Chapter 1597 – Capturing Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (Part 11)
Lü Zheng asked him, “Can I ask—who exactly are you now?”
Hua Yuan replied, “This body belongs to my younger brother, so who do you think I am?”
Lü Zheng understood; Hua Yuan was once again imagining himself as his deceased older brother.
“Next time, it won’t be you coming to me for help, right?”
With all the trouble he’s causing, did he owe Hua Yuan a fortune in his past life?
“Absolutely not,” Hua Yuan’s older brother scoffed. “Only spineless useless people would seek your help.”
Lü Zheng asked again, “You said ‘Liu Xi’ is crazily killing people—what happens to those she kills?”
“If you’re killed, then naturally, you’re dead.” The other side retorted, “What else would you think?”
Hua Yuan’s condition was serious; there were more split personalities than just the ones Wei Ci knew about. Many weak personalities existed but never had the chance to surface. These personalities were timid, cowardly, and weak—they were no match for the ‘Liu Xi’ personality.
The earlier a personality split off, the stronger it typically was, and the longer it had been around, like Hua Yuan’s older brother and Ge Lin.
The ‘Liu Xi’ personality chose not to attack these weaker personalities; instead, it sought to absorb them to enhance itself, waiting for a chance to take the lead.
After all, in the mind of this personality, it believed it was the true ‘Liu Xi’, wrongfully betrayed and usurped.
To reclaim everything, the ‘Liu Xi’ personality had to possess the real body, making it imperative to eliminate other personalities first.
Lü Zheng didn’t understand all this, but he instinctively sensed something was off, leaving him with a splitting headache.
Those concepts of ‘Liu Xi’, ‘older brother’, ‘lover’, and ‘legal wife’… were all figments of Hua Yuan’s fractured mind, essentially just different facets of Hua Yuan himself. What a remarkable man—he not only betrayed himself but was on a quest to destroy himself. Impressive!
After a while, Lü Zheng received another message from Hua Yuan, but this time it was not a plea for help.
“You… who are you again?” Lü Zheng stared at Hua Yuan’s face, whose eyes were sinister, and thin lips were tightly pressed together—clearly not the real Hua Yuan, more like that guy who almost choked Lü Zheng to death earlier. Lü Zheng hesitated for a moment and cautiously asked, “Are you… Ge Lin?”
This guy, Ge Lin, was known for his relentless slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people from Nan Man and even sent people to forcibly abort pregnant women captured from Nan Sheng. Lü Zheng despised him even more than the real Hua Yuan, but thinking of him as a madman tangled his emotions.
Those women and children were utterly innocent!
They were originally women of Nan Sheng, victimized by the incompetence of the local men that allowed foreign invaders to overpower them, turning them into casualties of war. Stripped of all purpose except for breeding, they were tortured by Nan Man. After becoming pregnant, they were abandoned by their original Nan Sheng kin.
Simply because they bore the bloodline of Nan Man, they were condemned to have their unborn children forcibly aborted—death for both.
Realizing that the Hua Yuan before him was Ge Lin, Lü Zheng lost the desire to converse. He didn’t stab this bastard with his sword, which was quite the restraint.
“Don’t you want to know why I sought you out?”
Lü Zheng didn’t want to chat, but Ge Lin initiated the conversation.
Lü Zheng sneered, “Could it be that ‘Liu Xi’ wants to kill you too?”
Ge Lin replied, “Yes, I’ve been dodging her for a long time, but I have this feeling that I’m ultimately going to meet my end at her hands.”
Lü Zheng questioned, “What do you want from me?”
If Ge Lin were to perish, it would be a great relief, plus it would also pay back the debt for Lü Zheng’s nearly fatal encounter last time.
Ge Lin sneered, “That’s ‘Liu Xi’.”
Lü Zheng replied in confusion, “And what of it?”
Ge Lin stated, “‘Liu Xi’ is a lord of Dongqing, right? She doesn’t harbor any goodwill towards your lord and noble An Huan.”
Lü Zheng’s heart sank; he finally began to recognize the underlying problem.
Ge Lin flashed a mocking smile and said, “You probably figured it out; I am Ge Lin, but I’m not exactly Ge Lin.”
Each split personality initially firmly believes in its own identity. The moment they begin to doubt themselves, they are not far from collapse. Hua Yuan may be a madman, but he possesses a protective instinct. As more personalities split from him, he subconsciously engages in self-preservation, such as generating a robust personality—a personality that can devour the others.
When Hua Yuan went to Dongqing and encountered Jiang Pengji, the personalities within him trembled in her spiritual presence.
Thus, Hua Yuan’s instinct for self-preservation created ‘Liu Xi’.
Unexpectedly, this ‘Liu Xi’ had a stronger and more terrifying self-awareness than the other personalities; she wanted to “usurp the nest”!
Once she absorbed all the split personalities, she could very well replace the primary one.
At that time, who would be the most dangerous?
Naturally, it would be An Huan.
Lü Zheng replied, “I have noticed, but what significance does that hold?”
Ge Lin said, “It’s simple: I implore you to do one thing—draw your sword and kill me.”
Lü Zheng, confused, hesitated with his sword in hand.
“Why?”
“Why? Naturally, I want to conclude my life with dignity while I’m still lucid. Hua Yuan is a pitiful, tragic, and detestable person. Living is worse than dying sooner; at least it offers some relief.” Ge Lin sneered, “If you don’t act now, you will surely regret it later.”
After saying this, Ge Lin turned and left.
In the following days, Lü Zheng no longer saw him.
Not just Ge Lin, the often-appearing ‘Hua Yuan’s older brother’ also vanished, replaced instead by the weary and pale original Hua Yuan. Each personality that manifested from Hua Yuan had distinct characteristics, making them easy to distinguish.
In contrast to the older brother’s vengeful and ruthless nature, the real Hua Yuan was gentle and approachable but somewhat timid.
Lü Zheng curiously asked how Hua Yuan had been doing lately.
The response shocked Lü Zheng.
Hua Yuan said, “Recently, it’s nothing else, just… often waking up from a nightmare…”
“Nightmare? What sort of dreams are so terrifying?”
Hua Yuan weakly smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed about being scared awake from nightmares.
“In my dream, there seems to be a woman chasing after me with a knife, repeatedly forcing me into desperate circumstances. Sigh… it truly is terrifying…”
Lü Zheng’s growing sense of dread intensified as he began to see traces of ‘Liu Xi’ in Hua Yuan.
As a young girl, Liu Xi had studied in Langya for three years; Lü Zheng had naturally seen her, and they had interacted quite a bit.
When Hua Yuan displayed a roguishly familiar smirk, identical to hers, Lü Zheng knew the situation was dire.
Unfortunately, this impostor ‘Liu Xi’ had great skill, solidifying An Huan’s position as the number one figure under his command, gaining An Huan’s trust.
Under the pressure of this impostor, Lü Zheng, the old minister, was slowly becoming marginalized, barely able to get a word in with An Huan.
Lü Zheng felt on the verge of vomiting blood.
What on earth did this counterfeit ‘Liu Xi’ intend to achieve?
When he heard ‘Liu Xi’ and An Huan were discussing strategic arrangements for Dongqing throughout the night, Lü Zheng sensed impending doom.
Would An Huan really fall victim to this manipulative plot?
