Asura in Arknights

After lying on the ground panting for a few minutes, Xue Si gradually recovered. He glared fiercely but did nothing more, seemingly recognizing the difference in strength between the two sides.

Since Xue Si didn't move, Simone dared not move at all.

A moment later, Adele took out all the bandages in the room, and Xue Si let Li Ang do whatever he wanted to him. He used more than a dozen bundles of bandages to tie him up tightly like a big rice dumpling, with only his two nostrils sticking out.

After resolving the issue with Yukisa, only Simone remains.

“Miss Simone, thank you for the information you just gave us, so I’ve decided to give you a little special treatment.”

Li Ang held up the bandage in his hand to her and said, "Are you going to come with us, or are you going to be like this guy on the ground, and I'll tie you up and take you away?"

-------------------------------------

Simone ultimately made a rational choice. After all, being tied up like a dumpling and then carried by Li Ang like a sack was just too humiliating, and she couldn't bear the outcome.

Since Simone chose to obey, Li Ang did nothing to her.

Carrying the snow offering wrapped up like a rice dumpling, the three of them sped towards the Dali Temple's headquarters.

Using the two talismans that Jingzhe had given them, Li Ang led Simone into the Dali Temple's residence.

"Where's Jingzhe? Where is she? I have something urgent to discuss with her." As soon as he entered the inn, Li Ang shouted loudly.

A moment later, Jingzhe came out of a room on the second floor and stood in the corridor, looking down at the three of them. "Don't shout here, I can hear you."

"Speak, what do you want from me? Wait... what's that in your hand?"

Jingzhe wasn't blind; she certainly couldn't have missed what Li Ang was carrying.

But no matter how you look at it, it looks like a living person who has been tied up... And the girl who came back with them doesn't seem to have come voluntarily either. When did these two switch to human trafficking?

"That's what I wanted to talk about. I encountered a slight mishap today, so I brought you a gift."

"Speak," Li Ang said, throwing the snow sacrifice onto the floor in front of him, causing the other person to cry out in pain. "This is Sami's snow sacrifice, it should be the one you mentioned before."

"I packed him up and brought him back for you."

"..."

"..."

There was an awkward silence in the hotel for a moment. Many people had heard what Li Ang had just said, but they couldn't quite believe what they had heard.

Jingzhe stared blankly for a moment before shouting in disbelief, "...Huh??? Are you kidding me??"

The one who was just thrown to the ground... was a Yukishi?

Chapter Sixty-Nine: There Are Not So Many Coincidences

Jingzhe is one of the Nine Ministers of Yan Kingdom. Although she has not been in office for very long, she has taken on many difficult cases from all over Yan Kingdom during her tenure. She is quite knowledgeable and has seen all kinds of strange and unusual situations.

Sorry... she's never seen anything like this before.

After only a day apart, these two managed to capture a Snow Fairy alive?

This isn't a gift, it's a complete shock!

"He is Xue Si? Where did you come from... no, why did you bring him here?" Jing Zhe said incoherently, rubbing her forehead.

After all, what Li Ang did had such a profound impact on the Spring Equinox.

Before coming to Sami, Jingzhe had already conducted a detailed investigation of the situation there.

There are only two kinds of people in this country who can make her wary: Queen Sami and this mysterious group of Snow Priests.

The Queen would not leave the capital of the country easily, which means that she only needed to be careful of those elusive Snow Spirits. Now, a Snow Spirit has actually been captured alive and thrown in front of her. How could Jingzhe not be shocked?

Jingzhe has already confirmed that the person tied up on the ground is not simple. Even if it is not Xue Si, it may be someone in a high position whose strength is at least no less than hers.

Li Ang was able to subdue this person without harming him in the slightest, which also means that he could easily defeat Jingzhe. If it weren't for Lei Fa gaining a slight advantage, it would be hard to say what the outcome of the conflict would have been.

“It’s alright, this guy must have concealed his whereabouts and sneaked here.” Li Ang shook his head, indicating to Jingzhe that there was no need to worry. “No matter what he’s doing here, it will definitely affect our next plan, so I might as well just arrest him.”

"Why did you bring him here... There's nowhere else suitable to hide this guy except here."

This is, after all, the place where the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review resides. Unless Sami is willing to completely break ties with the Yan Kingdom, he wouldn't force his way in here no matter how desperate he is.

Jingzhe twitched her lips, barely agreeing with Li Ang's statement.

No matter how troublesome Xue Si was, she never thought of controlling Xue Si. Jing Zhe really didn't know what to say.

However, since it has already happened, it's too late to regret it now. It's better to think about how to handle the aftermath.

Taking a deep breath, Jingzhe pointed to Simone behind them and asked, "And who is she?"

The presence of a snow spirit lying on the ground was troublesome enough, but who was this girl who came back with them? Could she be just an insignificant passerby?

“This is Simona, a reserve Snow Sacrifice, and also one of the survivors of last year’s mountain festival,” Li Ang introduced to Jingzhe. “She can be of great help to our operation.”

Simone nodded nervously to Jingzhe.

The current situation is somewhat beyond Simona's expectations. She originally wanted to pretend to agree to Xia La and then take the opportunity to escape with Xue Si, or spread the news to seek help, but Li Ang actually brought them to the Yan people.

With so many people watching, Simone had no way to put her ideas into practice.

"I understand... Let me think about it carefully first..."

Jingzhe waved her hand, rubbed her temples with a pained expression, indicating that she needed to calm down.

This girl is indeed no ordinary person, a reserve Xue Si... This means that the plan she just came up with has fallen through again. She was originally thinking that Xue Si was tied up tightly by Li Ang, so she might not have recognized their identities, which provided a lot of room for maneuver.

But all of this was seen by another reserve member, Xue Si, who immediately dissuaded Jing Zhe from having such an idea.

Now, Jingzhe finally realizes that Li Ang's style of doing things... is somewhat unscrupulous, and he seems to have no regard for the consequences of his actions.

They did manage to capture Xue Si, and the survivors of the last mountain sacrifice did indeed provide a lot of help. But what happened after that? Whether they killed him to silence him or not, they had completely offended the Sami. To make matters worse, the Dali Temple was dragged into this mess as well.

However, he does indeed have the ability to do so.

Li Ang's ability to capture Xue Si alive further elevated his status in Jing Zhe's eyes. Apart from her almost omnipotent master, there were probably few who could rival this man.

"I need you to tell me everything you did today. I need to know exactly what happened today," Jingzhe said solemnly, staring at Li Ang and the others.

-------------------------------------

Jingzhe summoned her subordinates, who once again set up the screens used to prevent leaks, surrounding them all.

However, compared to yesterday, the atmosphere inside the screen seemed much stranger.

The officials from the Dali Temple had already removed the bandages from Xue Si's body and replaced her with a more sturdy set of prison clothes, effectively restraining her. This meant that, at least within Sami territory, the Dali Temple and Li Ang were in cahoots.

After getting a general idea of ​​what Li Ang had done that day, Jingzhe focused her attention on Simone and the Snow Maiden.

Simone was quite cooperative; no matter what question Jingzhe asked, she would give a passable answer after a brief silence.

The only regret is that Simone is unaware of what happened 21 years ago. She was only a few years old at the time, so it's impossible for her to remember what happened back then.

The other Yukishi's behavior was rather strange.

He didn't stop Simone from answering Jingzhe's question; he just stood by and watched Li Ang and the others with a cold smile, leaving everyone wondering what he was thinking.

When Jingzhe asks him, he pretends to be deaf and dumb, selectively ignoring the questions he hears.

This guy is very likely to know what happened 21 years ago, but even if we use torture, Jingzhe won't be able to get him to talk anytime soon, so we can only put these kinds of thoughts aside for now and make plans after we return from the Dark Mountains.

From Simone's words, Jingzhe gradually understood just how serious the problems Sami had encountered over the past twenty years had been.

What made Jingzhe's expression even more uncertain was that the timing of Sami's problems coincided with the time when the suspect disappeared years ago.

No way... this is too much of a coincidence.

Although Jingzhe was reluctant to believe it, her experience as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review told her that there were not that many coincidences in this world.

Chapter Seventy: The Prisoner's Self-Awareness (Revised)

That unsolved case was like an invisible net, which not only covered Yan, Ursus, and Victoria, but also touched on small countries like Sami, which are located in a corner of the world.

The more Jingzhe investigated, the more confused she became about everything before her. Who exactly was capable of causing trouble under the noses of so many countries?

If she can't find any clues this time, she'll probably have no choice but to shelve the case file like the previous two Dali Temple Ministers.

“Then we should not delay. Let’s set off immediately tonight.” Jingzhe took a deep breath and said, “I have already arranged the next task for the Dali Temple. They will be able to buy enough time.”

Jingzhe (the day after the Spring Equinox) doesn't leave work until the last minute. She finished all the work in just over a day, and the remaining time was reserved to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

This is an emergency.

After pondering for a moment, Jingzhe realized that although they had captured Xuesi, the situation was not much better than before, and had even become more urgent.

As time goes on, the news of Yuki's disappearance will inevitably come to light sooner or later. It's likely that if Hammerforst's people try to contact Yuki, who is 'on the way,' they will discover the problem.

Therefore, Jingzhe simply moved the departure time forward to tonight.

"What about the route? Has it been chosen yet?"

“Your companion is confirming the route; it should be finalized soon,” Jingzhe replied.

"In that case, I have nothing more to say. What about you, Adele?"

Adele shook her head as well.

It was also her wish to get deep into the Dark Mountains as soon as possible, so she naturally wouldn't object to Jingzhe's suggestion.

“Then it’s decided.” Jingzhe said decisively.

"By the way, who are you planning to take with you this time? You definitely need to bring these two along, so that there aren't too many people and we don't attract attention before we even leave the city," Li Ang said, pointing to Simone and Xue Si.

"Don't worry, I'll only be taking Xuancheng with me this time."

"Just that one simpleton...?" Li Ang was somewhat surprised and almost blurted out his thoughts.

Taking that idiot Xuancheng along? Aren't you afraid he'll cause trouble on the way?

Judging from Li Ang's reaction, Jingzhe knew what Li Ang was thinking. These are the thoughts of most people, so there's nothing strange about it.

“You underestimate him, or everyone underestimates her,” Jingzhe said slowly.

Most people's impression of Xuan Cheng is that he acts without thinking, but few remember that when he gets serious, Xuan Cheng's strength can rank among the top in Dali Temple.

Moreover, Xuancheng was also proficient in the art of talismans.

The barrier protecting this hotel and the tools controlling the snow ritual were all made by this not-so-bright guy. The advantage of the talisman way is its versatility; it can find a way to deal with almost any situation. However, in direct combat, talismans are not actually superior to other abilities.

Speaking of talismans, Li Ang was very curious about the principles behind this kind of magic, but his relationship with the Dali Temple was obviously not close enough yet. Asking rashly would only earn him disdain. After this exploration was over, with the foundation of this cooperation, the situation might be much better.

The two prisoners naturally had no right to express their opinions, so the departure time and the selection of personnel were decided accordingly.

Li Ang, Adele, Magellan as their guide, two prisoners, and Jingzhe and her deputy Xuancheng, a total of seven people.

"There's a small question I need to understand first,"

As Jingzhe was preparing to call for help and remove the screen, Li Ang suddenly thought of a few questions and asked Simone, "Of course, if you don't want to answer, that's fine too. This question isn't that important."

"It was you last year, why is it still you this year?"

It's easy to guess why Yukishi came to Simone: she wanted her to continue participating in the mountain festival this year so that she could officially inherit Yukishi's power.

However, the ritual itself is undoubtedly dangerous. The failed ritual last year left Simone with very serious aftereffects. Wounds would inexplicably appear all over her body, and she was constantly on the verge of losing too much blood and could faint at any moment.

From both a moral and logical standpoint, Simone should not be allowed to participate in this ritual. On the one hand, she might die during the ritual, and on the other hand, what if her injuries cause problems with the mountain sacrifice?

However, Li Ang received a somewhat laughable answer—nobody.

The reason is simple: apart from Simone, there are no other Snow Sacrifice candidates.

To become a Snow Priest, one must meet some very special requirements; otherwise, it is impossible to pass the various trials in the mountain ritual. Simone does not know what these criteria are, but she is certain that very few people meet them.

After each mountain sacrifice ceremony, the snow priests have ten years to find a candidate for the next ceremony, but this time the time was too tight, with less than a year. They used all the manpower they could, but still couldn't find another qualified person.

Left with no other choice, Simone was allowed to continue as the main figure in the ceremony.

As for what changes the ritual would undergo if the protagonist died during the mountain sacrifice, the Snow Worshippers could not answer that question, but at least it wouldn't be worse than not holding the ritual at all.

Nodding, Li Ang indicated that he understood.

Simone clearly had many reservations about the mountain worship ceremony, but this was not surprising at all, as Li Ang did not want to pry into her secrets.

After questioning Simone, Li Ang turned his attention to Xue Si, whom he had captured alive.

Do you recognize this?

Li Ang took out the pendant he had been keeping for Magellan from his pocket, waved it in front of him, and asked.

Xue Si's indifferent expression finally vanished. He stared at the snowflake-shaped pendant and said through gritted teeth, "Kid, where did you get this thing?"

This Snow Priest is probably around forty or fifty years old, and is likely the last person in the country to become a Snow Priest. What he knows is naturally beyond what Simona, a reserve, can compare to. We need to find a way to force him to talk.

Li Ang ignored Xue Si's rude remarks and said bluntly, "What's it to you? Besides... do you think you have the right to ask that now?"