Chapter 2: True and False
In the prison of the Law Enforcement Hall at the Heavenly Sword Sect, a male character and Fatty squatted in their cage, looking like they just participated in a bad comedy.
These days, besides the shabby meals served three times a day, the Law Enforcement Hall neither held trials nor mentioned release. It felt like they were left in a dark corner of the universe.
At first, the duo would occasionally shout “unjust!” while clinging to the bars, but after realizing that no one cared about their protests, they eventually gave up.
What can we do? Is s*icide the only option to leave the Heavenly Sword Sect?
But the pesky system didn’t even include “self-harm” as an option, and players couldn’t inflict harm upon themselves.
Once, Fatty got really desperate and tried to b*tt his head against the wall, hoping to achieve the ‘d*ath by headbutting’ achievement. Just as his head nearly made contact, the system forcibly kicked him offline.
He was banned for almost eight hours before he could log back in.
Of course, you could always choose to delete your account and start anew. But Fatty had just worked so hard to join the Heavenly Sword Sect; he could never bear to throw everything away.
With no other options, he and the male character sat side by side, pondering the mysteries of life.
“Bro, are we actually going to sit here until we wear the floor out? This is torture!” Fatty exclaimed.
The male character replied, “They’re keeping us here because they lack definitive evidence.”
“No evidence and yet we’re stuck here? What happened to justice?” Fatty was close to tears.
“When will this nightmare end? My live streaming room is losing viewers by the second!”
“The Master Sister might be working behind the scenes for us, just hang in there.”
“Guess we don’t have much choice.”
The male character was oddly grateful for the Law Enforcement Hall’s detainment; had they not imprisoned him, Lin Nan wouldn’t have given him control over this body.
Even stuck in prison, he had no complaints. After all, as a smidge of the system’s independent consciousness, he could still act freely—talk about a weird kind of perk!
These days, Lin Nan’s consciousness barely switched with his anymore; the male character had gradually become accustomed to this body, and the sword skills and intents he originally learned began to blend into him.
Finally, he felt like he could defend himself instead of being a helpless lamb all the time.
Just as the two neared running out of conversation topics, waiting for darkness to descend, the jail door unexpectedly swung open.
A faint pink figure appeared at the end of the dark corridor.
The male character and Fatty perked up, ears twitching as the familiar, sweet sound of footsteps drew closer.
Until that long-lost silhouette stopped right in front of their cage.
“Master Sister, we’re innocent!”
Upon seeing Luo Ying’s face, Fatty lunged at the bars, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The male character also howled like a baby, “Master Sister, it’s about time you visited! We’ve missed you so much. If you hadn’t shown up soon, we might have rotted here!”
Luo Ying smiled, “No matter what, you two are from my Falling Sunset Peak. How could I stand by and do nothing? Don’t worry, you’ll be out of here within a day. I’m just here to save you from overthinking.”
Both the male character and Fatty were so shocked with joy that they nearly hugged each other and started dancing n*ked.
“But… Before that, I need to hear one truth. If you still trust your Master Sister…”
A truth? What truth?
You’re the Master Sister of the Heavenly Sword Sect, for goodness’ sake! If I tell you I’m from the Monster Race, would you still protect me like this?
The male character’s mind raced with this thought.
Fatty blurted, “Master Sister, we’ve told the whole truth already; there’s nothing false. They just refuse to believe us!”
The male character nodded vigorously, “Yep! I may have only met Ru Yu from Yihong Courtyard a few times, but I fell in love at first sight. That’s why before her untimely demise, she entrusted me that jade pendant as her last keepsake.
I later returned to Yihong Courtyard because Ru Yu left behind a dowry, and I’d rather throw it all into the lake than let someone else take her hard work!”
Luo Ying gave him a knowing smile, “I heard from the Law Enforcement Hall that you guys were fierce enemies who would tear each other apart. But it seems like your relationship isn’t as tense as they say, even though you’re in the same cage…
Quite the opposite, it looks more intimate. Did you two conspire before being taken to the Law Enforcement Hall?”
Fatty said, “Master Sister, how could you say that? I could see from his eyes that he needed me to say something!”
“So it’s true that Ru Yu is alive…” Luo Ying continued.
“Yep… but she appeared floating on the water. Who knows if it was really her or just an illusion.”
The male character suddenly sensed something was off. “Fatty, you’re still holding a grudge against me, spreading rumors about me in front of the Master Sister. Ru Yu died long ago at the Heavenly Sword Sect!”
Fatty froze, hastily correcting himself, “Maybe I misread the situation. Could’ve just been someone impersonating her!”
Luo Ying chuckled lightly, “You guys don’t need to be so tense. As the head of Falling Sunset Peak, I just want to get to the bottom of the truth. Plus, I firmly believe that the monster attack on the main peak has nothing to do with you guys.
After all, you just entered the Small Thousand World, and you have yet to even figure out the layout. How could you cause trouble?”
“Exactly, exactly, that’s the whole truth!”
Fatty nodded frantically, seemingly trying to recover from his earlier blunders.
Luo Ying shifted her tone, “However, the reason the Law Enforcement Hall detained you here is that you previously had contact with the main suspect and can’t shake the suspicion. At this stage, the Law Enforcement Hall can’t prove you’re not traitors from the Monster Race, and neither can you prove your innocence, creating a vicious cycle!
Getting out of this cycle actually isn’t hard; we just need an external force to break it.”
With that, Luo Ying clapped her hands, and a figure dressed in white slowly walked in through the door.
As the light illuminated the figure’s face, both the male character and Fatty were taken aback.
The figure wore an iron mask, and bizarrely, there was no hole for their mouth or nose—just one solid piece! Who knows how this guy walks!
“This is an elder I invited from the Monster-Catching Tribe. He’s proficient in discerning demon energy. If you two aren’t from the Monster Race, I’ll request the Law Enforcement Hall to let you out afterward,” Luo Ying explained.
Fatty jumped forward eagerly, “Test me first; I’m definitely not a demon!”
The masked man approached Fatty, took one glance, and declared, “This person is definitely not from the Monster Race.”
The male character cautiously stepped closer to the iron bars, studying the mysterious masked man.
“It seems…”
The masked man suddenly shouted, “This person has demon energy! If he’s not a demon, he’s surely tied closely to the Monster Race!”
“Boom!”
Two guards rushed over, flinging the prison door open with force.
One guard kicked the male character to the ground, “Just as Elder Wang predicted! Drag him out for further questioning!”
Luo Ying opened her mouth but couldn’t offer any help. She wanted to exonerate him, but how could it turn out like this?
The male character remained silent, allowing them to drag him away.
Fatty yelled, “Hey, you’ve got it all wrong, hey, hey!”
Just as the guards were about to haul the male character out the door, the ground suddenly shook violently.
“Crash!”
A huge hole burst open in the prison wall, sunlight flooding in, making the prison feel much brighter instantly.
“Run!”
A Qing Yi suddenly appeared, blasting the two guards away, grabbing the male character’s arm and urging urgently, “Quickly, we need to go! I can’t hold them off much longer!”
Fatty’s eyes nearly popped out.
Could it really be her?
“Lady Siyan?”
Wasn’t she off gallivanting with that rich kid, leaving Yihong Courtyard? Why on Earth is she back at the Heavenly Sword Sect?
Too bad Master and the masked man were still right there, and if he rushed in, he might endanger Lin Nan, so he could only stew in his own anxiety.
The male character didn’t seem surprised at all.
In fact, he forcefully shook off Lady Siyan’s hand coldly, saying, “I’m a person of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Why would I leave with an outsider?”
Lady Siyan cried, “Are you stupid? They’re clearly trying to trick you! If you stay here, you’re dead meat! Hurry, we need to go! I can’t hold them off much longer!”
Just then, the masked man shouted, “She’s a half-demon—catch her!”
Not just Luo Ying, but various disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall rushed in.
Lady Siyan wielded her sword, and a brawl erupted between her and Luo Ying.
Seeing more attackers swarm in, Lady Siyan had no choice but to push Luo Ying back with a sword and suddenly howled to the skies, transforming into a massive Silver Fox.
The prison began to crumble and fall apart amidst the chaos.
Everyone’s attention turned to the roaring Silver Fox, and more disciples filled the skies to offer support.
Fatty quickly dashed over to the injured male character, whispering, “If we don’t leave now, there might never be another chance!”
The male character looked up at Fatty but unexpectedly shook his head.
“If I run, I’m only confirming the Law Enforcement Hall’s accusations against me!”
Fatty exclaimed, “Then what do we do? That masked man just said you have demon energy! I doubt this suspicion will clear up anytime soon.”
Nearby, the Silver Fox shrieked repeatedly under the collective attack, clearly nearing its limit.
“Run, let’s go already!”
Suddenly, the Silver Fox lunged, shaking the entire mountain peak.
Even the Master Sister was caught off guard and became dazed; the ordinary disciples fell flat on the ground.
Fatty pulled the male character, panic etched on his face. “Let’s go! If we don’t, we’ll miss our chance!”
But Fatty never expected that the male character would kick him from behind, toppling him over.
“What are you doing?!”
Fatty scrambled back up, exasperated, “Have you lost your mind?!”
“Enough with the act! Are you done yet?!” the male character sneered.
In that instant, everything around them seemed to freeze in time, allowing only the male character to move freely.
“Interesting, how did you catch on?” a voice echoed from above.
“Honestly, each of you mimicked the real deal perfectly, indistinguishable, but you overlooked one detail: Master Sister Luo Ying has a notorious fondness for alcohol. Yet, I didn’t catch a whiff of booze from her, and that’s when I began to suspect everything I saw and heard was a scheme—a test from you all.”
“You just wanted to prove that if I took the chance to escape during the chaos, it would confirm I was guilty, right?”
…
“Who would’ve thought that such a well-prepared script would fall apart due to an inconspicuous detail?”
…
The male character jolted awake from his reverie, facing none other than the masked man he had seen in his dream.
Is this guy behind everything?
The masked man stood up, “I am Lei Wanying, an elder of the Monster-Catching Tribe. My apologies if I’ve offended you.”
Luo Ying awkwardly stood by, blowing warm air into her hands, “Hey, I’m just asking, is the smell of alcohol really that strong?”
The male character replied, “Um…”
“Elder Wang, can I take them with me now?”
Fortunately, Luo Ying didn’t linger on that point but pressed Elder Wang Qianshan, who looked deep in thought.
“Very well, let’s call it a day. But should the Law Enforcement Hall need to question you two in the future, please cooperate.”
“Of course.”
Luo Ying waved casually at the male character and Fatty, “Let’s go! We’re going home!”
