Chapter 170: Aftermath of the Incident

On Mingsike Jie, in the bedroom of the house Lei Kedun rents, Lei Kedun's figure quickly took shape.

"I wonder if Beiernadai will come looking for me to ask about today's matter?"

"Hmm, probably not. At that time she sealed off the surroundings and the spirit realm, cutting my link with the little paper person, which triggered the self‑destruct measure I had left on the little paper person."

She muttered a couple of words softly, took off the coat she was wearing and hung it on the coat rack beside her.

After a quick wash in the bathroom, Lei Kedun lay down on the bed to sleep.

Crimson moonlight streamed through the glass window, scattering across the bedroom and casting a tranquil atmosphere.

In his deep slumber, Lei Kedun once again fell into a profound dream.

The vague figure who called himself Sasilier became slightly clearer; the surrounding scene was the interior of an ancient, grand palace, where it sat quietly on a tall golden chair, gazing at the sunset outside.

Lei Kedun's silhouette floated within the palace, jarringly like an incongruous intruder.

"Is this the Dusk Sanctuary?"

Lei Kedun looked puzzled at the vague figure perched high on the palace's uppermost seat.

"This is the Dusk Sanctuary from my memory."

The vague figure replied with a sentence, then rose from the seat and walked step by step toward Lei Kedun, speaking as it moved:

"I didn't expect that, besides you and that Luo Sai Er, this era still has an Old Remnant, and that remnant is also one of the successors left by the former Mysterious Secret."

"The calm that only skims the surface is about to be shattered; in the short time ahead, this world will enter the final revelry before the apocalypse!"

The other's words were completely flat, yet Lei Kedun's expression involuntarily grew solemn, as if he had already seen the future.

After two seconds of silence, Lei Kedun gathered his emotions and said:

"With your help, how long can I fully wield the sage‑type power within my body?"

"Less than thirty seconds; that's the limit your body can endure."

The vague figure's voice remained steady as it said.

Lei Kedun nodded slightly; less than thirty seconds is already considerably longer than the ten‑something seconds he had expected.

The vague figure stopped a little over a meter in front of Lei Kedun; although its outline was blurry, Lei Kedun could still sense that it stood about half a head taller than himself.

He pursed his lips slightly, changed the subject, and asked:

"Will the avatar of the True Creator instinctively resist when faced with a mortal threat?"

"The mad consciousness will resist to some degree, but not strongly; with the two sages combined and my own will cooperating, killing this avatar won't be too hard."

"Mm." Lei Kedun nodded at the remark, finding the other's words credible.

He hopes the Goddess of the Night's descent will be a bit slower then.

The vague figure proactively raised another topic:

"Do you intend to support that Old Remnant in becoming the new Lord of the Mysteries?"

"You can't possibly support A Meng, can you?"

Lei Kedun stared unflinchingly at the other and retorted.

The vague figure showed no particular expression—perhaps there was one, but it was too vague to see.

Seeing no response, Lei Kedun continued:

"A Meng clearly chose Ya Dang over you!"

The vague figure seemed to pause briefly, unsure whether it was saddened by its own great son or reminded of its other divine half.

The vague figure finally said only, "He does not acknowledge my identity."

"If you let A Meng become the Lord of the Mysteries, are you sure you won't be worse than the one who returned before?"

Lei Kedun kept speaking, trying to persuade this father.

The vague figure didn't answer, only said:

"Before they truly begin vying for the Lord of the Mysteries' position, I will not interfere!"

Lei Kedun waved his hand, making no further attempt to speak.

Another topic concluded; Lei Kedun and the vague figure stared at each other in silence, neither willing to speak again.

After a long silence, Lei Kedun finally broke the quiet:

"Are there new paths adjacent to the existing twenty‑two paths in the starry sky?"

"Yes! I don't know the specifics, but the outer gods that dominate the starry sky—apart from the few who wish to reclaim their lost authority—are all there to obtain powers similar to their own."

"However, absorbing more authority can elevate the Old's rank and strength, but it cannot surpass the Pillar."

The vague figure answered in great detail.

Lei Kedun nodded slightly; this matched his conjecture, and then he posed another question:

"If an ordinary Old absorbs more authority, could it become a new Pillar? Or would it simply lose control?"

The vague figure shook its head and said:

"There are only four definitive Pillar ranks; any other Old that takes in more authority can only boost its own strength and power, but no new Pillar rank will arise unless it chooses to lose control, allowing the original to awaken within itself."

Lei Kedun understood and nodded.

The next morning, Lei Kedun held today's newspaper at the dining table, eating breakfast while reading reports on the serial murder case:

"Case 12!"

"The demon reappears, another lady victim, the murderer has already been executed!"

"Gas explosion, the serial killer got caught up and died at the crime scene."

In an inconspicuous spot of today's paper, there was a brief mention of the kingdom museum theft.

"The long‑blamed gas explosion finally played the hero today."

Lei Kedun sighed in a mocking tone.

He then set the newspaper aside and continued his breakfast.

At the same time, inside the Kingdom Museum.

In the restored Luo Se'er study, the captain of the Mechanical Heart Squad, Maikesi Liweimoer, who carried a single‑lens glasses seal, asked the squad members:

"Confirm that only two bookmarks were stolen?"

"Yes, only those two bookmarks were stolen," the questioned squad member replied with certainty.

An elderly man in a white priest robe and a clergy soft hat, standing before the desk, stared at the desk for a long while.

He then turned his body and said calmly:

"Last night there was more than one person here—at least two, perhaps three—each opposed to the other."

"One of them may have a rank even higher than mine, another strangely fled, and the third seemed not a normal being, perhaps a consciousness inhabiting an object."

"I cannot reconstruct the whole scene, but I can see many details; this matter is more complicated than we imagined!"

"Your Excellency, Archbishop," Maikesi Liweimoer was about to say something else.

But the elder called Archbishop waved his hand, glanced again at the two books from which the bookmarks were taken, and sighed:

"I know why they stole the bookmarks; we were all deceived by Luo Se'er."

Just now, Ke Lai En, who had returned to his body above the Grey Mist, stretched a bit and went downstairs for breakfast.

He had taken a bite of a crisp, fragrant corn tortilla when the house's front door was suddenly pushed open.

Ke Lai En turned his head instantly; Leike Dun entered holding a newspaper.

Ke Lai En hurriedly swallowed the tortilla, glanced at the undamaged door behind Leike Dun, and said:

"How did you open my house's door?"

"A gentle push, and it opened."

Leike Dun extended his hand and mimed pushing the door.

Ke Lai En looked at him suspiciously and then said:

"Did you analyze the Universal Key's door‑opening ability?"

"It is indeed a door‑opening ability, but not derived from the Universal Key; my crow can open doors too."

Leike Dun walked to the dining room, pulled out a chair, sat down, and replied.

Ke Lai En was stunned, then recalled the night before last when he used the Universal Key to escape the house and the crow had managed to follow him.

Leike Dun handed the newspaper to Ke Lai En, placing the page reporting the Kingdom Museum theft at the top.

He raised an eyebrow at Ke Lai En and said:

"Your movements are quite fast!"

Ke Lai En's first reaction was to deny it, but then he thought it unnecessary.

After hesitating, he asked:

"How do you know it was me?"

"Guess what Bernadette and I were talking about at the time?"

Leike Dun did not answer directly, but replied with a question.

Ke Lai En's face stiffened; he carefully recalled last night's scene and saw no one besides Bernadette.

Finally, the image in Ke Lai En's mind fixed on the small paper figure lying on the manuscript, crudely cut but bearing strange patterns.

"Are you that paper figure?"

Leike Dun nodded slightly and said:

"Yesterday during the day I left a coordinate there, intending to fetch the bookmark at night and run, but it happened to fall in front of Bernadette."

Without waiting for Ke Lai En to sigh, Leike Dun gave him a half‑smile and continued:

"Then, while Bernadette and I were chatting, another strange spirit came, grabbed something, and fled."

"Um," Ke Lai En scratched his head awkwardly; he hadn't figured out how to explain his appearance as a spirit and sudden disappearance.

An elder in my family passed away, so updates will be sparse these two days; I'll find time later to catch up.

(End of chapter)