Who hid My Corpse!

Chapter 87: Three, what do you want to see then?

The caravan rested under the starry sky.

The Lyra Knight on night watch duty looked anxiously at Gerard, who was sitting at the other end, gazing at a pocket watch, lost in thought.

The matter concerning Archbishop Rhein Corey had been clarified, and the knights of Lyra knew that the bishop had not been killed by Gerard, but was already dead when Gerard arrived. Although this explanation sounded magical, almost like a fabricated tale, Rhein was in chaos without the archbishop, and the city was busy hunting the murderer, with no time to explain the details to Lyra.

In other words, their mission had failed again.

Gerard was still very much alive, even having outlasted Rhein’s archbishop.

Thinking about this made the Lyra Knight find Gerard even more terrifying.

A “snap” sound.

The knight startled and immediately looked up to see Gerard closing his pocket watch and walking toward his own carriage.

The knight realized this signaled the end of his watch duty.

In any team, camping outdoors required at least one night watchman—it was basic common sense.

However, no one had ever assigned this role to Gerard, simply because no one trusted him. Despite this, Gerard would still list himself and conscientiously take his turn at night watch. Even if no one needed him, even if those with him felt not safe but tense, he persisted as if he were a malfunctioning but stubborn machine operating alone.

Such a machine would be discarded in Rhein, and Lyra also wanted to rid itself of Gerard, but they had never succeeded.

Now Gerard had gone back, indicating it was time to change shifts. The knight turned around and, indeed, saw another knight yawning as he stepped out of his carriage, looking half asleep.

Until Gerard, passing by, oddly remarked, “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

The knight jumped in fright, instantly more alert. He subconsciously looked toward Gerard, but the latter had already returned to his carriage, leaving only the tightly shut carriage door visible.

The two knights exchanged glances, then shrugged simultaneously, accustomed to the norm.

Gerard returned to his own carriage, curled up on the edge of the bed, and looked up at the star-filled night sky.

Then slowly, he raised his hand toward his left eye.

With his finger, he peeled off a thin film covering the eyeball, and instantly, his brown pupil shone brightly, outshining even the star-filled night sky.

Simultaneously, he felt the whole world become clear and visible.

Things he could not see before, he could now.

The magic power filling the air, the pulsating arcane energy, seemed to unveil another side of the world for this eye, revealing all truths in detail.

Even Gerard was deeply captivated by this feeling, so much so that during the day, he was several times tempted to remove the feigned eye film to behold the real world. Yet, he suppressed the thought, realizing the eye was addictive.

From Gerard’s experience, anything addictive was tremendously harmful.

In the Polluted Land, such cases were far too common.

And the owner of this eye had even claimed to be… that legendary existence.

This made Gerard feel even more endangered. A lifetime of battling pollution screamed warnings at him, making him involuntarily raise his hand, reaching for the eye again.

Just then, a voice he hadn’t heard for two days echoed in his mind, “You are more bewildered than I imagined, Gerard… How many times have you thought about removing this eye?”

Gerard’s actions froze, and he coldly replied, “You said you needed to rest.”

“Yes, I am resting,” Bai Wei said lazily, “But rest doesn’t mean I am completely asleep. I am still watching this world, through this eye.”

The cost of fulfilling Ulu’s last wish was heavier than Bai Wei had anticipated.

He had sustained that broken body with his soul for too long, a risky act, and though he managed to deliver the eye and fingers to Gerard, he had to rest for two days due to the excessive strain, nearly missing his chance to manipulate Gerard… no, rather, to guide the novice, on how to use his Corpse Blocks.

Thus, he had seen Gerard, more than once or twice, ponder about removing the eye but ultimately deciding against it.

This had confirmed Bai Wei’s judgment of Gerard—ambiguity.

“You still haven’t reattached my finger,” Bai Wei said slowly, “or do you not want to?”

His left middle finger remained inside the pocket of Gerard’s coat liner.

“Why would I reattach your finger?” Gerard asked coldly.

“That question can be replaced with ‘why do humans pursue power?'” Bai Wei said with a smile. “For the vast majority, that is hardly a question at all. Take for example the Archbishop of Rhein; once he possessed this eye, he naturally wanted to find the remaining Corpse Blocks. By the way, your stance on this eye is much firmer than his; at least you know to cover it up, while the Archbishop would rather use it as a lightbulb.”

Gerard did not pick up on Bai Wei’s words, and instead asked, “Was it you who killed Archbishop Corey?”

“Yes, but also no. I merely facilitated a trade, provided a game,” Bai Wei said with a smile. “The Archbishop was the loser, the other person was the winner… the one you buried.”

Gerard recalled that corpse.

Even in his lifelong dealings with the Polluted Land, he had never seen a body like that.

As if everything had been burned away, even a rotting shell seemed more alive than it.

“You call that outcome a winner?”

“At least before his death, he believed he had won,” Bai Wei said. “A grand victory.”

“…I see,” Gerard said slowly, absorbing Bai Wei’s words. “I finally understand what you are.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“You are… ‘pollution’,” Gerard said. “I was never quite sure before, but now, I am certain.”

Gerard’s words momentarily startled Bai Wei, but then he laughed, “So that’s it, you’ve always seen me as a source of pollution? You don’t believe I am Visas?”

“Whether or not you are Visas has nothing to do with whether you are a source of pollution,” Gerard said calmly. “I may not know Visas, but I understand contamination. Only pollution lures innocent people to their doom, making them undertake self-destructive actions, even if they lose consciousness, even if they turn into monsters, they don’t look back, thinking they’ve won a grand victory.”

“Interesting, very interesting,” Bai Wei admired. “A true expert in combating pollution!”

Gerard remained silent, but he was now sure of his own judgement; typically, once unmasked, a source of pollution would become frantic and hysterical.

So he quietly gripped the dagger inside his coat, ready to remove the eye at the first sign of trouble.

But he had not expected Bai Wei to remain calm, instead asking softly, “If that’s the case, Sir Gerard, why then do you come near me?”

Gerard’s body tensed.

That left eye, bright as a star, was slowly enlarging.

“Are you an innocent person?”

“What do you wish to see with this eye of mine?”

After a moment, Gerard slowly loosened his grip on the dagger, turned his head away again, and looked up at the vast night sky filled with stars.

Gerard’s reaction pleased Bai Wei, who did not say anything more to overcomplicate things but simply reflected on Gerard in his mind.

Knight of the Night Star, Gerard.

Once the greatest hero of the Lyra Sect, the first champion against pollution.

But one day ten years ago, he madly led his Night Star Team into the deepest parts of the polluted area, causing unimaginable losses and thus considered the greatest traitor of Lyra.

So what do you want to achieve?

And what are you willing to sacrifice for it?

Bai Wei chuckled softly before falling into silence, leaving Gerard to sit alone in the cramped carriage until dawn.

Two days later, the caravan saw the gigantic tower that seemed to connect heaven and earth, and the city sheltered beneath it.

Lyra, they had arrived.