Chapter 31: The Owner of the Castle

Si Qingxuan ignored the system’s complaints.

Because he knew the system always enjoyed watching chaos unfold, so its opinions were often not worth adopting.

“Now that Ricardo Moranden has appeared,” Si Qingxuan said calmly, “as long as we kill him, the castle will finally be freed from this abnormal time loop, right?”

Ricardo Moranden had originally summoned the Ouroboros and gained the ability to control “time.”

But this ability had a flaw—it could only affect the area within the castle.

In other words, as long as he remained inside the castle, he would never die.

However, that also meant he was imprisoned within the castle’s endless flow of time.

Not to mention whether his friend Rudolf was willing to remain trapped with him forever…

Even worse, after being eroded by the power of the Ouroboros, the butler had completely mutated into a horrifying moth-like creature.

“Of course,” the system snorted, “the gravely ill Ricardo Moranden used his status as head of the family and an old friend to persuade Rudolf and several close servants to participate in the summoning ritual.”

“But what they didn’t expect was that Ricardo intended to use them as living sacrifices to summon the Ouroboros.”

“The Ouroboros itself has a twisted sense of humor. It granted Ricardo special abilities, but instead of devouring all the sacrifices, it transformed them into its subordinates… which is why that butler became a moth-man.”

“And that chef under him—he didn’t look very smart to begin with. His brain might have already been hollowed out by worms.”

As a result, after being betrayed, Rudolf grew resentful.

He eventually found a way to kill Ricardo Moranden and sealed him inside that coffin.

Rudolf clearly didn’t want to remain a monster forever.

He also wanted to obtain mysterious powers like Ricardo.

So he spent more than a decade managing the castle, selecting sacrifices, and preparing for another summoning ritual.

However, one of the sacrifices he insisted on using was Ricardo Moranden’s bloodline—young Master Moranden.

This was undoubtedly driven by revenge.

“Because the Ouroboros moves through time and space, summoning rituals for it cannot be performed frequently,” the system explained.

“Generally speaking, successfully summoning it twice within a hundred years is already considered excessive.”

“As a subordinate of the Ouroboros, the butler could only gamble on this possibility. But if the ritual succeeded, he might evolve further… If Ricardo had awakened a few days later, the outcome might have been different.”

That was essentially the conflict between Ricardo Moranden and the butler Rudolf.

Although Moranden had betrayed first, the butler was no better—he retaliated against his master and later harmed innocent Sophie and her child.

In the end, both master and servant became wretches steeped in sin, deserving of complete destruction.

All their actions stemmed from their own desires, not from any so-called “faith in gods.”

That, at least, was disturbingly real.

“Ricardo Moranden has become obsessed with ‘living,’” the system commented.

“But he has already died once. Now, he has fused his remaining life with the black forest on this land.”

“If he does not die, the vines will not die. And vice versa.”

“But your ex-boyfriend’s flames are getting stronger—‘Hellfire’ is quite a rare talent.”

“It’s not that the ability itself is special… but I’ve never seen a human so compatible with it.”

Si Qingxuan silently watched the blazing fire before him.

Even from a distance, he could feel the scorching heat in the air.

The flames were like something from hell itself, threatening to reduce everything to ashes.

This was not a power of the mortal world—it belonged to the divine.

“How beautiful. His soul is burning too. Do you see it, High Priest?” the system murmured.

“I only admire human courage at moments like this.”

“You’d better shut up.”

Si Qingxuan had almost gotten used to the system’s chatter…

But right now, it was especially annoying.

He watched as the vines resisted Zhaolin’s flames while carefully wrapping around Ricardo Moranden’s body.

Clearly, the vines’ toughness could not withstand the fire for long.

Ricardo Moranden was already thinking about how to escape.

His pale face glanced at the wall of flames—

Then he suddenly noticed a sleeping figure on the terrace.

The fire spread along the vines, nearly burning away all the branches clinging to the castle walls.

But when it reached the terrace—

The flames deliberately avoided the unconscious young master.

Ricardo raised an eyebrow slightly and lifted his hand.

The vines crept onto the ruined terrace, bound the young master, and dragged him toward Ricardo.

The young master had been unconscious—likely drugged or knocked out by the chef.

Only when he was dragged from a height did he groggily open his eyes.

“…What is this…?” he asked weakly.

“It’s time to wake up, my child.” Ricardo gently touched his cheek, pleased to see the resemblance between them. “Dawn is near.”

The young master froze for a moment—then his eyes widened.

“Father…?”

“There’s a portrait of you in the study,” he said. “I saw it when I snuck in.”

Ricardo smiled faintly, though the expression was strangely cold.

“I regret missing your growth.”

“It’s okay.” The young master sniffed. “The butler didn’t treat me that badly… aside from wanting to sacrifice me.”

“Father, I never thought you were still alive… I always wished that you and mother could come back. I would have paid any price…”

“Good child.” Ricardo lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression. “Thank you.”

The young master smiled in surprise. “Father, I—”

The next second, vines bound his limbs and dragged him away.

The branches formed a fortress around Ricardo—

While the young master was hung outside it, almost pressed against the blazing flames.

“It’s so hot! What’s happening, father?!”

He struggled like a trapped frog.

A flame that should have burned him suddenly changed direction at the last moment.

Seeing this, Ricardo pushed him even closer to the fire.

The vines surged like snakes and attacked the awakened ones again.

“Damn it! Using your own son as a shield—do you have no bottom line?!” Song Zan roared.

“This won’t work…” Domingo said while cutting away vines.

Song Zan gritted his teeth and shouted, “Boss, stop holding back! That young master isn’t even real—he’s just part of the illusion!”

Zhaolin said nothing.

His eyes burned like molten lava, fixed on Ricardo behind the vines.

The flames grew fiercer, more precise—

Yet still avoided the young master completely.

Even so, after a few minutes, the vines could no longer hold on.

“This is my castle—I will not lose here!” Ricardo roared, his face scorched black, eyes filled with madness.

The remaining vines twisted together into a sharp spear and shot toward the four awakened ones.

It condensed all remaining vitality, burning as it moved, regenerating endlessly, leaving only an afterimage.

Just as it was about to break through the flames—

Si Qingxuan, hidden in the darkness, let out a soft sigh.

He stepped forward.

His gaze locked onto the black spear.

A few unknown syllables escaped his lips.

An invisible domain spread outward like a tide, instantly engulfing the battlefield.

The vines froze midair, moving in slow motion—

“Crack.”

The twisting vines were instantly severed by an invisible blade.

Dark sap splattered like foul blood.

The vine fortress was split apart.

Ricardo Moranden appeared before everyone, shocked—like a larva torn from its cocoon.

The flames immediately devoured him like a beast.

“AAAAH—!”

Ricardo screamed.

…

“High Priest, why did you intervene directly?”

“There’s something I couldn’t stand hearing.” Si Qingxuan said softly while maintaining his ability.

“What do you mean ‘this is his castle’? My grandfather already bought this place.”

“I am the owner of this castle.”

“….”

“This has become boring.” Si Qingxuan said lazily.

“Let’s stop chatting and collect the imprint. If Zhaolin burns everything to ashes, where will we find the Ouroboros imprint?”

“…Fine.”

The moment the imprint was mentioned, the system changed its attitude.

A transparent book appeared above Ricardo’s head.

Its pages flipped rapidly, stopping on a blank page.

Silver chains extended from the void, dragging Ricardo into the book.

The awakened ones could not see this.

They only saw Ricardo struggling in the flames—then suddenly disappearing.

The ground began to shake.

Everything around them started fading and collapsing.

Ashes and charred branches turned into dust and vanished into the void.

“…The illusion is collapsing!” Garcia shouted. “We need to get out of here!”

“Huh?!” Song Zan exclaimed.

“Hurry up! Run away from the castle!” Domingo pushed him and ran.

Song Zan followed, glancing back at Zhaolin.

Zhaolin stood still for a moment before moving.

Song Zan followed his gaze—

The young master lay on the ground, staring at where Ricardo had disappeared, his face filled with deep sorrow.

A few seconds later, Zhaolin turned and left silently.

…

The mission was complete.

As they ran forward, the surroundings gradually brightened.

When they stopped, they saw the blazing sun and clear sky.

Looking back, the castle still stood on the green lawn.

Under the sunlight, it appeared old and desolate—but no longer eerie like before.

Members of the Disaster Prevention Bureau were already waiting outside.

Armed soldiers surrounded the area, ready for emergencies.

Medical staff rushed over to examine them—checking temperature, blood pressure, heartbeat, and collecting blood samples.

After confirming they were unharmed, they were escorted to a nearby tent.

A temporary command center had been set up there.

While reporting the mission, they inevitably mentioned the mysterious “young master.”

Or rather, the one impersonating him.

They all glanced at Zhaolin, knowing he seemed to recognize that person.

But when Zhaolin spoke, he did not reveal the identity.

“In short, the mission went smoothly.” he said calmly.

“That individual, though mysterious, assisted us throughout.”

The Spanish commander hesitated before replying,

“This is unusual, but there are indeed unregistered awakened individuals.”

“Encountering one during a mission isn’t impossible… you were lucky.”

“We need to conduct a full review of the castle.” he added with a sigh.

“This castle was purchased years ago by a private collector.”

“A few days ago, it was officially transferred to his only grandson.”

“They’ve already hired engineers to assess the site… and they’ve been urging us to clear out.”

“What project?” Zhaolin asked.

“…A haunted house project.”

The commander looked speechless.

“Using a real castle for a haunted attraction… rich people really think differently.”

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