Chapter 15: Rose Earl 15

The crisp chirping of birds began to sound, and the gentle breeze rustled through the green walls, bringing tranquility to the Rose Garden.

In an inconspicuous corner of the garden, the remaining three members of the Red Side climbed out from the cellar.

"Ouch—slow down." After being helped out by the Red Side woman and the young master, Cha Gong couldn't help but cry out in pain.

He had applied medicine to his wounds last night, but it only stopped the bleeding, not the pain. Even now, his lower abdomen and the area below were still throbbing, and he wondered if they would ever heal properly...

"Captain, if you can't bear the pain, you should drink the Regeneration Liquid," the Red Side woman suggested softly.

Hearing this, Cha Gong glared at her angrily. "What are your intentions, telling me to drink such a drug with side effects?!"

The Red Side woman thought of his injuries and the side effects, wanting to laugh but not daring to, quickly saying, "Yes, yes, I spoke out of turn."

"What are you waiting for? Take me back to my room!" Cha Gong said irritably.

"Back to the room? What for?" the young master asked, confused.

At this point, the game had entered the long night mode, leaving them with little time. Going back to the room—what for? To sleep?

Looking at the young master's dazed expression, Cha Gong sighed almost imperceptibly.

The Red Side woman also blinked in confusion. "Captain, shouldn't we find the Earl and use the passage item to let us pass?"

"Can't you two grow up a bit!" Cha Gong was about to have a heart attack from their stupidity. He said, exasperated, "Find the Earl? Tell me, where is the Earl?"

Seeing his reaction, the Red Side woman immediately shut her mouth, but the young master remained clueless, saying, "Well, we could search the castle; we'll find him eventually."

Cha Gong suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and said impatiently, "Don't you understand yet? Who is this passage item meant for?"

"Who?"

"Holding this thing and going to the Earl, do you want to die?" Cha Gong held up the black velvet box. "This passage item is clearly meant for the Blue Side!"

To be precise... this passage item is specifically prepared for Xia Qi alone.

Jealousy flashed in Cha Gong's eyes as he clenched his hand, wishing he could crush the black velvet box right there.

To get this item from the Earl, they sacrificed two teammates last night, but when they opened the box, Cha Gong was so angry he felt like dying twice over.

The Red Side woman's face turned pale. "In this game, the passage methods for the Red Side and the Blue Side are different?"

"Our passage method has been displayed on the group painting in the West Hall, plus the Pope's diary we got at the beginning of the game. You should understand what we're facing next," Cha Gong said. The Red Side woman, though slow, was smarter than the young master.

The Red Side and the Blue Side represent not just game factions but also have specific backgrounds.

In this game, the Red Side plays as spies sent by the Pope, while the Blue Side plays as noble ladies from various regions. From the initial setup, the Blue Side has an advantage over the Red Side.

In the story background, the young talents of the Red Side come to the Rose Valley Castle to help the Pope eliminate the vampires.

Thus, they have only two paths: one, complete the Pope's order and kill the game's boss; two, betray the Pope and help the boss complete the ritual.

With their current numbers, killing the boss is impossible, so they must choose the second path—betray the Pope and help the boss complete the ritual.

"I see." The Red Side woman bit her lip, then hesitantly asked, "Would you really kill Xia Qi?"

Hearing this, the young master also looked at Cha Gong.

Under the scrutiny of his teammates, Cha Gong showed a hint of discomfort and whispered, "If it comes to that, I have no other choice."

After dawn, Xia Qi led his sister and the old man down the hill. Passing by the Rose Garden, he sighed regretfully.

After last night's chase, the entire Rose Garden was in disarray. Not a single intact rose could be found, and the maze-like rose hedges were chopped bare, with familiar knife marks indicating someone's work.

"Where should we look for the Red Side?" his sister asked as they walked.

Xia Qi thought for a moment and said, "In the Red Side's eyes, we are newbies. Newbies love doing one thing—returning to their rooms."

His sister nodded. "You're right. If Cripple and Big Rooster were still alive, the first thing they'd do at dawn would be to return to their rooms and hide."

So, they needed to go back to their rooms and wait for the Red Side to show up.

"But we can't beat them... How can we take the passage item from them?" she muttered. Even with the revolver given by the NPC, she might not be able to defeat the Red Side, who were fully equipped.

"As long as you can distract them, I can sneak in and grab the passage item," the old man said.

The passage item cannot be stored in the system backpack; the Red Side must carry it on their person.

Xia Qi asked suspiciously, "You... want to steal their item?"

The old man gave a dry laugh. "How can it be stealing when dealing with bad guys?"

Xia Qi pursed his lips silently.

From the old man's sneaky demeanor and his skilled window-climbing technique, Xia Qi had always suspected his past profession.

His sister also realized something and subconsciously touched her pocket.

"Cough." Xia Qi cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. "We can't fight them head-on, but I have a way to disrupt their plans."

They discussed briefly and came up with a plan.

The old man and his sister would confirm the Red Side's location and signal Xia Qi, who would then bring the butler to the Red Side.

"Brother Xia, be careful," his sister said anxiously, twisting her skirt. "That butler doesn't seem easy to deal with."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Xia Qi said.

After bidding farewell to his sister and the old man, Xia Qi went to the East Hall alone.

To defeat Cha Gong and the young master, he had no choice but to give it his all!

Xia Qi quickly found the butler in the East Hall.

At that moment, the butler was pretending to direct the maids as they cleaned.

Xia Qi hid behind the door, first pulling out the True Love Magic Wand from his system backpack, followed by a water cup.

He aimed the True Love Magic Wand at the cup and muttered, "Give me a cup of Forgetful Water, to exchange for a lifetime without sorrow?"

After reciting the short incantation, he recalled the appearance of the "holy water" in the baptismal pool depicted on the group portrait in the West Hall.

He hoped the system would give him a cup of "holy water," but please, not some strange Forgetful Water...

"True Love Value -1000"

[True Love Spell: The "Holy Water" you asked for]

"Effect: This is holy water personally prepared by the Pope, capable of dealing fatal damage to dark creatures."

"Unit: 100ml"

"Note: Due to the mixture with Forgetful Water, its attack effect is reduced by 50%. Please use with caution!"

Xia Qi: "..."

No, he wanted holy water, not holy water mixed with Forgetful Water!

Xia Qi felt a headache coming on; the True Love Magic Wand's spells were too unpredictable. If he had known this would happen, he would have stuck with the Flying Sand spell.

Reluctantly, he divided the holy water into three small bottles. Holding one of them, he boldly approached the butler.

"Oh, madam, how did you come here!" The butler's eyes lit up upon seeing Xia Qi, as if he were looking at a delicious meal.

Since entering the Long Night mode, daytime only lasted two hours. Xia Qi actually dared to come out—was he courting death?

Standing firm, Xia Qi got straight to the point, "Pretending to be the butler for three days must have been quite difficult for you—Lord Rose, Earl Oswald."

Hearing this, the butler's expression changed slightly. "What do you mean?"

Xia Qi pulled out the newspaper his sister had brought from the graveyard and waved it in front of the butler. On the newspaper, Margaret was next to the butler, whose face was visible despite the torn half of the paper.

"How could those annoying reporters put my photo there, causing you to misunderstand me!" The butler smiled slyly, trying to argue.

"The double portrait of you and Margaret is your true face, isn't it?" Xia Qi ignored his protest and continued, "You seem to love Margaret's method of death, which is why you made the fat man die in a similar way."

Two deaths so similar—how could it be coincidence?

The only explanation was that the butler liked Margaret's method of death and wanted everyone to die like her, head bleeding!

And the person who most wished for Margaret's death was her husband.

"On the first night, you were spying outside my room... I guess you were observing whether I was suitable for your son." Xia Qi tightened his grip on the bottle and slowly approached the butler.

The butler burst into laughter, "That's right, Qi, you're very clever. My son has indeed chosen well."

This insignificant human had seen through his true form—it was fascinating.

The butler's face suddenly twisted, transforming into the appearance from the double portrait.

As Xia Qi had imagined, the old man before him looked remarkably like the earl, possessing an overly handsome face. However, unlike the earl, the old earl's skin appeared almost devoid of blood vessels, giving it a grayish hue akin to a corpse.

The old earl narrowed his blood-red eyes and asked Xia Qi with interest, "My clever child, what else have you guessed?"

"You have the ability to kill players, but you never personally execute anyone, instead handing them over to your son." Xia Qi sneered, "You're tempting him, hoping he will become what you want him to be."

When Margaret "eloped," she didn't forget to take the child, surely because she had discovered the devil's true face.

And that devil was him!

"That's right, I want my son to become the strongest vampire—the Blood Emperor." The old earl's smile widened as he gazed deeply at Xia Qi, licking his blood-red lips, "Guess why I invited the noble ladies from various counties to the Rose Manor?"

Seeing the greedy and vicious look in the old earl's eyes, Xia Qi took a step back.

"I invited the noble ladies from various counties so that he could find his true love. Only by killing his true love and draining her blood can he complete the blood sacrifice ritual and become the strongest Blood Emperor!"

With that, the old earl suddenly lunged forward, his fingers forming claws, and pounced at Xia Qi. "And his true love is you!"

In the instant the butler pounced, Xia Qi suddenly raised his hand and splashed the small bottle of holy water.

The holy water splashed onto the old earl's neck, and within a second, it began to sizzle like burning flesh. Realizing he had been injured, the old earl let out a scream.

"How did you get holy water?!" The old earl clutched his neck and fell backward in agony.

Surprised that the diluted holy water was effective, Xia Qi worried the old earl might die and quickly turned to run, shouting exaggeratedly, "If you dare, chase after me and kill me!"

Author's note: Xia Qi: Come chase me~!

Old Earl: I won't chase you, I'll send my son to chase you.

[1] Reference to the song "Forgetful Water," singer: Andy Lau