Despite having faced a life-threatening crisis, Kashchey knew that while he wanted his old "friends" to suffer a heavy loss, now was not the time to openly break ties. He needed to endure.
Fortunately, endurance was what Kashchey did best. A snake can remain motionless for a very long time before seizing its prey, waiting for the day it is absolutely certain of the catch.
Action followed thought. He immediately contacted his old associates—those nobles who had engaged in various illegal dealings with him and who, on the surface, remained his "best friends." He took the information he had gathered from Jeanne, tweaked it into a narrative they would surely believe, and sought out the nobles who just happened to be gathered for a meeting.
It was truly a mystery what these people did all day. Were they really so idle that they had nothing better to do? Why was it that every time he looked for them, they were in a meeting? Kashchey half-suspected that this meeting room was actually a "spawn point" for these fellows; they would refresh there every so often to huddle together and chatter about useless nonsense.
"My old friends, your subordinates in Lungmen have certainly made quite a stir! And those subordinates of yours even sold out my interests!!"
As he spat out those last words, Kashchey's expression was that of a man betrayed by a trusted confidant. No one could miss the sliver of fury laced in his tone. With that mix of anger and disbelief, no one would have guessed that this man had already betrayed their camp and was currently in a corner, notebook in hand, counting down the days until their demise.
At the conference table, several nobles looked visibly nervous. It seemed they were the ones who had directed the operation, only to find they had botched it completely.
The most obvious among them was Baron Chichikov, sitting in the corner. The balding brown Ursus didn't even bother wiping the sweat from his forehead as he cast a pleading look toward his patron. He knew all too well how cruel the Immortal Black Snake could be; those who crossed him rarely saw even their livestock spared, let alone themselves. You could call him petty, but that was simply his nature. No—he had long since ceased to be human; he was an abnormally terrifying and hideous evil god.
"My friend, you've finally arrived. We are deeply sorry about this; it was indeed a situation caused by our oversight. Once this matter is concluded, we will compensate you."
The leading elder spoke to Kashchey with a low posture, something Kashchey hadn't seen in years. He remembered that even after years of cooperation, this old fossil always spoke with a hint of arrogance—a trait born from an ancient and grand Ursus family line that hadn't even buckled under the suppression of the previous Emperor.
"But we truly have encountered trouble this time. We heard that 'Rat' in Lungmen (Lin Gerui) has begun gathering his men, intending to use this incident as a fuse to dig out all our forces! And your old rival (Wei Yenwu) has also started to move."
This was news they had just received, a report that had cost them five of their best operatives embedded in Lungmen. Fortunately, those five had self-destructed, preventing Lungmen from taking them for interrogation. But this matter wouldn't be easily swept under the rug! With both the light and dark sides of Lungmen searching simultaneously, even their years of operation would be shaken to the core.
"Oh~ is that so? I didn't expect your subordinates to cause such a mess; it's truly an eye-opener! But what does that have to do with me? My subordinates are law-abiding citizens."
Kashchey teased them with a mocking, petty tone, sounding like someone privately gloating over the misfortune of a person who had annoyed them. The nobles present could only look at him with helpless expressions before turning away in silence. They knew Kashchey was just enjoying their misery.
"We need your help, my friend! Our grand undertaking is not yet complete. If our men fall in Lungmen now, our plans will be delayed for a long time."
Seeing that no one else was speaking, the elder had no choice but to keep his "bear face" lowered and plead with Kashchey. He didn't believe for a second that Kashchey was ignorant of these facts; the snake was simply waiting for them to beg. Thus, the initiative to handle the Lungmen situation fell squarely into Kashchey's hands.
"If you want my assistance, I need to know your specific situation in Lungmen, don't I? You didn't think of me when you were privately selling military weapons, but you come to me when things go wrong? That hardly seems appropriate."
Kashchey made a subtle jab at the lucrative business they had been conducting for years—a business they had never explicitly shared with him.
"We've been keeping your share of the dividends for you! You are technically a dead man right now; no bank would open an account for a corpse."
The elder replied without a blink, as if he had long foreseen Kashchey's angle. Had he actually saved a share for Kashchey? Of course not. But he could produce the money when the time came; as for where the money actually came from, that was irrelevant.
"Hmph, at least you're sensible. Then give me every scrap of intel you have in Lungmen. Remember, I said all of it! If you hide anything and it leads to failure, don't blame me for turning on you!"
The other side quickly agreed. At this point, they couldn't afford to worry about secrets; they just needed to save their foundation. Thus began a long journey of confession—a confession so thorough it even made Kashchey's eyebrows twitch.
The next day, Jeanne went out early in the morning to find the "pawn" Kashchey had left behind. The reason she chose the crack of dawn was that this individual only appeared during morning exercises. While she could have asked others for info, Kashchey insisted this person had the most comprehensive intelligence.
Upon arriving, Jeanne was relieved she didn't see a certain Mr. Lin or Mr. Wei out for their morning stroll; otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to explain herself.
There, she found her target: a Pythia performing a "Sledgehammer-to-Chest" stunt in the empty forest at dawn. Judging by the tail, he was some kind of python.
Are you a psycho? Breaking stones on your chest in the woods at dawn—did Kashchey dig you out of some circus? Could your former workplace have been the Crimson Troupe?! A place with circuses and clowns producing a genius like you isn't exactly a low probability...
Jeanne suppressed her intense urge to roast him, trying to maintain a peaceful state of mind. She now understood why Lungmen had never discovered he was a spy. Who would suspect a spy whose "twig-like" body could perform a stone-breaking act so well? To the LGD, he was just an old man pursuing his art. If Wei Yenwu ever ran into him, he might even toss him a few coins and praise the performance.
"Dear customer, you've been watching for quite a while. You look like someone who isn't short on cash; why not take pity on this old man and give me a few coins for a meal?"
The old man looked at Jeanne with a pathetic expression, but Jeanne felt it was more of a prank; he clearly recognized her.
"I am but a penniless nun, sadly quite short on funds. How about I offer a prayer for you instead? My prayers are quite effective—at least for warding off evil."
Jeanne felt the extremely familiar soul fluctuations coming from him and immediately guessed who it was. Thus, she decided to play along and "pray" for him.
In response, the stone-breaking old man's smile faltered. Moments later, the act dropped completely.
"I surrender! Please, whatever you do, do not start praying! I didn't expect you to see through the fact that I'm the one controlling this body, Jeanne."
Suddenly, the aura of the hardworking street performer shifted into something familiar. It was the Kashchey she knew.