Chapter Fifty-Seven: Ambushed

As expected, the moment Zhou Tian and Vivian revealed their identities, the guards at the gates of the Yellowstone City Lord’s mansion immediately changed their attitudes. Gone was their initial arrogance; instead, they fawned over Zhou Tian and Vivian, while at the same time dispatching one of their own inside to inform the City Lord of their arrival.

It was not long before the City Lord himself, accompanied by a retinue of servants, came hurrying out of the mansion. Watching the City Lord’s three-hundred-pound frame barrel forward at a rolling gait, both Zhou Tian and Vivian could not help but feel a touch of exasperation.

“Divine Envoy, I beg your forgiveness for not coming out to greet you sooner!” Wiping the sweat from his brow, the City Lord pressed his fists together and bowed to Vivian from afar.

“You are too kind, City Lord. We are only here on official business and apologize for any disturbance we may cause,” Vivian replied with practiced grace.

“Not at all, Divine Envoy. It is an honor for our humble city to receive you; there could be no question of disturbance.” He then gestured invitingly. “Please, Divine Envoys, come in!”

“Let’s go.” At his words, Zhou Tian was the first to dismount from Vivian’s shoulder, puffing out his chest as he led the way inside.

“And who might this be?” It was clear the City Lord was displeased by Zhou Tian’s behavior. His face darkened as he shot Zhou Tian a glance, then turned a questioning look to Vivian.

“Our captain,” Vivian replied casually, eyeing the City Lord in turn. “Is there a problem?”

The City Lord’s expression shifted, but at Vivian’s words he quickly composed himself and replied in haste, “No... no problem at all.”

Though she found the City Lord’s behavior strange, Vivian did not dwell on it. Once they entered the mansion, they were led—at the City Lord’s arrangement—into his private study.

“I trust you already know the reason for our visit, City Lord. What is the current situation? Please share any intelligence you have.” No sooner had they entered the study than Vivian questioned the City Lord about the demons.

Yet the City Lord seemed not to take the matter seriously at all. At Vivian’s inquiry, his face took on a look of utter indifference.

Zhou Tian knew from the Pope that all information about the demons had been completely sealed off. Without special status, one could not even be aware of their existence. That was why Vivian had refrained from questioning the City Lord outside, despite her urgency. But Zhou Tian had not expected that, as the ruler of a city, the City Lord would still seem so ignorant of the demons; otherwise, even if he did not flee, he would not dare behave so nonchalantly.

Still, though the City Lord did not take the demons seriously, he was unwilling to offend the Holy Church. After a trace of annoyance flashed across his face at Vivian’s persistent questioning, he finally replied obediently, “I did not expect that the Divine Envoy would be interested in those lowly rabble. In truth, it is nothing serious—just a few troublemakers stirring up trouble under my jurisdiction. I have already had them thrown into the dungeon. If the two Divine Envoys would not mind staying in my mansion for a few days, you may relax here before returning to the capital…”

“Take us to the dungeon!” The City Lord did not understand the gravity of the demon threat, but Zhou Tian and Vivian were well aware. Seeing the City Lord using the same perfunctory tone as he might with a superior, Vivian lost all interest in further conversation and curtly interrupted, giving him a direct order.

Humiliated by Vivian’s brusque manner, the City Lord’s face darkened further. He opened his mouth several times, clearly on the verge of anger. But, perhaps out of fear of the Holy Church’s power, he forced himself to swallow his rage and grudgingly replied, “Very well. I shall have someone guide you immediately.”

Once he realized Vivian and Zhou Tian were not to be placated, the City Lord lost all interest in entertaining them. He summoned a guard to lead the way and, making up an excuse, quickly excused himself.

Zhou Tian and Vivian were not oblivious to the City Lord’s attitude, but it was not the time to make trouble. After he left, they followed the guard into the dungeons beneath Yellowstone City.

“Innocent! I swear I didn’t kill anyone!”

“I have no money left, please let me go!”

“Sir, could I have some food? I haven’t eaten in days—”

On entering the dungeon, they were met at once by a chorus of desperate pleas. Zhou Tian and Vivian exchanged a glance, anger flashing in their eyes. But mindful of their mission, they suppressed their outrage and did not betray their displeasure.

Ignoring the cries around them, they followed the guard some ten meters down the corridor, stopping at last before a larger cell.

“Sirs, this is where the troublemakers are held. If you need nothing else, I will take my leave.” Without waiting for a reply, the guard hurried away.

Both Zhou Tian and Vivian found his behavior strange, but with suspected demons imprisoned in the cell before them, their attention was focused on the prisoners. While the guard’s oddness lingered in their minds, they let him go without pursuit.

“Well, are these people demons?” Though he was the captain, Zhou Tian had never carried out such a mission before and knew nothing of how to tell demons from ordinary folk, so he turned to Vivian at once.

“Not sure. We’ll need a closer inspection.” Taking out the key given by the guard, Vivian prepared to open the cell.

Zhou Tian stopped her. “What if they really are demons?”

“If such a cell can hold them, then even as demons they have no strength left—there is no danger.” So saying, Vivian unlocked the cell and stepped inside.

With Vivian pressing on, Zhou Tian could only follow her in.

Yet, as they approached the prisoners, Zhou Tian noticed something odd: the prisoners showed no reaction at all. Puzzled, he summoned several venomous snakes and sent them crawling over the bodies.

And then—

“Something’s wrong! These prisoners are all dead. This is a trap—let’s get out of here!” Receiving the message from his snakes, Zhou Tian cried out and motioned for Vivian to retreat.

Unfortunately, though Zhou Tian’s reaction was quick, the trap had already been set. Before they could escape the cell, the heavy door slammed shut on its own. At the same moment, as if triggered by a mechanism, iron bars rained down from above, and in moments Zhou Tian and Vivian were sealed inside a cage of iron, trapped behind layer upon layer of heavy bars.