The surprise came so suddenly.
That morning, while the Apep was running an errand to buy a cake for Otillia, she suddenly felt a terrifying energy fluctuation from deep underground. Her expression immediately changed.
Boom!
With an earth-shattering roar, Apep, along with several buildings and innocent pedestrians on the street, was instantly engulfed by a plume of fire that soared dozens of meters high.
At the same time, six Gardemeks slowly advanced toward the center of the explosion from six different directions.
As the Gardemeks moved, they raised their cannons and unleashed a massive barrage of firepower at the spot where Apep had been swallowed by the flames.
"How dare you!"
Enraged by such a blatant provocation, Apep unleashed her full power without reservation. The fiery light of the explosions faded, blocked completely by a shimmering green barrier that had materialized around her.
Though the barrier appeared fragile, the moment the attacks struck, they were halted dead in their tracks, unable to advance even an inch. A second wave of missiles detonated in mid-air, kicking up another massive cloud of dust and smoke.
But the fire didn't last long. In the next instant, lush, verdant vegetation erupted from the ground. Countless vines shot up, skewering the Gardemeks like meat on a stick.
Soon, Apep spotted several figures attempting to retreat. With a powerful stomp, she unleashed a sandstorm that erupted in their midst. Several were instantly shredded by the swirling sand, collapsing in shock from massive blood loss. The survivors, barely clinging to life, were swept toward her by the storm's force.
"State your purpose," Apep demanded, her voice colder than ice. An aura of divine majesty radiated from her, green and gray light weaving together in a dazzling display.
"This... was a trial..."
In his final moments, under the immense pressure radiating from Apep, one man forced open a blood-soaked eye, a bizarre smile spreading across his face.
"This is a trial to determine your worthiness to stand beside Monsieur Neuvillette."
"Know this: for a being of Monsieur Neuvillette's stature, his woman must be powerful enough—so powerful she won't drag him down!"
"Even if your power is lacking, Monsieur Neuvillette would surely find it difficult to say so directly. But don't worry, the Cult of the Dragon will handle this matter for him!"
"We, the Cult of the Dragon, will subject you to trial after trial until we confirm you are truly worthy!"
Hearing this, Apep could barely contain herself.
"I have nothing to do with Neuvillette! Stay away from me!"
The Cult of the Dragon... always the Cult of the Dragon!
Apep vaguely recalled that it was members of this very cult who had brutally carved out a piece of her source of power while she was napping.
She had previously asked Neuvillette about them. He had explained that they were his most extreme followers. While they wouldn't directly disobey his orders, they often caused trouble behind his back, preventing him from dealing with matters promptly and creating significant problems for him.
Apep glanced at the gift box in her hand, now holding less than half a cake. The rage in her chest grew even more palpable.
Damn the Cult of the Dragon! They had ruined the cake she had gone to such trouble to buy for Lia!
Without the cake, Lia, whom she had just managed to coax into spending more time with her, might cry and run to Neuvillette!
Damn that Neuvillette!
The more Apep thought about it, the angrier she became. With a final burst of power, she evenly smeared the few surviving cultists across the ground.
Shortly after Apep finished, Neuvillette arrived with an overwhelming presence. Seeing the altered terrain and Apep glaring at him, Neuvillette knew he was a step too late.
Neuvillette sighed softly and then spoke to Apep.
"I apologize. I was not aware of this matter beforehand."
"Hmph, Neuvillette, you really are useless!"
Apep retorted without holding back.
"If you can't control your followers, then don't blame me for bypassing you and wiping the Cult of the Dragon from this world!"
Hearing this, Neuvillette immediately tried to stop her.
"Not everyone in the Cult of the Dragon is so extreme. Many of them haven't even committed any crimes. Your actions are unjust."
"Neuvillette, has living among humans made you a fool?"
"Why should dragonkind care about such things? I've already told you: if you can't control them, then I will!"
With that, Apep turned and left without a second glance.
But she quickly stopped and asked Neuvillette,
"Tell me, where does that restaurant get its ingredients?"
Only then did Neuvillette notice the half-empty box in Apep's hand, instantly understanding why she had appeared here alone.
To prevent Apep from grabbing someone by the collar and threatening them for ingredients, Neuvillette sighed and said,
"Wait here."
Neuvillette's body soared into the air again, transforming into a streak of light that soon vanished over the horizon...
Meanwhile, Furina stared blankly out the window, her mind replaying scenes of her time with Emily. Before her sat a limited-edition cake she had bought.
During this time, Furina had never given up searching for traces of Emily's so-called "Homeland," but she still had no clues.
How was Emily doing now? Her actions must be considered a betrayal of that organization, right? Would she be bullied in that place called "Homeland"?
Thinking of this, Furina's heart filled with deep worry.
Then, she began to miss Emily's cooking, and tears uncontrollably streamed from the corners of her mouth.
After tasting Emily's creations, she had lost her passion for other cakes. But since she couldn't have Emily's cooking now, she had to make do with others.
Fortunately, while this limited-edition cake from Hotel Debord wasn't as good as Emily's, it was still quite delicious and served as a suitable substitute.
"Emily, when can we meet again? I miss you!"
Furina sighed softly, then picked up her knife and fork, ready to soothe her mood with the dessert.
But just then, an uninvited guest burst into the room.
"Excuse me, I need to borrow this."
Neuvillette directly packed up the entire cake that Furina was about to put in her mouth, then hurried away, leaving Furina frozen in a daze, still holding her utensils.
After a long moment, a groundhog-like shriek echoed from the room.
"Neuvillette, give me back my cake!"
-
"There really is a change!"
After Baizhu and Qiqi "coincidentally" ran into Chen Feng on the street and chatted with him for a bit before parting ways, Changsheng sensed Qiqi's condition and spoke in surprise.
"That kid really is extraordinary!"
"I felt it this time. It's not that Qiqi's body is getting better, but that the power affecting her has weakened."
As Changsheng spoke, Baizhu examined Qiqi and found that, just as Changsheng had said, Qiqi's condition had indeed improved slightly.
If one looked closely, they could even notice that the frequency of Qiqi's subtle facial movements had significantly increased.
Baizhu was shocked; this discovery shattered his previous understanding.
After all, if Qiqi's body could continue to improve, she would become indistinguishable from a living person.
And could a dead person, indistinguishable from the living, still be called dead?
So, the eternal life he sought could actually be achieved by becoming a zombie?!
Baizhu's heart skipped a beat; this method was far too beyond ordinary imagination.
Moreover, if he did this, Changsheng, who was bound to him by contract, would be unable to continue absorbing life force and wouldn't be able to sustain herself.
Unless even Changsheng could remain in this world under the influence of that person's ability. However, he had heard that the ability was ineffective against Adepti, and Changsheng, despite being severely wounded and having lost nearly all her power, was still an Adeptus.
What puzzled Baizhu was that the power Chen Feng currently displayed seemed to guide people toward death, yet another unknown power allowed the dead to gradually become more like ordinary people. What was Chen Feng's ultimate goal?
Just as Baizhu was lost in thought, Changsheng hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking to him.
"Baizhu, from now on, have Qiqi interact more with that mysterious kid. But before you do, remember to remind me. I need to avoid him beforehand."
"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but during your conversation earlier, that kid focused his attention on me most of the time."
"Whenever he looked at me, I always had this feeling that if he spoke, I might actually die."
Hearing Changsheng's words, Baizhu's heart jolted again, and he couldn't help but exclaim,
"How is that possible?"
"Changsheng, you and I share a life. If anything happens to one of us, the other won't survive in this world for long."
"If he truly saw something unusual about your body, he should have had a similar reaction to me, but his gaze toward me seemed perfectly normal."
While interacting with Chen Feng, Baizhu had carefully observed his reactions and guessed he still had some time left.
"I don't know where this feeling comes from either."
Changsheng spoke with some uncertainty.
"But I can sense that the contract's effect might disappear."
"Meaning, if he speaks, I might really die."
At this, Changsheng sighed softly.
"You were right from the start. That kid is too strange; we really shouldn't have contacted him directly."
"But since a path has now appeared, you can try more often. Perhaps fate can truly end with you."
Hearing Changsheng's words, Baizhu remained noncommittal, having already made up his mind.
"We can tell him the truth directly and ask Chen Feng to visit Bubu Pharmacy more often."
Hearing Baizhu's words, Changsheng immediately understood that he planned to use the Liyue Qixing's power to conduct a detailed investigation into Chen Feng.
Although Baizhu would explain it to Chen Feng himself, she believed it wouldn't take long for the Liyue Qixing to receive the relevant information.
"Mm, but remember to tell that kid not to bring Hu Tao along, or you can just wait to starve to death."
Hearing this, Baizhu chuckled. He was well aware of the chaos those two could cause when they were together...
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Ningguang received the news.
"Qiqi's condition actually improved after prolonged contact with Chen Feng?"
Ningguang was very surprised. She was naturally aware of Qiqi's situation, and this piece of intelligence revealed quite a lot.
Currently, it seems Chen Feng possesses more than one power, or the scope of his abilities isn't that limited. It's unclear whether he's intentionally hiding it or if he truly doesn't even know himself.
The latter possibility is more likely; otherwise, he wouldn't have exposed himself because of Qiqi.
Another possibility is that this power has only recently begun to manifest, so Chen Feng himself hasn't noticed it.
This possibility is also quite high. Ningguang currently speculates that Chen Feng's ability is related to the Deathly Aura he can see, and predicting a person's remaining lifespan is likely just the most basic application of this ability.
However, Liyue has never encountered such a strange ability before. Without any reference points, Ningguang can only proceed with cautious probing.
During this probing process, Ningguang must also be careful not to antagonize Chen Feng, lest her actions bring great trouble to Liyue.
But then again, Chen Feng has already caused Liyue quite a bit of trouble. She had to expend considerable effort to finally resolve the last "Book of Life and Death" incident.
This time, the difficulty is much greater than before, as the person who discovered the "Book of Life and Death" was a thief who had infiltrated the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
From their previous interactions, Ningguang had come to admire Chen Feng, but she also truly felt that he was a complete double-edged sword.
He was helpful, yes, but he also brought her no shortage of trouble, and she couldn't easily make a move against him unless it was a last resort—at which point she would be gambling the entirety of Liyue.
Ningguang pondered for a moment, then summoned Baiwen and ordered her to go to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to inform Chen Feng of the opening time and location for the first shop they had agreed upon. Ningguang planned to contact Chen Feng again.
Upon receiving her orders, Baiwen immediately set off for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor without a moment's delay.
However, just as Baiwen was approaching the parlor, she heard a burst of excited laughter coming from a nearby mansion.
"This Adeptus has succeeded!"
Hearing this, Baiwen quickly glanced around. Seeing no one else, she breathed a sigh of relief.
As Ningguang's secretary, she naturally knew that the person living here was an Adeptus; she had even arranged the residence herself.
She just wondered what could make an Adeptus so happy that he would momentarily forget he was hiding his identity.
Baiwen glanced curiously at the tightly shut mansion gates, but to her surprise, the gates actually opened.
The moment the gates opened, a cyan figure darted out from behind them, holding a strange object and running excitedly towards the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
I didn't expect the Adeptus's destination was also the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Looks like there's some juicy gossip to be had this time!
Thinking this, Baiwen's face lit up with delight, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace.