Chapter 675: The Art of Sealing

Seeing his concerns confirmed, Lu Mi took out the key and opened the suite door with nearly no sound.

Now he could confirm that Ludwig, the sealed monstrous entity, would fully display his appetite and impulses during the Dream Festival!

Under the crimson moonlight streaming through the living room window, Lu Jianuo was wildly flailing his arms, retreating backward, his face twisted in extreme agony.

At the end of his arm was Ludwig, wearing a child's sleep cap and a sky-blue pajama with yellow stars; continuous crunching and chewing sounds emanated from there.

Amid the muffled noises, drops of blood fell onto the floor.

Suddenly, Ludwig leapt upward like a frog, his mouth nearly reaching Lu Jianuo's elbow; the crunching sound briefly grew deafeningly loud.

"Ah!"

Lu Jianuo screamed again, his cry loud enough to lift the roof.

He instinctively tried to pull back the arm bitten by Ludwig, pushed at him with his other hand, rolled his eyes back, and teetered on the edge of fainting from pain beyond endurance.

Lu Mi glanced once, then took two steps to Ludwig's back and let out a "Hng."

Two beams of white light shot from his nostrils, striking Ludwig, who froze, eyes closing.

But before Lu Mi could follow up, the boy's mouth reopened, resuming its gnawing on Lu Jianuo's arm—shattering bone, tearing flesh.

His eyes opened again.

The "Hng Ha Technique" could only daze Ludwig for a second—even under his sealed state… Lu Mi silently drew a breath and abandoned further blind attempts.

He looked at Lu Jianuo, who had noticed him but was too pained to speak, raised his right hand, and pressed downward, signaling patience.

Lu Jianuo's mind flooded with curses and emotions, yet none escaped his lips.

In a flash of thought, Lu Mi gave an almost imperceptible nod.

He shifted his target, stepped past Ludwig, who was still feasting on Lu Jianuo, and seized Lu Jianuo's shoulder.

Then Lu Mi pulled from "The Traveler's Satchel" a sharp straight sword purchased in Sangtagang.

What is he doing? Lu Jianuo's mind barely formed the thought before it scattered under the agony.

Lu Mi swung the straight sword; its blade burst into blazing white flame.

The sword struck hard against Lu Jianuo's arm, where Ludwig had consumed it, right at the elbow.

With a wet *plop*, the remaining short segment of forearm detached from Lu Jianuo, left dangling outside Ludwig's mouth—as if the boy's head had sprouted a bloody, stubby tail.

Simultaneously, Lu Mi's figure began to fade, taking Lu Jianuo with him as they vanished from the spot.

"Teleportation!"

But Lu Mi hadn't teleported far; his and Lu Jianuo's forms reappeared at the suite's doorway.

The pain was still severe, yet slightly lessened; Lu Jianuo's eyes once again caught Ludwig's image—the boy's face, smeared in blood, teeth clamped onto his severed forearm.

He forgot the pain, his mind echoing only a few similar thoughts:

Why not teleport out of Tizamo Town?

Why not teleport to Pailos Port?

Why linger in front of Ludwig?

Ludwig had turned his face toward the doorway, his short yellow hair stained with blood, brown eyes brimming with unhidden hunger and appetite.

He launched his seven- or eight-year-old legs forward, sprinting toward Lu Mi and Lu Jianuo, at the same speed as a child his age.

Throughout, he chewed and swallowed the remaining fragment of Lu Jianuo's forearm without pause.

Lu Mi calmly returned the straight sword to "The Traveler's Satchel."

In Lu Jianuo's terrified gaze, he pulled out a whole almond-cream layer cake and tossed it onto the floor beside Ludwig.

Ludwig's sprint slowed, as if hesitating which to eat first.

In the end, he still looked toward Lu Jianuo.

The sentient blood, flesh, and marrow enchanted him more!

During Ludwig's brief hesitation, Lu Mi's right hand plunged again into "The Traveler's Satchel," dragging out one of Siso's corpse fragments and hurling it to the opposite side.

Ludwig's gaze followed, his tongue flicked out to lick his lips, yet he didn't change direction.

He seemed to find it too filthy—not his top priority.

Lu Mi kept tossing out various sentient materials: cream-filled cookies, fruit tarts, custard creams, queen pastries, liqueur chocolates, cookies, candied fruits, éclairs, Charlotte cakes.

These piled around Ludwig, severely obstructing his attempts to reach Lu Jianuo.

"What are you standing there for? Stop your bleeding!" Lu Mi glanced at the dazed Lu Jianuo and ordered sternly.

Lu Jianuo shuddered, instinctively making his left palm glow faintly as he pressed it against the stump of his right arm.

Ludwig ate the food Lu Mi tossed, still mindful of Lu Jianuo but no longer frantic.

Finally, Lu Mi threw out crate after crate of biscuits, candies, and beef jerky, surrounding Ludwig with a chaotic, low "wall."

He had prepared seven days' worth of rations for Ludwig in "The Traveler's Satchel"; now he dumped nearly all of it out.

"What are you doing?" Lu Jianuo, having finally staunched the bleeding and stabilized his wound, stared at Lu Mi in confusion. Why was his employer still obsessed with feeding Ludwig at this moment?

"Sealing him away," Lu Mi replied calmly, his hands never stopping.

"Sealing?" Lu Jianuo nearly doubted his hearing.

This was too absurd, too ridiculous!

Has anyone ever sealed a monster with food?

Not only have I never heard of such a thing, even popular novels wouldn't dare imagine it!

Proper sealing should involve mystical symbols and patterns drawn with sentient materials, completed through ritual magic or a magical artifact—

What kind of thing is throwing food at a monster?

Lu Mi sighed with a smile:

"When he's full, he won't want to eat you—or anyone else here.

"And that much food will keep him eating until dawn, until tomorrow, until the day after."

Lu Mi thought of this because he'd just realized Ludwig only wanted to eat, and combined with the Dream Festival's current traits, he was nearly certain Ludwig was now pure—purely appetite, a unique trait absent in others of Tizamo Town.

If so, satisfying Ludwig's appetite would keep him trapped in the suite, eating, eating, until the Dream Festival ended, posing no danger to anyone else.

What's the difference between that and sealing him here?

Of course, on the condition that the Dream Festival doesn't last longer than the seven days' worth of food.

Otherwise, Lu Mi's hunting speed in the jungle might not match Ludwig's appetite.

After hearing this, Lu Jianuo suddenly understood.

This was indeed a clever way to temporarily contain Ludwig.

Who says this isn't sealing?

If you truly understand your target—know their desires and weaknesses—you can achieve "sealing" even without mystical means!

Seeing Ludwig still eating but trying to reach the doorway, clearly reluctant to leave Lu Jianuo, Lu Mi grabbed his personal physician's shoulder and directly "teleported" to the staircase landing on the second floor of the Police Headquarters.

Ludwig glanced at the empty doorway, then turned his attention back to the feast before him.

…………

"Are you sure it's safe?" Lu Jianuo asked, barely emerged from the Spirit Realm, still uneasy.

Lu Mi smiled:

"As long as no Extraordinary being happens to pass by the door, he won't leave his food."

Lu Jianuo exhaled, staring at his severed right arm, thinking sadly:

"At least I'm alive. Alive is enough…

"Maybe I can save up to get a mechanical arm from the Steam Church—it might even improve my combat ability."

Limb loss couldn't be healed by a "Physician"; no one could transplant another's arm.

Giam and Ruiya in the staircase both stared at Lu Jianuo's bloody, half-arm.

They recalled Louis Berry's earlier warning about the greater trouble, and both frowned.

"What happened?" Giam asked.

Lu Mi smiled:

"Caused by that big trouble—but I've temporarily sealed it. And for heaven's sake, don't go to Buriu Inn, and never pass by the suite's door on the second floor."

Hearing the big trouble had been temporarily sealed by Louis Berry, Giam exhaled in relief and said to Lu Jianuo:

"Good thing it was just a dream. Wake up, and it's gone."

"Dream?" Lu Jianuo looked bewildered.

Lu Mi offered no explanation, only warned:

"It was a dream—but die in the dream, and you die in reality."

As Lu Jianuo stared, uncertain and alarmed, Lu Mi turned to Giam and Ruiya:

"We're going to the house of Tewanako now."

His primary purpose in investigating the Dream Festival was to track down Siso's gold and the item he obtained from the Novos family's devil—he naturally needed to check whether the relevant locations had changed since the Dream Festival began.

If he found nothing, his next destination would be Saint Cien Church, to find Father Cali.

This was because the priest's strange condition—"weakness deep within the spirit"—was unique among Tizamo Town's residents, indicating he had special qualities; moreover, it was the priest who announced the Dream Festival's start!

Giam hesitated, as if something urgent demanded his attention.

At that moment, Ruiya pointed at Lu Jianuo, puzzled, and asked Lu Mi:

"Why is he still conscious?"

ps: Gold alliance bonus chapter tomorrow~

(End of Chapter)