Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 682, Part 24
"To scare away outsiders and keep them away from danger?"

Beside the reservoir, Slimani cautiously interjected, "Emerald City is quite safe, and you don't look like troublemakers or wealthy people. Um, sorry, I mean, where's the danger?"

The abandoned reservoir has fallen silent.

Voniac snorted.

"Danger? Too much of it."

Uncle Hauser sighed: "Everything, everything from normal people, is dangerous to us."

Slimani was completely bewildered.

“Gaze,” Hilly suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of many, “the gaze and words of normal people, and everything they can do because of their ‘normal’ physique, is harmful to us.”

“Not only that, their pity, sympathy, contempt, curses, rejection, isolation, there’s so much more,” Uncle Hauser stopped his work and sighed, “And us, we’re on the ground, in their eyes we’re only half a person.”

He compared his height to his own and made a sarcastic expression.

“Ha, it’s much better here than up there,” Voniac crossed his arms, the large tumor on his shoulder jiggling. “I heard someone even struck it rich by finding an underground vein of pyrite…”

Slimani raised an eyebrow: "Then why are you still here?"

“Some of us… have to give up our wealth and status and stay to take care of everyone.” Voniac’s voice trailed off.

Everyone laughed.

"So, Twenty-four, have you found your parents?" Dorothy asked.

Thales frowned.

Looking for parents?
Hilly paused, and after a few seconds, her expression darkened.

No, I'm still looking for them.

“I advise you to give up as soon as possible,” Vonniak scoffed. “The fact that they abandoned us at birth says a lot.”

“I…” Hillay hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

"Waaah, waaah." Bobo gave a speech that no one could understand.

“It’s okay, for people like us,” Hauser continued dismantling the old items, seemingly unconcerned, “sometimes, it’s a good thing we can’t find them.”

Granny Gadama nudged Hauser with her elbow and glared at everyone.

Seeing this, everyone by the reservoir quickly dispersed as if nothing had happened and went about their own business. Even Srimani was trembling as Boboti scurried away.

“About this place, the Corpse Pit, the people here, and ‘parents’,” Thales whispered to Hilly, “don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Hilly turned around and smiled mysteriously:

"All you need to know is that this is a place Jen can't find, that's enough."

Thales raised an eyebrow:
"Alright, so what's the plan now? Just wait here?"

"Of course not, we're here to ask for help."

"Whose help?"

Before he finished speaking, a considerable commotion broke out in the tunnel.

Thales turned his head and saw, in the firelight, a short, stout man in a dark robe carrying a large bag, appear at the corner of the tunnel.

His clothes were simply decorated, yet made of luxurious materials, making him stand out from his surroundings.

In an instant, not only in this reservoir, but in almost every settlement in the tunnel, people stood up.

"grown ups!"

"Thank you!"

"May the sunset bless you..."

Over here, Aunt Gadamer and Dorothy also stood up, urging Vonniak:

"The master is here! Quick, quick, go and get our gifts..."

The man carrying the bag walked through the settlements, stopping at each one to distribute some things, and the people responded warmly to him:
"This is for you, please accept it!"

"this way please!"

"Come eat with us!"

Thales frowned as he watched the man's figure.

That person... looks familiar?
"Who is that?"

“Ah, here we are,” Hilla replied, “the person we’re looking for has arrived.”

Before long, the short, stout man in the robe arrived at the reservoir. He first accepted Dorothy and Aunt Gadama's gift—a packet of tobacco—with a smile, and then went straight to Hauser's workbench.

"Here you go, Hauser, this week's share."

Uncle Hauser took the bag the man handed him:
"Wow, you've made quite a bit of money, haven't you?"

“The world is in turmoil lately, and everyone wants to pray for divine protection, especially the rich,” the man muttered.

"By the way, your magic props are very effective and realistic. Well, maybe too realistic. When I was praying, a lady was convinced that she heard her deceased daughter's voice and chased after me trying to give me money."

Hauser paused for a moment:
"Then what did you say?"

The short, stout man sighed, then expertly sat down at Hauser's workbench and retrieved a hookah from under it.

“I told her that yes, that was her deceased daughter, and that she was at peace and no longer in pain.”

Seeing the other person reach for the hookah, Thales suddenly remembered the other person's identity.

"The priest of Chad?"

Thales blurted it out.

"Yes."

The man in the robe didn't even light a cigarette. He turned around and looked at Thales, who was dressed in tattered and shabby clothes: "Hmm, I don't think I've seen you before?"

Thales blinked, unsure how to answer.

Indeed, the man before them was none other than the priest, Chadwi, who had been secretly smoking in the confessional of the Temple of Sunset.

Hilly coughed beside her.

The Chadwi priest looked at Hilaire, and after a moment, he was horrified:
"you--"

"Yes, I am twenty-four!"

Hilly interrupted him loudly, winking repeatedly, "Yes, I haven't been back in a long time, remember?"

Chadwi stood there, stunned.

"Xi—Twenty-four, what are you doing here?"

“Yes, I’m here,” Hilly said, beaming as she showed off her twelve fingers. “Right here, just like years ago, remember?”

Chadwi chuckled, his head throbbing.

“Oh, by the way, this is,” Hilly said with a smile, pulling Thales over, “um, my… friend.”

“Boyfriend,” Granny Gadama murmured from behind, unsurprisingly earning a fierce glare from Hilaire.

Boy friend?
Her boyfriend?
Chadwi looked puzzled, but then he remembered something.

The priest scrutinized Thales for a few seconds, then his expression suddenly changed drastically!

"temple--"

"Correct!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Thales quickly spoke up:
"I'm Wyman! I'm a 24-year-old male—uh, friend!"

Voniac snorted unhappily from the side.

The priest Chadwi felt dizzy for a moment. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down and looked at Hilaire pitifully:

"Okay, I understand the logic, but why..."

Before Chadwi could finish speaking, Hilay pulled him away and whispered something in a corner.

Okay, I see. Chad and this tunnel full of disabled people...

Thales watched from afar as Chadwi and Hilla argued in hushed tones, but the former was clearly weak and at a disadvantage, while the latter was assertive and in control, occasionally pointing in Thales' and Slimani's direction.

Thales swore that even without his Hell Senses, he could vaguely hear Hilly mention "you and old lady Tor" at least twice, and each time he did, Chadwi's expression grew more unpleasant, as if he were guilty.

"Waiya, will you stay?" A sweet voice rang in my ears.

Thales was stunned for a second before realizing that "Wyatt" was calling him.

He quickly turned around and answered Dorothy, "Uh, is that so?"

But Dorothy sighed.

“Okay, I was overthinking it,” the girl shook her head, her face completely obscured by thick hair. “You, including Twenty-Four, are all different. How could you possibly want to stay and be with us?”

Thales was speechless for a moment.

He was at a loss for words when faced with this girl who seemed to have a gentle personality but had a peculiar face.

"You must love her very much, right?"

Thales had another headache;
"what?"

“That’s why she loves you so much,” Dorothy sighed, “and was even willing to bring you down here.”

“No, you’ve got it wrong,” Thales said, utterly exasperated. “She and I aren’t…”

But Dorothy ignored his explanation.

“You know, in the past, we also had people who brought their lovers to the tunnels and showed them their worst side, their worst friends.”

Dorothy's bright, clear eyes peeked out from between her fur and stared intently at Thales;
"But most people, after seeing everyone in the tunnel, never came back."

Thales was stunned.

Dorothy cautiously peeked out, then, realizing what was happening, carefully withdrew, making sure her face wasn't directly facing him.
"So, Wyman, will you... will you come back? Come back to see us?"

Thales fell silent.

He looked at the damp, dark tunnel that reeked of a foul stench, and at the disabled or incomplete people in each settlement.

He looked again at Hilay, who was still talking to the priest Chadwi, in the distance. His heart suddenly calmed down.

“Yes,” Thales’ voice rang out, calm and gentle. “I will come back, Dorothy.”

He looked at Dorothy and smiled:
"This place is great."

Dorothy looked back at him, then after a few seconds, she shrank back to her original position and gave an indifferent smile.

"It's a lie, it's not great here at all, especially for the people up here—I know that."

But Thales shook his head.

“No, it’s great here, really great,” Thales said, watching Hilly swing his arms freely. “Especially for Hilly—for Twenty-Four.”

Dorothy remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a sigh;

"The book is right—you really love her."

In the book?

Thales was taken aback, but Dorothy had already closed the romance novel she was holding and turned to leave.

But not long after Dorothy left, Vonigak, with his tumor and peculiar physique, plopped down next to Thales.

"Tell me, what's wrong with you?"

Thales was taken aback again: "Huh?"

“There must be something missing about you, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to look at twenty-four, right?” Woniak said to Thales sullenly.

what?
Thales's lips twitched, and he could only manage a helpless smile:

"Okay, she said it, I'm an idiot."

“Bullshit,” Voniac glanced guiltily in the direction of Granny Gadama and lowered his voice, “Twenty-four, even among us, she is the best. She wouldn’t be interested in a… idiot.”

Thales covered his forehead and sighed:
“I’ll say it again, she really didn’t like me.”

"She lets you touch her hand."

"what?"

Vonig's expression darkened:
"You held her hand when we were in the sewer."

Thales was taken aback;
"What? Oh, that was an emergency—"

“Twenty-four never lets anyone touch her hand, no one,” Woniak said sullenly, poking at the lump on his shoulder. “She’s been like this since the first day, since the priest Chadwi first brought her here.”

Thales was speechless.

"So, there must be something wrong with you, right?"

Woniak’s words were filled with hope, as if this fact could reassure him: “That’s why I had to look for Twenty-Four, for… people like us.”

Thales looked at him, remaining silent for a long time.

"what happened?"

“You know what, Vonniak,” the boy sighed, “there is no one in this world who is whole.”

Voniac was taken aback.

"It's just that some people's flaws are visible, while others' are not."

Thales said absentmindedly:

"To me, those unseen flaws are more terrifying."

Voniac scratched his head, seemingly not quite understanding, yet also seemingly touched.

But he took a final deep breath and contorted his face, which was covered in tumors.

“You know, Wyah, once we get out of here, if you dare to treat her badly,” Woniak clenched his fist and said hatefully, “I’ll, I’ll…”

When Vonniak got to the point, he found himself speechless.

Thales could only smile politely.

“I’ll go to your doorstep and wail every day!” Voniac finally came up with an answer and said viciously.

what?
Thales looked at him, puzzled.

“You know, people, people like me, if they show up at your house every day,” Woniak stammered, “then people will, will hate it… In short, after a while, they won’t want to go to your house anymore, and you’ll be in big trouble, really in big trouble.”

Thales stared at the sickly-looking Woniak, and paused for a moment:
"how do you know?"

“I just knew it,” Vonniak pouted.

For a moment, Thales fell silent.

"But stay here for at least the next few days; it's dangerous on the ground."

Thales frowned:
"what?"

"Haven't you heard? The Blood Bottle Gang and the Brotherhood are at war, and people are dying every day."

"Oh."

Vonniak was very dissatisfied with his attitude:
“I’m serious! We even found bodies floating downstream, their necks chopped off! We, you, you and Twenty-Four should stay here until the danger passes.”

Thales frowned.

at this time.

boom!
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

A loud, piercing knocking sound echoed through the Corpse Demon Pit, extremely jarring.

In an instant, everyone in the tunnel stopped what they were doing and looked in one direction.

"What's going on?" Thales asked, puzzled.

boom! boom! boom!
The knocking grew more urgent, clearly indicating that the person knocking was quite impatient.

Voniac stood up unsteadily and pointed to a dark hole, which was the direction from which the sound came.

“It’s alright, there’s more than one exit in the tunnel, but only our own people know about them,” the young man with the tumor shook his head and limped toward the entrance. “That’s one of them, I’ll go open it.”

Bang bang bang!

Thales frowned, instinctively sensing that something was wrong.

The knocking was... way too urgent.

It's too cruel.

It was like, like a wild beast, frantically pounding on the door.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
The sins of the River of Hell ignite, drawing Thales into the senses of hell.

Voniac struggled forward, squeezed sideways into the opening, and disappeared down the steps.

At that very moment, Thales sensed something.

His expression changed drastically, and he abruptly stood up:

"Wait, don't open the door!"

But it's too late.

pat.

The sound of a mechanism clicking and the door opening came from the opening.

"Huh? Who are you? Why are you holding a knife—Hey, let me go, no, no, no!!!"

Inside the cave, Vonniak's voice was first filled with confusion, then turned to utter terror.

Until the very end, he let out a painful and desperate cry, followed by the sound of a human body hitting the ground.

Upon hearing this sound, the people in the tunnel—Hilal, Chadwi, Hauser, Slimani, and everyone else—were stunned.

tread, tread, tread...

Footsteps echoed from the cave entrance, reverberating through the tunnel.

We are getting closer and closer to them.

Fuck!
Thales tensed up, struggled to his feet, drew his JC dagger, and faced the dark hole.

No! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

Thales thought bitterly.

He should have recognized him sooner!

Yes, he confirmed it the instant Vonniak opened the door.

The thing that's not right is the taste.

The smell that first seeped from under the door, and then rushed in violently after the door was opened...

It smells like blood.

The smell of blood was incredibly pungent.

And in the senses of hell, there is an overwhelming sense of killing intent that cannot be ignored.

Thales took a deep breath and prepared for battle.

The footsteps grew heavier and closer.

Just like the bloody smell it brings.

"I just killed five, no, six people, to find this godforsaken place, all to find one person, just one person. To be honest, my patience is almost worn out." A cold voice came from the cave entrance.

tread, tread, tread...

"Now, you'd better be sensible."

Finally, amidst the pungent smell of blood, the owner of the footsteps emerged from the cave entrance, revealing his true form in the firelight of the tunnel.

"Don't force me to kill more."

At that moment, Thales gasped and stared in shock.

(End of this chapter)