Chapter 41: Underground World (Second Update)

I never expected there’d be a place like this beneath the docks.

The cavern was not a lifeless, empty void.

The walls were lined with glowing moss, and the ground beneath their feet was a slightly uneven but flat rock surface.

Along the path, they found charred torch ends, and scattered, chaotic footprints—some clearly old.

This was not good news.

“Someone has walked here.”

This was undoubtedly the worst development—if someone had used this passage, they wouldn’t have done so only once.

Then, the end of this tunnel might truly lead to another escape route.

“There’s water.” Talia pressed her ear to the wall for a while, then offered an even worse possibility.

That meant there was likely an underground river—or even an underground freight channel.

This wasn’t an unreasonable guess. The deeper they went, the more this tunnel resembled a smuggler’s secret dig.

“Which way?” Li En asked.

Ahead, as expected, they encountered a fork.

Four passages branched before them; trying each one by one was impossible—who knew how many more splits lay ahead?

Larry frantically fiddled with his “compass,” hesitating toward the two on the far right.

From the direction, these seemed most likely.

But the underground tunnels twisted and turned; such guidance was unreliable. Could they really only choose the most probable path? Miss one turn, and they might be lost forever.

“The leftmost one.”

Talia closed her eyes and pointed to the leftmost passage.

So far, her tracking ability had far surpassed that of any normal hunter.

Now, in her closed-eye spatial vision, she saw phantoms formed of “particles.”

Children lined up, skipping forward, with a tall, thin nun at the front.

【Unstoppable Silent Slaughter (Silver-Level Soul Ability): Lock onto a living being, reconstruct its presence to the fullest through blood scent, sense everything about it.】

【The more you crave its blood, the clearer its phantom becomes—but if you go too long without drinking blood, you’ll fall into a dire state: anxiety, irritability, fever, obsession, madness. Once you drink successfully, you grow stronger, yet next time, your patience will shrink further.】

This ability stemmed from her most basic racial Tianfu —blood scent—and was the ultimate expression of her killing past, hinting at her own self-destructive longing.

She was never a good officer—but the finest killer.

The Hunter’s Tail had always avoided her for good reason; once locked onto in open confrontation, she would hunt them to death.

But prolonged use of her ability without drinking the target’s blood had plunged her into severe anxiety and dissociation.

She couldn’t stop gnawing her thumb, unaware that blood dripped down.

“I should have searched the orphanage.”

“From the start, I should have suspected her.”

“Those children—they’re my fault.” Twisting thoughts entangled her; in hallucinations, the dead surrounded her, eyes wide with unending horror.

Among them, some seemed to be her own past blood debts, crawling up toward her.

Were her past karmic debts coming for her now? Her own retribution—all her blood debts.

“Talia!” A low male voice exploded in her ear.

“I—I’m fine. I can still hold on.” The female officer’s dazed gaze refocused.

This was no time for weakness or self-pity. She was no longer a cold-blooded killer—she was a savior of children. Even if karma came, it wouldn’t be now.

Li En’s shout pulled her back to reason—and the team stepped without hesitation into the correct path.

Ahead of them, the bastards from the slave market who had entered first had not fared so well.

Too many branches forced them to pragmatically split up for search.

Perhaps in their eyes, it wasn’t a big deal—just chasing a vile killer who only murdered ordinary people in shadows. A rat in a cage couldn’t run far—who in Huicheng could stop the slave market?

In their minds, any one of their squads that caught them could easily reclaim the package and earn great merit—of course, secretly keeping (hoarding) one Hero’s Blood gem was only natural.

But from the start, they had underestimated what they’d face.

Their prey was never weak—and never alone.

“What is that?” Before the squads that had entered the cavern first, an odd beast appeared nearly simultaneously.

A snow-white, dog-like creature stood before them.

It appeared without sound, silently watching the intruders.

——

“Help me, and you help yourselves. You don’t want to be exposed so soon, do you?”

Deep in the cavern lay a cozy little home.

Nun Maria combed her hair before a mirror, speaking to a water-mirror on the wall.

Behind her, the children who had been skipping moments ago now stood silently.

Their pupils were vacant, as if half-asleep.

Inside the water-mirror stood a figure wrapped in a strange cloak and mask.

The mask showed only eyes, with a single large eye painted on it, flanked by two curved, prominent horns.

The black robe concealed his form—he was neither tall nor broad, his silhouette suggesting an old man.

Her words received no reply; the masked figure merely watched, as if viewing corpses.

You’re a test subject, an outsider—what could you possibly leak?

“Devotees of the Ancient Beasts—the legendary Beast Cult. If the royal family knew, their bounty has never ceased.” She knew more than anyone else.

The nun smiled—even as if cornered, she retained a gentle, joyful expression.

As if this were just another midnight chat with the children.

The figure across still looked at her as if she were already dead.

Leak? To whom? To the corrupt nobles who rule this city?

Maria continued. “I know the one most likely to betray me is some horned acolyte wearing a mask—you’ve rooted yourselves in the upper echelons of this kingdom’s nobility. The slave market moving against me? That’s you moving against me.”

The nun pulled out a sack and gave it a shake—it jingled.

The sack was full, seemingly packed with gems.

At that moment, she saw greed flicker in the other’s eyes—and was satisfied.

“In the end, isn’t it all about these? Save me, and they’re all yours. Otherwise, you can keep searching through the underground river and caverns. Maybe I’ll let them flow into the sea—then you’ll be lucky to recover one-tenth.”

The other fell silent, then finally spat out a few words.

“I’ve awakened the ‘cubs’ in the cavern. You can control them with your ‘medal.’ In half an hour, a few horned acolytes will come via the underground river—follow them.”

As he spoke, the horned-masked priest glanced at the children behind Maria.

“The ship has limited capacity. Harvest these ‘little horns’ and bring them back.” He made no effort to hide his greed.

The Beast is benevolent—it adores pure children, especially high-quality ones raised by maternal love.

“These are my children. They call me Mother.” The nun still smiled.

“I’ll arrange a ship to take you abroad, free you from this kingdom. And I’ll give you enough travel funds to live comfortably in retirement.”

“Ah, cruel reality is so sad—such a brief mother-child bond.” The woman smiled, still gentle.

The figure in the water-mirror vanished; her smile finally faded. Nun Maria sighed.

The sack of “gems” landed on the table with a clatter.

What spilled out was a floor of glass shards.

“Great Horn Priest” was untrustworthy—the ticket had never been real. But at least now, she could use their strength to shake off the hounds behind her.

She turned to the children behind her—and smiled again, happily.

“Mother got you a good price.” The nun smiled, walking toward her “children.”

In her outstretched hands: one side, a dark, murky liquid; the other, a short-handled scythe.

But before she moved, the magical message-token on the table vibrated, drawing her attention.

“Already? Those slave-market hounds…” The alert barrier had been triggered—the intruders were close.

But now that she held control of the “cubs,” she felt no fear.

“Perhaps I should gather more ‘horns’ first—earn more travel funds.” In truth, the transcendent ones were more valuable than the children.

The Cult of the Beast wasn’t limited to just this city’s “Great Horn.”

Before leaving, she turned back to look at the children, her eyes filled with tenderness.

“Children, wait. Mother will return soon—then I’ll take you out of this filthy, corrupt world.”

(End of Chapter)