Chapter 484: Golden Crow Devours Sun (part 2)
The conversation between Sir Inkwell and the god’s finger gave Xu Qing the sensation that there was something not quite right with the finger....
The finger’s thinking ability seems off.
As Xu Qing analyzed the situation, he tried to put himself in Sir Inkwell’s shoes, and figure out the Paintedfolk’s state of mind as he dealt with the situation.
Meanwhile, Sir Inkwell breathed a sigh of relief. Walking over to the head, he squatted down, poked it and said, “Head, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me. Instead of going into hiding, you let yourself get found by our exalted jailer?”
The head glared back at him. “Why should I answer your questions, huh? If you’ve got what it takes, kill me! We were all in prison together, did you forget? I’m not afraid of you!”
Sir Inkwell didn’t seem angry. Narrowing his eyes, he reached out and smacked the head with force.
The head exploded.
Smiling, Sir Inkwell looked over at Xu Qing, his eyes flickering with a deep look. “Exalted jailer, you got interrupted just now. What was that about me doing something amazing?
“Let me think. Don’t tell me…. You were thinking of saying that you intentionally got captured by that god, and that you’re not really alone, that there are some top experts from Sea-Sealing County waiting out in Daybreak Prefecture? The palace lord? Marquis Yao? The lieutenant governor? And that your whole plan is to capture the god’s finger?
“Your job is to lead them here, and they’re already on their way? And when you said I’ve done something amazing, you meant that I bought precious time with the god’s finger for you? Well, exalted jailer, I’m not a three-year-old. Did you really think I would believe a story such as that?”
Sir Inkwell licked his lips maliciously as he scooped out the crushed remnants of the head.
Moments later, the head was back in one piece, and was about to start cursing when Sir Inkwell grinned and interrupted, “Head, we’re all on the same side! I killed you to save you, so quiet down. Also, thanks for bringing our exalted jailer here. You were right, we really did end up having a D-132 reunion.”
The head laughed with cold derision. Instead of confirming or denying what Sir Inkwell said, it started looking around for the stone lion.
Sir Inkwell looked away from the head, walked over to Xu Qing, and squatted down in front of him. He licked his lips again.
“What’s wrong, exalted jailer? Did I hit the nail on the head?”
Xu Qing ignored Sir Inkwell. Face completely expressionless, he looked around the area and probed the warding spell that made it impossible to escape. The warding spell had been put in place by the god’s finger, so it wasn’t going to be easy to break through.
After his brief inspection, he looked back at Sir Inkwell.
“You don’t need to probe for information,” he said calmly. “If you want to live, hurry up and tell me everything you know.”
Sir Inkwell’s eyebrows shot up.
Some distance away, the head had found the stone lion.
“You’re usually pretty smart, old man,” the head said mockingly. “Since when did you start acting so stupid? We’re having this freaking reunion, so either paint that body so we can all die, or help us figure out a way to get out of here. Sitting around probing for information is just wasting time. And it’s exhausting, don’t you think?”
The head’s words caused Sir Inkwell to sigh inwardly. In this case, the head was absolutely right. Sir Inkwell had been marked in a way that made it impossible to flee. And that wasn’t even to mention the warding spell. Truth be told, his ‘probing’ earlier had been more like an expression of wishful thinking.... But he also knew that the scenario he had laid out couldn’t possibly be happening. If Xu Qing had said it was, he would have been convinced he was lying. Feeling very mixed emotions, he sighed out loud.
“How exactly do you plan to get out of here? We’re all going to die here....”
“Back up!” Xu Qing suddenly said.
Sir Inkwell looked at Xu Qing and was about to say something, except Xu Qing looked away dismissively. Based on the conversation he’d just heard between Sir Inkwell and the god’s finger, he had a theory he wanted to test.
A drowning person would grasp at even a piece of straw if it was extended to them. However, that straw had to be at least somewhat realistic first.
It seemed like the right moment to ask. That was especially true considering what Xu Qing remembered about D-132 from before the collapse of the Corrections Division. And he was even more certain now that his memories had started recovering. He was fairly certain that the prisoners in D-132 had never seen him use the power of the golden crow. What he had used most effectively back then was the personhood of a god. In other words, Sir Inkwell didn’t know he had the golden crow.
Given the frantic events surrounding the prison break, there was no way they had gained any more information than they already had. Perhaps the gruish head might know about the golden crow; it didn’t seem likely that Sir Inkwell did. Not that it mattered much. It would be more ideal if he didn’t know, but even if he did, Xu Qing’s plan would still work.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, Xu Qing no longer suppressed the golden crow on his back. Instantly, broiling heat erupted from behind him and latched onto the flesh of the fallen sun.
The sun’s remains shivered as if they were alive.
Rumbling sounds filled the area, and the ripples and distortions in the air grew more prominent. Heatwaves rolled off Xu Qing, spreading out everywhere. Sir Inkwell looked visibly surprised as he quickly backed away from Xu Qing.
Xu Qing’s facial expression hadn’t changed at all, but it was possible to see golden striations spreading across his face. Those marks were extensions of the totem tattoo on his back, which was spreading out to the rest of his body.
As of this moment, power started racing madly from the sun’s remains and into the golden crow. Everything shook violently, and the surrounding mist swirled into a shocking vortex.
Xu Qing’s heart was racing. He could sense excitement and longing from the golden crow. Because of that, he was now absolutely certain that he had stumbled onto an immense destined opportunity. However, he needed time to take full advantage of the situation, and let the golden crow gorge itself. After all, there was too much flesh to assimilate in a short time.
Sir Inkwell was visibly stunned, and the head, which had just managed to free the stone lion, gasped in shock. That said, the gasp seemed a little bit exaggerated.
“He’s absorbing the sun’s flesh...?” Sir Inkwell murmured, his eyes glittering brightly. “Back in D-132, I could sense unusual fluctuations coming from our exalted jailer, but I could never have guessed he was somehow connected to a sun!!
“Wait, I get it. Exalted jailer, did you hear that this god’s finger had found some of a sun’s remains, and therefore you came here on purpose? Am I right?
“But how did you know that the god’s finger would capture you? Wait, that’s easy to explain. It’s been years now since these remains have lost any life in them. And the only way to bring life back into them would be by means of life force! Of course. That’s the only obvious explanation! Brilliant. Absolutely, ridiculously brilliant!
“Exalted one, you actually managed to out think a god, sir! I’m very impressed. Now I understand why you said I did something amazing. You’re right! I really did do something amazing! And since you came up with this whole plan, exalted one, it means you obviously have an exit strategy in place!”
Sir Inkwell was getting increasingly excited.
Meanwhile, the head blinked a few times, looking a bit confused. Ever since Xu Qing ascended Mount Daybreak, the head and the stone lion had been unable to see anything that happened. They only reappeared when Xu Qing poisoned the valley and were then captured by the god’s finger. So the head wasn’t really sure what happened in between those two events. But after hearing Sir Inkwell’s analysis, the head shivered in astonishment. After all, the story made perfect sense. Why else would Xu Qing have come to Daybreak Prefecture instead of going to war? That said, the head also felt like something about the story didn’t make sense, though he wasn’t sure what.
As for Xu Qing, he didn’t reveal anything via his facial expression. He just focused on absorbing the power in the sun’s remains. At the same time, he just looked at Sir Inkwell and the head. The head didn’t seem worth worrying about. But Xu Qing was still suspicious of Sir Inkwell. He seemed to be too cooperative, as if he was working on his own agenda. A drowning person who feared for their life wouldn’t be able to do that.
As Xu Qing considered that, Sir Inkwell dropped down to stand on the surface of the flesh.
“Exalted jailer, considering the crucial hints I dropped for your sake back in D-132, plus what I’ve done here, I beg of you to save me!
“That villainous finger wants me to paint a body for it. But I dare not do so! Once the painting is finished, the finger will definitely devour me. I can sense the thing’s hunger. That’s why I’ve been buying time by claiming that the paint doesn’t have enough life in it. But I’ve already delayed to the point where I can’t delay any longer. Thankfully, you arrived just in the nick of time.”
Xu Qing coldly studied Sir Inkwell. He didn’t pick up on anything in the old man’s facial expression to indicate he was being deceptive. That said, Xu Qing still didn’t trust that Sir Inkwell was being completely honest. That was even more the case when he considered all of the nonhuman cultivators that the sun’s remains had absorbed.
They were apparently other people that Sir Inkwell had scammed into sacrificing their lives.
But if Xu Qing was going to work with Sir Inkwell, there was no reason to point that out. He needed time. For one thing, he needed to absorb the sun’s remains. And also, he needed to wait until the god’s finger returned. Regardless of how honest Sir Inkwell was being, Xu Qing knew he couldn’t completely control him. Xu Qing needed to seize the upper hand, and he needed to do it before the finger came back.
With such thoughts on his mind, Xu Qing calmly said, “You need to buy me some time.”
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