Departure

Although the Contract can control everything, doing so consumes his mental energy. This is especially true when the Corrupted being contracted harbors intentions of resistance, which doubles the mental drain—a fact Liao Ji had already discovered from his previous experiments on Irin.

Therefore, frequently using the Contract to force compliance might work in the short term, but it is unsustainable for long-term use; it is clearly not a permanent solution.

Thus, Liao Ji felt the best approach was to have Irin willingly assist him of her own volition.

And as it stands now, this goal has been barely achieved.

"Miss Irin, could you please search the bodies of those Kobolds? You should be able to find quite a few Special Candles." Liao Ji requested politely.

Upon receiving the order, Irin glanced at the foul-smelling corpses on the ground still oozing bloody fluid. Then, she looked at the young man who, having been exposed, had dropped the act entirely and was now standing far away from the bodies, covering his nose with his hand and wearing an expression of utter disgust. Irin felt that all he was missing was a white handkerchief.

Her brow twitched a few times, but Irin held her tongue.

Candles are a specialty item dropped by Kobold monsters. Before long, Irin had gathered a large handful and dumped them in front of Liao Ji with a clatter.

"And then what, young master?" Irin asked irritably, completely unable to understand why these pathetic candles were worth collecting.

"Thank you for your hard work. Next, we just need to set them all on fire."

"S-set them on fire?"

"Yes. These Kobold candles are made from special materials and are highly flammable. Adding them all together, it should be more than enough to burn down this secret chamber and everything inside it," Liao Ji patiently analyzed and explained.

However, it was clear that this was not what Irin was focused on.

"What! You old antique! You want to burn this place down? And all these precious Relics!!"

Upon hearing what Liao Ji intended to do, Irin immediately bristled like a cat with its fur standing on end, even changing the way she addressed him.

She casually picked up a glass container from a shelf; although it was covered in cobwebs and dust, one could still discern its classical charm from its shape and texture.

"Do you have any idea how many people would fight over this if it were taken to the black market?"

"And this, and this, and all of these!!" Irin's fingers swept across the porcelain, statues, and murals piled up in the secret chamber.

She stood in front of Liao Ji like a mother tiger protecting her cubs.

"If we just sold all of these, we'd get at least several hundred thousand Ash Coins! That's hundreds of thousands! And you're just going to... burn them??"

Facing the highly agitated girl, Liao Ji made a calming gesture, signaling for Irin to settle down. He could understand her excitement, but...

"Miss Irin, have you considered that while there are so many things in this chamber, they might not actually be as valuable as you think?"

"It's not a 'might,' it's a certainty! This is the 'legacy' of the Great Emperor!!" Irin emphasized loudly.

"Fine, they are very valuable and worth a high price, but the problem is, Miss Irin, how do you plan to liquidate them? Oh, 'liquidate' means turning them into the... uh, Ash Coins you mentioned?"

After Liao Ji spoke, Irin blurted out, "Didn't I say? We sell them on the black market!"

"Hmm, but based on your previous description, Corrupted items are extremely rare in this era and are considered contraband. If you suddenly brought out so many prohibited items to sell on the black market, wouldn't others target you?"

"Even if we take a step back and assume you plan to sell them slowly, don't forget that you weren't the only member of this grave-robbing expedition. Or rather, Miss Irin, if I'm not mistaken, you were just responsible for reading the map and guiding the others, right? And your employers—the real grave robbers, or let's just call them an expedition team—were able to acquire so many firearms and were so decisive in their attempt to silence witnesses, even threatening your family afterward. I find it hard to believe there isn't a large organization behind them."

Under Liao Ji's barrage of words, Irin finally calmed down a bit. After a pause, she said with a tone of disgust:

"They are called Kalleva, a notorious major gang in our Black Cave Settlement."

"I see."

"Then, Miss Irin, if a notorious major gang discovered that the members they sent out were wiped out in the caves, while the Scavenger who guided them somehow survived and returned, and then started selling one precious treasure after another on the black market—if you were them, what would you do?"

Great profit can blind one's eyes. Liao Ji's words made Irin suddenly snap back to reality, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

Her expression quickly wilted, and a sense of panic set in.

"If Kalleva finds out I'm the only survivor... then even if I do nothing, they will definitely come for me..." Irin muttered, feeling completely lost.

"Exactly. So, there is only one optimal solution: make Kalleva believe you died along with the others. That is why I insisted on burning this place down. It creates a scene where no one survived, so when the gang sends people to investigate, you can be completely cleared of suspicion."

Irin's eyes grew brighter as she listened, and soon she began to look at Liao Ji with a gaze of approval.

"I didn't expect that even after sleeping for five hundred years, your mind is still quite sharp."

"Thank you."

In truth, another major reason Liao Ji felt no heartache in burning the place down was that, five hundred years later, many of these items had become as decayed and useless as the Sword of the Great Emperor.

As for the truly good items that could survive five hundred years unchanged, they were inside the stone coffin. The four remaining Corrupted Crystals (Small)—excluding the one used on Irin—had already been collected by Liao Ji. Therefore, this former resource cache held no value to him; it was better to burn it and leave no traces.

On the other side, Irin, who had just been happy about escaping the gang, felt her expression change again as she followed that line of reasoning further.

"Hiss—no, wait! Then, what about my mother! She is still suffering from a serious illness and is waiting for treatment at the clinic in the settlement. In her condition, there is no way I can take her and leave the settlement. I, I..."

Before this, the main reason Irin took the job despite knowing the high risks of dealing with the gang was that her mother, with whom she lived, desperately needed a large sum of money for life-saving treatment.

But now, not only had she failed to get the promised reward, but she had also landed in deep trouble with the gang. She could never abandon her mother to leave alone, but to take her mother, she needed to pay high medical fees. The only source for that money was the legacy, but if she sold the legacy, she would attract the gang's pursuit.

Irin felt as if she had fallen into a vicious cycle.

At this moment, another voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Miss Irin, I must remind you: although you cannot take most of the items in this chamber with you, you can at least take the most valuable one, can't you?"

"The most valuable one?" Irin looked around in confusion.

Until Liao Ji pointed a finger at himself.

"As long as your mother still has a breath left in her, no matter how complex the illness, I can easily cure it. On this point, Miss Irin, you should have experienced it yourself."

Irin recalled the healing Liao Ji had performed on her just minutes ago, and the girl's face immediately flushed, filled with excitement.

"Right, right! How could I have forgotten about you, old... ahem, Young Master!"

But soon, she revealed a tentative expression. Irin lowered her head slightly, asking with a hint of caution: "Are you really okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I, I mean! That ability of yours is so powerful, it must consume a lot of energy, right? Is it really okay to use such a precious ability on a Scavenger's mother!"

Irin puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment, frustrated that she had to spell it out so clearly.

It had to be said.

After the Holy Healing, the girl had returned to the youthful beauty appropriate for her age, and the fine features previously buried by the hardships of a Scavenger's life were now radiating brilliance.

Liao Ji found it hard to imagine that he could see a hint of "cuteness" in Irin at this moment.

"First, you are no longer a Scavenger. Second, I have signed a Contract with you, and you have become my Corrupted. At least for the duration of the contract, you are my person. You work for me, and naturally, I must be responsible for my subordinates."

"As for the last part, rest assured. Five hundred years ago, I was quite the big shot. Although my strength has been greatly reduced now, using that kind of healing ability four or five times a day is still a breeze."

Having received Liao Ji's personal promise, Irin finally breathed a complete sigh of relief.

Of course, when the young man said something like "you are my person," the girl couldn't help but blush, muttering to herself in her heart.

But regardless of anything else.

Irin suddenly felt that having someone "looking out" for her seemed... quite nice?

"Alright, Miss Irin, let's get to work. I really don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even one more second."

Faced with the young man who was urging her on but had no intention of lifting a finger himself, Irin obediently acted as a worker, considering he could heal her mother.

She grunted with effort as she crushed the Kobold candles, extracted the flammable substances from within, and distributed them evenly throughout the secret chamber.

After finishing all this, Irin picked up Liao Ji and, using the shovel the Kobolds had left behind, climbed out through the hole they had entered from.

In the past, she never would have believed she could climb a ten-meter-plus cave, but now, she could even spare a hand to carry a grown man.

This was the power brought by being a Corrupted.

Steadily reaching the upper level, Liao Ji was set down by Irin and took the makeshift torch she had fashioned in her spare time. The sizzling flames reflected off the young man's refined face.

"So... does this count as finishing the prologue?" Liao Ji muttered to himself.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, let's go."

Liao Ji gently tossed the torch in his hand toward the hole below and turned around immediately.

In the next second, the flammable candle wax made by the Kobolds came into contact with the open flame. With a "boom," a raging fire quickly ignited within the secret chamber. A scorching heatwave swept out from the cave entrance, and the crimson glow of the flames illuminated the underground cavern.

Following behind Liao Ji and watching the young man's dashing silhouette, Irin pursed her lips.

Hmph, she had been the one busy running around the whole time, but when it came time to light the fire, he had to do it himself, not needing her, and he didn't even look back—what was he trying to look so cool for!

But, but it really did seem quite cool; she would have to try it next time!