Chapter 167: The Familiar Stranger

"We'll depart around three in the afternoon. If there are no issues, meet at the entrance of the underground goblin inn by the West Third City Gate." The dark elf merchant bowed politely, proactively inquiring about Li En's arrangements.

Before leaving, Violet Rose had already arranged everything.

She anticipated Li En would return to Huicheng soon, so she pre-arranged a contract with a reputable merchant guild in the Undercity.

This guild regularly dispatched caravans to Huicheng; given the recent disruption and recent restoration of trade routes, a caravan now departed roughly every two days.

They came to him voluntarily, following their agreement with Violet Rose, asking whether Li En intended to return to the surface with their caravan. Thanks to the newly signed treaty between the two cities, commercial ties had been reestablished, bringing the merchants considerable relief.

They may not have known who Li En was, but their attitude toward surface dwellers had improved significantly.

After all, anyone personally seen off by the Goddess-Mistress of the City must be a major figure!

As the caravan was about to depart, Li En encountered Lady Verna, who had come specifically to see him off—and her arrival naturally drew every eye.

Li En even noticed the dark elf merchants holding their breath, as if a single glance from their matron could make them kneel instantly. This made him deeply uncomfortable, and his interest in dark elf society waned further.

"I'll take care of your sister—even if I feel she doesn't need it."

The city mistress personally seeing him off was a public declaration of their relationship, signaling to all noble families and commoners the new bond between the two cities.

Her willingness to speak face-to-face with a surface dweller was itself a political statement, implying that mutual reconciliation between their peoples was expected.

As for the Goddess-Mistress publicly entrusting Li En to care for her sister, Li En took it as mere lip service.

She had already departed ahead to Huicheng, accompanied by Saliman and backed fully by Dainya—trouble was nearly impossible.

The brief incident passed swiftly; the Goddess-Mistress, as always, was far too busy to linger, and departed immediately.

The caravan departed smoothly, and Li En was assigned to the most luxurious carriage—still shared with other passengers, of course, since overloading was unavoidable in such caravans. Simply having a comfortable seat was already VIP treatment.

Violet Rose's arrangements were impeccable, and her payment generous—Li En was a "protected" guest.

That meant he could lie back the entire journey, exempt from the usual duty of acting as guard during attacks. Many ordinary adventurers traveled by serving as caravan security in exchange for provisions.

There was even a half-guard arrangement: no pay unless attacked, but upon combat, a bounty was paid per incident.

Li En didn't mind—he'd take the chance to slack off.

In truth, Violet Rose hadn't directly sent Li En back to Huicheng; she had given him a choice.

For Li En, perhaps he didn't need to build his future in Huicheng—even though he ultimately declined Lady Verna's invitation.

"Tsk tsk tsk, dark elves—still no progress after all these years. No, they've grown weaker. The new-generation deities simply can't compare to Luo Si."

Soon after he boarded the carriage, the little black snake that had been wandering somewhere emerged.

It seemed Kuku's restrictions had no effect on it whatsoever. Li En couldn't imagine anything that could bind it.

The only certainty was that it was truly a "dead person," an "unbeing." Why it could act so freely? Only a master could do as they pleased.

"Don't say that—I truly have no power to interfere with the 'present.'" The snake sighed; it had been speaking nothing but truth all along.

Mm-hmm, you say it's true, I'll listen as if it's true.

If you hadn't single-handedly reversed my beast transformation, I'd have believed you.

"That's different. You and I are one entity—internal interference is natural. Think of me now as your own dark impulse; your thought alone alters your actions. By the way, I've got a big opportunity—interested?"

The little black snake flicked its tongue, speaking cheerfully.

"This city is the surface domain of that new-generation Mirror Maiden. She's poured immense divine power into it—so much it's practically leaking. Let me teach you something fun: steal it. You'll ascend to the heavens in one step."

Li En fell silent. Yesterday you claimed you wouldn't interfere with anything and couldn't teach me anything—were all those just lies?

Even if you succeeded, stealing a deity's power directly—wouldn't the deity rage? Could I even survive the backlash?

"It's different. I can't teach you directly, but this city has 'Desecrating Priests'—clerics who steal divine power. Go confront him, find an excuse to kill him, seize his holy symbol, and use the stored power within to steal the deity's essence."

The snake's pupils gleamed. It had no interest in divine power itself—but it was fascinated by the chain reactions that followed its theft.

Dark elf deities were notoriously stingy and vengeful.

The snake already had a plan destined to succeed.

"That divine-blooded girl has no guard up against you. You can easily seduce her into bed, then easily stab her in the back—and ascend in one step."

Li En covered his face and focused entirely on his spellbook.

Perhaps this was the "snake" from legends—its temptation to sin was pure instinct. Li En sensed that, to it, all this was merely a joke.

Success was fine; failure was fine too. Even if Li En refused outright, it was still a possible future.

Once spoken, words leave traces. Once Li En acquired this knowledge, this idea, it could already influence the future.

And this "cognition" was precisely what the snake had given him to hear!

It made no effort to hide its nature as a mischief-maker—it clearly relished watching Li En struggle, even while fully aware of the trap.

"Tsk tsk tsk, such a steadfast heart—just like mine in my youth. Don't you want to rise above? Being dominated by that little girl with my blood is humiliating. I can show you the path."

Li En focused on his book. He had long decided to ignore the snake's temptations—even if, at this moment, he felt a flicker of desire. Yet despite three others sharing the carriage, none noticed the little black snake—as if it didn't exist. Fortunately, Li En had recently mastered Xinlingmiyu; otherwise, he'd have been labeled insane.

"No, no, no—you keep staring at me, and they've already seen you. They think you're hallucinating. Haven't you noticed how far they've moved away from you?"

Can't get the big show? A small one will do. The snake silently counted down—it should be about time.

"To them, a paladin is far more dangerous than an assassin—especially one with hysteria."

The snake showed none of a master's aloofness; it never stopped talking.

Li En couldn't escape it or ignore it. It always revealed subtle histories and secrets, compelling him to listen.

But when he truly listened, he realized it was all useless complaints and rambling.

Li En was numb. Say whatever you want—I hear nothing.

"By the way, want to know the weak point of that fool deer?"

The information and weakness of the demon god who would destroy the city? Li En was tempted—but—

"No. I don't want to pay the cost of beast transformation."

"Tsk tsk tsk. Getting smarter."

If Li En agreed, the snake would surely feed him memories of the Deer Lord—his beast transformation would surge again.

And this time, it might not save him.

Li En had a strong feeling: it was bored. It had grown tired.

It desperately needed new amusement—even if Li En died, it wouldn't mind.

After all, he had asked for the information himself—he deserved to be tricked.

In its eyes, the normal reincarnation of the Thousand-Faced Dragon meant Li En's life was insignificant. Kill one, find another.

Li En stared at his book, striving to recall the knowledge Kuku had implanted in his mind, attempting to master the new spell model as quickly as possible.

This time, he was learning a second-tier spell—though clearly overreaching, the newly added "Second Thought Line" had proven remarkably effective, allowing him to parse second-tier spells with relative ease.

If he truly became a second-tier mage, returning to Mage Street would make him famous overnight.

Becoming second-rank through a "short-term course" was an excellent achievement—certainly worthy of attention from the great mages.

He struggled to ignore the increasingly noisy snake and focused entirely on his book.

He realized: perhaps the snake truly couldn't corrupt others—or perhaps it simply didn't want to.

"Boom!"

A sudden explosion shook the carriage, lifting it briefly off the ground.

A series of linked explosions had severed the road ahead; two squads of goblins mounted on wolf steeds flanked them from both sides.

They had been tracking this caravan for some time.

"Ow, that hurt." Li En rubbed his head—he'd slammed into the carriage ceiling.

With his reflexes, he shouldn't have been caught off-guard—if he hadn't been too absorbed in his book.

"Hahaha! Told you you'd get hit! Should've listened to me!"

Li En fell silent. His constant chatter had been deliberate—to distract him, make him focus on the book, and leave him unprepared? It was tedious, but it seemed exactly that.

Li En sighed, slowly drawing his sword.

Better to end this quickly—he'd already heard the goblins' battle cries.

"I suggest you take this seriously. One old acquaintance is here—she'll be delighted to see you."

Li En paused. The snake's advice might not be good—but ignoring its "kindness" might mean humiliation in the next moment.

Then it would just laugh at him.

Li En carefully extended his blade out the carriage window, using its reflection to observe.

"Wait, how did these two end up together?!"

Behind the goblins charging with horns blaring stood several towering ogres.

And atop the largest, ugliest one's head was a bony "glowing crown." No—it was a familiar skull, its eye sockets blazing with fire, shrieking joyfully.

"Kill it! Eat it! Wuhoo! The taste of a traitor!"

"Damn. That lich isn't dead?!"

(End of Chapter)