The Pitiful Lord Kubero

Late at night.

The deep, serene night enveloped the entire alleyway.

Standing in the shadows, Su Nan stared at the brightly lit mansion in the distance.

This seemingly ordinary mansion, which appeared inconspicuous compared to many opulent noble residences in Stone Bell City, was one of the Starfire Cult’s bases in Jinyan Province.

After arriving in Stone Bell City, Su Nan had staked out nearby for three days, trailing various individuals coming and going, but unfortunately, none were related to the pursuit of magical creatures.

Unwilling to waste more time here, he decided to grab someone tonight for interrogation.

He didn’t have to wait long before a suitable target appeared.

A man wearing a cold-weather cloak emerged from the mansion, first glanced around inconspicuously, then quickly stepped into the night.

Su Nan didn’t follow immediately but waited patiently for a moment before naturally walking out of the alley and heading in the direction the man left.

Yinlong had already gone ahead; with it around, there was no worry of losing the target.

Maintaining a healthy distance won’t alert the target either.

Following the man from afar, they turned and twisted through the streets for about half an hour before Yinlong conveyed that the target had stopped.

Su Nan immediately quickened his pace.

It wasn’t long before he reached where Yinlong was stationed.

‘What is this guy doing here?’

Su Nan raised an eyebrow at the residential house in front of him.

It’s just an ordinary house situated in a civilian area; what’s a Starfire Cultist doing here in the middle of the night?

Gesturing for Yinlong to stay put and keep watch, Su Nan added a layer of wind energy particles to himself, then lightly leapt over the courtyard wall, landing silently on the ground.

The moment he landed, his heightened senses picked up on sounds coming from inside the house, and an odd expression crossed his face.

‘My darling, I miss you so much.’

‘I miss you too, dear Honey. Lord Kubero has been so preoccupied with the manor recently, he hasn’t had time to mind me. We can meet often now.’

‘That’s wonderful. Let me savor the taste of Lady Kubero first.’

What ensued was a series of ambiguous intimate sounds.

Su Nan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for the Lord Kubero he had never met.

Being burdened with an evil spirit was bad enough, but now his wife was cheating on him. Truly pitiful.

Shaking his head, Su Nan stopped concealing himself and strode toward the room.

He had already sensed no other life forms were in this house apart from those two.

Makes sense; these two came to rendezvous, of course, they wouldn’t bring anyone else along.

‘Who is it!’

The man inside quickly detected Su Nan’s unabashed footsteps.

When Su Nan pushed the door open, the man had already leapt off the bed, reaching for a weapon on the table, eyes warily fixated on the entrance.

On the bed behind him, a heavily made-up, stunning woman wrapped in a quilt shrank back against the headboard in panic.

‘Who are you?’ the man demanded harshly.

Su Nan did not answer, instead, he raised a hand and shot a bolt of electricity at the man.

The man didn’t have time to react; he convulsed and fell to the ground in a faint, eyes rolled back.

Seeing this, the woman on the bed clutched her face in fright, inhaled deeply preparing to scream, but unfortunately, the casting time of an inhale took too long, Su Nan flicked a bolt of electricity, and the woman also convulsed into unconsciousness.

After casually closing the door, Su Nan used the Mage Hand to pick up the unconscious man from the floor and wake him up.

Without waiting for the man to speak, he cast the Charm of Humans, and the man’s eyes immediately glazed over.

‘Name.’

‘Honey Deomande.’

‘Your role in the Starfire Cult.’

‘Three-star Cultist.’

Su Nan was slightly disappointed.

Below the level of a ritualist, ordinary cultists in Starfire Cult are ranked from one star to five stars from low to high.

A three-star cultist was still low-tier and probably not privy to core affairs.

‘Do you know anything about capturing magical creatures?’

‘Yes.’

Su Nan’s spirits lifted slightly: ‘Tell me in detail.’

Honey paused, then absentmindedly said, ‘The ones in charge of that task are Ritualist Troy and Ritualist Ryan. They almost set out daily, yet have failed to capture that magical creature to date, making the grand priest very upset.’

‘Daily? Then why haven’t I seen anyone coming and going from the manor?’

‘They all enter and exit through the underground tunnels.’

Su Nan patted his forehead, feeling wordless.

Makes sense, this was a hidden base. Naturally, members of the Starfire Cult wouldn’t brazenly come and go through the front gate frequently, or it would have long alerted others.

Having a tunnel in their base was normal indeed.

All this while, I’ve been mentally blind-sighted, missing this point.

‘Lack of experience.’

Su Nan joked at his own expense and then asked:

‘Where do those chasing the magical creature usually go?’

‘The north of the city,’ Honey said blankly, ‘For some reason, the magical creature’s activity area has always been limited to the north. Therefore, Ritualist Troy and his team have continuously searched the north.’

Su Nan understood.

Seems the search range needs to be shifted to the north city.

Although now aware of the Starfire Cult base’s tunnels, who knows where their exits lead. If it exits to some secluded, abandoned well or house, it’s unknown how long it’d take to find.

Comparatively, it’s better to try his luck in the north city.

Once the Starfire Cult found the magical creature, the pursuit would undoubtedly create a commotion, making it likely for him and Yinlong to spot it while searching separately.

Yinlong’s phasing ability is particularly suited for locating people within complex terrain in towns.

While contemplating, Su Nan had already formulated his plan.

After questioning for a while longer and confirming he couldn’t extract more valuable information, he prepared to deal with Honey.

Just then, Su Nan suddenly detected something, abruptly turning to look at the table beside him.

The room’s door and windows were tightly closed without being opened; only slivers of moonlight seeped in through the cracks, resembling silver threads cast on the ground and the table.

A small cat stood on the table, precisely straddling a silver line, the moonlight illuminating its slender form, glossy smooth snow-white fur, and gem-like icy blue eyes.

A cat?

Su Nan was momentarily stunned, then instantly fixated, flipping his wrist, revealing an earth rune gem between his index and middle fingers, ready to activate at any moment.

The room’s doors and windows were shut; how did this cat enter?

Moreover, with his perception, how could a mere cat approach without being noticed?

There’s something off!

As Su Nan wavered in suspicion, the cat naturally walked closer to him.

Its slender form showed elegant curves, walking with nimble grace, carrying a dreamlike splendor.

Around its neck, a red ribbon tied a delicate gold bell.

For an instant, Su Nan felt as if he saw a noble lady lazily strolling in her family courtyard.

Reaching the table’s edge, the cat gracefully leapt down, landing gently on the ground, raising its head with gem-like icy blue eyes gazing at Su Nan and Honey, its eyes showing a humane curiosity.

‘Meow, what are you doing?’