Chapter 81: Exposed Conspiracy (12/26)

It was only at this moment that the White Queen stepped out of the café. She glanced at the situation outside, then covered her mouth with a white feather fan and spoke.

“Sister, what happened here?”

“Nothing much. Someone tried to ambush me, but these two intervened.”

By now, Ou Xiaolu had already sheathed his sword and approached to meet the Red Queen and White Queen, while Xudela went forward to examine the corpse.

The memories of the Red Queen and White Queen had not been altered, so they immediately recognized Ou Xiaolu, who had been projected onto Booth.

Although they still played their parts, their attitude was noticeably better; at the very least, they believed everything Ou Xiaolu said.

After Ou Xiaolu feigned an explanation of the events, the Red Queen and White Queen exchanged a glance, revealing their practiced coordination in performance.

Even Xudela, who had finished inspecting the corpse, failed to notice their acting and assumed they were simply processing the information Ou Xiaolu had conveyed.

When their performance concluded, Xudela stepped forward and said, “This corpse belongs to my family, but I've discovered something. Come take a look.”

Ou Xiaolu was curious, while the Red and White Queens were merely playing along.

They walked over to the skeletal remains, and this time, the Red and White Queens dropped their act. The Red Queen lifted the skull and carefully traced the spade-shaped mark upon it.

At last, she spoke uncertainly: “This mark bears traces of my style, but its essence has changed—it's a variant of the playing card soldier.”

“Playing card soldier?” Xudela asked, intrigued.

The Red Queen produced a stack of cards, from Ace to Jack of hearts—eleven in total.

Meanwhile, the White Queen took out a handful of white chess pieces: fourteen in all, including rooks, bishops, knights, and guards.

Ou Xiaolu and Xudela could both sense the latent power of the Red Queen and White Queen imbued within these cards and chess pieces.

The White Queen explained, “These are fragments created by splitting our souls. They allow us to forcibly transform a humanoid into one of our soldiers. Of course, there’s a cap on the number of soldiers we can control; no new soldiers are created unless the old ones die in battle.”

“My sister discovered that this person was under someone’s control. The method used is the same as our soldier marks—a fragment of soul is turned into a brand and imprinted onto a humanoid. However, the opponent didn't opt for transformation, but preserved the original form. Unlike us, who, once the brand is applied, transform completely and irreversibly.”

Xudela, no fool himself, immediately grasped the implication, “You mean someone has learned your method, but rather than force a transformation, they’re allowing the branded ones to lie in wait?”

“That’s correct,” the Red Queen nodded. “It’s likely the same species, because the opponent used playing cards. My soldiers are few in number and species, except for the Jack, who can act as commander and be of a different species; the rest must be the same. So their infiltrators should be among their own kind.”

“Can you identify who has this kind of hidden brand?” Xudela grew anxious—his household comprised just two people; the rest were corpses. If those corpses weren’t under his control, his family would be doomed.

“I can, but you’ll have to gather all such beings together so I can work it out.”

Seeing the Red Queen’s confidence, Ou Xiaolu asked the White Queen, “Does your sister really have a way? Her playing card soldiers don’t seem as powerful as your chess soldiers.”

“Our approaches differ. My chess soldiers are numerous and emphasize coordination, but only possess restoration abilities. My sister’s giantification spell, however, is the perfect complement to her playing card soldiers; once enhanced, one playing card soldier can equal two of mine.”

Faced with this situation, Ou Xiaolu could only imagine the method the Red Queen referred to.

If playing card soldiers possess similar properties, then the giantification spell used on the heart soldiers should also elicit a reaction from the spade soldiers.

So if the giantification spell is cast broadly, those who respond are the enemy.

Xudela now accepted the Red Queen’s words, and began inviting everyone to his family’s island. He needed time to gather all his servants.

Ou Xiaolu naturally went along, having ‘discovered’ the issue and demonstrated considerable combat prowess; his help would make things much easier for the Tirichifa family.

The Tirichifa family resided on a small island in the waters near Xinxing—a larger island than Ou Xiaolu’s valley, with a spring at its heart that served as the sole source of fresh water. The family estate was built around this spring.

Thanks to the fresh water, the island was lush with trees. Yet upon arrival, Ou Xiaolu and the others noticed that beneath every tree, one or two corpses wandered back and forth.

“Those are the island’s defenders. They never leave the island, only move around their designated tree. Anyone who approaches them is attacked, so please follow my lead and don’t stray,” Xudela said, guiding the way.

Ou Xiaolu took the opportunity to observe these corpses, discovering that they possessed a faint vitality—not merely a necromantic aura.

Upon closer inspection, he realized the vitality came from the trees they circled. Each tree’s vitality was unique; if a mistake was made, the corpse would lose its vigor and collapse into a pile of bones.

This explained why the corpses only circled their assigned trees.

“This method is excellent—far superior to earthbound spirits,” Ou Xiaolu remarked.

Xudela was quite pleased. “It took my family years to develop this technique. If you’ve figured it out, experiment on your own. I won’t tell you how to handle it.”

“Thank you. Such things are like a paper window—one poke and everything is clear,” Ou Xiaolu replied politely.

“It’s nothing. The method itself isn’t important; what matters is how the corpses are made.”

As he spoke, Xudela’s expression darkened. The corpses were the foundation of the Tirichifa family, and now, realizing their foundation had been branded by another, his anger rose.

After passing through the island’s outer woods, a bald man in a wheelchair emerged, pushed by a corpse.

At a distance, Xudela immediately introduced him, “This is my father, the head of the Tirichifa family—Schmidt Tirichifa.”