"How many gold coins can you offer?"
When Anbaixiu asked this, not only was the girl Naomi stunned, but even the hag hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, freezing for a good while before she could react.
The hag said excitedly, "You want money? Good, I can give you five thousand gold coins!"
Naomi's heart tightened. Would this lich violate their contract for five thousand gold coins?
Surely not, right? After all, they had agreed on ten thousand gold coins earlier—the druids were paying more.
As expected, Anbaixiu didn't agree. However, he said to the hag, "Only five thousand? That's not enough. The druids offered me fifty thousand gold coins."
Naomi: "..."
Her comfort just moments ago now lost all meaning. This lich was the type to blurt out shameless lies without batting an eye!
The hag was also startled. A price of fifty thousand gold coins was utterly absurd; even if she slaughtered all these druids and sold them off skin, flesh, and all, they wouldn't fetch fifty thousand.
"Ohoho, you lich, you're a bigger liar than a hag. I won't waste time with you. The most gold coins I can produce is twenty thousand. One price—take it or leave it?!"
The hag's offer made Naomi tremble with fear once more. This was already double her price.
Given this lich's character, he might really agree.
As if to validate Naomi's fears, Anbaixiu suddenly turned around and waved the staff in his hand toward her.
Before Naomi could react, she felt the Statue of Silvanus snatched from her grasp.
Looking closely, it was a glowing arm floating in midair.
Mage Hand, like Ray of Frost, was an extremely basic spell that almost anyone could cast. But casting it as swiftly as Anbaixiu did was genuinely no easy feat.
Inexperienced as Naomi was, she hadn't expected Anbaixiu to turn hostile faster than flipping a page. Just as the Statue of Silvanus was snatched away, Anbaixiu's next spell fell upon her.
Dark red rays of light constructed a massive cage, trapping Naomi within. The young druid found that she couldn't even move a finger.
Hold Person. This was considered a relatively high-tier spell with a potent effect against humanoids; until the spell's effect ended, Naomi would remain completely at the mercy of others.
Having done this, Anbaixiu turned back toward the hag and said to her, "Cash in one hand, person in the other. Oh, and by the way, I'm taking the Statue of Silvanus with me."
The hag let out a cackling laugh. From the darkness, a mutated rat crept out, bearing a small pouch on its back—clearly another spatial pouch.
Anbaixiu cautiously controlled the Mage Hand to pick up the coin pouch, inspecting it repeatedly to confirm there were no magical traps before opening it with peace of mind.
Soon, Anbaixiu frowned and said, "Why is it only a little over eighteen thousand gold coins?"
The hag said angrily, "This spatial pouch of mine is worth at least three or four thousand gold coins! You have the nerve to nickel-and-dime me over two thousand?!"
Anbaixiu replied, "Fine, I'll take a bit of a loss and give you a discount."
The hag was nearly infuriated to death by Anbaixiu. This lich truly had no shame when it came to money. If she hadn't been outmatched, she would definitely have torn this lich apart and turned him into a chamber pot.
The transaction between the hag and Anbaixiu was clearly seen by the druids within the illusion. Seeing Naomi immobilized by Anbaixiu's spell, the dark-skinned druid Van Jones clenched his fists until they creaked.
Unfortunately, Van Jones was utterly powerless and could only pray in his heart: *Undead truly are despicable, shameless creatures of evil! Silvanus above, please save your believers!*
Yet the deity didn't seem to notice the prayers of a few minor druids; Anbaixiu and the hag still stood there safe and sound, without suffering the slightest divine retribution.
However, after stashing the coin pouch away, Anbaixiu was in no hurry to hand Naomi over. Instead, he asked leisurely, "The City of Alchemy has certainly been lively lately. Paladins from the Ryan Empire came down into these sewers, druids came down into the sewers, and even a hag like you has crawled down here... What on earth did you all come here for? What's the benefit of this wretched place?"
The hag answered nonchalantly, "Don't you know? With your power, you're considered a big shot among the undead. Haven't you heard that prophecy? The sewers of the City of Alchemy harbor the secrets of the gods. As long as one finds it, one can ascend to godhood."
"Huh?"
Anbaixiu felt as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. Ascending to godhood in this wretched place?
Hearing the disdain in Anbaixiu's tone, the hag said with some annoyance, "Do you think it's fake?"
Anbaixiu didn't answer, shifting the subject instead. "So, have you found any clues about ascending to godhood?"
The hag sneered. "Even if I had, would I tell you? Even if I told you, would you believe me?"
Anbaixiu nodded and said, "Fair point. Looks like there's nothing left to ask."
Hearing Anbaixiu's words, the hag suddenly felt something was amiss. An intense sense of crisis made her body stiffen.
She was clearly concealed within the darkness, and she had already readied a teleportation spell. A hag might be lacking in other areas, but her ability to flee was unequivocally top-notch; otherwise, how could such a brutal monster have survived for so long?
Though she didn't know where the danger was coming from, the hag decisively chose to run.
The teleportation spell was already prepared, needing only a single thought to trigger. This spell could teleport the hag to a random location hundreds of meters away. In these complex sewers, even teleporting just ten meters away could put several walls between them, enough for her to make a clean getaway.
Yet the moment the teleportation spell was cast, the hag was shocked to find herself appearing right in front of Anbaixiu, less than ten meters apart.
"How is this possible?!"
A random location within hundreds of meters, and it just had to deliver her right in front of the enemy?
The hag was startled, but immediately cast a second teleportation spell. Her mastery of teleportation was unparalleled; casting it consecutively was still completely seamless, with virtually no perceptible pause.
Yet this teleportation shocked the hag once more, because this time she had actually flashed in place, moving less than a single meter.
Anbaixiu hovered quietly before the hag, watching as she teleported frantically like someone having a seizure, yet the outcome of every teleportation was the same.
In shock, the hag blurted out, "A spell that replaces outcomes... Y-You're a wizard from the School of Divination?!"
Anbaixiu said approvingly, "Impressive. To think someone still remembers the School of Divination nowadays. I thought this school had long been submerged in the river of time."
The hag knew she was in deep trouble. With her teleportation rendered useless, she had no way to escape. Her only option now was to fight for her life.
Just as the hag prepared to unleash an offensive spell at Anbaixiu, magical light from his staff had already landed upon her.
The next second, as if struck by some trigger, she began to laugh uncontrollably.
The laughter was utterly grating, yet the hag simply could not stop.
In just a few seconds, the hag laughed until she doubled over, laughed until she coughed, laughed until streaks of blood nearly welled up from her lungs and throat, until finally she couldn't even stand, left rolling on the filthy ground.
Tasha's Hideous Laughter. A very common control spell; once hit, the target would plunge into uncontrollable laughter, incapable of any action other than laughing.
And after Anbaixiu cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on the hag, the light of the Hold Person spell on Naomi dissipated as well.
Anbaixiu said to the bewildered Naomi, "Alright, the hag is under my control. Your clansmen should be safe as well."
Naomi stared blankly at Anbaixiu, completely unable to distinguish what was real from what was fake.
"What are you spacing out for? Did you really think I would break our contract?" Anbaixiu explained.
"But you took her gold coins, and I haven't paid yet..." Naomi murmured softly.
Anbaixiu laughed smugly. "Hahaha! Do you think I wouldn't have gotten those gold coins if she hadn't paid? Naive little girl—once I kill this hag, the coins are mine anyway. I was just wheedling information out of her to find out the secret of these sewers."
Naomi felt that in just this short time, her entire worldview had suffered a massive shock. The world was far too terrifying; she wanted to go back to her tribe.
Chapter 29