Chapter 233: Lost and Medici

Tuesday morning, Crown Cemetery.

Rekton changed into a slightly solemn black coat, and together with Klein held the freshly bought flowers, standing at the edge of the crowd.

Quietly watching Talim's coffin being carried over, receiving the soul's comfort, and then being gradually buried into the earth.

"Why did you come to attend Talim's funeral? You and he aren't exactly familiar, right?"

Klein tilted his head slightly, and voiced his confusion.

Rekton's expression was indifferent, as if grieving Talim's passing, but his lowered voice sounded slightly curious as he said:

"I'm somewhat curious what kind of accident 0-08 would arrange."

"Are you so sure all this was arranged by 0-08?"

Klein's voice was hoarse, masking the sadness and anger in his tone.

A living person, an optimistic and cheerful friend, suddenly died because of a ridiculous script written by others, and those who know cannot even clear his name.

"Trust your intuition."

Rekton said something somewhat ambiguous.

Klein fell silent, quietly scanning the whole scene; he saw Talim's mother standing there with swollen red eyes, trying several times to speak but breaking into sobs.

His father's hair was graying, his expression gaunt, clearly standing still yet giving a trembling, shaky impression.

Klein tilted his head slightly upward and closed his eyes.

When the mourners left one after another, the two walked over and placed the plain white flowers they held atop the stacked bouquets.

Then stepping aside to prepare to leave, the familiar reporter Mike and Dr. Allen approached Klein.

"How regrettable, I never expected Talim to— sigh..."

Mike whispered with a pained expression, his words unfinished.

The perpetually aloof Dr. Allen took off his glasses, wiped the corner of his eye, and sighed softly:

"He was a passionate fellow."

While Klein and his friends talked, Rekton's indifferent gaze swept the crowd.

He saw a figure of a woman dressed in a heavy black dress, wearing a face-covering veil.

She was calmly walking toward the front of Talim's grave, her gaze seemingly scanning the surroundings unintentionally, searching for someone, a bouquet of white flowers in hand.

Rekton moved slightly away from Klein and the others, lowering his voice to a soft murmur.

His voice was so faint that even those standing nearby could not hear what he said.

Yet the sounds rippled outward like water, reappearing in the expected spots as indistinct, gender‑unrecognizable whispers.

"Tris? Let me tell you something interesting. A certain sequence in the Hunter Path can turn a woman into a man; I think you must..."

Tris, who had just offered a white bouquet to Talim, froze mid‑action.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From nearby came successive explosions and the crowd's screams.

Rekton frowned slightly, turned his head, and saw that not far away some machinery seemed out of control, a force explosion occurring, startling nearby horses.

A gaze filled with intense malice swept the crowd, finally landing on him; Rekton's intuition was triggered, feeling the owner of that gaze was likely a demigod.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned his head toward Tris's direction; the woman in the heavy black dress that had been standing there had vanished.

0-08, did it not arrange me but instead create an accident to get rid of Tris? Rekton mused silently.

Only after that malicious gaze left him did he relax slightly.

A barely perceptible violet glint flashed in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings, finding nothing.

Retracting his gaze, Rekton shook his head helplessly, not knowing how much of what he just said Tris heard; the little interlude arranged by 0-08 surely prevented her from hearing the whole content.

He then walked slowly to the edge of the cemetery, preparing to wait for Klein.

After waiting a short while, just as Klein emerged, a black carriage with a covered compartment stopped before him; the carriage's emblem was skillfully concealed, revealing no noble house.

Prince Edsac—something just happened; he didn't leave with Tris? No, perhaps only the butler stayed behind.

After waiting a bit longer, Klein finally stepped out of the carriage; he gave a brief glance and saw Rekton still waiting not far away.

He hurried over, seeing few people around, and lowered his voice:

"I just saw the one who killed Talim; she had that ring on her hand, which could be a level‑0 sealing item."

Rekton, as he began to walk out of the cemetery, replied softly:

"In Beikeland, stumbling upon a saint or an angel is not unexpected at all; even a passing dog could be extraordinary, and its rank is not low."

Klein fell silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

After a joke, Rekton then answered Klein's question seriously:

"I've already greeted that Ms. Tris, but unfortunately 0-08 interfered; I don't know how much she heard."

"0-08? The explosion and accident just now?"

"Did you really just say hello and do nothing else?"

Klein asked with some suspicion.

Rekton shook his head lightly and said:

"The explosion just now seemed to disturb a passing demigod; its gaze has been fixed on me."

They flagged down a roadside carriage and returned to Mingsike Jie in Joewood District.

At dusk, Rekton was traversing the Spirit Realm.

Tonight is a full moon; he plans to find Lawrence before nightfall to have him recite the Fool's sacred name for protection, and if that fails, he'll seek the hidden sage's aid.

In a daze, he suddenly fell out of the Spirit Realm.

"Lost? Ha~ a cheap script!"

He barely needed to think; he knew he had been set up again.

A trace of vigilance rose silently in his heart, and his gaze lingered, scanning the surroundings. The nearby buildings seemed familiar; he must have been here before.

It was Williams Street at the junction of Beikeland's West District and Queen District. Lei Kedun quickly recalled the place, and subconsciously glanced at the ground beneath his feet.

"Are you looking for me?"

A teasing voice sounded beside Lei Kedun.

In the next instant, his figure turned instantly transparent, as if transformed into a statue formed from countless specks of starlight.

The statue immediately shattered, and brilliant star‑light flickered and surged, rushing toward the opposite side.

Blazing flames erupted in clusters, forcing the surging star‑light to halt.

Flickering shards of starlight quickly converged inward, revealing Lei Kedun's silhouette, his gaze fixed on the flamboyant red figure emerging from the flames ahead.

"Yo! So you're the follower of that dragon—no wonder you didn't dare enter the ruins in person last time; you're as cowardly as the god you worship!"

Lei Kedun felt he didn't truly revere the Knowledge God as a devotee, yet when Mei Di Qi's evil spirit uttered those words, an inexplicable fury rose within him, urging him to charge forward and pummel the opponent into the ground.

A hazy pale‑blue glow spread across Lei Kedun's eyes as his rationality instantly took command, suppressing his anger and other emotions in an instant.

"I despise that two‑five dragon; now I find you rather unsightly as well."

Mei Di Qi's voice was laden with oppression as he stepped closer, like a hunter toying with prey that had nowhere to run.

Lei Kedun felt his body and soul locked by the opponent, his body trembling instinctively. The hunter's gaze?

"Leo De."

"Shut up!"

A sharp, soul‑shaking voice roared suddenly.

The two faces of Mei Di Qi's evil spirit each split open a mouth, releasing the roars of Mei Di Qi and Soren, Einhorn at the same time—a sound far more terrifying than the wailing of the Fifth Sequence's vengeful souls.

Lei Kedun's mind went blank for a moment as intense stabbing pain and dizziness assaulted him, with bright red blood spilling from his nose and ears.

He hunched over, his vision a blur, forcing himself to endure the dizziness and stabbing pain radiating to his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Yet all he perceived was the scorching, blinding red rushing toward him.

"The Power of Knowledge"

He had only just begun to utter the sacred name, but could no longer produce any sound.

Lei Kedun felt his very soul searing with heat and stabbing pain.

"Meow~Wooo!"

A deafening sound suddenly blared, resembling a small cat's harsh roar, yet on closer listening it felt like a giant dragon's bellow.

It seemed to emanate from the depths of the soul, yet also to echo across an endless, lofty void.

"It's you... betrayal"

A faint voice rose intermittently, then quickly faded away.

When he came to his senses, Lei Kedun found himself at the banks of the Ta Suoke River, where a proud blue‑gray short‑tailed cat perched arrogantly on a stone pedestal, its bright amber eyes quietly fixed on Lei Kedun.

The moment he saw the short‑tailed cat, Lei Kedun reined in his thoughts and, with great respect, bowed and said:

"I am deeply grateful for your assistance."

"You are bold, daring to utter that tyrant's name outright; even though this is Beikeland, he would have no qualms, especially when confronting you and Mei Di Qi's evil spirit."

Lei Kedun fell silent for a brief moment, furrowing his brows, his voice a little hoarse as he said:

"I don't even know why my first reaction was this mutually destructive approach."

The short‑tailed cat tilted its head slightly, with a look that says you're quite ungracious, it said:

"The audience's influence doesn't forcibly change your thoughts; you already formed that idea the moment you saw that evil spirit. The audience merely amplifies it, affecting your judgment."

(End of Chapter)