The Merchant's Cunning, The Deadly Toll

Du Chen patted Constantine's face. Seeing no signs of the old dragon awakening, a peculiar feeling intensified in his heart. The Rebellious Dragon's behavior just now had been too abnormal!

Du Chen didn't know that Constantine had, in fact, dragged him through hell and back, but with the cautious instincts of a thief and an understanding of social nuances, he still felt something was amiss. Imagine an old man, previously whimpering and searching for his son during an interrogation, suddenly erupting in a mad roar towards the sky, declaring his willingness, and even making a solemn blood oath. Who wouldn't find that strange?

Thus, Du Chen felt profoundly uneasy about the Rebellious Dragon's sudden unconsciousness. He looked around and meticulously examined the Rebell rebellious Dragon's body, yet couldn't pinpoint the problem. He then straightened his robes and stood up. “Brook, first seal Constantine. Ensure he can’t exert any combat strength!”

With that, he waved over Sean, who had prudently retreated to the side. “Your Excellency, King Sean, our cooperation this time has been most enjoyable!”

Sean bowed with a noble, sweeping gesture. “A satisfied client is my honor, Sean’s honor!”

Du Chen handed him a small box of Jewels — the Precious Lotus Scripture contained many such treasures — and chuckled, “Then consider this transaction a success. I have another deal I wish to discuss with you now!”

Before Du Chen could elaborate, Sean’s skeletal eye sockets — yes, eye sockets, for he had no eyes — widened. “Oh! Esteemed guest, you need not speak. I have already dispatched my subordinates to carry out your wishes. Simply pay the deposit, wait a moment, and you shall have what you desire!”

Du Chen smirked. “You know what I want?”

Sean’s large eye sockets swiftly narrowed to a slit, his jawbone curving into a smile. “You have already accomplished your immediate goal, but your other two companions are still searching for enemies within the Labyrinth of Life, hmmph! Therefore, you must be looking for them!”

Rubbing his skeletal fingers in a money-grubbing gesture, Sean’s smile broadened. “I’ve already ordered my kin to mobilize all nearby Bone Golems to ascertain the location of your two friends and monitor the enemies they seek. I believe news will arrive shortly. As for the deposit…”

Du Chen never stinted on mere Jewels.

Just then, a Bone Golem rushed over in a panic, chattering its lower jawbones “kaka” beside Sean’s skull, muttering a few words. Sean’s two large eye sockets then widened into ovals. “Esteemed guest, it seems your two friends have encountered a minor mishap. Just moments ago, Kal'ru…”

He pointed at the messenger Bone Golem. “Kal'ru discovered the corpses of your friends’ guide Bone Golems—heavens, they’ve been smashed into bone fragments! And your two friends’ whereabouts are unknown; only a pool of blood remains at the scene!”

Du Chen’s expression shifted, but then a thought struck him: *they wouldn’t be in danger, for Tyr had just sensed all nearby presences, and apart from the captured Constantine, there was no power that could threaten Andy!* Could Brockman have desperately killed the guide Bone Golems, and Tyr and Andy rushed off in pursuit? “Immediately lead me to where they vanished! And instruct your kin to monitor all intersections!”

Sean nodded. “Rest assured, my kin have been slain, and I shall dedicate myself to this matter! Hmm, I’ll only charge you half the price this time!”

He immediately led Du Chen and his group into the tunnel.

After some distance, “Kaka!” another Bone Golem rushed towards them. After muttering a few words, Sean reported, “Esteemed guests, my kin found one of your friends at an intersection—er, the monstrous one. He seems to be pursuing something, flying like the wind. My kin only saw a shadow!”

Du Chen frowned. *It's Andy! Why is he alone? Where is Tyr?*

Sean said, “Esteemed guest, it appears your two friends have separated. Do you require Sean’s advice? A fair price is guaranteed!”

Du Chen pondered for a moment. *Could Brockman, Philip, and Homan have split up and fled, forcing Andy and Tyr to pursue them separately? That’s not good. Tyr’s combat prowess is too poor. If Brockman landed a desperate strike and injured him, how could I face my teacher’s Divine Pet, Tyr’s wife?*

*No matter,* he thought. *There are no powerful Battle Gods nearby anyway, and I have already advanced to a Titled expert!* “Brook, give me Constantine. Then you and a few Bone Golems go after Andy. Sean and I will go to where they separated and examine that pool of blood!”

After collecting the Rebellious Dragon into the Precious Lotus Scripture, Du Chen gestured to Sean. Before he could speak, Sean interjected quickly, “Oh, Sean’s wisdom comprehends what you wish to say—I shall not leave your sight, ensuring you can eliminate me at any moment! Hmmph, but esteemed guest, you are truly too cautious.”

Du Chen smiled faintly. Sean was indeed an excellent merchant!

After separating from Deboning, Du Chen, led by Sean, swiftly arrived at the spot where Andy and Tyr had parted ways.

It was a small clearing, roughly fifty square meters, a common sight in the vast Labyrinth of Life. However, this particular one possessed a distinctive charm.

The Labyrinth of Life’s walls were predominantly dark green and dim yellow, but this clearing was bathed in a striking, fiery red light. Moreover, the labyrinth walls here, unlike the jagged, wooden texture elsewhere, were smooth and lustrous like white jade. The jade surface also bore numerous brightly colored horizontal and vertical stripes, which, combined, resembled an abstract mural.

Du Chen paused, taken aback, the moment he stepped into the clearing. “What a strange place! Sean, this place is quite different from others!”

Sean shook his head, smiling. “Esteemed guest, the Labyrinth of Life is vast and immense, containing all manner of places. You find it strange only because you haven’t encountered a similar place before! There is nothing to be surprised about here!”

Sean pointed to a spot on the ground. “Esteemed guest, that is the pool of blood!”

Du Chen nodded slightly and approached the bloodstain in the center of the clearing. He casually took out a thin crystal shard, absorbed a drop of blood onto it, and examined it under the red light.

Since Andy’s whereabouts were known, there was no need for concern. However, Tyr’s disappearance was troubling. Du Chen intended to analyze the blood using his knowledge of alchemy to ensure it didn't belong to Tyr, only then could he feel a modicum of relief.

His eyes fixed on the blood, Du Chen’s peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the cave openings on the clearing’s walls beginning to shift again—but what was so special about that? The tunnels in the Labyrinth of Life were constantly shifting!

Yet, at that very moment, Sean, who had been constantly by Du Chen’s side, suddenly chortled… a peculiar laugh, not endearing, but sinister!

“What are you laughing at?” Du Chen asked, displeased.

Sean chuckled. “Esteemed guest, I merely wish to inform you of something… Do you know why Brockman managed to escape unharmed from the Papal Curia’s encirclement?”

Du Chen was momentarily stunned.

“It’s because Number Three of the Fiendkind’s Eminence Project hired me, King Sean, the Bone Golem, to eliminate a portion of the Papal Curia’s forces, carving out a retreat path for Brockman!”

As he spoke, the Labyrinth of Life changed once more. All the cave openings near the clearing vanished abruptly, the walls began to radiate scorching light, and the ground temperature started to rise. This place, shockingly, had become a death trap!

Du Chen’s pupils constricted sharply. He slowly dropped the crystal shard, staring intently at Sean. “You’ve sided with the Fiendkind?”

“Hmmph, you're right!” Sean said slowly. “That Green Gourd Beast once said that I am Sean, who would sell his own soul for the right price! The Fiendkind offered me a hefty sum, so of course, I would pledge my life to them!”

Du Chen glanced around. This clearing had become a completely sealed space, with no way out. He chuckled, “I can offer you more Jewels than the Fiendkind!”

“Yes, I have witnessed your generosity, but before you, the Fiendkind bought out our entire Bone Golem tribe. They gave me something you could never provide!”

Sean pointed to his own skull. “Orbach Base, Commander of the Violet-Bloods’ Bone Golem Legion, Sean! It’s a pleasure to meet you, you bastard who’s been hunting Councilor Brockman! And I must also inform you, Number Three of the Eminence Project, upon learning that *you* were the one tracking Councilor Brockman, instructed us to eliminate you at any cost. That’s why everything unfolded as it did—I orchestrated this to separate you, leading each into a trap! In truth, your friends are not missing; they’re merely being led in circles by my kin!”

Sean burst into laughter. “Aside from the unexpected appearance of Constantine, everything has gone smoothly, hasn’t it? Now you are trapped within this Fiery Core, awaiting the Blazing Fire to burn you to death!”

*Swish!* Du Chen drew his Vanishing Snow Sword. “But before I am burned to death, you shall accompany me to the grave!”

Sean calmly faced Du Chen’s drawn Vanishing Snow Sword. “I told you, for the right price, I can sell my own life, hmmph! I am now using my own life to deceive you. Isn’t that an honor?”

He shrugged helplessly. “There’s no other way. You are simply too cautious, and all of you are too powerful! If I didn’t risk my own life, there would be no way to make you trust me enough to enter this trap!”

Du Chen praised him from the bottom of his heart. “You truly are an excellent merchant!”

“Thank you for the compliment!” Sean asked, smiling. “Do you intend to eliminate me now, or allow me to be burned to death alongside you? Hmmph? Do you require Sean’s opinion? The price is quite cheap…”

*Don’t panic. Panicking now is just asking for death!* Du Chen secretly admonished himself. *Damn it, after a lifetime of deceiving others, today I was deceived by a mere Bone Golem! Hmph, to use his own life to trick me, Sean is indeed a formidable individual!*

The surrounding temperature continued to climb.

“Before you die, one last question: what exactly did the Fiendkind give you, that made you willing to betray even your own life?”