structure, using the courtyard outside and this building to resist the onslaught of monsters.
From the exaggeratedly thick metal doors and the varying depths of dents on them, one could glimpse the ferocity of the battles that had taken place here.
Su Xiao looked in the direction of the blacksmithing sound. It was a semi-open room with no door, only an arched entrance. A forge and furnace were set up here. Against the inner wall was a workbench, and many weapons hung on the walls, mostly semi-finished products.
A burly blacksmith stood before the forge, hammering a red-hot iron bar. The blacksmith's skin was dark red and rough, his beard braided into thick strands, and curved ram horns grew from his head. He turned his head to meet Su Xiao's gaze, and Su Xiao saw eyes that seemed to have magma burning within them. This was the Demon Blacksmith.
"You Law Destroyers sure know how to pick meeting places."
The Demon Blacksmith spoke, his voice low and heavy. Standing there, he was like an ancient but angry volcano, giving off immense pressure.
The reason the Demon Blacksmith said this was because, many years ago, another Law Destroyer had used a [Covenant Item] to arrange a meeting with him. However, that meeting was at the "Bottom of the Realm," a place where Abyss Spawn and aberrant beings roamed. The person who had arranged that meeting with the Demon Blacksmith was named Mawen Hua'erzi.
If Su Xiao were to say now that Mawen Hua'erzi was his guide and mentor, the hammer the Demon Blacksmith was using on the red-hot iron bar would definitely be swung at Su Xiao's head.
"Have you heard of Mawen Hua'erzi?"
The Demon Blacksmith spoke coldly.
"Yes."
"Oh? What's your relationship with him?"
The Demon Blacksmith stopped hammering and turned his gaze to Su Xiao.
"Not familiar."
Although Su Xiao didn't know the details, he had a vague feeling that if he said Mawen Hua'erzi was his guide and mentor, he would definitely get a hammer to the head today.
"Good, not familiar."
The Demon Blacksmith's forging hammer struck the red-hot iron bar again.
"..."
Su Xiao placed the badge-like [Covenant Item] on the forge. Seeing this, the Demon Blacksmith frowned and said, "The furnace that can smelt divine souls has been lost for many years. Without that furnace..."
Before the Demon Blacksmith could finish, Su Xiao took out the [Smelting Furnace] from his storage space. Ever since obtaining this item, he could finally use it today.
Seeing this familiar [Smelting Furnace], the Demon Blacksmith frowned even deeper. For some reason, this blacksmith seemed unwilling to forge equipment with divine characteristics.
"Even if you found the furnace, without a deity's soul..."
Before he could finish, Su Xiao had already taken out two deity souls: [Soul of Deity: Sacred Oak] and [Soul of Deity: Ancestor].
Before the Demon Blacksmith could speak, Su Xiao materialized 10,000 Soul Coins. A large pile of Soul Coins was stacked on the forge, with the two deity souls placed on top.
The Demon Blacksmith fell silent. He looked Su Xiao over again and asked, "Kid, where did you get the deity souls?"
"Fished them out."
Hearing this, the Demon Blacksmith seemed stunned for a moment, then nodded in understanding. "You Law Destroyers are capable of such things. Not surprising."
The Demon Blacksmith picked up the two deity souls, seeming satisfied. "Take these Soul Coins back. I don't charge for forging for you Law Destroyers."
Hearing this, Su Xiao didn't stand on ceremony. He directly put away the Soul Coins. There was no need for useless pleasantries when dealing with a taciturn, cold powerhouse like the Demon Blacksmith.
Not only the Soul Coins, but the [Covenant Item] was also thrown back. The [Smelting Furnace] was kept by the Demon Blacksmith. From his few words, it was revealed that he had made it himself on the Moon God Continent, but it had been lost ten thousand years ago. Later, it ended up with the Ancient God faction, and an Ancient God tried to repair it, only making it worse.
[Smelting Furnace]
Origin: Moon God Continent
Quality: Unique Item
Category: Special
Material: Burning Blood Moon Fragment, Molten Ancient God Bone, Primordial Burning Iron, Extreme Dark Soul, World Core (Complete State).
Durability: 1232/1500 (Damaged state, durability cap greatly reduced)
Activation Effect: Melt (Passive), melts equipment, items, etc., with its inner fire.
Description: Ah~, look, the infinite greatness and glory, the one who forges everything within the furnace. Even the ancient gods covet what he creates, but... does he truly love what he creates?
...
The Demon Blacksmith examined the [Smelting Furnace], his frown deepening. After a moment of thought, he seemed to recall how to repair it.
After setting up the [Smelting Furnace], the Demon Blacksmith gave Su Xiao two options. The two deity souls could be used to forge two new pieces of equipment or to improve two existing pieces of equipment.
However, if only deity souls were used to forge new equipment, the resulting equipment would be somewhat ethereal—equipment without a physical form.
The Demon Blacksmith's forging skill was unmatched by other blacksmiths. He didn't need specific materials, meaning any equipment or item with supernatural characteristics could be used as material.
Su Xiao thought for a moment and decided on the use of the two deity souls. First, he would forge a new piece of equipment: a scabbard. Until now, he had been using [Gem Oath], an Epic-grade scabbard that consumed far too many gems.
Gems were incredibly expensive. Using the Epic-grade scabbard [Gem Oath] to enhance the Immortal-grade +14 Dragon-Slaying Flash would require even more gems, and the bonuses weren't ideal.
Scabbards were rare. Su Xiao had tried to acquire them, but the Immortal-grade scabbards he encountered weren't suitable. Entrusting the Demon Blacksmith to forge one was a good choice.
Besides forging a new scabbard, Su Xiao planned to use the remaining deity soul to enhance the Overlord-grade equipment [Blood Feather].
After advancing to the Eighth Rank, Su Xiao had gained a deeper understanding of Overlord-grade equipment. Overlord-grade equipment seemed to be ranked by rating, but that wasn't entirely true. There was a broader quality distinction: Three Essence, Five Essence, and Ten Essence.
This wasn't a quality classification certified by the Paradise, but a self-made classification by Contractors, so it was particularly simple and crude.
Three Essence referred to Overlord equipment exchanged for three Overlord Essences. Five Essence naturally meant Overlord equipment exchanged for five Overlord Essences. Ten Essence couldn't be exchanged yet.
Exchanging for Overlord equipment was actually very profitable. Even in Reincarnation Paradise, the number of Overlord-grade equipment was limited. Under such circumstances, each exchange meant one less piece in Reincarnation Paradise's inventory.
Therefore, there was a rule: after advancing to the Eighth Rank, one could not only exchange for Overlord-grade equipment but also sell Overlord equipment at the exchange price. However, this sale had a limit.
For Su Xiao, Overlord equipment of Three Essence strength was no longer sufficient. That was why, even though he had saved up three Overlord Souls before, he didn't exchange for new Overlord equipment—the third-tier Overlord equipment. Instead, he waited until he had five to exchange for a second-tier Overlord equipment.
Saving up ten to exchange for the first-tier, the highest-tier Overlord equipment, was still unrealistic at this stage.
Su Xiao's three existing Overlord equipment pieces were [Golden Balance], [Blood Feather], and [Silver Moon Blade]. The first two were third-tier Overlord equipment. Only [Silver Moon Blade] was a second-tier Overlord equipment worth five Overlord Essences.
After the Demon Blacksmith took [Blood Feather], his gaze changed. He glanced at Su Xiao and seemed to mutter something like, "Fits your temperament."
This equipment, which had caused countless healers to break down, rage, and weep, was about to undergo a massive upgrade.
This came at a cost. Besides the two deity souls, Su Xiao needed to provide some equipment or items he didn't use. He had quite a few of these, including:
[Heavenly Walk (Holy Spirit-grade, Pendant)], [Jaunty·Demon +11 (Immortal-grade, Sniper Cannon)], [Whisper of Souls (Holy Spirit-grade, Short Blade)], [Cruelty·Shatter +12 (Holy Spirit-grade, War Boots)], [Space-Time Power 100 Ounces].
Seeing that Su Xiao had even taken out Space-Time Power, the Demon Blacksmith pushed these items to the back of the forge, indicating that if there was nothing else, he should leave and not disturb his forging.
"Have you heard of the Hymn Choir?"
Su Xiao spoke. His next step was to find the Hymn Choir.
"No. I only saw the Wolf Grave on the way."
The Demon Blacksmith's face darkened, as if he didn't want to talk anymore. He hadn't spoken this much in several hundred years.
"Moon Wolf?"
"Yes, those big dogs that used to follow you Law Destroyers. That direction over there. Go find them yourself."
With that, the Demon Blacksmith pulled the bellows. Whoosh! The furnace burst into flames. The heat was so intense that even Su Xiao couldn't bear it. Bubu Wang behind him yelped, jumped up, and ran backward, its tail on fire.
Just as Su Xiao backed out of the semi-open workshop, a stone door slammed down in front of him. Although it blocked the heat, the stone door was glowing red within seconds.
"Over here."
An old, weak voice came. Su Xiao looked toward the source. The voice came from a landing on the second floor. He followed the spiral staircase to the second floor and found that the landing was about ten meters wide. Tall stone seats were placed against the wall.
Su Xiao had seen this type of stone seat on the top floor of the grand cathedral in High Wall City. There were only five there, but here there were twelve. Each stone chair had its own representative emblem.
Among them, Su Xiao saw the "Hunter Emblem" representing the Archbishop, the "Moon Emblem" representing the Holy Priest, the "Ten Thousand Serpents Emblem" of the Snake Lady, the "Filth Insect Emblem" of the Old Monster, and finally the "Steel Emblem" of the Steel Apostle.
Undoubtedly, the five who established High Wall City were originally five of the twelve members of the old church.
Of the remaining seven emblems, Su Xiao only recognized three: the Hymn Emblem (representing the Hymn Choir), the Saintess Emblem (likely representing the First Saintess), and finally the most recognizable Wolf Emblem, clearly representing the inherited power of the Silver Moon Wolf.
It was natural for the Healing Church to have the inheritance of a powerful existence like the Silver Moon Wolf. Many signs indicated that the Healing Church had a friendly, even somewhat worshipful, relationship with the Silver Moon Wolf.
Su Xiao could recognize the Hymn Emblem and the Saintess Emblem because, earlier, the nobleman Cranck had left behind his most valuable secret treasure when fleeing, trying to get Su Xiao to stop chasing him.
Cranck had left behind the [Hymn Choir Badge], which could open a specific area within Dead Silence City. By comparing the emblem on the [Hymn Choir Badge], he could naturally recognize the Hymn Emblem.
As for the Saintess Emblem, it was even more recognizable. The current Divine Maiden had been tied up by Su Xiao before, and this emblem was on her back and the back of her right hand.
Su Xiao stopped before the stone chair engraved with the Hunter Emblem. At this moment, the Archbishop was sitting on it. Weak, covered in an old, faded blanket, he looked extremely aged.
"Since you've made it here, there are some things I can tell you."
The Archbishop, in his hoarse voice, began to explain the current situation. In short, Su Xiao's arrival at the old church's grand cathedral was only the beginning. The real challenge lay ahead.
After the [Primordial Source Stone] was split into five, it was initially kept by five powerhouses of the Healing Church. One of them was naturally the Archbishop.
Su Xiao had obtained the Source Stone belonging to the Archbishop before even entering Dead Silence City. The remaining four weren't so easy to get. Times had changed, and these four Source Stones were now in the hands of the following four powerhouses:
First was the Hymn Choir. They guarded one Source Stone. Calling them enemies wasn't quite accurate. The Hymn Choir was more like a trial. Only by defeating them could one earn the right to obtain the Source Stone they guarded, as well as their respect.
Don't misunderstand. The Hymn Choir was not gentle at all. Those who dared to challenge them must be prepared to die if they lost. Of course, if they killed a member of the Hymn Choir in battle, the Hymn Choir wouldn't hold a grudge. This was their mission and duty.
Besides the Hymn Choir, the remaining three powerhouses were: the Last Wolf Knight, the First Saintess, and the Collective of Sin.
Each of these three powerhouses possessed one Source Stone. Upon hearing the Archbishop mention the Last Wolf Knight, Su Xiao knew this one would be difficult to deal with. Even if this guy didn't have a giant wolf partner, he would still use a greatsword, given the Moon Wolf inheritance.
The location of the Last Wolf Knight was obvious. Going to the "Wolf Grave" would lead to encountering him.
As for the First Saintess and the Collective of Sin, Su Xiao had heard of both. The former was the daughter of the Holy Priest and the founder of the Saintess lineage.
As for the latter, the Old Monster had lost his confidence after being defeated by the Collective of Sin, eventually degenerating into that state.
After weighing his options, Su Xiao abandoned the idea of going to the "Wolf Grave" first. Instead, he decided to go to the "Ten Saints Church" to find the Hymn Choir, then go to the "Wolf Grave," then go to the underground "Filth Land" to fight the First Saintess, and finally go to the "Hall of Atonement" to take the last Source Stone from the Collective of Sin.
After understanding the map of Dead Silence City's inner city, Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Baha out of the grand cathedral and headed north toward the "Ten Saints Church" to find the Hymn Choir.
At the same time, underground beneath the inner city's high wall.
This was a damp, dark palace. Flickering candlelight brought a bit of warmth to this place.
Drip, drip, drip~
Blood dripped from the fingers of an upside-down corpse. The corpse's expression was one of extreme pain. There were spiral black holes on its torso, as if someone had reached in with their bare hands and pulled out some organ.
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
A steady, rhythmic sound came. In the dimness, a "graceful figure" stood before a kitchen counter. Her body was covered in fine, purple scales, but she wasn't ugly. Instead, she gave off a unique sense of beauty and fear. This was none other than Fish Sister, the one Zuiyasi wanted to avoid.
At this moment, Fish Sister held a kitchen knife, tap-tap-tapping on a cutting board. The ingredients naturally weren't Gulu. The captured Gulu had a metal collar around her neck, sitting at a small table, looking utterly defeated.
Fish Sister was cooking at the counter. No one knew why she did this. Thankfully, her ingredients were all kinds of monsters, none humanoid, mostly beast-shaped. As for the quality, well, let's not mention it.
"What do we do? Think of something. Aren't you Bai Ye's daughter? Will he come to save you?"
The mouth on Gulu's left palm spoke. It was Shenshi.
"You believe everything you hear. I just called him 'my father' once on a whim."
"Then what? Can you save yourself?"
"Are you out of your mind? Three of me combined might not be able to beat Fish Sister, and this is her territory."
Gulu grew angrier as she spoke. This time, Shenshi had dragged her into this. Logically, Fish Sister should have caught Bubu Wang, but she discovered that catching Gulu meant getting two for the price of one, so she changed her target.
As Gulu was racking her brains for an escape plan, Fish Sister finished cooking at the counter. She poured the indescribably colored, unspeakable food, soup and all, into a clay pot. Then, holding it with one hand, she came to the small table where Gulu was sitting.
Fish Sister crouched down, reached out, and affectionately patted Gulu's head. Then she placed the clay pot, large enough to be a bathtub for Gulu, on the table. Using her sharp-nailed finger, she pointed at the indescribable "delicacy" in the pot, meaning: eat up, don't be polite, and don't leave a drop. If you leave a drop, she'll be unhappy. If she's unhappy, she'll pull out your little heart and lungs.
Gulu picked up the spoon in the pot, which was several times larger than her head. Looking at this spoon, at this moment, she fully experienced the warm hospitality of Dead Silence City.
PS: Click on the chapter comments for this post to view the map of Dead Silence City (self-made by Feiwen).