0169 Xi's Identity

"How about it? Let's make a deal," Moumou shouted ungracefully toward the elf up in the tree.

"I didn't come here to make deals with you," Xi's voice returned to its usual aloof coolness. Her amber cat-like eyes shimmered with moonlight-like radiance, breathtakingly beautiful. "I remember specifically instructing you not to leave that house. But now... you acting like this is hardly appropriate, is it?"

"...Huanluo stood silently to the side, for a moment unable to fathom what Xi was up to.

"You're the one being inappropriate here," Moumou retorted quite generously and directly. "What time do you think it is, and you're still playing that game of trying to overwhelm your opponent with sheer aura to gain the upper hand in negotiations? Clearly, you were the one who took the initiative to help me and Huanluo leave the house, and now you turn around and try to use that to keep us in check. Why bother? How about we all find a place to drink tea, eat a bowl of noodles, chat, and settle on a contract instead~"

"...What are you talking about? Where would I have the immense authority to mobilize the Night-Demon clansmen to stage this whole performance?" Xi's expression was the picture of innocence. "Only the Night-Demon Chieftain and the Chieftain's heir possess that kind of real power..." At this point, Xi suddenly paused, as if realizing something.

If that person really was the one behind this stunt, then there was truly nothing to be done about it... Silently sighing, Xi instantly turned over several methods in her mind to regain the upper hand, but dismissed every single one before she could voice them. Looking at Moumou's sparkling eyes that stubbornly refused to give up on communicating, Xi knew in her heart that Moumou must have learned a great deal from those two Cyrenian mages. Right now, she was undoubtedly approaching negotiations with an unyielding mindset. Tsk tsk tsk. And to think she had deliberately placed Moumou and Huanluo so far away from those two Cyrenians in the first place, only for everything to be ruined by that good-for-nothing. *I curse you to suffer from a lack of love for the rest of your days!* Silently cursing the annoying person who had let Moumou and Huanluo escape, Xi unhappily and unwillingly jumped down from the tree.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Seeing Xi compromise so quickly, Moumou felt a profound sense of oddness, but given the circumstances, it seemed some influential figure was inexplicably assisting her from the shadows. Only a fool would fail to seize the initiative at a time like this. Moumou covered the distance in two strides, patted Xi's shoulder, and said with a cheerful smile, "Let's be frank. I'll provide the personnel, Huanluo and Liangyin will provide the materials, and you'll be responsible for finding the remaining two divine artifacts, their masters, and that magical array of unknown location. We'll help each other for mutual benefit and sort out these magical beasts. I don't want any other grand rewards; I just need you to sign a peace treaty with humanity, allow me to see Liangyin, and let me step through the portal into that otherworldly realm the moment the magic array opens. Well? Is that fair?"

"...What do you think?" Xi maintained a smiling expression. "That condition holds no benefit for me at all."

"How could it not? This is a great cause carrying out love and wickedness to protect world peace! As someone with power within the Night-Demon clan, how can you just stand by and let malignant forces like magical beasts go around attacking people everywhere? As the saying goes, when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. If humanity truly fails to hold off the rampaging magical beast clan, the next to be destroyed will undoubtedly be the Night-Demon clan. Besides, you also know how many powerful old monsters among human nations will perish once that magic array named Stardust is activated. You understand the stakes here without me having to spell them out. Even if I sign a treaty with you, its validity would barely last a century. A century is nothing more than a snap of the fingers to your Night-Demon clan; it won't bind you in the slightest. What could you possibly be reluctant about?" Moumou laid all her cards on the table.

"You really have a way with words~" Hearing Moumou, Xi let out a sudden chuckle. "You make it sound like I stand to gain the most. Humans really are cunning. The kings of your White Tower Kingdom and Cyrenian Kingdom haven't even shown their faces, yet the treaty is to be signed by you and me. Can this really take effect? Will anyone acknowledge it? If I want to seize the opportunity to squeeze some benefits out of these two nations, will your agreement mean anything?"

"It won't," Moumou answered Xi with utter bluntness. "As a tiny nobody from the White Tower Kingdom and a wanted criminal in Cyrenia, I must say I feel immense diplomatic pressure. However, Huanluo and that old man Del from Cyrenia can handle this sort of thing effortlessly. They're very close with the big boss."

"...How close?" Xi asked, her expression radiating gossip.

"Probably... well, close in that kind of familiar way... I refuse to believe you don't know just how close they are..." Moumou genuinely didn't know how to describe it. She had originally wanted to tell Xi that Huanluo and that king had a special connection, but the moment the words reached her lips, Moumou sensed a wave of intense murderous intent radiating from Huanluo's direction. She wisely chose to swallow her words back down.

"And then? If I let these two go, what if they run off? Wouldn't my losses outweigh my gains?" Xi asked with an amused, inquiring tone.

Sensing that this negotiation still had a chance, Moumou hurriedly fawned, "You can keep me and Junyan here. I swear to the heavens that both Huanluo and the old man will return."

Xi's gaze drifted past Moumou to glance at the quietly silent Huanluo. Huanluo accepted Moumou's assertion with complete composure, generously allowing Xi to size him up.

Seemingly sensing Huanluo's affirmation, Xi nodded knowingly and agreed, "Good method. When do we set off?"

"...Moumou paused, bewildered. "You've already decided?"

"Decided. Didn't you say that pulling this off would be beneficial to me?" Xi smiled charmingly, looking at Moumou with an expression of absolute trust. "I'll listen to you~"

"Fair enough." Not beating around the bush, Moumou immediately adopted an expression that said, *I am trustworthy, come place your faith in me*. "First, let me see Liangyin to make sure she's safe, and then resolve Huanluo's murderous-intent issue. We can set off anytime."

"Fair enough." Xi also struck a pose that conveyed, *I'm very reasonable too, so just do as I say*, and said with a smiling squint, "As long as you first pass the culinary competition to earn the approval of the Night-Demon clan, and then get the Chieftain's approval, you'll be able to see Liangyin and treat Huanluo. You can go prepare whenever you like."

Having gone in a full circle right back to the starting point, Moumou speechlessly wiped away a bead of sweat. "Wait. Passing the Chieftain's approval—what if he deliberately refuses to approve it? I've heard that the power struggle between the witch and the Chieftain is quite intense. No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like someone from the Chieftain's faction. What if the Chieftain flips the table when the time comes? I don't even know what your actual role is, and there'd be no body or evidence left to verify anything."

"What's so difficult about that? It's true that I'm not on the Chieftain's side, but the Chieftain's heir seems to value you quite a bit. Otherwise, how else would you have had the chance to meet those two Cyrenian mages? You can just ask that person for approval when the time comes." Xi chuckled lightly, sweeping her gaze over Moumou repeatedly as if she had discovered some major gossip. "I wonder what that child saw in you to be willing to help you this much. As for me, I indeed am not part of the Chieftain's faction, nor am I the current witch. I'm merely a witch's heir who happens to enjoy meddling in other people's business~"