The Seductive Fox's Demands at the Rite of Commemoration

Lightly nudging his horse's ribs with his legs, Du Chen galloped ahead, a lone rider disappearing into the distance, charging towards the Auerbach Grand Canyon. The group of over twenty hastened their steeds. From this moment, Orbach's Epoch had begun, and everything had to adhere to beastmen customs; thus, they rode their finest warhorses instead of flying.

The two Grand Matriarchs followed behind Du Chen, constantly glancing back at Dud's camp. Once Du Chen and his companions had put some distance between themselves and the Pontiff's entourage, he whispered to Lady Lucy, "Last night, Beibei had already hidden the Amia Silver Needle within some jewelry and tested it near the corner of Dud's mask…"

Lucy exclaimed urgently, "Is he human, or Fiendkind?"

Dud's identity was notoriously ambiguous. However, on the crucial question of whether he was human or Fiendkind, the Amia Silver Needle offered an instant answer. Yet, Du Chen hadn't used it yesterday. A war with the Fiendkind was imminent; what would happen if Du Chen were to expose Dud as Fiendkind right in front of him at such a critical juncture? Was Du Chen supposed to tell Dud, 'Godson, you are Fiendkind. Now, follow your Godfather to slay your former comrades, your current kin. Perhaps among those you kill, there might even be your own distant descendants…' And then what? Would Dud continue to serve Du Chen? Or would some new stimulus cause him to break Beibei's Spiritual Contract and revert to his dictatorial ways? These were all unpredictable outcomes.

Thus, yesterday, the two Grand Matriarchs merely feigned ignorance regarding the characteristics of Fiendkind generals, giving Dud a false impression: 'Your identity can only be one of the five individuals on that list. We can't say precisely which one, but you are definitely human, and fighting the Fiendkind alongside your Godfather is the right path!' But secretly, Du Chen still had Beibei, who controlled the Spiritual Contract, conduct a test.

Grand Matriarch Lily urged, "Tell us already!"

Du Chen shrugged. "Dud's blood, after encountering the Amia Silver Needle… wasn't purple!"

The two Grand Matriarchs instantly rejoiced. "Excellent! Our army against the Fiendkind has gained a trustworthy battlefield Commander!" Lily spoke, but Lucy noticed that Du Chen's expression was off. After carefully processing Du Chen's words, her own expression subtly changed. "Francis, what exactly is wrong with Dud's blood?"

Du Chen gave a wry smile. "Normally, Dud's blood is red, just like any human's. But after encountering the Amia Silver Needle, it not only underwent subtle changes but also turned… gold!" Noticing the Pontiff and his entourage were still behind them, discussing details, Du Chen secretly slipped a small vial into Lucy's hand. "Take a look first. This drop of blood is Dud's. Last night, I was busy consulting with the Pontiff about the plan and haven't had a chance to examine it yet."

The golden liquid in the vial resembled molten gold. Anyone with even a slight understanding of blood could see that its concentration far exceeded any known blood type. A person with medical knowledge would likely wonder how a lifeform possessing such blood could even survive.

"Dud's blood is normally unremarkable, just red blood like any human's. But the moment it touches the Amia Silver Needle, it transforms into this golden color…" Grand Matriarch Lucy mused for a long moment, then shook her head, returning the vial to Du Chen. "Francis, this is beyond my comprehension, but at least it guarantees Dud is not Fiendkind!"

Du Chen hesitated. "So, is the analysis of Dud's identity that you two ladies made yesterday still valid?"

Lucy nodded. "Valid! Because neither of us sisters has personally witnessed how the blood of those five individuals reacts to the Amia Silver Needle. Therefore, our analysis of Dud yesterday still holds true: he is very likely one of those five!"

Du Chen thought to himself, *Anyone but Annie's ancestor, please, for heaven's sake!*

When his pocket watch showed a quarter past eight in the morning, Du Chen and his companions arrived at the Auerbach Grand Canyon. This once heavily guarded canyon was now under even more stringent protection, teeming with troops. McAllen's 200,000 Royal Guards were deployed along both the northern and southern flanks, stretching from the canyon to the Amulang Mountains, safeguarding the beastmen's entire Sacred Tomb of Earth Burial. Within the 'encirclement' of the McAllen Royal Family, the Sacred Tomb formed a relatively self-contained military stronghold and ceremonial venue. There was only one path in and out: through the Auerbach Grand Canyon. To enter this stronghold, one first had to arrive at the Grand Canyon and pay respects to Orbach. These were all part of the commemoration rites.

A ten-day series of commemoration ceremonies had already begun; Du Chen had, in fact, arrived somewhat late. The first event – the Earth Burial ceremony for 60,000 corpses – had already commenced. Du Chen reached the entrance of the Auerbach Grand Canyon, and on the temporarily erected floating bridge, he produced the token of Du Chen's Divine Cult, declaring, "Du Chen, the Divine, has come to pay respects at the epoch of his former comrades!" With that, he dismounted and, along with the Pontiff and others who had followed, bowed deeply towards the center of the Grand Canyon.

As luck would have it, Hawkins was stationed in the Grand Canyon. He quickly came forward to greet them. "Haha, Francis, you representing Du Chen, the Divine, to pay homage to the Supreme Father God is excellent!" Hawkins declared, "It's certainly more palatable than you coming as Grand Duke Lanning, the General!" He glanced around. "Didn't Sonora come with you?"

Du Chen smiled. "Senior Brother said that the commemoration for the Supreme Father God is of utmost importance, and the decorum must not be disrupted. Those of us representing Du Chen, the Divine, should arrive independently. As for him, a descendant of the Supreme Father God, he should come with more solemn rites… perhaps we'll have to wait a bit longer!"

"Sonora is indeed quite meticulous, not bad!" Hawkins suddenly furrowed his brow, gave a hum, and muttered quietly, "What's Eldest Brother's wife doing out here without him?" Hearing this, Du Chen followed Hawkins' gaze. Susanna, surrounded by a contingent of Royal Guards, gracefully approached. "Second Brother," she said, "your Eldest Brother commanded me to host the guests of Du Chen's Divine Cult. Leave this to me; you can attend to your other duties!"

Hawkins departed grudgingly, not even bothering to say goodbye. Susanna, however, seemed unconcerned, smiling as she said, "Divine Envoy Francis, Grand Pontiff Brook, please come in. A banquet has been prepared inside!"

Du Chen glanced back at the Pontiff among his retinue. "Lady Susanna has graciously invited us, Brook, let's go! My attendants, please deliver the gifts I've prepared into the Sacred Tomb. I trust the Saint Baton Clan will permit you 'free exploration'!" "Yes, sir!" The Pontiff stepped forward, the two exchanged a knowing glance, and then separated.

As they walked deeper into the Grand Canyon, Du Chen whispered, "Lady Susanna, aren't you worried about outsiders spreading unfavorable rumors about you, approaching me so openly?" Susanna purred, her voice languid and overtly flirtatious. "My Lord, I'd be absolutely thrilled if everyone thought I was your mistress!" Glancing at Du Chen's displeased handsome face, her voice dropped even lower: "I originally planned to contact you on the fifteenth, the day of the operation, but something unexpected happened with what I need to do, so I had no choice but to break protocol and intercept you here!"

Du Chen gave a dismissive laugh. "Madam, you still haven't told me what it is you want me to do. And as for business… the 'funds' you supposedly advanced haven't reached my hands yet, so don't blame me if I can't understand what you're saying right now!" Deboning suddenly interjected, "Furthermore, your original plan was for the fifteenth, but now you're suddenly telling us the plan has been moved up. This makes me highly suspicious of your intentions!"

Du Chen shot a glance of approval at Deboning. Brook's mind was finally starting to quicken; his words to him in Dud's camp that day hadn't been in vain! Susanna whined plaintively, "You can't blame me for this! Fine, let's discuss this inside." They arrived at a tent belonging to the Saint Baton Clan. After sitting down, Susanna personally poured fine wine for Du Chen, her voice soft but her words anything but. "I want to ask Grand Pontiff Deboning to retrieve something for me from Orbach's coffin!"

Deboning retorted, displeased, "You want me to dig up Orbach's coffin and take a burial artifact from beside his corpse, making me a despicable grave robber? Absurd! I may plunder tombs, but I will never desecrate a corpse!" Indeed, the four Saints of Yetha harbored a peculiar reverence for corpses, a fact Du Chen had experienced many times over.

Du Chen, however, found it somewhat amusing. The Pontiff and Bonis were openly battling over Orbach's corpse, likely to come to blows soon, and now another seductive fox had appeared, also eyeing Orbach's coffin. How intriguing! What else could be inside Orbach's coffin besides his corpse? Du Chen didn't know the answer to that. During his last tomb raid, Orbach's sarcophagus was the only place in the mausoleum Du Chen hadn't 'visited.' Disturbing another's remains was a major taboo of the Rogue Sect! Susanna chuckled alluringly. "My Lord, the price I'm offering this time is truly considerable! Since you already know about the legend of the Celestial Capital from our last discussion, let me be frank!"

She suddenly turned serious, her expression rarely seen so sharp. "Five Keys Align, Gather in Celestial Capital for Immortality, Path of Gods Ends… I don't want immortality, nor eternal existence. I only desire to be Empress for one lifetime! If you help me retrieve that item from Orbach's sarcophagus and grant me the Power of the Great Plains, then I can even give you the Beast Emperor’s Seal, one of the Five Keys, and offer you the Celestial Capital map, allowing you to pursue the culmination of the Battle God's Path and claim the qualification for undying eternity!" These words left Du Chen completely bewildered. However, last time, in an attempt to elicit information, he had feigned omniscience, leading Susanna to believe he was privy to many secrets. Thus, he couldn't openly question her now, and could only subtly give Deboning a hand signal.