novelraw Chapter 274: Nightshade on the Mekong
Chapter 274: Nightshade on the Mekong
Night.
The sun sank below the horizon of the Mekong River, and the primitive vitality of the rainforest, suppressed all day, surged back into this colonial city.
The elegance and order of the French colonists during the day quickly faded in the damp, sticky night, replaced by an ancient, dangerous atmosphere.
The hotel where Julian was staying was located on the edge of the French Quarter.
From the balcony of his room, he could see the brightly lit outline of the distant colonial Governor's Mansion, while also hearing the clamor of quarrels and barking dogs from the local alleys behind him.
He did not light the modern incandescent lamp in the room, choosing instead to open the shutters, allowing the night breeze carrying the scent of tuberoses and rotting fruit to blow against his sweat-soaked shirt.
Julian was reviewing the day's events.
Today's preview had brought him far more pressure than anticipated.
The overwhelmingly domineering aura of life emanating from that piece of thousand-year-old Tai Sui still made every cell in his body remember it vividly.
It was indeed a miraculous medicine capable of creating miracles, and indeed a fatal bait that could attract countless hungry wolves.The Deacon of the Black Lotus Sect, and his cold, sinister attendants, their goal was as clear as day.
Julian had no doubt that to obtain this treasure, they would spare no effort to unleash a storm of bloodshed right here in Saigon, the heart of French Far East.
The other group of European buyers was even more unpredictable.
The look in their eyes when they gazed at the Tai Sui gave Julian an instinctive unease; they would likely become the most unstable factor at the auction.
Julian rubbed his temples.
He felt a sense of helpless isolation.
In Paris or London, Julian had the support of the entire branch behind him.
But here, his only reliance was the enormous sum of money Ethan had transferred into his Swiss bank account, and his own wisdom.
He carefully placed [The Scribe's Papyrus] and the [Withered Thorns] cane on the bedside table, the only two "weapons" he could rely on.
Then, from a hidden compartment in his suitcase, he retrieved a compact set of alchemical tools consisting of silver knives and powders of various colors.
He was not a combatant, but he possessed the most extensive defensive knowledge an I.A.R.C. scholar could master.
Spending the night in an unfamiliar environment, setting up basic alarm and defensive arrays for his room had long become an instinct etched into his bones.
Using special silver powder, he drew two extremely concealed "Silver Moon Runes" at the doorway and beneath the windowsill, respectively, designed to give a warning upon spiritual intrusion.
He then sprinkled a powder mixed with sulfur and rock salt around the bed, as a precaution against certain Southeast Asian-specific sorceries adept at underground infiltration.
Only after completing all this did he feel a faint sense of security.
He poured himself a glass of brandy brought from France, sat in the rattan chair on the balcony, and prepared to organize his thoughts, devising several contingency plans for tomorrow night's auction, which was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Just then, an extremely faint "drip" sound came from inside the room, sounding like a water droplet falling on the wooden floor.
Julian's movements instantly froze.
He was certain there were no leaks anywhere in the room.
And this sound...
"Drip... drip..."
The sound continued, unhurried yet with a strange rhythm.
Julian slowly stood up, taking small steps back into the room, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
The Silver Moon Runes at the door and windowsill showed no reaction, indicating the intruder was not a spirit.
The rock salt defense line by the bed was also intact, ruling out an attack from underground.
So, where was the sound coming from?
His gaze finally settled on the ceiling directly above.
It was a ceiling of heavy teak planks, very much in the Nanyang style.
At this moment, right in the center of the ceiling, a small area was visibly darkening at a noticeable rate, as if soaked through by some liquid.
And that "drip" sound was coming from there!
A drop of dark green, viscous liquid emitting a faint sour, rotten odor seeped from the soaked plank, then fell vertically, hitting the floor with a soft "sizzle," leaving behind an expanding black scorch mark that smoked white.
Highly corrosive digestive fluid!
Julian's pupils contracted.
A name that existed only in the ancient legends of Southeast Asia immediately flashed through his mind.
— Flying Head Curse!
Before he could react, the corroded section of the ceiling, with a piercing "crack" sound, melted away, forming a hole large enough for a person to pass through!
Then, a horrifying "thing" that would shatter the sanity of any normal person descended through that opening.
It was a floating female head, its face pale.
Her hair was wet and disheveled, covering most of her face, revealing only a pair of pupil-less, pure white eyes, and a deep red lip curled in a smile.
Below this head, there was no neck, no body.
In its place, dangling directly from the severed neck stump, was an entire string of bloody, still-writhing human entrails!
A still-beating heart, contracting lungs, intestines coiled together like venomous snakes... all of it was exposed so nakedly to the air, emitting a thick scent of blood and decay.
"Night Shadow."
Internally classified by the Association as C-114, a terrifying UMA that operates only at night, originating from the Flying Head Curse legends of Southeast Asia.
Its core ability is to secrete and drip that highly corrosive digestive fluid from that trailing string of entrails, allowing it to ignore most physical obstacles and carry out insidious infiltration and assassination!
Now, this legendary monster was quietly "gazing" at Julian with its pure white eyes.
Julian felt his blood run cold.
But his mind, that of a top scholar, erupted with a survival instinct amidst extreme fear. He did not scream or flee.
Julian retreated step by step, simultaneously reaching his hand toward the blackthorn wood cane on the bedside table — the [Withered Thorns].
The Night Shadow seemed to enjoy this cat-and-mouse game.
It did not attack immediately, but floated there, the string of bloody entrails trailing a dark red path in the air, continuously dripping corrosive fluid that burned terrifying pits into the expensive floorboards.
Julian's mind raced.
Direct confrontation was a dead end.
The Night Shadow's flight ability was quite bizarre; conventional firearms would have difficulty hitting its elusive head.
And once touched by its digestive fluid, the consequences would be unthinkable.
The only way was to exploit its weakness!
In the Association's records, the description of the Night Shadow was sparse, but one line had left a deep impression on Julian — "Prefers darkness and fears light, drawn to warmth but dreads high heat."
Like most nocturnal creatures, it feared sunlight, but was simultaneously attracted to warm light sources. However, once the temperature of a light source became too high, it would instinctively feel fear and aversion!
This was a contradictory, yet exploitable, fatal habit!
Julian's gaze swept rapidly across the entire room.
His mind quickly constructed an ingenious trap.
He abruptly turned and rushed to various corners of the room, gathering up all the kerosene lamps from the tables and cabinets that could be lit.
The Night Shadow, disturbed by his sudden, violent movement, lunged toward Julian!
"[Withered Thorns] — [Order Attenuation]!"
Julian did not look back, planting the blackthorn wood cane in his hand firmly behind him!
An invisible field imbued with an aura of entropy increase and decay spread out from the cane as its center.
The Night Shadow's swift, lightning-fast lunge, upon entering the field, became as if stuck in viscous mud.
Its flight speed was significantly reduced, and even the dripping digestive fluid slowed considerably.
Seizing this precious moment of respite, Julian successfully gathered all five kerosene lamps at the very center of the room and turned all their wicks to maximum brightness!
Blazing flames instantly illuminated the central area of the room as bright as day.
A wave of scorching heat spread outward.
The Night Shadow let out a feminine shriek of disgust, instinctively retreating back into the shadows at the room's edges where the light could not reach.
The trap was initially set!
Julian had successfully used light and heat to create a relatively safe "darkness barrier" for himself, temporarily trapping the legendary creature outside the central illuminated area.
But it wasn't enough.
This could only buy time.
The Night Shadow's intelligence might not be high, but its hunting instinct would eventually drive it to find a flaw in this trap.
Julian quickly pulled out a handful of silver powder and several 19th-century French franc silver coins inscribed with special runes from his alchemy kit.
While warily watching the Night Shadow circling in the shadows, he swiftly laid out a simple "Silverlight Thorns" alchemical array on the dark floor at his feet, designed to briefly restrain physical entities and cause burns.
This was a battle of wits and composure.
Julian transformed his profound knowledge into a lethal weapon.
Just as he was about to complete the final stroke of his array, the Night Shadow circling in the shadows finally lost patience.
It did not attempt another direct charge, but opened its deep red mouth!
However, what spewed from its mouth was not deadly digestive fluid.
But a card, half-melted and soaked in digestive fluid, its edges ragged and tattered.
The card landed with a soft "plop" at the edge of the illuminated area.
Julian's gaze was involuntarily drawn to that card.
In the light of the kerosene lamps, he clearly saw on the card a symbol, though mostly corroded, still recognizable—one he knew all too well.
—The I.A.R.C. Sword and Scales emblem!
And below the emblem, a line of identity information that was almost completely melted away.
"...Fifth-Level Investigator... Paris Branch..."
This discovery struck Julian's mind like a thunderbolt!
A colleague from the Association, an Investigator from his own branch, had already met a gruesome end at the hands of this UMA!
Just as Julian experienced a fatal moment of distraction due to this sudden, immense shock...
The cunning Night Shadow seized the opportunity.
Its intestines, which had been hidden in the darkness all along, shot out from the shadows!
Its speed was extreme, crossing the boundary between light and dark in an instant, piercing through the scorching heat wave straight toward Julian's heart!
Julian's face changed dramatically.
He wanted to raise the [Withered Thorns] to block, but it was already completely too late!
The shadow of death enveloped him.
In the split second before that snake-like intestine would pierce his chest—
"CRASH!!"
A tremendous sound of shattering glass came from the direction of the balcony beside Julian, as a nimble figure in a black tailcoat burst through the window!
Then, a flash of silver cold light, trailing a sharp whistling sound, arrived later but struck first.
"Thud!"
The intestine about to pierce Julian's chest halted, then fell limp.
Julian looked up with difficulty and witnessed a scene he would never forget.
The Night Shadow, right in the center of its forehead, was deeply pinned to the wall by a pure silver crossbow bolt, its fletching trembling slightly.