Tower of Yin Spirits

Returning to Wilson Castle took another half hour.

Because the battle had caused quite a commotion, it had alerted the Landon City Police Department. The entire department was still on high alert after Baron Lonanks's murder, so the moment they heard that someone had tried to kidnap Viscount Paul's daughter, they mobilized everyone to investigate the kidnappers' identities and track down the mastermind behind them.

It had to be admitted that once the machinery of the state got fully moving, its efficiency was quite impressive.

Early the next morning, Vincent arrived in high spirits. He had probably gone another night without sleep, and fury still simmered in his eyes. Someone had actually dared kidnap his sister right outside his home—that was an outright provocation and the greatest contempt for the Wilson Family.

"How is it, Vincent? Did you find out who they are?" Green asked while washing up.

Vincent nodded gloomily. He held a roll of documents, which must have been the results of the police department's overnight investigation.

The near-kidnapping of Viscount Paul's daughter had stirred up a hornet's nest throughout Landon City. Everyone at the police department, including the chief, had surely worked overtime yesterday.

Vincent tossed the documents in his hand onto the coffee table and said through gritted teeth, "We've identified the two unlucky fellows infected by the Demonic Insect Parasite. They're members of an underworld organization in the Lower District. That organization has been in frequent contact with people from the Tower of Yin Spirits lately. The Demonic Insect mage killed by Doctor Wilkins was very likely a member of the Tower of Yin Spirits as well, but unfortunately, not even his bones remain, so we can't confirm it further."

"The Tower of Yin Spirits?" Green murmured softly. He felt as though he had heard that name somewhere before.

Vincent nodded and continued, "The Tower of Yin Spirits is a heretical cult that has been active recently in the kingdom's Northwest Province, especially around Landon City. Its methods are evil and its members are vicious. They once sacrificed an entire village to an evil god in Nant County. The scene was bloody and utterly horrifying—they didn't even spare toddlers two or three years old."

Green furrowed his brows and suddenly remembered. Before he had transmigrated, wasn't his predecessor, Green Wilson, trying to join this very cult, the Tower of Yin Spirits? Unfortunately, they had never intended to recruit him. They had treated him as a sacrifice instead. He had died with his eyes wide open, only to give Green the opportunity to transmigrate into this world.

Vincent then conveyed Viscount Paul's thanks and presented him with a five-hundred-pound check.

Green accepted the check without ceremony. After chatting for a while, he saw Vincent off.

Left alone, Green fell into deep thought.

Heretical cults were inherently vicious and bound by no rules. The Tower of Yin Spirits in particular was infamous among such cults for its cruelty and cold-bloodedness. Getting involved with an organization like that was a huge problem. He had no idea how they had set their sights on Viscount Paul's daughter.

Moreover, Green had made an even more important discovery last night. Killing the two Demonic Insect Parasites had actually earned him some Psychic Energy! Did that mean he could obtain Psychic Energy by killing creatures with supernatural power? If so, wasn't this just like grinding monsters to level up?

Whether things truly worked as he suspected still needed further verification.

Green also knew very well that the Tower of Yin Spirits was a dog-skin plaster that would cling stubbornly to its target. Their failed kidnapping would never be the end of it. Instead, it would drive them to retaliate against everyone who had interfered with them, including Green and Doctor Wilkins. Green estimated that, given the Tower of Yin Spirits' strength, they probably wouldn't dare provoke Doctor Wilkins. Those heretics might be mad, but they weren't fools. So next time, besides Viscount Paul's family, their target would certainly include an "ignorant, heaven-defying" junior magic apprentice.

Green wasn't afraid of that. Instead, he regarded the people from the Tower of Yin Spirits as tools for testing his earlier hypothesis. However, the Tower of Yin Spirits was a heretical cult whose members kept mysterious and unpredictable movements. Finding their secret stronghold would not be easy.

Over the next two days, the police department arrested some people, but they were all foolish men and women who had been duped by the cult. There was no further progress.

That afternoon, at the Peony Cafe, Green and Lola sat facing each other in the same seats as last time.

Lola looked excited as she asked in a furtive whisper, "Hey! Did you really kill the mage from the Tower of Yin Spirits? That's fantastic! I've hated those frauds who pretend to commune with gods for ages."

Green shook his head. "I didn't kill that mage. Doctor Wilkins did. I merely dealt with two unlucky fellows infected by the Demonic Insect Parasite."

"Demonic Insect Parasites!" Lola cried out. "You mean you took down two Demonic Insect Parasites! Those monsters are even harder to deal with than ordinary supernatural beings."

Green smiled. "They were all right. Compared to them, my Skeleton Soldiers are still stronger."

"Skeleton Soldiers!" Lola exclaimed incredulously. "You used Skeleton Soldiers to kill Demonic Insect Parasites? That can't be possible!"

It was no wonder Lola had reacted that way. Ordinary Skeleton Soldiers and Demonic Insect Parasites were on entirely different levels. It would not have been strange for a single Demonic Insect Parasite to deal with five or six Skeleton Soldiers, yet Green had casually claimed that his Skeleton Soldiers were stronger than Demonic Insect Parasites.

After chatting idly for a little longer, Green revealed why he had asked Lola out this time.

Lola's eyes widened when she heard him. "What! You want me to help find the Tower of Yin Spirits' secret stronghold in Landon City? You're not joking, are you?"

Green looked solemn. "Do I look like I'm joking? Those religious fanatics definitely hate me after their failed kidnapping. They may not dare trouble Doctor Wilkins, but they'll certainly come after me. I can't just sit around waiting. I have to strike first."

Green didn't conceal his thoughts. In truth, he had no need to be so impatient. Viscount Paul had been thoroughly enraged by Lillisa's kidnapping and would certainly mobilize every available force to retaliate against the Tower of Yin Spirits. But Green had already begun treating the Tower of Yin Spirits as his own dungeon. How could he foolishly wait for someone else to clear it while he stood by and watched?

That was why he couldn't rely on Viscount Paul to find the Tower of Yin Spirits' lair. After turning the matter over in his mind, he had sought out Lola as a trial run, without placing much hope in it.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Green out, Lola seriously considered it for a moment before nodding. "All right, I'll take the job. But this lady never works for free. Twenty pounds, and not a penny less. How about it?"

This time, Green agreed readily. He took out twenty pounds in notes and handed them over.

Lola accepted them like a little money-grubber, then rolled her eyes and revealed a crafty smile. "Ha-ha, this money was so easy to earn."

Green's brow twitched. "What? Do you already know where the Tower of Yin Spirits' lair is?"

Lola neither confirmed nor denied it. She simply stood up. "Then let's call it a day. Wait for my news tomorrow."

Green finished the coffee on the table before leaving. When he returned to Wilson Castle, he happened to run into Vincent, who had just come back from outside in a carriage.

Vincent held a document bag and looked rather grim. The moment he saw Green, he hurried over. "We've found out the identity of that Demonic Insect mage."

Green was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Viscount Paul to use his connections to identify someone whose bones had been obliterated. Judging from Vincent's expression, however, the man's identity seemed to be far from ordinary.

Sure enough, the moment Vincent finished speaking, Green understood.

The mage who had been blasted into a bloody mess by Doctor Wilkins's Arcane Missile had not only been a member of the Tower of Yin Spirits; he had another identity as well. That identity was precisely what had made Vincent's expression so grave. The man's name was Seville Root. He was the son of the Tower of Yin Spirits' current pope and its chosen heir.

That was troublesome. Killing the son and heir of a heretical pope had created a feud that would end only with one side's death. If the Tower of Yin Spirits retaliated with all its might, even Viscount Paul's influence and wealth might not withstand it. One wrong move could even lead to the destruction of the Wilson Family in Landon City.

Carrying this bad news, Vincent hurried into the castle toward Viscount Paul's study.

Green didn't follow him. He went straight back to his own residence.

According to the information Vincent had obtained, the pope of the Tower of Yin Spirits was named David True. His own strength was not great; he was only an intermediate apprentice, and his exact profession was unknown. He possessed a special ability, however, which allowed him to communicate with the Wraith Evil God beyond the void. It was through this ability that he had successfully ascended to the pope's throne.

This man was vicious and venomous, and stopped at nothing to achieve his goals. Vincent and Viscount Paul had both refused to mention the reason behind Lillisa's kidnapping. Green guessed that, in private, Viscount Paul had likely been engaged in some unspeakable transaction with Pope David True. Later, for some reason, the two sides had fallen out, prompting David True to send people to kidnap Lillisa as both a threat and a warning to Viscount Paul.

Green was certain that this guess was probably very close to the truth.

Although he got along fairly well with Vincent, and Viscount Paul was usually kind to others—even frequently taking part in charitable activities—Green had never believed that this father and son were kindhearted, justice-loving white lotuses. They were true nobles. Beneath their gentle and elegant exteriors lurked a greed capable of devouring everything. So there was nothing strange about them secretly trading and cooperating with the heretics of the Tower of Yin Spirits.

But none of that had anything to do with Green. He didn't consider himself a friend of justice. The only thing he needed to think about now was how to grind the Tower of Yin Spirits dungeon.