The portrait showed a good-looking woman of about forty, utterly unlike the white-haired old woman in Crookback Bog.
"I had the best painter in Novigrad paint this last year, when she'd just become pregnant." The Baron's eyes were sorrowful and defeated.
"She smiled that day for the first time in ages. I thought she was finally willing to forgive me, but that night she slept with the painter to get back at me!"
Chen Xu couldn't stand watching anymore and jolted the despondent Baron awake. "Pull yourself together. You might not have been the one who killed the child in Anna's womb. It could have been the so-called Ladies of the Wood."
The Baron's eyes widened instantly as he stared at him in disbelief.
Just as guilt was about to swallow him whole, Chen Xu had pulled him back once again.
As a veteran witcher, Geralt nodded in agreement. "This pattern is a curse mark. It can drain a person's life force. If all it did was cause the fetus to wither and miscarry, the caster was already showing mercy."
Fringilla gave Chen Xu a surprised look.
Sure enough, a witcher's friend couldn't be anyone simple, either.
"That's right. When I saw Anna in the bog, her hair was completely white. Forgive my bluntness, but she looked at least twenty years older than she does in this portrait."
Chen Xu and Geralt played off each other, leaving the Baron thoroughly stunned.
"I have to save her!" He shot to his feet and ordered the Sergeant:
"Skellan, gather the men!"
He paid no attention at all to his wife's aged appearance. Or perhaps, without seeing her in person, Chen Xu's description simply hadn't packed enough of a punch.
"There's nothing you can do. Do you know how to lift a curse?" Chen Xu leisurely wiped the remaining ointment off his hands. Seeing the Baron turn a hopeful gaze on him, he knew it was time to secure some benefits for himself.
"Anna's life is in the crones' hands now. The slightest disturbance could cost her her life.
"So from now on, you must keep your men in line. Don't alert them."
The first step had to be keeping the other Chosen under control, stopping them from developing and causing trouble.
"Also, when it comes to lifting curses, my friend, Master Witcher Geralt, is an expert. You could ask his opinion."
Geralt, his high-level tool man, had already helped him several times. He couldn't let him slip away, either.
He only dared team up with Geralt in this roundabout way, afraid of drawing Fringilla's attention.
It was easy to guess why the fake Emhyr had sent a sorceress to accompany the White Wolf. Chen Xu was merely curious why that person wasn't Yennefer.
At this point, Geralt still thought Chen Xu was helping him, so he seized the opportunity to ask the Baron about Ciri's whereabouts.
"Ciri, yes. She recovered quickly. We held feasts and raced horses. Honestly, I hadn't had that much fun in ages.
"I've never seen anyone so agile. A born killer, an assassin!
"Can you believe it? That little girl actually slaughtered a flying chicken as big as a griffin..." Since he needed their help, the Baron divulged some information, but stopped short at the crucial moment.
"That was a cockatrice," Geralt corrected him, somewhat displeased at his precious daughter being called a killer.
"Whatever you say, witcher."
The Baron was a skilled negotiator. Otherwise, he couldn't have secured control of Velen from the Nilfgaardians. "You can take anything in my castle, as long as you're willing to save my Anna."
"Whether you succeed or not, I'll tell you everything I know about Ciri. I swear."
Geralt ultimately agreed, because the Nilfgaardian spy's report had mentioned that Ciri herself had clashed with the witches in Velen's bog.
"Good. We'll save Anna. Trust me." Seeing that the quest still hadn't triggered, Chen Xu grew a little anxious.
He jumped in to make his presence felt.
"We'll do as you say." In fact, the Baron had felt reassured the moment he heard the witcher's name. He was no ignorant bumpkin.
Geralt of Rivia, a living legend.
A frequent subject of bards' songs, and one of the strongest hero cards in Gwent.
"What do you want?" Grateful as he was, he was curious about Chen Xu's purpose.
He could only choose to trust Chen Xu. The man knew too much, and everything about him conveyed one word:
Professional.
But he would never believe Chen Xu was helping without an ulterior motive. Now, he was actually praying that Chen Xu would propose some reasonable conditions.
"I only want to expose the crones' true nature. Pay me whatever you think is appropriate, but once it's done, I'd like you to do me a favor." Chen Xu coaxed and bluffed. Seeing the Baron's somewhat apprehensive expression, he said with amusement:
"Don't worry. It won't go against your principles."
The Baron had won Uma in a card game. Chen Xu decided to lay the groundwork now, lest the man say when the time came, "You can have him. Play me for him."
He was also benefiting from his association with the witcher and Fringilla. Otherwise, he could never have negotiated with a lord as an equal.
"I leave my wife in your hands... masters." The Baron awkwardly addressed Chen Xu as a master. The fellow was far too young.
[You have triggered the difficult quest [Save the Baron's Wife]: Lift the curse on Anna Strenger and ensure she survives until she meets the Bloody Baron, Philip Strenger. Extremely dangerous. Recommended stage: Qi Sense Middle Stage; alternatively, Chosen at the Qi Sense Lower Stage may proceed as a party. Base rewards: experience ×500, points ×300]
At last, a proper quest, though its difficulty was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Qi Sense Middle Stage. That was a leap of almost an entire major stage.
Perhaps it had originally been designed as a quest that this group of [Soldier] Chosen at Crow's Perch could only handle after developing their strength.
By the time they had settled a few key matters, dusk was approaching.
After traveling day and night, Geralt and Chen Xu were still in decent shape, but Fringilla had long since become utterly miserable.
Geralt refused to use portals, supposedly because he had once personally seen someone sliced in half by one, leaving him psychologically scarred.
She had no choice but to ride along with them.
The sorceress demanded a soft bed, fine food, and plenty of hot water.
As Nilfgaard's envoy, she was given the best guest room. Her beautiful green eyes cast the witcher a seductive glance before she swayed her hips and went upstairs.
Geralt swallowed almost imperceptibly and quietly followed her. For a moment, it was hard to tell who the wolf was.
Devoted yet lecherous. Chen Xu couldn't help cursing this grandmaster.
He was somewhat tired as well. The Sergeant put him in the bedroom beside the reception hall, but the four Chosen below the tower kept him from daring to fall asleep carelessly.
After turning it over in his mind, he still couldn't tolerate others sleeping soundly beside his bed.
He sought out the Sergeant to discuss it and had him issue a new quest specifically to the Chosen:
[Support the Border Outpost]
Two crowns per person per day, paid out of his own pocket.
The fools were delighted to receive a sudden quest. It offered fifty more experience than their usual [Guard Duty] quest, and twice the points.
Only a fellow named Randall noticed something wrong:
Aside from the [Guard Duty] quest assigned through their starting identities, this was the first time a quest had come knocking on its own-and right after that commoner Chosen entered the tower?
He picked up on something fishy. "Don't tell me this quest is a handout from that fucking commoner?"
Trying to send us away?
Once he shared his thoughts, the others caught on too.
The group went to the Sergeant and asked to stay at Crow's Perch, claiming they felt unwell.
None of them are stupid! After receiving the Sergeant's reply, Chen Xu didn't press the issue.
Since they weren't easy to send away, Master Chen still had three moves:
Treat them to a meal, behead them, or take them in as dogs.