Chapter 256 Ye Zhi: A mere five rings, just a rat

Silver Birch Manor, in the reception room.

June leaned against the armchair, crossed her legs, folded her arms, and frowned:

"The royal family classified the Duke of Suffolk's death as an accident and did not announce it to the public... But you and I both know that the one who died was not the Duke himself!"

Yeats picked up the black tea and took a sip, glancing out of the window at the midsummer scenery. The black swans and water lilies in the lake formed a beautiful picture, but it was a pity that thick ink-like rain clouds were floating over the distant mountains.

"Why are you so sure?"

"Based on my understanding of His Majesty, if the royal family has confirmed that the deceased is the Duke himself, then His Majesty will definitely be furious and will not be able to attend the competition at all."

June changed the direction of her legs, rested her arms on the armrests, supported her temples, and stared at Yeats.

"And now, the competition is being held as usual, and it has been confirmed that His Majesty will be watching on site. This shows that His Majesty is in a stable mood. It is enough to infer that the royal family has learned some clues, and it is very likely that the royal family is also looking for the whereabouts of the real Duke of Suffolk!"

"Then why do you think the Duke of Suffolk went into hiding and staged a fake death?" Yeats asked.

"Of course it's because the royal family has begun to suspect the relationship between the Duke of Suffolk and the blood clan, so he might as well fake his own death to clear himself of suspicion and escape." June sneered, "But doesn't this just prove that he is the Blood Spider Duke?"

Ye Zhi shook his head: "If that's the case, then this fake death is really too clumsy, so clumsy that it seems like it was deliberately intended for us to see through it."

June's face was heavy, and he asked tentatively, "So, what do you think the purpose of this fake death is?"

"It's a trick to confuse the enemy. They deliberately make us doubt the Duke of Suffolk and focus our energy on finding the whereabouts of the Duke's real body." Ye Zhi said, "And when we find the so-called Duke's real body, Lord Blood Spider can sacrifice that chess piece and withdraw himself."

June thought for a while and hissed, "You mean to say that the Duke of Suffolk has long been a pawn of the blood clan, and the real Blood Spider Duke is someone else?"

"No... it's just the Duke we saw at the banquet that day. He is a vampire who is proficient in fake death, disguise, poison and other dark night techniques. He is also the one that the Blood Spider Lord deliberately let us see that he was fake dead and suspected. He is also a chess piece that is ready to be abandoned at any time."

Yeats picked up a piece of strawberry cake with a fork and tasted it carefully. The cream melted in his mouth and the sweet taste made him close his eyes.

“Isn’t this right?”

June said, "Even if the person we saw at the banquet was a vampire who was proficient in disguise and fake death, how could Colin not see it when he examined his body? Unless -"

June suddenly stopped talking, her face stiffened and turned from blue to white.

"Are you trying to say that unless Colin is Lord Blood Spider, he has the confidence to direct all this and deceive Your Majesty?"

Ye Zhi picked up the strawberry cake in front of June and handed it to her.

June was completely unaware and murmured, "But how is this possible? Colin is a knight selected by His Majesty himself. He has been through life and death with him for many years. How could he be a vampire?"

As June spoke, she took a deep breath and her eyes became quite heavy.

"But you're right, I've always overlooked Colin, the Hand of the King—"

"He knew that His Majesty was in critical condition, so he was able to rapidly develop the Scarlet Society in just a few years; "He was close to the center of power, so naturally he would develop ambitions to rise to the top.

"If Colin is the Blood Spider Lord, then a lot of things make sense!"

Seeing that June didn't want to eat the cake, Yeats handed the cake to the Snowy Owl who was watching eagerly.

Stroking the fat white bird with narrowed eyes, Ye Zhi pondered, "Or maybe Colin also didn't know the inside story, and he never thought that a master like him would be used?"

"Excluding the other options, the remaining option, no matter how unlikely, must be correct." June said coldly:

"Besides, the master is also a human being, with seven emotions and six desires. Isn't it quite common to have ambitious six-ring masters?"

Ye Zhi sighed and said, "You are right. The master also has emotions... So Lord Blood Spider may not be a cold and heartless person. He may be like a raging fire that can melt even the coldest ice."

June was startled, her eyes showed strange colors, and she said in surprise:

"From what I hear, you already know who Lord Blood Spider is?"

Ye Zhi nodded slightly and said, "But I still need definite evidence. In other words, whether dead or alive, I need to find two people."

"Which two people?"

"The first one is the vampire who is good at faking death and disguising himself. Only by proving that he disguised himself as the Duke of Suffolk at the banquet that day can I verify my guess about Lord Blood Spider's plan."

Yeats said: "The second one is the real Duke of Suffolk. He is the most important witness——"

"And, there's a chance that he might still be alive!"

June was suddenly startled, with a puzzled look in her eyes, and said:

"If I were Lord Blood Spider, and I wanted to use the Duke of Suffolk's identity to stir up trouble, wouldn't I have to kill the Duke first? How could I let him survive?"

Ye Zhi nodded and said, "I think so too, but let's make a bold assumption. The bloodline of the Duke's family is difficult to disguise. If the real Duke of Suffolk is killed, there are many places where it may be exposed."

"But," Yeats analyzed, "if we keep the Duke of Suffolk by our side, we can draw his blood at any time for our own use, which will reduce the suspicion of being exposed."

What Yeats did not say is that at almost the same time as the "Duke of Suffolk" died suddenly at the banquet, Perron also saw a "Man in the Iron Mask" dressed similarly.

The Iron-Masked Man was a Five-Ring Hero, and Thomas had only found two vampire dukes. Either Thomas's information was wrong, or that was the real duke! June was shocked and said, "From your description, a duke has become nothing more than a livestock?"

"That's why we should find out the true identity of Lord Blood Spider as quickly as possible."

Ye Zhi frowned, "There have been many murders on the South Bank, and the number of missing persons is increasing every day. I don't know how many civilian lives have been eaten by blood... If we don't want Lord Blood Spider to rest easy from now on, we should use the conspiracy at this banquet to find out the truth!"

June's eyes flickered slightly. A nobleman who was willing to uphold justice for the common people was always rare and noble.

In the air, there is a faint lavender scent wafting from Yeats's body, which is refreshing and pleasant.

June couldn't help but take a deep breath and said, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Suddenly, Yeats showed a very sunny smile with snow-white teeth.

June suddenly felt something was wrong and shrank back into the sofa with a wary look in her eyes.

Ye Zhi smiled and said, "I have a way to break the impasse, but I need your help."

"What help?"

"I hope you will go to Edinburgh alone, and I will stay by your side to protect you."

"What kind of solution is this?"

"You, me, and Calvin are investigating Lord Blood Spider. This matter must have been exposed, but we might as well take advantage of it." Ye Zhi explained his plan. "Imagine if you were assassinated in the territory of the Duke of Alba, what would be your first thought?"

June seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "I would think that the Duke of Alba wanted to kill me to silence me. He must have something unknown that he doesn't want me to know."

"If you die as a result of this, who will be the biggest beneficiary?" Yeats asked.

June's expression changed, and after a while he said, "Duke Wick... Because the Lannister family has lost its heir, and my father must have suspected that Duke Wick and Duke Alba are colluding with each other... Civil war is inevitable."

Of the claimants to the Golden Lion throne, only the Wick and Lannister families are strong contenders.

The heir of the Wick family is currently studying abroad in the Kingdom of Roland; although June is a girl, she has been raised as the eldest son by her father since she was a child. Currently, she is the heir of the Lannister family.

June's life and death is related to the current situation of the Golden Lion. Perhaps in the eyes of the Blood Spider, June's life is more important than Ye Zhi, the chosen one of God.

In addition, June, known as the 'Red Rose of Lannister', relied on her outstanding swordsmanship and aggressive personality, so this information must have been known to the vampires long ago.

Ye Zhi deduced: "So, someone will come to assassinate you, it's just a matter of time."

Zhu En was moved and said, "Then shouldn't I stay in Lundu City? Once I leave the city, won't it give them an opportunity to take advantage of me?"

"This is what I call turning a bad trick on someone. No matter how cunning Lord Blood Spider is, he would not have expected that someone would go there knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain."

Ye Zhi paused and said, "And I am the confidence behind your trip."

Zhu En stared at Ye Zhi deeply and said, "But according to your analysis, the one who came to assassinate me is most likely a Five Rings vampire, and is good at assassination! By then, you and I will both die!"

"Only five rings."

Ye Zhi said calmly: "Just a rat."

June was stunned.

Where does he get his confidence from?

A four-ring poet who is not good at attacking and speaks wildly, can he deal with the vampire marquis? This plan requires June to go to danger. In order to convince her, Yeats decided to play some trump cards.

First, Ye Zhi took out the Shield of Medusa: "Here, can I deal with the Marquis of the Blood Clan?"

A hint of surprise flashed across June's eyes.

The golden shield inlaid with the head of a snake-haired beauty is undoubtedly the famous epic armor!

An epic equipment can bring great benefits to a transcendent, just like a god with a divine weapon and a god without a divine weapon are two completely different concepts.

The fact that the God of Thunder and Storms' combat effectiveness declined severely once he lost his hammer is enough to verify this.

Seeing Ye Zhi openly revealing his cards, June nodded honestly and said:

"There's more defense than offense."

Then Yeats took out Pan's Flute and said, "What about this?"

Another epic equipment? And it's the Pan Flute that the bard dreams of! June was a little confused and nodded blankly:

"There's more offense than defense."

Ye Zhi slapped Pan's Flute on Medusa's Shield and said, "This, plus this, can we get the job done?"

June stood up in awe and said:

"May I ask where did you get these equipment?"

Ye Zhi chuckled: "It's fate."

June: “…”

The Lannisters don't have the confidence to produce two pieces of epic equipment at once, right? June sighed silently in his heart.

Even if Ye Zhi took out a legendary weapon, he would not be surprised.

Wait, he can't really have it, can he?

June looked strange, and after a long silence, he nodded and said:

"I'll take this matter!"

*Night, it is late.

Please...collect 6...9...books...!

The quiet White Oak Manor was filled with the echo of the woman's sobs.

Colin stood at the closed iron gate of the manor, looking up at the window that let out a ray of orange light, his furrowed brows seemed to be tinged with sorrow.

He holds a high position of power and is one of the most powerful figures in the Zhongting Continent. Few things can move him.

However, Colin stood at the door of the manor for a long time, looking up at the dim light, with an indescribable sadness lingering in his chest.

After an unknown amount of time, he turned around and prepared to leave.

At this moment, the iron door creaked and slowly opened.

A crippled man with squinting eyes trembled as he opened the iron gate. He raised his ugly face and grinned at Colin with his yellow-brown teeth.

That smile was disgusting, as if seeing through the knight's fully armed plate armor and seeing the meanness in his heart.

Colin snorted coldly, strode into the manor and pushed open the door of the mansion.

The candlelight illuminated the curtains, and a slender figure smoked a cigarette behind a thin screen, then picked up a glass of whiskey and drank it all in one gulp.

Colin stared at the figure quietly through the screen.

Until the exhausted voice, with a lazy and sticky tone, seemed to come from the nasal cavity, like a reproach or a complaint.

“You’re here.”

"Am I here at the wrong time?"

"I don't know. I'm so scared. His nephew has been here and I will be homeless soon..." The voice was choked with sobs.

"I can help you."

"Can you marry me?"

Colin's whole body trembled, as if he was trying to hold back the pain. He clenched his fists tightly, and after a while, he said hoarsely, "I can't."

The day he was rescued by the king, he swore to devote his life to the family of King Lionheart.

Besides, how much controversy would the royal knight and the duchess cause?

The power of rumors is terrible, so terrible that even a six-ring knight like Colin would be terrified by them.

"Then you've come to the wrong place." The Duchess said coldly and unkindly, "Perhaps you should find someone else to please you."

Under the candlelight, Colin's expression was a little apologetic. He fought against the humiliation and guilt deep in his heart and said:

"Matilda, you are in danger now, I am here to warn you."

"My husband is dead. Everything else is unimportant to me." The Duchess said tiredly.

"No, he's not dead yet!" Colin said suddenly.

The figure behind the screen fell silent. Then she stood up, pulled open the screen, and the figure she had been thinking about day and night appeared in front of Colin.

There were traces of tears and sadness on her beautiful face, and her eye makeup was smudged, but she looked even more charming.

"What did you say?" The Duchess suppressed the trembling of her voice, "Say it again?"

A trace of struggle flashed across Colin's face. He looked up at the Duchess and said slowly:

"Your Majesty told me that the Duke of Suffolk has been practicing [Furnace Fighting Qi] since he was young, and the deceased does not have the corresponding power seed, so the Duke of Suffolk is not dead yet."

The Duchess covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes full of shock and disbelief:

"Where did he go?"

"I'll find out." Colin stood like a statue, his voice cold, "I'll find out where he is, whether he's dead or alive."

Lee Matilda cried out in grief and fell to Colin's chest like a wounded fawn. The room was filled with mist, and the incense made Colin dizzy, and his thoughts became slow in this strange perfume.

Few people know that Colin is an orphan from the North who grew up in begging and humiliation. Even though he became a royal knight, he was always hidden in the shadow of the Lionheart King.

There were often people who were dissatisfied with King Lionheart and insulted Colin as an executioner and a butcher, but he gladly accepted the title of "barbarian".

However, when the night was quiet, memories always came to Colin's mind with a strong sense of inferiority.

Wouldn't it be possible for a high-ranking person to feel inferior and crave a warm hug? Colin gently hugged Mrs. Lee Matilda and told himself silently in his heart.

She is already a widow.

I can't let her be a widow anymore.

…

August.

Clouds are flying.

The flags at the gate of London fluttered in the wind, and a cavalryman galloped out, raising a cloud of dust.

June, dressed in military uniform and traveling light, went to the Duke of Alba's territory alone. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, he did not inform anyone in advance.

Except Yeats.

"Are you sure that the vampire marquis will take the bait?" June secretly messaged.

"He will." Ye Zhi said firmly, "Because you are not important. It is not you who is important to Lord Blood Spider."

"Can you say something auspicious?"

"I am a bard, and the magic I am best at is slander." Ye Zhi said frankly.

June rolled her eyes inwardly and said, "So, where are you hiding?"

"In the sky." Ye Zhi became invisible and flew quickly with the help of the wings of the blessed god of poetry.

[Blessing·Poetic Honey Wine] can enhance inspiration and is obviously matched with [Blessing·Wings of the Goddess of Poetry]. Ye Zhi also drank a sip of honey wine before flying, which means he was flying after drinking.

"Can your invisibility last that long without being discovered by the Five Rings vampires?" June expressed his doubt.

"Don't worry, I also have the blessing from the Goddess of Mist and am very good at invisibility." Ye Zhi said.

June stopped talking, secretly shocked. Blessing from the goddess of mist? Wasn't Ye Zhi the chosen one of the goddess of youth? How could the two divine powers in his body not conflict? How come you are so favored by the goddess? June asked again, "How can you be sure that you can find out when the vampires are ambushing?"

"Because I have a very high talent in the Dark Night School, if the power of Dark Night appears in the creative field, I will be able to detect it at the first time." Ye Zhi said truthfully.

Ye Zhi had received two gazes from the Goddess of Darkness, one on the night of the lunar eclipse and the other during the Trial of Minerva. The divinity in his body was abundant enough to serve as a vessel for the Goddess of Darkness, and his perception of Darkness magic was quite sharp.

The birth of the Goddess of Darkness was later than that of the God of Darkness, but she is an absolutely high-level divine power.

The talent displayed by Yeats has made June doubt herself.

After half a day, they arrived near Edinburgh, but there was still no trace of vampires along the way.

June was somewhat skeptical about whether Yeats' plan was reliable. When they were crossing a steep canyon, they heard a long howl in the sky.

A vulture with rotten and decayed skin and exposed bones, like a giant vulture, carrying a figure wearing an iron mask, attacked from high in the sky! June said with a pale face, "There is also a king-level vulture!"

Before he finished his words, a snowy owl appeared and summoned powerful arcane missiles, bombarding the body of the Death Vulture!

"Cry——"

Amid the roar of the Death Vulture, the Iron-masked Man raised his eyes and stared indifferently at the figure floating in the air.

Ye Zhi glanced at the dead vulture and said:

"Extra meal tonight!"

…

(End of this chapter)