Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 615 - 556: Fluke

As Mo Si transformed into gold, Li Ang’s entire head became exceptionally heavy.

He closed his eyes, allowing Mo Si to cover his eyelids, enveloping every part of his head that could possibly contact the outside world. Then he activated his Spiritual Sense to supplement his vision.

DRIP, DRIP.

Wax dripped from Cui Yi’s fingertips as she stared in astonishment at her own melting palms, murmuring, "Am I... a Nightmare?"

"You are not a Nightmare," Li Hanquan, who was also melting, embraced his wife and softly said, "To me, you are real."

Li Ang reached out his hand. The moment his fingertips touched his parents, they collapsed with a loud crash.

"Eldest Son, what have you done?" Chai Cuiqiao’s parents asked in trembling voices, noticing their own bodies also beginning to melt, although much more slowly than Li Hanquan and his wife.

However, Chai Chai herself showed no such signs.

The evidence was clear; the Nightmare’s influence had been distinguished.

With his eyes tightly closed, Li Ang slowly turned to face Chai Cuiqiao.

She finally reacted, her face turning deathly pale as she lifted her arms to shield her parents.

"Step aside," Li Ang spoke calmly.

"I won’t!" Chai Chai clutched Li Ang’s arm, pleading, "They are my parents. I can’t lose them again."

"You will die." Li Ang suppressed his emotional turmoil and warned in a low, intense voice, "If you die in the Ghost Realm, not even I can save you!"

Mo Si could heal most injuries, true, but when Life Force was drained away, even Mo Si was useless—it couldn’t replace the brain entirely.

"I know, but... but..." Chai Chai couldn’t form a complete sentence. The memory of sitting on the threshold of Security Hall, day after day, eagerly awaiting her parents to come and take her home, was too deeply ingrained. She would rather die than experience that loss again.

"Cui Qiao, let go of Eldest Son," Chai Chai’s mother finally said, stepping forward. Using her slightly melted palm, she cupped her daughter’s tear-streaked face, softly whispered something, then gently pushed Chai Chai toward Li Ang.

Li Ang held Chai Chai’s cheeks as Mo Si traveled through her ear canals to her skull, forming the same Golden Barrier.

A frontal lobotomy would destroy the brain’s basic functions, erasing higher cognitive abilities and the capacity for voluntary action—tantamount to death—thus blocking the influence of the Dream Eater.

The Golden Barrier, however, completely isolated the brain from the outside world.

Chai Chai’s vision and hearing were blocked. As she reached out for her parents, her hands only found melting wax.

She wanted to cry, but her tear ducts were obstructed by Mo Si, preventing even a single tear from flowing.

The changes around Li Ang drew the attention of the others in the hall.

They only saw Li Hanquan and his wife, along with Chai Chai’s parents, suddenly melt and collapse, unaware of what had truly happened.

Li Ang had no intention of explaining the situation to them. Still with his eyes closed, he turned his head toward Jin Wusuan and hoarsely asked, "Why?"

Through his Spiritual Sense, he saw a square, verdigris-covered bronze box on the table before Jin Wusuan.

Li Ang was certain he had never seen this bronze box before.

This meant the bronze box was invisible to everyone else.

Only those who had undergone a frontal lobotomy, or who wore the Golden Barrier formed by Mo Si, could "sense" it. This barrier isolated them from the Dream Eater’s manipulation of the brain.

Everyone’s gaze followed Li Ang’s, turning toward Jin Wusuan.

This included Jin Wusuan’s steward and guards, who all looked puzzled.

"Heh heh, so Mr. Li found it after all." Jin Wusuan’s face was pale as he spoke languidly, "If I had known earlier, I would have found a way to send you and your companions out of the Yuelai Inn before making any plans. Indeed, one cannot rely on sheer luck to survive."

"Eldest Son? Mr. Li, what are you talking about?" Manager Jin was bewildered, completely unable to understand their conversation, nor aware of what had happened.

Jin Wusuan did not explain. Instead, he asked, "Old Nine, tell me, how much would it cost to hire a top-ranked assassin from the Chang’an Ghost Market?"

"Well..." Manager Jin hesitated. He had been by Jin Wusuan’s side for many years and knew something about Chang’an’s underground world. But was this really the right occasion to discuss such matters?

"To engage the assassin ranked tenth on the Sky List, it would cost at least one hundred thousand strings of coins." Manager Jin decided to answer truthfully, "The higher the rank, the larger the sum required. Some assassins refuse gold and silver, demanding rare treasures that are priceless and unobtainable on the open market."

"Exactly." Jin Wusuan nodded, speaking deliberately. "The Jieyi Sect of the Former Sui was renowned worldwide for its assassinations. They boasted that as long as the price was right, they could assassinate anyone for you, even the Emperor of Sui or a Taihao Mountain Cardinal.

Unfortunately, the assassins of today’s Chang’an Ghost Market are a far cry from what they used to be. Admittedly, if they pooled their efforts, they might be able to kill someone of the Academic Palace Director’s station.

But if the target were a key figure in Yu Country, let alone one of the strongest Candle Cloud Mages in the world, not a single assassin would dare accept the contract."

The previously noisy hall fell silent. A Candle Cloud Mage... doesn’t that mean... Lu Qingya?!

Lu Qingya, who had been talking with his wife and child, slowly turned his face and looked directly at Jin Wusuan, calmly inquiring, "Manager Jin, do you wish to kill me?"

"Yes. It’s consumed my thoughts, day and night." Jin Wusuan chuckled. "I’ve been thinking about it for thirty-three years and nine months now."

Thirty-three years and nine months.

The crowd exchanged confused glances, not understanding the significance of this period. However, the faces of some doctors and students from Lu Li Academy turned deathly pale.

It was currently March of the Seventh Year of Zaiqian. Counting back thirty-three years from this date pinpointed the very battle that had catapulted Lu Qingya to fame—

At that time, a Demonic Calamity erupted in the Ten Thousand Desolate Mountains. Countless demons surged from the deep mountains, attacking the frontier towns of the Zhou Kingdom, Jing Kingdom, and Yu Country.

In the Zhou and Jing Kingdoms, the demons rampaged as if through an uninhabited land, slaughtering at will.

Yu Country, despite sacrificing two Vice Commanders of the Garrison and six Academic Palace Doctors, still failed to quell the Demonic Calamity.

Numerous villages were destroyed, and many common people were killed.

In that critical moment, it was Lu Qingya, then in his forties, and his close friend, Jianquan Monk, who turned the tide. They lured away the Demonic Calamity, preventing the demons from breaching Kunzhou City, and held out until reinforcements from Yu Country arrived, ultimately eradicating the Demonic Calamity. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As a result of this event, both Jianquan Monk and Lu Qingya received commendations from the previous Emperor of Yu. The former rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming a Master qualified to preach Buddhist teachings in the Imperial Palace. The latter also gained great fame and, within a few years, smoothly inherited the position of headmaster of Lu Li Academy.

Yet, Jin Wusuan was clearly from Lingnan Road in Yu Country, a survivor of that Demonic Calamity.

Throughout all these years, he had seemingly been grateful for the great deeds of Lu Qingya and Jianquan Monk, donating money and goods to Tiantai Mountain and Lu Li Academy.

"You haven’t told anyone, have you?" Jin Wusuan watched the slight change in Lu Qingya’s expression and coughed out a laugh, "Lies, all lies!"