Chapter 80: Wait a Moment, There's a Plot Brewing

The Red Queen and the White Queen were sitting in a rather upscale café in Xinxiang, enjoying their afternoon tea. As members of a magical family from France, they simply could not give up their leisurely afternoon custom.

The two queens looked quite alike, except that the Red Queen had a head of fiery red hair and, compared to her body, her head appeared somewhat large, with lips painted in the shape of a heart. The White Queen was paler, her long white hair elegantly coiled atop her head; whether sitting or standing, her back was always perfectly straight, giving her the appearance of a chess piece.

Beside them, a man in a butler’s uniform had dismissed the café staff and was personally attending to the queens’ afternoon tea.

Far from the two queens, a man with a grim expression was eating alone, occasionally glancing toward their table.

“See that? I’d bet anything that man is from the Tillichifa family,” Xiaolu Ou whispered to Xiaoyou as they passed outside the café, pointing at the scene within.

“So, should we go in now?” Xiaoyou asked, hugging her sun coral egg a little tighter.

“No need. Watch me.” Xiaolu Ou smiled, producing a bottle of red wine. He called over a waiter from inside the café and whispered a few words to him.

The waiter looked at the wine, puzzled. This was, after all, a café, and serving red wine during afternoon tea struck him as odd. But Xiaolu Ou had also tipped him, so refusing was not an option. Bracing himself, the waiter approached the grim-faced man from the Tillichifa family and said cautiously, “Sir, someone asked me to bring you this bottle of wine.”

People from the Tillichifa family, having spent too much time among the undead, hardly knew how to move their facial muscles. The man looked up, made an effort to smile—a smile so forced that it would have been better left undone.

The waiter was startled by this smile, but the man’s attitude remained courteous. He took the wine, opened it, sniffed it, then, without bothering with a glass, drank straight from the bottle.

His demeanor and style clashed starkly with the refined atmosphere of the café, but his sullen expression discouraged the waiter from offering further service. He could only stand by and watch as the man drained the bottle.

When the empty bottle was set on the table, the Tillichifa man's gaze naturally drifted toward the café window, where Xiaolu Ou and Xiaoyou still stood, seemingly waiting for something.

After a moment’s thought, the man rose and walked out of the café, directly to Xiaolu Ou. “What do you want? I’m in a good mood today. If you’re after undead servants, I can promise you two—enough to protect the young lady beside you.”

Xiaolu Ou shook his head, and the man’s already gloomy expression darkened further.

“I’m a detective. While working a case, I noticed some oddities. I have a question for you,” Xiaolu Ou said.

The man from Tillichifa frowned, about to refuse, but recalling the bottle of wine, he finally nodded. “All right, what do you want to know? But let me make this clear: if you’re going to ask about my family’s affairs, I won’t say a word.”

“No need for that. I just want to know whether your visit here today was spontaneous or planned in advance,” Xiaolu Ou replied, gesturing toward the café.

Before the man could answer, the trailing waiter interjected irritably, “Watch your tone! This is Xinxiang’s finest café—countless distinguished guests come here for coffee.”

Xiaolu Ou waved this off. “It’s not about the café. My question is directed at you. In the course of my investigation, I found too many coincidences. If we don’t speak plainly, all sorts of misunderstandings could arise. For example, someone wants me to think you’re interested in those two and planning to abduct them after tea. According to my information, your servants should be arriving soon—right when the two queens finish their tea and prepare to leave.”

He emphasized the word “servants,” and the man from Tillichifa immediately understood. Their family had only two living members; the rest were undead under their control.

Xiaolu Ou’s “servants” referred to the undead, but the man hadn’t brought any with him today.

If, as Xiaolu Ou suggested, his undead were to show up just now, while he was present, it would indeed look as though he intended to confront the two ladies inside.

He had already sensed it: these two women were no ordinary mortals—they must come from great magical houses, as did their butler, whose bearing was equally noble.

The last thing the Tillichifa man wanted was to offend such people.

With this in mind, he nodded to Xiaolu Ou. “Thank you for the warning. My name is Hydella Tillichifa. You may call me Hydella.”

“I’m Bruce,” Xiaolu Ou replied after a moment’s hesitation, choosing to use Bruce’s name. After all, he wouldn’t be staying here forever. Once the matter of world consciousness was settled, Bruce would be the one to continue exploring this world.

Hydella, unaware of Xiaolu Ou’s hesitation, nodded in acknowledgment and prepared to leave.

But Xiaolu Ou stopped him. “Some things are best made clear.”

Hydella glanced at him, then decided to stay. Just then, the two queens finished their tea, the butler tidied the table, and the red and white queens headed outside.

Hydella grew visibly tense, anxiously scanning the surroundings, fearing that one or two undead servants would suddenly appear and be mistaken for enemies.

And fate never spares one’s fears. Just as the Red Queen reached the door, a man, green from head to toe, sprang from a nearby sewer and lunged at her.

Both Hydella and the Red Queen reacted instantly: Hydella stepped in front of her, while a fireball flared in the Red Queen’s hand, ready to launch.

But Xiaolu Ou was faster. The hilt concealed in his sleeve slipped into his palm and became a blade of white light, which slashed toward the attacker.

With that strike, the spectral images of a lion and two sharks appeared, and the man’s body was instantly shredded into countless green fragments, leaving only a bare skeleton behind.

Having dealt the blow, Xiaolu Ou turned and asked, “Take a look. Is this one of yours?”