Chapter 38: The Second Sequence

Xina clutched Xiao Nuoqi tightly, tears welling in her eyes. He lay curled in her arms, appearing as if merely asleep.

“Why did he die?”

Chloe could barely conceal the shock twisting her features. Xiao Nuoqi was supposed to be a fox lurking in the shadows, ever ready to strike at Chloe. How could he simply… die?

“Evidently, your friend’s tiger bit him to death,” Alice declared, casting a look of disgust at Simon. “We found him near the hill, lying in a pool of blood. He must have been bitten while guarding it.”

“Impossible! Simon wouldn’t just bite people!” Anna cried out, cradling the dying Simon as she glared at Alice.

“What if he hadn’t eaten for days?” Alice retorted, her voice sharp. “Don’t place too much hope in beasts. They are driven only by hunger and the instinct to reproduce.”

Anna was left speechless. She merely stroked Simon, whose bloodshot eyes turned towards Xiao Nuoqi in Xina’s arms. Suddenly, the tiger erupted, lunging towards Xiao Nuoqi.

Xina was in a perilous situation. She could have abandoned Xiao Nuoqi and fled, yet she held him close, shutting her eyes, allowing Simon to charge at her.

Simon would injure Xina! Chloe started forward, but the distance was too great. Simon was closing in on Xina rapidly.

Lucia attempted to nock an arrow, and Alice began chanting a spell. However, their preparations were far too slow to match the furious tiger. Simon, utterly crazed, sprinted towards Xina at full speed. His claws were mere moments from striking her.

Damn it, was there no other way? A possibility flashed through Chloe’s mind. Gritting her teeth, she recalled Wuxu’s teachings.

In an instant, her physical form dissolved into a swarm of bats. The swarm materialized almost like a flash, interposing itself between Xina and Simon. As the bat ability reached its limit, the swarm solidified back into flesh. Simon, instinctively, bit down on the blood and meat before him.

Chloe used every ounce of her strength to absorb Simon’s impact. The tiger pinned her to the ground, its life completely extinguished.

Chloe gasped for air, her chest a bloody, mangled mess. The severe blood loss caused her body temperature to plummet, leaving her feeling intensely cold.

She licked the blood from Simon’s fur, a mixture of her own and the tiger’s. It tasted as fragrant as red wine blended with a hundred different flavors. Chloe concluded that tiger blood was superior to horse blood. Savoring the fragrant taste, she once again lost consciousness.

****

Someone was speaking near her ear.

She tried to open her eyes, but a white cloth obscured her vision. Lifting a hand, she tore the cloth away, only to find her hand was also wrapped. Before her stood a large mirror. In its reflection, Chloe lay on a grand bed, entirely swathed like a mummy.

“Little Chloe is awake!”

Xina embraced Chloe tightly. Beside them, Alice stood with her arms crossed, an expression of resignation on her face.

“I knew she wouldn’t die. That little one has nine lives.”

“Alice, your healing magic is truly wondrous!”

Upon hearing Xina’s words, Alice offered a self-deprecating smile, glancing at Chloe. She knew perfectly well that no true healing magic existed in this world; Chloe’s survival was solely due to her unique racial traits.

Alice snapped her fingers, and Xina instantly collapsed. She had hypnotized Xina once more.

“Let her sleep. She spent the entire day looking after you and didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

Alice gently placed Xina on the bed, then leaned against the wall, running a hand through her golden hair. With her head slightly raised, she looked at Chloe and remarked, “Now I understand why Wuxu configured you as a vampire.”

“Indeed. Without this explosive regenerative ability, I might have perished long ago.”

Chloe shuddered, having brushed against the edge of death nearly twice now.

“You truly enjoy leaping into the fire. First for the little maid, now for Xina. Who will you sacrifice yourself for next?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps for you.”

At Chloe’s words, Alice paused for a moment. She turned her face away, muttering, “Enough… sweet talk won’t solve the predicament we’re in. By the way, did you peek at my letter?”

“Can something concerning the Divine Chosen be called peeking? It’s called pilfering!”

“Forget it, I wasn’t really trying to hide it from you anyway.” Alice turned her head back. “The reality is far more serious than what was written in the letter.”

“How serious?”

“Serious enough that the letter was actually slipped under my door.”

‘This means the Original Order has already infiltrated Sirena Castle?’ Chloe thought, a cold dread seizing her. ‘Damn it, besides Cliff, there are other Original Order members stirring up trouble.’

“This was actually their warning. They demand that I hand you over immediately, or they will kill me.”

“You’re an Elder. Are you afraid of them?”

Alice sighed. “All creatures have natural predators. That tiger’s predator was you, an immortal bat. And the Elders’ predators are the Original Order. They understand Elder magic intimately because they were once Elders themselves, making it effortless for them to kill us.”

“You refused them, didn’t you?”

“No, actually… we are currently inside an Original Order fortress.”

What? Chloe bolted upright, almost tearing the white bandages wrapped around her.

“It’s a long story…”

Alice seemed unwilling to delve deeper into the topic. However, the door suddenly swung open, revealing a familiar face. The person stepped in, then firmly closed the door, leaning against it.

And he should have been dead.

“Xiao Nuoqi?” Chloe’s heart nearly stopped from fright.

The Xiao Nuoqi before her now wore a long grey robe, its style almost identical to the golden-red one, but its flashy exterior had faded, replaced by a dignified grey. His face bore light makeup, shedding the facade of a naive youth. Her alluring green eyes fixed on Chloe.

“Shh.”

Longinus placed a finger to Chloe’s lips, a mischievous smile playing on her face.

“Lady Chloe, Lady Xina is still sleeping. We wouldn’t want to wake her, would we?”

“State your name,” Alice said coolly.

“Second Sequence, and the head of the Seven Star Sword Saints, Noria Cassia Longinus. It’s truly annoying to share a name with that fool, so I prefer you call me Longinus.”

Longinus slightly lifted her robe, performing a simple curtsy.

“What in the world happened? Weren’t you bitten to death by a tiger? Are you a woman? No, wait, how are you an Original Order member?” Chloe’s words tumbled out incoherently, a barrage of questions hurled at Longinus. She didn’t expect answers, only sought to vent her frantic emotions.

Yet, Longinus surprisingly answered each query: “First, the one who died wasn’t me. Second, I am not entirely a woman. Third, I have always been an Original Order member.”

“Let’s discuss the specifics outside. We shouldn’t disturb Lady Xina’s sleep.”

Longinus chuckled softly, her back moving away from the door, and she gestured for Alice to open it. Alice complied, and silver moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her haggard face.

Chloe gazed at the hazy moonlight, her heart gripped by a hand of fear so tightly it was almost suffocating.

For Xina, for Alice, for her companions, and for herself, she was obligated to confront the truth. Resolutely, she stepped out of the room, allowing her body to bathe in the moonlight.