“Russell has descendants?” Ren Xiaosu was surprised. “Didn’t The Sorcerer Chronicles state that he was never married in his life? And it even said that he didn’t have any children.”
This information was specifically noted in The Sorcerer Chronicles. At the time, Ren Xiaosu even lamented how the other party had dedicated his entire life to being a sorcerer.
Zhang Haoyun calmly answered, “The records in The Sorcerer Chronicles are wrong, but it was a mistake the author deliberately made. He knew full well that Russell definitely did not die from natural causes, so he covered up his relationships.”
“Who was the author of The Sorcerer Chronicles? I sensed that he had quite a bit of admiration for Russell,” Ren Xiaosu said.
“He was steward to Russell during his later years,” Zhang Haoyun answered. “He didn’t serve Russell for long. But after Russell died, many of his manuscripts and letters were organized by him, so he learned much about him.”
“Oh, no wonder he was able to get his hands on the letters between Russell and his good friend.” Ren Xiaosu asked, “What happened to the author after that?”
“He died as well,” Zhang Haoyun replied. “When I say they died, I’m referring to unnatural deaths. There’s evidence he was tortured before he died. In the journals of our predecessors, they said that when the Sanctuary found his corpse, no one could bear to lay an eye on it.”
“So the Sanctuary did maintain a close relationship with Russell, and your organization did help the Magi too. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that your organization is the savior of the Kingdom of Sorcerers.” Ren Xiaosu nodded and said, “But why did y’all disappear after that?”
“The magus order managed to get through the most difficult period during the early days of The Cataclysm under Russell’s leadership. However, Russell fell seriously ill because of it. He was contaminated by the fallout.” Zhang Haoyun sighed and said, “This gave the old magus aristocracy a chance to take advantage of the situation.”
Zhang Haoyun said, “They bribed one of Russell’s servants to poison him. The Sanctuary searched for evidence and wanted to avenge their good friend, but after interrogating that servant and executing him, they were surrounded by the entire magus order.”
“Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, eh?” Ren Xiaosu asked, “Didn’t y’all expect that?”
“Actually, we did. It was just that we lost too many companions while protecting Russell’s wife and children. You should understand yourself that an escort mission is much harder than being able to attack with no restraints.” Zhang Haoyun said, “At the beginning, there were a lot of newly established sorcerer groups, but many of them died in The Cataclysm trying to protect the Magi. However, the former aristocratic sorcerers managed to keep their strength intact and gained the upper hand after The Cataclysm.”
Ren Xiaosu roughly understood how much the people from the Sanctuary hated the old aristocratic sorcerers. Everyone had worked so hard during The Cataclysm, but in the end, their numbers were reduced, and it ended up benefiting those who did nothing to help in The Cataclysm. If it were him, he would also be very angry.
“Was that why y’all poisoned the Voss family?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“That’s right. The servant who poisoned Russell was a member of the Voss family. After that incident, the Tudor family distributed a lot of benefits to the Voss family as a reward. Moreover, the Voss family had always been a main force in the magus order’s assault on the Sanctuary. They’ve killed a lot of our people,” Zhang Haoyun said, “So killing the Voss family was just collecting some interest on the blood debt they owe.”
“You pretty much have my support on that. So where are Russell’s descendants now?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“I can’t tell you yet. They aren’t part of the Sanctuary, but you’ll see them sooner or later when you get to Ghent City.” Zhang Haoyun said, “Russell told his wife a lot of things in his later years. As far as I know, his wife kept his journal that contains many secrets. I believe the answer you’re searching for should be in it.”
Ren Xiaosu did not doubt this at all. Otherwise, the palace would not have listed searching for Russell’s descendants as a clue related to Ren He.
“Are you also going to Ghent City?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.
“Of course not.” Zhang Haoyun said, “I still have other things to do for the House of Winston. The House of Berkeley is about to declare war on the northern counties, so this is the best time for us to take revenge. I still have one more question for you. Before this, I expressed my greatest sincerity by telling you a lot of information. So can you tell me now what your relationship with Ren He is?”
Ren Xiaosu said helplessly, “I wasn’t lying to you earlier. I came here so that I could find out what my relationship with him is.”
Zhang Haoyun said in seriousness, “I look forward to the day when everything comes to light.”
The banquet in the main hall seemed to be drawing down. Ren Xiaosu left with Melgor while Chen Cheng and his companions headed off in another direction.
In an instant, only the servants who had sold their lives to the sorcerer clans were left in the huge palace behind the enchanted doorway as they quietly stored the uneaten food.
Melgor, as the leading man of tonight’s banquet, looked a little tired. The two of them put on their cloaks and rushed to the relay station. On the way back, Mel sighed and said, “These young sorcerers of the clan emit an indescribable aura of depravity. I wonder why that is.”
Ren Xiaosu explained with a laugh, “If you only have a desire for power, you’ll also become like them.”
“I won’t then.” Melgor curled his lips. “By the way, you seem to be in a good mood. Why? Did you make some new friends in the side chamber?”
“I won’t say we’re friends yet, but we had quite a good chat,” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile.
Melgor muttered, “You sure enjoyed leaving me on my own in the main hall.”
But Ren Xiaosu suddenly stopped in his tracks. Melgor looked up and saw a figure at the end of the path staring blankly at him.
It was around two AM, and the streets were empty except for the three of them. Under normal circumstances, ordinary residents would definitely not head out at this time.
Melgor asked softly, “Have we been discovered? What should we do?”
Ren Xiaosu said in a low voice, “Go back to the relay station first. I bumped into an old friend.”
“Old friend?” Melgor was surprised. “You’ve actually met an old friend here when you came from the Central Plains?”
“To be honest, I didn’t expect it either.” Ren Xiaosu sighed.
Melgor suddenly heard the figure at the end of the street ask in a trembling voice, “Ren Xiaosu, is that you? Don’t think I can’t recognize you just because you’re wearing a cloak.”
Ren Xiaosu grinned and said, “It’s me. Wang Congyang, you must really love me! You actually recognized me?”
“Love you? My ass! I’d recognize you even if you turned to ash!” Wang Congyang said bitterly, “I fled all the way here, so why are you still haunting me? Bro, please let me off. I just want to lead my life without being hunted!”
Ren Xiaosu approached Wang Congyang step by step. “You might not believe it, but I was really just passing by.”
Before Ren Xiaosu could approach, Wang Congyang turned tail and ran away.
Just as Melgor was about to say something, he saw Ren Xiaosu chasing after him, off like a shot. Melgor was left standing alone on the street. “Hey, how do I get back to the relay station? It’s the middle of the night, and there’s no one around to ask directions from!”
