Russell had never been a magnanimous person—not in his previous life, and even less so in this one.
"My lord, what do you intend to do?" At some point, Charles had quietly changed how he addressed him, no longer calling Russell by name.
Eric frowned. "That man is cunning. He will be difficult to subdue."
"Why would I want to subdue him? He lured Snow Ghosts into my manor. That has given me more than enough reason to kill him." Russell said gravely, "Teachers, and Knight Captain Chris, what I am thinking about now is how to kill him."
Lone Wolf Lisbon had violated one of his greatest taboos.
Luring Snow Ghosts to invade, disregarding the safety of the manor's property and serfs—he had brought death upon himself.
"Killing him will not be easy either," Knight Captain Chris said. "If he dares show himself, I can help Young Master Russell kill him. But he is cunning by nature. If he hides in the caves and refuses to come out, finding him will be difficult."
The caves around Guangguang River Valley were connected by secret passages into an intricate transportation network, perhaps spanning an area even larger than Guangguang River Valley itself.
Once someone hid inside, capturing them would truly be like searching for a needle in the ocean.
"It's that difficult?"
"If Baron Lord takes action, pressures the cave factions, and sends a squad of knights to block the routes, it should be quite easy."
"Forget it. If I need to trouble Father over something so minor, what right would I have to govern my manor fief well?" Russell swiftly rejected the plan of asking the Baron for help. Running to the Baron for everything would only damage his reputation.
Only an outstanding lord would be able to recruit outstanding followers in the future.
Knight Captain Chris smiled. "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to command me."
Russell thanked him. "If it truly comes to that, I will trouble you then... All right, let us put this unpleasant matter aside and continue celebrating!"
The celebration did not last until nightfall.
That afternoon, Knight Captain Chris took his leave, riding his Nightmare Ghost Horse down Charcoal Ash Avenue until he vanished from sight. After all, he was the castle's captain of the guard knights, not Russell's Knight Captain. Being away from his post for too long would clearly displease the Baron.
"My lord, do you truly intend to kill Lone Wolf Lisbon?" Charles took the initiative to bring up the matter they had not finished discussing earlier.
"Of course."
"If you truly wish to kill Lisbon, I believe the Wildcat Sisters are the key. Perhaps we can use them to lure Lisbon out."
"No rush. This matter can be considered carefully over time." Russell had already calmed down. "Lisbon must die. If I do not kill him, I will not be at peace. But killing him cannot hinder my plan to subdue Xiangshui River Cave, so the plan must be thorough."
Eric suddenly said, "My lord, let me infiltrate Xiangshui River Cave and first learn the situation there."
"No. There is no need to take such a risk."
"Then..."
"Wait first. Wait for the Wildcat Sisters to come." Russell smiled faintly. He had already displayed his strength. Now it depended on whether he could draw in the butterflies.
Charles asked doubtfully, "Will the Wildcat Sisters come? Catherine did not say she would return before she left."
"If she had no intention of doing so, she would not have delivered that message on a rainy night. Since she wishes to befriend me, naturally she must choose to do so while I am still weak." Russell felt seventy or eighty percent certain that he had guessed the Wildcat Sisters' thoughts correctly. "Wouldn't you agree, Teacher Charles?"
Charles said admiringly, "My lord, you are becoming more and more like Baron Lord."
"You flatter me. I am still learning from Father."
"By Dragon's Gaze, I believe you will soon surpass your father. The Fluorite Mushroom Family will flourish in your hands."
"That is my elder brother's task."
"But you can forge a new foundation. Wuyou Snake Manor is too small for you. This is only the starting point of your ascent."
"Mm, that is true. Teacher Charles, Teacher Eric, let us work toward it together."
Charles bowed. "We shall follow in your footsteps!"
Beside him, Eric watched Charles flatter him in every possible way and struggled to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. Then he thumped his chest hard and added in a muffled voice, "We shall follow in your footsteps!"
Night fell.
Russell continued sleeping in the manor's secondary residence.
The Worm Grass was already growing peacefully, so he could no longer use guarding the Worm Grass as an excuse to camp outdoors. Besides, they had fought a great battle during the day and needed proper rest.
"Caw!"
The familiar Dark Dreamscape, the familiar Little Dream Dragon.
"What are we, Snowy? Are we destined to meet only in dreams?" Russell raised a new question.
But Little Dream Dragon could not understand. It merely cawed as it carried Russell in circles around the line-drawn manor residence.
"Sigh, asking you is pointless. You are an idiot." Russell raised his middle finger.
Little Dream Dragon found it amusing and waved its tiny forelimbs too, raising one matchstick-like claw. "Caw caw caw!"
"Stop cawing. Let us check my bedroom and see what kind of light the Hail Bead gives off."
One man and one dragon returned to Russell's bedroom. Aside from the glow of the Dark Gold Ceramic Armor, Green Ceramic Sword, two small pearls, and Gem Lamp Fixtures, a faint blue light also shone from the drawer of the bedside cabinet.
The light had gathered into a cluster. It was clearly being emitted by the Hail Bead.
The moment it saw that cluster of light, before Russell could study it, Little Dream Dragon suddenly cried out loudly, "Caw! Caw! Caw!"
"What? You want it?"
"Caw!"
Russell was surprised. It was rare to see Little Dream Dragon react so intensely, so he immediately waved his hand. "If you want it, take it!"
The next moment, Little Dream Dragon plunged headfirst into the drawer. In the Dark Dreamscape, everything was illusory except magical creations, which glowed. Thus, Little Dream Dragon passed directly through the drawer and brought its head before the Hail Bead.
It opened its mouth, rolled out its tongue, and swallowed the Hail Bead.
Then...
It even burped contentedly. "Caw-urp..."
"You can actually eat things in the Dark Dreamscape?" Russell was greatly astonished. Then he tried touching the Green Ceramic Sword himself.
Unfortunately, his arm passed through the Green Ceramic Sword's glow and could not touch its physical form.
This was the same result as his previous experiments.
"Snowy, come here. Can you pick up this Green Ceramic Sword?" Russell patted Little Dream Dragon on the head and guided it toward the Green Ceramic Sword.
Little Dream Dragon did not understand, but it imitated him anyway, stretching out a claw to grab the Green Ceramic Sword.
However, the result was the same as Russell's. Its claw passed through the Green Ceramic Sword's glow and failed to touch its physical form.
"Hm?" Russell could not understand it.
He pondered carefully. "Although the Dark Dreamscape is an illusion formed from reality, Snowy truly has the ability to interact with reality through the Dark Dreamscape... Its breath nurturing the Birch Worm was one interaction, and swallowing the Hail Bead now is another."
There had simply been too few interactions for Russell to determine what kinds of actions fell within the scope of possible interaction.
"Forget it. I will slowly figure it out later."
There was plenty of time ahead. Russell had enough time to unravel the mysteries of the Dark Dreamscape.
He studied Little Dream Dragon closely. "You ate the Hail Bead, but I do not feel like you have changed at all... Tsk, tsk. I am really extravagant now, feeding a dragon Gold Coins."
The Hail Bead was a Gold Coin.
Most serfs might never see what a Gold Coin looked like in their entire lives. Silver coins and copper coins were enough to meet their daily needs.
"Take off. We will wander around for a while, then sleep." Riding Little Dream Dragon, Russell began his time as a street wanderer again.
However, after flying for only a short while, he noticed something was wrong. "Snowy, has the Dark Dreamscape gotten a little bigger? Before, only a small part of this tree was inside the Dark Dreamscape. Now, more than half of it is inside!"
Happy Spring Festival, everyone! May the Year of the Dragon bring great fortune!
Before you continue