[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-250":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269896,4431,"Chapter 250","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-250",250,"\u003Cp>\"I am Laina, Heroine Laina.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small girl looked up at the tall man, momentarily dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long ago, it had been exactly these two, their opposition, the same composition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, I was far stronger than now, yet also far more powerless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now is not the time to overthink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My time of existence is extremely limited. Perhaps you can accept this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On her outstretched palms rested a faint red glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En Sudar calmed down. Even if Laina returned again, morally he had no reason to feel guilty—he hadn’t been the one who betrayed her back then; he had no cause to feel ashamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the worst case, it’s just a fight. Haven’t I already carried enough inexplicable debts on my back?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A memory. My memory. It was recovered by 'the Snake' from 'Him.' It is the truth you’ve been seeking.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laina’s pupils fixed on Li En Sudar. Though her face was identical to Lana’s, they were clearly two entirely different people—just as Laina, through Li En Sudar, saw another \"existence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this a ploy left by the Snake? Perhaps worthy of some trust—but Li En...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That note—was it written by you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En Sudar paused, then asked what seemed an insignificant question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That note had appeared in the parlor; the maids had noticed nothing, not even the magical traps set by Shaliman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either it was a master who crushed Shaliman’s magic, or it was an inside traitor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En Sudar had once suspected Rosalind had set the trap, but from Hela’s information, Rosalind herself knew nothing of these events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the origin of that elegant handwriting became deeply suspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when he saw \"Laina,\" Li En Sudar suddenly understood—hadn’t the city lord said the former Heroine Laina had also investigated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she had information, and upon learning he was also investigating, chose to pass it to him, it made sense...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was me. But back then, I didn’t find the monster underground—only the Whisperer’s records, and from those, I uncovered the truth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laina’s expression grew more nuanced as she watched Li En Sudar. This wasn’t a prearranged trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, all information and scrolls concerning the Whisperer were hidden in secret compartments of those bookshelves. Had Li En Sudar searched methodically, he would have found them eventually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he, in his quest to detect evil, stumbled upon the underground monster first—and completely lost control of the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li En Sudar understood. It made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Laina had encountered that monster back then, regardless of the outcome, the monster could not have remained hidden there still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Through the Whisperer’s power, I found some things. This is part of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On her outstretched right palm, the light points still flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed, this was the answer to everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it was Li En Sudar who hesitated—hesitating whether to accept it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone on Earth knows it’s foolish to eat strange things, especially when this person had already betrayed him once. Li En Sudar wanted to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What answer did you receive from the Whisperer?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At first, I sought the great red dragon. But that answer demanded my entire life—and the priest’s state was unstable then; the answer given would likely have been unreliable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heroine Laina, indeed, had gone to seek the great red dragon that would destroy all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, perhaps it was the root of everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that answer had always exceeded the cost of life. Considering the nature of the Dragon of a Thousand Faces, even if she paid the price, she likely would not have received the correct answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So I asked only for the direction in which the great red dragon departed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is that allowed?! Li En Sudar thought—actually, it might well be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t a direct probe of its coordinates. Anything with form leaves traces. Wherever the scorching great red dragon passed—even without witnesses—there were traces in the clouds, the air, the atmospheric temperature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asking only for \"direction\" would minimize the cost as much as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My soul’s 'single-mindedness' greatly aided my search. And along the way, I asked three times—each time costing me twenty years of life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, it was this pure \"obsession\" that allowed her to obtain the target she desired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Whisperer’s trading partners were only \"life,\" but the priest held authority to adjust how exactly that life was exchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After acquiring the data and intelligence back then, Laina seemingly cultivated a priest of her own, binding him to serve her.\u003C\u002Fp>",747,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3934ea3b97609ae4b90cf78962a1747ff7835c9edae5ed2f63e95703d3dc7db6","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-251","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-249",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]