Chapter 185: Aftermath

A blanket was wrapped around Tixiang. He sat disheveled on the sofa, still shaken, and stared blankly at Lartus.

Lartus leaned in close to Tixiang until their faces were almost touching. He scrutinized Tixiang carefully for a moment, then firmly grasped his shoulders. “Tixiang,” he said, “I’ve known you for so long, but this is the first time I realized you could be this formidable.”

Tixiang forced a dry laugh but stayed silent.

He ‘remembered’ happily conversing with Ya and Ling last night. Then, the three of them drank several bottles of strong liquor. After that, whether he initiated it or the two women did, that kind of thing just naturally happened. And he ‘vividly remembered’ enjoying it immensely—that wonderful pleasure far surpassed anything any of his previous lovers had given him.

He ‘vividly remembered’ it. He could ‘definitely confirm’ it—last night he had experienced supreme ecstasy.

But the specifics of how it unfolded? He was a little ‘foggy’ on that. Maybe it was the alcohol? It had to be. A wild night coupled with several bottles of hard liquor would naturally lead to some temporary memory loss. Tixiang was no stranger to excess; he’d experienced this before. He’d even woken up several times forgetting the name of the girl next to him. So he quickly accepted this ‘amnesia.’

A shame, truly. To forget the detailed process of such an amazing experience was very frustrating.

Heaving a soft sigh, Tixiang pulled the blanket tighter around himself. His gaze went past Lartus, settling on Elham and his three companions, who were forced to kneel on the floor. Lartus’s guards, fearful they might suddenly attack, had pressed sharp daggers against the arteries in their necks. The slightest movement could cost them their lives.

Elham and his group stared coldly back at Tixiang.

Beaten up by Lin Qi and then further assaulted by Lartus’s guards, all four looked battered and bruised, especially Yan and An. Lin Qi had smashed their noses into their faces. Blood seeped from the uneven lumps on their faces; the once handsome youths were disfigured beyond recognition.

“If we release you, will you not fight?” Tixiang hesitated for a while before slowly asking Elham.

After a long silence, Elham took a deep breath. “I am Elham Dawn, Special Envoy from the Dawn Temple to the Gaul Empire.”

He lifted his head arrogantly, madness flickering in his eyes. “According to the Divine Authority Convention signed by Continental nations and the Church! You have no right to arrest, judge, or punish any member of the clergy! Any attack on a clergy member by official personnel of any nation is considered a declaration of war by that nation upon the Church! Does the Gaul Empire wish to initiate a full-scale Religious War?”

Lartus and Tixiang’s faces paled. The Divine Authority Convention—that damned unequal treaty. Those damned clergy members.

They exchanged a look, their eyes shifting, as if choking on words they couldn’t voice.

Lin Qi, standing among the guards, stepped forward and bluntly said what he was thinking. “Your Highness Lartus, Lord Tixiang, why hesitate? Lord Tixiang has already possessed the bodies of those two women. We’ve already clashed with them. No matter what, we’ve violated the Divine Authority Convention. So let’s just get things over with…”

Lin Qi viciously motioned cutting a throat. “Lord Tixiang can enjoy himself one more time. After that? We finish them all off!”

Long Cheng rolled his eyes nearby. Lin Qi wanted Tixiang to ‘enjoy’ again? Gods above and earth below! Wasn’t that just painting himself green?

He sighed quietly. Long Cheng saw no easy solution to Lin Qi’s suggestion. He’d originally just wanted to watch the ensuing chaos, to see what trouble Lin Qi would land himself in after his night of pleasure. But he’d never dreamed Ya and Ling possessed innate Divinity.

“Damn it! Divinity!” Long Cheng mourned inwardly. Had he known the girls possessed Divinity, he would have taken action himself long ago; Lin Qi wouldn’t have gotten a chance. Divinity! That was Divinity! It pointed directly to the profound Heavenly Dao laws of legend! It was said to be the key to transcending the Heavenly rank and ascending the ladder to the Saintly rank!

With Divinity, the girls’ origins were obvious. Whoever dared to plot against them must also be terrifyingly powerful. Long Cheng had intended to watch how Lin Qi handled this affair, but the moment he discovered their Divinity, he immediately used a secret technique to alter everyone’s memories, firmly placing the blame on Tixiang’s shoulders.

From what Long Cheng knew of Lin Qi’s background, if the girls had just been ordinary, even if a scandal occurred, Lin Qi wouldn’t have needed to fear repercussions. But with Divinity? That pedigree was terrifying. The entire Black Tiger Family could easily be dragged down with Lin Qi if things turned sour.

So Long Cheng needed a scapegoat. He had to clean up Lin Qi’s mess. He’d poured nearly all his Spiritual Willpower into thoroughly scrambling the memories of Lin Qi, Lartus, Elham, and all witnesses.

“I brought this on myself!” Long Cheng thought resentfully at Lin Qi. “But seeing this guy unwittingly crown himself with horns? Oh, what utterly refreshing joy!” Thinking of the delight in Lin Qi’s predicament, unable to resist, Long Cheng grinned happily again. Deriving pleasure in another’s downfall, even when it gained him nothing and had actually exhausted him all night—pure bliss!

Lin Qi turned suspiciously to glance at Long Cheng crouched in the corner. His instincts prickled that Long Cheng harbored ill will toward him.

But on second thought, nothing seemed amiss. Lin Qi shrugged it off and turned back, speaking seriously. “Killing them is the best solution!” There was another thought he left unspoken: if Lartus killed Elham and his group, it would save Lin Qi the trouble later.

Lartus’s eyes darted about. Tixiang’s gaze wandered. Simultaneously, they both looked towards Ya and Ling, still unconscious in the corner of the lounge. Lartus glanced uncertainly at Tixiang. “Elham Dawn… heir of the Dawn Family. Then these two women… they…?”

Elham laughed coldly. He shook his head slowly, looking down his nose at Lartus and Tixiang. “Aya? Flame. Aling? Flame. They are heirs of the Flame Family from the Flame Temple. They are not my sisters. This is Toling? Ice. Yan? Gust. An? Gust. They are heirs of the Ice Temple and Gust Temples respectively.”

He took a deep breath and enunciated each word clearly. “Go ahead! Dare to kill all six of us! Six direct heirs of Divine Descendant Clans vanishing in the Imperial Capital of the Gaul Empire? Can you even bear that responsibility?”

Lartus and Tixiang’s expressions changed instantly. Lin Qi’s heart also lurched violently. Damn it! This group were Divine Descendants!

Divine Descendants. Legends spoke of them as the bloodlines descended from Deities, spread throughout the world by offspring born to unions of Divinity and mortals. Their status within the Church was unique. Every Divine Descendant stood high above. They held crucial positions across the Church’s grand Temples and key institutions. The will of the Divine Descendant Clans essentially dictated the Church’s direction.

The vanishing of six direct heirs from Divine Descendant Families in the Imperial Capital of the Gaul Empire? It would absolutely detonate a full-scale Religious War! All devout believers across the Continent would declare war on the Gaul Empire. Nations already seething with jealousy over the Empire’s power would eagerly form armies to carve it up.

Lartus and Tixiang recoiled. They couldn’t bear that burden. They were part of the Empire. If the Empire fell, they fell with it. Yet, Tixiang had already taken things that far with both women. There was no turning back now. The two men stood frozen.

Elham sneered coldly. “They are my fiancées. You understand the implication.”

Lartus and Tixiang’s faces grew even anguished. They understood all too well. The marriage alliance of two Divine Descendant Clans? That was deadly serious. More critically, Tixiang had defiled both women right beneath their fiancé’s nose. The gravity was suffocating.

Even the guard holding Elham’s shoulder instinctively loosened his grip. Seizing the moment, Elham stood up, slowly smoothing his clothes.

Lin Qi retreated several paces, putting the bulkier guards between himself and Elham. If Elham suddenly attacked, these big guys would make better shields. He gently flexed his fists. Despite applying excellent medicine, the pain remained excruciating.

“We need to talk. Carefully,” Elham stated calmly as he stood before Lartus and Tixiang. His proposal was measured. “What’s done cannot be undone. Our focus must be on minimizing the losses.”

Lartus and Tixiang’s eyes flickered with guarded interest simultaneously.

Looking at both men, Elham laid his cards on the table. “I am the Church’s Special Envoy to the Gaul Empire. My covert mission is to expand the Church’s influence within the Empire and recruit more believers.”

“Neither of us wished for today’s events. But they occurred. Not even the Divine could undo them. Therefore, Your Highness Lartus, what price would you be willing to pay if the Church power I control were to become your asset?”

“As for you, Lord Tixiang. You believe you have defiled my fiancées? What price must you pay to settle this matter?”

At that moment, Elham’s eyes shone with a merciless, icy light. He weighed everything purely in terms of profit, cold logic overriding the fact of another possessing his intended brides.

Ruthless. Cruel. Like the aloof Deities themselves.

Lin Qi drew in a sharp breath. At this moment, Elham was terrifying. Lin Qi’s resolve to end him hardened further.