Chapter 146

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"Stand up and speak."

"No. Unless you promise me that no matter what I do wrong, it will not implicate Hera."

Yi Ke looked at Lian Yun with unprecedented determination in his eyes.

Lian Yun pondered in silence, staring at him for a long moment before slowly speaking, "Are you negotiating terms with me?"

Yi Ke was startled, lowered his head and looked at his knees, as if he realized his position.

After a long moment, he chuckled softly at himself.

"I will tell you everything I know. But this matter really has nothing to do with Hera. She knows nothing... Even now, she knows nothing."

Yi Ke pursed his lips into a straight line, as if he was using all his strength to give a pleading look.

This time he didn't dodge, but met Lian Yun's inquiring eyes directly: "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Lian Yun didn't answer. She turned around, brought a chair over with one hand, and pointed: "Sit."

Yi Ke no longer hesitated and stood up obediently and sat on the chair. His movements were a bit mechanical, but it did not affect his eyes that were always paying attention to Lian Yun.

Lian Yun never knew that he cared so much about Hera.

Although the two are twin siblings, neither the way he educates Hera nor his initial permissive attitude towards Hera shows that he has such deep feelings for Hera.

For her, he even gave up his dignity.

Lian Yun even felt that even if she asked him to exchange his life now, he would not hesitate to mortgage his life in exchange for a future for Hera.

But why does he think Lian Yun can give Hera's future?

"I never thought that Hera would be involved." Lian Yun found a chair for himself and looked at him straight in the eye.

"If she really had no involvement in anything with you and those behind you, I wouldn't blame her."

She knew that if she didn't make this promise, Yi Ke would not speak.

But she did think so.

The grievances of our ancestors are not our fault, so should we be punished collectively?

She thinks modern society is pretty good.

After hearing her word for word, Yi Ke finally told her whole story.

"You know, our grandfather was the assistant to the president of the Magicians' Association, and I also held this position."

"I don't want to shift the blame to others, but this is the fact. The president threatened Hera's life and asked me to bring her here."

Lian Yun raised his eyebrows slightly: "I remember that you wandered around with Hera for a long time before you found this place at the right time, right?"

If Lanna had not gone to Quoge City to select immigrants, how could they have found the town? This was clearly a coincidence.

"That's right." Yi Ke clenched his fists. "There is an element of gambling involved."

"So I was just one of the ones they sent out."

Lian Yun's eyebrows twitched.

"I can swear to the truth of everything I say." Yi Ke stared closely into Lian Yun's eyes, afraid that she wouldn't believe his sincerity. "I am just one of many chess pieces. Even if I die, it doesn't matter."

His mission is to find this place. It doesn’t matter if he can’t find it. He can just die outside. Who will care?

There are plenty of chess pieces anyway.

Lian Yun didn't understand: "How do they know I exist?"

Yi Ke shook his head. "That's not something I can know. Maybe it's the Sun Moon Cult, the town, or maybe it's you. My mission is to find the town that has just awakened in the desert and..."

"Watch you."

Lian Yun was silent for a moment.

"What information did you reveal?"

Ike told him everything expressionlessly, "I've picked out and told you everything I knew before I followed you to the orc tribe."

"... If I only pass on some useless information, Hera will be in danger." Iko knew that no matter how she defended herself, it would be too pale and powerless, but she still couldn't help but hope to reduce her fault in their eyes.

Lian Yun narrowed his eyes slightly: "Before the orc tribe?"

"Tell me honestly, does Luo's matter have anything to do with you?"

Yi Ke's heart tightened. Although he had prepared himself, his throat was still unusually dry when he said, "Yes."

"I drugged her."

“Bang!”

Lian Yun had told himself countless times before asking that no matter what he said, he had to endure it and wait for him to tell all the secrets.

But she still couldn't help herself and stood up and slapped him.

Lian Yun pointed at him, panting and gritting his teeth.

"Luo and you have no grudges against each other, you know that, right?"

Yi Ke turned his face to the side, but did not intend to hide.

His hair covered his eyebrows and eyes, revealing only a hint of lonely mockery at the corner of his lips.

"I know."

Lana gently touched Lian Yun's fingertips, and looked at her to tell her to calm down.

Lian Yun sat down again, adjusting his mood, and his voice was much colder than before: "Why?"

Yi Ke was not affected by her emotions. He seemed to have anticipated Lian Yun's anger. "I received the news that they wanted me to poison Luo. The poison was also obtained from them."

Even if he regretted it later, he couldn't find the antidote.

"I guess they want you to speed up your journey to the Elf Forest." Yi Ke even calmly analyzed the situation for Lian Yun from the perspective of someone behind him. "If they just wanted Luo's life, they wouldn't hold back."

Lian Yun failed to calm down and couldn't help but connect one thing with another.

She said with a hint of sarcasm, "Is that all? Hera and Luo had an argument the first time they met. Did you know about that?"

Yi Ke paused: "I know."

"Don't you have any thoughts of revenge?"

Lian Yun stared at him.

Iko is willing to sacrifice his life to protect Hera. Who knows if he will pretend not to care on the surface because he loves his sister too much, but actually remembers everyone who offended Hera.

Yi Ke lowered her eyelashes, "...This is another matter."

“So that’s it.”

Lian Yun was right.

Yi Ke closed her eyes: "I don't know why what he said was so close to the truth, I was just too scared."

"Is there anything else you're afraid of? Let me think about it," Lian Yun paused and smiled unhappily, "Then it must be related to Hera's life?"

What did Luo say at the time?

...He said Hera's magic was stolen.

"Can magic be used to steal?" Lian Yun tilted his head.

Yi Ke seemed unable to suppress the emotions surging in his heart. He deliberately avoided meeting Lian Yun's eyes, and only then could he speak with a trembling body: "That was not her wish."

Hera is very talented, but her current ability is obviously not what an ordinary child of her age can achieve.

"It was poured into her by others,"

"who?"

"I have no idea."

Yi Ke slowly folded his arms, lowered his body, rested his forehead between his knees, hugged his head and curled up into a ball.

The voice also began to tremble.

"I don't know. We grew up together, but I don't know when she was quietly infused with this other energy, where it came from, and who did it..."

He actually knew nothing about it.

Hera, who had never left him for more than a whole day, was loved and cherished by him since he was a child.

He found it hard to accept that these things had happened to Hera under his protection.

He prided himself on being clever, but he was completely unaware and simply thought it was Hera's gift.

Until someone used these to threaten him, forcing him to fall from the sunshine to the dark and damp alleys, and become a rat that secretly peeped into other people's secrets.

And pulling Hera, who had never seen darkness.

He didn't even have the power to refuse.

Because he has a weakness—his sister, Hera.

"She never knew what happened to her, and I didn't want her to know."

So when he knew what Luo said to Hera, his heart was instantly lifted up.

Hera was the only sunlight he could see.

He struggled hard just for this.

Lian Yun's emotions gradually calmed down.

"Why can they threaten Hera's life?"

“It’s the energies.”

Ico spoke quickly.

He suddenly raised his head and said, "Sir, do you remember the village you cleared out? On the day you went there, Hera suddenly seemed to have lost all her strength."

Lian Yun's breathing tightened. "...You mean, Hera's energy comes from that village?"

How is that possible?

What is the connection between the two?

"That's it." Yi Ke's eyes were bloodshot, but his expression was very firm.

He would never forget the scene he saw when he arrived at the scene after being informed that Hera had fainted.

Hera seemed to have her life force drained away bit by bit, the light in her eyes gradually dimmed, and the hand holding him slowly became weak.

It was as if... the next second would slip away from his hands.

He desperately wanted to know why this happened.

He vaguely felt that the matter must be related to what Lian Yun was doing, so he went to ask as soon as Lian Yun sent someone back the information.

When the timelines come together, the events also overlap.

And he had no way out.

He thought that as long as he quietly acted like a chess piece that might be crushed by another party at any time, he could buy Hera's safety.

It was not until this moment that he realized that he was just deceiving himself.

From the moment they offered freedom, neither he nor Hera had the power to control their own destiny.

Lian Yun lowered his head slightly: "What about that period of time?"

If Hera's life force was constantly draining away, how did he last until she returned?

Even if Lian Yun didn't go to see them, Yi Ke never thought of asking her for help?

How to solve it?

Yi Ke raised his head, his eyes dark and blue, and he gave a tired and relaxed smile.

He raised his right hand, and as the two men watched, a ball of fire suddenly ignited in his palm.

"I'm also a fire mage."

"The Magicians' Association will not allow anyone without magical talent to take up a position, even as a handyman."

Like his sister, he possesses a talent for fire, but his abilities are more like the tip of an iceberg, seemingly ordinary but profound.

"I wonder if this is the reason why they chose Hera instead of me."

At that moment, he suddenly realized that he should hide his abilities as much as possible, perhaps one day he could be of use to help the two of them.

But no matter how much he devoted his strength, he could never fill the life that was constantly being drained from Hera.

"I was so close, so close to giving up."

Yi Ke recalled his madness that day and night.

Luo did nothing wrong, Buck did nothing wrong, and everyone he hurt did nothing wrong.

But what did Hera do wrong?

Why did she have to suffer this?

...If God really wants to watch this farce, he will let it watch to its fullest.

Even if he dies, he will take everything he can get with him.

He was thinking wildly.

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A difference of one thought.