Chapter 162: The Mutation of the Bone Staff

“Five hundred paces behind you, there are three people in total. Because the distance is too great and their attire is ordinary, I cannot tell what their exact strength is.” Han Shuo paid attention, stood on a higher vantage point, squinted to observe for a moment, and then replied in a low voice to Candice’s question.

“Thank you, Bryan. I will remember this favor.” Candice let out a low murmur, said nothing more to Han Shuo, turned around to return to the Flames Mercenary Corps, and exchanged a few words with the mercenaries.

“Who is she to you? Why are you willing to help her?” After Candice left, Lisa tugged at Han Shuo’s sleeve and asked.

“An old friend. Let’s go, we will leave from the other side. We still need to return to Vallant City later.” Han Shuo looked at Candice, seeing that she was still conferring with her employer and members of the Flames Mercenary Corps, knowing that his words had already given her something to weigh.

Candice was a mercenary; she had her own missions and way of life. When Han Shuo ran into her and saw that her mission involved hidden dangers, a kind-hearted word of warning fulfilled his duty as a friend, but he would not interfere in her affairs.

Hearing that Han Shuo wanted to leave, Lisa did not say much more. She lowered her head shyly, walked behind Han Shuo, looped her arms around his neck, used her small feet to push off and leap onto his back, and pressed close to his ear with a smile, saying, “I still want you to carry me.”

Han Shuo was momentarily speechless, managing a helpless, bitter smile as he said to the girl on his back, “The situation was urgent just now, so I had no choice but to carry you. Now that we are out of danger, you don’t need me to carry you anymore. It’s fine if we just walk back to the city slowly.”

“Heehee, say what you like, I’m not getting down.” Lisa’s small hands were linked around Han Shuo’s neck, and her two plump thighs crossed and locked around his waist and abdomen, looking entirely content.

Lisa was at an age brimming with youthful vitality. Thanks to Han Shuo’s instigation and guidance, her once flat chest had blossomed into something ridiculously full. From the contours pressed against his back, Han Shuo even felt that her breasts were not much smaller than Emily’s. Being pressed so tightly against him, that soft, sensual warmth set Han Shuo’s heart fluttering.

In the distance, Candice finished talking with her employer and companions, appearing to have made up her mind to continue toward Vallant City without paying mind to the three individuals trailing behind them. With their resolve set, the group continued toward Vallant City. Candice glanced back from afar and happened to see Han Shuo carrying Lisa, prompting an involuntary look of astonishment.

Lisa, riding on Han Shuo’s back, caught Candice’s surprised look from afar. She proudly lifted her chin as if showing off to Candice, which made the latter let out an involuntary, soft chuckle.

“Hold on tight, we’re leaving too.” Seeing that Lisa insisted on being carried, Han Shuo did not force her down. Lisa had just lost both parents and was currently enduring her most desolate and painful moments; Han Shuo did not want to make her unhappy right now. He gave a low instruction and headed off down a different path, bypassing Candice’s group and taking an alternate route to Vallant City.

By this time, evening had fallen. Han Shuo judged the direction, made a wide detour around the city wall, and when night descended, used the "Nine Heavens Demonic Movement" art to vault over the wall with Lisa, landing inside Vallant City.

Arriving at the inn where Emily had previously stayed, Han Shuo walked straight toward her room. Before he could even enter, he heard Chester’s low cry from the inner room: “Who is it?”

“It’s me!” Han Shuo replied, pushing open the door and walking in. He looked at Chester in surprise and asked, “Why are you here?”

Chester glanced at Lisa on Han Shuo’s back, hesitated for a moment, and answered, “Lady Emily said this place might be where you and Lawrence arranged to meet, so she had me stay here in case I could wait for news from either you or Lawrence.”

“Then, have you received any news from Lawrence?” In this place, under the watch of the covert personnel arranged by the Veiled Shadow, Han Shuo could not go directly to the Veiled Shadow headquarters because of Lisa’s presence. On the other hand, this was the lodging address Han Shuo had given Lawrence; if Lawrence managed to escape with his life, he should come here to contact him, which was why Han Shuo had come to stay temporarily.

Nodding, Chester replied, “Lawrence hasn’t come, but he sent someone here. That man told me that if you and Lisa returned, I should take Lisa to this location!” As he spoke, Chester handed Han Shuo a card bearing an address not far from here.

“What did the person sent by Chester look like?” Just to be safe, Han Shuo had to ask carefully.

After Chester described the man’s appearance, Han Shuo immediately knew the visitor was the old assassin Latch, and thus knew there should be no problem with this matter.

Setting Lisa down from his back, Han Shuo looked at her and said solemnly, “Lisa, what we are doing is extremely dangerous. You will go with Chester right now to the place where your cousin Lawrence is. Lawrence will send you back to the Empire in a short time. Be a good girl, understand? We are staying behind to avenge you.”

Having lived through a devastating family tragedy, Lisa was much more sensible than Han Shuo had anticipated. After hearing these words, although a look of reluctance flickered across her face, she obediently nodded and agreed to Han Shuo’s arrangement.

“Hire a carriage, take Lady Lisa there yourself, and deliver her safely into Lawrence’s hands at the location on that card.” Looking at Chester, Han Shuo said with a smile.

“Rest assured, I won’t have any trouble handling this,” Chester assured Han Shuo with absolute confidence, then bowed and made a welcoming gesture toward Lisa.

Lisa gazed deeply at Han Shuo. After a moment, she said to him with a hint of worry, “Take good care of yourself, and make sure nothing happens.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Take advantage of the early night and the short road, and leave quickly with him.” Han Shuo nodded, smiling as he urged Lisa.

With those words, Lisa turned and followed Chester, the two of them stepping out quickly. Within such a large city, the influence of the Veiled Shadow was naturally not small. If Han Shuo had wanted to send Lisa back to the Empire himself, it would not have been too much trouble.

However, Han Shuo had only recently joined the Veiled Shadow, and using its resources for private matters like this felt somewhat improper. Besides, since Lawrence was the Third Prince, having him handle this matter would ensure that everything concerning Lisa’s return to the imperial capital was properly arranged.

After Lisa left, Han Shuo turned toward the inner room and spoke with a smile, “Come out.”

Emily, fully dressed and draped in a soft fur coat, walked out from the inner room with a smile. Reaching Han Shuo’s side, she gave him a playful sideways glance, pinched him lightly, and scolded him with a hint of jealous affection: “You made a trip to Lawrence’s place, and you ended up abducting his cousin back with you, and even made her come here to look for me. You really are something!”

Catching Emily’s pinching hand and pulling her in, Han Shuo tightly embraced her, his hands wandering mischievously over her plump and alluring curves as he smiled and explained, “How could I possibly be as bad as you imagine? It’s just that Lawrence’s location was exposed, and I had no choice but to bring her away with me.”

After he explained the course of events, Emily’s expression relaxed. She then frowned and said to Han Shuo, “According to what Lawrence said, he might have come to deal with Bobby Aski with the tacit permission of His Majesty the King. This is likely a test the King devised for Lawrence, using his performance this time to decide his future path.”

Hearing Emily put it this way, Han Shuo felt a slight jolt in his heart. He hadn’t thought that deeply into it, but now, hearing Emily’s analysis, it all seemed to click into place. Pondering for a moment, Han Shuo said, “If that really is the case, then we still have a possibility of cooperating with Lawrence.”

“Indeed. Veiled Shadow members are not heavily restricted when carrying out missions. If the timing is right, I wouldn’t mind cooperating with Lawrence, but we must carefully gauge the specifics of how to act,” Emily said thoughtfully, her slender eyebrows knit together.

Emily’s concerns stemmed entirely from Lawrence’s status as a prince. She was afraid that before the situation became clear, people might misunderstand their relationship with Lawrence. If Lawrence ultimately failed to become king and another prince inherited the throne, then Emily, Han Shuo, and anyone else who got too close to Lawrence would likely face unmitigated disaster. Thus, Emily appeared extremely cautious.

“I understand what you mean. Don’t worry, I know how to keep my interactions with Lawrence within proper bounds,” Han Shuo said in a deep voice. Thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked Emily, “By the way, you left in such a hurry, saying you needed to report the Calamity Church to your superior, and warned me never to mention this church to anyone else. Why is that?”

At these words, Emily’s pretty face turned exceptionally solemn. Taking a deep breath, she replied to Han Shuo, “The Calamity Church is an evil cult. They worship various evil gods and gather many terrifying and powerful evil figures within their ranks. I’ve only heard some rumors about this church; I don’t know the specific details, but from my superior, I understand that the Calamity Church can be considered the largest evil cult on the entire continent. They carry out atrocities behind the scenes that provoke universal outrage, and every time they launch a massive operation, they pose a huge threat to every nation.

“Decades ago, several empires united to eradicate the Calamity Church, wiping out all of its exposed strongholds. For a very long time, there was no news of this Calamity Church. However, various nations knew that the core strength of the Calamity Church had never been eliminated—they had simply gone into hiding. This time, since you obtained the memories of that necromancer and discovered he came from the Calamity Church, the higher-ups are taking this matter very seriously.”

Stunned, Han Shuo looked at Emily in surprise and asked, “Could it be that you reported my acquisition of that necromancer’s memories to your superiors as well?”

“Of course not.” Emily cast a reproachful, playful glance at Han Shuo, as if scolding him for not trusting her, and only spoke again after Han Shuo offered an apologetic smile. “I only said that we joined forces to kill that necromancer, and we obtained some related intelligence from his spatial ring.”

“I see. It looks like that necromancer was a big fish indeed,” Han Shuo thought for a moment and replied with a smile. As he spoke, he pulled out the bone staff, turning it over and playing with it in his hands.

A strange buzzing sound suddenly came from the bone staff, resembling the low hum of an unknown insect, giving Han Shuo a start and filling him with astonishment.

“An inn! Is nobody running a business?” Right at that moment, Han Shuo heard a familiar voice from outside the inn—it was Candice shouting loudly.

The bone staff continued to emit its strange sound while trembling violently, as if it wanted to break free from Han Shuo’s control and fly away. This left both Han Shuo and Emily utterly horrified.

“Oh, Miss Belinda, where are you going? You can’t just leave by yourself.” Outside, Candice’s shouting abruptly turned into an anxious cry, as if their employer Belinda had suddenly walked out of the protection circle of the Flames Mercenary Corps.

“Bryan, what is going on? Why has this bone staff suddenly stopped obeying you?” Emily looked at the vibrating bone staff in Han Shuo’s hand, asking anxiously.

Griping the frantically shaking bone staff tightly, Han Shuo was likewise feeling somewhat baffled. He shook his head and quickly replied, “I don’t know what’s going on either. I’ve never experienced this kind of anomaly before when using this staff.”

As those words fell, disorderly footsteps rapidly approached, followed by Candice’s exclamation. Han Shuo’s heart stirred, as if he had vaguely grasped something. He immediately put the bone staff back into his spatial ring, signaled to Emily, and tip-toed toward the window.