Probably because her earlier strategy did not work, the priestess's attitude had changed drastically from before. Even her tone had softened a lot. Although she still sounded emotionless, she was no longer aggressive. It was more like she was negotiating with Zhang Heng, and the conditions she offered were very generous.
However, Zhang Heng did not agree immediately. It was a negotiation, after all, and he had to bargain. So Zhang Heng paused for a moment and said, "One more thing. After carrying out this oracle, I will no longer be selected as the executor of the oracle."
"That's impossible," the priestess shook her head. "First of all, it's against the rules. Second, even if I am willing to promise you, I can't do it. Although the oracle is issued by me, the executor is chosen by the Assassin Council. If everyone thinks that you are suitable to carry out the oracle, then you will be chosen to carry out the oracle. Under normal circumstances, the same person will not be allowed to carry out the oracle twice in a row."
However, such an answer did not satisfy Zhang Heng. So he continued, "Then you can choose not to issue the oracle. I heard from Dadatis that there was a situation where no oracle was issued for more than forty years. "
"…"
The priestess was speechless when she heard what Zhang Heng said. "What do you think I am? I'm just Kreis' spokesperson in the human world. I can't decide if Kreis will issue the oracle or not. Besides, Dadatis has told you about the Hound. It hasn't been peaceful recently. Even if there is no oracle, you may not be able to stay idle."
"What else can you offer me?" Zhang Heng asked.
The priestess bit her lip, "If you must take advantage of this deal, how about adding me in?"
Zhang Heng was quite surprised. He did not expect this woman, who was as cold as marble, to suddenly say such a thing. "Aren't you a priestess?"
"I'm not the Virgin of Vesta. The priests of Kreis don't need to be pure. In fact, our doctrine also involves matters between men and women. Kreis encourages such things. This is part of the balance."
"Thank you … for your kindness, really. But I'm not interested in marble," Zhang Heng said. Because of the black cloth covering his eyes, he could not see the flash of anger in the priestess' eyes. It was probably the greatest insult to a woman.
However, the latter's expression quickly returned to normal, and he said coldly, "Then it's your turn to name a price."
"Forget it. I won't make things difficult for you. Other than letting me enter the library, I want Dadatis to retire early." Zhang Heng changed his condition.
"Hmm?" This time, it was the priestess' turn to be surprised. She did not expect Zhang Heng's second condition to be related to Dadatis.
"That guy is old. Although he has never admitted it, his movements are as slow as a frozen earthworm. He can only rely on his little tricks to get by. So, he is no longer of much use to the Balance Blade. Besides, you have me now. You can let that guy retire at home," Zhang Heng said.
"You worry that the war between us and the Hounds will affect him." "I didn't expect him to be so important to you. But unless he asks to retire and passes his position to you, no one can force him to leave the Balance Blade. Let's do it this way. I have a good relationship with him. I can find an excuse to trick him into going to a remote place. When he comes back, it will be at least a year later. By that time, you should have taken over his position. What do you think?"
"Deal," Zhang Heng said.
The priestess finally breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Zhang Heng's words. This meeting was completely different from what she had imagined. From the beginning, it was out of her control. Whether it was the prison-like carriage or her threats, she failed to take the initiative. So, she had to pay a higher price to get Zhang Heng's cooperation.
"When I find Altrus, how should I inform your men?" Zhang Heng then asked.
"Go to the perfume shop street and find a perfume shop with iris flowers outside. Tell them that you want to buy a bottle of perfume without any smell. After that, pay a sestertius to the person who will receive you. He will bring you to my men."
After talking about this matter, the priestess's attitude became cold again as if she had completely lost interest in Zhang Heng.
So Zhang Heng did not stay any longer and lay down in the carriage again. After that, the priestess lowered the partition, called the slaves outside to come in, and sent Zhang Heng back to the small bridge where he came from. However, Dadatis and the boat without oars were gone.
The other party seemed to be very cautious during this meeting. From beginning to end, he did not reveal any information related to the location.
Zhang Heng could only tell that he was in a room from the blurry scene he saw through the black cloth. Other than that, he spent most of his time in the small and damp carriage.
However, if the other party thought that they could completely hide from him, they had underestimated him. Zhang Heng looked at the watch on his hand. This watch had accompanied him through all kinds of quests, and the amazing thing was that no matter what era he was in, even the most cautious opponent would ignore the watch's existence.
It was like a blind spot in the world. Although the time on it was still the real world's time, as long as one multiplied it by the dungeon's time flow, one could also get the time in the dungeon. Zhang Heng had placed it by his ear in the carriage and divided the route into several equal parts according to the ticking of the second hand.
He memorized the steering of each part of the carriage in his mind. After that, he also noted the bumpiness of the road along the way.
However, considering that the priestess was probably hiding somewhere to observe him after sending him to the bridge, Zhang Heng did not immediately turn around to look for his guest room. Instead, he returned to his residence first.
Zhang Heng slept all the way until the morning. The slave girl got up early to prepare breakfast, but Zhang Heng had no intention of opening his eyes. So, she could only put the breakfast on the table and stare blankly at the table with her chin in her hands.
As a result, breakfast turned into lunch. Zhang Heng got up from the bed and yawned. The slave girl expressed concern about his current situation. "Although we still have half of the money we have now, if we don't work, we won't last for more than two months. Why don't I work in the laundry room again?"
"Now you remember that there are other jobs for you to work in? Don't worry, money is not a problem. Someone will send us money soon," Zhang Heng said as he picked up a loaf of bread.
In the end, as if in response to what he had just said, there was a knock on the door.
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