In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

Treat equally.

It's clear that the Vatican's efforts to win him over, regardless of how much they value him personally or the value he brings, definitely come with certain preconditions.

That means we cannot fall behind the royal family.

This aligns with their consistent thinking. Even if Xu Shi's bargaining chips are worthless to the Hualan Empire, they still want everything the royal family has. To put it bluntly, even the increase or decrease of a single believer can affect them, let alone Xu Shi, who is an unknown and uncertain figure.

As for how the other party previously stirred up the empire's economic market... that's no longer a matter of discussion or arguing about right and wrong. What's done is done, and there's no point in saying anything more.

In conclusion, for the Vatican, which has always maintained an arrogant attitude, its current stance can be considered quite humble, and its demands are not unreasonable.

and so.

"These requirements are indeed not difficult. If I ask for too high a price, it seems a bit like taking advantage of someone's misfortune."

Xu Shi thought about it very seriously for a moment, and then gave a serious reply, "In that case, I only have two small conditions."

"Mr. Xu, please speak."

His attitude surprised everyone. They thought that since he was now working closely with the royal family, he would at least have to do something with them... Why is he so easy to talk to?

But before they could even rejoice, the conditions Xu Shi offered left them dumbfounded.

"First, I currently lack a strong bodyguard."

Xu Shi looked around and then held up one finger. "So, during our cooperation, I would like to borrow Knight Commander Qin Yiyan to serve as my personal maid."

!

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, the red-haired silly girl's eyes widened, her front heaving with anger.

What kind of outrageous request is this?

Not to mention that she is the captain of the Templar Knights and her status is what it is, even if she were just an ordinary nun with nothing, given Xu Shi's image in front of everyone, she would never agree to such a condition!

In particular, her impression of Xu Shi was definitely not good—if Lu Baiyan was the affable type, then she should be considered the conservative type. Putting aside any previous disagreements between Xu Shi and Luo Yu, she herself had a psychological aversion to outsiders.

Not to mention she knew about her past conflicts with Xu Shi; this was pure retaliation!

She had previously criticized the Vatican's actions, but those were directed at their own people. Her attitude towards Xu Shi remained unchanged.

"Well... as you probably know, I have a rather big grudge against one of the gentlemen here."

Xu Shicai ignored her exasperation and continued leisurely.

“Cut off his head and let me use it as a ball. If you can agree to that, not only will Night City be on par with the Papal Royal Family, but we will also be the best partners from now on.”

"Xu Shi, you bastard!"

Luo Yu, who hadn't uttered a word from beginning to end, couldn't control himself upon hearing this either. He instantly flew into a rage, ready to fight him to the death.

"Your Highness, you must not listen to his nonsense!"

Honestly, he's been holding back ever since Xu Shi came in... Heaven knows how much he's suffered since hearing that Xu Shi wasn't dead. How lucky is this guy to survive being eaten by the Sea God?

Not to mention that after that, the people of the Vatican began to pay more and more attention to him, and the pro-peace faction would often use him as a target, with the standard rhetoric being, "If you hadn't been so impulsive back then, we wouldn't be in such a passive position."

This is not just an accusation, but also a threat to his current position. He, Luo Yu, is not at the bottom of the Templar Order. Due to his age and seniority, those who are below him naturally harbor resentment towards him and will seize any opportunity to beat him up.

Of course, it's not that no one spoke up for him, such as Qin Yiyan and a few other close Templar Knights... But in any case, he was pushed to the forefront, and who could bear it every day?

He can't do it anyway.

He couldn't offer any rebuttal, so he could only let everyone make the decision and ask Xu Shi to come and discuss it.

Now that they're so blatantly humiliating him... he deserves to die!

Furthermore, his strong reaction stemmed from another concern: he was genuinely worried that he would be used as a bargaining chip.

Because his position in the sequence wasn't good, he was stuck here, unable to go up or down... If it were Qin Yiyan, most people would speak up for her and fight for her, but it might not be the same for Luo Yu.

Countless people probably wish he were dead. For the sake of the Vatican, what's wrong with a sacrifice?

"Yi Yan, Luo Yu, calm down."

Fortunately, the saintess spoke up at this moment, her tone becoming colder, "Mr. Xu, your request... seems rather complicated, and it's not something we can easily accept."

“If you really need a guard, we have other options besides Knight Commander Qin.”

She said calmly, "As for your dispute with Knight Luo Yu... it doesn't seem necessary to go to the point of bloodshed, does it? How about having him apologize to you?"

"Then there's nothing to talk about."

Xu Shi shrugged. "After all, I'm a petty person... To be honest, this is already the biggest concession I've made."

"Why not ask His Holiness the Pope? Perhaps he will have a different opinion?"

As he spoke, he looked at the slightly ajar door.

"...The words of the Holy Maiden are my words. The Holy See cannot exchange the life of a Templar Knight for the opportunity to cooperate with you."

A short while later, an aged voice came from behind the door, “However, you should also consider that completely severing ties with the Holy See is by no means a good thing for you.”

His voice was somewhat similar to Wen Shengkui's earlier shout from afar; although he was old, it still sounded strong and powerful to everyone.

"His Majesty the Pope!"

Luo Yu was overjoyed. At least these two authorities were speaking up for him, which made him feel much better.

"Is this some kind of threat?"

Xu Shi remained unfazed, even letting out a few cold laughs. "Wouldn't it be better to just kill us right here and eliminate any future troubles?"

Do you dare?

At this moment, his posture was in no way inferior.

"..."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Holy See fell silent, even Luo Yu kept quiet.

After all, no one would actually harm him here. He said he lacked guards, but that couldn't really be the case—not to mention his own people, wouldn't the royal family have someone secretly protecting him?

Don't forget, when the two sides first started cooperating, Cheng Gujian had already sent his best men to accompany him.

"Exactly, anyone can talk big."

Xu Shi laughed, "If you can't even meet such a simple request, it's ridiculous to talk about cooperation."

As for whether cutting ties completely is a good thing... we weren't exactly close friends to begin with, were we?

"Who's afraid?"

I'm just a little over a hundred monthly votes away from breaking 1k... I'll shamelessly ask for one more, please everyone!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 264 Old lady, you still say you can't act?!

2023-09-14

"So you never even considered cooperating with the Vatican, right?"

Stepping out of the Vatican's gates, Xie Qingyan was both amused and exasperated.

If she still can't see that this bad man is just playing with people, then she's wasted all these years... Anyway, I know you won't dare to touch a hair on my head, so what can you do if I shit and piss on your heads?

Let's ride it!

Of course, even in the best of times, one shouldn't be reckless. If Xu Shi really said something like, "Let your saintess be my velvet ball," you'd see if they could withstand the pressure and just beat you up... The Vatican reacted quite strongly to even asking for a name, let alone such a request that would be considered extremely disrespectful to them.

But if it were killing Luo Yu or making Qin Yiyan a maid, it wouldn't seem so excessive—mainly because of Xu Shi's character; if he were to say it, no one would really think there's anything wrong with it.

As for the outcome, Xu Shi and his party naturally left the Papacy in a very unhurried manner.

"uh-huh."

When asked about his fiancée, Xu Shi remained noncommittal, but in a good mood, he grabbed Pan Ling, who was hiding behind him, and said, "Don't be a ghost. I'm going to give you a pop quiz."

"Ok?"

"If they really agree to my request, what should we do next?"

"Ah this..."

The foolish apprentice was lost in thought, but he reacted quickly upon hearing this.

"If the Vatican would actually grant such an outrageous request just because of a stranger like Master, it would only prove that they are unscrupulous in their methods."

Xiaoling frowned and analyzed, "There's no benefit in cooperating with someone like that. If they can betray even their own people, what chance do they have over business partners?"

"continue."

Xu Shi's face lit up with joy. He hadn't paid much attention to her lately, but it was obvious that her skill level had improved a lot. It seemed that his silly apprentice had learned a lot and grown a lot from the Sea God Stone incident.

"But since the other party has already made that gesture, if we reject it on the spot, we will only be the ones who suffer."

Pan Ling nodded and continued, "If it were me, I would choose to temporarily reach a cooperation agreement, release some benefits within my control, and then choose an opportune moment to strike and break away."

"So this is the apprentice you taught."

Xie Qingyan grumbled, "The more I look at you, the more I feel like you're all cut from the same mold..."

Indeed, it seems that Xu Shi himself only feels gratified, but for her, it's more shocking—to be honest, if it were that dog woman herself, she would probably give a similar answer.

But don't forget, it's only been a few months since Pan Ling became Xu Shi's apprentice.

This is a remarkable achievement, considering the relatively short timeframe involved, given the significant progress or change it has made.

Thinking back to when we first met, she was like an innocent little flower, but now you've completely turned her into a cunning and ruthless person...

Well done, Mr. Xu. (Read in a monotone tone)

"Thank you for the compliment, Master's wife."

The silly apprentice accepted the criticism without changing her expression, and it was clear that she was quite satisfied with it.

So, this is probably what the saying "one who is near ink gets stained black" means, right?

"It would be better if you exaggerated your tone a bit more."

Xu Shi laughed, flicked his fingers together, and playfully tapped his apprentice's forehead, "Your Master Xie is not one to give compliments, so don't dampen her enthusiasm."

"...Stop fooling around, Master."