Chapter 31 Evil Heretics
The teasing of the two special envoys continued for about ten minutes, until Captain Huaisu, enraged, threatened to throw the crystal out the window. The unscrupulous middle-aged man and the snake finally gave up. After recounting their experiences of the day, the contemplative group fell silent for a moment.
"Let's take it one by one, starting with Jie Wen's message." Ji Qiufeng spoke first. "Youyou, do you remember anything about this?"
"I was completely unconscious at that time. I didn't even know when he left the city." Youyou said dejectedly, "Damn it... Now I don't have the energy to tell fortunes..."
The final ingredient presented an unsolvable dilemma. Jie Wen raced against time to execute the medicine, and upon returning to the city, he was severely injured. He left behind no final words, simply handing over the pestle before passing away. Not only was Jie An panicked, but even Youyou was unable to react. At this point, they had no way of knowing Jie Wen's plans, let alone any clues.
"I might have some idea." Jie An said in a low voice.
Everyone immediately fell silent. Even through the crystal, one could sense the crowd's anticipation. Xie An, however, flinched. He mumbled, "Not necessarily. I'm just guessing..."
"Hurry up and speak!" Ji Huaisu spoke frankly.
"We have to wait and see, it's hard to say yet." Jie An was vague. "Chu Hengkong, this afternoon, please help me visit a few more shops selling 'wet tea' and find out which recipes are selling best. Also, there's the pain that has been recurring for the past two years."
"Okay." Chu Hengkong agreed immediately. "Do you suspect it's a plant?"
"It's more or less the same. I always have a rough idea of the tone of my father's speech." Xie An smiled.
"Ah? How did it become a plant?" Ji Huaisu was full of questions.
Everyone tacitly ignored the bewildered girl. Captain Ji was, after all, a valuable martial artist; her attendance was more about hearing the conclusions than participating in the discussion. Chu Hengkong continued, "The second issue is the enemy in the shadows. I suffered a huge setback today, and I'm not going to keep it to myself. What kind of immobilization technique is that?"
"This idiot deserves it," Ji Qiufeng said leisurely. "No matter how powerful you are, you only have a pair of 'skillful hands'. It's natural that you can't defeat a 'foundation stone' plus a bunch of 'glimmers'."
"Cornerstone"... I've heard that term before. Jie An calls himself "cornerstone." As a high-ranking member of the team, he must also be an ascender. Youyou also mentioned other paths...
"The cornerstone and the glimmer are also particles?" Chu Hengkong asked, "I thought the opening of those two roads was also a trick."
"Inspector, don't assume everyone is just brawny like you. If you can't level up without practicing martial arts, how can anyone with a normal mind survive?" Jie An said sarcastically, "Sephiroth is a 'foundation'. The prerequisite for leveling up is keen observation or possessing an item with special power. After leveling up, you can efficiently utilize the environment and maximize the power of the item."
Jie An described it vividly: "That 'foundation' must have a powerful mind-control relic. He manipulated the environment to hide the glowing corpses, and used the enhanced relic to trip you up from a distance. Then, I took this opportunity to send in my ambush troops and swarm you! Pin this unworldly bumpkin to death in the mud!"
Chu Hengkong didn't have time to retort. He reflected on the previous killing spree. The fact that the "foundation" could pinpoint his location meant the opponent possessed a means of observation beyond visual range. The fact that he could manipulate the glowing corpses at will showed the relic's immense power... and simple killing sprees were the most effective. He'd lost count of how many underworld bosses had been killed by random gunshots. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that without Ji Huaisu's arrival, he would have been in grave danger. This time, he'd truly escaped death.
At this time, Ji Huaisu began to find fault: "Chef, your scene restoration is not good enough. Why did the puppet leak at the beginning?"
"That's not a cornerstone method." Jie An immediately shook his head. "No matter how powerful a relic is, it still requires a 'spiritual' presence to control it. It's like you can't control a plate of grilled squid with hypnosis. If you shake it until your hands are sore, it's still just a plate of dead meat, not a living thing."
"Then the assassin must be someone else..." Ji Huaisu curled his lips, "It's a pity that we didn't get any clues."
After the commotion caused by the Mud Glow Corpse, the smashed puppet disappeared without a trace. There must have been other assassins helping in the settlement, but the situation was so chaotic that the two couldn't search for them one by one.
"It's just another piece from the Black Workshop. The only difference is whether they made it themselves or ordered it." Ji Qiufeng said, "And those glowing mud corpses are 'Glimmer of Light'. Can you guess the power of 'Glimmer of Light'?"
This question was addressed to Chu Hengkong, who answered without hesitation: "It's using the particle of light, just like Ji Huaisu did."
"That's right!" Ji Qiufeng said, "but you're only half right. Huaisu is the 'reverse shadow' of particle 2."
Ji Huaisu held his head high and chest out, looking very proud.
Particle one is light, particle two is shadow. Ji Huaisu's path to advancement sounds like that of an elemental mage. Being able to turn this power into a berserker is quite something... Chu Hengkong ignored his partner, whose face was filled with a look of "I'm awesome, come and praise me", and said calmly: "Next, let's talk about the glowing corpse..."
Ji Huaisu slammed the bed and stood up: "Hey, shouldn't you first praise Captain Huaisu's invincible skills!"
"There's no need to reiterate something that's already known to everyone." Chu Hengkong tried to appease her. "If glowing corpses also glow, then wouldn't the swamp be filled with geology points by now? Are mutators such cheap things?"
"You're right. Transformation shouldn't be this easy. That's why the Fire Corpse is an evil heretic." Hatred etched in Youyou's voice. "I'll handle this. Xiao An, you better work hard these next two days and make some more medicine. I'll work hard on repairing some armored vehicles and completely crush this thing before it even has a chance to raise its head."
Ji Qiufeng only added briefly: "Huaisu and Hengkong, you two should also be careful and don't touch the muddy fluorescent corpse again."
Chu Hengkong frowned. This time, Ji Qiufeng had given too little information. This was not the attitude of a responsible man. As if anticipating his dissatisfaction, Ji Qiufeng chuckled, "Listening too much is bad for your destiny."
"What's wrong with it?" Chu Hengkong was surprised.
"Destiny. Repeat after me, destiny," Youyou repeated the nonsense word seriously. "Some knowledge carries malicious intent. The deeper your understanding, the more affected you will be, and the more likely you will encounter things you shouldn't have seen. At that point, your fate will be tainted, and you'll never be able to escape the vortex of madness. So don't ask too many questions. If you meet someone who tells you about their enemy, they're just trying to harm you."
·
"A glowing corpse is a special kind of 'glimmer,' born from the lingering aura of some higher being. This strange walking corpse is the remnant of a dead life, a monster tangled with shattered desires and emotions. In the world outside of Huilong City, it is known as a 'natural disaster.'"
Incense smoke drifted through the secret room, and the liquid in the jeweled cup was as murky as mud. The great wizard Adari absentmindedly sipped the medicinal wine, his attention completely focused on the other person's words.
The speaker, half hidden in the shadows, wore a snow-white hat, his shiny leather shoes reflecting the candlelight. His voice was magnetic and confident, and anyone who heard it would think he was a skilled storyteller, able to capture others' attention with just a few words.
"You might think this name is an exaggeration, but it's true. For the Glow Corpses, feeding is equivalent to reproduction. They absorb the strength and emotions of the living, leaving only glowing fragments within the corpses. The gnawed remains become new Glow Corpses, driven by desire to devour their former kin. They once destroyed an ancient nation in this way, and then devoured each other in the desolate ruins."
Adari imagined the glowing corpses wandering in the ruined castle, the horrific corpses transformed into giants after consuming too much power. Even his usual composure felt a chill. There was no hopeless wasteland like this. Compared to it, even Huilong City seemed like heaven.
"Is this how higher beings exterminate civilizations?" asked Adari.
"How is that possible?" The storyteller chuckled. "The higher beings were merely passing through, just like humans breathing unintentionally through an anthill."
Adari took a deep breath. He stared at the man across the table, like a venomous snake staring at another beast. "You sold me something amazing."
"I always provide high-quality products to my customers." The man raised his glass.
"And I only paid a mere thirty demon possessed people for it," Adari continued. "That price is too cheap. I can't afford such a precious item."
The man shook his head. "You're wrong, Adari. Demons are far more wondrous beings, but you don't know how to draw out their power... This deal is fair. I can even grant you one extra request."
"Then I ask you to remember my name," Adari said word by word. "When you leave the city of Huilong, I want a seat for me on your ship."
The man was surprised, then smiled. The smile turned into laughter, and he pushed his hat down hard, grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't expect your misunderstanding was so profound! I don't plan to leave. I love this city. Huilong City is my hometown and my home. Will you leave your hometown forever?"
Adari was really shocked this time, he felt like he was talking to a madman.
"You released the glowing corpses in your hometown."
"It'll give it a long-lost vitality," the man said unconcernedly. "To be honest, I didn't expect you'd be willing to buy it. With your abilities, you can live well in the swamp. Even if the Scourge Knights do come, they'll just recruit them. It's not worth fighting them to the bitter end."
"Recruitment?" Adari sneered. "Interesting. I thought you learned a lot from those big patrons, but it seems they didn't tell you the most important thing... Where do you think you are?"
The man in the bowler hat listened with interest: "I'm in Huilong City."
"Yes, you are in the city. This city has no sky, only a swirling water curtain. It hangs from the sky to the farthest part of the courtyard, and merges into a 'bottom' deeper than the swamp. What do you think this city looks like to the outside world?"
The man in the top hat took out a flowing bead and placed it on the table, watching the water swirling inside the sphere: "A gem among glass beads."
"You're not stupid. This is a water bead. Now answer my last question," Adali said gloomily. "Where does the water in the Huilong Water Wall come from?"
The man in the bowler hat was startled by this. He was a native of the area, born and raised in the workshop, looking at the water curtain. To him, the tide of weapons was a natural part of the world. The sky was supposed to be water, and water was supposed to have all sorts of messes in it. There was no "why," just like the world was supposed to have light and air.
But Adari felt that this shouldn't be the case. If there was no water in the sky, where would it come from? So many tides came and went in a hurry, carrying weapons from all over the world...
The candlelight flickered, and the man in the top hat had a deep look in his eyes. Adari raised his lips sarcastically, picking up the dripping beads and dropping them into the cup, causing ripples to form in the emerald green medicinal wine.
“This is the truth.”
The disturbance caused by the falling bead briefly cleared the murky wine. The bottom of the cup was filled with wriggling dark creatures. The wine was actually soaked in living insects! Awakened by the disturbance, they emerged from their curled egg-like forms and bared their sharp teeth at the bead. The crystal bead was submerged in layers of the ugly insect bodies, finally exploding in the cup with a soft sound.
"I am the Grand Wizard of the Spiritual Society. I can hear the voices in the tide. You can't imagine how many pairs of eyes are outside the glass beads. They speak of greed and hunger, and the ignorant and mediocre call them gods!"
Adari laughed hysterically. He picked up the jeweled cup and drank it all, tearing the worms into pieces and swallowing them. The man in the top hat said, "Oh," "I don't mean any harm, but I just can't accept your health wine."
Adari leaned back in his chair, the smile on his face gradually fading. "The City Lord's Mansion has been hiding the truth. They'd rather seal off the water wall and leave everyone to die in this desperate situation! You're talking about surrendering? I'm going to fight those deceitful people to the end!!"
No wonder he always had a face full of hatred and disgust. He hated everything from the bottom of his heart, and he also hated the people in the city. He thought the fools in the swamp were idiots and the city lords in the courtyard were villains. Since everyone would die sooner or later anyway, he had no problem exploiting human lives.
The man in the bowler hat responded to the other man's gaze, feeling for some reason that this man was truly pathetic. He stood up, opened the door, and turned around before leaving.
"This is the most religious you've ever been. Your emotions are sincere and convincing, as expected of the Great Wizard Adari," he said. "But I can't help but say one thing: if you just bought a glowing corpse, can you please stop acting so righteous?"
The man laughed contemptuously: "Just fool the fools, don't fool yourself."
"Remember the extra compensation you owe me," Adari said.
Adari let him leave the secret room. The partnership was over, and from then on, neither could control what the other wanted to do.
He sat quietly for a while, feeling the dying worms struggling in his stomach, drawing a strange vitality from them. Feeling better, he pushed the door open and walked out. When the door opened, the voices of people boiled like an ocean, and in the strong light, frenzied shadows danced like snakes.
The secret room led directly to the upper reaches of the chapel. Beyond the carved glass windows, bright yellow petals fluttered like snow. This was a church built amidst a sea of flowers, its interior practically packed with worshippers. Flowing beads and relics formed a small mountain on the altar. Adari ascended the high pulpit, a thousand eyes following his steps. He tapped his cane, a bell rang, and the crowd fell silent, awaiting his command.
White-robed monks walked into the crowd, carrying granular pills. Adari casually drew a few strokes in the air and said in a disgusted tone, "Take the elixir. In the name of the gods, I grant you peace."
Suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers like a tsunami. The ecstatic believers leaped high, sang, and knelt in prayer. Adari looked down at this diverse group of believers and felt he hadn't done anything significant. The swamp was a gathering place for the walking dead, and the heartless believers were as easy to manipulate as mud.
Compared to them, the glowing corpse only has a little more light.
"Thanks to the gods' kindness, I will convey a new oracle..."
Adari had already prepared a plan: killing those two would be difficult, but driving them out would be easy. All he needed was a small lie...
About the shield of the Disaster Knight and the light within the corpse of Ying.
(End of this chapter)
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