Chapter 522: Psychological Therapy

Heh, A Meng let out a light laugh, raised his hand and pressed the single lens over his right eye, and said:

"This illusory world can no longer bear your frantic will; it seems I can't gather any more information."

As his words fell, the figure of Sasilier before him instantly shattered into a swath of darkness.

It was like a breached dam, a black tide suffused with a scent of decay surging out, and a tangible shadow instantly engulfed the entire information world, while pair after pair of crimson eyes brimming with madness and cruelty surfaced in the darkness.

In the real Saixing, A Meng's figure abruptly appeared in the prayer hall of the temple.

He scanned the hall's mannequins, half ferocious and half serene, and stepped out, treading on the black, viscous liquid that covered the floor.

He ran away again; he must have guessed what I intended. If he had been a bit greedier in his decisive departure, I could have used his special ability to reinforce that information world and extract more data from his fleeting moment of clarity.

He is confident of his return; besides that lunatic, there must be other backers. Among the five paths, after eliminating the three traitors, only that paranoid man remains—he even managed to deceive me.

A Meng replayed the events in his mind while stepping forward; with each step, his figure instantly spanned a great distance, appearing at the far edge of sight.

Meanwhile, in the dried riverbed devoid of water, a faint glow burst from the void, and countless tangled bits of knowledge coalesced into Lei Kedun's body.

His flesh continuously cracked and flayed outward, while a single cold, restrained‑madness eye opened and closed upon him.

He staggered to steady himself, one hand clamping his head to force wakefulness through pain, the other hand grasping wildly in mid‑air a few times.

A veil of tranquil, serene night was pulled forth, quietly draping over him.

Shrouded in secrecy, he finally exhaled, collapsed onto the riverbed, and in the Dragon Tongue recited the honored name pointing to the "Fool":

"The Fool who does not belong to this age, the mysterious sovereign above the gray mist, the yellow‑black king who wields fortune."

"The Fool who does not belong to this age."

Repeating it twice, a dense gray mist surged in his eyes, a deep red light rose, obscuring all sight, then swiftly recoiled, coalescing into a towering angel bearing twelve pairs of black wings and clad in black armor.

In an instant, the paper‑like angel appeared before Lei Kedun, enveloping him with its black wings and bestowing a blessing.

Lei Kedun closed his eyes and slowed his breathing; after receiving the angel's blessing, he clearly felt the stabbing pain in his head ease, and the rampant mad instinct that had lodged in his mind was grafted elsewhere.

His breathing gradually steadied, the flayed flesh and the newly sprouted eyes on his body began to retract inward.

The next moment, deep red light surged from his eyes, engulfing his vision entirely.

When the red light faded, he found himself atop the gray mist, within a grand ancient palace, seated on his own high‑backed chair.

Ke Lai En's voice rang out at the right moment:

"Your condition is poor; do you need psychological therapy?"

Lei Kedun leaned against the high‑backed chair, raised his hand to knead his forehead, and calmly said:

"Please contact Miss 'Justice' for me; although I can simulate a psychologist's ability, I'm not a 'psychologist' myself, so the effect is limited."

"Sure."

Ke Lai En nodded lightly, then a spirit spread, reaching the deep‑red star representing "Justice" Ao Dai Li, and sent a piece of information into it.

Having done that, he asked again, "What happened? The madness that dwells on your spirit seems not entirely yours."

Lei Kedun rubbed the still‑tingling corner of his forehead and sighed, "

I was duped by A Meng."

"He and I entered a corrupted information world; my condition deteriorated severely because the madness there possessed me."

He carefully recounted to Ke Lai En everything that happened between himself and A Meng in Saixing, and finally added, "A Meng's actions were odd; he likely wanted to use some of my special traits to modify that information, but I can't fathom his purpose, and there were no high‑order elements related to your three paths there."

Ke Lai En leaned back slightly, rested against the chair back, and, after a pause, said:

"Perhaps his purpose wasn't to gain anything, but to know something; in a world constructed from knowledge, there may be knowledge that A Meng also needs."

Lei Kedun nodded and said:

"Perhaps, but I was in poor condition then; otherwise I could have left a Spy Eye to monitor that place."

Having finished, he adjusted his posture, leaning back and closing his eyes to rest.

In the Empress District of Bei Ke Lan De, within the Huo Er family's luxurious villa, Ao Dai Li was sipping tea beside a stone table in the garden, accompanied by her golden‑retriever Su Xi.

"Woof— woof—"

Su Xi let out two soft barks, alerting Ao Dai Li behind it.

Sensing Su Xi's tone, the daydreaming Ao Dai Li snapped back, turned her head with curiosity toward the other side of the garden and asked, "Su Xi, what did you see?"

"It's me." Alfred Huo Er, clad in a black trench coat and looking quite handsome, stepped out from the garden corner.

He carried a stack of freshly printed documents, approached at an unhurried pace, then sat in the chair opposite Ao Dai Li, placing the papers upside down on the table.

Ao Dai Li glanced up and down at her brother without a trace of judgment, poured him flower tea, and said with a smile,

"It seems you've encountered some troubles, troubles you find hard to deal with."

Alfred looked at Ao Dai Li with slight surprise and then said,

"So this is the 'Audience's' insight? Indeed sharp."

"Then have you guessed what it is?"

Ao Dai Li tilted her head slightly at Alfred's words, studied him for a moment, then showed a slightly disappointed expression and said, "I'm only an 'Audience' and haven't yet become a 'Mind Reader.'"

Although I've long passed the 'Mind Reader' stage and am about to ascend to 'Hypnotist,' I can't let you know that yet, or there will be more questions to explain.

With a hint of secret excitement and a smile at the corner of her eye, Ao Dai Li looked at Alfred and asked, "So, what difficulty led you to think of coming to me—your mother?"

Alfred sighed, pushed the upside‑down stack of documents toward her and said,

"This is the marriage candidate my mother selected for me; she wants me to look it over, and if I'm unsatisfied, she'll choose another batch."

"Who made you the laziest person at home now?" Ao Dai Li chuckled mischievously.

As soon as she finished speaking, a dense gray mist surged before her eyes, and the leisurely voice of the "Fool" echoed in her ears:

"The 'White Tower' needs some psychological therapy; you may refuse or consent."

As the "Fool's" voice faded, the gray mist before Ao Dai Li quickly dissipated.

"Ao Dai Li, Ao Dai Li? Are you listening to me?" Alfred waved a stack of Bei Ke Lan De noble offspring data before her eyes.

Ao Dai Li reached out, took the documents from Alfred's hand, set them aside and said:

I'm thinking; if you don't want to consider the marriage issue now, you can first push the problem onto your older brother, or find something for yourself and your mother to do— as long as you stay busy, she won't urgently urge you.

Alright, I'll ask Mother about the situation tonight; just wait for my news.

Saying this, Audrey picked up the stack of materials about the Beckland noble tour, stood up, and beckoned Susie to walk into the villa.

She didn't go straight back to her room, but first went to her alchemy laboratory, having Susie stand guard outside.

After making preparations, she began to chant the honorific of the 'Fool':

"Fool who does not belong to this era, you are the mysterious sovereign above the gray fog, you are the yellow-black king who commands fortune."

Above the gray fog, within the grand ancient palace, a burst of deep red light suddenly rose, then quickly retracted, condensing the blurry figure of 'Justice' Audrey.

She instinctively wanted to rise and salute the highest seat, but upon looking up she found the Fool's seat empty.

She tilted her head in slight astonishment and saw that opposite the mottled long table, the 'White Tower' and the lowest seat, 'World', were each sitting in their respective places.

Using the identity of 'World', Klein hoarsely explained: "Mr. Fool has temporarily left; if you need anything during the treatment, you can still bring it up—he can hear."

"I have a deal with the 'White Tower'; incidentally, I'm staying to protect your safety. Since your sequences differ greatly, having him perform psychological therapy on you would also be extremely dangerous for you."

He mainly worried that the Fool's presence would affect Miss Justice's treatment, so he chose to assume the identity of 'World', which is on equal footing with them.

Audrey nodded, then looked toward the front-left 'White Tower' Reckton, took a deep breath, and said: "I understand, Mr. White Tower; shall we begin the psychological therapy now?"

Reckton lightly nodded and said:

"Yes, you need to be careful; due to some incidents, my humanity is currently insufficient. During the treatment, don't let my rationality and madness affect you; the mental impact on the 'Spectator' would be even more severe."

"Thank you for the reminder; I will pay attention."

Audrey smiled and nodded in response, simultaneously using a 'Soothing'.

This gave Reckton, whose spirit had been repressed and tense, a certain degree of relief; the impact of apathy and madness on his mind also eased somewhat.

(End of chapter)