Ning, Tim, and Jasmine followed Galamor out of their hotel as they made their way up the mountain toward Level 2, where they were to meet someone in a hotel.

The climb up took no more than 2 hours in total, and in that entire time, no one spoke anything more than a few questions to Galamor, who simply didn’t answer anything by claiming that he was not allowed to.

3 hours later, they arrived at a restaurant-cum-hotel named The Holy Cape. It was a 10 storied hotel with brilliant blue, white, and purple colors giving a unique aesthetics to the hotel that none of the nearby hotels had.

The hotel floor was entirely covered with smooth marble tiles that were polished until one could see a reflection on them.

When the group entered, they were led to a fancy room toward the back of the hotel, secluded from many of the guests who seemed to already be there.

Several paladins lined up throughout the hallway as Ning and the rest passed through them on their way. The door opened and Ning entered to see more paladins standing around in the room. At the center is a fancy dinner table with several empty plates lined up for 6 different people.

Two people already sat on one side. Ning immediately recognized Tanaya, who waited in the room with her eyes on the floor.

The other man was a scar-faced man with a tall and lean body and killer eyes on his face. He looked up when the door opened and stared at everyone with emotionless eyes as they entered the room.

He judged everyone as they walked in and stood next to the table. His eyes jumped to all 3 of them and then turned toward Tanaya who sat next to him.

“Are these the three you mentioned?” he asked her.

“Yes, Cardinal,” she answered.

The man nodded and turned toward the three. “I am Marcus Boreal, the Cardinal of Life,” he said.

Tim and Jasmine failed to hide their gasps while Ning simply smiled at the man. “I am Ning Ruogong. These are my friends Timothy and Jasmine, but I have a feeling you already knew that.”

“I knew who you were when I sent for you,” the man said. “Sit.”

The man gestured the three toward the empty seats, and the group took them. Ning sat on the middle chair, while Tim sat to his right and Jasmine to his left.

The man waited patiently as the three sat and got themselves comfortable. Once it appeared that they were comfortable, he brought out something and placed it on the table.

It was a small wooden box of about 10 centimeters wide and thick, and about 20 centimeters long. There was a lid to open it, but the man kept it closed for now.

He then looked at the three and asked, “Are any of you aware why you are here with me?” Tim and Jasmine kept quiet, letting Ning handle the talking for them. “Judging by the lady next to you, you might have heard a few rumors about me,” Ning said.

“True rumors?” the man asked.

“Who knows what she told you,” Ning said. “Might be true, might not be.”

The scar-faced man gave a small smirk before scoffing. “I thought you would be like that,” he said and reached for the wooden box he had placed in between them. He took off the box and revealed a golden dagger with a slightly curved blade with a ruby embedded in the handle. The blade itself looked sharp and without scratches, as though it had only just been created before it was brought here.

Both Jasmine and Tim opened their eyes wide at the dagger. One was surprised by the jewel and the price such a dagger would fetch, and the other was surprised at the fact that he knew what this dagger was.

“The Dagger of Truth,” Tim said unintentionally before quickly looking up just in case he had done something wrong.

The Cardinal looked at Tim with a slightly curious look on his face.

“So you have already looked into what the church owns and does not,” the Cardinal said.

“Huh? No,” Tim quickly said. “I just know a bit about various Zurin Treasure, that’s all.”

The man’s face suddenly fell. “Do not take the lord’s name in such a simplistic manner,” he said. “But you are correct in that this is indeed a divine treasure of the lord.”

The man took out the dagger and presented it to Ning.

Ning reached out for the dagger, wondering if the man was going to stab him. He simply let Ning grab it instead and take it.

Ning took the dagger and looked at it closely. The sharpness on it was quite strong, but that was never what made Zurin treasures unique.

“What does it do?” Ning asked the man.

“Anyone whose blood is spilled by that dagger cannot speak any lie to its owner,” the man explained.

“Ah, Dagger of Truth. Makes sense,” Ning said. “So what? Do you wish for me to cut myself?”

“That is exactly what I wish for you to do,” the man said and gestured Ning to do it. His eyes almost seemed to dare him to refuse and see what would happen.

“You just need my blood, right?” Ning asked.

The man’s eyes narrowed for a second, wondering what Ning was talking about. He slowly nodded to answer Ning’s question and suddenly gave out a horrible yelp as Ning bit his cheek and spit blood at the treasure.

Spitting at a divine treasure was the highest form of disrespect Ning could’ve shown here, and that angered the Cardinal as well as the paladins behind Ning.

Several swords were pulled out at once, causing Jasmine and Tim to shriek in fear. Tanaya quickly looks up and about, trying to think of ways to calm everyone there.

Ning simply handed the dagger back to the scar-faced man.

“You have the blood you wanted,” he said. “Now ask your questions.”

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