nownovels Chapter 158 Who is the Golden Mask?
Chapter 158 Who is the Golden Mask?
Chapter 158 Who is the Golden Mask?
"It's nothing, we just caught a thief, we can handle it ourselves. Thank you for your trouble, it's so late at night," Gebu said to the town guards who had arrived, secretly slipping each of them a silver coin during their handshake. "This is rather embarrassing, please don't tell anyone."
The guards looked at each other, said nothing, and left.
After chasing away the bystanders, Gebu returned to his tent.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Bound tightly to the bed, Sanhua groaned in pain. Dao Nu cruelly pried open her arms.
Dulin and the hostage watched in terror, hissing in fear.
"Bear with it!"
"Ugh!!!"
click!
Fina's dislocated shoulder was forcefully shoved back into place by the knife-wielding woman. The catwoman rolled her eyes in pain; if it weren't for the rag ball stuffed in her mouth, she would have bitten off her tongue.
The swordswoman grabbed Fina's arm and swung it a few times. The catwoman was in too much pain to resist and was manipulated like a puppet. The mercenary, seeing that the joint was set, smugly dusted off her hands and gave Gebu a look.
"It's up to you, Geb."
The halfling and the swordswoman gave each other a high five and took over. He grabbed a chair, sat down a few steps away from the cat, and then used his wizard's hand to remove the cloth ball stuffed in the cat's mouth.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Catwoman spat several times before catching her breath, then glared fiercely at the halfling in front of her without uttering a word.
"I thought all of Thornton's men were dead, but it turns out there's one left," Geb said. "You're here just in time; I have a question for you."
The catwoman suddenly sprang up and pounced on Gebu, while the halfling remained unmoved, coldly watching as the beastman was dragged back by the rope.
"Still not behaving? Let me take her arm off again and give her some pleasure," the woman with the sword threatened from the side.
"Don't be so cruel, talk to her nicely," Dulin said, looking at the beastman with some reluctance.
"Fina remembers the dwarf, Fat Hu! Fina should have scratched Fat Hu's face back then!" Catwoman cursed at Dulin.
"I'm speaking up for you! You have no manners! Can't you tell right from wrong?" The dwarf, inexplicably scolded, became inexplicably angry. He nonchalantly tucked in his stomach and muttered under his breath, "Where am I fat—"
"Didn't you notice? This stray cat's brain isn't working properly; it bites anyone it sees." Gebu sneered, then snapped his fingers, drawing the catwoman's attention back to himself.
"Don't you understand the situation? If you don't want to suffer, answer the questions honestly."
"Ha!" Catwoman hissed.
Seeing that the cat was still not cooperating, Geb ordered the hostage to go out and fetch a bucket of ice-cold water, which he then held over the catwoman's head with the Wizard's Hand.
The calico cat stared wide-eyed at the bucket above its head in terror, its neck fur standing on end.
The wooden bucket tipped over—splash!
"Meow!"
"Looks like that's not enough. Congratulations, you've won the lottery! Meat ticket—another bucket, please."
"Cold—cold! Meow!!!"
The catwoman howled pitifully.
After all that commotion, the beastman was soaked to the bone, his three-colored fur clung miserably to his body, and he had lost a lot of weight. He huddled up in a ball, shivering in the cold autumn night. He looked utterly pitiful.
"Still breathing on it?" Gebu asked, arms crossed, with a hint of mockery.
Sanhua hugged her shoulders, water dripping from her face. She stopped talking and became quiet.
"First of all, why did you come here to hunt manticores? Who sent you?"
Actually, Gebu already had the answer to this question: they were hired by the peacock and came here to get the Scorpion Stinger. He asked the question knowing the answer already, to test whether the cat knew the truth and whether it would tell the truth.
"7
"Still not cooperating?" Gebu revealed a smile that was half innocent and half sinister, a forced grin. "If you want me to help you, shouldn't you help me first? If you don't want my help, I can call that steel plate over there back and have her help you."
"Huh?" The woman with the sword was lost in thought when she heard a certain sensitive word and she snapped to attention.
Fina raised her eyes and glanced at the mercenary, then shivered and lowered her head in silence.
Seeing that the catgirl had become a little more obedient, Gebu asked, "Come on, I'll give you one more chance. Who hired you to hunt the manticore?"
"Fina doesn't know. These annoying things are always handled by Jiaojiao. Fina just does the tasks Jiaojiao assigns me—if Fina is in a good mood."
"That's just like a cat," Gebu muttered. "So annoying."
"You really don't know anything?"
"—Fina only knew that Horn had a deal with a magician called Golden Mask, exchanging gold coins for seeds. Then Golden Mask introduced Horn to a female elf named Peacock, making Horn work for her in exchange for gold."
"Golden Mask?" Gebu thought for a moment, and the name seemed so familiar.
Oh right, I saw this code name on the poison recipe in the Peacock's basement back then. It seemed to say something like: "King-Slaying Kiss, 'Golden Mask' would like this name."
It seems that this guy called "Golden Mask" is the one who commissioned the poison and is also the mastermind behind sending the Ansar people to Chifang Town.
"Have you seen that golden mask?" Geb asked.
"When Fina heard that he could use magic, she asked him the same question: could he turn Fina back into a human?" the catwoman murmured, looking down.
"How did the man with the golden mask answer?"
"Gold Mask said: It's possible, but Fina can never afford the price of turning back into a human."
The golden-masked man said he could do it? Geb was stunned. Based on previous research, only a legendary-level transformation wizard—or at least someone he knew—could transform a species. This golden-masked man was that powerful?!
"At this level, he still needs a peacock to make him poison? That's so low-class," Gebu complained.
"That little bud—I mean, that 'seed' that Thornton wants, what is it?"
"Fina didn't know that Corner said they wanted to replant the dead trees in their hometown—Fina didn't understand what was so special about those trees. Human towns were prettier, the food was better, and the clothes were prettier—what was so great about living in that wretched forest?"
After listening to Catwoman's words, Geb roughly understood what Thorton meant by "homeland": humans burned the trees in Thorton's hometown, and he wanted to get some kind of magical seed from the golden mask to restore his magical "immortal forest".
Unfortunately, this guy must have been fooled by the golden mask—Gebu thought. If those seeds were really that precious, Thorton probably wouldn't have gotten his hands on them. The wizard had painted a rosy picture for him, and the half-deer and his people had fallen for it without hesitation.
However, the appearance of the golden mask pointed Geb into a new path.
Peacocks don't have the stinger of a scorpion's tail, so they can't make that poison—but I do! Gebu can search for the poison's recipe in the Book of Sand and then make it himself.
If a single tail thorn, used as raw material, can sell for 5000 gold coins, how much would the finished poison be worth?! I can't even imagine!
Once a certain amount is reached, gold coins can no longer measure the value of things. They can only be exchanged for items of equal value. As a wizard, and a powerful one at that (able to manipulate the Gray Raven Gang leader and the Onsar mercenaries, his level must be quite high), the Golden Mask has a lot of things he can exchange for.
For example, knowledge of magic.
For example, methods to become human.
Even if he doesn't get anything substantial, just getting in touch with a high-ranking wizard can be a huge boost to Gebu's wizarding path.
Thinking of this, Gebu became excited. Suppressing his elation in front of everyone, he asked, "Then do you know where the golden mask is?"
Catwoman shook her head: "The last time Horn and Fina saw the Golden Mask was in a place called 'Mother Queen Harbor.' Normally, the Golden Mask speaks inside Horn's head, and no one else can hear it."
"Port Queen's," Dulin corrected from the side. "It's right next to Shanhaiguan. It used to be a naval port. Because it was on the front line of the war, a lot of supplies passed through there. Five years ago, when I passed through there, Port Queen's had already developed into a city of considerable size."
"Shanhaiguan, ha—" Gebu thought for a moment. This place was on the only way, so it wouldn't waste any time.
According to Catwoman's description, Golden Mask likely used some kind of advanced communication magic to communicate with Thorton over a long distance. With Thorton's death, Golden Mask's one-way communication with these guys ended.
The only two people who could possibly connect to this line are two people: the first is Gebu's old enemy, Peacock.
This guy hates Gebu to death. First, he was robbed, and then his Scorpion Tail Sting was stolen. Although Gebu is disguised, going to the Wanderers' Market now, when things are getting heated, feels like walking into a trap.
The second person is the catwoman in front of me.
She had seen the Golden Mask before, and the Golden Mask knew her. If he found he couldn't contact Thornton, he might try to communicate with Thornton's men.
"Sanhua, has the Golden Mask ever contacted you separately?"
The catwoman thought for a moment and nodded.
Gebu asked excitedly, "How long ago?"
Catwoman scratched her chin, shook the water off her face, and sneezed from the cold.
"Achufina, think—two—no, three—"
"Three weeks ago? Three days ago?" Gebu asked anxiously.
"Three minutes ago," Catwoman said, her teeth chattering.
"Huh?!" Everyone in the room exclaimed in astonishment.
"Three minutes ago?! Why didn't you say so?!"
"The golden mask was speaking in Fina's mind. Fina was wet, cold, and in a bad mood, so she ignored it," Catwoman replied casually.
"Get it straight, you bastard!!!" Geb almost fell off his chair.
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