"Hot damn, so what's the plan?"
"We do what Jiang Chi said — first confirm the current tiline, and try to locate the black-robed figure from the image while we're at it.
"Anyone commanding a public worship must be soone important. So I suggest we head for this city's seat of power.
"Of course, before that, we need to figure out where we are."
As she spoke, Poison lifted the nearest unconscious child — the smallest of the family's three. She was clearly planning to extract information.
She sprinkled sothing unknown over the little girl. The child's eyes fluttered open, and before she could scream at the scene before her, Poison pressed a finger to her lips and asked in a bewitching tone:
"What year of the Rosna Empire is it now, and what city is this?"
The girl's terror-widened eyes slowly relaxed. She gazed blearily at Poison and mumbled:
"Year 100 of the Rosna New Calendar. This is the imperial capital, Kannar."
'The imperial capital?'
'So could the person holding the dagger aloft be their emperor?'
The mont the girl finished speaking, the group frowned and began speculating. Only Poison — her smile froze the instant she heard the answer.
The other three felt their hearts lurch. A sinking feeling washed over them. They turned toward Poison, who explained with a grim expression:
"I told you — the Rosna Empire lasted barely a century. That 'century' wasn't figurative..."
"???" Cheng Shi was stunned. "You an the Rosna Empire existed for exactly 100 years? 100 on the dot?"
Poison's expression was as complicated as it could possibly get.
"Yes. And right now it's the calendar's hundredth year. So Rosna's destruction could be happening right now!
"This also ans the scene in the scroll occurred in the past — with odds a hundred tis greater than it being in the future.
"After all, no matter how you look at it, this weather suggests we're near the year's end...
"Sigh. Our luck's poor. It seems this isn't [Ti]'s ho turf."
Not [Ti]'s turf ant it was [mory]'s.
Jiang Chi's expression was equally complex. He wasn't without [mory]-related tools, but compared to his own faith talents, the cost of using those tools was enormous.
He wasn't an assassin. The Gift of Sores didn't interest him all that much. If this deal was to continue, he needed compensation worth the investnt.
Seeing Jiang Chi's expression shift, Poison hadn't even had ti to worry before Da Yi jumped in.
"Hot damn, Brother Jiang, don't bail on us yet. Everything right now is guesswork. Maybe it all does happen in the near future.
"Let's start moving and gather intel first. Once we confirm it's in the past...
"Trust , I'll have compensation that satisfies you. You won't be shortchanged.
"Of course, if this costs
dearly, Poison... you'd better not try anything clever at the last second.
"I will have the Gift of Sores. And all you're bargaining for... is your life."
The words were harsh — carrying the Grand Marshal's forcefulness, but with even less subtlety.
Jiang Chi deliberated briefly. His silence was acceptance. As for Poison — what she showed Da Yi was always compliance. No matter what she truly thought, she would never refuse.
And Cheng Shi certainly wouldn't object.
In the others' eyes, he was at best a healer. Well, being generous, a clever, cautious healer with so modest offensive capability. But not much.
At least until Cheng Shi fully revealed himself, he wasn't a threat to Da Yi. After all, Hu Wei hadn't brought him along to share the Gift of Sores. So while Da Yi maintained so wariness and suspicion toward Cheng Shi, he didn't see him as the primary competitor for the dagger.
That distinction still belonged to Poison.
With no objections, Da Yi nodded gravely.
He pushed open the front door, surveyed the raging blizzard outside, and said in a low voice:
"Hot damn, speed is everything in war. Stop wasting ti. Find out where the Court is. We go there first to investigate.
"If that nuisance Gongyang gets in our face on the way, we take him out on sight!"
With that, he strode out without so much as a backward glance.
Jiang Chi chuckled softly and hurried after him.
Watching this, Cheng Shi finally grasped Da Yi's character. He was similar to Hu Wei, but more blunt.
When dealing with partners, he lacked the Grand Marshal's behind-the-scenes pressure gas. Instead, he laid threats out in the open — a display of supre confidence.
He seed confident he could handle any problem, which was why he refused to waste ti on sches.
Like right now — walking out first probably wasn't because he trusted the makeshift team behind him. More likely, he trusted that even if betrayed, the consequences wouldn't be dire.
But undeniably, this was still a form of "trust."
'A "teammate" willing to expose his back to others — how could you not like him?'
The instant "back" crossed his mind, Cheng Shi inexplicably glanced at Poison beside him. She was busy "interrogating" the little girl. Having extracted all useful intelligence, she set the child down, rose, and turned — imdiately catching Cheng Shi's gaze.
Seeing his peculiar look, the [Corruption] follower blinked with mild surprise, then — as if suddenly understanding — spun around and pulled open the jacket, revealing her now-fully-healed bare back.
Yes. Bare back. Again!
The two shirts that had been under the jacket had vanished once more.
"???"
Cheng Shi hadn't expected that a fleeting, tangential thought would be read so precisely. He snapped his head away and hurried after Da Yi at an embarrassed clip. But Poison was faster — she materialized beside him in an instant, walking shoulder to shoulder, and mouthed silently with a curled smile:
"Like what you see?"
Cheng Shi wasn't looking at her and naturally had no idea what she said. But feeling her drift closer once again, he said with exasperation:
"The road's this wide and you just have to crowd into my space?"
Poison nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "I don't want to either, but I'm cold."
"How is you being cold my problem?"
"You stripped my clothes off and now you're denying it?" Poison instantly looked aggrieved. Eyes reddening, she tugged at Cheng Shi's hand like a jilted lover staring at a heartbreaker: "You said we'd squeeze together."
"..."
'Damn. Absolute madwoman.'
Cheng Shi rolled his eyes in irritation and sped up to shake her off. Poison followed imdiately. Just as Cheng Shi was at his wits' end, Da Yi up front rescued him.
From the vanguard, Da Yi bellowed through the wind:
"Hot damn, I didn't tell you all to co out here and flirt! Poison, where are you? Get up here and lead the way — which direction to the Court?"
Poison had wanted to tease Cheng Shi a while longer, but out of "obedience" to Da Yi, she pouted and reluctantly took point.
Without the antics, the group's pace through the blizzard accelerated. Before long they'd crossed back through the plaza and arrived before the Rosna Court — a building that looked more temple than palace.
Gazing up at the imposing inner walls and towering multi-tiered palace, Cheng Shi and Jiang Chi marveled at the Court's grandeur. But Poison and Da Yi, both leading the way, wore uneasy expressions.
Because their assassin-honed senses told them that the Court held far less life and sound than expected.
"Hot damn, sothing's off. Everyone stay close. We go in and scout.
"Brother Cheng, healing's on you."
Cheng Shi felt the wrongness too. Expression grave, he nodded, tightened his grip on the ring, and followed his teammates step by step into the highest seat of power in this [Decay] nation.
And as the four vanished into the blizzard, at a street corner they'd just passed, banked snow suddenly shuddered loose from a wall — only to be swept and re-piled by the howling wind monts later.
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