Chapter 400: It's Really A Small World

The Kadath Family wasn't considered too well-known in Norzin.

Their forebears and previous generations weren’t prominent. And heading back further, it could even be said that they had been fortunate to obtain their nouveau riche status. In a place like Norzin where status was important, even Rolle Resource’s Ji Family was frequently pointed out and criticized, it wasn’t hard to imagine what it was like for the Kadath Family that wasn’t really reputable.

In fact, the family only officially moved to the Central District in recent generations.

If not for the gradual purging of those nobles with no real power, they would probably have had to wait a few more years.

Even so, the Kadath Family was still among the upper class of Norzin and were an existence envied by many.

Susan, the head maid of the Kadath family, was in the hall of the duplex villa. She looked up at the long spiral staircase leading to the top floor of the villa.

On the top floor was the eldest young miss's room. Ever since she had returned from Lady Ji's birthday banquet, the young miss had hardly left the room, and even her food was being sent in to her.

Moreover, ever since the young miss returned, the entire house had gradually become deathly silent...

Susan wasn't too sure if she was imagining things, but she kept feeling flustered. Everyone else seemed like lifeless robots, and she would occasionally catch hidden glances from the corners or hear strange whispers.

And when she went to investigate, all traces melted away like snow under the hot summer sun. Everyone's smiling faces would return, leaving her at a loss.

Pursing her lips, Susan went up the spiral staircase. Susan's heart felt increasingly uneasy the closer she got to the young miss' room. Finally, she reached the heavy mahogany door and halted.

Susan took a few deep breaths. It doesn't matter... At least, the young miss is definitely fine!

She had been at the Kadath household ever since the young miss was a child of six. The anxiousness in her heart eased slightly as she recalled how clever and adorable the young miss had been as a child.

The young miss' only hobby since young had been to pursue all things related to occult, which the old master only laughed off and treated it as a child's curiosity.

Perhaps… this was just all a prank of the young miss.

"Miss Charlotte?" Susan called out softly, then knocked lightly on the door. "You haven't eaten for a few days. Madam has asked you to come downstairs for dinner."

There was a long silence behind the door, and Susan's heart pounded.

"Eat?" The young lady's pleasant sounding voice came from the door. Her tone was calm, yet her pitch was somewhat strange. "...I'm indeed a little hungry. Susan, come on and help me change."

"Phew—"

Susan let out a long sigh of relief. Her heart that had been in her mouth gradually calmed.

What? Isn't it all completely fine? thought Susan to herself. She had watched the young miss grow up after all.

Susan headed in, the door creaking as she pushed it open. Susan noticed a few candles burning in the dark room and that the windows were firmly shut—

"Miss?" she called out apprehensively.

Baam!

The door shut on its own.

Susan let out a panicked shriek and turned around to the door that had closed on its own. At that moment, she felt icy cold breathing from behind her and heard a sound of what seemed like something squirming.

Her entire body trembled, eyes widening as her face turned pale. She could clearly sense a creature standing behind her. Slowly, she turned around as every cell on her body screamed out in fear—

"Ahhhh!!!!" Susan's eyes were wide open in shock as if she had seen a demon.

The thing was a bloody lump of flesh, yet it also seemed like a huge octopus with countless tentacles covering the entire room as if turning the place into its nest.

In the middle of the lump of flesh was the hideous sight of a pale young lady's body—that wasn't Charlotte but her good friend, Danae.

Before Susan could react, black tentacles shot out and wrapped around her, entirely engulfing the head mad in a second.

The lump of flesh gradually made some swallowing sounds before squirming for a bit and revealing a head.

The ugly twisted head didn't belong to Charlotte, but it had the scarred face of an old man—Wilde.

"I nearly forgot," Wilde opened those beady snake eyes of his and muttered to himself. "That maid should be the last person that hasn't been controlled by me yet."

As soon as he said that, the tentacles of the squirming mass of flesh loosened. Susan's body fell to the ground like a corpse, her skin pale and bloodless with some vicious fluid all around it. Her pair of blue eyes had turned completely dark, like deep holes.

Then, that lifeless body started to move on its own like a robot, making actions that humans weren't capable of. Twisting its arms in an unbelievable fashion, it suddenly got back up.

"High Priest." Susan fell to her knees, filled with a look of rapt fanaticism.

Wilde nodded, then slowly retracted his tentacles. His disgusting and bloody appearance was drawn inward as if he had taken off a set of clothing, revealing the figure of a beautiful young woman.

This was Charlotte Kadath's appearance.

Wilde walked to the full-length mirror and observed his reflection with a cold, emotionless gaze, yet he had on a strange smile. Then he spoke with a clear female voice, "Congratulations, you have recovered well and can completely adapt to this body already."

This was Charlotte's consciousness. Now that she and Wilde were almost symbiotic, their consciousnesses weren't completely fused, but they were overlapping and had completely synchronized thoughts.

"If not for Teacher's letter, I would really have been dead." Wilde sighed, then started to think again—

That battle was in Boss Lin's control. Could my being alive be because of Boss Lin's will too? In this sense, perhaps I might be able to continue working for Boss Lin. But before that, I have to make Joseph pay.

Wilde turned toward Susan. At this moment, she had already been taken over by the soul of a believer that he had previously devoured.

"I still need to continue increasing my strength if I wish to defeat Joseph. This definitely requires the Corpse Devouring Sect to exist."

'Susan' answered respectfully with a man's voice, "High Priest, ever since the battle at 67th Avenue, most members of the Corpse Devouring Sect died... They died as martyrs, while the rest have been surrounded."

Wilde scoffed. "Boss Lin has long expected this. I previously worked with Boss Lin's subordinate from the Ash Chamber of Commerce, that Chapman Witch. A portion of the believers have been planted within the Ash Chamber of Commerce, and it's time to use them now.

"Contact them. I'll go see Cherry Chapman now."

—

Cherry Chapman gazed out the car's windows. Passing streets reflected in her listless eyes. She didn't understand why she had come to see Boss Lin.

Was it because of… some unspeakable love in her heart? Time and again, she had clearly seen the distance between herself and Boss Lin.

One could love a god, but never fall in love with a god.

Or perhaps it was because she wanted Boss Lin's help? However, Boss Lin hadn't given her anything, merely saying that line—"We will definitely meet again."

Cherry gave a self-deprecating smile. She gazed at her small palm and muttered to herself, "Cherry, you must live well. Regardless of the difficulties you face, it's all a test given by Boss Lin... After all, I still wish to see Boss Lin again."

The weather had been mild while they were in Boss Lin's bookstore, but it had now started to rain. Layers of rain water washed the car windows and made Cherry feel as if the whole world was submerged in the deep sea.

It was a very suffocating feeling.

Suddenly…

Screech—

The car braked hard. Fortunately, Cherry was wearing a seatbelt or she would have been sent flying.

“What’s going on?” Cherry frowned and turned toward the front. An umbrella-wielding young lady in a gorgeous white dress was standing in front of the car. On closer inspection, the young lady was clutching a book to her chest. Her slender frame was like a rose swaying in the wind, but her eyes were always on the ground.

Only transcendent beings could sense the surrounding aether surging. An aura full of threat was rising.

"You..."

Bella recognized that the young lady was from a noble family of mortals. She was just about to give her a warning, but Cherry stopped her.

Cherry's eyes met the gaze of the young lady, and she suddenly realized that the latter had a pair of beady, dark green snake-like eyes.

She had only seen such eyes on one other person. Could it be…?

Cherry's eyes widened as she saw the young lady nod at her before walking to the side of the car and opening the door, about to let herself into the car uninvited.

Cherry’s heart pounded rapidly as her throat felt parched. She took a deep breath and said, "Long time no see... Mr. Wilde."

Wilde, with the appearance of Charlotte, replied in an old, hoarse voice, "Not bad, you can still recognize me."

Cherry practically couldn't contain her ecstasy.

Wilde was still alive! Boss Lin sent him to help me! He was really speaking the truth. It's really a small world!