It Was Here All Along

Luo Qi roughly chased away the bewildered Attending Priest, and then sat alone on the bed gritting his teeth.

That damn Hand Eye... no, that damn Ulu!

It's one thing that they suddenly stopped playing cards, but they didn't even include him in the transactions, and they openly looked down on his stuff, without even asking what his information card was. That's just too damn outrageous!

What do they take me for?! A worn-out old man's ass?! Everyone else has something, but I'm excluded?!

In an instant, the terrible memories of the past flooded back, making Luo Qi's teeth ache even more with anger.

But setting aside his emotional dissatisfaction, what Luo Qi found even more unacceptable was the fact that he had gained nothing from this deal. It was as if he had been implicitly excluded from the hunt for "tongues," and that was the crux of the matter.

Luo Qi rolled out of bed, walked to the door and gazed into the distance, but because of the thick fog, he couldn't see anything.

Yes, they are still in that small village in the No Man's Land, waiting for the Contract Land's notification. On the other side of the village are those mystical Eternal Nightmare Cultist.

Luo Qi began to ponder.

If he remembered correctly, they were currently only half a day's journey from the Black Market's headquarters in Nameless Town, and the meeting place for the Contract Land was still undecided. This meant that, in terms of time, he could easily lead his team to Nameless Town, find and kill the "tongue," and then return.

But this presents two problems. First, he is not confident in killing "Tongue," since even the Devourer Fei Ge had fallen. Although it is still uncertain whether he was killed by "Tongue," the risk is there. Luo Qi does not believe that he, with his body parts, is stronger than Fei Ge, who has the Devourer.

The second problem is how he can openly lead his team there. This is within the territory of the Contract Land, and there are delegations from six other churches nearby. Even if he can kill "Tongue," how can he retrieve the Three Corpse Pieces right under the noses of these churches?

He didn't even know how to explain it to his subordinates. After all, this delegation was sent to him by His Lord Lan Ge. It was rather unnecessary for Luo Qi to use this delegation to steal body parts for himself.

Therefore, Luo Qi was very conflicted.

On the one hand, he is likely the person closest to the "tongue" besides Ulu, and he could get Three Corpse Pieces just by reaching out. However, the risks involved are unpredictable, especially if he is on his own.

On the other hand, even if he had come to the realization that he should be loyal to Rhine and report everything that had happened to Lan Ge, it was already too late.

After all, he had lost the rules twice in Peach Blossom Paradise. What exactly did that guy Ulu do with his rules? Could Fei Ge have been killed because of this? There was no way to think about such things in detail.

At least Luo Qi didn't think Lan Ge would let him off the hook as if nothing had happened.

Are we supposed to pretend we don't know and watch these guys fight like outsiders?

Luo Qi was both unwilling and worried.

What if this deadly fight between these guys ends up producing a Gu King? He couldn't bear to imagine the scene where, at the next Peach Blossom Paradise Corpse Friends Gathering, he would open his eyes to see a phantom with eight pieces of corpse, smiling and saying to him, "You're next."

The struggle for the body parts will never cease.

If Luo Qi doesn't compete, others will naturally come to him.

Thinking of this, Luo Qi's eyes narrowed little by little, and his chaotic thoughts gradually became clearer.

Yes, if you think about it carefully, he has no choice at all, unless he cuts off his thumb right now and hands it over to Lan Ge for protection, becoming a complete outsider.

But will he really make that choice?

Luo Qi looked down at his right thumb.

This thumb was inherited from the former Archbishop, and no one but himself knew how much pain and hardship he had endured during that time. Therefore, Luo Qi was absolutely unwilling to give it up.

Since that's the case...

Luo Qi knew what to do.

He immediately went back into the house and put on his Bishop Robe, a symbol of power.

Rather than hesitating, it's better to act immediately. Even if he doesn't join the battle first, he must keep an eye on things to avoid missing opportunities when they arise. Therefore, Luo Qi decided to move his team to the vicinity of Nameless Town right now.

As for how to explain this to the Contract Land ... what's there to explain? The Contract Land isn't Rhine's superior. He can simply say he's bored here and wants to go to the Nameless Town to find the little boy. The Contract Land certainly can't say anything, since that's always been Rhine's public image, making it easy to cover up.

Damn, I was so clever!

Luo Qi couldn't help but admire himself in his heart.

But as soon as he stepped out, he saw his Knight Captain hurrying toward him.

"Your Bishop," the Knight Captain whispered, "Fenris of the Church of Eternal Nightmare has come to see you."

"Fenris?" Luo Qi frowned instinctively, glancing up at the still dark sky. "What's he doing here in the middle of the night?"

Before the Knight Captain could reply, Fenris's perpetually sleepy voice came from behind Knight Captain.

"Believe me, Bishop Luo Qi, we who chase dreams value the night more than you do, and we would not want to disturb you at this time unless there are special circumstances."

Luo Qi turned his head and looked at Fenris was floating in the dust and mist like a ghost.

This made Luo Qi uneasy. "Then tell me, what's wrong?"

We need your help.

"Do you need my help?"

"Yes, do you remember the Forbidden Scholar I mentioned to you before?"

"That Ai De Wen guy?" Luo Qi remembered the name. "What happened to him?"

"We have captured His message in the Lord's dream," Fenris said. "We have reason to believe that He is trying to bring that Forbidden Knowledge into reality."

"When?"

"Twenty minutes ago."

Luo Qi's eyes widened instantly. "Twenty minutes ago?!"

"Yes," Fenris said softly, "So we can no longer wait for the arbitration of the Contract Land; we must kill him now."

Of all times!

Luo Qi gritted his teeth. "What would happen if he brought it out?"

"Have no idea."

"Have no idea?!"

"Yes, because no one knows what that knowledge is," Fenris said. "And there's also the Divine Command Imprint. Theoretically, he would die the moment he brought that knowledge into reality, which is the best outcome."

"And the worst one?"

"He bypassed the Divine Command Imprint," Fenris said softly, "And became the next Visas."

Isaiah stood by the window, gazing at the Nameless Town under the night sky, and the thick fog in the distance that seemed to obscure the sun— the No Man's Land.

Then there was a knock on the door, and his student Mina pushed it open and entered.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"

Isaiah hummed in agreement. "I just went to Peach Blossom Paradise again."

Mina's expression froze for a moment, then she quickened her pace and came to Isaiah's side.

"What happened again?" Mina asked anxiously.

"A lot of interesting things happened."

Isaiah chuckled as he slowly recounted his journey to the Peach Blossom Paradise, but Mina was not as relaxed as him; her expression was unusually solemn.

"You mean, right now, there's someone in this Nameless Town who possesses Three Corpse Pieces?" Mina asked in a low voice. "Is he coming for us?"

"I don't know," Isaiah said with a smile. "Theoretically, it's impossible for anyone outside the Star Remnant to know that this eye is with me. But it's not surprising that someone who possesses so many body parts could have some information that no one else knows."

Mina became even more nervous. "Should we report this to the Contract Land? Isn't he the Contract Land's target this time?"

"No, the target of the Contract Land and the Rhine is Ulu," Isaiah said, "Which is the 'Hand Eye' in the Peach Blossom Paradise."

Mina understood what her teacher meant. "You still want that eye."

"Of course," Isaiah said. "I've said I'm willing to give anything for this."

"Then I don't understand," Mina said. "You value that eye so much, why didn't you exchange it for the rules of the eye with Ulu, but instead exchanged information? What kind of information can compare to that eye?"

Isaiah smiled at Mina, "You really can't believe it?"

Mina was silent for a moment before softly saying, "Could it be his seat?"

"Yes, his location." Isaiah looked into the distance. "And he came with a promise that he won't change his location for at least a month, and I can find him whenever I want."

Mina opened her mouth, and after a long while, she said, "It's almost as if... he's waiting for you too."

"Yes," Isaiah said with a smile. "We both know exactly what the other wants most, so you could say we are natural rivals."

"But is his promise really reliable?"

"Under the witness of Peach Blossom Paradise, we all need to abide by the rules." Isaiah turned to look at Mina and said with a smile, "If you've been there, you'll understand that Peach Blossom Paradise is supreme. It's like Visas himself, forcing everyone to follow His rules."

"I really can't imagine it," Mina said softly. "Then what about that 'tongue'? Are you going to skip it and go straight to the Hand Eye?"

"Of course not," Isaiah said slowly. "I have a month to take care of other things, including that tongue."

Do you think he will come looking for you?

"Even if he doesn't come looking for me, someone else will. They'll be even more anxious than I am." Isaiah turned his gaze back to the Nameless Town shrouded in night. "And until then, I'll keep watching with this eye. Of course, if the opportunity truly arises..."

He paused for a moment, then said with a smile.

"I wouldn't mind taking it all."

Diana opened her eyes.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that her vision was clearer than ever before.

No, it's not an illusion.

Diana gently touched her left eye, feeling an unprecedented power surging within it. Although she hadn't yet activated the power, the ripples created by its surge already gave her an indescribable pleasure, as if the whole world were within her eyes.

This is... [gazing].

It was indeed a captivating power, one that made one want to immerse oneself in it, and it involuntarily reminded Diana of the thrill she felt when she obtained the "Contract" more than a decade ago.

Diana took two deep breaths to gradually conceal her excitement.

Having gained the attention without paying a contract, even if only for a month, Diana was more than satisfied.

She was like a child who had received a new toy, eager to play with it, and didn't want to stay asleep any longer, so she immediately got out of bed and left the room.

The servant waiting outside the door immediately bowed and said in a trembling voice, "Master, did I disturb your rest?"

It was indeed quite noisy outside, as the Guardian of the Contract Land were transporting one packed wagon after another out.

Diana naturally knew that these were "props" being transported to the gathering place.

The reason why the Contract Land has not yet held a gathering is because of these things.

Diana ignored the servants at her feet and looked at the closed carriages.

Under the gaze of her left eye, the sealed carriages began to gradually "melt away," allowing her to see directly through them and thus see the twisting tentacles carried inside.

As expected, they were able to see through it.

Diana was even more pleased with the eye, and then an irresistible thought popped into her head.

So she turned and left, and soon arrived at the core area of Contract Land.

That is, the prison that plunges straight into the earth like an abyss.

Diana stood atop the prison cell, her left eye tightly closed, her expression hesitant.

But after taking a deep breath, she still couldn't suppress this crazy thought and slowly opened her left eye.

At that moment, her eyes pierced through the abyss.

Countless blockades, endless darkness, like a bottomless vortex from which the blood-smelling wind constantly surges.

An indescribable sense of panic overwhelmed Diana; she had never felt this way in the thirty years she had lived there.

But she did not choose to close her eyes, so her vision continued to penetrate, as if trying to dispel all the fog.

Finally, at the very end of that extreme darkness, she saw a door painted with snake patterns.

Just as she was about to examine it more closely, the snake pattern "opened" its eyes.

At that moment, an indescribable sense of crisis suddenly surged into my heart.

Diana immediately closed her eyes, but it was too late. Blood continued to flow from her left eye, accompanied by excruciating pain.

But the pain didn't last long.

With a "plop".

The servant who had caught up with them fell to the ground, his eyes filled with blood, but he couldn't even cry for help. After struggling for a moment, he died.

But Diana didn't even glance at the servants. She simply touched her left eye and said softly, "So that's how it is."

Then she felt her left eye twitch, as if in response to her words.

On the other side, Bai Wei also opened his eyes. He recalled the images transmitted back from his left eye and said with a light laugh.

"So this is where it is."