Chapter 81: Father

Feeling deeply that he is unsuited for study, Lei Ke Dun began to organize the not‑so‑secret knowledge he knows, preparing to digest the Guardian's demonic elixir, while Tu Ba Ge, in the second‑floor garden of the adjacent house, dug furiously, sprayed nutrient solution, and strived to be a farming rabbit.

Lei Ke Dun recalled the information he knows—genuine occult knowledge or academic knowledge—Lei Ke Dun does not know much, and the people of the Knowledge Church would likewise have no need for his knowledge.

"What can truly be produced are only some secret knowledge belonging to this world, but those easily involve the world's true gods." After pondering, Lei Ke Dun felt a headache.

Finally, after deep deliberation, Lei Ke Dun decided to write some ancient history of the Second Era Dark Age. After all, the ancient gods of that age have all fallen; the remaining active demi‑gods only need to be avoided, so it should not be a big problem.

Having made the decision, Lei Ke Dun began to carefully recall the information he knows about the Second Era.

"In the budding age, the 'Ancient Gods' appeared one after another; the Age of First Flame's Radiance, the Twin Age," Lei Ke Dun muttered.

He took out paper and pen, arranging the information in chronological order one by one. In the end, Lei Ke Dun stared at the densely written sheet, fell silent for a moment; the gap between a single sheet and a book was inevitably too large.

"The history of the Third Era later involves too many present true gods; I can't even dare to write it! Should I just randomly add content to pad the word count?" Lei Ke Dun frowned and pondered for a moment.

Lei Ke Dun decided to fill a single page's content into a whole book himself, a difficulty even greater than fabricating a book outright.

"Or I could randomly stitch together some poems, making this a poetry anthology recording the Second Era's history; hmm, I could also insert illustrations to add content—piecing it together should yield a book." After a moment of thought, Lei Ke Dun's eyes lit up, finding the idea very feasible.

As for painting and poetry, Lei Ke Dun was not worried at all; the Knowledge Church's books naturally cover every aspect, and if retrieving them is too troublesome, he could ask the Hidden Sage to directly infuse knowledge.

Lei Ke Dun found himself increasingly reliant on the Hidden Sage, and regarding knowledge acquisition, the Hidden Sage truly is the best partner!

To recall his own overly ancient and already vague memories, Lei Ke Dun even went to the Executor Squad, seeking Captain Yi Kang Dun's help, and crafted two talismans with this effect.

Originally, Lei Ke Dun intended to pray directly to Mr. Huang, asking for a method to recall the blurred memories, preferably receiving a blessing directly from Mr. Huang.

While preparing to pray to Mr. Huang, Lei Ke Dun suddenly realized he had been overly dependent on this Knowledge Church angel lately. Although Mr. Huang was sufficiently friendly, Lei Ke Dun's habit of turning to him at the first sign of trouble was indeed somewhat presumptuous.

Lei Ke Dun extinguished the thought of reciting Mr. Huang's revered name and instead sought out Captain Yi Kang Dun, who was still on duty at the Executor Squad.

Captain Yi Kang Dun, though finding Lei Ke Dun's request odd, still taught him the method of making talismans.

"Why suddenly want a talisman to recall your own memories? The only memories you need now are from infancy, right?" Captain Yi Kang Dun asked curiously.

"More or less; I want to recall some rather distant memories. By the way, Captain, is there a talisman that can directly grant someone painting skills?" Lei Ke Dun nodded, then realized that to insert pictures into his book he'd need to be able to draw.

Captain Yi Kang Dun's gaze turned strange, and after a long silence said, "Only abilities you learn yourself belong to you; skills acquired through extraordinary power cannot be maintained for long."

Lei Ke Dun originally thought he didn't need long‑term maintenance either, but then thought of a simpler method.

"Captain, is there a spell or talisman that can turn the images imagined in one's mind directly into drawings?" Lei Ke Dun looked at Captain Yi Kang Dun with spreading anticipation.

"Your idea is interesting; what do you want to draw? Unfortunately I haven't mastered a similar spell yet." Captain Yi Kang Dun's voice carried some interest, as if given a chance he'd gladly learn or invent such a spell.

At this point Lei Ke Dun also realized that the Reader Path's fifth sequence allows one to craft spells manually, though he hasn't reached that yet. Yet a Seeker of Secrets Path wizard, with enough occult knowledge, can also create his own spells.

With the captain's help, Lei Ke Dun learned to make a memory talisman; to be safe, he also took the talisman the captain demonstrated.

After returning home, Lei Ke Dun began preparing a Secret Covenant Ritual, intending to ask the Hidden Sage for relevant occult knowledge to create a spell that can directly turn mental images into drawings.

"Sage who perceives the world, eyes that probe truth, embodiment of endless knowledge and spirit numbers!"

Lei Ke Dun had just finished reciting the revered name when, before he could state his request, the Hidden Sage immediately tossed a piece of knowledge his way.

Lei Ke Dun felt as if a swarm of tiny insects were crawling inside his head, the throbbing pain worse than last time.

"Sss~" Lei Ke Dun endured the discomfort, employing his Rapid Thought ability; he found that in a rational state his tolerance to negative effects noticeably increased, and his brain became more active.

The head pressure from the knowledge infusion lasted about ten minutes, after which Lei Ke Dun's head felt unusually heavy. He reclined on a lounge chair, resting while sorting the newly acquired occult knowledge in his mind.

Another half hour passed before Lei Ke Dun felt the discomfort completely dissipate.

"Phew! This knowledge infusion was far more severe than the last. Even after the Hidden Sage restrained himself toward me, no wonder the Hidden Sage's knowledge is so terrifying to other Extraordinary beings on the Seeker of Secrets Path—any slight lapse leads to loss of control." Lei Ke Dun sighed, his tone full of relief.

"Boss! Boss! Your father's back!" Tu Ba Ge hopped over to Lei Ke Dun's ear, whispering.

"Hm? It's already that soon, seems it's time to return; only two days left until the New Year." Lei Ke Dun was startled before he recovered.

"There are more people at home now; you must be careful, don't speak casually, and don't reveal overly extraordinary abilities, understand?" Lei Ke Dun warned Tu Ba Ge.

"Don't worry, boss!" Tu Ba Ge patted his chest in assurance.

Lei Ke Dun nodded, said no more. He hoisted Tu Ba Ge onto his shoulder and went to meet his newly returned father.

Although his memories of his father were clear, when the moment of meeting arrived, Lei Ke Dun still felt somewhat uneasy and nervous.

Lei Ke Dun entered the hall and saw several servants busily moving cargo into the house. His mother was brewing coffee, while his father stood at the doorway directing the servants.

His father wore a dark brown coat, a half‑height silk top hat, his facial features resembled Lei Ke Dun's by about sixty percent, his complexion was somewhat sallow, a result of his many years traveling.

Seeing his father directing the servants, a wave of familiarity surged in Lei Ke Dun's heart.

"Father!" Lei Ke Dun called as he approached.

"Hm? Haha! It's Little Lei Ke Dun! You've grown taller, but you're still so thin—have you been home alone and not eating well?" his father chattered while briskly approaching, giving Lei Ke Dun a warm hug.

This hug made Lei Ke Dun feel his emotions toward his father stirring, as if his father was no longer so unfamiliar to him.

After the hug, Lei Ke Dun merely gave a shy smile, saying little. This matched how he remembered interacting with his father—father and son didn't have endless topics; essentially one spoke, the other listened, with no endless back‑and‑forth.

"Alright! I've prepared hot coffee; everyone, sit down and rest a bit. You just rushed back, so don't worry about too many things." Mother Yi Sha Bei Er carried a cup of hot coffee over, handing the coffee to the father.

"Good! Little Lei Ke Dun, go check that the servants don't misplace the cargo." Father Pa Qi·Suo Si instructed Lei Ke Dun, then went with mother Yi Sha Bei Er to a nearby sofa to rest and chat.

"Alright!" Lei Ke Dun shrugged, no longer paying attention to his father.

Regarding his family, it seemed the parents were true love, while the child was merely an accident.

As long as his father and mother are together, he essentially receives no attention, and they have no time to bother with him.

However, Lei Ke Dun actually thought this was better; although he had fully adapted to his family's presence, if they truly lived together with daily close contact, Lei Ke Dun felt he would still be unable to adjust.

"Young master, this is a gift the gentleman prepared for you and the lady; should it be placed in your room?" the butler approached, interrupting Lei Ke Dun's reverie.

"Hm? A gift? Not yet; just put it in the living room first." Lei Ke Dun, regaining his senses, shook his head slightly.

"Very well, young master." The butler instructed the servants behind him to move the gifts the father had brought into the living room.

"Woo‑wow~ a gift! Is there one for me?" Tu Ba Ge, perched on Lei Ke Dun's shoulder, whispered excitedly into his ear.

"Probably not; father probably didn't know you existed before." Lei Ke Dun shook his head.

"Ah~" Tu Ba Ge's mood instantly turned despondent.

"It's fine; later you can take one of my gifts. Father didn't prepare a gift for you, but mother certainly did—maybe a custom hooded cloak!" Lei Ke Dun comforted Tu Ba Ge.

Lei Ke Dun was also surprised when he first learned that Tu Ba Ge's favorite thing was a hooded cloak, and it happened to be black.

Every time he sees Tu Ba Ge in a black cloak scurrying about, Lei Kedun doubts whether that rabbit was a cultist in a previous life.

(End of chapter)