Chapter 275: Playing the Borrowed Knife Trick Quite Well

It was unclear when exactly it started, but the members of Tarot Manor had shifted their self-perception from 'academic researchers' to 'battlefield fighters'.

Even their standards for judging others had undergone a subtle change.

Of course, research remained the absolute baseline.

Without that fundamental quality, no matter how powerful someone was, they could not enter Tarot Manor. They would not even qualify for a recommendation.

Well... with the exception of a certain pure fighter.

After all, he was recommended by the Witch, and he was undeniably useful in certain specific situations, so everyone selectively ignored that rule.

In truth, this pure fighter also offered plenty of professional combat advice during experiments, so no one really minded his presence.

"I... water... give me water..."

The bald man with a soot-blackened face could no longer care about the searing pain on the back of his hand; his entire body was agonizing anyway.

Even now, he still could not fathom how exactly he had lost.

With his combat prowess and the sheer performance of his long blade, he should have completely decimated his opponent.

Wasn't that doomsday chariot-like contraption dismantled just like that?

So how had he ended up so utterly helpless against a simple pile of stones?

Even an A-rank long blade could not withstand the explosion generated by a single swing of the opponent's stone club. It defied all logic.

"Water my ass! Answer the question! Or you'll get a real taste of suffering!"

The bald man wanted a drink, but Riesling, who was already burning with impatience, refused to give him a moment to breathe. He stepped up and delivered a vicious kick, perfectly portraying the aura of a ruthless underworld gangster.

Had he not tried to bring up mathematical calculations earlier, the onlookers might have actually believed he was one.

"Ugh, I... cough, cough... my name is Xia Siqing... I'm with... the 505 Formation..."

"That doesn't matter. I asked where the headquarters of your 505 Formation is located."

"If I... answer... can you give me some... water?"

Xia Siqing, who couldn't even twitch a finger, weakly raised his eyelids to stare at Riesling's polished leather shoes.

"Hmph, you don't get to choose."

Riesling let out a cold snort.

"Al... right. It's at..."

"You had better not lie to us, or you can imagine the kind of inhuman treatment you'll face, Sailan Siqing."

Just as the captive was about to answer Riesling, Lan Qingyou stepped forward, casually uttering his true name as a clear threat.

The Analysis Magic Eye was simply incredible.

The enemy couldn't even manage to conceal his own name.

"Ho ho! Xia Siqing, Sailan Siqing. How interesting."

A ferocious smile crept up the corners of Riesling's mouth. The nerve of this guy, throwing out lies before the real interrogation even began?

Evidently, Riesling was extremely displeased about being deceived.

"Empress, if you don't mind, how about lending me a room?"

Riesling turned to Jiang Lan with the request.

"Of course you can. Just go over there, it's where I store my fertilizer."

Jiang Lan smiled brightly, pointing out a specific room for him.

Despite Jiang Lan's kind and motherly expression, how could anyone who had established a foothold in a place like this be a pure-hearted saint?

No, it would be more accurate to say that even if she were kind-hearted, her kindness was selective and had its limits.

Not just anyone could walk away unscathed, let alone an enemy who had openly threatened her.

However, just as Riesling was preparing to drag the man calling himself Xia Siqing—actually Sailan Siqing—into the fertilizer room, the Chariot, Orff, reached out and stopped him.

"What is it?"

"I couldn't show my strength earlier, so let me handle the interrogation."

"I don't really mind, but are you sure you know how to interrogate someone?"

"I don't, but the torture devices I crafted certainly do."

"Heh, you've got some tricks up your sleeve, you Nordic barbarian."

Seeing Orff volunteer so eagerly, Riesling handed the battered Sailan Siqing over to him.

As the Chariot dragged the shrieking Sailan Siqing into the fertilizer room, Esmeralda began her Divination under the expectant gazes of the crowd.

Although Esmeralda's Divination was one hundred percent accurate, Riesling had opted for the interrogation just to be absolutely foolproof.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Esmeralda; rather, he didn't trust the talents of others.

After all, talents and magical skills came in all sorts of bizarre forms. There might just be something out there capable of blocking a Divination.

Since this concerned ancient blood, a little extra caution never hurt.

Once both of them had settled into their respective tasks, Chu Yuan approached Frena.

"Speaking of which, I'm quite curious about something. I wonder if the Lovers could give me an answer."

"Hmm?"

Chu Yuan's words drew the attention of the remaining members, who turned to look at him and Frena.

"What is it?"

Frena was equally perplexed.

"It's like this: I'm highly curious as to why you bumped into the Empress the moment you arrived in the Cursed Corridor. Honestly, the probability of that happening seems extremely slim to me."

Even though she had been formally invited into Tarot Manor, as an initiator and maintainer of order, Chu Yuan still needed to clarify the doubts in his mind.

"I thought it was something serious. I didn't run into Jiang Lan right away. When I first fled here, I met someone named

"I thought it was something serious. I didn't run into Jiang Lan right away. When I first fled here, I met a man named Gerod."

"After finding out I was being hunted, he took me to see a leader named Na Heye. Ultimately, this leader told me to come here, claiming that only the people in this place had the power to grant me shelter."

Frena concisely summarized the sequence of events that led her to seek out Jiang Lan.

"Heh, now that is quite interesting."

"Playing the borrowed knife trick to kill someone? They played it quite smoothly."

In almost an instant, this group of shrewd individuals deduced exactly what the leader named Na Heye was scheming.

It was nothing more than an attempt to redirect the 505 Formation to cause trouble for Jiang Lan.

And judging by the enemy's vicious actions towards Frena, the ultimate intended result was likely to claim Jiang Lan's life.

"Empress, who is this leader called Na Heye? Do you have a grudge against him?"

The Chariot asked with deep curiosity.

"Na Heye was someone who used to partner with me in business..."

"Oh, oh! Is he the one? The partner the High Priestess mentioned who traded ingredients like vegetables and rice across different regions?"

Gu Xiaobei suddenly came to a realization.

"Yes, Na Heye is the one whose talent allows for cross-region trading."

Jiang Lan nodded.

"Then why did you turn against each other?"

Ruan Qingyi's gossiping heart was burning fiercely.

"It wasn't a major incident. It's just that after the Fool found me and I joined the Manor, almost all the ingredients produced by me and the cultivators were entirely contracted by you guys. There was simply no surplus left for him to sell."

"I understand now. Cutting off a man's source of wealth is akin to murdering his parents."

Standing to the side, Shang Chuan gave an imperceptible nod.

As a merchant, he naturally understood that it wasn't the least bit strange for a man like Na Heye to do such a thing; on the contrary, it was perfectly normal behavior.

One had to realize that Jiang Lan's food supplies were always in incredibly high demand.

She could even be considered one of the very few entities on the market capable of providing a stable supply of ingredients.