Chapter 47: Forty-one, you shouldn’t have had the courage to come back
Chapter 47: Forty-one, you shouldn’t have had the courage to come back
“Cough, cough, cough… cough, cough, cough…”
In the cramped carriage, a passenger cloaked entirely in a black robe had been coughing incessantly since boarding, occasionally even coughing up blood, which made people suspect he might be suffering from some disease; everyone subconsciously kept their distance.
Only a little girl came closer, cautiously offering a handkerchief, “Sir, are you feeling unwell? I have…”
Before the girl could finish, the black-robed passenger growled, “What are you pretending for,” startling the girl so much she almost dropped the handkerchief.
The person in the robe then belatedly lifted his head, saw the pale-faced girl, and seemed to understand something, unconsciously shaking his head, “Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you.”
Not talking to you?
...
Then who were you talking to?
The passengers in the carriage felt the man in the black robe was not only physically unwell but perhaps mentally, too.
Ulu didn’t know how to explain because, at the moment the little girl spoke to him, Bai Wei was also asking him about his condition in his mind, causing him to be uncertain about whom to respond to, which led him to mistakenly respond to the little girl. After the mistake, Ulu thought he heard a mocking laugh deep within himself, but he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.
“Sorry, no need,” Ulu said to the little girl, “Resting more will do.”
After rejecting the girl, Ulu heard Bai Wei’s voice again, “You’re too tense, both mentally and physically. You need to relax.”
Ulu coldly thought, “Isn’t my condition your doing?”
“Yes,” Bai Wei responded lightly, “Without me, you’d probably be lying in the dirt, not worrying about your condition worsening.”
Ulu was at a loss for words and fell silent again before speaking up once more, “Visas, are you really going to keep our deal?”
“Tsk, your attitude has really changed,” Bai Wei didn’t immediately answer the question but drawled instead, “You used to call me ‘Lord Visas’, and now you’re addressing me by name?”
“Why should I use honorifics for a dangerous creature that wants to take my life?” Ulu said coldly.
“Ha, fair point,” Ulu saw his left hand’s ring finger shrug through the gestures of his index and middle fingers, causing a slight twitch in his mouth, “But it doesn’t matter; I’ve never cared much for formality anyway, not nearly as much as your gods do. Next time you face trouble, pray to your god. They might come to save you.”
Ulu was left speechless once again.
He had to admit, in terms of eloquence, the gap between him and Bai Wei might be as vast as their power.
“Arguing with you is truly pointless; you always end up silent,” Bai Wei shrugged again, “Let’s get back to business then. You asked whether I would keep our deal… isn’t that obvious? I proposed the deal, how could I possibly break it?”
“Who knows?”
“Well, don’t underestimate me. If I ever were to deceive, the gods would be my targets, not you,” Bai Wei stated, “Actually, I don’t think even the gods are worthy of that, at least not any single god.”
Only the gods are worth deceiving, this statement sounded rather arrogant, but remembering it was Visas who said it, even Ulu couldn’t find fault in it.
Thinking it over, during the time Bai Wei had been possessing his body, he indeed hadn’t lied about anything.
That was the most terrifying part—the complete absence of lies, yet Ulu had nearly offered up half of his body, a true master of manipulation.
So, Ulu felt he must confirm it once more with Bai Wei. He said in a grave tone, “We agreed, I bring you to Somo City, help you find your next Corpse Block, and you must…”
“Tell you the cause of your mother’s death,” Bai Wei said flatly, “Rest assured.”
“Not just tell me, but let me see it with my own eyes,” Ulu stated. “Although you claim to disdain deception, I still don’t trust any of your words. I must… see it with my own eyes.”
“Of course, that’s part of the deal.”
Once again trading with Bai Wei, Ulu didn’t know if he would regret it. When Bai Wei had proposed the trade previously, a voice in his subconscious seemed to warn him to stay away from this deal, to keep away from an abyss from which there was no return.
…Yet, he found he couldn’t refuse.
In his memory, his mother had died from hunger and disease, apparently unrelated to anyone else. But Bai Wei clearly didn’t think so; he said he knew the truth.
Ulu was drawn in by this so-called truth and had stepped onto this path that he might never be able to turn back from.
“There’s more,” Ulu said, “you can’t deliberately lead me into dangerous places and force me to use your power to fight… If that happens again, I’d rather be killed by Rhein’s men than hand you over.”
“Heh, it seems you’ve thought a lot these past few days and have gleaned quite some experience,” Bai Wei said with a light laugh. “Rest assured, this time I won’t force you to use my power. Moreover, I’ll show you many more things; consider them a bonus.”
Ulu didn’t care what the bonus Bai Wei was talking about was; he now clearly understood that to obtain something, one had to pay a certain price: “After the transaction is completed…”
“You can cut me out, I won’t stop you,” Bai Wei said with a half-smile, “if you really decide to do it then.”
Ulu ignored Bai Wei’s words; he now understood that to face Bai Wei, he had to stay true to himself and not chase after seemingly more enticing things; that was his only way to survive.
Nothing was more important than survival.
Ulu thought.
Then he fell into a deep sleep; he was simply too exhausted these days, so even the rocking carriage couldn’t diminish his sleepiness.
He slept, but restlessly, dreaming many dreams and seeing many things.
For example… his mother.
It had been twenty years since he last dreamed of his mother; he had almost forgotten what she looked like.
When he was vaguely awakened by someone, he saw a Rhein Knight in armor standing in front of him.
Ulu blinked, slightly disoriented, then quickly came to his senses. Realizing that he wasn’t dreaming, a cold sweat broke out instantly.
But the knight only gave him one look, said nothing, walked around inside the carriage, and then after declaring “No forbidden items found,” he jumped down from the carriage.
Ulu still sat there, stunned, evidently not having grasped what had just happened.
Bai Wei’s voice timely resounded, “It seems that Lord Bishop hasn’t put out your portrait for a wanted notice.”
Ulu asked subconsciously, “Why?”
“Because that way, everyone would know who and what the person who took the Visas Corpse Pieces looks like,” Bai Wei said with a smile, “They would rather have you running around than let other churches know your information.”
That was when Ulu realized the carriage had stopped; that must have been a routine check.
Which meant…
He hurriedly opened the carriage window and looked outside. @@novelbin@@
The towering Somo City stood before him.
“But not letting other churches know is one thing; even the knights of Somo City not recognizing you, do you know why that is?”
Ulu stayed silent for a while, then said, “Because they didn’t expect me to dare come back.”
“Yes,” Bai Wei drawled, “because Lord Bishop apparently thinks… a worm shouldn’t have the courage to come back.”
Ulu didn’t speak, his gaze fixed on the city he had long aspired to, and then he silently closed the window and shut his eyes.
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