Phalanges

Yuze raised his hand and pinched Wuci's chin, controlling him to tilt his head left and right and look, "It looks no different from the original. Did you make a deal with the Speaker to get this new body and live until now, or did you just come back recently?"

Wu Ci knew that Yupei was used to doing things his own way, and was too lazy to resist and cause trouble for himself. He raised his eyelids and asked without any emotion: "You have always only focused on the results. What is the difference between the two?"

"You were so boring before, never saying much, and were very careful with every word you said, thinking twice before speaking, for fear of saying too much and making mistakes. But now you dare to explore my thoughts?" Yu Ze joked without caring about Wu Ci's thoughts, "It seems that I should have sent you over to be trained a long time ago, so that you can suffer a little more."

Wu Ci's face suddenly turned gloomy.

He knew that Yuping still treated him as a pleasure to be teased at will.

Yuze never considered Wuci as a human being, and even thought that Wuci should have been sent to that ridiculous "legal program" earlier, framed as a wanted criminal and fled the world, so as to bring new fun and reactions and make people laugh.

Wu Ci often wondered what he was to these upper-class people. He had tried hard to please them and survived cautiously, but was instead accused of being boring? So they used suffering to grind him down and forced him to change for the sake of survival, but he was still expected to be grateful?

The current Wu Ci is indeed better than before, more mature than before, more sophisticated than before, and knows more than before... If he has to choose between his current self and his previous self, he will definitely choose his current self.

But, were it really those sufferings that made him who he is?

No, for Wu Ci, suffering is just suffering. He will not become better because of those sufferings. On the contrary, he will be easily worn down by those sufferings and completely lose his dignity and bottom line, becoming ugly and ridiculous.

"Please don't joke like this." Wu Ci pleaded in a low voice, "Please don't do this."

His voice was extremely soft, in inverse proportion to the effort it took him to suppress his growing murderous intent.

You can't do anything now.

"You seem to be in a stable mood. You are not like your predecessors who were forced to lose their dignity because of a small matter. It's a wonder you haven't gone crazy yet... You know, all the people I taught were gamblers. When gamblers go crazy, they are always hysterical and outrageous." Yupei patted his head appreciatively. "Just call me Mr. Yu as before. Of course, you can also call me father."

"You are my only child left. Come back and continue to follow me, Aci. It is not too late now. It is never too late. The Seven Sins Council is not that easy to stay in. Your chairman is just treating you as tools."

Ha, Wu Ci is about to laugh.

Yuze, who treated him as a pet, told him that the chairman of the Seven Sins Council treated people as tools?

Putting aside the question of whether his "arrogant" identity is fake or not, this incident alone is really enough to make people laugh.

"Please forgive my refusal, but I am not an inheritable object." Wu Ci said.

"As you said, what's the difference? Don't think too highly of yourself, Aci." The man called Wuci affectionately, with a smile on his lips, "Many gamblers think too highly of themselves. I don't want you to become like that."

Wu Ci remained silent, as knowledgeable and interested as before, and followed Yu Ze silently one step behind.

They left the prison room like this. Because the identities of "Arrogant" and "Jade Golden Stage" were both mysterious, the people around them were not of high enough rank, and when they saw them, they did not recognize them, but only bowed their heads and saluted.

This lack of recognition continued until they entered a conference room.

The people seated in the conference room immediately stood up to greet Yuze, but Yuze didn't care and sat directly in the main seat.

Amid people's puzzled and inquiring gazes, Wu Ci stood behind Yu Ping and, following his old habit, refilled the teacup on Yu Ping's table with an expressionless face.

Someone couldn't help but ask hesitantly, "Master Yu San... this is... Master Thirteen?"

Yuze spoke in a gentle tone and in a good mood, "Yes, this time it's not a fake."

As soon as the words fell, the conference room became chaotic, as if everyone present was horrified to learn that Wu Ci was still alive.

"Is he really the Thirteenth Young Master? How come he looks the same age as he did 20 years ago after so many years? And wasn't he killed by an unknown person on the run because he suffered too much in prison? Or was it that Zhen Shanhe's family who watched him die! If he were still alive, that would be terrible! None of us would have to live!"

Wu Ci looked up dejectedly and found that the person who was frightened the loudest was a familiar face. He had seen him in the casino with Yu Ping when they were children.

In the past, Yuping had other entertainment gadgets before Wuci, but they all died because they could not compare with Wuci and fell out of favor.

Although Wu Ci was not Yu Ping's biological son, he was indeed ranked thirteenth among Yu Sanye's entertainment items. At that time, because of Yu Ping's status, others were willing to give him face, even though they thought Wu Ci would be abandoned sooner or later, and still respectfully called him Thirteenth Young Master.

"Ah, it seems that so many people still remember me..." Wu Ci turned around and said, "Mr. Yu, none of your people had their memories cleared by Zhen Shanhe?"

Someone answered loudly in front of Yu Ping: "Of course, we are all close associates of Master Yu San, how could we be purged by a gang like Zhen Shanhe!"

Before he finished speaking, a flash of cold light with damp water vapor flashed by.

Dozens of heads spun, blood mixed with water splashing onto the ground. The heroic spirit [Chu Ci] who appeared out of nowhere closed his eyes and flicked the back of his sword.

The Dragon Slaying Sword was a soft sword, so flexible that it caused the blood to flow away, and its cold light was as bright as new.

"I'm sorry." He and Wu Ci said at the same time.

The golden spirit of the heroic spirit dissipated in the air. Wu Ci gently placed his hand on Yu Ze's shoulder and sighed, "I'm sorry, but I still think that they should be worried that Zhen Shanhe didn't clear their memories, instead of being complacent... Mr. Yu, you won't blame me for acting rashly, right?"

"You know very well that they were killed for you to vent your anger. It's my gift to you. Otherwise, how could they die so easily?"

Yuze chuckled and asked again, "Heroic Spirit is pretty good, why doesn't it wake up?"

Wu Ci replied bluntly, "No money."

"With your ability, if you really want it, you can just go to the casino and get it."

Wu Ci: “No.”

"Then you don't have to go back. Just follow me to meet your council members in three days. There is no rush for cooperation between the two sides."

"I have other things to do." Wu Ci shook his head and found an excuse to decline.

"Have you seen Zhenshanhe?" Yuze suddenly asked him.

“Yes.”

"He didn't kill you? That's rare. I thought he would go crazy when he saw your face... I sent many people who looked like you to tease him before, but none of their bodies survived. I heard that he threw them all into the stove to burn stones... He loved to use those stones to make drinks."

Hearing this, Wu Ci recalled the wine that Zhen Shanhe had forced him to drink, and suddenly felt physically nauseous.

No wonder there are crystal stone decorations inside the cup, it turns out they are dead people's bones.

Disgusting... So disgusting... Although I know that there should be no bacteria after high-temperature calcination, I still feel disgusted.

"It seems you drank his wine." Yu gave a short, muffled laugh. "The power in the hands of the Heroic Spirit makes him develop these strange little hobbies. After all, that Heroic Spirit is a little special and can fit in with that thing. His mental state is also worrying. He lives more like an old-fashioned person than me."

Authority? Special Heroic Spirit?

Authority generally refers to rules or the way of heaven, right? How special a Heroic Spirit must be to be able to master such a thing? If one can master such a thing, even if he is just a Heroic Spirit, he should not be much worse than a Mystic Spirit, right?

Wu Ci frowned.

Yupei tapped his forehead and said, "Do you know why your speaker sent you here to discuss this? Why did you come here directly?"

Wu Ci wiped the blood splattered on the conference table with his finger and drew the word "Tao" on the table in front of him.

He turned around and approached Yuze, and whispered, "I guess, this cannot be said."

"Still so sharp."

Yuze said, "After drinking the wine that can calm mountains and rivers, you have a causal relationship with that thing. It will sooner or later notice you. You have no choice, Wuci. I want you in the council to help me seize that heroic spirit, including the authority. I will pay you a reward that satisfies you. Of course, this can also save your life."

There was indeed something wrong with Zhen Shanhe’s wine.

Wu Ci was silent for a moment, "What can you give?"

"The body of the savior you want is in my hands. It is the thing that opened up this Age of Heroes. Not only can it help you create other uses, but it can also be used as evidence to retrieve [Him] when the owner of the body is still alive."

What era did the mysterious "savior" live in? Could it be an earlier period than the Solomon Empire where "Dextall" lived? Can the savior be brought in as a heroic spirit?

The witch's words were flawless. "I will explain this to His Excellency the Speaker."

"Still angry? You clearly have the power to make decisions, Aci. Your Speaker sent me a letter to inform me that he had been out of charge a long time ago and that all matters in the parliament were decided by you, the top senator. He told me to negotiate everything with you."

"You're joking."

"Don't refuse it hastily. This is a deposit and also my personal compensation to you." Yu Ze handed an exquisite box to Wu Ci.

It looks like a ring box.

Wu Ci didn’t quite want to accept it…it felt weird…what kind of father would give a ring to his adopted son?

He had never heard of Yuping having such a hobby before... What's more, to Yuping, he was just a little pet used for entertainment.

"Take it." Yuping opened the box, revealing a bright white object in the center that looked like gold and jade.

Shaped like a finger bone.

"Legend has it that when Ying Yuan Ji Xing Tian Zun played his zither and lamented the hardships of the world, he raised his hand and wrote a book to create the universe. The savior, who was Tian Zun's follower, happened to carry one of his finger bones with him. Now I am offering this flower to the Buddha to prove that the corpse is in my hands."

Wu Ci took the box and touched the things inside.

It feels like touching air, like an illusory 3D projection, empty, but it looks real and can be picked up.

[Obtained the high-level special item "Tianzun Finger Bone. Real Projection"]

[After holding it, you can temporarily isolate yourself from the influence of a heavenly path. More uses are unknown, please explore on your own]

Wu Ci narrowed his eyes, "Even after turning into a corpse, he still carries it with him. Is this something that the Heavenly Lord gave to that person? After taking it, won't the Heavenly Lord take revenge?"

Yuze smiled and interrupted, "He has always had a good temper, he won't mind."

"Sir, I'm not joking."

"No need to call me sir anymore." Yu Ze pointed at the table with his index finger, then turned his hand over and opened it to him.

Wu Ci was stunned for a moment, lowered his head slightly, and placed his chin on his palm.

Yu Ze bent his knuckles and used his fingertips to wipe away the blood that splashed on Wu Ci's eyelashes, and drew a bloody red mark on the tear scar under his left eye. "When a person is dying, what they see with their eyes may not be true. Especially for those who are drowning, have you ever tried to exhaust yourself in the sea... suffocate continuously... and thus have hallucinations?"

"Wu Ci, a lot has changed in 20 years. Did you suddenly notice the changes?"

He whispered, "Did you... notice the inconsistency? Or... chose to simply ignore it..."

"What do you mean? What did you find out?" Wu Ci frowned.

"Only special circumstances can protect lucidity in dreams," Yuze smiled, "Admit it, your subconscious mind doesn't want me to die. You would even rather I die in your memory and become a villain, doing nothing and watching you suffer those tortures... You are too kind, too merciful, and too compassionate."

"Now it's all stolen. We are living in your lies." He pointed at the bloody tear marks, "Why did I find out? Ha... because you were crying..."

Wu Ci interrupted him coldly, "Mr. Yu, please stop talking nonsense."

"I know you can understand, Aci."