Dead?

The original owner, Zhou Huai, actually died in that attack five years ago?

At this moment, Zhou Huai's heart was in turmoil.

From his perspective, it was true that the original owner, Zhou Huai, had died.

But that was only a few months ago.

That was when the current Zhou ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Huai had Transmigrated over.

How did it come out of Luo Ming's mouth that the original Zhou Huai had already been dead for five years?

How could this be?

Zhou Huai controlled Moria, his facial muscles showed no twitch, but his voice was already hoarse beyond recognition.

"That Zhou Huai is clearly still alive now."

"Why do you say he died long ago?"

Luo Ming chuckled, his smile full of drunkenness and mockery.

"Alive?"

"Is that even considered living?"

He shook his head, as if to clear some of the alcohol from his brain to make his thoughts clearer.

"That's why I said my brother just helped out with a small favor."

"Zhou Feng's ex-wife and his unlucky son were indeed dead in the car at the time."

"Their bodies were already cold."

"However..."

Luo Ming drew out his words, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

"Just as the Zhou Family was preparing to handle the funeral, his ex-wife's brother found my brother."

Zhou Huai's consciousness suddenly sharpened.

"You wait a moment."

Moria's voice interrupted him.

"You mean, Zhou Feng's ex-wife still has a brother alive in the world?"

"Yes."

Luo Ming nodded, letting out a drunken burp.

"Although I don't know that guy's name, I heard my brother call him... Mr. Duan."

Mr. Duan?

Zhou Huai's consciousness frantically searched the depths of the original owner's memory.

Nothing.

A blank.

In the original owner's memory, his mother's maternal family seemed to have no one left long ago.

Who exactly was this 'Mr. Duan' who suddenly appeared?

He looked at Luo Ming, his eyes signaling him to continue.

Luo Ming seemed to enjoy being listened to, especially when it was about a secret that could overturn everything.

He cleared his throat and continued:

"That Mr. Duan knew my brother possessed a very powerful Art of Confinement."

"So he came to my brother for help."

"My brother originally didn't want to get involved in such troublesome matters, but that Mr. Duan offered too much."

"And, he also found a helper."

"A guy named Zuo Daolin, that guy is even more sinister; it's said he can directly control Souls."

"So, the three of them put their heads together and came up with a solution that wasn't really a solution."

Luo Ming grinned, his smile eerie.

"They found that Zhou Huai's Soul, which had already left his body, and Zuo Daolin forcefully stuffed his Soul back into his own body."

"Then, my brother used the Art of Confinement to treat that body as a Seal container, locking his Soul tightly inside."

"Through this bizarre method, that Zhou Huai, who should have been completely dead, miraculously... came back to life."

"But because it wasn't a true resurrection, the connection between his Soul and body wasn't perfect, which is why he was paralyzed."

"To put it simply, he was a living dead man... imprisoned by his own body."

Zhou Huai's mind was completely chaotic.

The information was too much, the impact too strong.

He silently took two steps back, sat down on the cold chair again, and began to quickly review.

The attack five years ago was orchestrated by the Zhou Family.

The goal was to eliminate his mother, who was hindering the arranged marriage.

The original owner, Zhou Huai, was just an innocent bystander, dying on the spot.

But then, a key figure appeared.

His mother's brother, Mr. Duan.

He found Luo Ming's brother, who could use the Art of Confinement, and Zuo Daolin, who could control Souls.

The three of them joined forces to forcibly Seal the original owner Zhou Huai's Soul back into his own body.

This was the truth behind the original owner's "resurrection."

This was the real reason for his paralysis.

Zhou Huai suddenly looked up, a sharp glint flashing in his silver eyes.

"There's still one more question."

"You said that incident was done by your brother."

"Then why can I feel the exact same power from you?"

Luo Ming heard this and did not immediately explain.

With a thought, the strangely shaped one-eyed staff appeared beside him out of thin air.

The purple eyeball at the top of the staff rotated, vigilantly surveying its surroundings.

"The power you're talking about, it should be this, right?"

Luo Ming looked at the staff, his eyes somewhat complex.

"This is the last gift my brother gave me."

"Inside, there is also a confined Soul."

"However, it's the Soul of a Calamity-level Strange Beast, which can double the power of my curse."

He sighed and continued:

"However, although this Art of Confinement is powerful, it is not permanent."

"The power will gradually dissipate over time."

"The Soul in my staff is already much weaker than when I first got it, and it will probably completely dissipate before long."

He looked up, gazing at Moria with a hint of pity.

"Of course, the same goes for that Young Master of the Zhou Family."

"To be honest, I'm surprised he's lasted this long."

Zhou Huai quietly sensed the fluctuations emanating from the staff.

That's right.

The power on his body came from the same source.

At this moment, he already believed it seven or eight tenths.

No wonder the Zhou Family treated him with such a cold, almost disgusted attitude.

Because in their eyes, he was already someone who had died once.

An ominous presence that should not exist in the world.

So...

The power on his body was not a curse at all.

But... the Power of Confinement.

It wasn't a slow-acting poison, but rather the key to maintaining the existence of his body?

Once the Art of Confinement completely failed, would his Soul also vanish into thin air?

Thinking of this, Zhou Huai's back was instantly drenched in a cold sweat.

He had always thought his biggest enemy was the "curse" on his body.

He tried every possible way to dispel it.

But in the end, he was digging his own grave with his own hands.

He suddenly remembered the sacred light spiritual water he drank before.

It turned out that that thing wasn't weakening the "curse" at all, but rather nourishing his Soul and slowing down the loss of Soul power.

And his increasingly frequent fatigue recently...

It was probably a sign that the Power of Confinement was starting to decline significantly, and his Soul power was accelerating its loss!

He looked at Luo Ming, his voice suppressing a barely noticeable tremor.

"Next, I have a few more questions."

Luo Ming nodded, with a "ask anything you want" posture.

"Your brother, and that Mr. Duan, and Zuo Daolin..."

"Are they all from the Dawnbreaker Guild?"

Luo Ming showed no surprise upon hearing this question and nodded readily.

Since he mentioned Zuo Daolin, it was not surprising for the other party to guess the Dawnbreaker Guild.

Zhou Huai secretly thought, "Good heavens."

His maternal uncle, whom he had never met, was indeed a member of the Dawnbreaker Guild.

He pressed on: "Zhou Feng's wife, who is Zhou Huai's mother, is she... also not dead?"

Luo Ming thought for a moment and replied:

"She was indeed revived in the same way at the time."

"Later, she was taken away by that Mr. Duan."

"As for whether she's alive or dead now, I wouldn't know."

Zhou Huai asked again:

"Since Mr. Duan is from the Dawnbreaker Guild, his strength must be extraordinary, and dealing with a small Zhou Family should be easy."

"Why didn't he avenge his sister at that time?"

This time, Luo Ming shook his head.

"I wouldn't know that."

"My brother didn't tell me either."

"Perhaps the Zhou Family held some leverage over Mr. Duan, or perhaps... his sister, being a love-struck fool, chose to forgive."

"Who knows."

Zhou Huai nodded, no longer dwelling on this question.

Whatever the reason, everything would become clear once he found that "Mr. Duan."

He changed the subject, asking the last and most crucial question.

"If you asked your brother to perform the Art of Confinement on Zhou Huai again..."

"Could it slow down the rate at which his Soul power is lost?"

He stared intently at Luo Ming, awaiting the answer that would determine his fate.

However, Luo Ming smiled bitterly upon hearing this.

He shook his head.

For the first time, a genuine sadness appeared in his drunken eyes.

"It's useless."

"Because my brother..."

"Died three years ago."