Chapter 5: The Admirer
The cold wind howled past, the blazing sun in the sky blocked by lead-gray storm clouds, adding a touch of chill to the Silent City.
Though it was the height of summer, the Silent City had the biting winds of late autumn. Under such a sky, even the stone slabs on the streets took on a cold, bluish-gray hue. The streets were nearly deserted, hard to believe this was once one of the most prosperous major cities in the Witch Realm.
The large-scale assault led by the Dark Twins and their subordinates was merely the final straw that broke the camel's back. This city bordered the world's largest canal, the Sigor River. Traveling westward by water, within at most a month, a massive cargo ship could reach Silver Moon Port, the largest harbor of the main city, Moon Ring City.
Setting out from the Silent City and heading north along the Sigor River, within at most two months, one could reach the cargo port of the lower city of Sky City. Don't think this time is long; the world's giant cargo ships could carry 800 to 900 million tons of goods. If these goods were transported through space, it would indeed be fast, but the resulting transportation costs would be a hundred times the value of the goods themselves.
Not only that, but a world-class teleportation array was once established here, larger in scale than the current one in Moon Ring City, connecting to the Myriad Realms, the Void, and the Wind Sea Continent. Even Doom Star occasionally opened its coordinates to it.
In the past, the Silent City was not only a trade hub connecting the two main cities, Moon Ring City and Sky City, but also a large cake shared by the rulers of both sides. It was because of this huge cake that the black wizards of Sky City obeyed the orders of the Moon Witch. But now, this big cake was gone.
This place was once named Radiance City. It was only renamed Silent City after a major event: the succession of the previous Moon Witch.
When Su Xiao had met the current Moon Witch before, his first impression was of a busy, knowledgeable beauty, with an elegant yet slightly lazy temperament. Especially at their first meeting, when she took off her high heels and stretched while sitting on the leather chair behind her desk.
Don't be fooled by all this. This Moon Witch had ascended to the throne of the Moon Witch holding the severed head of her predecessor in one hand, her face dotted with specks of blood, looking down at the assembled wizard nobles. Not a single one of them dared to object at the time. Those who dared to oppose Seris were all dead.
Seris was the most ruthless and outstanding Moon Witch in this world. She had developed the Witch Realm to an unprecedented height. But this came at a cost, and the current state of the Silent City was one of those costs.
Back then, the wizard families of the Silent City all opposed Seris's ascension to the position of Moon Witch. The main conflict was that Seris wanted to establish world-class teleportation arrays in other major cities, including the main city, Moon Ring City, thereby ending the Silent City's monopoly on foreign trade. This direct conflict of interest led to an outbreak of hostilities.
Walking on the streets of the Silent City, Su Xiao felt a faint sense of being watched. This feeling had been lingering since he left Moon Ring City via the teleportation array.
There were very few pedestrians on the streets, most wearing shabby clothes. Occasionally, one would see someone well-dressed, but they were full of hostility, likely involved in the bloody underground industries.
Don't be fooled by the desolate appearance of the Silent City during the day. It had a second name: Night City. After six o'clock in the evening, all the city's constables would hurry back to their stations as quickly as possible. If they couldn't make it, they would change their clothes. Because when night began to fall at six, Night City became a lawless land. Stolen goods trading, dens of pleasure, auctions of supernatural organs, arenas, black markets, and so on, would open one after another, blooming into a deformed prosperity stained with sin and blood.
The high-ranking wizards had tried to suppress the underground industries of Night City. But when they suppressed Night City to a certain extent, these illicit businesses began to sprout in the main city and other major cities, causing a sharp increase in security pressure. In the end, they could only turn a blind eye to the situation in Night City.
After arriving here, Alanna's aura became noticeably tense. But thinking about who she was with this time, she felt a sense of relief. The lawless elements of Night City, upon encountering the person beside her, would surely not dare to act recklessly.
A garbage truck turned out from a corner. Besides the foul-smelling trash, a bluish, scarred arm hung down from the truck, already somewhat stiff. From the tattoo on the arm, it was clear this was a local gang member. Such insignificant small fry died every night in Night City. So, the old man driving the garbage truck, cleaning the streets, was naturally exceptionally calm.
Having lived for a long time in a well-regulated place like the main city, Moon Ring City, Alanna was clearly not very accustomed to the cruelty of Night City. She chose to put on her hood, which gave her a greater sense of security.
They headed all the way to the back district, which was once the residence of the nobility. When they arrived before a dilapidated manor, it was evident that Alanna's family had once been prosperous.
The manor's gate had been removed by someone unknown, and one of the gateposts had collapsed. Walking along the gravel path, a dilapidated yet somewhat imposing building appeared ahead. The building was entirely black. The double-leafed wooden main door had a hole smashed into it. Entering inside, they could see some discarded bedding, presumably left by homeless people seeking shelter from the winter.
Weeds grew in the cracks between the stone bricks on the floor. Looking up, the skylight was a hazy gray, accompanied by the cawing of crows. Hanging from a rusted, blackened chandelier was a dried corpse.
Although she didn't know who it was, Alanna still chose to manipulate liquid silver to lower the corpse. Manipulating liquid silver was Alanna's secondary ability, but it wasn't weak.
The building had six floors. Amu was responsible for the fifth and sixth floors, Baha for the third and fourth, and Bubu Wang for the first and second. Su Xiao led Alanna towards the basement.
"According to my memory, there's nothing in this basement."
Standing before the steps leading to the basement entrance, Alanna's tone was exceptionally certain. Why was she afraid of ghosts? For a ninth-rank peak female witch, this was absurd. The reason was that when Alanna was a child, she had played in this basement and gotten scared. It could be said to be a childhood shadow.
"Go help Baha search the third and fourth floors. Let it..."
"No need, I'm fine."
Alanna's gaze was firm. Although she was a bit panicked inside, she very much wanted to enter this basement. She was both afraid and expectant.
"..."
Su Xiao walked down the steps into the underground passage. Before long, a heavy, silver-gray metal door blocked their way. Alanna stepped forward and turned the lock dial, but after fiddling with it for a long time, she couldn't open the door.
"Move aside."
Su Xiao said, then delivered a straight kick. With a dull *thump*, the entire building trembled, and a layer of weathered exterior wall peeled off.
A hole appeared in the metal door ahead. The broken edges didn't fly inward but curled inward like a blooming flower. Su Xiao had considerable experience in kicking open treasure vault doors. If the fragments flew everywhere, it could easily lead to a loss of profit.
Entering the basement, it turned out to be a place resembling a mystical side laboratory. In the center of the thousand-square-meter area was an astrolabe, which was still running despite being unattended for years.
Large glass pillars, two meters thick and over four meters high, stood against the walls, a whole row of them. In the turbid, yellowish solution, the remains of aberrant demons, half-ghosts, alien species, and other creatures were immersed. There were even witches who had become twisted and entered the madness sequence, and defiled ones, their bodies covered in proliferating tumors.
Based on his experience, Su Xiao felt that this mystical side laboratory was definitely not something an ordinary wizard family could afford. Thinking about it this way, the decline of Alanna's family was not only due to the assassination operation on the Moonless Night. This mystical side laboratory was also one of the triggers.
Su Xiao approached a corpse. It was a member of the Dark God Cult. Half of its head was crushed, as if someone much stronger had casually chopped it with a hand blade, killing it instantly. Blood and brain matter had splattered onto the nearby experimental table, extinguishing the burning cloth and the torch it held.
From the corpse's falling posture and the way it held the torch, it could be deduced that this person was about to set fire to the mystical side laboratory before leaving but was killed by their superior. That's why there were no other signs of a struggle nearby.
The thread of events gradually became clear. Ten years ago, the Dark Twins, who had just joined the Dark God Cult, brought a few subordinates from the cult and secretly returned here. They took something from this underground laboratory. One of the Dark God Cult members was about to burn the place down but was killed on the spot by the Dark Twins. This showed that, at that time, the Dark Twins still had some attachment to their family.
Another possibility was that the Dark Twins left this underground laboratory for someone, wanting that person to continue researching here and achieve some result.
However, judging from the unremoved Dark God Cult member's corpse, it could be inferred that the mysterious person never returned to this underground laboratory, let alone continued the unknown research. Su Xiao thought of the unidentified corpse hanging from the chandelier when they first entered the building. Perhaps this was the mysterious person the Dark Twins were waiting for, but for some reason, they died.
Su Xiao pressed one hand against the ground. A translucent blue crystal layer spread, covering every inch of the underground laboratory until it seemed to freeze the place. He released strands of spirit shadow threads, which sank into the crystal layers in various places. Finally, the other ends of hundreds of spirit shadow threads converged at the center, tightly intertwining.
A dense, liquid-like azure steel shadow energy gathered on Su Xiao's index finger. He touched the convergence point of the spirit shadow threads with his fingertip, allowing the azure steel shadow energy to spread along them and sink into the crystal layers on the surrounding walls and ceiling.
This caused all the crystal layers in the laboratory to show a thread-like distribution. This was a sign that energy was passing through smoothly. Except for one area, two meters by three meters in size. The crystal layer attached there didn't change, indicating that there was a "stasis barrier" behind it that blocked perception.
"Shh~"
Su Xiao signaled Alanna to stop where she was and not make a sound. As far as he knew, this type of "stasis barrier" was usually paired with a metallic lifeform. This metallic lifeform had been guarding here for many years without anyone coming, so it had chosen to sleep. All the previous actions hadn't woken it up, which only meant it was in a very deep sleep. But it didn't mean that subsequent noises wouldn't wake it.
Su Xiao approached the wall. After a crystal layer formed on his hand, he gently pressed it against the wall. Spirit shadow threads extended from his hand, micron-level threads slowly sinking into the wall, gradually and gently wrapping around a metallic lifeform.
Zzzzt!
Su Xiao suddenly pulled with one hand, yanking out a ten-centimeter-long, sharp-headed metal worm. This metallic lifeform was connected to the self-destruct mechanism inside the wall. If someone tried to force the lock and caused this metallic lifeform to react, triggering the self-destruct mechanism, everything stored in the secret room behind the wall would be destroyed.
With a *crack*, Su Xiao crushed the metal worm's head between his thumb and forefinger. After tossing it aside, he quickly found a hidden mechanism on the wall. Triggering it, a section of the wall flipped open, revealing a lock dial inside.
He took out the Mysterious Eye, adjusted it to lock-picking mode, and attached it to the dial. After waiting half a minute, with a *click*, the secret door opened. Witnessing all this, Alanna was greatly shocked.
Entering the secret room, it was a small room surrounded by bookshelves. There was a desk and a chair, with various blueprints scattered messily on them. They were diagrams of various summoning arrays, and each one was high-level knowledge worth a fortune.
After examining them, Su Xiao found that these summoning arrays were quite strange. They didn't study how to summon higher-level beings but rather how to perform a reverse summoning, sending the summoned thing back to its original place.
After flipping through other books, Su Xiao discovered that the research here was all about the Abyss, summoning, and techniques. Seeing this, Su Xiao formed a conjecture about the Dark Twins: some previous intelligence was wrong. The Dark Twins were not Alanna's ancestors and had no blood relation to her.
One possibility was that the Dark Twins were beings summoned from the Abyss by Alanna's ancestors. This sounded a bit outrageous at first, but if one carefully considered the "twisting" of wizards, it felt highly probable.
If Alanna's ancestor had summoned a powerful Abyssal creature, the biggest risk was being attacked by this creature.
In reality, there was a decent chance that Abyssal creatures wouldn't attack the world's wizards. The reason was that while wizards harnessed the power of natural elements, their souls were inevitably and slowly eroded by Abyssal force. Especially for older wizards, their Abyssal aura was stronger.
A newly summoned Abyssal creature, completely bewildered by the material world, would be alert and irritable. But when faced with a wizard who had a similar Abyssal aura, there was a high probability it wouldn't attack them.
This meant that even if Alanna's ancestor really did summon an Abyssal creature, it was possible to coexist harmoniously with it. Through a pact with it, they could get it to help protect the family's safety.
For Alanna's family, the Morgan family, this was undoubtedly a very good choice.
Initially, when the Dark Twins first arrived in the material world, they knew nothing. But as time passed, they gradually developed their own thoughts and wisdom. The Abyss was never synonymous with evil. Therefore, whether a creature from the Abyss was good or evil depended on the situation.
The Dark Twins always regarded the members of the Morgan family as their own kin, watching them grow up, grow old, and die, generation after generation. This situation continued until the Moonless Assassination Night ten years ago.
Abyssal creatures could gain power more easily, but everything was balanced. This also made Abyssal creatures more prone to falling into darkness. Hence, the Dark Twins became one of the leaders of the Dark God Cult today.
As for why the Morgan family had always researched the reverse summoning array, it was because, as the Dark Twins learned more and more, they wanted to return to the drifting dark Abyss they once knew. There, they would have no emotions, no joy, and naturally, no pain in their hearts.
This was also why the Dark Twins, who came from the Morgan family and had known the current Moon Witch for many years, easily joined the Dark God Cult and soon became the leader of one of its three major factions. Because they were from the Abyss, in the Dark God Cult that worshipped the Abyss, there was no higher starting point for status.
Within the wizard faction, the Dark Twins had always been considered the ancestors of the Morgan family. Their Abyssal aura was mistaken for being caused by "twisting." It was rare but not unheard of for someone to maintain their sanity after "twisting."
Therefore, all the wizard faction's methods of tracking the Dark Twins were based on the premise that they were "twisted" wizards. Naturally, this was completely useless against the Dark Twins; they were pure Abyssal beings.
Su Xiao picked up the various diagrams on the table. After observing for a moment, he found that the most research here was on the "Light and Dark Summoning Array." He took a few diagrams and walked out of the underground laboratory.
After Su Xiao and the others left the manor, they arrived at a hotel near the city center. Other aspects of Night City were indeed dilapidated, but the hotel was extremely luxurious. They opened a room. Inside the guest room, Su Xiao had just sat down, pondering the whereabouts of the Dark Twins, when someone knocked on the door.
Opening the door, a beautiful witch with long silver hair and slightly silver eyelashes walked into the guest room. A smile lingered in her eyes as she sat down. Seeing this person, Su Xiao's first thought was that the average appearance of witches was indeed high.
"Mr. White Night, hello. My name is Serin. I am a witch who greatly admires the Law Destroyers, especially the deeds of the ancestral Law Destroyers."
"..."
Su Xiao paused in his actions and looked at the witch named Serin across from him. If he wasn't mistaken, she was one of the three heirs of the Moon Witch, Seris.
"I greatly admire an ancestral female Law Destroyer named Green Gillian."
"..."
Hearing this, Su Xiao looked at the witch opposite him again, this time with some surprise. He had encountered a large number of Green Gillian's enemies, but this was the only admirer.
Su Xiao looked Serin up and down. From her smiling eyes and the slightly morbid and joyful smile that could appear at any moment, he knew why Serin was an admirer of Green Gillian.
At this moment, Su Xiao suddenly understood why the Moon Witch, Seris, had that look of both relief and complexity when mentioning her three heirs. Because although her three heirs had maxed out talent, strength potential, IQ, and EQ, each had their own flaws. Among them, Serin gave the Moon Witch the biggest headache.
Serin came here to express gratitude for Su Xiao clearing out all the Dark God Cult's secret strongholds in Moon Ring City last night. She also brought a message: all expenses incurred by Su Xiao during this operation against the Dark God Cult could be reimbursed at the Witch Guild. Whether it was the usage fee for the teleportation tower or the cost of purchasing necessary items, everything could be reimbursed.
Serin didn't stay long. But before leaving, she gave Alanna a particularly serious look. She was determining whether this person would become a competitor for the position of Moon Witch in the future. After reaching an answer in her heart, she left with a smile in her eyes.
"Phew~"
Alanna breathed a sigh of relief. Every time she met this senior, she felt an inexplicable pressure.
"Alanna, how much do you know about summoning arrays?"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Alanna, who was sitting opposite, cleared her throat, suppressing a hint of smugness, and said, "Very knowledgeable."
"Is it a personal hobby?"
"Not really. When I was a child, my father cultivated this interest in me."
Hearing this, Su Xiao was basically certain that the Dark Twins were summoned from the Abyss by Alanna's ancestors.
"In this world, how many people have a high level of proficiency in the Light and Dark Summoning Array?"
"Five."
Alanna's answer was exceptionally certain, as she was one of the top figures in this circle. She pondered for a few seconds, and her expression gradually became strange. She said:
"Thinking about it carefully, three of those five have gone missing due to accidents in recent years. Of the remaining two, one is in seclusion, and the other is in the Ancient King City. Hmm, he should be in the Ancient King City. The last time I met that old man at an exchange meeting in Moon Ring City, he said he had returned to the Ancient King City, living in his old house with his children, and even boasted to me about how obedient his grandson was."
Hearing this, Baha asked doubtfully, "Hasn't the faction over in the Ancient King City been in constant conflict?"
"Yeah, that's right. But when they fight, they don't involve civilians. Even if they really want to settle a life-or-death score, they go outside the city."
Alanna finished speaking, recalled for a few seconds, and gave the detailed location of that master of summoning array diagrams.
Su Xiao stood up and walked out. He needed to go to the Ancient King City immediately. If he wasn't mistaken, the Dark Twins' subordinates had probably already contacted this master of summoning arrays, or even kidnapped his family, forcing him to construct a sufficiently stable reverse summoning array. The Dark Twins seemed to have hit a bottleneck; they needed to return to the Abyss they once belonged to in order to overcome this bottleneck.
As for returning there and never coming back to the Witch Realm, that was unlikely. Having completely fallen into darkness, the Dark Twins now had too many desires. They were no longer the pure Abyssal creatures drifting in the darkness.
When Su Xiao exited the hotel, he found the setting sun was already blood-red on the horizon. When he arrived at the hall of the teleportation tower, he found it was already quite crowded. The thousand-square-meter teleportation hall was buzzing with noise. Since the teleportation fees could now be reimbursed by the Witch Guild, there was no need to save.
Su Xiao sat down on a bench. At this moment, outside the teleportation tower, the Black Wizard Casper was inside a shop. The shop owner stood dazed in place, already under his mental control.
The Black Wizard Casper put five black rings on his right hand. Although he was a wizard, he was not good at mid-to-long-range combat. On the contrary, his close-range burst killing methods were terrifyingly powerful. This was why he was an assassin second only to Owl within the Hunter Guild.
The Black Wizard Casper took out the Primordial Mask and put it on his face. This quickly changed his appearance and clothes, turning him into a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant, with a potbelly and a friendly face. His aura was completely that of an ordinary person. Ask yourself, which absolute powerhouse would be wary of an ordinary person approaching?
The Black Wizard Casper walked into the waiting hall of the teleportation tower. He didn't deliberately look around, but as a top-tier assassin, his eyesight immediately locked onto Su Xiao. Carrying a travel case, he walked calmly towards Su Xiao. He wasn't heading straight for Su Xiao but passed two meters in front of him. This was a normal passing by. Casper felt that his current state was perfect to the extreme. This might be his most perfect approach to a target.
In the eyes of others, the Black Wizard Casper's disguise and approach were flawless. But from Su Xiao's perspective, it was a different story.
Su Xiao saw a figure wearing a black long coat, several lethal rings on his hands, a nimble build, and wearing the Primordial Mask on his face, looking extremely suspicious, walking towards him. This guy's posture practically screamed "I am an assassin" without needing to write it on his face.