Chapter 57 Chapter 58 The Misadventures of the Succubus
Time was running out.
With a flutter in her heart, Ji Ma took some sleeping pills, lay down on her bed, and closed her eyes.
A fog enveloped her, her consciousness blurred, and she lost all sense of time. At some point, her awareness was refreshed.
Ji Ma sat up, and everything around her transformed into a black-and-white dreamscape. Sitting on the bed with her hands clasped together, she prayed:
“I hope that goblin has a good napping habit.”
Otherwise, she would be in trouble. By evening, if she was lying next to a tail-controlled creature and suddenly vanished, that guy would most likely notice something was wrong.
She couldn’t take that risk.
Having said that, Ji Ma opened her eyes, and it seemed like fate favored her; she saw the dream seed belonging to the goblin queen, a striking black dot emitting black smoke.
She reached out and grasped the dream seed, feeling a powerful suction pulling her through the wall. With the blink of an eye, she passed through walls and trees and arrived in a forest clearing. Beside her, a tree hole was emitting black smoke.
It was the goblin queen’s dream.
Ji Ma did not rush into “dreamwalking” and instead stepped out from the goblin queen’s dream to first observe the surrounding terrain.
The underbrush was dense, and the ground uneven with many ravines; if the goblin queen escaped now, it might be hard for her to catch up.
Ji Ma checked her body again.
The dagger was with her, the silver ring given by George was on—providing force-field armor protection—and her dimensional pocket was also with her.
After mentally rehearsing several plans, Ji Ma reached out to touch the goblin queen’s dream…
…
…
The goblin queen was sound asleep.
It didn’t know why those long-legged people were capturing it. But it had escaped, confident that the male and female pair would never find it.
It didn’t plan to run too far because the long-legged people in this unfamiliar place looked rather clueless. They confidently allowed their offspring to play in the woods outside the town.
It liked the long-legged offspring; they were all so energetic yet timid. When it screamed at them, they’d get scared and their legs would go weak. Even better, the meat of the long-legged offspring was particularly tender and biting them felt exceptionally pleasant.
When biting, the little ones would scream, making a “mamama” sound.
Today it had to hear the “mamama” calls to vent the bad air in its chest.
It dreamed a good dream, recalling a time it had caught a chubby long-legged offspring and bitten down hard on her plump hand. She wouldn’t stop “mamama”-ing.
The goblin queen grinned wider from joy.
Suddenly, a noise interrupted its dream.
The goblin queen jolted awake, looking up to see a narrow tree hole above its head, and there, unexpectedly, was a black-haired female long-legged person, exuding a faint odor.
“Damn! Can’t control the exit direction! Got stuck in the tree!”
It was so frightened that its soul almost fled; it used all four limbs to escape from the tree hole, sprinting to a patch of dense underbrush not far away. As long as it lowered its head and slipped inside, even a four-legged beast could not catch up to it.
“Come back! You stinky little beast!”
A surge of anger rose within the goblin queen.
Clearly, it was she who stank; she must have splashed herself with “stinky water” extracted from those flowers. Previously, the goblin queen had stolen a bottle and upon opening it, the stench had been enough to make her want to vomit, a memory stuck in her mind.
In a fit of anger, the goblin queen turned her head and glared at the tree hole while not slowing her pace.
The black-haired long-legged woman was stuck in the tree hole, able only to stretch out one fair hand and call out to her.
She actually got stuck.
For a moment, the goblin queen hesitated, its impulse to bully the weak battling against its desire to escape.
The black-haired female long-legged person shouted, “Come back and continue the mold!”
Upon hearing the word “mold,” the goblin queen felt a burning pain below.
It seemed she was in cahoots with that male and female pair of long-legged people!
They coveted its precious black fur, planning to strip it clean.
Bent over, the goblin queen picked up a stone and hurled it with force at the black-haired long-legged woman’s head.
“Ow!” The black-haired woman was enraged but moved even more tightly in the hole, unable to budge. She finally realized something was wrong, panic crossing her face.
The goblin queen felt a thrill of excitement. Goblins are particularly sensitive to enemies’ fear because it signified that the opponent was weak and could be bullied at will.
It drew a butcher’s knife from its waist, which it had conveniently stolen while escaping, and approached the black-haired long-legged woman.
“Don’t come any closer!” she screamed in fear, twisting her body side to side, but the tree hole was indeed narrow and she was stuck tight.
“Be a slave,” the goblin queen said, “you’ll live.”
Having said that, it focused on the black-haired woman’s hair, planning to yank it out and bully her. Then it would tie a rope around her neck and drag her along.
This white-skinned female long-legged one seemed quite appealing, as the male long-legged ones liked them. It could also trade with the males, leading her along and lending her out to play when they met.
Lost in thought, the goblin queen approached the black-haired long-legged woman even closer.
It raised the butcher’s knife, preparing to first knock her on the head with the back of it.
“Stop.” The panic on the black-haired long-legged woman’s face suddenly vanished; propping herself up on the grass, she said, “Yes, just like that, raise your chest higher.”
The goblin queen looked at her in confusion.
“Yes, just like that.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the goblin queen felt a sharp pain in its chest. Lowering its head, it saw an unfamiliar crossbow bolt protruding from its chest, not knowing when it had arrived. It reached out to touch it; the bolt was sturdy, undeniably real.
Wasn’t she half stuck in the tree hole, with only one hand free? How was this possible?
The goblin queen felt like it was in a dream, a nightmare.
But the crossbow in front of its chest was undeniably there.
A sharp pain spread throughout its body, making the goblin queen shiver and wake up.
The tree hole was entirely empty; beside the tree stood the black-haired woman with golden eyes, no longer stuck in the hole, exposed arms bearing bloodied abrasions. In her hand was a light crossbow, gradually fading away.
She whistled a slightly off-tune melody and said:
“Sweet dreams.”
The goblin queen collapsed to the ground, lying on its back, blood pouring from its chest.
A large stone came crashing down towards its face.
It opened its mouth and cried out: “Mama…”
…
…
In the White City, inside the cathedral’s inner city.
Cardinal Gregory sat on a chair in his courtyard.
He was dressed in full battle armor, wearing a fire-red cloak, with two ribbons hanging down to his knees. He took off his red helmet, revealing an elderly, weary face, and placed the helmet on a nearby table.
For him, the armored suit didn’t hinder his use of extraordinary abilities, so he would always wear ordinary full armor when heading out—unable to compare to warrior classes due to not having a strong enough physique to bear heavier armor.
Generally speaking, Gregory dressed according to the occasion. In this regard, he was the opposite of his disciple George, who wished he could wear armor at all times.
However, this time Gregory did not change clothes; he was anxious to see George.
George stood before him, clad in armor that reflected the sunlight in a silver sheen, and spoke:
“Your Excellency, Cardinal Gregory, do you have an urgent task for me?”
“No, not exactly.” Gregory’s voice was hoarse. “I have some matters I need to discuss with you urgently.”
“You should rest first,” George said. “I’m not in a hurry; we have plenty of time.”
“Some things need to be asked and discussed sooner for peace of mind.” Gregory said, “Your task this time, no matter how, must be completed perfectly; it is crucial for regaining your title as a hero. This task is not urgent, but it is certainly not as simple as it seems.”
“I understand; you mentioned it three times in your letter.”
Gregory took a breath, panting slightly, and asked, “Have you confirmed your relationship with that child, Jenna?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good; I feel half relieved.”
“What about the other half?”
“Regarding that succubus.”
“Her name is Ji Ma.”
“Yes, Ji Ma,” Gregory replied. “I’m afraid, I’m worried that you might get distracted, tempted by her, and end up in bed with her. If that happens, you’ll have leverage in her hands. Something you value greatly could mean nothing to her, allowing her to blackmail you at will. Wait, I’m not done yet; let me take a sip of water and catch my breath.”
Gregory stood up, took a few breaths, walked to the water tank, dipped a ladle into the clear water, and drank.
George pointed out, “That’s unhygienic; it should be boiled.”
“When I was herding sheep as a child, I used to drink straight from the creek. Though I’m older now, and can’t do that after a month of outdoor work, drinking a bit of raw water isn’t a problem.”
Having said that, Gregory set down the ladle and continued to ask:
“I’ve lived so long and seen many promising young people, just like that, being corrupted by a few whores…”
“Ji Ma hasn’t blackmailed me.”
“Have you done that kind of thing with Ji Ma?”
“If I understand correctly, that kind of thing refers to sleeping together?”
“Yes!” Gregory looked at George and, in an aged voice, asked, “Tell me, George. I hope you will answer.”
“This is my secret.”
Gregory fell silent, looking at George. The deeply wrinkled face seemed to show a hint of sorrow and regret.
He knew George was obstinate; once he said it was a secret, he would never disclose it.
His dry lips moved, saying, “There is one thing you must know; you must be cautious. Never gamble on your situation, fearing that she will reveal it, which could ruin your relationship with your partner, leading to a step-by-step retreat and breaking the bottom line. Otherwise, your fate will be even more terrifying.”
“Never.” Seeing the worry in Gregory’s eyes persist, George added, “I’m certain that even if I were to be with Ji Ma in front of Jenna, she wouldn’t be angry. So, the situation you’re worried about won’t happen.”
Gregory finally let out a slight sigh of relief and continued:
“Regardless, you must not let your guard down around Ji Ma. She has unknown abilities. I’m certain she is scheming something in private.”
“That’s presumption of guilt.”
“Yes.” Gregory replied, “You need not make presumptions of guilt, but you must at least understand what she is doing, right? Promise me not to let your guard down.”
George nodded, “I promise you.”
“Good.” To Gregory’s surprise, he did not ramble, but instead picked up the red helmet and put it on, saying, “I have another secret mission.”
Having said that, he hurried out of the courtyard.
What kind of mission could be so urgent that Gregory rushed back to the holy land?
George didn’t think much of it and stepped out of the courtyard.
At that moment, the clock chimed fourteen times.
It was almost time for his appointment with Ji Ma. George disliked being late, so he took off running towards Ji Ma’s courtyard.
Before long, he arrived at the gate, knocked several times, and called out a few times.
No one responded.
“Ji Ma, are you up?” George easily climbed over the wall and approached the window, pulling it open.
The bed was empty, and no one was there.
George became vigilant, recalling Cardinal Gregory’s words.
