The Deal

The person Cecelia feared most in her heart was Lacquerer, the director of the Courier Agency—a terror that hadn't changed even after witnessing Gregory. Though Lacquerer was not a Sanctuary sorcerer, he commanded three fiercely loyal Two-Wing battle generals, of whom "Iron Fist" Kaiwei was one. He wore an iridescent full-face helmet that completely covered his head; at a glance, his head seemed to possess only a mouth. Every day, the patterns and colors on his helmet changed, and staring at it for more than a few moments induced dizziness, as if he were a walking ritual statue. The terror he inspired lay not in cruelty, but in an utter, brazen madness. The first time Cecelia met Lacquerer, he had been turning her assignment target into a chair. Even though he had paid her no attention at all, wholly engrossed in assembling the piece in his hands, Cecelia hadn't dared to twitch a muscle, standing by his side and watching the entire ordeal from start to finish. Only after Lacquerer finished lacquering the chair did he say, "Actually, I wanted to make a table too, but you seem to possess a higher caliber." The Courier Agency was a small but highly elite sorcerer syndicate where no member dared cross Lacquerer's will. The ambitious saw Lacquerer as an opportunity born of chaos; the sadistic pursued higher forms of cruelty under his banner; but even more were simply drawn by Lacquerer's personal charisma... Lacquerer had never actually restricted Cecelia's coming and going, yet even as she lived in dread, she couldn't bring herself to leave, as though danger itself possessed a thrilling allure. Yet not even Lacquerer had ever made her feel a chill that sank so deeply into her marrow, bringing her very thoughts to a terrified standstill. Her nose clearly caught the citrusy fragrance of fruit; the pink curly ponytail brushing against her cheek was soft and lovely; the voice was sweet and melodious—yet she felt as though a colossal serpent coiled behind her, its damp, slimy tongue licking all over her body, ready to drag her into its belly at any second. *This* was the true devil from the urban legends! So there was more than one devil! Then what was their relationship— "Why are you here?" Yaxiu asked. "The Gospel notified us that a Sunseeker sorcery spirit had entered the city. After waiting a good while without seeing it reach the Liwan District, I came out to take a look." Vichy reached out and pinched Cecelia's chin, examining her like a plaything. "Who knew I'd be interrupting Master having a late-night snack~" *Master?!* Cecelia looked closely and realized this monster in human skin was actually wearing a maid uniform, and the casual naturalness with which she said "Master" was uncanny. No wonder she had claimed Cecelia wasn't qualified... When a monster like her could only serve as a maid, Cecelia felt she herself could at best amount to a metal doll. Vichy lifted Cecelia's mechanical arm and raised an eyebrow. "Machinery? Master, your tastes really are growing broader by the day." "Don't talk nonsense. Sword Princess's time of the month has arrived; I don't want to get on her bad side." Yaxiu said testily, "Do you know anything about the crowd outside?" Vichy glanced toward the Voodoo Agency members on the street outside and shook her head. "No idea. Did they upset you? Then later I'll treat them to a thousand-day soul-refining package, guaranteed to make them regret ever being born." Yaxiu said, "They plan to monopolize every Sunseeker sorcery spirit in Azura just to trade with us. If I hadn't caught them in the middle of a robbery, I wouldn't have stepped in either." "Mm, and what of it?" "Don't you see a problem with that?" "Isn't it great if an organization is willing to round up Sunseeker spirits for us? As long as we get the spirits, that's all that matters," Vichy said. "That was the direction I wanted to steer things toward all along anyway. Compared to scattered one-off deals, wouldn't it be far more convenient if someone took the lead and brought a massive supply to trade with us all at once?" "But if they monopolize the Sunseeker spirits, they could charge whatever exorbitant price they—" Yaxiu stopped midway, realizing the truth from the look Vichy gave him, as though looking at a fool. Vichy had never intended to trade fairly in the first place. She wanted to give mortals a taste of sweetness in the first few transactions, tempting them to monopolize the spirits and gather a massive hoard, convinced they could extort the devil with astronomical demands—only for the Spectre Prophet's mockery to await them. Vichy was indeed a devil. Her greatest talent was exploiting greed to lure mortals step by step into an abyss of no return. Thousands of years ago, she had undoubtedly relied on this very playbook to bleed her victims of every drop of value. Yaxiu couldn't even bring himself to fully blame her, because the Sunseeker sorcery spirits were vital to them, and any sorcerers hooked by greed would inevitably commit atrocities to secure their monopoly. Vichy slaughtering them and refining their souls wouldn't even count as defying Yaxiu's orders. Yet if Yaxiu quietly condoned such behavior this time, Vichy would certainly resort to even more radical methods in the future, steadily eroding his moral bottom line. *She finally stayed quiet for three months, and now this wicked woman is getting restless again, and I can't even easily chew her out...* Yaxiu massaged his temples and said, "You're not allowed to do that." "Understood, my dearest Master," Vichy replied flippantly, scratching Cecelia beneath the chin. "For now, let's finish this transaction first." Without Cecelia realizing it, Vichy had already sat down beside her, gathering her into an embrace. Yet Cecelia didn't feel the slightest comfort from it; instead, she felt the smothering terror of being coiled by a giant python. Hearing Vichy mention her, however, Cecelia summoned her courage and blurted out, "My wish is to follow you! I'm willing to do whatever you tell me to do, as long as I can stay by your side!" Her cheeks burned the moment the words left her mouth. She had never imagined she could be so reckless and impulsive, uttering what amounted to a vow of devotion to a mysterious being she had known for less than an hour—one suspected of being a devil, no less. Just thinking about it made her feel like an infatuated fool... Yet an inexplicable instinct told her that if she missed this chance, she would spend the rest of her life wondering if everything might have been different had she only been braver on this summer night. The only thing Cecelia feared was whether her forwardness would make him look down on her... But when she looked up, she saw the corners of Yaxiu's lips curve upward slightly, his smile laced with an unmistakable trace of embarrassment. "Thank you," he said in all sincerity. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me." Cecelia froze. Looking down at her knees, a hot stinging sensation welled in her eyes, and she wished she could crawl straight under the table and hide. Vichy sniffed near Cecelia's neck as if savoring fine wine. "What a stubborn, resilient soul... Mm, mixed with three parts ambition, three parts fury, three parts ruthlessness, a touch of a lovesick mind, decent talent, and wine-red hair to boot." "You really are a fine girl, but unfortunately, we have far too many girls like you where we come from." Vichy giggled softly. "You're too late, you know." She had managed to hold it together a moment ago, but under Vichy's mocking tease, Cecelia lost all control. Her eyes flooded with tears, and she could only wipe them away with the cold metal back of her hand. She didn't understand why she couldn't keep her emotions in check. When tormented each month by neuropathy and phantom limb pain, she could endure it without a single whimper. Yet now, merely failing to gain something left her grieving as though she had suffered a profound loss. "Stop teasing her," Yaxiu said exasperatedly. "Cecelia, may I call you that?" "Mm." "You might have gotten the wrong impression, but I'm really not some... cult leader. I don't take followers." Yaxiu paused, then said, "If you want to be friends with me, you don't need to make a wish for that. I'm not the type to charge a friendship fee." "As for wanting to stay by my side... I'm sorry, but being around me carries far too much risk for you. Besides, you're just acting on impulse right now. For all you know, you might wake up tomorrow morning and regret ever saying these words tonight." "Mm." "Don't worry, the reward I give you will more than make up for the hardships you endured along the way—" Before Yaxiu could finish, Cecelia slapped the box containing the Sunseeker sorcery spirit onto the table. Vichy reached out to take it, but Cecelia pressed down firmly, refusing to let go, staring obstinately at Yaxiu. The Spectre Prophet paused slightly, then raised her brows, her eyes flashing with playful malice as she looked at the metal doll— "Don't pick on a little girl." Smiling, Yaxiu tapped the back of Vichy's hand, took the box, and withdrew a small glass vial from his robes. Inside rested a teardrop-shaped droplet of dark red liquid. "Although it can't solve every problem, you won't need to worry about most of them anymore." "Huh?" Vichy blinked. "Do you really need to bring out that stuff? She's only a Silver sorcerer..." "She's currently being hunted by Two-Wing sorcerers for competing over the Sunseeker spirit. This drop of essence is just right to protect her." "I could just teach her the method of soul-refining slaughter! Slaying enemies above her rank would be a breeze!" The corner of Yaxiu's mouth twitched. "Setting aside whether I'd even allow you to teach it, isn't your sorcery heritage far more precious than a single drop of essence?" Vichy curled her lip. "I'd only teach knowledge up to the Gold realm. Either way, it'd be enough for her to dominate Two-Wing sorcerers." "And then end her sinful life because of soul-refining slaughter, right?" Yaxiu snapped back. "Our fair trade is supposed to satisfy their wishes as best we can, not push them into a fiery pit!" He lifted the vial and said to Cecelia, "This is knowledge essence. You don't need to memorize anything—you'll forget once the transaction concludes. All you need to remember is to keep it with you at all times. It will raise the success rate of your sorcery spirit summons and lower the difficulty of casting miracles. Any sorcerers within ten meters of you will be affected: their spellcasting will become harder, and the chance of their miracles failing will skyrocket. Even if Two-Wing sorcerers pursue you, you'll be able to escape with ease. Just make sure not to provoke Sanctuary sorcerers." Cecelia listened in stunned disbelief. "Does such an all-powerful treasure really exist?" This was knowledge essence capable of condensing hell wings. How could mortals withstand demigod might? Even a single drop was a treasure beyond earthly imagination. Yaxiu uncorked the vial and tipped out the drop of essence, then crooked his finger. The butterfly of flowing light perched on Cecelia's shoulder fluttered over, caught the droplet in its mouth, and transformed into a gorgeous dark gem pendant. Vichy took the pendant and fastened it around Cecelia's neck, grumbling, "Master, your aesthetic sense really is... to actually forge a pure gold chain to go with dark red..." "Ah? Does it look bad?" Yaxiu laughed sheepishly and stood up. "Then I'll reforge it—" "No, it looks wonderful!" Cecelia carefully cupped the pendant with her metal hands, as though afraid of crushing it if she used too much force, an inexplicable power surging through her body. "I want this one!" Just then, she felt her head gently patted. Looking up, she saw Yaxiu gazing at her with a gentle smile in his eyes. "The deal is done. Have a pleasant night, Cecelia." Yaxiu turned and walked out of the shop, waving a hand without looking back. "Until next time, little girl." Vichy stepped in front of her and offered a slight curtsy. Shedding her previous aggressive edge, she truly looked like a proper, elegant maid. Watching them vanish into the rainy night, Cecelia still felt as if she were dreaming. A desperate betrayal, a harrowing brush with death, a reward bestowed by devils... She seemed to have gained so much, yet she also seemed to have missed out on far more. Her memories of the two devils were already beginning to blur. When the sun rose tomorrow, she would completely forget their appearances and key details. But for now, she could still hold tightly to this lingering wonder the devils had left in her hands. The frozen world returned to normal. The patter of raindrops finally splashed against the ground, and wretched screams erupted along the street as the Sanctuary sorcerer whose eyes had been pierced rolled about on the ground. But Cecelia was in no mood to relish the pathetic spectacle of her enemy. A faint, belated grievance lingered in the metal doll's heart: "I'm already twenty. I'm not a little girl..."