Snoopy

A handsome young man strode into the hall. Sky-blue eyes, golden hair, a sculpted, breathtaking physique, and a nearly perfect countenance… Had it not been for his arrogant expression, a swaggering, dilettantish air that screamed 'rake,' Du Chen might have believed he was staring at his own reflection.

Beibei hadn't detected incorrectly; there truly was a 'Wolf' below!

'Wolf' yawned, still seemingly half-asleep, then abruptly squatted down to gaze up at Du Chen. Lazily, his eyes held an air of profound arrogance. "Heh, just looking at you, I can tell you're my master's descendant! I am Wolf's Divine Pet… Snoopy! Which generation of my great-grandkids are you?"

That single opening line was enough to thoroughly infuriate Du Chen!

With the experience of Dus, Du Chen no longer felt any shock encountering someone identical to himself. Instead, he too squatted down, eyeing Snoopy askance. "Why are you here?"

Snoopy tugged at an ear, curling his lip in disdain. "Is that any way to speak to your ancestor? Show some respect! First, tell me what day it is—year and date, everything!"

"Godslayer 1280, October 4th!"

Snoopy suddenly sprang up, landing on all fours like a rabbit. "What? The Godslayer Era? And it's been over twelve hundred years? Heavens, how long have I been asleep!"

He yanked hard on his ear, shaking his head. "Never mind. Just remember, on Heroic Era 512, April 1st, my Old One, Wolf, went to Skylands to meet his end. He left this mechanism and froze me beneath it! He told me that a practitioner of the Art of Artifact Annihilation would eventually come here, learn about the past, and I…" He pointed to his nose. "I would awaken when the mechanism activated and offer you some assistance!"

He eyed Du Chen up and down. "Understand? My Old One meant that his time was short, so he could only tell you a few things simply. If you need to know anything about the past while investigating the curse, just ask me directly!"

So, this was an investigative assistant left by Wolf! Excellent, this Snoopy would be of great help… but why such a peculiar name?

Du Chen meticulously scrutinized Snoopy. "Are you identical to Wolf?"

"Of course! I shifted my appearance to match the Old One's, down to every pore!"

Du Chen's eyes narrowed. One could say Snoopy was Wolf's perfect replica; seeing him was like seeing Wolf! On closer inspection, Francis's appearance still held subtle differences from Wolf.

First, there were their ages and temperaments, which went without saying. In terms of looks, their biggest difference lay in their noses. Du Chen's nose was slightly aquiline, the kind of towering, curved handsomeness typical of Caucasians, while Wolf's nose leaned more towards East Asian features, being flatter. Besides this, there were many other small distinctions in their facial details.

However, these distinctions were only noticeable upon close inspection. To anyone but their closest kin, a casual glance would render the two utterly indistinguishable!

"Had enough gawking?" Snoopy pointed at Du Chen with an arrogant flourish. "Now, go immediately and do a few things for me! First, explain everything that's happened these past years. Second, prepare me some food, only the best! Third, from now on, you'll listen to me and dutifully help your ancestor uncover the truth about this curse!"

Hmph, this Snoopy was incredibly arrogant!

Du Chen stared at him, astonished, wondering why Wolf would leave such a creature to his descendants.

Seeing Du Chen motionless, Snoopy jabbed a finger at his own nose and blustered, "Didn't you hear me? Go prepare my food! Grandson! I am your ancestor!"

Du Chen merely smiled, offering no reply. Snoopy then glanced at Beibei. "Little girl, come massage your ancestor's legs! As for that simpleton!" He pointed at Alex. "Go prepare my food!"

With that, Snoopy adopted the air of an imperious elder, leaning languidly against the hall wall.

Du Chen's heart seethed with displeasure. *Damn it, I haven't even started on you, and you're already throwing your ancestral weight around? What the hell are you?!*

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Snoopy demanded, his voice suddenly sharp. "Are you looking for death!?" He leaped up, snapping a finger at Du Chen. "Grandson, you're clearly lacking in education, aren't you? Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders? How can the Old One's descendant be so ill-mannered!?"

A cold glint flashed in Du Chen's eyes. This Snoopy had precisely struck a raw nerve. Born from an orphanage, a street rogue—where was he supposed to get an education?

Snoopy rambled on, genuinely lecturing Du Chen. "If a descendant is ill-mannered, then I, the ancestor, bear some responsibility! Follow me from now on, and learn a thing or two! So people won't look down on you later! Just look at your behavior!" He pointed at Du Chen's brow. "Swaggering around like a hooligan, not a trace of decency! Stand up straight, pull your shoulders back, stand like a man, not like some damn eunuch castrated by others, a rotten-to-the-core…"

Du Chen, still smiling, interrupted him. "Snoopy, what level Aberrant Beast are you?" He spoke, all the while eyeing Snoopy's neck.

"What's it to you?" Snoopy glared, eyes wide. "And you remember this, grandson, from now on, you'll address me as Patriarch Snoopy… Hey, simpleton, what are you doing?"

Before anyone realized, Alex had nonchalantly strolled up to Snoopy, reaching only to the creature's knees. He looked up, and crooked a finger.

Snoopy leaned down, not because Alex beckoned him, but because he intended to lecture this ill-mannered simpleton. "Simpleton, do you understand etiquette? Look at you, dressed so finely, yet you can't even utter a coherent sen—"

*Thwack!*

"Agh!" Snoopy's own words were cut short by a shriek of agony. Clapping a hand to his nose, he writhed on the floor in pain.

Alex coolly wiped his fingers. "The Master never wastes words!"

Du Chen burst out laughing. Was this Snoopy merely a decorative facade, just like Andy had been back then? He was about to praise his son when suddenly, Snoopy *poofed* into a puff of smoke. His body rapidly shrunk, until his clothes lay scattered on the ground, leaving behind only a tiny bundle within them.

"This…" Du Chen was taken aback.

Alex, hands clasped behind his back, let out a cold laugh. "An ancient variant, the Abulendo Illusionary Rabbit!"

Beibei stuck out her tongue. "Brother, you say he's a bunny? No, that's not right. Beibei saw his spirit—he looked just like Wolf!" The little one said, utterly incredulous.

Alex formed an 'eight' with his right hand, placing it near his chin. "Copying and Allurement, those are A-Rabbit's abilities! He copied everything about Wolf's twelfth level, including his spiritual frequency, so of course, Sister, you were fooled!"

Du Chen gazed at his son in astonishment, then scooped him up and gave him a hearty kiss. "Alex, how do you know all this? And don't you dare say 'The Master needs no reason'!"

Alex nodded coolly. "Alright… The Master needs no explanation!"

As they spoke, a palm-sized white rabbit hopped out of the clothes. It was pure milky white, with only its eye sockets black, and long, floppy ears. One front paw covered its nose, while the other was raised in a combat stance.

It looked at the crowd fearfully, trying to embolden itself. "Hey, I'm your ancestor, you have to give me due respect!"

Alex gave it a cold glance. "Copying deactivated, A-Rabbit… is equal to trash!"

Snoopy paused, then bounced into a boxing stance, feinting with his tiny fists. "Hey! I'm a rabbit, but I'm not afraid of you!"

Du Chen shook his head, stepped forward, grabbed Snoopy by the ears, and casually tossed him to Alex. "Alex, he's yours!"

"Hey, I'm your ancestor, I'm a rabbit, and I'm not afraid of you! Oof!"

Alex held Snoopy by his rabbit ears, placing him before his eyes, like a peerless, aloof Master holding the corpse of an enemy slain in a hard-fought battle.

Snoopy swallowed, waving his two short, stumpy arms. "What are you going to do? I, your ancestor, haven't finished lectur—"

Alex smiled, a cold, chilling smile.

Snoopy's large eyes stared blankly, slowly, slowly losing all sense…

***

From this day forward, Du Chen's household gained a new member: a miniature rabbit named Snoopy, fond of lecturing others.

Upon returning to the ancient castle, daylight had fully broken. Beibei and Alex, holding Snoopy, headed to the kitchen, where they simultaneously 'tormented' the venerable ancestor and recounted everything that had happened over the years.

Though Snoopy's temper was far from ideal, the fact that he had earned Wolf's trust meant his knowledge and abilities were beyond doubt, making him someone Du Chen could rely on! To put it nicely, this fellow excelled at Allurement and Copying. To put it bluntly, he was a con artist; on his own, he was nothing special, yet he could perfectly replicate any person or Aberrant Beast he'd seen, with such fidelity that even Beibei's Spiritual Power couldn't distinguish the copy.

This ability… Du Chen wanted to let out three loud guffaws. With Dus steadily evolving towards Du Chen, the Divine, Snoopy was nothing short of a heaven-sent boon!

Enduring Snoopy's foul temper, Du Chen spent several days discussing and analyzing with him within the ancient castle. They unanimously concluded that the Holy Yessar Church was, in fact, descended from Lady Aro, sharing roots with the Renault Empire, and that Du Chen and Arthur were indeed blood-related brothers. Whether they would become strangers in the future remained an unknown secret.

To unravel this mystery, it seemed they would have to venture to the Azure Heaven Continent.

As for Wolf's partial prophecy, Snoopy also believed it referred to Du Chen's 'lock-picking' ability, but the crucial question was: what did "Dispersion of the Divine" mean?

Moreover, and most importantly… Margaret had borne Wolf's child back then. No matter how vicious the woman, she couldn't possibly have killed her own flesh and blood, could she?

Yet Xue Ji had said Margaret had no children. So what happened to Margaret and Wolf's child? The answer still lay on the Azure Heaven Continent!

On the third day, as Du Chen was discussing with Snoopy whether they should visit Skylands, Peter suddenly knocked on the door. "Master, several clergy from the Papal Curia have arrived on a rapid flying beast, saying they have urgent matters!"

Du Chen casually tossed Snoopy to his son and rose to greet them. But before he could even tidy himself, the door was slammed open. Mas, the Battle God, burst in frantically. "Brother, where have you been all this time? We've been looking for you like madmen!"

A warmth spread through Du Chen's heart. Among the entire Papal Curia, only Mas would genuinely worry about him, he thought.

Mas stepped forward, seized Du Chen's arm, and began pulling him out. "Quick, let's go! Something big has happened! The Old One heard you defeated the Sea King and has been frantically urging me to find you. Hurry!"

Du Chen vaguely sensed that a truly major event was unfolding; the Pontiff was not one to lose his composure easily!

Mas slapped his forehead. "Ah, look at my memory! The Old One even wrote you a letter!" With that, he handed Du Chen an envelope. On it were five Golden Circlets of the Divine symbols.

This was the highest level of secrecy within the Papal Curia's intelligence system. Rumors whispered in the Shadow Temple claimed that when the Five Circlets appeared, it heralded a matter of life and death for the Papal Curia!

"Peter, out!" Du Chen dismissed the servant, then opened the envelope. It contained Sama IX's personal handwriting, and a single sentence.

"Francis, proceed immediately to Auerbach Grand Canyon. Disobedience is not an option. Mas will brief you on all matters en route. This is a divine mandate, representing the Divine in this world!"

The tone was exceptionally forceful; it seemed the Pontiff was truly desperate.

But how could Du Chen leave now? A pile of matters awaited him. Other things could be postponed, but what about the injured Fak? Du Chen still needed to take him to Porter!

Seeing Du Chen hesitate, Mas urged him repeatedly. "The flying beast is outside; let's depart at once!"

Du Chen frowned. "Wait a moment!" He quickly penned a letter, asking Mas to send someone to Durkes City. The letter used code to instruct Harry to immediately dispatch someone to pick up a person named Fak and secretly house him within the Lord's Manor.

Only after Mas had sent the letter did Du Chen feel relieved. Carrying his children, he boarded the flying beast with Mas.

Inside the carriage, Mas dismissed everyone and spoke in a hushed voice. "In the battle at Auerbach Grand Canyon, the Pontiff used the Raging Fire Scorcher Cannon to injure Bonis, crushing that bastard's plot to steal Orbach's corpse. But… Bonis's parting blow and the cannon's light collided, inadvertently destroying Orbach's coffin…"

Mas, the storytelling spymaster, actually resorted to his usual cliffhanger tactic at such a moment!

Du Chen chuckled, playing along. "And then what?"

Mas, having satisfied his urge to tell a story, finally revealed, "Then, from the opened coffin, many things tumbled out—gold, silver, Jewels, sacred artifact battle armor… all sorts of burial goods! But there was no… Orbach's corpse!"