Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 618 - 559 Awakening

"I really wanted to seek justice from someone, but it wasn’t possible."

Jin Wusuan spoke hoarsely, "The root of the matter lies with the monarch of Yu Country. The cover-up was aided by the court, the Academic Palace, and the garrison. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"The ones who personally executed and killed everyone I knew were a closed-door disciple of the abbot of Tiantai Mountain and a promising young Doctor from Lu Li Academy.

"And I am just an ordinary person, with no potential for cultivation whatsoever."

Jin Wusuan glanced at his skinny palms and said calmly, "The sad part of this story is that, even though I suffered a lot and put in efforts unimaginable to ordinary people to become the most powerful merchant in Yu Country, I still could not take my revenge.

"The era has changed. The Jieyi Sect of the Former Sui, which once acted recklessly, daring to assassinate even the royal family, no longer exists.

"And the monk and the Daoist I seek revenge upon have both become Great Practitioners of the Candle Cloud Realm.

"Those Cultivators capable of killing the two of them had no incentive to assassinate them—it would offend both Tiantai Mountain and Lu Li Academy at the same time.

"The assassins willing to kill them lacked the capability—to reliably trap, quickly kill a Candle Cloud Cultivator, and escape unscathed would require at least three cultivators of the same realm.

"Money can buy many things in this world, but it just can’t buy the lives of my enemies."

Jin Wusuan chuckled self-deprecatingly. "By the time I finally found a legendary poison that could allegedly kill Candle Cloud Cultivators, and could have used the Death Soldiers I had secretly nurtured over the years—sending them to Tiantai Mountain and Lu Li Academy to deliver it to you—I had already started a family.

"Looking at the infant in swaddling clothes clutching my finger, the courage I had accumulated over so many years involuntarily began to fade.

"What if the poison didn’t kill you but instead made you more vigilant? What if the Death Soldiers had a change of heart at the last moment and turned me in?

"Or what if, after you died, Tiantai Mountain and Lu Li Academy used some divination methods unknown to me and traced your murders back to me?

"Then I would once again lose everything I have."

The expressions of everyone present varied. Ji Xingwang tried several times to speak but hesitated. Lu Qingya remained silent throughout, and Jin Wusuan’s butler, standing beside him, was utterly astonished.

He finally understood why, a long time ago when he had accidentally seen Jin Wusuan holding his young child and talking to himself, the expression on Jin Wusuan’s face had been so complex and strange.

"Truth be told, I admire you."

Jin Wusuan turned his head towards Li Ang and said calmly, "We both came from remote borderlands, relying on our own wits and a little bit of luck, to forge a path in this city that devours people whole.

"Perhaps there truly is some destiny at play; Jianquan died at your hands.

"This makes me feel regret, relief, and remorse.

"Especially after learning last autumn that my life would not be much longer, I still decided to write an ending to my own story.

"At the very least, when I descend to the Netherworld and face those parents, relatives, and childhood friends whose faces I can no longer clearly remember, I’ll have something to say."

"...So, you were the one who broke the bridge?" a Doctor from Lu Li Academy asked.

"Yes."

Jin Wusuan nodded. "It wasn’t difficult. My businesses were involved in the construction of many of the railways and bridges built around here.

"It didn’t take much effort to make the bridge appear to have collapsed naturally.

"Initially, what I hoped to see was you, Lu Qingya, personally killing your wife and children, your disciples and their followers, all in self-preservation.

"Or perhaps you, Lu Qingya, willing to take your own life to protect others.

"Unfortunately, the plan was disrupted."

"You madman," someone in the crowd scolded angrily. "For the sake of your personal revenge, you involved innocent common people! Their blood is on your hands!"

These words had no effect on someone who harbored a death wish and desperately wanted to die with his enemies.

Jin Wusuan’s expression was indifferent; he merely smiled dismissively and stared straight at Lu Qingya. "You, your wife and children, your disciples, and students, are all trapped in the Ghost Realm, weakening by the moment, edging closer to death.

"If you want to break free from the Ghost Realm, you’ll have to kill me—just like you failed to do thirty-three years ago."

Lu Qingya closed his eyes, his expression neither sorrowful nor joyful.

Within the Ghost Realm, Spiritual Energy could not be recovered. He had first unleashed his Candle Cloud-level Dragon Breath Technique, only to have his Spiritual Energy continuously extracted by an unknown number of Nightmares.

Now his Qi Sea was half empty.

He didn’t know if the remaining half would be enough to break through the Dream Eater’s Ghost Realm.

SWOOSH—

A Flying Sword cut through the sky, not from anyone from Lu Li Academy, but from a guard not far behind Jin Wusuan.

His expression fierce and murderous, he controlled the Flying Sword, aiming straight for Jin Wusuan’s head.

His revenge, nursed for decades? What does that have to do with me! I just want to survive.

The Flying Sword shot through the air, but Jin Wusuan’s butler was just an ordinary person. His eyes reflected the afterimage of the Longsword; he was too slow to utter a warning or move to block the blow for Jin Wusuan.

BUZZ!

The Longsword stopped abruptly, about an inch from the back of Jin Wusuan’s neck.

The entire Sword appeared frozen in midair, completely still, including the decorative tassel trailing from the hilt.

"You all guessed one thing wrong."

Jin Wusuan spoke slowly, his palm moving forward to touch something—an ancient bronze box covered in patina quietly emerged from thin air.

"The Dream Eater is much older and more powerful than you imagine."

Jin Wusuan slowly pushed the heavy lid of the bronze box.

As the patina on the box’s surface flaked off, the light in the room rapidly dimmed.

A powerful heartbeat emanated from within the box.

Something was awakening.

"Stop him!"

Chen Wanyi could no longer contain himself and rushed forward, his hands moving swiftly through a series of intricate and complex prayer gestures, summoning the Haotian Divine Light above Jin Wusuan’s head.

The scorching Divine Light fell. The furniture and floor around Jin Wusuan, even the stonework, melted under the intense heat.

Yet Jin Wusuan remained unharmed and continued to push open the lid of the bronze box.

THUMP!

Another violent heartbeat rang out from the bronze box, and Chen Wanyi’s figure suddenly froze, panic written across his face.

He found he couldn’t move his limbs, shift his gaze, or think clearly, as his thoughts rapidly dwindled as if frozen.

To the onlookers, the entire scene was even more horrifying—

Chen Wanyi first became rigid, then he began to move backward along the path he had just taken.

His stature shrank rapidly, his face quickly growing younger.

Thirty years old, twenty years old, ten years old.

When he returned to his original spot, he had become an infant, lying naked in the loose-fitting clothes of an adult, his eyes blank yet innocent, cooing and suckling on his finger.

"To perceive reality as a dream, to manipulate it at will. That is the power of the Dream Eater."

From beneath the lid Jin Wusuan had pushed open, a pair of beastly eyes suddenly lit up.