Chapter 408: Leaving the Book World

When the few were at an impasse, Lei Kedun cleared his throat lightly, drawing everyone's attention before speaking:

"Ahem, would you like to hear my suggestion?"

"The most suitable places to collect lifespans are the chaotic seas and the southern continent, but the storms at sea are currently volatile; the warlord‑ruled, colonized southern continent is relatively safer."

"If it were this ascetic in the past, he could still receive help from the True Creator Church over there; that should be your best option."

Si Nuoman shook his head, his voice calm as he explained:

"I will not arbitrarily strip another's life; stealing another's lifespan is an evil act, despised by the Lord."

"Huh, follower of the false god, then you can stay in this book world and rot and stink!"

Xia Tasi, rather irritable, opened with a mocking remark.

Si Nuoman lowered his head, ignoring Xia Tasi's words, and in a serene, prayer‑like tone said:

"The Lord is merciful, is great; He created everything, the source of all greatness."

"Hmph! He is merely a false god who stole the storm's authority!"

Xia Tasi's voice deepened a bit; electric sparks leapt along her jet‑black hair.

"Xia Tasi, calm down, calm down~"

Mo Beite quickly stepped forward to soothe Xia Tasi, while Long Ze Er, standing beside Si Nuoman, pulled the still‑praying ascetic away.

Fo Si and Ao Daili looked at each other bewildered; for a moment they couldn't tell whether the relations among these people were good or bad.

Lei Kedun gently shook his head, looked at Si Nuoman and said: "Your Lord now probably needs some help; He lacks manpower, and there are many followers of evil gods there that need clearing. They are mostly indulgent, aberrant extraordinary beings."

Si Nuoman's gaze remained steady on Lei Kedun; after a long while, when Lei Kedun wondered if he needed to notarize something, Si Nuoman turned his eyes to Mo Beite and said calmly:

"I will not use methods that steal others' lifespans."

"I won't either; that is a technique only possessed by the Sequence‑One Time Worm, but the old man surely has a way."

Mo Beite patted Si Nuoman's shoulder, a relaxed smile appearing on his face as he spoke.

Lun Na De's gaze swept over the now‑calmed Xia Tasi, finally landing on Mo Beite, and in a hoarse voice reminiscent of Pa Lie Si he said: "I will give you a magical item, but you'd better stay within your Lord's sight; it may attract an avatar of A Meng due to the convergence effect."

Standing nearby, Lei Kedun voiced his plan: "I will arrange for him to follow Sasilier, after all he is a person of the Third Era, and it's hard for him to blend in with the others."

Si Nuoman's eyes fell on Lei Kedun and Lun Na De, he pressed his lips together, and ultimately said nothing. Perhaps the Lord truly has already returned, or is about to return.

While pondering, he performed the prayer gesture again, devoutly praying to the Ancient Sun God.

Lei Kedun scanned the surroundings with his gaze, then stepped toward the deep‑blue door adorned with mysterious patterns and said:

"Let's leave first; after I remodel this book world, you can come back to play again."

"Don't worry, there will no longer be a Hall of Honesty like before."

"From your tone, 'Mr. White Tower', you say that without any sincerity."

Ao Daili lifted her skirt lightly, her voice cheerful as she said.

Beckland, the restaurant of Tulip Manor.

A mysterious door of deep‑blue light suddenly opened; Lei Kedun, Ke Lai En and the others emerged one after another. After stretching a bit, Lei Kedun returned to his previous seat, sat down, reached for the coffee cup before him, which, unsurprisingly, had already gone cold.

"The flow of time in the book world and in reality is the same."

Ke Lai En said flatly, this was his intuition as a diviner.

"What a dream‑like experience, especially that hall."

Fo Si sighed, then fell silent; her gaze hesitated toward Ke Lai En, and seeing no reaction, she finally relaxed.

"Heh," Lei Kedun couldn't help laughing at the scene, and seeing everyone's eyes on him, he chuckled: "Miss 'Magician', actually you restrain your inner thoughts quite well, at least better than the two gentlemen beside me."

As he spoke, he casually rubbed his fingers, producing specks of bright white tinged with gold.

These specks fell into the coffee cups on the table; the previously cold coffee instantly warmed, and faint white mist rose.

Lun Na De regained control of his body, leaning loosely on one side of the sofa, and casually brought the topic to their code names:

"I'm curious, why do you use Tarot cards as code names? Why does no one choose the Emperor card? Is it because it doesn't sound good?"

"Testing whether we have a rogue Black Emperor among us? Even if you know, you can't find any of us."

As thoughts drifted, Ke Lai En expressionlessly lifted his coffee cup, holding it; although the sun brooch prevented him from feeling cold, it also caused his internal heat to drain rapidly.

"I must warm my body quickly, otherwise when I remove the sun brooch I think I'll freeze solid."

"As a mysticism enthusiast, isn't using Tarot cards as code names quite normal?"

Ao Daili's demeanor and tone were perfectly appropriate.

Lun Na De looked at Ao Daili with some suspicion: "Did I guess wrong? No, she's a non‑ordinary being who accesses the audience path, best at reading others' minds; perhaps this is just her deliberate performance."

Lei Kedun's inspiration was suddenly triggered; he turned his head toward the still‑present light door and said with a light laugh:

"Someone's coming out."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a middle‑aged man in an extremely plain white robe stepped out of the book world.

He had many wrinkles but was not aged, sported short brown hair, his shoulders, arms, calves and feet were bare, covered with various old scars; it was the ascetic Si Nuoman.

Upon appearing, his movements suddenly stiffened, his face visibly aging at a rapid pace.

Boom! A phantom bell rang, echoing in everyone's ears, as if time itself paused beneath the sound.

The fire in the nearby fireplace ceased its flicker; the ascetic Si Nuoman, who had been rapidly aging and near death, suddenly halted his decay.

Boom~ another melodious bell rang.

The ancient mottled clock above Lun Na De turned one notch counter‑clockwise; the mysterious symbol representing time on it flickered with a hazy glow.

Si Nuoman's visage began to reverse its aging: his greying, withered hair turned back to healthy brown, the age spots, dull pigments and wrinkles faded quickly, the withered yellow skin on his forearms, shoulders, calves reconstituted marvelously! This is a miracle! Is this the ability angels possess, easily reversing a person's life and state? Ao Daili watched Si Nuoman's transformation, silently exclaiming inside.

Fo Si propped her cheeks with both hands, her thoughts drifting: "Today's observations could fill several novels—stories of Fourth Era nobles and elves, a knight and a giant's adventure, and wondrous mental realms. Inspiration just keeps flowing."

"Stealing time and lifespan, thieves become really weird later on. If I were to meet A Meng face‑to‑face, would they directly pass through me to that gray‑mist realm, or simply take the source fortress?" As thoughts wandered, a flash of idea struck Ke Lai En: "Lun Na De's old man inside can easily steal others' thoughts, surely he can also achieve mind‑reading. My mental activity tonight has already fully exposed Ke Lai En's identity before them!"

(End of Chapter)