The kiss still carried a hint of awkwardness, along with an inexplicable sense of frustration. A scorching tongue pressed past her lips, eagerly sweeping back and forth, licking every corner and crevice.
Su Cheng found it somewhat amusing, so she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, soothingly massaging his beautiful golden curls as she gently sucked on his lips.
She tenderly bit down on the man's lower lip, hearing a muffled groan squeezed from deep within his throat. "...Seriously, are you really over a thousand years old?"
Why did he feel like a teenager?
As their lips and tongues intertwined, surging magic began to flow together.
Su Cheng felt that familiar heat pouring down her throat into her chest and spreading to her limbs.
Unlike elemental mages, this magic was like boiling blood, blazing and frenzied, surging and burning within her body.
She casually pulled open the man's half-unbuttoned robe. The winding gold and silver threads glinted under the light, while his crisp shirt wrapped around muscles brimming with power.
"...Who said I was over a thousand years old?" Camus said deeply. "I'm not."
Su Cheng felt his strong, steady heartbeat and couldn't resist giving it a couple of squeezes. "Alright, if you say so—"
Thinking about it, she found it funny. She tilted her head to look at the door panel behind her. "I didn't expect you to be into this kind of play."
Camus looked down at her, a hint of helplessness seemingly added to his cold, hard steel-blue eyes.
His scalding hand slid down her spine, landing on the spot where the curse mark was located on her back, pausing for a moment.
"...Do you feel anything from your curse mark?"
"No," Su Cheng shrugged, "nothing at all. Besides, it just acted up not long ago, so it shouldn't be that fast. And there isn't any deity's power this time—"
The soft laces came undone in the friction, and the expensive silk fabric pooled like water, sliding past her elbow only to catch on silver threads and buttons, kicking up a rolling ripple in the air.
Su Cheng reached out to lock the door, the sweat from her palm falling onto the silver door handle.
The heat of the metal seeped through her fingers. On the intricately crafted handle, the patterns were twisted and intertwined, the raised reliefs resembling some mysterious runes.
The pads of her fingers brushed over the textures at the top of the handle. The spiral grooves had sharp turns, and the scalding metal continued to heat up.
A delicate floral crest was cast right in the center of the ring, faintly protruding from below, pressing against the soft pads of her fingers and bringing a slight, stinging pain.
Her nails lightly traced the edge of the crest, landing in the metal ring below, the base of her fingers pressing completely against it.
The handle began to tremble with a click-clack sound, as if some mechanism had been triggered.
The silver-cast metal door handle had become completely burning hot. Fine beads of water seeped from the grooves between the patterns, whether from condensed moisture or the thin sweat of her palm, it was hard to tell.
Those finely carved textures were rubbed smooth and wet, the gleaming watermarks reflecting the chaotic scene inside the room.
"Mmh... I'm not very good at this."
Su Cheng said uncertainly, "Plus, I didn't wash—"
The other person clearly didn't care about that.
The door handle she was gripping turned slightly, the metal edge vibrating in her palm. The ring buckle pushed apart her closed fingers, pressing against the soft base of her digits.
The raised floral crest scraped hard against the soft flesh between her thumb and forefinger, leaving faint red marks.
The man in front of her grabbed her wrist, pulled it to his mouth, and gave it a moderate bite, his teeth grinding against the girl's delicate finger bones.
Su Cheng's other hand was still pulling the door handle. Her elbow slammed against the door panel, causing the handle to shake and bump against her palm, the frequency growing faster and faster.
The spiral patterns on the door were like a ruthless winch, crushing and colliding against the curled soft flesh of her fingertips, the reliefs on it seemingly about to melt.
Click, click, click—
The ring-shaped flange at the bottom of the metal wedged into the gaps between her fingers.
Magic also continuously poured into her body, washing over the blood vessels in her chest from above. Every strike against her heart was heavier than the last, sending continuous waves of numbness shooting up her spine.
Sweat slid down her wrist bone, dripping onto the scalding silver facets, and then hitting the heavy embroidered carpet.
Her toes curled up in a spasm, her calves trembling slightly, the taut muscle lines pulling into sharp curves.
The blonde man released her arm with one hand and wrapped the other tightly around her waist.
The girl's back was pressed against the door, her palms flat against the man's solid chest, sliding along the rumpled and torn shirt fabric to caress his hard muscles.
Everywhere their skin touched, magic began to converge, pouring into her body through their pressed flesh and bone.
The blazing magic surged and buried itself deeply, vibrating every nerve and blood vessel.
That crazy, violent, flame-like magic burned and swayed in her chest, like countless tongues of fire licking inside her belly.
Su Cheng tilted her head back, pressing it against the door panel.
The creaking sound of the vibrating doorframe mixed with muffled voices, echoing in the quiet room like some secret ensemble.
"Is the magic enough now?"
After a long while, the blood mage's deep voice sounded by her ear.
Su Cheng caught her breath and leaned on his shoulder. "Just about."
After speaking, she tilted her head again and bit his neck provocatively. "But it seems you're nowhere near finished?"
Camus narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't seem to want me to finish either, do you? You're still biting me—"
"...Am I?"
"You are."
"Pfft," Su Cheng listened to that slightly muffled voice and couldn't help but find it amusing. "Hahahaha, then let's continue—"
The real teaching only began some time later.
Although she was praised for her talent by a professional, the process was not smooth sailing; there was almost no progress for the first few hours.
It wasn't until after nightfall that Su Cheng barely managed to get the hang of it.
She originally thought she might be harshly criticized, but Camus never made any comments from start to finish.
Other than telling her what to do, he just watched in silence.
Whether she failed or succeeded, he didn't make a single sound.
Su Cheng actually quite liked this method.
In order to help her better understand this kind of magic, Camus had to give her a crash course in blood magic.
By the second night, Su Cheng was able to use it.
"...I'm a bit curious, can others also absorb someone else's magic this way?"
"Most of the time, no, but this curse changed your constitution," Camus said. "Otherwise, if you were a normal human, you shouldn't be able to do it."
"Right," Su Cheng suddenly thought of another thing. "Vanessa has a house around here, right? Or does she only live in the Ring of the Silent's territory?"
"...She does, but I don't know the exact address," Camus glanced at her. "I don't know her at all, remember?"
"I remember, I just want to make a few backup plans." Su Cheng leaned in close to his ear and whispered a few words.
Camus listened in silence, then turned his head to look at her. "You don't need to speak like that, I can hear you just fine—"
Su Cheng puffed out her cheeks, "I just wanted a sense of ceremony."
The Blood Mage stared at her impassively for a few seconds, then suddenly leaned in.
Resting one hand by her side, the man lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "If it were my business that needed help, would you go to such great lengths?"
His broad shoulders cast a large shadow, and those blue eyes, always bearing an aloof coldness, took on a grayish hue against the light.
Su Cheng nodded without hesitation, "I would. You've helped me a lot, and besides, aren't you helping the commander too?"
Camus: "..."
A subtle hint of frustration appeared in his eyes as he stood up and walked away.
In her free time between training and attending classes, Su Cheng couldn't help but flip through the books she had bought.
As a result, her mind was stuffed with blood magic, runes, and spells. If she hadn't been mindful of the need to rest and conserve energy for the mission, she probably wouldn't have gone to sleep at all.
"I suppose that's a happy accident."
Before she set off for the mission, Camus helped her complete her disguise and commented, "Most members of the Ring of the Silent are like this all the time."
Su Cheng wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic.
"Be careful."
Kai patted her head, "Act according to your abilities. Even if you come back empty-handed, returning safely is enough."
Su Cheng nodded silently, "I'll do my best to help you."
Sasha reached out to adjust her collar, "It's perfectly normal, mages are all like this—"
Su Cheng quietly dodged his hand, "You're just making it messier!"
Camus tossed her a black iron ring engraved with two entwined snakes. "The token of the Ring of the Silent."
"Which finger do I wear it on?"
"Whichever."
"...I mean, which finger did Vanessa used to wear it on?"
"I've never met her, how would I know."
Su Cheng shook her head speechlessly. Dressed in a low-profile dark suit and wearing a hat, she headed out.
The deep toll of the evening bell echoed across the plaza.
On the distant high ground, the magnificent silhouettes of buildings could faintly be seen. The palace complex of the Church's temple faced the imperial palace far across on the other side.
The imperial capital was massive; these structures were too far away to be seen clearly in the night.
Su Cheng walked past the bustling commercial street and the towering opera house. In front of the magnificent, palace-like building, various luxurious carriages were parked, and exquisitely dressed men and women entered one after another.
Between the theater and the adjacent jewelry store, there was a rather narrow path enclosed by high gray stone walls covered in vines.
In the center of the high wall, a patch of golden-green vines glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Su Cheng took out her invitation and pressed it against the vines.
The vines moved.
They twitched like a nest of snakes, slowly retreating to the sides to reveal the hidden wall surface, which had a beautiful crystal archway embedded in it.
Golden runes rotated on thousands of prism-like crystal blocks, and in the empty space right in the center of the door, a line of gilded text slowly emerged.
It was a welcome greeting in Elvish.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward into the archway.
The scene before her eyes changed abruptly.
She saw a floating octagonal stone platform surrounded by a void of blue-purple starry skies, as if she were standing in the middle of the universe.
In the center of the platform stood a stone statue. Its body looked human, holding gold coins in one hand and grasping a book in the other.
However, its head was a bizarre snake head.
Suddenly, the snake head spoke.
"I have no hands or feet, yet I can bind emperors. I am silent and formless, yet I can destroy kingdoms. The poor fear me, and the rich dread me even more. What am I?"
Su Cheng: "..."
Camus never mentioned this part!
Did he have too much faith in her?
Su Cheng: "Time?"
The snake head fell silent for a few seconds. "Not correct enough."
Su Cheng let out a breath.
She had imagined many scenarios where the mission could fail, but none included being unable to even get through the door because her riddle-solving skills were too poor.
Su Cheng blinked and looked at the pile of gold coins in the statue's hand.
Su Cheng: "...Debt."
"Correct."
The stone statue silently shattered into dust, and the starry sky was torn apart by an invisible force.
She found herself standing in an empty corridor, its high vaulted ceiling painted with oil murals.
The content of the murals was also very strange.
A very bustling port, with bright colors of blue skies and jade seas, and a fleet of cargo ships docked at the pier.
Usually, such murals depicted mythological stories, not cityscapes like this.
At the end of the corridor stood two attendants, a man and a woman, both standing tall and dressed in luxurious clothes.
The man handed her an exquisite half-mask. "Welcome to the Marigold Palace. Have a pleasant evening."
Su Cheng took the mask and walked inside.
The main hall inside was elegantly decorated. Guests were gathered in twos and threes, chatting with voices high and low; everyone seemed very relaxed.
Unlike the eerie and magnificent gathering she had imagined, this place felt more like an afternoon tea restaurant. The moonlight from outside the window spilled onto the carpet and illuminated the dishes on the long tables.
Both sides of the banquet hall led to more rooms, with the corridors submerged in shadows, making them hard to see clearly.
Spring Sun
She took a few steps and heard the conversations of the people around her. They were basically trading various magical materials and bargaining.
Su Cheng wanted to wander around when she suddenly heard an explosion from the corridor on the left side of the banquet hall.
The ground shook slightly, and the surrounding guests turned their heads to look, but after a glance, they let it go and turned back to continue their business discussions.
Occasionally, someone would come up to strike up a conversation with her. When Su Cheng gave the surname Kahn, they wouldn't say much else.
It seemed they felt she had no value.
She wandered halfway around the hall and was captivated by a cold shrimp dish. The meat jelly was as soft as bean jelly, sprinkled with bright chili rings and a golden-red broth.
Su Cheng couldn't resist and ate a whole plate.
This action wasn't conspicuous either. Although many people were talking business, she was definitely not the only one eating.
"Oh, Miss Vanessa—"
There were also people who knew her, or rather, had heard of her.
Hearing her surname and looking at the twin snake ring on her hand, they accurately called out her name.
"I thought your kind wouldn't be interested in this sort of banquet."
"I really don't like banquets."
Su Cheng swallowed her last bite and said softly, "But there might be the materials I want here. I need some unpolluted shadow moss to complete a magic array—"
"Aha, are you also researching arcane magic arrays? Let me guess, shadow moss can be used as a catalyst to guide the internal circulation of the array. The most famous finished product of this kind, the Sensory Deprivation Array, works just like that!"
The person said enthusiastically, "You must have dabbled in this area as well. Mr. Loki of the Ring of the Silent is an extremely brilliant magic array master..."
Su Cheng nodded slowly, "Indeed, the effects caused by shadow moss cannot be dispelled by conventional light-element holy magic because it damages the 'interface' between the senses and the soul, but the effect depends more on the purity of the catalyst..."
She had just read some related knowledge in a book, and since it was still fresh in her memory, she couldn't help but chat with the other party about it.
Although she only had a half-baked understanding of many things, playing the part of an amateur in a conversation wasn't too difficult.
At least judging from the other person's reaction, her performance didn't seem to have any major flaws.
Moreover, since the person seemed intent on showing off, she calmly listened to them boast, occasionally offering a word or two of praise and agreement, which made the person even more smug.
After a while, the person spotted another acquaintance and left her behind to go say hello.
Su Cheng silently turned into the corridor on the right.
The lighting here was dimmer than in the main hall. The sconces on the walls burned with dark purple flames, stretching shadows into distorted shapes.
On one side of the corridor were floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the dome of the opera house and the bustling square filled with carriages.
On the other side was a row of tightly closed, carved wooden doors. They were engraved with various crests featuring different elements like chains, flowers, blades, and books.
Most of the doors were shut tight, with only one left slightly ajar.
Su Cheng instinctively peeked inside.
As a result, the gap gradually widened, and the door seemed to open on its own, revealing an ambiguous, deep red candlelight.
She heard low chuckles and panting, along with the sound of fabric and leather rubbing together.
Su Cheng only caught a glimpse of overlapping silhouettes—and there were definitely more than two. She immediately quickened her pace and walked away.
She hadn't been able to see the full exterior of the Marigold Palace because the building was hidden by special magic, concealed right behind the opera house.
But now it seemed that this place was enormous. The circular corridors connected to one another, and despite walking for a long time, she still hadn't returned to the previous banquet hall.
After a while, she discovered another open door.
Inside was an elegantly furnished lounge, heavy with the scent of perfume mixed with the cloying sweetness of evaporating alcohol.
The lighting was slightly dim, casting an ambiguous soft focus over everyone's silhouettes, making it feel like a psychedelic dream.
Several young nobles sat on a long, curved sofa. They were all dressed in luxurious clothing, adorned with priceless jewelry that sparkled in the light.
These nobles were surrounding a single person like stars around the moon, trying hard to joke, flatter, and even offer the gifts in their hands.
Everyone seemed desperate to please him.
The man leaned back lazily in the very center. His cascading black hair fell around his legs, gleaming with a silk-like luster, resembling ocean waves draped in hazy moonlight at midnight.
His skin was so pale it was almost transparent, revealing the faint blue veins on the side of his neck. His loose shirt had a few buttons undone, exposing his sharply defined collarbones.
Perhaps because they were wearing masks, or perhaps because they didn't care about being recognized.
The behavior of these nobles could hardly be called decent.
They were like a pack of starved beasts chasing a piece of meat, crowding together to get closer to the man in the middle. Some were even panting heavily.
—And this was without any physical contact having occurred yet.
They only had to meet his gaze for a moment before someone couldn't suppress themselves and made a fool of themselves.
One person wearing a clown mask crouched in front of the black-haired man and handed over a check.
The man nodded slightly and tossed a small box to her.
Clearly, they were conducting some kind of business.
The clown opened the box but wasn't satisfied with just that. Letting out a sickly sweet laugh, she reached out to touch the man's knee.
Then, her wrist was pinned under a foot.
The clown groaned, revealing an expression of mingled pain and pleasure, and even lowered her head, wanting to lick the shiny leather of his boot.
The black-haired man didn't look at the person beneath his foot; instead, he gazed toward the doorway with great interest.
At the same time, he accurately lifted his leg, dodging the noble's touch.
Su Cheng: ?
Among a room full of masked people, only this black-haired man's face remained uncovered.
Su Cheng got a clear look at his appearance.
And then she felt like she was going to split apart.
Ah.
The black-haired man smiled and met her eyes.
He held a wine glass in one hand, the golden-green liquid sloshing inside. Care to come in and sit for a while?
Su Cheng: ...
She couldn't believe she was actually seeing the God of Lust and Filth here!
