CA – Chapter 59
Chapter 59
When Lucille found Tang Qiu, she discovered she hadn't gone far. A dilapidated wooden house concealed her figure. Hidden in the darkness, she was quietly gazing in the direction of the village.
She had witnessed Lucille "cleaning up" for her, so she wasn't surprised that Lucille had found her. Sensing a familiar presence approaching, she didn't turn around but continued to stare ahead. Her sky-blue eyes appeared dim against the backlight as she said in a low voice, "That person was the leader of the Wolf Race."
Lucille looked up, following Tang Qiu's gaze, and realized this spot had a direct view of the village. She hadn't expected two more "guests" to arrive after she had left.
She had already seen Fanny. Lucille's gaze lingered mainly on the unfamiliar figure, assessing her briefly before looking away.
Powerful individuals were extremely sensitive to being watched; a moment of carelessness could expose their position.
"What did she say to you?"
"Just some words of thanks." Tang Qiu slowly retracted her gaze and turned to lean against the door panel. Her palms were red from the cold. She pulled her sleeves down a little, looked up at Lucille, and asked nonchalantly, "Did you kill them all?"
She was referring to the werewolf men in that village.
Lucille shook her head, her voice cool. "No." Some had remained inside their houses and hadn't come out. She was worried about Tang Qiu, so she hadn't bothered with them.
Tang Qiu's eyes darkened slightly. She glanced back toward the village and said softly, "...Then my identity has been exposed."
Lucille froze for a moment. "What?"
"They can smell the werewolf scent on me." Tang Qiu's hands, hidden in her sleeves, unconsciously clasped together. Her tone was absentminded, as if lost in thought.
Lucille's expression turned cold. She glanced toward the village; Fanny and Faye had already left. Without a word, her figure flickered and vanished on the spot.
Tang Qiu lowered her eyes slightly and followed silently, stepping out from behind the wooden house.
When Tang Qiu stood at the village entrance again, Lucille was just emerging from a wooden house. She walked to the blonde priest's side and said flatly, "They're all dead." She paused, then added in a low voice, "It wasn't my doing."
When she had come to silence them, there was no one left alive in the village.
Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow, her eyes glinting. "...How unexpected."
They had returned after Faye and Fanny left. The answer to who had eliminated the remaining witnesses was self-evident.
But... why would they do that?
Tang Qiu and Lucille exchanged a look, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes. A cold wind blew past, carrying the thick scent of blood. Tang Qiu came back to her senses and caught sight of Lucille's furrowed brow. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, "Let's go back first."
The commotion from her use of the Light Flame spell had been considerable. It probably wouldn't be long before other werewolves arrived to investigate.
Back at their temporary lodging in the werewolf territory, the sound of the door opening startled Erin, who had been cooped up in her room all day. She opened the door a crack and whispered the blonde priest's name, "Grace."
She beckoned to Tang Qiu, who had turned to look her way.
Lucille had already entered her room. Tang Qiu thought for a moment, closed the door Lucille had left open for her, and then turned and went into Erin's room.
Since rescuing Erin from the Black Witch's manor, she hadn't had a proper conversation with her yet. Some questions remained unanswered.
The room was chilly. No matter how brightly the fire in the hearth burned, it couldn't seem to warm the space. Erin, wrapped in a thick cloak, sat in a chair by the fireplace. She poured a cup of hot water and handed it to Tang Qiu, asking worriedly, "Did something happen?"
She felt that the blonde priest's aura seemed somewhat oppressive.
Tang Qiu shook her head slightly, skipping over the topic of herself and instead asking Erin, "You still haven't told me who the red-robed witch who captured you was."
At the mention of Glanna, Erin's expression stiffened. She distractedly ruffled the gray furball sleeping on her lap and said in a low voice, "She's an elder of the Anderson Family, the youngest and most talented red-robed witch in recent years."
She paused, then chose to confess to Tang Qiu, "...And she's my mother."
The blonde priest had come to such a dangerous place to save her. Erin was deeply moved and didn't want to hide anything from her.
Besides, Glanna had surely taken notice of the blonde priest. If Erin didn't explain in detail, she was afraid Tang Qiu would be at a disadvantage if she encountered Glanna in the future.
Tang Qiu was stunned for a moment, not expecting Erin and that red-robed witch to have such a relationship. She took a sip of water, her fingertips rubbing the cup for a moment before she said softly, "It seems the Black Witches have a very weak sense of family."
She still remembered Erin's haggard and weak appearance when she'd awakened her from the dark array, and later, the E Leaf powder that had nearly enveloped the entire manor.
That red-robed witch hadn't shown any concern for Erin, who was walking with them.
Erin shrugged, nodding somewhat dejectedly. "That's true."
"Why did she capture you?"
"...For over twenty years, she's been researching witchcraft that can combine humans and demonic beasts." Erin poured out all of Glanna's insane ideas. "She wants to create a new species that belongs to neither the light nor the dark."
"To transform all of humanity into her followers. She wants to subvert the light and become the god of this continent."
Tang Qiu blinked, nodded slowly, and remarked, "A very bold and ambitious idea."
Ever since the gods departed for the divine realm, their influence on the continent of Statu had gradually waned with the passage of time. Only the Light Goddess and the Dark God, thanks to the Holy See and the Black Witches, had not yet faded from the stage.
People believed in gods, but some wanted to rise above them. Clearly, Glanna was one of those people.
"She's a very dangerous person," Erin warned Tang Qiu earnestly. "If you run into her, you must stay far away."
Tang Qiu acknowledged this. She placed the cup on the table, glanced at Erin, and asked, "Have you thought about where you'll go next?"
She would definitely be going to the Gru Empire's church to meet up with Jennifer. Lucille could follow her secretly, but Erin couldn't.
Moreover, after escorting the Light Believers to the Central Church, she would return to the Bill Empire. It wasn't suitable for Erin to stay by her side.
Erin knew what Tang Qiu was thinking. She waved her hand, signaling that she didn't need to worry about her. "I'm going to the Gosse Empire to find a friend."
Tang Qiu nodded. A thought occurred to her, and she curved her lips. "Before you go, don't forget to settle your bill at Mark's Grocery Store."
Erin's smile vanished. She asked tentatively, "...How much do I owe?"
"About thirty bottles of Holy Water of Light."
Erin looked at her in astonishment. "That's it?"
"The proprietress said she gave you a discount because you're a regular customer." Seeing Erin still in shock, Tang Qiu shook her head slightly and decided to give her a reminder. "That grocery store's attitude toward you is strange. You should be more careful."
She felt that if she didn't say anything, Erin might never notice.
Erin truly hadn't found anything strange about Mark's Grocery Store. Hearing Tang Qiu's words, she nodded cautiously. The two then chatted casually about other things for a while before Tang Qiu, still preoccupied with the werewolf matter, left.
When she returned, Lucille was standing by the window, staring blankly outside. Tang Qiu walked to her side, leaned against the wall, and glanced out the window, asking, "Any werewolf scents?"
If Faye and Fanny had discovered her identity and intended to act against her, the werewolves should have surrounded them by now.
"No." Lucille pulled her gaze back from the window. In the dim yellow light of the fireplace, she studied the blonde priest carefully and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Tang Qiu lowered her eyes, her tone soft. "Wait."
Wait for the werewolves' response.
Whether they learned of her identity from those werewolf men or were angered by her killing their subordinates in their territory as a priest, either reason was enough to provoke the werewolves' fury.
But Tang Qiu had a faint premonition that Faye and Fanny would let the matter slide.
This premonition grew even stronger after learning they had silenced all the werewolf men who knew her identity.
What exactly was the original body's status in the Wolf Race? Tang Qiu fell into deep thought.
While she was pondering, Lucille was also staring at her, lost in thought. Tang Qiu noticed her gaze, glanced up at her, and suddenly recalled her conversation with Jemma. She narrowed her eyes, straightened up slightly, and said with a smile, "I learned something from the werewolves today."
Lucille looked at her, puzzled.
Tang Qiu smiled. "I heard that werewolves go into heat during the full moon."
Under Tang Qiu's somewhat scorching gaze, Lucille subconsciously averted her eyes for some reason. She said calmly, "You do too."
As expected... After learning about this from Jemma, Tang Qiu had carefully recalled her conversations with Lucille around the times of the full moon and had already noticed some clues.
Heat, huh... Tang Qiu licked the corner of her mouth. Although she knew nothing had actually happened between her and Lucille, seeing the other woman refuse to meet her gaze sparked a sudden sense of mischief.
She deliberately looked at Lucille with a suggestive gaze, her eyes sweeping over her rosy lips and slender, long-fingered hands, before asking with a smile, "So how did you soothe me?"
Lucille froze. Just as she was about to answer, she noticed the blonde priest's occasional glances at her hands and the suggestive smile on her lips. A thought occurred to her, and the tips of her ears grew slightly warm, but she replied with a composed expression, "The first time, I used a vampire toxin. The other times, you endured it yourself."
The fireplace was behind her, and its rising heat seemed to affect Lucille's body temperature. She felt a trace of warmth even in her fingertips.
"Endured it?" Tang Qiu teased. "Was I that cruel to myself?"
With that, she moved away from the window, walked to the bed, and sat down, ready to sleep. The night was late, and drowsiness was setting in.
The bed was cold. Tang Qiu frowned as she sat on it. Catching sight of Lucille still standing in the same spot, she looked up, beckoned with her hand, and said with a grin, "Come here."
Lucille glanced at her, walked over, and was pulled onto the bed by her arm.
Her waist was once again tightly encircled by the blonde priest's arm. Lucille looked at Tang Qiu, who had buried her head in her shoulder, her expression momentarily dazed. She instinctively adjusted her position to make the priest more comfortable.
Since when, she wondered, had the two of them gotten so used to sleeping together?
Even when it wasn't a full moon, the body heat of the person pressed against her side was still comforting to Lucille. She turned her head slightly, able to see only Tang Qiu's delicate features and straight nose. Lucille reached out, took the other woman's hand that was lying outside the covers, and gently caressed her wrist, the corners of her own mouth unconsciously curving into a smile.
The blonde priest was a sound sleeper, often staying in one position until morning. Listening to the steady breathing beside her, Lucille felt a sense of peace. Though she didn't need sleep, she seemed to be influenced, closing her eyes as if drifting into slumber along with the person beside her.
It was a dreamless night.
The next day, Tang Qiu was awakened by a series of increasingly loud wolf howls from outside the window. She slowly opened her eyes, withdrew her arm from Lucille, and sat up to straighten her clothes. Her voice was tinged with the hoarseness of someone who had just woken up. "It's Jemma."
She had heard that howl many times yesterday.
Lucille got out of bed, walked to the window, and glanced outside. "She's alone," she said in a low voice.
Tang Qiu finished arranging her clothes, cast a cleaning spell on both herself and Lucille, and cleared her throat. She peeked out from behind Lucille and said with a smile, "I'll go down and see."
Jemma was holding an ice-blue fruit, tossing it up and down out of boredom. She kept glancing at the door, occasionally tilting her head back to howl, until she saw the blonde priest emerge. Then, her eyes lit up.
"Grace." Jemma went to meet Tang Qiu and handed her the ice-blue fruit. "This is the fruit I told you about yesterday," she said with a smile. "The one that can suppress the heat."
Yesterday, Tang Qiu had subtly pried the method for suppressing the heat cycle from Jemma.
Werewolves couldn't possibly stay in their territory all the time during a full moon. The full moon was also when their combat strength was at its peak. In past wars with the Holy See, the werewolves would even deliberately time their attacks for the night of the full moon.
Therefore, they must have a way to suppress it.
The fruit felt cool in her hand, like holding a piece of ice. Tang Qiu examined it curiously, then lowered her head to smell it. It had a very fresh and pleasant fragrance that was refreshing to the spirit.
Seeing Tang Qiu's interest in the fruit, Jemma waved her hand generously and said magnanimously, "If you like it, I can give it to you."
They grew a lot of them in their territory; it wasn't rare at all.
Tang Qiu glanced at her, pondered for a moment, and found a reasonable excuse to accept it. "This fruit isn't in the Holy See's botanical illustrations. I'd like to study it and record it in a book."
Jemma nodded. "Okay." She thought for a moment. "I can pick some more for you in a few days."
Tang Qiu placed the fruit into her Space Gem, nodded at Jemma, and said gently, "Thank you."
The blonde priest's gentle smile always disarmed people. Jemma lowered her head shyly and shook it. "It's nothing."
"You healed my injuries and gave me so much Holy Water of Light. This is payment."
Looking at Jemma's happy face, Tang Qiu's mood brightened as well. Recalling last night's events, she asked tentatively, "Did anyone stop you from coming here?"
Jemma shook her head. "No." Then, a thought struck her, and she added, "The Vice-Chief even told me to come see you more often."
Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow. A whole night had passed, giving the werewolves plenty of time to prepare, no matter what they intended to do. But now, it seemed the result of her waiting was... calm seas?
She lowered her eyes slightly, lost in thought.
The calm on the werewolves' side lasted for a long time—so long that Tang Qiu began to wonder if Fanny and Faye had some other motive, and even considered leaving early.
The Central Church and the Gru Empire were neighbors. Tang Qiu was staying in the werewolf territory not only to avoid the red-robed witch's pursuit but also to wait for Jennifer and the others, who were still on their way to the Gru Empire.
After parting ways with Reese, both Jennifer's and Monica's travel speeds returned to normal. Monica, in particular, had little interest in the mission, so she hardly stopped to rest along the way. After selecting the Light Believers at the church, she set off immediately. In just over half a month, she had traversed nearly half the continent of Statu and had now reached the Shas Principality, next to the Gru Empire.
Monica entered the church in the Shas Principality, intending to select the Light Believers and immediately depart for her final stop, the Gru Empire. However, upon her arrival, she was informed that vampires were causing trouble within the principality, and the bishop had taken the priests and clerics to expel them.
The selection of Light Believers required the presence of a bishop and priests. Monica's expression soured. She had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea of leaving immediately and wait for the Shas bishop to return.
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment