Until This Matter is Settled

Accompanied by Amy, Su Nan silently returned to the tavern room.

As soon as they entered, Amy leapt onto the bed, rolling around on the soft sheets.

“Meow, I haven’t slept in such a soft bed for days, tonight no one will come to catch me!”

“Although that’s true, haven’t you forgotten something important?”

On the way back to the tavern, Su Nan constantly prepared himself mentally, reassuring that he meant no harm to Amy, and now he could easily begin to guide her.

Lying spread-eagled on the bed, Amy lifted her head in response to his words, pondering for a moment, then suddenly jumped up as if recalling something.

“Meow, I almost forgot, I haven’t retrieved my master’s item!”

The little cat hopped onto Su Nan’s knee, looking at him with tearful eyes.

“Su Nan, you’ll help me, right?”

Good, she remembers.

Su Nan revealed a gentle smile, reaching out to scratch Amy’s chin, and said, “Of course, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Meow, thank you, Su Nyan, you’re such a good person.”

Amy showed an expression of enjoyment, then snapped out of it and quickly asked:

“So, how are we going to do it?”

“Tomorrow night, we’ll go to the Starfire Cult’s base. I’ll have the Hidden Dragon draw everyone out, then we’ll sneak in, take back your item, and also grab the Divine Blood Amber to teach them a lesson!”

“Meow, let’s do it, give them a lesson!”

Amy couldn’t discern if the method was good or bad, but she trusted Su Nan.

Since Su Nan said so, there must be no problem.

Relaxed, Amy couldn’t help but yawn, laying on the bed with sleepy eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Watching the carefree little cat, Su Nan couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. Sitting cross-legged at the bed’s end, he began to meditate.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Amy woke up close to noon.

“Meow, I slept so well.”

With a leap, she jumped onto the table, scratching the bell hanging around her neck with her paw. Suddenly, a crystal-clear, mint leaf-shaped ice crystal appeared in her paw.

Amy brought the ice crystal to her nose, sniffed a few times, and then put it in her mouth.

She looked as if she was savoring some supreme delicacy.

“What is that?” Su Nan asked curiously.

“Ice Mint. It tastes nice. Want to try?”

Amy generously offered a piece to Su Nan.

He took it, glanced over it, and placed it into the cube.

[Ice Mint: Carrying it wards off heat poison invasion, consuming it has a refreshing effect.]

So it’s a magical plant, no wonder its appearance is so peculiar.

Su Nan glanced at Amy; the little cat was sniffing and licking the Ice Mint, soon laying sprawled on the table, looking very content.

Shaking his head with amusement, Su Nan sat by the window, took out a book, and started reading.

Recently, he discovered another use for the cube, which was as a temporary storage tool.

As long as it was a non-living, non-autonomous object, it could be placed inside the cube.

Additionally, the cube could shield some special items’ energy fluctuations.

For instance, the Divine Blood Amber.

Whether kept in his pocket or Amy’s bell, it could be sensed by the Starfire Cult.

But once placed in the cube, even Amy couldn’t sense the Divine Blood Amber’s energy fluctuations anymore.

From this perspective, the cube was undoubtedly a higher-level existence than spatial magic items.

The only issue was that when synthesizing objects with the cube, everything had to be taken out, which was a bit cumbersome.

“I still need to find a genuine spatial magic item.”

Su Nan sighed slightly, focusing his thoughts and continued reading.

By evening, he went downstairs to eat something, making his presence known to avoid the tavern master knocking on his door due to his all-day absence.

While eating, he unexpectedly overheard some news.

“Have you heard? The Viscount is recruiting warriors to eliminate evil spirits!”

“What evil spirits?”

“Wasn’t it said earlier that Lord Kubero’s manor was haunted? They say it’s evil spirits.”

“Has this matter alarmed even the Viscount?”

“Several knights have died. Because of this, the Viscount has offered a thousand gold coins as a reward!”

“Really? A thousand gold coins, I couldn’t spend that in a lifetime!”

Several drinkers exclaimed in awe.

Su Nan’s gaze flickered slightly. He quietly finished his meal, then went upstairs to his room.
Time gradually passed.

The deep night gradually enveloped the entire Stone Bell City.

Su Nan glanced at the night sky outside the window, closed his book, and stood up.

“It’s time to act.”

Amy was licking her paws out of boredom, but immediately got up upon hearing this.

“Meow, I’m all set!”

Su Nan nodded, pushed open the window, and leapt out, landing silently in the alley behind the tavern.

Amy appeared out of thin air on his shoulder.

Under the cover of night, the man and the cat rushed out of the alley, sprinting towards the Starfire Cult’s stronghold.

Most of the city’s residents had already fallen asleep by the dead of night.

The streets were sparsely populated, occasionally spotted with a few drunkards lying by the roadside.

Even the patrolling city guards were easily detected by Su Nan’s perception, allowing them to slip by effortlessly.

Before long, Su Nan and Amy arrived at the Starfire Cult’s stronghold.

Gazing at the brightly lit manor from a distance, a cold glint flashed through Su Nan’s eyes.

“Go, try to lure as many people out as possible.”

A low hiss sounded from behind, like a gentle breeze passing by, then everything fell silent again.

Deep within the manor, in the study of the main building.

The atmosphere was oppressively still.

Four priests stood with heads lowered before the desk, hardly daring to breathe, let alone cast a glance at the Casper Priest seated opposite.

“Two priests and over twenty cultists were slaughtered clean in a single night, yet you still have no leads on the perpetrator.”

Casper’s eyes scanned over the four with an increasingly icy tone.

“I’m beginning to doubt your capacity to continue serving as priests!”

A fine layer of sweat appeared on the four priests’ foreheads.

An older priest hurriedly spoke up: “Sir Priest, we examined the scene and confirmed that most cultists were killed by some beast’s claws, and Ryan Priest’s body showed signs of being scorched by lightning. As for Troy Priest, although we didn’t find his body, the scene suggests he was likely incinerated to ashes by high temperatures.”

Casper narrowed his eyes, coldly stating, “Are you telling me that the killer is a legendary knight who keeps beasts?”

“No, not at all!”

The priest shook his head rapidly.

If a legendary knight opposed to the cult had entered Stone Bell City, they would have known in advance.

“One who wields elemental powers, besides legendary knights, could be a sorcerer.”

“We unanimously believe the attacker could be a sorcerer, possibly related to the magical creature we’re hunting!”

Casper was silent for a long moment and then said, “In any case, those two pieces of Divine Blood Amber taken must be retrieved; they cannot be allowed to remain lost outside!”

“I don’t care how you do it, but you must find that sorcerer for me!”

“Otherwise, you are aware of the consequences!”

“Yes, Sir!”

The four priests tightened their expressions and responded in unison.

Casper relaxed slightly, rubbing his forehead and asked, “What about the investigation in Blackstone City?”

A priest hesitated and said, “Sir, the four sent out have all lost contact, and the informants listed by Baron Owen have also been cleared out. Yuli and his men likely…”

Casper’s eye twitched.

Losing two great knights and two senior knights at once was a considerable loss for the Stone Bell City stronghold.

Combined with the recent night’s losses, saying they’re devastated wouldn’t be an exaggeration!

“As it stands, Blackstone City only has Brother Ke Yi Anes-t, one great knight. No way Yuli and the others could have failed, right?” said one priest.

Another snorted, “Isn’t it obvious? Baron Owen’s intelligence was definitely flawed. There must be other strong figures in Blackstone City. He must take responsibility for this assassination failure!”

Casper looked at the older priest, who immediately understood and said, “Baron Owen claimed he has no idea about this. The guy got confused and insisted it was our incompetence and demanded we continue sending assassins to kill those two targets.”

“He thinks highly of himself indeed.”

Casper sneered with contempt, waving his hand.

“Tell him the previous payment should offset the intelligence error compensation. If he wants us to continue targeting, he should come up with three thousand more gold coins.”

“Yes, Sir.”

With a dismissive gesture, Casper watched the four priests leave, then got up to the window, gazing into the expansive night sky.

“This error was no small mistake. Thankfully, I still have this batch of things. Once handed over, it should be enough to amend this mistake. If managed well, a promotion might not be impossible.”

“Once all is settled, I’ll personally bring the things to Junan City.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Casper’s mouth.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous noise echoed from afar.

Casper’s smile froze, and he looked out in the direction of the manor gates to see swirling dust rising into the sky.